BILLY BUNTER

Weblog: The football punter

Olympics must take back seat to League Cup study

THE sun’s shining and the gold medals are piling up. Just when you think life can’t get any better, along comes the first round of the League Cup.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s been nice watching some of the Olympic footy even though you feel slightly guilty for doing so. Apparently we should have been glued to more laser sailing, double trap shooting and women’s boxing over the last couple of weeks instead of focusing on the footy which is definitely sneered at by real, diehard Olympian observers.

In fact the only thing worse than watching Olympics footy, it seems, is betting on it so that’s a double whammy that takes some explaining away when I’m stuck in some meaningless conversation with mates about what music you’d have chosen for your freestyle dressage campaign.

“Presume you’ll be cheering on Team GB in the riding element of the modern pentathlon,” they say. “Joking aren’t you,” say I. “I’ve had a decent lump on Brazil to win the men’s footy so I need them to mash up the Mexicans at Wembley. Adios amigos!”

And I know they’re looking at me in the same, perplexed, pitying way that all England fans now look at Daniel Sturridge after that shambolic, stuttering run-up against the Koreans.

So while the great and the good will be tuning into the conclusion of the individual all-round rhythmic gymnastics competition, I’ve got team news to consider as Carlisle and Accrington lock horns and Barnsley prepare for 3 o’clock at Spotland.

Golden rule of early season – or at least it’s my golden rule with very little statistical support – is expect shocks. So that’s York to win at Doncaster, Walsall to beat Brentford and Hartlepool to win at Crewe.

Enjoy the wrestling.