If you're interested in the odds for the World Cup, click here


They've got all the teams with the 'Stages of Elimination'.


But don't be like the Spurs fan a couple of years back:


He's in the pub with is girlfriend and Spurs are beating Man U 3-0 at half time.
The boy's showing off now, so he nips into the bookie's nextdoor and bets his house on a Spurs win. Given the odds, he'll win enough to buy them a decent dinner.

Man U go on to win 5-3

Championship Play off Final 2006


It has been said many times already this week but this really is the single richest football game in world football, it could be worth upwards of 30m to the winners.


Winning this game is probably more important to us than them bearing in mind we lose our 6m parachute payment next year but that fact could affect the players either way, it could spur them on or prevent them playing, I think it will be the former.
KB has for me made the right decision in not exposing the players to all the carry on surrounding the match right until the last minute, there lot have been camped in Wales all week.


Despite all the talk about our having more fans at the game than Watford, I expect the split in fans to be fairly equal which will make for a great atmosphere which I believe the Whites players will handle better.

Teamwise I am well pissed off with Cress, I think he could have started with Hulse if he had not been so stupidly sent off against PNE, as it is I think that KB will go with the same formation that beat Preston but with a few surprises, I predict the following team:

I do not care about their team; we should not worry about what they are going to do, just concentrate on our game.


I think we will do it though my prediction earlier this season was that we would be contesting this final against Palace, I predicted than that we would win 3-0, I will stick with the Three for Leeds but they might sneak a consolation.


Prediction: Leeds 3 v Watford 1


Come on you Whites!!!!!!

When Ken Bates took charge of Leeds United last January, one fan memorably said it was "like putting King Herod in charge of babysitting".


Yet 16 months on, the Yorkshire club is on a sound financial footing and will regain a place in the Premiership with victory over Watford in Sunday's play-off final.
Leeds were £25m in debt when Bates took over and had been more than £100m in the red when the previous consortium, led by Gerald Krasner, gained control in March 2004.


Elland Road legend Peter Lorimer, the only member of Krasner's board who is still a director under Bates, says Elland Road is a happy place to be once again.

"Going back two or three years, it was a disaster," Leeds' leading-ever scorer with 238 goals told BBC Sport. "The club became a laughing stock, a club which no-one wanted to know. We were on the road to nowhere.
"Once again, the city is vibrant and people are talking about Leeds United again. It's fantastic to be going down to the ground again. There are lots of smiling faces and a lot of optimism.
"Sixteen months ago we didn't know where we were going. Now we've got a realistic chance of getting back in the Premiership and the club is a happy place to be once again."

The former winger has no doubts about who is responsible for that turnaround - Ken Bates.

"The club had major problems until the chairman took over, but he's managed to do a great job in bringing stability to the football club.
"When you've got stability, you know what you're working for and what the goal is.
"There was nothing like that for the previous 18 months. We were wondering if we were going to survive, or go into liquidation.
"Ken Bates has solved all that. He's dragged us out of the gloom. He knows the game and knew exactly what was needed."

Despite Bates' reputation for being abrasive and controversial, Lorimer says he has found the one-time Chelsea supremo a pleasure to work with.

"I've found him a perfect person to work with. He knows what he wants and sets a plan into place. He lets everyone know what's expected of them - from the office to playing staff - and that's what we needed."

Such is the club's new-found stability that Lorimer says it would not be a disaster to lose Sunday's match.

"It's a massive match for this football club and I'd like to think the hard work everyone's put in will be rewarded with a place in the Premiership on Sunday evening," he said.
"But we're 12 months ahead of schedule in terms of Ken's plans for the club. The next step will be consolidation in the Premiership or, if we lose, to push hard for promotion next season."

Lorimer is also full of praise for Leeds manager Kevin Blackwell.

He said:

"Kevin's done a great job. The chairman's backed him by getting the players he wanted, but Kevin's had the judgement to build a team that's taken us to this stage."

And he said he hopes Blackwell can win to further shame the fans that issued death threats against the manager when Leeds went through a rough patch late in the season.

"I would like to think that now we're in the position we are, that people will put an apology to Kevin in the paper on Monday morning,"

Lorimer said.


Source: BBC Sport

Cardiff here we come!!!


Excellent result last night and fair play to KB he got the tactics spot on by spoiling Preston‘s game in the first half then stepping it up in the second.


The team selection surprised me a bit but playing with just one recognized striker was the right thing to do as the name of the game in the first half was definitely to frustrate the opposition, the decision to go with no substitute keeper was more of a worry, especially when Sully went down a couple of times.


Leeds did some great work in defence especially in the second half after we went down to 10 men but there were times when Kelly and Gregan together on the right side of defence looked very dodgy, Killa was immense all night.


The game itself was only 10 minutes old when Ormerod had to be carried off after a challenge by Douglas. That was the first bit of luck and it definitely threw Preston.


Fraser Richardson had the best effort by either side in the first half, bringing a good save out of 'lucky to stay on pitch', Nash. Preston were showing very little and Nugent was his usual useless, whinging self.


HT 0-0 and so far so good.


Preston replaced Stewart after an extended half time due to a power cut, as the over confident Preston manager's decision to start with 4 strikers clearly was not working, the tosser was definitely guilty of underestimating the Whites. Agyemang who came on for him was shite, in-fact their only real threat was Dichio due to his power and size.


We started the second half in a different gear and pressed them lot from the start, it was no shock when Rob Hulse headed us in front from a corner, their fans could not believe it.
Five minutes later and it was 0-2 to the Whites when this time Hulse shook off a defender or two to pass the ball across goal to Richardson who slotted home

Half an hour to go and we would now have to do something really stupid to lose this one, though we are capable of that.


For the next 10 minutes we were looking comfortable until Crainey, who was having another decent game brought the whinging Nugent down and having already been booked he was off, 20 minutes to hold out but we need not have worried. In fact I forgot we were down to 10.


Cresswell replaced Hulse with 10 to go and almost immediately got booked but we were still looking comfortable at the back.
They had one goal diallowed but that was clearly the right decision as the ball went out of play and came back in from a corner, prior to the goal.


By the time the 90 minutes were up, and with the only Leeds players not booked being the keeper and the 2 wide men, Preston had run out of ideas. But there was still time for one more booking for Cresswell, his second in 12 minutes and he was off for kicking the ball away, if I was him I would tell them I mis-controlled it, that’s what it looked like to me.


Fantastic night and we are in the final, probably against Watford.


FT: 0-2 Leeds

Championship play off semi final 2nd leg 7.45pm Monday 8th May Deepdale


Even though I felt we were hard done by in the first Leg I still think we are in with an even chance of going through to the final in a couple of weeks.


We will of course have fewer supporters at the game than they had at ER but the 3,000 there will make enough noise.
I expect them to come at us early on and we should defiantly do the same back to them and get at them early.

I would prefer KB to go with a 4-4-2 for this game with depending on fitness, Hulse and Cresswell up front (if not Cress then Blake), Derry( if fit), Bakke, Stone and Lewis in Midfield and the same defense as in the first leg, I would also possibly play a 4-5-1 and bring Miller in for Cresswell leaving Hulse up front being supported by Miller, Stone and Lewis at every opportunity.


They are likely to go with the team that trotted out at ER meaning 4-3-3 and I honestly think we have the advantage over them in both attack and midfield but they are definitely a better defensive unit which means we have to try and get at them and provoke them into some rash challenges and get their central defenders booked early on, do that and we have an even better chance of winning.


I am starting to get nervous again but at least the Whites know what to expect at their place and a few refereeing decisions in our favour would not go amiss this time.
Overall I am confident we can do it but it is likely to take longer than 90 minutes.


Prediction: PNE 1 v Leeds United 1 after 90 minutes

Leeds to do them in extra time.


Come on you Whites!!!!!