EPL Betting Preview - Everton vs Blackburn

Career Dynamics:Shaping futures(IITJEE AIEEE)

It has been a strange season for Everton but they are still in with a chance of claiming a top-six finish and look decent value to beat Blackburn on Saturday.

The Toffees started slowly under David Moyes this term, as has been the case in a number of recent campaigns under the Scot, and their lack of a prolific striker has once again hurt the Merseyside club.

No Toffee has bagged more than nine Premier League goals to date, Tim Cahill leads the way, but Everton remain tough to beat and haven't lost a top flight game at Goodison since November.

That defeat was a 4-1 reversal at the hands of West Brom when Everton were struggling but they have really picked up since the turn of the year and are now unbeaten in six Premier League matches. Only Arsenal lie ahead of Moyes' men in the form table and there was plenty to like about their 3-0 win at Wolves last time out.

Two stunning strikes, from the unusual sources of captain Phil Neville and Russian Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, were the highlights in that success at Molineux and all of a sudden the goals are flowing for Everton.

The signing of Jermaine Beckford from Leeds United in the summer was criticised by many but the striker notched again on the weekend and he has performed with credit when called upon in the continued absence of the crocked Louis Saha.

A win for Everton on Saturday would take them momentarily just one point adrift of rivals Liverpool and, with the Anfield club Emirates-bound 24 hours later, the battle for local bragging rights remains competitive entering the closing weeks of the season.

Europa League football next term looks unlikely for either but Moyes will be keen to finish on a high and a maximum haul against struggling Rovers is well within Everton's grasp.

Just three points above the relegation zone, Blackburn fans can be forgiven for lamenting the new owner's decision to replace Sam Allardyce with assistant Steve Kean in December and it is going to be a worrying few weeks for the Ewood Park faithful.

Three consecutive draws have steadied the ship somewhat for Kean but the loss this week of influential captain Ryan Nelsen for the remainder of the season through injury could prove crucial in their bid to beat the drop and the fact remains Blackburn have not won since mid-January.

Were that trend to continue then surely Championship football beckons in August and it is hard to see where the next three points are coming from for Saturday's visitors. Blackburn were dogged in a goalless draw at Arsenal in their penultimate fixture but they lack quality going forward and I don't see them troubling Tim Howard's goal too often.

The FA Cup semi-finals will hog the headlines this weekend, both are being staged at Wembley, but the pair look priced accordingly and Everton are the value. I have them closer to the 1/2 mark than the prices being quoted and VC Bet's 7/10 will do nicely.

Career Dynamics:Shaping futures(IITJEE AIEEE)

There can be no football in Asia without India – AFC president Mohamed Bin Hammam

The Qatari, running for Fifa presidency, once again highlighted the importance of the nation and believes the performance at the recent Asian Cup was "encouraging"

Each time Mohamed Bin Hammam speaks in the capital of India, he is all praise for the potential the 146th ranked nation has in the world’s most popular sport.
The AFC President, who will be competing in the Fifa presidency elections come this June against Sepp Blatter, was speaking at a meeting of the AFC Ad-Hoc Committee for Indian Football, of which he is the chairman, in Delhi on Wednesday.
He said: “I believe that since we last met we have achieved a lot. I appreciate your commitment and dedication because without this no improvement can take place. In my capacity as AFC President, I am very much committed.
“Without India there can be no football in Asia. We will work hand in hand to achieve our goal,” said Bin Hammam.
He went on to praise the efforts of the Indian national team at the 2011 Asian Cup and highlighted that such appearances in major tournaments only go onto encourage the sport in the country.
Bin Hamman added: “Another evidence was the participation of the Indian team in the Asian Cup in Doha.
“We were happy to see the progress of the team and though we need a lot more, the appearance at the Asian Cup was not a bad one. It was an encouraging one. It made the people think of how much India is capable of giving to Asia."

AFC to professionalize football in India

Career Dynamics:Shaping futures(IITJEE AIEEE)

New Delhi, Apr 14 (IBNS) The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Ad-hoc Committee for Indian Professional Football met here under the chairmanship of AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam and made several proposals to further the professionalisation of the game.

Attending the fourth meeting of this committee, which has been set up with the aim of professionalising football in the country, were the All India Football Federation (AIFF) chief Praful Patel, who is the Deputy Chairman, along with FIFA Executive Committee member Manilal Fernando, prominent Indian club owners and officials.

The key proposals, which were deliberated upon and recommended to the AIFF, were: composition of the I-League, timeline to set up the I-League 2011-2012 season, the registration of I-League clubs and the I-League organisation.

At the outset, Bin Hammam said the commitment of the members and the AIFF was spurring professional football in India.

“I believe that since we last met we have achieved a lot,” said Bin Hammam. “I appreciate your commitment and dedication because without this no improvement can take place. In my capacity as AFC President, I am very much committed.

“Without India there can be no football in Asia. We will work hand in hand to achieve our goal.”

The AFC chief also referred to India’s participation in the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011.

“Another evidence was the participation of the Indian team in the AFC Asian Cup in Doha,” said Bin Hammam.

“We were happy to see the progress of the team and though we need a lot more the appearance of the Asian Cup was not a bad one. It was an encouraging one. It made the people think of how much India is capable of giving to Asia.”

A thorough and wide-ranging inspection of all I-League clubs was conducted last year by an AFC Professional Football Project Special Mission Team, and the members, after discussing the report presented to them, approved the composition of the I-League first division with 10 clubs that have met the criteria and decided to give a waiver to four clubs, which have failed to meet the requirements.

The 10 clubs, which complied with the I-League criteria, are: 1. McDowell Mohun Bagan (Salt Lake Stadium), 2. Kingfisher East Bengal (Salt Lake Stadium), 3. Chirag United SC (Barasat Stadium - To improve the stadium facilities by July), 4. Viva Kerala(Jawahar Stadium- to improve the stadium facilities by July), 5. Mumbai FC (Cooperage Football Stadium - to improve the stadium facilities by July), 6. JCT Mills FC(Guru Nanak Stadium), 7. Pune FC (Ballewadi Stadium), 8. Churchill Brothers SC (Nehru Stadium), 9. Dempo SC (Nehru Stadium), 10. Salgaocar SC (Nehru Stadium).

The members also recommended that three clubs - ONGC (Cooperage Football Stadium), Air India (Cooperage Football Stadium) and HAL Bangalore (Karnataka FA Stadium) – who failed to meet the ‘commercial entity’ criteria, and also AIFF XI (Ambedkar Stadium) be given a grace period of one season in the first division on the condition that if any one of them wins the I-League or finishes second or third, they will not be eligible to represent India in the AFC Champions League.

It was further suggested that the top two second division teams would be eligible for promotion to the first division only if they satisfied the professional league criteria. In case they fail to meet the criteria then there would be no relegation of any club from the first division, which would continue with the same 14 teams.

The members agreed to a proposal that the deadline for the clubs to improve their stadiums would be July 2011, following which another inspection of the clubs would be undertaken in July-September 2011. Thereafter, the I-League’s 2011 season would kick off on September 2011.

The committee proposed that the I-League Regulations should be revised to ban the registration and participation of I-League clubs in other leagues other than the I-League and that I-League club players should not be allowed to register with any other club other than I-League clubs.

With all the matches at present being organised by the local football association, the committee proposed that the clubs should start implementing the home match operations, including and not limited to ticket sales, match operations, and security.