Weekend Outlook (08 Jan 2006)

Burton Albion vs Manchester United

"...Siang is Burton Albino?..." - Some idiot, 07 Jan 2006

You know, it's kinda hard to write a preview when you have absolutely no information on the subject team. Anyone heard of Burton Albion? The closest I ever come is probably Tim Burton, the genius film director of works like Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas and the recent Corpse Bride. Yup, that is as close as I can get as far a Burton is concerned.

Some idiot came to me and asked, "Siang is Burton Albino?"

To which I answered dryly, "A very white ang moh. Orang Lagi-Putih."

Sigh...

Well, in this particular case, no info is good info for ManUtd as an leisurely stroll in the park is in the cards.

ManUtd is second in the Premiership while Burton Albion is 13th in the Nationwide Conference. Do the math and you will realised that they are 102 places apart. ManUtd has been beaten just once in their last 10 games while Burton Albion too, has a respectable 6-3-1 to boot. However, this is without factoring the calibre of their respective opponents. Before incurring the cardinal sin of being arrogantly over-confident, let us be reminded of the 0-2 scalp at the hands of Bournemouth at Old Trafford back in 1984. We were ironically plucked by the Cherries (pun intended) that dreadful day.

JayWalk The Talk: With the two teams so far apart, the current squad condition is pretty irrelevant as the weakest of the ManUtd reserves would still be stronger than the best of Burton Albion. Even the U-16 youth team would be able to put up a credible fight against them.

JayWalk The Walk: Victory is never in doubt. Only question is by how many goals? Bookies put ManUtd to give 2-1/2 balls (WTF?) which means that Fergie may lose his job, if ManUtd scrape through by the odd goal. With Europe and the Premiership titles out of reach, I doubt if Fergie wants to take this cup tournament lightly as per previous years. The very same sentiment is reflected by Arsene Wenger who promises a strong core squad coming into their FA Cup fixture. On one hand, ManUtd need to win this. On the other hand, they could use this relative easy fixture to rest the players ahead of the Carling Cup semi-final clash (which one is more important har?) against Blackburn Rovers. May I remind all, that Blackburn beat us 2-1 at Old Trafford back in September. All hands on deck!!

2-1/2 ball handicap is certainly very tricky as there is a very high chance that once ManUtd go 2-0 up, they will start to pull out their star players to rest them and put in youngsters and/or defenders to run the clock down. Under that circumstances, you will be a happy fan that ManUtd advances to the next round and a sad fan at the same time since you have no money to buy the next round of beer. The bookies will be drinking your beer.

So I say, leave this one alone. There are so many other matches to bet on. Why this one? Preston Northend vs Crewe Alexander or Southampton vs Milton-Keynes Dons look like better bets with more sensible odds. Take a look at them instead.

Disclaimer: The above views are purely my own two-cents' worth. In other words, I cannot and will not guarantee that my predictions are accurate. If you want to bet on the game, do so at your own risk. Also, please bet responsibly and within your means regardless of how "sure thing" that game may appear to be. As the old saying goes, "The Ball Is Round". Good luck.