I think you summed it up perfectly when you commented that TAB skews the Socceroos chances. A betting agency will always reflect the attitudes and knowledge of the people it serves. The betting public placing their bets in England through Ladbrokes are more likely to hear about the feats of Vidic or Kalou playing in England than they are about Kennedy or Tamada playing in Japan. I'm sure if you looked at the South American betting agencies you will find a simular trend, skewed towards that region.

I take it all with a pinch of salt, however it does provide a bit of a reality check. Somemtimes we all see the world in shades of our favourite team. My friend is a diehard Adelaide supporter whom I have watched quite a few games with. We can both see the same tackle and come to very different conclusions. Either the striker took a dive, or the defender should have been carded for such a dangerous foul.


What do you think about the FourFourTwo blog Welcome To The Big Time?
International football doesn't mean as much as it used to...
At times you'd be forgiven for thinking this, such are the attitudes of certain players, fans, and coaches involved in the beautiful game....

Have your say.

Ouch :(

Hey, not to worry... I firmly believe the roos are never comfortable with winning 'easy' games. They very much prefer to be the underdogs scrapping to a win over a more fancied opponent. I have faith... :)

Nice blog Dave. As a fellow (responsible) gambler, I urge you and everyone to check the odds of these international world cup fixtures from the views of different betting agencies around the world. Because aussies will get on the aussies, and the english for example the english, sometimes the odds will allow you to put the same amount of money on on two different results and still come out with a profit. It's known as arbitrage I'm pretty sure. Read a whole book about it but would be super nice to watch a month of football and then come out on top from gambling on the games hahaha

I think everyone knew it was a given about the draw towards whatever country your betting in. Optimistic patriotism at work. I'd like to put a bit on honduras or north korea for some games.

Fair analysis. I enjoyed your blog. It's refreshing not to have to wade through the nationalistic crap.