Bebe Proven Fergie’s Ultimate Flop with Loan Move

Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, is often praised for his shrewd transfer dealings that have brought so much success to Old Trafford over his 26-year tenure.

Rio Ferdinand, Eric Cantona, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and a young Cristiano Ronaldo all arrived under various levels of scrutiny but rose to become title winners for Ferguson and his Red Devils. Yet, there have been some duds in the Scotsman’s transfer dealings, with Bebe quite possibly his biggest ever mistake.

Bebe, the infamous Portuguese striker brought to Old Trafford for £7.4m, despite Ferguson having never even seen him play, is the manager’s ultimate flop after playing just six games, scoring twice, since arriving in 2010. That is £1.2m a game and £3.7m a goal.

A stint at Besiktas over the 2011/12 season did little to convince Ferguson he was ready for the big time at Old Trafford, and after six months sat on the bench of the reserves, Bebe has finally been moved on – possibly for the last time.

The striker has gone out on loan to Portuguese mid-table side, Rio Ave, and is unlikely ever to return. He will go down as Ferguson’s worst value-for-money signing: worse then Juan Veron, Kleberson, Eric Djemba Djemba, and Diego Forlan. These flops at least showed some signs of ability and flourished outside the Premier League, but Bebe has done nothing, it seems, in his entire career.

So, when United fans in the betting world see their ultimate reserve striker go out on loan this January, they can breathe a huge sigh of relief and good riddance to a real embarrassment to the club.

Ferguson was made to look a mug by the entire Bebe affair and will have learned his lesson from this. It was a PR disaster and proved the manager does not have control over everything at Old Trafford, something Ferguson has stringently resurrected since then.

Interested in gambling on football? Make sure you catch up on the latest Champions League tips and Premier League Tips on the Betfair website.

Forest Managerial Change a Farce

And we all thought October was the silly season! The news that Nottingham Forest manager, Sean O’Driscoll, has been sacked just hours after his side engineered an emphatic 4-2 victory over Leeds United on Boxing Day staggered many English football fans, with the finger clearly pointed at chairman, Fawaz Al Hasawi.

Forest’s Christmas could not have gone better after the team rebounded from a 2-0 defeat to Watford at the weekend to defy the odds on Betfair and stun Leeds inside the City Ground – Billy Sharp’s brace firing the home side in front early in the second half.

The stadium was rocking to the sound of victory and festive spirit, yet one man was clearly not in the mood to join in.

“It saddens me but we have parted company with Sean O'Driscoll. A tough decision but we are determined to move our great club forward,” Al Hasawi revealed on his Twitter profile just hours after the full-time whistle.

“[M]ade contact with PL manager tonight. Meeting Thursday,” he concluded, three hours later. Yet while some Forest fans will be eagerly anticipating the arrival of a Premier League manager, the vast majority will still be astounded O’Driscoll has been sacked on Boxing Day.

The surprise isn’t that he was sacked, for Forest have not met expectations this season and have won just two in their past six games, but that it comes right in the middle of the busiest fixture pile-up of the season.

Forest now face high-flying Crystal Palace and a tricky visit to Blackburn within a week and the confidence this squad could have taken from that 4-2 thumping of Leeds would have seen them good into the New Year.

However, as chairman Al Hasawi can do what he likes, and, if he feels he can bring in an experienced manager to spend his resources in January, then who can argue with that? Di Matteo is currently the favourite for the post, according to Betfair.

Sadly, the whole thing still leaves a bitter taste in the mouth during this otherwise very merry Christmas.

Benteke the Inspiration for Improving Villa

Aston Villa and new boss, Paul Lambert endured a difficult start to the Premier League season but there are real signs they are on the up, and fans looking for betting tips should expect a much better second half to the campaign.

When the amiable Scot left Norwich - a job he had excelled in - over the summer to take the reins at Villa Park, he was expected to lead the side up the table after a difficult previous 12 months under old boss, Alex McLeish.

It did not begin like that, though, and plenty were tipping the Midlanders to be involved in the relegation battle for much of the season.

Lacklustre performances, a threadbare, injury-hit squad that was conceding plenty but struggling to find the net at the other end, and the ongoing surprise omission of record signing, Darren Bent, led many to claim it was a club going backwards.

Step forward a certain Christian Benteke - surely one of the signings of the summer - and, suddenly, Villa's fans have a man they believe can lead them to - who knows? - even a place in Europe in 2013.

Benteke has slowly adapted to the demands of the Premier League and the in-form forward is now one of the most feared strikers around.

Seemingly unplayable at his bustling best and able to create goals as well as score them, the Belgian's excellent all-round displays have been one of the highlights of the autumn in the top flight.

His double in the impressive victory at Liverpool in December took his tally for the season to eight in all competitions and his form has justified Lambert's decision to continually leave Bent out of his plans.

For the team as a whole, after a much-improved last few weeks, it now appears Lambert has stamped his mark on a very young side that is now buzzing with confidence.

Bigger tests await for a developing side but Lambert's managerial ability, which was foolishly being questioned early on, should not be underestimated and the future looks bright for Villa - with Benteke leading the way from the front.

Love football? Try your hand at an innovative new gambling application, with the Betfair Cashout offer.

Everton Success is all that matters to Fellaini

Having picked up the Barclays Premier League player of the month award for November, Everton’s Marouane Fellaini has revealed that as happy as he is to receive credit for his individual performances, success on the pitch for his club is far more important to him.

Fellaini has been in inspirational form for Everton this season, bagging 8 goals in the league already, and helping Moyes’ men challenge for the European spots. Fellaini has already had his best goalscoring season for Everton and his performances have certainly warranted the recognition that he has received, but his focus remains on the Toffees’ results.  

"I am very happy with the award but the most important thing is the team” he said. “Everybody wants to play in the Champions League, so everyone is working hard and at the end of the season we want to be in the top four.”

With the departure of Tim Cahill at the end of last season, Fellaini has taken on more of an advanced role and the 25-year old Belgian has certainly revelled in the freedom and the responsibility that he has been offered.

 "At the moment, I am playing well. I try to give my maximum in every game. The manager likes it when I play in attack, so at the moment, it's good for me and the club. I've been scoring the goals and I work hard on the pitch" he added.

If Everton can keep hold of their star player then they will be well placed to end the season in the Champions’ league spots. It is hard to see Fellaini continuing his scoring run all season but his presence in the team should continue to create chances for those around him. If Moyes’ other attacking options can chip in with a few more goals then the Toffees’ will certainly take some stopping as the season goes on.

Don’t’forget to head over to bet365 for all the latest Premier League betting news , as well as the latest odds, tips advice and special offers, everything a punter who likes tbet on football needs

Rafa no Villain - but He's Not Chelsea's Saviour Either

What to make of recent events at Stamford Bridge? Rafa Benitez is on a hiding to nothing after taking the Blues job on an interim basis and, after three games without a win and just one goal, it has now developed into a much more difficult start for him than anyone could have envisaged.

Let us be clear - this appointment is not going to work.

The former Liverpool boss got off to a bad start when the Chelsea fans, unhappy with his Anfield links and past derogatory comments about them, made it irrevocably clear that they did not want the spiky Spaniard in charge, following Roberto Di Matteo's unpopular sacking at the hands owner and axe-wielder, Roman Abramovich.

He would have hoped a couple of early wins would have changed some disillusioned fans' minds. However, the opposite has happened and the best odds are now suggesting that Rafa will again be out of work as early as Christmas. 

Certainly, if they succumb to a few more disappointing results before the end of the year, he will be twitching - waiting for Roman's call to send him on his way. But, while Benitez might be the easy man to blame, Chelsea's current problems stem from the ridiculous knee-jerk reactions of their all-powerful, seemingly dictatorial owner.

True, he saved the club from an impending financial implosion when buying them over 10 years ago now and he has, of course, pumped his billions into the club coffers to fund a few Premier League titles, several cups and then, memorably, last season's Champions League success.

But all that, apparently, is not good enough for our Roman. 

Very few clubs get anywhere chopping and changing managers regularly and Abramovich has only himself to blame for this mess. Benitez was an unpopular choice but it was hoped he would stabilise the Blues until Pep Guardiola arrived in the summer.

The latest reports suggest Pep is being lined up by Manchester City, though, and quite fancies the job at Eastlands rather than risking his reputation at Chelsea under their too-hard-to please owner. And who can blame him? 

Some will say Abramovich does not care and will not stop changing things at the top until he gets someone in the mould of the ultra-successful Jose Mourinho at the helm again. Heck, he may even eventually lure the Portuguese coach back to try to spark a return to the glory days. That's if, those two can patch up their differences.

You see, Abramovich appears to fall out with anyone and everyone - no matter how good a job they had been doing. Sadly for Chelsea, their reputation among other fans trying Betfair Cashout is again in tatters and, sadly for Benitez, it's a question of when, not if, he will be shown the door too.