By Michael Sinnerton

1. Professionals win money by betting big on matches, not by 20 team accumulators. I tend to limit my accumulator to 4 or 5 teams as an absolute maximum, even a double (Manchester United and Chelsea for example) has a huge impact on the odds so you're probably better putting on a bit more money   rather than an extra team.

2. In fact, perhaps most importantly, don't bet on anything just for the sake of it. Don't have ‘an amount in mind' that you want to win. That leads to you adding one or two extra results that could end up costing you. Trust your instincts; if you aren't sure about a result don't bet on it.           

3. Stick to what you know, both in terms of sports and teams. I've lost a decent amount of money betting on (for example) an American Football match, basically because I was bored. You might get lucky once but basically it's a guaranteed way to lose money.

4. Bets that seem like an even chance (who gets the first throw-in, first corner etc) are always priced at 5/6 for a reason. Again, you might get lucky once but the bookmaker knows what he's doing - he's been doing it a lot longer than you. The fact that the chances of the bet are even and the odds are worse than even should be a big enough signal. If it isn't, be warned.

5. Don't chase bets. This is the stupidest thing I've done and the quickest way I've ever lost money. I put a bet on a cricketer to get out before 30; he reached 30 so I bet enough to recoup my loss on him getting out before 50 and did the same for before 70. I had no reason to bet on him originally other than a hunch which was stupid and I ended up losing maybe £50 rather than an original £15. Better to take the loss, take a step back, and try something else.

6. Most people lose money betting. If you want a quick way to make money, this probably isn't it. It is possible to win money over time and some people do seem to have a knack but whilst I have made some money (hundreds rather than thousands), it should be something you enjoy doing.

7. Most people lie about how much they have lost. I've probably lost £100 on a single bet, which is a stupid amount to bet on my income, but even when I've gone through bad periods I haven't let on. People won't, they're embarrassed by losing because gambling is generally though of as ‘stupid' (an uneccessary risk), so best to take people's gloats about winning with a pinch of salt because they're probably not telling you about last week's major loss.

8. Bet what you can afford and no more. Be careful but enjoy yourself.

By Michael Sinnerton

And so another season in the Premier League begins in some style, with 5^th place favourites Arsenal hammering an out-of-sorts Everton at Goodison Park. The way the media reacted all Arsenal had to do was turn up with Joleon Lescott's transfer saga apparently worth a four goal lead. Arsenal really only won 2-1 yesterday and given how badly Everton played there's no need to praise them.

In all seriousness, I thought Everton were so poor defensively that Arsenal only had to be quite good to win. Tommy Vermaelen seems to read the game very well and could be the sort of no nonsense defender Arsenal have needed for two or three seasons. I'm not totally convinced by Wenger's new system with Bendtner on the right, although I was impressed with the big Dane's quick feet. Still, not a bad start.

Good away wins for Fulham, Sunderland and West Ham seems to have confirmed pre-season thinking they that will contest places 8-11, possibly with Aston Villa or Everton. The promoted teams unsurprisingly seem set to struggle (with Birmingham currently losing 1-0 to a Manchester United team with a reserve back-four) and Portsmouth needing a takeover now.

Chelsea, in playing badly, or finishing badly at least, and winning showed the sort of character that is so often associated with Champions, and Manchester City took their chances wonderfully without playing well. A classic away performance and one that will have filled their supporters with heart after only two away wins in the whole of last season.

A good home win for Stoke will be the recipe for another successful season in the bottom half and Wigan, who I initially thought would struggle again seem to be more than the sum of their parts under Roberto Martinez.

Stars of the round in terms of players were mainly attackers with no 0-0's so far. Hugo Rodallega, Didier Drodga and Emmanuel Adebayor will take most of the plaudits. And with Wayne Rooney notching already today, a Fernando Torres goal would mean that the Premier League's stars have already picked up Ronaldo's baton without too much fuss.

Give me a fit and in-form Xabi Alonso back and I make Liverpool favourites for the League. Without him, the Reds and the rest of the top four seem to be going backwards. Except that is for Chelsea.

Manchester United have replaced Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez with Antonio Valencia and Michael Owen. As much as I admire all four players, United are substantially weaker than last season and will need their defence on top-form if they are to lift another title. Liverpool have lost one of their key cogs despite Rafa Benitez's insistence that the spine of the team would stay in place. With Gerrard and Torres fit the whole season the sale could pale into insignificance but I worry that Gerrard will curb his natural attacking game to cover Alonso's absence. Arsenal are almost nobody's idea of Champions and having swapped Vermaelen for Toure and Adebayor for no one you can see why. With the magic of Van Persie, Arshavin and Fabregas they do have a chance but a top 2 finish would still be seen as a surprise.

Chelsea have barely strengthened but crucially they have kept together their spine. They have lost no-one of any influence and have welcomed back Michael Essien to fitness, as well as the potentially excellent Yuri Zhirkov. Daniel Sturridge adds good depth to an already dangerous strike-force and it must be remembered that Chelsea won 34 points from 39 games at the back end of last year. Liverpool's form was hailed as being brilliant, and is one of the reasons they are so hotly tipped this year but Chelsea's was nothing short of phenomenal.

Sceptics will point to the work of Guus Hiddink and whilst there is no doubting the virtues of the enigmatic Dutchman, it does seem at Chelsea that if players want to play, they will play. Under Scolari initially they were brilliant, until it was decided his methods were wrong or different and results dipped. Scolari left and all was well with the world again. Player power is probably not stronger at any other club.

Liverpool still have arguably the best two attacking players in the league but I worry that Torres may be worn out after so much football (the Confederations Cup taking the brunt of the blame). With Benitez seemingly unable to rest his talisman due to the Reds lack of strength in depth going forward, Chelsea may just have the edge.

Yesterday's Community Shield saw an opening game full of entertainment and controversy. As a curtain raiser it promises much for the season as perhaps the two chief protagonists for the title have already come to blows. Michael Ballack's shoulder barge on Patrice Evra rewarded by a sliding tackle from the Frenchman which took more man than ball.

Ballack's challenge was clearly a foul and hopefully the season won't be littered with incompetent refereeing decisions (although these tend to be forgotten sooner than we think). I don't think Ballack deserves any criticism from the media for the challenge or admitting it was a foul, it's nice to have some honesty from players rather than just the same old clichés that make post-match interviews such a turn-off.

United fans should also remember that Michael Carrick gave the ball away for the goal and Chelsea have no reason to stop the game unless Evra appeared genuinely injured rather than just momentarily hurt. Nonetheless Ferguson's criticism of both Ballack and Chris Foy (the ref) seems relatively fair. Perhaps with the exclusion of his comments about Ballack's play-acting which is no worse than several of his own team.

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In European News, German champions Wolfsburg began their title defence with a 2-0 win at Stuttgart while Bayern were held by Hoffenheim but were hailed as being "on a different level tactically" under Van Gaal than Klinsmann. Shalke and Dortmund also recorded fine wins.

In Holland AZ bounced back from their opening day defeat in a 2-0 victory whilst Ajax secured a second straight win. Meanwhile PSV and Feyenoord were both held to away draws after opening day victories.

Ligue 1's opening day saw victories for reigning champions Bordeaux (4-1) and runners-up Marseille (2-0) while European light-heavyweights Lyon were held to a disappointing 2-2 draw at Le Mans (they did score a 90^th minute equaliser through Lisandro Lopez and come from behind twice though).

Stay tuned this week for Students of the Games laughable predictions of the season and add your own.

By Michael Sinnerton

With victories over both the Milan clubs and the less heralded Club America, Chelsea have that feel good feeling about them. A new regime, a re-committed club captain and a new formation all mean Chelsea enter the season promising much.

A 4-4-2 diamond system looks to be Carlo Ancelotti's favoured method of using the resources available to him at Chelsea, and with a host of central midfielders and with Florent Malouda the only out-and-out winger at the club that seems to make sense. With Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka promising a potent partnership up-front (forgive the alliteration) Frank Lampard can tuck in nicely behind them.

That leaves one of Essien or Mikel to play the holding role (although Deco could be tried in an Andrea Pirlo-esque role) and Ballack, Deco, Zhirkov and the returning Joe Cole to fight for the other midfield places. If Ricardo Carvalho regains his motivation to play for Chelsea then the defence is as solid as ever with Cole, Terry, Carvalho and Bosingwa forming a formidable back four. Alex and Zhirkov provide more than useful replacements and Peter Cech, despite the odd mistake, is still one of the best keepers in the league.

I see two or three possible problems for Chelsea, presuming the system clicks into place, firstly an injury to Anelka or Drogba would leave only Daniel Sturridge as a front-line option with Pizarro and Shevchenko seemingly on the way out. An injury to Bosingwa could prove problematic as I don't rate Ferreira as highly although Ivanovic proved an able, if different, deputy towards the end of last season. Lastly an injury to Peter Cech would leave the untried and, seemingly, not especially good, Ross Turnbull to take his place (Liverpool have the much the same problem is Pepe Reina gets injured).

So another promising pre-season, another chance for Chelsea to dominate under a new coach with new ideas. Haven't we been here before?

 P.S. I'm off to get 7/10 drunk in Prague so hopefully Joel will pick up the blogging baton as he usually does so well.

By Michael Sinnerton

Arsenal's unique take on ownership took another twist this week when the board, and its financial advisors, Rothschild, turned down an offer to underwrite a ‘rights issue' proposed by Alisher Usmanov. Days later Stan Kroenke, Arsenal's largest stake-holder, purchased 160 shares at £8,500 each, to his stake to 28.58%.

For those who don't know, if and when Kroenke reaches 30% he is obliged to make an offer for the remaining shares. The Uzbek must be frustrated at the board's seeming favouritism particularly when his ‘rights issue' seemed a relatively sensible proposal. The chief shareholder, and anyone else, would be able to buy ‘new' shares creating cash. The issue would mean Usmanov and other shareholders reaching into their piggybanks rather than plunging the club into debt. It was hoped around £150m could be raised, £60m of which would be made available to Arsene Wenger and the rest put towards the clubs reported £416m debts.

As David Conn points out in the Guardian care could have been taken to protect the stakes of smaller shareholders whilst providing an example to owners of the other big clubs whereby the benefactors invest real cash with no strings attached and no borrowing. As many of Arsenal's largest shareholders have made huge money selling shares, to Kroenke in particular, I think they should have been willing to give something back.

Ivan Gazidis claimed that Arsenal don't need the money, i.e. they are paying off the debt comfortably a bit at a time and don't want to overpay in the current inflated transfer market. But I'm not sure that's true, are Arsenal fans really happy to continue to invest in youth and, more than likely, end up 4^th? Wouldn't they prefer a big investment to give them the possibility of a real title challenge, particularly given the positive news announced this week?

With Van Persie signing a new deal and Eduardo and Rosicky potentially back as first team players Arsene has a hugely dangerous and talented bunch of attackers to choose from. Defensively (and I include the midfield in this) the team are miles short of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United. Two or three top quality signings could see this Arsenal team really succeed (not necessarily to the detriment of the youngsters).

Do the fans want the club to push on or are they really happy being ‘just' great to watch but ultimately trophyless?

By Michael Sinnerton

Sam Allardyce wants to perform felattio on Sir Alex Ferguson. That's the conclusion I've come to after he initially suggested signing Michael Owen was too much of a gamble: "It's unfortunate for Michael but if you look at the last three years I cannot take a gamble on that." It wasn't that unfortunate for Michael in the end was it. Allardyce later went on say that Owen could be a very good signing for United. Strange.

This comes after Allardyce jumped on the back of Ferguson's criticism of Rafa Benitez's "game over hand signal". Despite having said nothing in the days after the game, Allardyce after Ferguson's outburst finally piped up, ""I was hugely disappointed by those gestures. I think they were disrespectful and quite humiliating. Having looked at them again this week, I think I'm right and ­everybody will see why I'm complaining."

Having written Owen off as too big a risk, Allardyce is hilariously eyeing Christian Vieri who is 35 (6 years older than Owen and with no Premier League experience. "He's obviously out of condition compared to the rest of the lads, but at this stage of the season, joining us in the pre-season shows a certain amount of commitment from him that he wants to try and play football again, and he fancies a go over here in the Premier League." Doesn't that sound like more of a gamble? I wonder who'll have the last laugh there.

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Carlo Ancelotti impressed everyone with his grasp of the language and sense of humour at his first press conference but the more shrewd observers among you will have noticed perhaps the best thing about Ancelotti is his commitment to the job. Already his scouting of last year's reserve leagues has seen Chelsea swoop for Ross Turnbull and Daniel Sturridge, big money moves for Nabil El Zhar and Febian Brandy seem nothing more than rumours at this point.

By Michael Sinnerton

Amir Zaki, football's Mr Unprofessional, wants to return to the Premier League. He may well still be able to do so but perhaps returning late from International duty five times in a row, might come back to haunt him. I kind of hope so.

Zaki has today claimed Aston Villa failed with an £11million bid to sign him in January. If that's true it casts some doubts on Martin O'Neill's judgement but it may well be just an attempt to get him some headlines at a time when it looks more likely he will be playing football for a lower league French club than anyone with profile in the Premier League. Zaki's arrogance and lack of respect towards Steve Bruce is enough to put any manager off, let alone his huge dip in form which points to Premier League defenders working him out. Good riddance to bad rubbish? Or a waste of talent that could prosper under the right guidance?

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Are Man City completely mad or genuinely onto something? Signing John Terry from Chelsea, to me seems an utterly impossible task. When Steven Gerrard almost moved from Liverpool to Chelsea he was moving from a team who he loved but were 4^th to a championship winning and potentially league dominating team. Terry, arguably more associated and in love with his club than Gerrard, would be almost moving in the other direction.

Perhaps City are just stirring and I don't think Terry would be move but it's strange that he hasn't come out to distance himself and end the speculation. At least Hughes and they owners have changed tack from simply attempting to buy any decent striker on the market. If they do manage to sign a couple of top-quality defenders, I still think City have the possibility to give the Big Four (possibly now the big 3 and a half) a real battle.

By Michael Sinnerton

Had a very busy day so sadly haven't managed to do a proper football blog today. Instead I thought I'd take the time to pay tribute to the greatest tennis player ever.

How lucky we are to live at a time when Roger Federer struts his imperial stuff. 15 grand slams tournaments in just 6 years; it took Pete Sampras 12 years to get his phenomenal 14. Federer returned to world number one today, admittedly partly in the absence of Rafael Nadal through injury, but also after coming back from two heartbreaking five set defeats to the same man. Those two defeats at Wimbledon and the Australian Open could have led to Federer retiring early, instead he battled back and won the French Open title for the first time and regained his Wimbledon crown.

A clay court legend, whose name sadly escapes me, rates Federer as probably the third or fourth best player on clay ever. He is just unfortunate to have met the best clay courter of all time in final after final at the French. When time judges Federer though, having survived Nadal's onslaught to win more grand slams he may be held in even higher stead than had he won three or four French Opens. Andy Roddick's name must be mentioned here, so wonderful was his performance today. Though it will be of little consolation to him, he won many friends today and even the harshest of judges wouldn't begrudge him success next year (or at the US).

Those of us of English or Australian nature have the Ashes to look forward to this week as football takes a slight back-burner but it won't be long before football's back on our front pages as Franck Ribery is forced to move to Chelsea or David Villa makes Barca's dream team that little more special.

By Michael Sinnerton

Dear Chelsea, please don't sign Andrea Pirlo.

I'm fed up with Premier League clubs signing slightly over-the-hill superstars. Singings like this create two problems, firstly the player having taken a season or so to acclimatise to a new league is generally too old or out of favour and therefore branded a failure and secondly the player is generally signed two or three seasons too late and is therefore well past their prime anyway.

This has happened at Chelsea, with varying degrees, to both Deco and Andriy Shevchenko and arguably to Juan Sebastian Veron at Manchester United and Fernando Morientes at Liverpool. My main problem with the signings, as well as the fact that they often turn out to be a waste of money, is that they convince the average fan that the Premier League is all-powerful. When Deco or Pirlo fail, fans who aren't up-to-date with football in Europe mark them out as average players who have succeeded because La Liga or Serie A is ‘weaker'.

Fans point to Diego Forlan's scoring record in Spain as a sign of weaker defences but fail to acknowledge the vast improvement in Fernando Torres' ratio when moving the other way. Some players will thrive in different leagues and some will take longer to develop. Simple points but ones that are perhaps worth remembering when discussing the attributes of different players and different leagues.

Andrea Pirlo used to be one of my favourite players, but his form this season has led to some poor performances for both AC Milan and Italy with one guardian columnists describing him as the biggest disappointment of 2008.

The point of this article is not to criticise Pirlo, but to praise him as one of the best midfielders of a generation and a unique and gifted playmaker. Any move to Chelsea though could see him remembered by some as another foreigner who moved to late and by others as a player who ‘just couldn't cope with the Premier League'.