Barclays Premier League 2011/12 – post transfer window betting!

Betting was furious before the football season began with punters trying to cash in on early prices on a variety of markets. Some things began as expected with Man United, Man City and Chelsea getting off to good starts but Arsenal’s woeful performance against Man United in which they lost 8-2, led a lot of punters to think, “how many other fixtures are the Gunners going to let us down in, where we are going to waste our bets?” having already lost to Chelsea and drawn at Newcastle. Maybe Arsene Wenger’s dive into the transfer market could change his side’s fortunes, improve results and indirectly see the number of bets on his side increase.

Manchester United always attract a lot betting interest even before any transfers have been made but with the contraction of odds after United’s supreme performances at the beginning of the season the increase of predictions on the Manchester club’s success, accompanied by a bet, have increased substantially.

Many online bookmakers are reaping the benefits of the big spending before the transfer window with Arsenal signing up no less than 4 new players in the last week and Chelsea snapping up most significantly Juan Mata in the final days leading up to the close of dealing for the summer, hoping to improve their final standings. This has seen many punters in the UK go on the internet, open an account with an online bookmaker in anticipation of getting good odds on the upcoming games of side that has made big purchases just days before. Additionally, these punters are taking advantage of Free Bet offers from online bookmakers after making their first bet and it highlights how much emphasis the average punter or fan puts on big transfer deals.

Looking at the upcoming fixtures, with Chelsea and Arsenal spending big and it having some sort of effect on their results, I can see many free bets going on these sides as the odds will be attractive and the potential performances could improve compared to the weeks preceding the transfer window deadline.

To become a bettor on football matches instead of being simply a predictor of final results, is no easy task and history tells us that even some expensive buys don’t necessarily change the standings overnight. Therefore, before making a bet, it is advisable to watch the highlights of a couple of games post transfer window before committing hard earned money to a wager.