Bet on Barrow

[Scrube]

If England win the Euros, put your money on Barrow to get promoted next season as us oldies all know what happened the season after England won their only ever trophy.

[mall]

good shout-I certainly will.

[barrowfan]

Barrow 50-1 to win the league.

[Suffolk Blue]

Pre-season odds and betting always makes me smile. But its a good time to place a bet on Barrow as we always seem to have that Morecambe effect on bookies.

Not so mighty Colchester United who many may remember as having a horrible season last year. Now 5/2 for a top 7 finish on the back of it would seem signing half the entire Ipswich town squad - the one that has been slowly falling apart since about 2017. They say you cant beat experience. Colchester will be certainly hoping so having acquired Freddie Sears (33 this year), Alan Judge (34 this year), Cole Skuse (35 this year) and Luke Chambers (36 this year). I look forward to watching Freddie Sears, all 5 foot and a bit of him, valiantly chasing long balls before being subbed like a knackered whippet after 70 minutes - just like he did at Portman Rd.

Also notice Hartlepool at a remarkable 4/1 for top seven despite at last count only having 5 contracted players for next season. And then there is Swindon Town a snip at 5/2 for a top seven, currently having 11 contracted (and recently unpaid) players, no manager and in the middle of a perfect storm of a legal battle over ownership that could kill the club.

It only takes a few hundred quid to shorten the odds at this point, so if we all put a tenner on BAFC to win the league this season we could shoot up the betting tables pronto.

[litefoot]

I wouldn't take 5/2 on us (Swindon) going down, let along 5/2 on the Top 7. Don't even think we've got as many as 11 players right now.

[Suffolk Blue]

Interesting story on the BBC website highlighting that three of our opponents for next season - Swindon, Oldham and Scunthorpe - are all currently subject to transfer embargos. Not a great time to be subject to restrictions on recruitment and may explain why these teams have acquired so few players so far in this window. Bolton showed last season that they could cope with an embargo but they did have access to funds. Their problem was finding a way to spend them. Dont think that applies to these three currently. In particular Scunny who's outlook looks very poor.

Interesting also that the embargo also applies to Derby, Reading and Hull. I'm still toying with the idea of paying a visit to Ladbrookes and slipping a tenner on Evatt to become the next Derby manager. However, these issues should give us confidence in our ability to do more than just survive in L2 in the coming season. It also illustrates the positive benefit of getting your squad sorted early in the window. Top 7 may be worth a punt at 5/1