Premiership Betting Review - 5 February 2006

Alan Shearer broke Jackie Milburn's all-time Newcastle scoring record with his 201st goal in a vital 2-0 win over relegation strugglers Portsmouth. The Magpies were playing their first match under temporary manager Glenn Roeder and were 4/5 to win before kick off. An opener from Charles NZogbia and a second from Shearer gave Newcastle their first Premiership win in seven attempts.

In another personal goal scoring feat, Thierry Henry netted his 200th goal for Arsenal as the Gunners overcame their away day fragility to win 2-0 at Birmingham City. Arsene Wengers side had not won away since beating Charlton Athletic on Boxing Day and will have had plenty of support at 11/10 against bottom-three Birmingham. A debut goal for Emmanuel Adebayor and Henrys landmark strike was enough to keep Arsenal in fifth place.

Chelsea extended their lead at the top of the Premiership by 15 points after beating Liverpool 2-0 at Stamford Bridge. The rather generous 10/11 on offer of a home win will have had punters drooling and goals for William Gallas and Hernan Crespo secured the Blues 21st win in 24 league matches this season.

West Bromwich Albion did their relegation battle the power of good with a convincing 2-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers at The Hawthorns. The Baggies have won more home games than any of their rivals in the bottom seven and were an attractive proposition to punters at 19/10. Kevin Campbell marked his 36th birthday with a goal and Jonathan Greening secured the points after 32 minutes.

Meanwhile, Middlesbrough slipped closer to the relegation places when they succumbed 4-0 at home to Aston Villa. A Luke Moore hat-trick and one for former England striker Kevin Phillips secured victory at 21/10 and Middlesbrough, with just one win in their last 11 Premiership matches, can be backed at 9/2 for relegation.

West Ham United condemned Sunderland to their fifth defeat in six league matches with a 2-0 win at Upton Park. At 1/2, the Hammers will have been on many punters accumulators but it took until 81 minutes for Dean Ashton to break the deadlock and repay some of the 7.25 million invested in him.

On Sunday, Jermaine Defoe continued Tottenham's claims for a Champions League spot with a brace against former club Charlton Athletic. Despite never beating thr Addicks at home in the Premiership, Spurs were odds on at 4/5 before kick off. Two Defoe goals sandwiched Jermain Jenas strike while Jerome Thomas goal after 70 minutes was a mere consolation for Charlton.

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An Organization Void of Character

If youve read my weekly column, youll know that I was an advocate of Mike Tices firing all season long. While I agree with the decision of Minnesota Vikings management to fire Mike Tice, I disagree about the way that they went about his release from the club.

While events leading up to Sunday nights decision to fire Mike Tice are foggy, one thing is clear, team ownership showed no character by surprising Tice by firing him right after Sundays win against the Chicago Bears.

Vikings ownership had told Tice that they would make a decision about his future with the club at Mondays early morning meeting. Mike Tice had to know that there was a better then fifty percent chance that ownership would relieve him of his head coaching duties.

What upsets me is that the ownership showed a lack of character by not keeping their word. Mike Tice didnt have an evening to savor his victory and have a positive end to the season.Mike Tice wasnt even given an opportunity to address his players with the news.

Mike Tices players were very loyal to him and the ownership could have had the common decency to allow Tice to have one last moment with the club.

I had many issues with Mike Tice but he gave a number of players a second chance to prove that they could play in the NFL. While many teams had given up on Darren Sharper, Mike Tice gave him a second chance. Darren Sharper will play in the Pro Bowl in February.

Mike Tice also gave Koren Robinson a second chance after the player went through alcohol treatment. Robinson had a good year this year

We should give Mike Tice some credit for giving these players a second chance and being loyal to his team.

Mike Tice handled his firing with class and didnt show any public resentment toward the club. I wish Tice would have acted this way for the past four years.

Vikings ownership didnt keep their word. They said that this organization would be operated with class and character. In my world, keeping ones word is important and leads to character.

How can we trust that Vikings ownership will operate this team any differently then the way that this club has been operated in the past few years?I don't think that the Vikings have the character to be a successful team in the NFL. Firing Mike Tice isn't going to give them the character that they seek.Character comes from within and team ownership seems to lack the character necessary to operate a successful NFL franchise.

I hope that Mike Tice finds an assistant coaching position in the NFL. Hopefully Mike can learn from another head coach what it takes to be a head coach in the NFL.Tice wasnt really given a chance, because he was promoted to Vikings Head Coach too quickly when Dennis Green was fired four seasons ago.