Definition of Asian Handicap

There is no straight forward explanation of the term «Asian Handicap».

Asian Handicap is a betting system that seeks to take away the «advantage» of the «stronger» team. The stronger team is as such «handicapped» in the literal sense of the word, rendering an imaginary edge to the supposedly weaker opponent when game starts. This, in theory, would balance out any advantages or disadvantages, and put the chances of both teams winning on the Asian Handicap at 50%-50%.

Who does the handicapping?

Bookmakers. While no one can be sure how bookmakers arrive at certain handicaps and odds, the general belief is that bookmakers analyze each game based on the history of these clashes; the news involving both teams leading up to a match in relation to injuries, clubs’ internal affairs etc; the home ground advantage; the performances of the home team and the away team when playing at home and away; the current form of each team as a whole; the current form of key players in each team; and the list goes on. True enough, these factors play a huge part in the determination of the handicaps and odds, but the other side of the coin is one that not many people think about, and that is the «mind games» side. The point of it all, for the bookmakers of course, is to gain a profit from any one game in which they offer the Asian Handicap as a betting option. To achieve this, a lot of elements will be at play, including «Which way would punters go if a certain handicap is put on the market?» If punters are expected to obviously go one way, then bookmakers may have to think of a strategy to sway them. For example, Manchester United playing Hull City – the expected handicap hypothetically is -2, meaning Hull City coming into the match with a 2-goal advantage. Bookmakers might not go the obvious route – they might go with the -1.5 handicap instead. An unexpected handicap would cause a frenzy in the Asian Handicap betting world: «What does this mean, do bookmakers have information that punters do not know?»; «Are there news punters are missing?»; «This handicap is wrong, this handicap is fishy – I should bet against the favourites (i.e. Manchester United) today!». Interesting dynamics at play, don’t you think?

Different Asian Handicaps

Level: the 0:0 handicap, meaning both teams are hard to separate on paper, and as such no team go into the match with a handicap to their advantage or disadvantage. This is the most straightforward of all handicaps. If Chelsea are up against Manchester United, a Level handicap means if a draw eventuates, punters backing either side will get their wagers back. If Chelsea win, punters on Chelsea win. If Manchester United win, punters on Manchester United win.

¼: the Quarter handicap, aka «Level Half» in Asian countries. This handicap splits the bet between the next closest ¼ intervals. This is best illustrated with an example. Let’s say John places a $10 wager on Chelsea on the -¼ handicap against Liverpool. The ¼ handicap means John’s $10 wager is split into 2 bets, i.e. $5 wager on Chelsea on the Level handicap (described previously) and $5 wager on Chelsea on the ½ handicap. Did you get all that? Now let’s confuse it a little more. If the payout, or odds, for Chelsea on the -¼ is 1.90, and Chelsea and Liverpool play to a tie, then John lost nothing on the $5 wager on Chelsea on the Level handicap. However, John lost the $5 wager on Chelsea on the ½ handicap. All in all, John lost $5.

½: the Half handicap, aka «Half Ball» in Asian countries. This handicap is straight forward. Because a team cannot score half a goal, the result of a match on the Asian Handicap will never be a draw whenever a ½ handicap is involved. Simple illustration, if Chelsea «gives» the ½ handicap to Tottenham, that means Tottenham come into the match half a goal up, i.e. Chelsea 0 – ½ Tottenham. If Chelsea win the match, Chelsea beat the Asian Handicap, i.e. punters on Chelsea win. If Chelsea draw (or lose, obviously) the match, Chelsea lose on the Asian Handicap, i.e. punters on Chelsea lose full stake.

¾: the Three-Quarters handicap, aka «Half Ball One Ball» in Asian countries. This handicap splits the bet between the next closest ¼ intervals. This is best illustrated with an example. Let’s say John places a $10 wager on Chelsea on the -¾ handicap against Everton. The ¾ handicap means John’s $10 wager is split into 2 bets, i.e. $5 wager on Chelsea on the ½ handicap (described previously) and $5 wager on Chelsea on the 1 handicap. If the payout, or odds, for Chelsea on the ¾ is 2.00, and Chelsea beat Everton 1-0, then John lost nothing on the $5 wager on Chelsea on the 1 handicap. However, John won the $5 wager on Chelsea on the ½ handicap. All in all, John won $5.

1: the One handicap, aka «One Ball» in Asian countries. By this stage you should be familiar with the whole concept of Asian Handicap, so this is relatively straight forward I would imagine. If Chelsea «gives» the 1 handicap to Portsmouth, that means Portsmouth come into the match with a straight 1 goal advantage. If Chelsea win by 1 goal (i.e. 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, 4-3, etc), there is a break-even. Wagers will be returned to punters. If Chelsea win by 2 goals or more, then punters on Chelsea win. If Chelsea draw (or lose), then punters on Chelsea lose.

Popularity

Even though the name «Asian Handicap» might suggest this betting system is only popular in Asian countries, the truth is actually pretty far from it. European based bookmakers are now starting to offer Asian Handicap called «Line betting» and it is based on the same concept. While Asian Handicap is mostly associated with soccer, it has now gained popularity in other sports as well, mainly Basketball (e.g. favourite teams «giving» points to weaker teams), tennis (e.g. favourite players «giving» games or sets to weaker players), National Hockey League (which is similar to soccer) and so on.

End of article – This is the original work of me, Fate85. All rights reserved.

English Premier League has reached to its half way in the 2009-10 season. The League is getting very difficult or we can say it is getting more interesting. Teams like Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester City are creating problems for the top four teams. In fact at mid season Liverpool is looking to lose its place from top four of this season. We have already witnessed some great games this season along with some great individual efforts.

Picking the best eleven for this season is a very difficult thing. We have seen some great performances this season. Top eleven players can be following:

Goal Keeper

Petr Cech (Chelsea) – One of the greatest seasons for Cech. He is the main reason for Chelsea’s position this season.

Defenders

Right Back: Carlos Cuéllar (Aston Villa) – Although he has played at centre back position but he can also play as full back.

Centre Backs:

Thomas Vermaelen (Arsenal) – Vermaelen is the signing of the season for Arsene Wenger, his ability of defending and scoring is a main reason for Arsenal’s great performances this season.

Richard Dunne (Aston Villa) – Dunne is getting better and better every game he is playing.

Left Back: Patrice Evra (Manchester United) – Evra is the unanimous choice for this position. He is the only player from Manchester United to give consistent performance this season.

Midfield

Wingers: Aaron Lennon (Tottenham) – Stunning display in some games. He is the man behind the success of Jermain Defoe this season.

Ashley Young (Aston Villa) – He can be the best choice for right midfield.

Central Midfielders

Cesc Fabregas(Arsenal) – Fabregas is playing the best possible role for Arsenal. Game against Aston Villa has proved this. He came in for 30 minutes and showed a heroic stuff.

Frank Lampard (Chelsea) – Lampard is the most consistent player in English Premier League for last 3-4 seasons.

Strikers

Didier Drogba (Chelsea) – Chelsea’s performance hugely depends upon Drogba. He single-handed defeated Arsenal at Emirates.

Jermain Defoe(Tottenham) – Defoe is scoring at great pace. He has scored five goals in a game against Wigan in a duration of 37 minutes, including three in eight minutes.

Whenever Jose Mourinho speaks – the football world listens. He simply is one of its best tacticians and motivators and will be regarded as one of its best coaches when his career is over. What he has achieved already puts him in the pantheon of all-time greats. Two European Cups (Champions League) with Porto and Inter. League titles with Porto, Chelsea and Inter. He is unique because he not only wins silverware in one league – he crosses over to different leagues and keeps winning. How many great managers have done that?

RETURN OF THE SPECIAL ONE

Mourinho was speaking at a gala event in London about his plans for next season and it sounds very much like he is planning a return to the English Premier League – obviously with one of the Big Six clubs. Mourinho was quoted saying that he has «unfinished business» in the EPL – alluding to the unceremonious way he was booted out of Chelsea by owner Roman Abramovich. He spoke about his passion for the English game, its fans and its atmospheric charm.

WHERE HE WILL LAND

When Jose Mourinho declares him on the market – he commands the attention of every elite club in Europe. In this case – only the EPL Big Six need apply. Its interesting to see in summer where he will land. There are really only three teams in the Big Six that Mourinho will realistically surface in. Man United, Liverpool and Arsenal are not in the hunt for a new manager. They have their own iconic bosses in places. Man City, Chelsea and Tottenham are the only clubs in this conversation. Man City would love to have someone with Mourinho’s prestige, presence and tactical cache managing their team of stars. Roberto Mancini has had a difficult season but has performed admirably well considering the pressure he’s under. I put them as the favorites to land Mourinho. Chelsea may want Mourinho back but its like a break up we’ve all had. Do we really want to revisit all that emotional baggage and can bygones be bygones? Its tough. But its a business and its Abramovich’s call to make. He has Mourinho’s number. Tottenham are the outsiders here. They are happy with what Harry Redknapp’s work so far. But if England let Fabio Capello go – it will set about a chain of events that could eventually suck Redknapp out of Tottenham. He is the overwhelming favorite to land the England manager job. If that happens, then Tottenham will step up their chase for Mourinho.

THE LAST WORD

I think Mourinho will choose carefully the club where he will enjoy relatively unfettered authority over his roster as well as transfer decisions. He has been unhappy at Real Madrid because they have a decision making structure that does not feature Mourinho as commander-in-chief as far as transfer decisions go. He also will command a hefty price. Those two factors put Man City in pole-position because they have both the financial resources as well as the need for a football czar and manager. Mourinho would relish both positions and he will do amazing work if given those twin roles. I don’t think Tottenham can afford Mourinho but they have to ask themselves if they can afford NOT to have someone as gifted as Mourinho. Managers like him do not become available every year. They have to chase him despite Redknapp’s stellar work. He is a definite upgrade. As for Chelsea – its the classic kiss-and-make-up scenario.

With the start of the new Barclays Premier Season only forty-nine days away, supporters across the globe have already begun marking the days off their calendars. Ever since the completion of last season on May 24th, several of the proverbial ‘bigs’ team have made additions to their squads. So the looming question is; Who will lift the Premier League Trophy next season? Of course, Chelsea are the favorites having won last year, but they will have to overcome several difficult opponents if they hope to retain their trophy.

One of the teams who will push them close is Manchester United. In Louis Van Gaal’s first season in charge, the Red Devils finished fourth and gave Chelsea a scare both times they played. That being said, a lot of pundits still believe that United will not have the quality to push for the title. So far this summer, they have signed young Memphis Depay from PSV Eindhoven for an estimated £25 million. Having played under Van Gaal in the 2014 World Cup, Depay will fit into his new team with ease. Another team that will compete with Chelsea is Arsenal. The Gunners finished in third place last season and retained the famous FA Cup.

However, the season ended up being a disappointed one due to the team being unable to close out matches. So far the team from London have not confirmed any signings. In previous years this has been the unraveling of the team. Rather than sign top quality players, they would resort to only buying when there is value in the market. The number one position on Arsenal’s wish list is that of a striker. With Olivier Giroud scoring only 19 goals last season, Arsenal supporters have been crying out for a new striker since the opening day of the transfer market. All in all, unless Arsenal sign a world class striker to support Giroud, they won’t come close to winning the league. The third and final team that will challenge Chelsea is Manchester City. They had a dreadful season last year, in which they finished second and won no major honors. Among the disappointing results, there was also several reports of players falling out with manager; Manuel Pellegrini. This lead to the Chilean only barely holding onto his job. However, a team as rich as City will have no trouble selling the bad eggs and replacing them with phenomenal players. So to the dismay of millions, it seems as though Chelsea are the favorites. Manchester United, Arsenal, and Manchester City will fight, but do not be surprised if you see Chelsea’s captain John Terry lifting the trophy yet again.

Chelsea’s attacking midfielder Joe Cole has finally joined Liverpool FC and would begin to ply his trade at Anfield and would no longer be seen at Stamford Bridge from August 2010 when the 2010/2011 season commences.

The fast paced, skillful midfielder could not produce the scintillating display he is known for, for the great part of last season following series of injuries. But on the few occasions he donned the blue jersey, he gave a good account of himself. One of his great moments last season was when he scored that beautiful goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

With Michael Ballack already gone back to the German Bundesliga and now Joe Cole’s signing for Liverpool FC, Chelsea is beginning to lose some of her prized jewels. Didier Drogba is said to be courted by Manchester City and may leave if they present him with an irresistible offer.

Michael Essien has not still completely recovered from his long-standing injury. This leaves only John Obi Mikel who is also nursing an injury to handle the position of a defensive midfielder for the Blues. The new season is fast approaching and Chelsea needs to defend her premiership title and also go for the Champions’ league title.

They therefore need midfielders and youthful attackers to beef up the team if they are to realize their dream of winning the UEFA Champions’ league. There are players that performed relatively well during the 2010 world cup in South Africa that could be contracted to strengthen the team. Some of them include Mexico’s Don Santos, Germany’s Thomas Muller, Sweinsteigger and Podolski; The Netherlands’ Van Bronckhorst and Wesley Sneijder; Slovakia’s Robert Vittek, etc

We should also not forget that our captain John Terry is aging and would need a back up. Getting a reliable defender and strengthening the midfield and the attack are panacea for our long elusive Champions’ league title. The club must also spend its money wisely this time by making sure they get value for their money. They should avoid going for players that would not last for more than two seasons; they should rather get players that should stay in Stamford Bridge for at least three years, and have enough time to completely blend with the old ones and make an impact before retiring.

It is only when we invest in the right players that we would not feel the impact created by the exit of some of our very good hands who have contributed immensely to the success story of our team. We also need a good goal keeper like Nigeria’s Vincent Enyeama, Barcelona’ Iker Casillas, etc to help Petr Cechs.

The sky would be our limit if we get things right especially at the beginning of the new season. We would be sure to successfully defend our premiership title, win the UEFA Champions’ league and possibly the Club World Cup. When we get the right instruments, our able coach, Carlo Ancelotti would know how to use them to achieve the desired result.

With the World Cup now having been and gone we could have expected an influx of summer performers to the Premier League clubs as has happened following recent World Cups and European Championships. This summer though, movement has been slow. The highest profile move to a Premier League club thus far was the recent announcement that Chelsea’s Joe Cole is transferring to Liverpool. Whilst Cole fits the criteria of a World Cup performer this move was likely to have been initiated before the World Cup and based on reputation rather than World Cup matches.

The financial climate of the Premier League has changed considerably with public records of large leveraged debt at Manchester United and Liverpool, Arsenal have never been traditional big spenders under manager Arsene Wenger and the situation at Chelsea is uncertain but it is clear that Roman Abramovich has slowed his spending in the last two seasons. This leaves Manchester city has the obvious candidates to spend big on World Cup stars whilst Spurs may want to consolidate there new standing as a top four side with some new faces.

With many of the fancied players (Kaka, Messi, Drogba, Rooney, Ronaldo) relatively under performing this summer the World Cup the hottest property is Germany’s Mesut Ozil. The speedy 21 year old is contracted to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen. With Michael Ballack gone from the Chelsea midfield they may see his replacement at International level this summer as the man to fill the gap at Stamford Bridge, however Chelsea interest in a player is likely to stir attention at Manchester City who have so far spent big money on Spain’s David Silva, Germany’s Jerome Boateng and Ivory Coasts Yaya Toure. However Ozil is likely to attract interest from mainland Europe too. Whilst he may not fit into the Barcelona midfield with their interest firmly on Fabregas he may be a target for fellow giants Real Madrid or closer to home Bayern Munich.

Uruguay surprised many this summer with the stand out performers being strikers Luis Suarez and Diego Forlan. Forlan is tried and tested in the Premier League when he found life tough to cope with at Manchester United scoring just 17 goals in near 100 appearances, he may get a second chance with another club if he can be tempted to leave the Spanish league that seems to suit his style of play. Suarez netted a phenomenal 49 goals for Dutch side Ajax and should Ajax manager Martin Jol make the rumoured switch to Fulham then don’t be surprised to see his star striker follow him to Craven Cottage.

World Cup’s gone by have been an opportunity for African players to showcase their talents to the watching football world, however this time around with the exception of Ghana, African performances were subdued so a minority of players are likely to have stirred Premier League interest. Of course, a large majority of Ghana’s squad already feature in European leagues so are likely to carry the inflated price tags that has Premier League chairman running scared of.

So to conclude, a slow start to the transfer window (with the obvious exception of Manchester City) and don’t expect things to change too quickly, it is likely to be a pre-season of consolidation and looking within teams own youth ranks rather than a vast period of recruitment.

Chelsea Football Club now reportedly have the biggest wage bill in the English Premier League. The annual wage bill of £172 Million does not include new signings Fernando Torres, who has reportedly signed a contract worth £200,000 a week and £25 Million signing David Luiz, who both joined the club this week.

Premiership wages have been notoriously high in recent years and Chelsea’s wage bill is £40 Million above closest big spending rivals Manchester City. A more important consideration is the percentage of a clubs turnover which is spent on players wages. Chelsea spend a reported 82 percent of their turnover on wages, while Manchester City spend 106 percent, this is in stark contrast to other top clubs such as Manchester United, who spend 46 percent of their turnover on wages, while Arsenal spend 49 percent.

Several big name players left Chelsea during the summer of 2010, the departure of Michael Ballack, Juliano Belletti, Deco, Ricardo Carvalho and Joe Cole saved an annual £20m in wages and generated around £15 million in transfer fees. Despite this saving Chelsea have recently reported losses of £70.9m which was up £26.5m from the previous financial year, the addition of Torres and Luiz will add to significantly to their wage bill.

Under the new UEFA Financial Fair Play rules, which come into effect from the 2011-12 season, clubs must only spend on wages and other expenditure what they earn in ticket sales, merchandising and other commercial income. Effectively the club’s books will have to balance, failure to do so could ultimately lead to disqualification form European competitions such as the Champions League.

A potential safety net exists within the rules, any players whose contracts were agreed before 1 June 2010 will be exempt, if these rules were applied to Chelsea for the last financial year they would have actually been shown to make a financial profit. The rules won’t be tightened until 2016 when all players wages will be taken into consideration, even then if a club is making a financial loss and they can prove there is an improvement in the trend of their finances, they may escape punishment by the governing body.

So, the Champions League draw have been made, and I have to admit one of the most anticipated matches is Inter vs Man Utd. Italian champions vs English champions. I’m an Arsenal fan, so I’m rather happy about it. Man Utd think they are the best, well eat this! Let’s see how you get past Inter.

But there is another fixture I’m very much looking forward to. Roma vs Arsenal. Why? Both are my favourite teams, and they are 2 very similar clubs. Mirror image in other words.

Firstly, both clubs are having some financial problem. Which is the reason why both clubs doesn’t spend big. Look at the players Arsenal and Roma have signed in the past few seasons: While big stars like Cristian Chivu left, instead of getting a big money replacement Luciano Spalleti got Juan for a mere 6.3 million euros. When the legend of Arsenal, Thierry Henry left, many people was thinking whether his replacement could lived up to expectations. Arsene Wenger chose to fork out only 8 million to sign Eduardo Da Silva, and although he’s injured at the moment, his future looks bright.

Secondly, both clubs have been praised for their brilliant attacking football. Arsenal was believed to have played the best football ever seen in England during their Invincibles’ season (2003/04), and up till today they do just that. Roma have been praised by pundits for playing exciting, attacking football since Luciano Spalleti took over and deployed the 4-5-1 formation. Normally in football it’s the beauty vs the beast, but I believe in this match, both clubs will be known as the beauties and will be fighting their asses off.

Lastly, both clubs have their own star talisman of the team. Francesco Totti have always been associated with AS Roma, and up till today the fans still worship him. Francesc Fabregas, although only 21 years of age, has been one of the most popular players in Arsenal at the moment, and seeing how similar both players’ style of play are, it’s certainly a battle of the golden boys. However years ago this could be even more intense, when Thierry Henry was still at Arsenal. I’m sure about 4 years ago everybody wanted to see the 2 best strikers at their peak facing each other on the football field. What a match it would be.

Premier League match time comes to the Emirates when Arsenal host Man City on Wednesday, January 5, 2011, in match week 22.

The two met earlier in the season when City hosted Gunners at the City of Manchester on October 24, 2010, with Wenger’s men emerging 3-0 winners in a hopelessly one-sided affair.

The game began cruelly for City as Boyata got sent off on five minutes after the Belgian teenage defender brought down Chamakh. Chamakh had cashed in on a pass from Fabregas, following a lapse in Boyata’s concentration.

And when 15 minutes later, Nasri gave Arsenal the lead, there was only going to be one winner, as 10-man City looked increasingly fatigued, burdened with the task of stopping a rampaging Arsenal forward line.

To his credit, Mancini tried out his whole bag of tricks to pull something out of the game. He started by taking Yaya Toure into the back-line, and later decided that he was needed more in midfield and brought Boateng into the core of the back-line, while Barry also retreated to left-back.

To Gunners’ credit they played a tactical game, tiring out Man City, even as they sought to add to the score. And their ploy paid off as Song, just after the hour, and Bendtner, with two minutes of regulation time to run, made City pay an exorbitant price for Boyata’s lapse.

Man City are currently in second place in the points table behind Man United. Arsenal are in third but have played one game fewer than City, and are two points adrift.

The Gunners have won 6 of 9 games hosted at the Emirates, while losing the remaining 3. Man City have had one of the best away records this season; Mancini’s charges have won 6 of 10 games on the road, while losing and drawing 2 games each.

Arsenal have had a dominant 15-3 record against Man City in the last 20 league meetings between the sides, with the remaining two games drawn. Incidentally, all of Man City’s 3 wins have come in the last four years.

With both sides having emerged as serious title contenders, this promises to be a thrilling encounter. While Arsenal have been very effective in attack, their back-line has been found wanting. Man City appear to be a more well-rounded side with the dependency on Tevez to score goals reduced in recent matches. The battle could be won in midfield, where a fit Fabregas could help compensation for Gunners’ porous defence.

The following men comprised Arsenal’s starting eleven against Wigan, in match week 20: Fabianski, Eboue, Squillaci, Koscielny, Sagna, Diaby, Rosicky, Denilson, Bendtner, Chamakh and Arshavin. Walcott, Nasri and Wilshere featured as substitutes.

Man City had the following players in their starting eleven against Aston Villa in match week 20: Hart, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Zabaleta, Y Toure, De Jong, Vieira, Johnson, Balotelli and Silva. Milner, Jo and Bridge played as substitutes.

Just this weekend, the top 4 spots of the English Premier League table experienced a reshuffle. The reason for the reshuffle is not far-fetched. It was as a result of a game, the match between Chelsea and Manchester City. The full time score of the match goes thus, Chelsea 2, Manchester City 0.

With this result, Chelsea is now 3rd on the table and Manchester City 4th. So one can see the uneasiness in the top 4 spots of the EPL. Prior to this Manchester City was leading Chelsea. Man City was occupying the 3rd position while Chelsea FC was occupying the 4th position. They were leading Chelsea with 2 points. But after Sunday’s game the table was turned and thus we have the current situation mentioned earlier.

The question is this, what is the implication of this to the top 4 contenders currently occupying the top 4 positions in the league? The answer is simple; the title race is not over yet. No space should be considered secure at least for now. Even the team occupying the number 1 position, Manchester United cannot afford to say that the title is now within their grasp and that no other team can move them out of that number 1 position. They still have a lot of work to do to remain at that most coveted position. Complacency on the part of Man U at this time will cost them this cherished position.

But this disturbance at these cherished places on the table is caused by only 1 club at the moment. The club causing it is Chelsea FC. The impact of this disturbance was increased on Sunday when Chelsea won their home game against Manchester City 2-0. Of course, this was not a good news to Man U fans. This is because their current most dreaded rival is Chelsea. So they know the uphill task they have ahead. Their darling team must overcome this rival if they must be sure of winning the title. Again, those of them that are current with the league know that this their rival still has a game in hand. If they win this game, the 9 point gap between their darling team and their foe will be reduced to 6 which make the matter worse. Here again we see the uneasiness among the top flight.

Actually, the top four positions were never in a peaceful condition this season. They have always been experiencing a change in occupants.Therefore, the winner of this season’s English Premier League will be one that will overcome this restiveness with the weapon of consistency.