Arsenal v Middlesbrough - Harry's Big Day Out

By Harry Callaghan
September 8 2006

Last year I was lucky enough to be invited by Boro's main sponsors 888.com to take in the Boro v Arsenal game which of course we won 2-1.

The invite included free drinkies, a five course meal and a meet with some of the players after the match. And I could bring three of my pals as well...

After the initial shock of this invite the cynical side of Harry boy came out and conspiracy theories began to kick in.

Was this a hoax possibly set up by a Mr Steve Goldby who had his accomplice waiting in the bushes adjacent to the old Ayresome Park gates ready to take photos of Harry, Two Tribes and a couple of pals with the intention of blackmail?

I.e., come up with the money or these photos end up in the hands of the fashion police...

But no, 888.com picked me out for this freebie, because I am registered on their poker website and my email address is *****theborofan@ntlworld.com.

So the guy Steve from 888.com who was organising the match event said "he's obviously a Boro fan - we'll have him." So it was fuck all to do with the fact I've dropped quite a few bob on their poker website in the last three months.

Two in the afternoon and Steve, the fella from 888.com who was a very sociable young man led us into the Premier Lounge where we were greeted by a young lady carrying a tray of shampoo. I looked at Two Tribes and said "let the revelry begin." To which he replied, "Harry, where did it all go wrong?"

A few champers later and we went pitchside. The pitch was absolutely pristine. I have never seen a lawn as good as that anywhere in my life and I've been face down drunk in a few in my time.

Fifteen free bottles of Becks later along with steak, sticky toffee pud, cheese, soup and all the other gubbings, we left The Riverside having had one of my best days ever as a Boro fan.

I am not going to write a whole load of waffle but just put down a few facts, observations and a bit of gossip that I think may be of interest to a typical Boro fan.

Stewart Downing has a box at the ground. These are £28,000 a year with a minimum lease of three years.

My friend who is something to do with the local police informed me that one of Teesside's top unconvicted gangsters also has his own executive box as he recognised his name on the door. Say no more about that one.

Those padded seats are nowt flash and for some reason, I started becoming very vociferous at this game, which is just not me.

I usually just watch the game and maybe pass the odd comment but due to the drink and the fact that the prawn sarnie brigade around me were so passionless, the naughty boy in me came out and I started giving it rockall.

Arsenal fans cannot handle defeat like us because they are not used to it and when I gave them some gentle ribbing, and I mean gentle, they all fucked off. Jesus, I didnt even take my gun out of its holster.

Schwarzer was a good guy. We all had our photos taken with him and he chatted away. He didn't give the impression that he was bored shitless with some of the dumbarsed questions he was getting asked...

...one of them coming from me which was "Did you feel like a useless *unt when you let that goal in at the Millenium stadium?" JESUS, I'D HAD A GALLON.

When we came out of The Riverside it was about 9pm. There must have been roughly 150 to 200 people still waiting around for players leaving. Just to get a glimpse of them, a few words or an autograph, two hours after the game. That's something I've never done but hey, whatever floats your boat.

Obviously the result turned this from a special day to a very special day and all I can say to any Boro fan is if you get the chance to give it large at The Riverside, do it because its an experience.

An experience that I would not want to have for every match, but a couple of times a season I could handle.

Harry Callaghan

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LIVERPOOL v EVERTON NO-LOSE BET
by Harry Haverton

The Merseyside derby takes place on Saturday lunchtime and I've worked out a very easy no-lose bet for the match to continue our series of arbitrage specials which have already made a killing so far this season.

What we are going to do is back the draw with Betfred. If it comes in, we make a profit of £76 and if it's not a draw, we will break even as we are also going to lay the draw at Betdaq.

It is not possible to lose any money on this bet. Read on and you will find out how.

Betfred are offering new online customers a bonus of up to £100, completely free with your first bet. Whatever you win from your first bet, Betfred will give you an extra 100% on top, up to the value of £100. For example, if you win £100 with your first bet, they will double it up and give you another £100 completely free. And you can withdraw it immediately as well

We're going to lay out a total of £204.00 on the Everton v Liverpool match and we will collect £280 if it's a draw or break even if either team collects three points.

Here's how it's done. Just follow these simple instructions.

1. Open accounts with Betfred and Betdaq. This shouldn't take you any longer than five minutes.

2. Make the following deposits into your new accounts. Deposit £60 into your new Betfred account. Deposit £144 into your new Betdaq account.

3. Now make the following bets.

Place £60 on the draw 2/1 with Betfred.

Lay the draw with £60 at 3.4 (24/10) with Betdaq. You will need the £144 in your account to cover your liabilities on this bet.

You have temporarily laid out a total of £204. I stress, temporarily... Now sit back, crack a beer open, crank up Sky TV and enjoy the match.

4. Here's what happens at the end of the game.

If it's a draw, you will collect £280.00 from Betfred, including your stake back and your £100 bonus. This money can be withdraw immediately.

If either Liverpool or Everton win, you will collect £204.00 from Betdaq, which is exactly what you originally laid out on the match. Betdaq will also charge you a 5% commission on your winnings of £7.20 but if you make this bet, we will refund that to you by cheque on Monday morning, ensuring that there is absolutely no risk with this bet and that you CANNOT POSSIBLY LOSE ANY MONEY by doing this.

5. This means that the worst case scenario on the Everton v Liverpool match is one of the sides wins and you get all your money back. But if the draw happens, you will make a very healthy profit.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions at all about this bet and we will come straight back to you.

If the draw doesn't happen, you will need to contact us anyway so that we can send your £7.20 cheque to you.

This method of betting was used very successfully during the World Cup and you can read all about how it was done right here.

It's understandable that some people will not believe that it is possible to do this. "What's the catch?" I hear you asking. My answer to that question is that we have been publishing arbitrage bets for three seasons now and literally hundreds of people have profited from following the advice on these pages.

The only stipulation here is that you must click on the links on this page to be eligible for the £7.20 refund guarantee, if required. Stay posted for many more of these throughout the season.