Tuesday Review

Summary of Bets:

Two wins - Accrington Stanley 0-2 Scunthorpe United (7/5)

                  Derby County 2-3 Shrewsbury Town (5/1)


Two losses - Hull City (-1) 0-2 Macclesfield Town

                     Stevenage 2-2 Peterborough United

Overall, a very pleasing night! Scunthorpe did the job in the second half at Accrington, but the stars were certainly Shrewsbury who delivered at 5/1. Even those of us who fancied them to do well would have been shocked by their early 3-0 lead, and despite something of a Derby fightback, Shrewsbury held on for the 3-2 win.

Peterborough threw away two leads at Stevenage to cost a success there, but my one blunder was Hull City. I clearly under-estimated the affect of losing key players to international duty and over-estimated their desire to make up for their opening night home defeat against Blackpool.

Elsewhere, I was secretly pleased to see Barnsley, Nottingham Forest and Portsmouth fail to deliver at short-odds and vindicate my avoidance policy, while Bury delivered a 3-1 win against Coventry in a game where some may have been tempted in by a respectable price on the home win.

TOTAL PROFIT: 6.4 points based on 1pt level stakes across all selections

TOTAL RUNNING PROFIT FOR SEASON: 4.23 points

Tuesday Selections

Due the fact that I am moving house this week, there has been not a great deal of time for the reasoning behind these selections - but here are the Tuesday night Carling Cup suggestions.

Accrington Stanley v SCUNTHORPE @ 7/5 @ VC, Sportingbet, Coral, 32Red

Scunthorpe have an awful record in the League Cup, losing 22 of 24 away ties and finishing with elimination in the first round in 12 of the last 18 seasons. However, Scunthorpe played very well by all accounts against Wycombe on Saturday en route to a 1-1 draw, while Accrington were held at home against Aldershot. With similar lineups expected to take to the field for both sides tonight, Scunthorpe are a touch of value at 7/5 to outshine their League 2 opponents.

Derby County v SHREWSBURY @ 5/1 @ Stan James

Another two teams that have a record in this competition that hardly inspires, but Shrewsbury can add to Derby's failures against League 2 opposition with an upset at Pride Park. Shrewsbury were denied victory over Plymouth by a 90th minute goal on Saturday, but at 5/1 they represent value in this encounter.

Stevenage v PETERBOROUGH @ 6/4 @ various

Stevenage held Exeter at the Lamex Stadium (Broadhall Way) on Saturday, but they should be outclassed by Peterborough even if Darren Ferguson chooses to rotate some of his squad. Posh's attacking style should see them through without too much fuss against Graham Westley's physical side.

HULL CITY -1 v Macclesfield @ 5/7 @ Bodog

The only trustwothy short-priced handicap bet of the night should be Hull against Macclefield of League 2. Hull were undeservedly booed after an excellent display by Blackpool in their 1-0 win on Friday night, and will be desperate to get back into a winning mode tonight in front of their own fans. Macclesfield have lost 11 of 12 twelve away matches in this competition, and while Hull are without six players on international duty, Macclesfield's won injury problems temper the possible affect of squad changes.

Hull City 0-1 Blackpool

If the return of this blog carried with it no great fanfare, the return of Blackpool to the Championship was hardly front-page news either. Despite becoming the darling side of many a neutral a year ago with their free-flowing, attacking and attractive style of play, few expected Blackpool to make much of an impact on the top end of a fiercely competitive Championship this season.

With the spending power of West Ham and Leicester, alongside perennial contenders such as Nottingham Forest, Reading and Cardiff, Blackpool have hardly dropped down to a level where they can be assured of being one of the ‘big dogs’ in the league. Indeed, the short list of teams above does not include the sides that many people expect to make a run from the middle of the pack – Ipswich (whom I believe can make the playoffs), Brighton, Southampton, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Burnley and their Friday night opponents Hull City to name just a few.

However, after watching Ian Holloway’s men on Friday, my mind at least has been changed on the potential of this Blackpool team to mount a serious assault on the Championship playoffs. Yes, losing Charlie Adam to Liverpool would hurt any side, not to mention the late sale of D.J. Campbell during the pre-season, but the Blackpool skill and thirst for goals was as evident as ever at the KC Stadium. Some of the football in the second half was nothing short of magnificent, as the Blackpool midfield seemed to have a magnetic control of the football going forward. The overall ability to turn the sublime skill into killer passes and, ultimately, game-changing goals is still something that we have to wait more than 90 minutes to judge, but the signs are positive for Holloway’s men. In the goal scored by Gary Taylor-Fletcher, Blackpool showed that a pretty flick pass can set up a chance and that Taylor-Fletcher has the ability to do something that a host of Hull players cannot – smash the ball into the back of the net. This is not an Arsenal style of toothless, if pretty, passing – Blackpool genuinely mean it when they come forward.

Winning promotion may be a long way off for Blackpool even with this impressive start to the season, but worries that their stint in the top-flight, and their spiral out of it, may have dampened the mood around the club were dispelled with the gritty and, at times, thrilling display of football. Nearly all eleven players punched the air as the full-time whistle went – there is a fire that still remains within this team, and whether or not they ultimately fall short of a top six place (defensive frailties would have been exposed had Hull not continued last season’s lacklustre play in front of goal) Blackpool must still be respected as a side that present an interesting betting proposition as the season goes on.

90 minutes into the new season, and already I have learned something new from a fascinating night of football. Bring on Saturday.