The Sack Race » nigel worthington

Michael O’Neill Hot Favourite For Northern Ireland Job

admin — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:31:36 +0000

Michael O’Neill oversaw his final game in charge of Shamrock Rovers on Thursday night as they were defeated 4-0 at home to Tottenham in the Europa League. O’Neill has announced that he will not be staying on with the club and is now reportedly in line to replace Nigel Worthington as the manager of Northern Ireland. The 42-year-old, who is currently the odds on 8/11 favourite in the Next Northern Ireland Manager Betting, is expected to be interviewed by the Irish Football Association for the post in the early part of next week. Former Northern Ireland internationals Iain Dowie and Jim Magilton are also being linked with the vacancy in what has turned into a three horse race.

O’Neill has recieved numerous plaudits for his work at League of Ireland side Shamrock Rovers. He was appointed manager in 2009 and in the following season he guided the club to their first league title since 1994. He repeated the feat this season and also won the Setanta Cup. In addition the club entered the Europa League group stage for the first time in their history and despite not winning a point it was still a huge achievement. O’Neill has said that it would be a massive honour to manage his country, with whom he made over 30 appearances for as a player.

Paddy Power have recently opened up the Next Shamrock Rovers Manager Betting Market with the former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr the current favourite. Other names in the frame include Rovers’ Football Consultant Jim Magilton and Republic of Ireland under-19 manager Paul Doolin.

Odds supplied by Paddy Power.

Capello To Face Toshack In Euro 2012 Qualifiers

sraymond — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:59:48 +0000

Fabio Capello was in Warsaw over the weekend for the Euro 2012 Qualification draw to find out his team will be up against John Toshack and his Welsh players in a battle of Britain which is sure to get passions rising when the two teams meet, Capello was pleased to be focusing on football after Sacking John Terry as Captain last week and he was looking forward to the qualifying campaign. England who are the top seeds in Group G will also be joined by Switzerland, Bulgaria and Montenegro in a group that the English will be clear favourites to progress from, England breezed through World Cup qualification and will be expected to do so again despite there being no easy games in the section.

The team that finishes top in each group will automatically head to Poland and the Ukraine for Euro 2012 along with the best placed runner-up from all the groups, the remaining eight teams will then head to the play-offs for one last chance to qualify for the tournament. Wales and John Toshack will be relishing heading to Wembley to play the old rivals but few expect them to make it out of a group with no easy games, the Welsh fans will be hoping to see their team progress from their World Cup Campaign which was somewhat of a disaster, Toshack is under some pressure and will know that a poor showing in the group will signal the end of his tenure. England are odds on with all the major bookmakers to win the group with Paddy Power going 2/5 about England winning their group.

New Scotland manager Craig Levein is making all the right noises about qualification but the Tartan Army face a tough task with Euro 2008 Champions Spain in their section, Spain will be hot favourites to win the group leaving Scotland in a likely battle with the Czech Republic for that second spot. The Czechs are not quite the force they were five or ten years ago so Scotland will be hoping to turn them over as Levein aims to lead Scotland to their first Major Championships since 1996. Also in Group I with Scotland, Spain, and the Czech Republic are Lithuania and Liechtenstein meaning the two matches between Scotland and the Czechs are likely to be absolutely crucial for Levein as he faces his first test in International Management.

The Republic of Ireland have received a kind draw with Giovanni Trapattoni desperate to lead the team to the Euros following their World Cup play-off heart break in the Stade De France, Henry’s handball knocked them out of the running but they have a genuine chance of reaching the Ukraine and Poland this time. They have been drawn in Group B with top seeds Russia who the Irish will believe they can beat, Slovakia look the other threat having qualified for this years World Cup but they are another beatable team. The 4/1 with VC Bet about the Republic winning their group looks excellent value at this stage with Trapattoni dead set on achieving qualification in what is likely to be his last cycle as the Irish Manager.

Once again Nigel Worthington faces a tough task as Northern Ireland have been drawn in a tough group alongside the likes of World Champions Italy, Serbia and Slovenia, Worthington has just signed a new contract but he may well be regretting that decision now with an impossible task on his hands. Northern Ireland will be alongside Wales in the ‘next to no chance of qualifying’ section, Scotland and Ireland are in with good chances with the Irish especially looking good while England should be heading to Euro 2012 providing they perform to their potential.

EURO 2012 QUALIFICATION GROUPS:

GROUP A: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Belgium, Austria, Turkey, Germany

GROUP B: Andorra, Armenia, Macedonia, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, Russia

GROUP C: Faroe Islands, Estonia, Slovenia, NORTHERN IRELAND, Serbia, Italy

GROUP D: Luxembourg, Albania, Belarus, Bosnia, Romania, France

GROUP E: San Marino, Moldova, Hungary, Finland, Sweden, Netherlands

GROUP F: Malta, Georgia, Latvia, Israel, Greece, Croatia

GROUP G: Montenegro, WALES, Bulgaria, Switzerland, ENGLAND

GROUP H: Iceland, Cyprus, Norway, Denmark, Portugal

GROUP I: Liechtenstein, Lithuania, SCOTLAND, Czech Republic, Spain

George Burley is Odds on to Leave International Job First Say VC Bet

sraymond — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:29:36 +0000

VC Bet have Scotland Manager George Burley as they favourite out of the five home nations Managers to be sacked first with the new season fast approaching. Burley is under some pressure following an average start to their World Cup qualifying campaign and now need a big turnaround to make South Africa 2010. The International Managers Betting highlights this fact and VC Bet have the Scot as odds on to be the first of the British and Irish managers to leave their post.

Next up in the betting is Nigel Worthington who is trying to lead his Northern Ireland side to a Major Championship for the first time in his reign. They have performed well in their campaign and it is difficult to see Worthington getting the sack but he may well walk away if they fail to qualify and Worthington is currently priced at 11/4.

The other home Managers seem reasonably secure for now with Fabio Capello the outsider following England’s great start to the qualifying campaign and VC Bet reckon he is staying put for the time being at least. John Toshack is an interesting bet as the Welsh team look set to miss out yet again on qualification and VC Bet are giving some attractive odds on the Welshman being the next home International Manager to be sacked.