It’s August, and there is one sport which eclipses all others….the football. So this week I take a departure from horse racing to discuss this new season up and coming.

Do you have a plan for the football season?

Are you a bet-and-go football punter? If so , what’s your niche? Here are a few markets which might interest you:

  1. Traditional match odds market. Home win, Away win, Draw
  2. +1 market. This is a great market where 2 of the above 3 outcomes are covered with just a single bet.
  3. Over/under 2.5 goals market. This is a market we call a ‘neutral’ market. Both teams are working for you and you don’t pin your flag to any one mast.
  4. Correct score market
  5. First half. Yes, why don’t you focus purely on what will happen in the first half of a match?
  6. Second half. Similarly, why not take the scoreline at halftime and react to it? A great niche here is to examine any matches which are 0-0 at halftime. Do we expect goals? If so, we can lay the 0-0 in the second half of a match at much, much shorter odds than in the first half.
  7. How about a specific focus on a specific league this season?
  8. How about latching onto a handful of teams. I, for example, love Young Boys. Erm, let me clarify that a little. I love following the Swiss Football Team the Young Boys of Bern as they tend to have an air of reliability about them.
  9. Bet in-play. Betting in-play is a niche all of its own. In days of yore, we had to make our bet, and wait until the 90th minute to get it right. Now we can bet in-play. With mobile phones abundant, you can bet anywhere and be what I call a ‘reactive’ bettor.

There will be one foundation which underpins all of the above betting niches and that is…..the research.

Let me clarify. Research is not plumping yourself infront of the TV and taking what old Big Conk Phil Thompson is wittering on about on Gillette Soccer Saturday as Gospel.

You will gain a clear edge over your fellow punter if you do some research, even basic research.

www.soccerstats.com is my one-stop-shop for football research. If you have a niche, then there is sure to be a stat for that at www.soccerstats.com

Your basic research could involve weighing up what others have to say ( for free preferably) at websites such as www.freesupertips.co.uk The write-ups are excellent but it’s free because there are adverts galore.

Or you could let old Muggins here do the heavy lifting for you. Over at www.delayreacttrade.com I research all relevant matches 7 days a week. In fact , rather than writing this eletter I really should be researching some of the weekend’s footy! Take a trial if youd like. My niche? I am a number ‘9’. A reactive bettor and trader.

If I don’t see you at www.delayreacttrade.com then enjoy the football season, get researching and get profiting.

One niche I have profited from for 2 straight seasons is the ‘lay the 0-0 in the halftime score market’ niche. Why am I able to do that? Because www.soccerstats.com has introduced halftime stats.