Trading Result:
The game went almost exactly to plan. Manchester U dominated and, also as expected, the breakthrough did not come right away, in fact not until early in the 2nd half. I got in at around 1.3 for £30 profit. As Manchester U were in charge I decided to back them further at 1-0, securing a total match profit of £77. Since this was not recommended pre-match this is not reported in the official report but listed as "inplay" profit. This terminology will be adopted for future trades.

Inplay Profit = £47 Match Profit = £30

Total =£77

Trading Result:
If ever there were a match that demonstrated the value of trading rather than conventional gambling this was it. After 20 minutes it was already clear that the match was a closed shop – few chances and Rangers looked lethargic. Indeed it wasn’t until the last 20 minutes that the match opened out, with Rangers finally upping the tempo so the draw was layed (as were Cally for a small amount), yielding £35. However the 0-0 had also been covered with £6 hence the overall £29 profit (0-0 would have yielded a bigger profit). For the overs, I did not get in until average 2.9 having been under whelmed by the lack of goalmouth action. This was adjusted just after half-time giving a massive 66p profit on the trade (Total liability had been reduced to £42 on overs by the end)

Inplay Profit = £29 Match Profit = £0.66

Total =£29.66

Trading Result:
The first goal came after only thirty seconds (!) and so there wasn’t enough time to get the trade on. However, if you decided to get on the overs right away, well done, you would have made a very nice profit!

Real Madrid looked on top form from the start and some heavy in-play backing for Real on the Half-time and full-time markets still brought an overall profit of £82.

Inplay Profit = £82 Match Profit = £0

Total =£82

Trading Result:
The match started slowly and in all honesty I could not see an early goal coming. As the draw odds were higher than anticipated (4.2) I decided to wait until 3.5 to trade and if you had got in just when it hit 3.5 you would have made a very handy profit. Everything changed after 30 min's. when Athletic, true to form, missed a wonderful chance to take the lead, Aduriz spooning the ball over from 5 yards out. It was just then that the draw odds hit 3.5 but I just missed it for the Athletic miss seemed to finally spur Barca into life and a minute later they took the lead. So made nothing on the recommended trade, but you should have made something. However, I made an excellent profit in-play (£150) by first backing then laying Barca (Who never hit any sort of form) and then backing and laying the draw. The latter was rather risky since the price took longer to drop than I anticipated, although there were less than 10 minutes left! This is the first result I got wrong, but if I make as much profit from all such results then I will not complain. (I have not counted a further smaller profit made on the under's nor a £4 loss on the 0-0). However, if had followed my advice exactly you would also have made a tidy profit on the trade.

Inplay Profit = £150 Match Profit = £0

Total =£150

Trading Result:
The match went rather as anticipated but not the odds started at just over 1.6. The tactic was to make a small trade and wait for better odds. However an early goal put pay to the chance of an more substantial trade. A small cover trade on 0-0 meant that there was only a low profit on the trade (£12) but the bolder amongst you would have been able to profit nicely. The only real surprise is that Ajax’s victory margin wasn’t greater and 5-0 or 6-0 would have been a fairer reflection on the play. I have seldom seen so many appalling misses in one game! Backing Ajax further on the half-time and full-time markets brought a total match profit of £50.

Inplay Profit = £50 Match Profit = £12

Total =£62

Trading Result:
For the second match in a row there was an early goal. Now, you will remember that I advised you to trade on the overs to cover an early goal, but I must admit that I didn't expect one as early as 6 minutes, when Diego put Bremen in front. It seems to becoming a habit in my selected matches for there to be early goals (you will remember the Real Madrid match recently had a goal after 30 seconds!). So once more, due to the unfavorable odds I did not get on, but with Bremen controlling things in the first 20 minutes I was able to trade in and out (twice) to net £100 on the half-time market.

There was a rather tricky time when Bayern rallied after 20 minutes or so, but Bremen finished the half strongly. By the time of the missed penalty and equalizer from Bayern, I had had enough time to reduce my liability.

There was no trade in the second half. A nice profit at the expense of some half bitten nails. Next time I am trading on the overs before match begins to cover these early goals.

Inplay Profit = £100 Match Profit = £0

Total =£100

Trading Result:
As suggested, it was possible to trade out for no loss in the event of PSG taking the lead. Following the PSG equalizer a smaller trade on the lay was possible, bringing £30 profit on the trade after Marseilles went ahead.

Alas, with regard to the under's market, I was somewhat caught out on the award of a ridiculous PSG penalty and though I traded out partially after the goal, there was insufficient time before the Marseilles equalizer to avoid a £50 loss. I traded on the Marseilles win but also traded out substantially again in the second half when Marseilles started to make heavy weather of what should have been a comfortable win. (I lost count of the number of corner kicks that Marseilles conceded!). So this left only £10 profit and an overall loss of £10.

Trade profit: -£20

In-play profit: £10

Inplay Profit = -£20 Match Profit = £10

Total = -£10

Trading Result:
An excellent, entertaining match also yielded the small profit – had the first goal been a bit later I would have been for a larger amount, but was still able to lay the draw and trade out for £21 profit. as you will have read in previous reports I have been caught out too often previously by the early goal and was determined to avoid a repeat. Therefore I traded early on the overs – the open play in any case justified it- and this brought a further £17 profit (Following the trade outs at 1-0 and 1-1). The only surprise was that Roma finished on top, because they looked liked conceding several when they went 1-0 down, but in the end they probably just about justified the win due to the spirit of their fight back. Perhaps not as large a profit as I would have hoped for, but the early goals do tend to make things harder.

Inplay Profit = £0 Match Profit = £38

Total = £38

Trading Result:
If there is one thing that is predictable about Celtic, it is that they will score in the last 5 minutes, usually from a Nakamura free kick (for Nakamura read Larsson a few seasons back). This is especially true when Celtic are playing badly. Celtic’s performance was so uninspiring that I soon abandoned the plan of backing them in the first half, at least substantially. Certainly Celtic did most of the pressing yet the Saints defence looked comfortable for the most part. But nor did the Saints look like scoring so I backed unders (unfortunately not early enough to bring substantial profit – though this did yield £10.) There was only one slightly uneasy moment when Saints almost scored from a break away in the first half (as I had a £60 liability on Saints at the time!). I adopted a plan of backing the draw and trading out in stages, especially towards the end. I was looking out for the late goal – the only regret was that I did not make a more substantial trade but I did trade out at 1.3 for £30 profit.

Another trade on the half-time market brought my total profit for the match to £51. All in all a fairly uninspiring match but a satisfactory trade. I have counted only £5 of my total profit as the official trade -though it is hard to calculate exactly as my actual trade also involved the draw.

Inplay Profit = £5 Match Profit = £46

Total = £51

Trading Result:
The match went roughly as expected in the first half. It was no surprise when Roma took the lead. I got on lay gradually, at 2.8 average odds. However it was only a small amount so though I successfully traded out at 3.1 after the Roma goal, it only brought a paltry £4 profit. In the second half I was sufficiently impressed by Roma to lay Inter and after they went down to 10 men (through injuries) I was convinced that the man advantage would give Roam the win. Indeed, there were several occasions when they should have made it 2-0. At this stage I was sitting on what looked like a fairly safe £65 profit. Alas, Roma decided to shoot themselves in the foot when Mexes was sent off for second yellow card . Needless to say it was then an entirely different game and I therefore traded out of Roma, leaving a small further profit on the draw (£6). This was fully justified when, again unsurprisingly, Inter equalized. A little disappointing not to have a larger profit on this, but most of you should have been able to at least break even on this match (the bolder will have made a larger profit).

Inplay Profit = £4 Match Profit = £6

Total = £10

Trading Result:
Due to the high odds on the draw I decided against trading on the draw, preferring to wait to see if the odds dropped sufficiently prior to the first goal. With regard to the overs, although Manchester United were dominant, Lyons had decided to play it tight so I decided to trade on the unders instead – this is of course the beauty of in-play trading, you can switch according to evidence of your own eyes. I had traded out sufficiently by the time of the goal to have only a minor liability on overs. I repeated this with a smaller amount, trading out towards the end in case of late goals leaving a profit of £30. (In fact, when I had traded out sufficiently to ensure no loss I was able to switch to viewing to the Sevilla match which was far more exciting! However, had you decided to trade on the draw as suggested, you would also have profited as after the Manchester United goal the odds changes from over 4 to over 8 (extraordinarily high given Lyon’s strikers – indeed they hit the post and so almost pulled of the 1-1. But as I said, it is better to avoid laying when the odds are so high. So at least a profit with minimum risk! I have counted this as in-play profit since the trade suggested was the opposite.

Inplay Profit = £0 Match Profit = £30

Total = £30

Trading Result:
This match turned into an even better trading opportunity than I was expecting. In the first half it did not look like a goal would come for some time, despite Manchester United dominance. This enabled me to trade on unders and then trade out again as the odds dropped – with the intention of using this as a cover for my main trade on lay of overs. This worked a treat with only one dicey moment when United should really have taken the lead but for a goal line clearance from Johnstone. However, 5 minutes into the second half the odds on the draw were stubbornly hovering around 3.75.

I felt this was far too high, especially with Portsmouth making a fair showing at the start of the half – So I backed the draw with £20 and was able to start trading out 5 minutes later at 3.15 with total average odds of 2.8.

By 67 minutes I was in the happy position of no loss on overs and £120 profit on unders, with £20 profit on the draw and zero loss elsewhere. Given this situation, I decided I could afford to ‘risk’ waiting further to trade out further on the unders – even though I must say around 70 minutes a goal from United looked inevitable. In fact, by 75 minutes the world ‘miracle’ often came to mind that United had not scored. I will resist the cliché ‘name on the cup’. Yet, there was smoothing about Portsmouth’s dogged performance that made me feel it was worth waiting for a late goal (or no goal at all) . When Portsmouth nipped upfield for a breakaway penalty and goalkeeper sending off the clichés were indeed flying! Those who waited as advised for the odds to drop would have found an easy opportunity to trade out for profit after this. (Draw odds of around 4). A further quick lay and trade out on Manchester United netted a further £15 (I was hoping for an equaliser by the end as this would have given another £20 profit).

So a nice profit of £135 – as usual counted ‘in-play’ profit due to the change of strategy as the match unfolded.

Inplay Profit = £0 Match Profit = £135

Total = £135

Trading Result:
Those of you followed my advice to back Liverpool at better than 1.5 will have made a nice profit, because Liverpool’s first came just after the odds went over this. Alas problems with my video link meant I could not see the match and I prefer not to trade on matches that I cannot see. But well done to those who profited! Although I did not see the game, I assume from the scroreline that it was the recent version of Liverpool who turned up.

Inplay Profit = £0 Match Profit = £0

Total = £0

Trading Result:
In some ways, this went exactly as predicted, but the early goal from Reading was certainly the only surprise. Those who got in early on the overs will have done very well, but alas the goal came just a bit too early for me. A modest backing of Liverpool brought £8 profit. Not such a big sum as last time, but a win is a win!

Inplay Profit = £0 Match Profit = £8

Total = £8

Trading Result:
Great game which went as anticipated at the start. Lyon were all over PSG at the start and it was really no surprise when they took the lead after only 8 minutes. Those who took my advice to back overs in this case will have done nicely. I actually traded on Lyon instead as I felt a goal was inevitable.

My only regret was that I also decided to stagger my stake – so the profit on this was just £15. It looked at one stage that a rout was on the cards, especially when Fred grabbed his second. However, Lyon then became complacent and PSG fought back to 2-2. It took the second goal to finally wake up Lyon and at this stage I decided to lay PSG. A further small back of Lyon brought total profit to £40. Again, I have counted this as in-play profit.

Inplay Profit = £0 Match Profit = £40

Total = £40

Trading Result:
The game went exactly to plan. As predicted few goals and the one that did come was late on in the second half, Although Celtic dominated the first half in terms of possession they never looked too dangerous so it was not a complete surprise when Rangers took the lead. The timing allowed me to back under's once more, having already largely traded out of my original stake. I got on originally at 1.75 and traded out for average odds of 1.42. Even better, second time round the odds dropped quickly so I was able to trade in at 1.65 and trade out for average odds of around 1.33. This brought total profit on the trade to £162. A much smaller trade on Rangers in-play brought the total profit to a handy £170.

Inplay Profit = £8 Match Profit = £162

Total = £170

Trading Result:
This proved a tricky game thanks to Boro’s habit of playing out of their skin against the top 4. United started strongly and scored early on. The goal was so early that I only had time to put a small amount on them. At this stage it looked like United were on course for an easy win but I did warn you before the match that Boro can turn it on when least expected, Alas the Boro goal came out of the blue and so was on £100 deficit when Boro took the lead. Worse, at 1-1 I was just about to lay the draw when Boro scored again (we decided that the best course of action was to wait for the draw odds to less than 3 but they just had just hit that when Boro scored!).

I managed to reduce the loss on the draw further by trading in and out of Boro (at 2-1) and further back and lay of the draw (at 2-2) reduced the loss to £80. A side trade of laying 2-1 also delivered £40 bringing the overall loss down to £40. Slightly unfortunate start to the trading room but it can happen, and although the game did not go according to plan, (and United’s worse performance in some time, in fact at one time they were really struggling for the point) you would at least have been able to reduce your losses by sensible in-play trading. We look forward to a more positive result next time in the chat room!

Inplay Profit = £0 Match Profit = £0

Total = - £40

Trading Result:
What a game this was – and the plan to lay the draw immediately paid off when Arsenal took the lead early on. A later goal would have increased profit but having laid at 3.2 before the match it was possible to get out at 4.0 after the goal, leaving a profit of £40 (and of £20 had the game finished level). A further small trade on half-time market brought total profit to £42 and a further trade on the overs/under 2.5 brought £5. Back to form! And more pleasing result for the second trading room event.

Inplay Profit = £7 Match Profit = £40

Total = £47

Trading Result:
My final sentence in the preview could not have been more prophetic. It was an absolutely stupendous game with goalmouth incidents galore. Though a few of you who joined the chat room were concerned that you had missed the boat for trading out due to the speed of the equalizer, coming 2 minutes after Milan’s opener, I was not too concerned as the first-half was incredibly open and peppered with defensive errors. So 2-2 at half-time was a fair refection of the play. By this time I had been able to lay and trade out twice, bringing profit to £44. I also advised people to wait until the draw odds dropped until 2.0 before laying again as the second half became somewhat tighter; but another goal always looked likely. This brought total profit to £64. A further small profit on the half-time market was cancelled out by a £5 cover bet on 0-0 made before the start. Another good result of the trading room!

I would just like to say well done to Ted who took my advice to lay the draw again at odds of 2.0 for £81 profit. Using different stakes he actually made £177 from my inplay support on this match, which was the 1st time he had every traded!

Inplay Profit = £20 Match Profit = £44

Total = £64

Trading Result:
We came very close to securing an even larger profit, but alas the goal came seconds before I had planned to trade out – a long range effort (Very lucky, but that last comment is tongue in cheek). However, by trading again on under's and then trading out at around 2.0 I was able to ensure no loss on overs for myself and the room joiners. At 1-1 this was turned into a small profit for all (£10 in my case), by backing and laying again quickly as the odds dropped. Now, at 1-1 it looked inevitable that a goal would be scored, yet I also had a feeling that Rangers could hold out with 10 so the in room joiners were told to lay the draw in a cautious way, retaining an overall profit. I must admit that this looked to be correct with only 2 minutes left and the scores still tied. But the main thing is that a profit was secured for all! We move on to the next one.

Inplay Profit = £10 Match Profit = £0

Total = £10

Trading Result:
Roma probably blew their faint Scudetto hopes here. They totally dominated until well after their somewhat unimaginative attacking moves deservedly brought the lead. Until then, Livorno had shown little or no attacking ambition. So this, accompanied with the lack of the imagination from Roma and the injury to Totti encouraged me to tell our trading room traders to wait for better value before backing Roma (and the 0-0 was also covered with £19 as I have seen many games of this type end in stalemate). This allowed me to get on at average odds of 1.35 – though we had to wait until the end of the first half for the odds to rise sufficiently. This approach seemed to have been justified when Roma took the lead after 54 minutes. After the Roma goal we advised a trade out at average odds of 1.1, which was also fully justified when Livorno equalised. This left just £10 profit, and a further trade and trade out on the draw (still available at 1.4 with just minutes left!) increased this to £15. So altogether just £5 here, but the cautious approach helped us avoid a potential large loss and after we traded out our attentions largely turned to the exciting events at Ewood Park!

Inplay Profit = £5 Match Profit = £0

Total = £5

Trading Result:
A game that went precisely as expected. Of course football being football there had to be at least one expected incident which came with the superbly taken own goal in the 94th minute (With due commiserations to any Reds fans, I know how you feel following the recent Old Firm derby). Up to that point Chelsea really did not look like scoring, but the unders market went exactly to form and by the time of the goal the chat room participants had been advised to trade out fully. And of course we were able to go on unders again particularly as the goal came so close to half-time, trading out again during the early stages of the 2nd half. This left a total profit of £60 on this market. , With regard to laying the draw, as usual we traded out again following the Livepool goal leaving no loss on the draw. So a total profit of £60 (would have been £100 without the Risse magic).

Inplay Profit = £60 Match Profit = £0

Total = £60

Trading Result:
We got caught out by 2 early goals on the unders and were not able to trade out in time – alas this left a loss of £120, but we fared better on the lay draw market, which we are able to get into twice, at 1-1 and 2-2 (the latter giving the best profit). Alas, still an overall loss of £55 to report, but overall the results for the season have been good; I was even more unhappy by the thought the Rangers may struggle now given their mounting injuries, suspensions and fixtures. Still there is always the Scottish Cup against the mighty Queen of the South (and the dream of the quadruple is not entirely dead, but it will be a lot harder). We move on for more profits next time!

Inplay Profit = £0 Match Profit = £0

Total = - £55

Trading Result:
Ironically United started poorly and as we could not see a goal coming we missed out on the lay draw when Scholes superb strike gave United the lead against the run of play.  After that United really turned on the style so we decided to back United on the half-time market, trading out gradually as Barcelona came more into it toward the end of the half. This brought £21 profit.  Given the way the game developed the chat room participants were advised to leave over 2.5 alone.  A further smaller trade on United brought £19 and the 1-0 score line was also backed with a very small amount with intention of trading out to give a profit on any other score.   But as it did not look like a goal was coming I advised against laying the 1-0 score line, bringing total profit to £49.  So back to profit again, feels nice after the last one, but it would have been higher had United not lulled us into thinking they were not going to score.

Inplay Profit = £49 Match Profit = £0

Total = £49

Trading Result:
This was probably the poorest game I have seen between these two teams for some time. A dull first half was not only marginally more open in the second half. Consequently although we traded in for a small amount on over 2.5 the chat room participants were shortly afterwards advised to trade out again for no loss on unders. However, the lack of clear cut chances gave us an opportunity to trade on the draw at half-time, getting in at 1.49 with £96 and trading out most of this at 1.28 for £19 profit. Similar trading and lay on the draw for the full-time market brought a further £15 profit.

Shame about the result though, but still the quadruple dreams are alive.

Inplay Profit = £34 Match Profit = £0

Total = £34

Trading Result:
As with the Hibs game, chances were few and far between in the first half though a goal always looked more likely, We got in on the overs 2.5 but again only for a small amount and I decided to trade out mainly on this to leave small loss only. But this was more than compensated by our lay of the draw which came home nincely. But given Milan’s dominance I decided to lay Inter further, which also paid off as Milan made it 2-0. A further slightly riskier lay of Inter (risky due to liability) was balanced by a small amount on the draw – which was just as well as Inter came back into the game. But Milan held out well to ensure a total profit of £34. with the small loses on the overs and a £5 cautionary on 0-0 total profit here was £27

Inplay Profit = £0 Match Profit = £27

Total = £27

Trading Result:
The odds on over's were a miserly 1.4 and 15 minutes in they were still less than 1.5. At these odds I decided it was better to risk missing the first goal and waiting for a drift upwards, Sure enough the first goal came before we could get on, so I am afraid we missed out (But trades elsewhere compensated!).   As Hannover obviously had decided they would rather be on the beach, we backed Bremen with the score at 1-0, which yielded the £8 profit.  Well done to those who decided to ignore the odds as you will have profited nicely, but over the course of a season it is best to chase value. 

Inplay Profit = £8 Match Profit = £0

Total = £8

Trading Result:
The opening game went almost exactly to plan. In fact, the first-half was so devoid of serious goalmouth incident that I was able to advise the in-play participants to wait a little more before trading out of under 2.5.

The opposite was true of the match market. We did start to trade on the lay draw, but as the first half trundled on with defences on top, and since we had already tied in a nice profit on the under 2.5 I decided that we should reduce our liability on the lay draw. This tied in our profit nicely: Due to the tight defences I was able to trade quite aggressively on under 2.5, backing unders at average odds of 1.37 (Since we went in again after the goal) and trading out at average odds of 1.19 for £99 overall profit. A small loss (on the match odds trade out) of £3 was balanced with a similar small win on correct score to leave a nice overall profit to start our Euro 2008 in-play trading!

Profit made on this trade = £99

Davids Trading Result:
I had wanted to wait a few minutes to assess how play was developing so the penalty after 4 minutes came too soon to allow a lay of the draw, though some of the in-play participants did get on before the match started.

Ironically, the subsequent play from late in the first half through to the end justified the decision to be cautious about backing Croatia – even if it would have brought a profit. But in the first 30 minutes Austria were as dire as everyone expected, and this allowed me to trade on Croatia at 1.17 average odds for the half-time win, backing out as Austria came into it at average 1.09 for a £9 profit. But Austria were mot much worse than Croatia for long spells after this period, and the longs spells of inactivity in the second half, with Austria probing but getting nowhere, allowed a trade on unders at 1.22 trading out again 1.15 for £36 profit. We were a bit unlucky with the early goal as there were no significant shots in the first 20 minutes, but those getting in early on the lay draw bet will have done well.

Profit made on this trade = £45

Davids Trading Result:
This game was all that I had hoped, especially after the dire effort served up earlier by France and Romania. As planned, we layed the draw, staggering our stake and had already placed more than half our intended stake prior to the first goal. We were all impressed by Netherlands from the outset, and I was able to lay Italy in a timely fashion (with the intention of trading out if Italy started to get in gear). But of course this was not necessary as Netherlands obliged with the 2-0. By this time I was already £77 in profit and further backing and laying of Holland increased this to £100. There was smaller trade on overs (originally we backed unders but the room participants were advised to back out quickly as the game was clearly so open – indeed I told them to back out just before Netherlands almost took the lead, when Van Nistelrooy decided to be honest by not falling down in the penalty box). So overall a very nice £97 profit as we also had a small £5 bet on 0–0.

The room participants once more benefited nicely.

Profit made on this trade = £97

"Although the match did not go as expected, the highlight was perhaps when the in-players were advised to lay Germany - moments before Croatia made it 2-0"

Profit made on this trade = £30

Our Trading Result:
What a superb game.  As I mentioned to in-play people at the start, I felt there would be goals here, so it was a pity that I decided to concentrate on the match trade, nevertheless this also proved profitable; we layed the draw at 3.15 (average odds) - and after Netherlands scored I felt there was not enough threat from France to justify a full trade out - so we traded out for half our potential loss at 4.1, this left a £40 profit on Netherlands.  We did have to ride our luck a little at 1-0, but the second goal gave us confidence! I traded further on Netherlands, and despite the brief anxiety at 2-1, Robben's brilliant third for the Dutch justified our confidence and gave a total of £63 profit.   It was a pity about  the £30 on unders which I had forgotten to cancel (It happens sometimes when I am preoccupied with advising) and which was not taken, it seemed to me, until after Netherlands scored. Anyway,  I decided just to leave it, so overall a £33 profit.  Our participants were told to trade out of unders quickly as it was clear from the outset that it was an open game.

Profit made on this trade = £33

Trading Result:
To say this was an astonishing game is total understatement.  The game looked done and dusted until Cech’s error brought Turkey back into it.  We started well, trading out of unders for no loss before the first goal (which in view of subsequent events was just as well.  After the first goal we traded out  - but as Czech were at this stage dominant, we diced to risk a partial trade out.  When Czech made it 2-0 that looked to be a correct decision, but the last 3 goals caught us out ( I am sure I am not the only one)!  So I am afraid I have to report a £52 loss here.

Profit made on this trade = - £52

Profit made on this trade = £85

Our Trading Result:
Another cracking game and all the participants came out with a nice profit.
We went on the lay draw as planned, though as we staggered our stake I could have done with a slightly later goal as I was about to put the bulk of my trade at 3.2 just as Germany scored. However, we did get on with some at the start to cover this, and further trading on this market brought a profit of £47.  Although a little unlucky that the profit was not greater, this was more than compensated with my trade on Germany on the h/t market -as I was about to trade out of it when Germany made it 2-0, so this netted a nice £81, bringing total profit to a cool £128. So a nice way to finish before my break.  And I am pleased to report a 7 out 8 success rate for our Euro 2008 trades. In fact, had I listened to my own advice on the Turkey game, this would have been 8/8 (as in-players were advised to trade out of it at 1-0, but of course Turkey's come back was rather exceptional).  All in all a good tournament!

Look forward to seeing you again in the trading room next season!

Profit made on this trade = £128

Our Trading Result:
A very successful and at the same time unlucky first trade of the season. If that sounds contradictory, I will explain. We traded successfully on the lay draw, but had to wait a long time to get average odds of 3.1 for £50.  We had to wait since the odds on the draw had shot up to 4.0 before kick off (unluckily, since it was 3.4 at time of the recommendation).  Anyway, the first Villa goal meant we were  able to trade out at average odds of 7.5 no less (since it came in the 2^nd half) with £13 to leave a profit on all options.  As a goal looked very likely in the first half we also covered this by backing overs with £20.  Since no goal came by half-time we traded out again for no loss on unders. At 1-1 the in-play participants were advised to trade on overs again to cover any loss on overs. Just 30 seconds later the goal came and I managed to get out for only £5 loss on this – alas some of the participants were just too late as the third goal came only 3 minutes later.  Hence the bad lack, but 6 goals following a goalless first-half is highly unusual!  Still, overall a £32 profit– and the lesson learned is you have to act quickly when games like this open out.

Man U V Newcastle – decided against a trade as felt United were less convincing today – as proved to be the case.

Profit made on this trade = £32

Our Trading Result:
We staggered our stake for better odds. The first goal came when £60 had been layed at average odds of 3.3 (another 5 minutes and we would have gone below 3.1, but that's football!).  I then traded out with £38 at average of 5.1.  Rangers looked fairly in control so we decided to leave somewhat more on the win than the draw following our trade out.  The dreaded equaliser against the run of pay came almost with last kick of the first-half.  This left a profit of £18 which was increased to £28 by backing the draw and trading out again at less than 2.0.  We also had a minor trade on the unders (bringing profit of £2) and a further loss of £5 on 0-0 gave an overall profit of £25. 

Profit made on this trade = £25

Our Trading Result:
This proved quite a straightforward trade.  The draw was duly layed with £100 at average odds of 3.3.  After the goal the draw was backed with £60 for average odds of 4.9.  Another 5 minutes and we would have put more on at 3 or below.  Portsmouth never really threatened in the 2nd half so overall a profit of £34 (including the £6 on 0-0).  Some of the participants also traded successfully on the over 2.5 but I left this alone tonight. (I did not count my lay trade on Portsmouth as it was not part of the official trade).   

Profit made on this trade = £34

Our Trading Result:
I enjoyed this one!   The first 30 minutes were typically cagey and for this reason I advised our in-play participants to stagger their stake. So when the first goal came, out of the blue (pardon the pun), we only had about half our stake on the draw trade (in my case £75).  Since Rangers took the lead it meant that our trade out options were poorer but in any case we did not get time to trade out since Celtic equalised only 100 seconds later. This proved to be a blessing in disguise since the game totally opened out after this and we therefore decided to lay the draw again with a further £75 at considerably lower odds (my average lay odds were now 2.8).  It was no surprise when another goal came (and I was not complaining that it was from Rangers!).  I then traded out at average 3.5 with £102 to leave £48 profit (and very small liability on the draw).  Some people also profited by backing over 2.5 but I decided against it since until the first one came neither goal keeper was call into action  But after the first goal, it turned into a classic (though perhaps not from Celtic fans' perspective!) with Rangers racing into a 4-1 lead.  There was smaller profit (£4) on half-time draw which was countered by an equal loss on the 0-0 cover.

Profit made on this trade = £48

Our Trading Result:
As our attention was still largely on the Old Firm derby we had not had time to get on this one before Chelsea took the lead. But when Spurs equalised we thought we were on to another good trading opportunity.  Fortunately the participants were advised to stagger their stake on the draw, since by this time it also became apparent that Chelsea's attack were misfiring.  I could not see Spurs scoring either so we covered our liability by backing 1-1.  As the game went on (and a goal seemed even less likely) the advise was to play safe by reducing overall liability and just go for a small profit on either a Chelsea win or the draw (through a mix of backing Chelsea and the draw or alternatively laying Spurs).  Towards the end we also reduced the liability on Spurs by backing them at 15 or better.  The 1-1 brought £12 profit, giving a total profit of £19 (£7 profit was left on the draw).

Profit made on this trade = £19

Our Trading Result:
The cautious approach once more paid off here. It did not take a rocket scientist to see we were struggling for a goal here -even in the second half when it did open out a bit more. The first significant threat on either goal took 42 minutes. Needless to say participants were advised to leave over 2.5 alone. Therefore, after initially laying the draw (at good average odds, 2.9) we advised to make sure that the 0-0 back covered the liability on the draw. Indeed we reduced this to less than our profit on 0-0 by backing and laying the draw during suitably 'quiet' moments in the 2nd half.  Sure, the cautious approach sometimes means we miss bigger potential profits, but it paid off well 2 in a row here.  The result was a further 'steady' profit of £27 (£45 profit on 0-0 a £18 loss on the draw).  As to my friends who attended this, my commiserations, it was a fairly awful game, especially in contrast to our first today.  And not a bad return for our first 'triple bill', £94

Profit made on this trade = £27

Our Trading Result:
As I suspected before the match, this proved somewhat tricky, but we came out OK in the end.  Poland started easily the better team and Slovenia seemed to be living up to their reputation for poor form away from home.  We therefore layed the draw (just for £10 as we intended to stagger our trade) and also layed Slovenia for £10..  Things were going according to script when Poland took the lead from an admittedly dodgy penalty.  Right up to the 1-0 and beyond Poland looked in complete control and should have gone two up when Błaszczykowski (yes, I had to copy and paste the spelling!)hit the post and the ball was cleared off the line.  Therefore the advice was not to trade out of the draw bet right away; of courser this proved the incorrect decision as Slovenia equalised soon after (I am afraid the crystal bowl had a temporary malfunction).  However, after that Poland were poor and I felt it was unlikely they would score again quickly – so we traded on the draw again to eliminate our liability and then layed the draw again as the odds dropped, leaving a small profit on both the draw and the Poland win.  This was certainly the correct decision as Poland never really looked like scoring and as the half wore on it became clearer that Slovenia were happy to settle for what for them is an excellent result. In the end £15 was left on the draw.  So overall a small profit and the main thing is that the 100 per cent record for the season remains in tact!  Total profit was £5 since the 0-0 was backed with £10.

Profit made on this trade = £5

Our Trading Result:
This was precisely the opposite of our last trade where nails were severely bitten before securing the (small) profit.  And at last a really good performance from England.  It was certainly the best since the 5-1 win against Germany though clearly the extra man helped.  I layed the draw for £100 and much to my surprise I was able to get on at average 2.96 by staggering the trade as the odds came down fast.  After the goal we traded out at average with £72 at average 3.86.  I advised leaving the most profit on the win since by this time I was already impressed by England’s performance.  In the second half I also layed Croatia early on but will not include that as it wasn’t mentioned. But after the sending off I felt England were good value at 1.25 so I advised backing that (in my case with £60) to bring a total profit of £41 (minus a further £2 put on the draw).  The timing was perfect as it came just before Walcott made it 2-0.   And to top off a really good evening Scotland won as well!

Profit made on this trade = £41

Our Trading Result:
Well I did say in the preview that I would not rule out the home win. But given the way United started, it certainly looked unlikely.  Strangely, as the game went on, United seemed to go more and more into their shell. Anyway, as per our strategy we layed the draw, getting £50 on at average odds of 3.07.  We intended to get more on as the odds drifted down but of course the early goal ruled that out. Since at this stage I felt that United were the likely winners we advised keeping more on the result so only traded out at 4.0 with £35. We did not mind that it turned out to be Liverpool that finished on top, and certainly their winner came as no surprise given the pressure. (I have not reported a further profit I made by a lay trade on Liverpool just before United scored -since it came only about 15 seconds before the United goal (!) and the participants clearly did not have enough time to respond).

Profit made on this trade = £15

Our Trading Result:
Perfect trade on the match bet.  But alas also we were a little unlucky with a trade on the overs/unders market.  I decided that the opening was a little cagey so backed under with £66 with a view to trading out after 10 minutes or so when the odds had dropped to 1.5. Indeed we started to trade out right away (and I was worried about the Robinho free- kick so advised trading out a little more!) Alas when the goal went in I still had a £45 liability on overs, and decided we would have time to trade in and out again so backed under again (with £30)  before the goal.  Of course sometimes this goes against you and we could not have anticipated the next goal coming only 2 minutes later.  Subsequently did trade out a little more for a loss of £65. Well that's the bad news. In contrast our main trade went really well. We laid the draw as planned. After the goal I traded out again leaving a profit of £15 on the result.  However, after the 1-1, and partly in view of the liability on overs, I decided that it was well worth getting in on the lay draw bet again with £100 at average 2.8.  After the goal I was able to trade out with £30 at 6.6 leaving a nice profit of £85. (I advised not to trade out right away as I expected Chelsea to hold out or increase their lead, as provided to be the case). So overall a profit of £20 and the 100 per cent record in tact!  

Profit made on this trade = £20

Our Trading Result:
We layed the draw as planned, in my case  with £65.  In retrospect a little more would have helped as shortly before Villa scored I mentioned to the in-players that an early goal was likely. Of course 2 minutes later Villa scored and there was not time to get more on. Still given Villa's dominance I advised keeping more on the result, and so traded out with £50 at average odds of 3.95.  Given how poor Spurs were in the first half I also layed Spurs on the h/t market at 26 trading out at 40 (the trade out started as soon as Spurs decided they should do some attacking of their own). We will do more of such trades especially for chat room participants.  This brought total profit to £24.  We could have done with a later goal but to use the old cliché a little is better than none. Total Profit: £24

Aside for trading room participants:
We will look for further opportunities to add 'in play only trades' in our
future games (as with the h/t market desribed above). NB: These can be dangerous trades so do not do them unless you are experienced or are joining us in the trading room - speed is essential to make these work as you sometimes have to trade out again very quickly. (We will also look for breaks in play to trade in and out of market for little or no risk (in fact there was a good opportunity during this game due to an injury but we hadn't been looking for it so could not get on in time).

Profit made on this trade = £24

Our Trading Result:
This was quite a straightforward trade.  We were able to make a small profit by trading out after the Manchester United goal.  It was rather a pity that United scored first and so early on (as mentioned in the preview, the precise opposite would have increased our profits substantially).  After the goal Chelsea were clearly on top. We layed the draw (in my case with £120 at average odds 3.13) and traded back out with £100 at 3.65 for a total net profit of £10.  With £5 on the 0-0 that brought a small net profit of  £5.

Profit made on this trade = £5

Our Trading Result:
This game at had an incredibly poor atmosphere and right up to about 55 minutes in it was clearly having a very negative affect on the game. I had planned to trade with more, but in the end traded on the lay draw with just £90 at average odds 3.2 - we were able to wait safely for lower odds due to the complete absence of any significant attacking prowess from either team.
But how things changed in our favour later on - as I advised waiting for the odds to come up before trading out after the first Spurs goal and therefore we did not get out before Spurs scored twice to leave a nice profit of £90! (Later traded out with £6 at 26 after the second goal!).  However, so concerned was I about the chances of 0-0 that unusually I decided we should get on with this late on as cover (£40 at 4.8). This was looking a good call until just before the goal (By which time I had traded out with £4)   A further £5 profit came for backing unders with £50 at 1.9 and trading out with £55 at average odds 1.5. ( I will not count a further £30 profit backing half-time draw- as I did not recommend it to the participant feeling it could still be a risky one).  So overall a nice profit here of £53.

Profit made on this trade = £53

Our Trading Result:
The game was reasonably open and it was no surprise when the first goal came for Milan, who seemed in control for large chunks of the game. I layed the draw with £100 at average odds of 2.91 (and would have put on more as the odds were drifting down nicely).  The goal for Milan meant our profits were not as large as we would hope, but we still managed to trade out with £76 at average odds of 3.7, keeping slightly more profit on the win, for total profit of £24.

Profit made on this trade = £24

Our Trading Result:
I layed the draw with £95 at average odds of 3.2.  After the goal I traded out with £83 at average odds of 3.6 for total profit of just £6.
Unfortunately I was not able to focus on the Manchester United game but well done to anyone who backed them.  In the Zenit game the first goal came just too quick for me, (But if you had laid the draw at the start you would have done well) so a quiet night, but we move on to the next one for hopefully a larger profit!

Profit made on this trade = £6

Our Trading Result:
I have never known a day like this for trading in my life.  I listed all 3
matches that we traded on because it is so rare to have these score lines together (we left the Italy game alone, but as I write this I hear it finished 0-0 as well!).  The amazing thing is we managed to finish on top overall (though my 100 % record is spoiled by a £2 loss on the Ukraine game).  Of course the chances against 0-0 in all 3 (or should I make that 4) trades are astronomic. Well over 1,000-1. I think this shows the value of the chat room though our new participants must have been wondering what was going on and we did have to ride our luck a little to come out on top.  So let's take this in order.

Firstly on the Scotland game I was fairly confident of a goal though I
expected no more than 1 or 2. However all that changed when Iwelumo missed and I began to remember my own words from the preview, ".there is concern that Burley may decide to throw in the untested Iwelumo".  His miss was astonishing and the fact that he replaced McFadden (who looked easily the most likely to score) for me sealed the decision to shift the loss from the draw.  Not everyone kept up with the frantic trading required so I changed my method of instructing the participants for the next 2 which as you will see proved an invaluable decision (See below).  I layed the draw at average odds below 3.0 and with the trade out backed again the draw and 0-0 to
finish with a profit on both options. This I did by backing the draw and
then laying again at lower odds, in addition to a similar tactic for the
0-0.  My final figures were: backed draw with £201 at 1.91 and lay draw with £173 at 1.98 to leave £38 profit. On the 0-0 I backed with £32 at 2.3 and layed with £24 at 1.08 (all average odds) to come out with a profit of £37 and overall £75. There were a couple of narrow escapes but by this time my loss would have been no more than around £50.  Most participants came out OK aside from one guy for whom I changed my instructions method for next 2.

Profit made on this trade = £75

Our Trading Result:
Did I say déjà vu?   It was a similar story to the Ukraine game, but by this time I was not fearing a 0-0 I was just taking it for granted!  So about 60-65 minutes in we started our trade out again by backing the draw and the 0-0 - and we only left ourselves with at worst a £60 loss at any one time (which was quickly reduced as we layed the draw again).  Our final figures were: Layed draw with £130 at 1.8 and backed draw with £142 at 1.77 (average odds) for £4.51 profit.  Backed 0-0 with £15 at 2.33 and layed 0-0 with £18 at 1.24 for profit of £14.95. So an overall profit of £19.45. I think a successful day given that all 3 did not go as expected.  On to the next one, and I do not want to see another 0-0 for some time!

Profit made on this trade = £19

Our Trading Result:

I decided to cover this as a 'bonus' trade rather than the Italy game as it filled the gap before our main trade, the Sweden - Portugal game.  We layed the draw but this time just with £38 (but at odds much lower than 3) as I was beginning to get this 'déjà vu' sensation as it finished 0-0 at half-time.  When it was clear that both teams thought they were playing in Scotland game, we used the same tactic for our trade out, backing the 0-0 and draw (and trading out again at lower odds), as above, and escaped with an overall loss of just £2.  (This was a £27 profit on the 0-0 and a £29 loss on the draw).

Profit made on this trade = -£2

Trading Result:
We backed 0-0 with £5 and also staggered our trade on Manchester United. We also backed United after the first goal as I felt that more goals were likely.  Altogether we matched £143 at average odds of 1.14 for profit of £20. Overall £15.

Profit made on this trade = £15

Trading Result:
We had 4 pieces of really bad luck (which prevented a larger profit),
followed by one piece of luck (which prevented a loss).  However, we felt that given the catalogue of misfortune that preceded our lucky stroke, that it was deserved.  Firstly, the goal after 38 seconds meant we were too late to get in, as we switched from the United game just 3 minutes later (having already secured the profit with 15 minutes left in that one).  Nevertheless we got on Real with £50 at 1.53 as I felt that they were offering far more threat than Atletcio. Then 2 perfectly good Real goals were wrongly ruled out for offside.  When Atletico went down to 10 men I felt it was game over and we backed Real again with a view to trading out. However then came the sending off of Van Niestelrooy. Again a strange decision.  We traded out after that gradually, but when Atletico equalised we were on a small loss.
Then came our lucky stroke with the penalty to save our profit of £25 on the match bet.  We also backed 1-1 with £2 so overall a £23 profit.  A complicated but ultimately successful trade!

Profit made on this trade = £23

Our Trading Result:
Occasionally I will do special bonus trades just for people who have joined the trading room.  We joined this one at half-time, and if the last one was complicated then this was more so and I had to some fairly nimble trading to have us come out with a small profit (built on mix of backing and laying the draw as well as backing and laying Lille).

Profit made on this trade = £8

Our Trading Result:
I backed Rangers with just £22 at average odds of 1.34, since I was rather concerned that the conditions were making it difficult and wanted to wait for higher odds.  The decision was justified when Hamilton took the lead; after this I got back in with £75 at average odds of 1.65 when Rangers equalised for a total profit of £56. If you decided to lay Hamilton at 1-0 as recommended in the preview you would possibly have done even better than this.

Profit made on this trade = £56

Our Trading Result:

So this is indeed a new Liverpool (for now anyway!); the early goal came at inconvenient time as were just beginning to trade out of our £70 back of under 2.5 (at around 1.68).  But I was fairly confident there would not be another goal right away so we backed under again to increase our odds on the trade out, finishing with an £8 profit (I did not want to risk a high liability on overs, hence the heavy trade out).  Because of the early goal we had only laid the draw for £10, but as Liverpool rarely looked under threat we only partially traded out and indeed backed and laid Liverpool again to finish with £14 profit.  So overall £22 profit.

Profit made on this trade = £22

Our Trading Result:
Well done PSG, but I was rather miffed that you waited until the 2nd half! We decided not to lay the draw due to the high odds -good decision as after the early PSG goal they dropped further. But I am afraid we got caught out on the half-time market having layed Marseilles with a view to trading out. The Marseilles goal caught us out though we did manage to partially trade out but not before the 2nd Marseilles goal shortly before the interval so the first loss of any significant amount to report this season (£45).  Sill, not a bad weekend overall. We also had £5 on 0-0 so overall -£50

Profit made on this trade = -£50

Our Trading Result:
I layed Hull with £22 at 8.8 before the start; I was going to get on Chelsea as well but preferred to wait until I could see the match and of course while I was trying to get my feed working the first goal came (after only 3 mins).  I really could not see Chelsea giving it away so we backed Chelsea with a further £122 at 1.14 (some would have got higher odds); we would have traded out had Hull posed any kind of threat in the 2nd half, but they never looked in the game after the interval so a total profit of £38.

Profit made on this trade = £38

Our Trading Result:
So the 'good' Arsenal turned up.  We layed the draw with just £20 at 3.2 (I was hoping for the draw odds to drift down faster than materialised).  After trading out at around 3.8 this left just £3 on the result, but after 2-0 I felt the odds on Arsenal were generous given how well they were coping with United's attacks so we were able to back them(The draw had been also covered by the time United got the goal).  We also layed and backed Untied to give a profit of just £9.  We had a small further profit on the over/under 2.5 to bring total profit to £10.

Profit made on this trade = £10

Our Trading Result:
To be honest this was a rather inept attacking display from Rangers.  I layed Motherwell with £28 at average odds of 6.9 and traded out partially with £4 at average odds of 31.9.  Rangers were on top going into the last 20 minutes so we decided not to trade out completely.  Motherwell pressed a bit at the end but by this time we were able to substantially reduce our liability.  So total profit of £23.

Profit made on this trade = £23

Our Trading Result:
Celtic really dominated as expected, so much so that I decided to trade in even after the first goal, backing them at average odds of 1.11 with £111 for a profit of £11.  So it was some consolation for the further damage to the 'Gers title chances.

Profit made on this trade = £11

Our Trading Result:
Villa's solid defence saw them through this one.  I backed under 2.5 with £52 at 1.85 (actually most participants got around 1.94), trading out again to leave a profit of  £12.  On the match trade, due to the lack of goalmouth action and the strong defences, and also since I could not see a Villa win, I decided to lay Villa with (rather than lay the draw as in the preview). We layed Villa with £20 at average odds of just over 7.0 and backed them again with £2 when the odds drifted upwards, to give £17 profit.

Profit made on this trade = £29

Our Trading Result:
This was a much tighter game than I expected.  We layed the draw with £35 and traded out partially to leave a profit of £26.  Due to the thought of another 0-0, I also decided to cover it with £20 at 5.8 and trading out with £8 at 3.36 which gave us a loss of £12 (£20 traded in, £8 out).  So overall just a £14 profit here.

Profit made on this trade = £14

Our Trading Result:
We layed the draw slowly due to the lack of goalmouth action.  Despite Leverkuesen stricking the bar, I felf if a goal was coming it was more likely to be from Munich.  We layed draw with just £17 and layed Leverkuesen with £5.  After the goal I decided that it was worth backing Bayern and trading out again for a total profit of £25.  We also covered the 0-0 with £6 (Slight trade out left only £4 loss on that). So overall £21 profit.

Profit made on this trade = £21

Our Trading Result:
I actually remember saying that I would avoid Arsenal due to their
unpredictably (during an earlier conversation with chat room people). Well I was almost left to regret that I did not listen to my own advise as we got caught totally by surprise by the 2 Arsenal goals.  That gave a loss on the under market of £16. We also on a much larger potential loss on the main market.  But Chelsea looked as stunnded as I was by the goals and so I made a rather risky call to trade out on the Arsenal win (for £5 profit). But Chelsea actually never forced me to panic!  So I managed to get our participants out of this with only a minor loss.  Overall a £15 loss due to £4 cover on 0-0.  

Profit made on this trade = -£15

Our Trading Result:
After the Chelsea game we played this rather cautiously, and were able to trade out for just £12 profit on the main market. Unfortunately we put an over cautious £10 on the 0-0 and traded out for no loss on under 2.5. So just £2 profit overall. 

Profit made on this trade = £2

Our Trading Result:
These 0-0 score lines seen to come along like buses.  What a goal fest of an evening (not!).  We duly layed the draw with £30 at average odds of around 2.8. We also took cover on 0-0 with £7. But it soon became apparent that neither of these teams could hit a barn door at 5 paces.  Therefore, to cover our liability of around £60 we backed the 0-0 with more, trading out again towards the end.  We also backed the draw a little more to further reduce the our liability on the draw; it worked out fine as we made 57 loss on the draw which was covered by 58 profit on 0-0 (We also covered the late goal by laying the draw towards the end).  So, overall it a 'token' £1 profit in this one. 

Profit made on this trade = £1

Our Trading Result:
So Liverpool did it again (i.e. failed to score when they could have put
daylight between themselves and their rivals).  But we covered that option, backing 0-0 with £5 at 13.5, trading out slightly towards the end to leave £58 profit.  We also backed Liverpool with £52 at average odds 1.47 and layed West Ham with £24 (trading out slightly to reduce our liability) and backed draw with £2 at 5.1.  This left a £31 loss on the draw, but obviously we were well covered already on the 0-0, so overall £27 profit.

Profit made on this trade = £27

Our Trading Result:
We laid Valencia with £14 at average odds of 7.3.  I limited our liability
on Valencia out of respect for their away record (unbeaten until now).  But this was another impressive performance and Valencia never really threatened.

Profit made on this trade = £13

Our Trading Result:
We backed under 2.5 with £55 at 1.97.  Given the lack of clear scoring
threat from either team, we were able to trade out gradually, with £68 at 1.41 average odds for a profit of £24.  For the main trade, I decided to switch to laying Spurs.  The reasoning was straightforward: I was never too concerned about a Spurs goal and always felt if a goal would come it would be from United.  And the 0-0 always looked a possibility. So we layed Spurs with £20 at 5.0, only trading out with £4 towards then end at average odds of 24.5, for £15 profit.  So overall £39 profit

Profit made on this trade = £39

Our Trading Result:
Altogether we backed Barca with £30 at 1.61 and layed Real with £26 at average odds 7.23.  At the start we also took cover of £10 on 0-1 at 30 (or 32).  After the Barca goal we backed the draw with £2 at 10.5 (and £12 at 2.62 prior to the goal).  This left a profit of £31 on Barca, and overall a profit of £21. (So £60 altogether for our in-play trading day).

Profit made on this trade = £21

Our Trading Result:
I decided that although I could see goals coming, it was worth waiting for lower average odds. So the first goal was a bit unfortunate as I was about to lay the draw further (we only had £5 matched).  Following this Arsenal looked in control for the next 10 minutes, and we layed Liverpool.  Yet it soon became apparent that Liverpool were getting stronger so we backed Liverpool just before the goal, though we still had a slight liability on them when the goal went in.  Following this we layed Arsenal. Again, after the sending off, though Arsenal did well, I felt that it was unlikely they would win and we layed Arsenal.  So it was quite a complicated trade, and altogether, our final figures were: Layed draw £15 at 2.7, backed draw £2 at 4.8;  Layed Arsenal £44 at 5.5; backed Liverpool £2 at 12; Layed Liverpool £6 at 9. This gave us £28 profit on draw, and £20 overall (since we had £4 loss on
under/over 2.5 market and £5 on 0-0 as cover)

Profit made on this trade = £20

Our Trading Result:
After the earlier complicated trade this was much more straightforward.  We layed Villareal with £20 at just over 5 (I felt the lay draw odds were too high).  After the goal (for Villa), I decided it was worth waiting to see how Barcelona reacted, and of course they reacted superbly, eventually going 2-1 up.  In the meanimte we layed Villa for a further £20 since they looked superb in the period after conceding the lead.   We were also able to match high odds at 2-1 and eventually "greened out" on all options, so were not concerned even when they went down to 10 men.  Our final figures were layed
Villareal £40 at 5.3 and backed Villareal with £6 at average odds of over 26 (Participants may have got higher odds on the back stake) for total profit of just over £32.

Profit made on this trade = £32

Our Trading Result:
We layed the draw cautiously with £32 at average odds of around 3.1.  I became more concerned about the possibility of 0-0, particularly since although Rangers dominated the attacking, they looked particularly toothless, which became more apparent when Boyd missed the sitter near the start of the 2nd half.  We backed 0-0 with £7 and under 1.5 with £65 at 1.66 - and had partially traded out before the first goal - and fortunately were able to trade out further, leaving £10 profit. After the Celtic goal we only traded out partially as, alas, I was convinced by then that my team was not going to equalise.  This left £15 profit on Celtic and £18 overall. (My actual profit was a bit higher, as I layed Gers - but did not report in inplay as did not want to give the in-players a larger liability)

Profit made on this trade = £18