Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is – The Final Chapter

In the final double-instalment of this seemingly never-ending saga, can the Chosen One Andy Thorn wave his magic wand and rid Hogwart’s….sorry, the Ricoh Arena….. of the evil spell cast upon it by the Dark Lord Boothroyd and show some signs of encouragement for next season?

At the end of March I’m over £210 up for the season, but the Sky Blues are hovering perilously close to the trap door…. 

Watford (H) – Won 2-0

ODDS: Watford win 15/8, Draw 12/5

MATCH RETURN: £10.00 down

CUMULATIVE RETURN: £203.48 up

MOOD: Delirious!!! Finally a win, and a much deserved one too, coupled with a clean sheet. Andy Thorn’s men take the improvements from his first two games in temporary charge and build on it with a tangible reward. Jutkiewicz could have had a hat-trick and with a bit more luck this could have been a rout. Is this really the same team that Aidy Boothroyd had?

Derby County (A) - Drew 2-2

ODDS: Derby win 13/10, Draw 5/2

MATCH RETURN: £1.25 up

CUMULATIVE RETURN: £204.73 up

MOOD: Like t’Burnley game last month, City got a decent draw from this away fixture but deserved more after taking a two goal lead. Sloppy defensive work just before the break let us down again and is one of the downsides to the more positive approach, but it’s much better to watch, so a point is probably acceptable provided the performances keep up to this standard.

Portsmouth (A) – Won 3-0

ODDS: Portsmouth win 15/13, Draw 12/5

MATCH RETURN: £10.00 down

CUMULATIVE RETURN: £194.73 up

MOOD: Unbelievable! City score three for only the second time this season and keep a clean sheet into the bargain. The scoreline flattered the Sky Blues a bit, with Pompey not taking advantage of some good opportunities and Mullins possibly being harshly sent off, but the Sky Blues were worthy winners. Another £10 lost. I couldn’t care less.

Millwall (H) – Won 2-1

ODDS: Millwall win 7/4, Draw 12/5

MATCH RETURN: £10.00 down

CUMULATIVE RETURN: £184.73 up

MOOD: 3 wins in 4 now, and the team are all but mathematically safe, but once again the team turn off just before the break and concede sloppily. City’s first came from a defensive error too, showing that attacking puts pressure on the opposition and leads to mistakes and opportunities (if you’re reading AB). A deserved red for Neil Harris gave City the upper hand in the second half, but struggled to take advantage by not stretching ten man Millwall, although the team did put pressure on and it finally paid off with a Marlon King winner. Nearly safe now, so another £10 I’ll happily wave goodbye to.

Scunthorpe United (H) – Drew 1-1

ODDS: Scunthorpe win 39/10, Draw 11/4

MATCH RETURN: £1.88 up

CUMULATIVE RETURN: £186.61 up

MOOD: Scunthorpe have really struggled this season and conceded a lot of goals, so I was actually hopeful this might be the first proper ‘tonking’ of the season and make the club mathematically safe at the same time, but it wasn’t to be. Despite taking another early lead, the Sky Blues couldn’t capitalise and once again let the opposition back into it approaching half time. In truth this was a pretty even game, with Scunthorpe scrapping for all they were worth. If there was going to be a winner it would have been Cov, but Scunny deserved their point. Given the huge odds maybe I’d have preferred to lose to get the money instead of the point, as although it made us mathematically safe even with a Scunthorpe win it’d take a miracle for the goal difference to have changed enough for City to go down. But that’s a dangerous game to be playing….

Middlesbrough (A) – Lost 1-2

ODDS: Boro win Evens, Draw 12/5

MATCH RETURN: £12.50 up

CUMULATIVE RETURN: £199.11 up

MOOD: Gutted that City lost this as they were worthy of a draw. Yet another late goal their undoing, but again I’d rather see the team going for the win than tamely sitting back defending a point. But with the Sky Blues safe and nothing left to play for every little helps.

Reading (H) – Drew 0-0

ODDS: Reading win 13/10, Draw 5/2

MATCH RETURN: £1.25 up

CUMULATIVE RETURN: £200.36 up

MOOD: A goalless draw to end the home season, but a very entertaining one and enough to get people excited about what next season may bring. I think I’d have either preferred the money resulting from a loss or to finish the home season on a high with a win, but Reading are on a good run and in the play-offs so a draw is a credible result.

Norwich City (A) – Drew 2-2

ODDS: Norwich win 2/3, Draw 16/5

MATCH RETURN: £3.00 up

CUMULATIVE RETURN: £203.36 up

MOOD: Given the very poor odds for this game against the already promoted Canaries, I’d have liked to finish off with a win, but Norwich aren’t playing in the Premier League next year because they’re a poor team. They’re good going forward, but we matched them all the way, with an entertaining draw a fair result all round. 

Over the course of the season I’ve made just over £200 profit, and the club could have finished very close to the play-offs before that’d been wiped out, so this is definitely something I’d recommend.

In terms of individual games, apart from the very worst defeats and the horrendous losing spell which seemed liked it was never going to end, the money did actually provide some solace, especially when the winnings practically covered the cost of a ticket. 

On the other hand, after a victory the money never even entered my head, so it did in fact work in improving my mood. 

So next season, when you’re tempted to have a flutter on a City win, consider putting your hard-earned on the opposition instead. It may feel a bit wrong at the time, but it really is almost a no-lose situation over the course of a season.