Luke Moore: The Olympics were lovely but let's hear it for football

Norwich and QPR play each other on Saturday, and 1.684/6 for Both Teams to Score looks like a decent bet.

The Football Ramble's Luke Moore returns to Betting.Betfair with the first of his season-long series of columns. Every week Luke will discuss topical issues and breaking news as well as recommending a bet for the following weekend's action...

We've not been able to move over the last couple of weeks for reading how Premier League footballers need to take a leaf out of Olympic athletes' book, bemoaning how the Olympians seem so polite, genial and generally cheerful when compared to their pigskin-kicking counterparts. Apparently, the athletes that descended on London this summer have been a refreshing breath of fresh air in interviews, their Wildian witticisms and self-deprecating manner really offering food for the soul as those evil, Lucifer-made-flesh money-grabbing, over-pampered footballers wait in their opulent gold-plated caves for the season to begin.

Well, guess what? Footballers are really hard working athletes as well, and I'd argue that their less-than-interested schtick with the media is probably to do with them being so nervous about what the press are going to print about them that they'd rather keep their cards close to their chest. The voracious appetite for a story, largely fuelled by 24 hour news networks and newspaper websites means that just about anything they say is spun into a story, no matter how spurious, with a view to attracting listeners, viewers and readers at the behest of a working trust with the footballers in question. Olympic athletes also don't have the rather unsavoury experience of tens of thousands of fans screaming aggressive insults at them every time they make a mistake or have the temerity to encroach on a part of the pitch near a group of braying, drunken wannabe alpha males looking to prove their manhood, either. I imagine a few months of that sort of treatment would make even the most patient soul more than a little misanthropic.

What's more, Olympic athletes only have the magnifying glass of public scrutiny thrust upon them every four years. If it was to happen to them every single week, two things would happen: 1. They'd get annoyed with it and eventually start giving monosyllabic answers on their way through the mixed zone at great speed, and 2. A lot more facts about the athletes themselves would slowly rise to the surface, enabling us to form a more rounded opinion of them instead of seeing them as knights in shining armour that appear over the hill, banners flapping, once every four years and disappear like ships in the night before we even have a chance to fully remember their surnames.

So, in short, we should be happy that the Premier League and club football in general is back, and not try to compare apples with oranges. The Olympic Games were a lovely departure and made us all proud, but that doesn't make the entertainment, skill and drama of football any less worthy.

And on that note, and after a superb opening weekend both here and in Spain (as well as some PSG-related, lights-out drama at Ajaccio in France) let's take a look at a bet for this weekend. Two teams that were at the wrong end of horrendous scorelines in the Premier League last weekend were Norwich and QPR, and despite the eye-catching nature of the results, conceding goals for these two teams is pretty much business as usual. They both conceded an eye-watering 66 goals last season, the worst of all the non-relegated clubs. They play each other on Saturday, and 1.684/6 for Both Teams to Score looks like a decent bet. Norwich didn't really struggle for goals last season, and QPR have strengthened in that department and should be able to score against a hapless Norwich backline.

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Olympics Women's Football: Japan can run fatigued US close

"Since women's football was introduced as an Olympic sport in Atlanta 1996, the USA have reached every final, losing only to surprise package Norway at the Sydney Games in 2000."

The USA's finest female footballers rarely fail in an Olympic final but a 120 minute semi against Canada may leave a legacy, and they may fail to justify 90 minute favouritism against Japan, says Hannah Duncan

The women's football at London 2012 has been one of the Games' biggest successes, with bumper crowds in attendance as the tournament has progressed, really showcasing the quality of the women's game.

And Thursday's final between USA and Japan should be far from an anticlimactic finish, with a repeat of last summer's World Cup final in store. It is a match not to miss.

One year ago, the two sides' encounter went all the way to penalties, following two goals in extra-time and more than 80,000 tickets have already been sold to fans keen to see the rematch.

This time, FIFA's number one ranked side, the USA, are unsurprisingly 2.0421/20 favourites to gain revenge for their 3-1 spot-kick defeat in Frankfurt and ultimately win the gold medal, in what would be their fourth Olympic victory in five attempts.

Since women's football was introduced as an Olympic sport in Atlanta 1996, the USA have reached every final, losing only to surprise package Norway at the Sydney Games in 2000.

Reigning world champions Japan reached the final after a hard-fought 2-1 win over a good French side, which should be a confidence boost for Norio Sasaki's players.

The USA meanwhile, may have a tougher time of it at Wembley on Thursday night, after their semi-final with local rivals Canada went to extra-time, in what was a scintillating game of football.

Pia Sundhage's side were strong favourites for a comfortable win against Canada, having won each of their previous matches at London 2012, but their neighbours put in a performance worthy of reaching the final, only to be denied by a last-gasp winner after 120 minutes following a header from States' star-striker Alex Morgan.

The extra physical and mental exertion from the USA players will undoubtedly play into the hands of the Japanese, plus the knowledge that the States are beatable, having done so in last year's final in Germany, will be an extra boost.

It certainly makes the draw at 3.55n/a seem an attractive bet, especially as the Japanese are no strangers to a draw, having played out two 0-0 stalemates in the group stage against Sweden and South Africa.

But Sasaki's girls will have to cope with the formidable attacking threat the USA poses. Twenty-three-year-old Morgan has netted 29 times in 47 appearances for the Stars and Stripes, while strike partner Amy Wambach has the impressive figures of 143 goals in 187 appearances for her country.

It is certainly a close one to call, but while Japan are always capable, as they have proved in the past, of providing a shock, the Olympics is the USA's tournament and they're unlikely to relinquish their title without a very good fight.

Recommended Bet
Back the draw @ 3.55n/a

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Olympics 2012 Build-Up: The worst Olympic moments

As much as we can't wait for the London Olympics and have many fond memories of previous stagings, there has been some not-so-memorable moments in the Games history. Alex Lee looks back at some of the worst...

Terrorism

Emotions often run high in the Olympic Games, but people having a bit of a cry after narrowly missing out on the medals pales into insignificance alongside the altogether more horrific events of 1972. That year, Palestinian terrorist organization Black September was found responsible for the kidnapping and murder of eleven Israeli athletes and officials, and the fatal shooting of a West German policeman, during the Olympics in Munich.

Tit-for-tat boycotts

Rather than concentrate on putting aside their long-rumbling political differences by competing in the Olympics, 1980 Olympics saw the USA boycott the Moscow Olympics as part of a package of actions initiated by the Americans to protest the Soviet war in Afghanistan. With depressing predictability, this was followed four years later in 1984 when the Olympics was boycotted by the Soviet Union and other Communist-friendly countries.

Ben Johnson drugs cheat

The 1988 100 metres final had been hyped up beyond recognition in the days building up to it, but the pre-race excitement was nothing compared to the post-event shock. Carl Lewis was widely expected to coast the race, but Canadian Ben Johnson breezed past Lewis as if he'd imbued some sort of wonder drug. Trouble was, it turned out he had done. Drugs cheat Johnson, as he is now commonly known, had taken the banned steroid stanozolol and his gold medal was swiftly removed from his trophy cabinet. Lewis' silver, therefore, became gold and Linford Christie's bronze became silver.

Mary Decker/Zola Budd

It's rare that a women's race is given as much media attention as this one. South African-born and barefoot runner Zola Budd, who had been 'fast-tracked' through as a British citizen for the purpose of competing in the 1984 Olympics faced the glamorous and much-supported Mary Decker in the final of the 3000 metres. To cut to the chase, Budd and Decker collided three times just past the half-way point of the race, with the third collision sending Decker sprawling off the track and clearly upsetting Budd. The partisan crowd booed Budd, blaming her for Decker's downfall, when video evidence has since proved the incident was totally accidental. Budd finished a disappointing seventh, later claiming that she slowed down so as not to face the wrath of the crowd if she'd won.

Greg Louganis smashes his head

Despite the incident being broadcast with predictable regularity every time diving is mentioned on TV, you cannot help but scream 'OUCH' when Greg Louganis cracks his head against the diving board. In trying to perform a complicated mid-air manoeuvre (a reverse 2 and a half pike, fact fans), Louganis suffered concussion after his miscalculation caused him to smash his bonce, rather than simply hurtle gracefully water-wards. The American had the last laugh, however, taking the gold medal in two events - the three metre springboard and the 10 metre platform.

Paula Radcliffe misses out

Multi-medallist Paula Radcliffe holds the World Record for the marathon and has won countless cross country, 5000 metres and 10,000 metres events in her career, but an Olympic gold medal has eluded her, with her most recent attempt, in 2008, ending ignominiously. Despite winning the New York Marathon in November 2007, Radcliffe finished a lowly 23rd which with hindsight wasn't a bad effort considering she'd broken her leg in the May.

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