For our boot room and I'm delighted to welcome. NJ
Croucher head of trading at points. Bet such a lovely to
see you this morning and we're going to have a conversation
about what is something that's really growing here in
the United States, which is betting before
we get onto that
your Premier League background. You're from Australia, explain.
Where does it stem from your love of the Premier League?
So the Premier League's huge in Australia.
I've got a lot of ties to England naturally and I grew up
a huge Arsenal fan
in better times for Arsenal 2002. Software. Right? Paula
and Freddie ljungberg score. That was my introduction to
the Gunners. Then we had the Invincible season hasn't been
so good since then,
but yeah, huge Premier League fan. So you picked Arsenal,
because at the time they were the best team. Yes. Yes, I did.
Yeah, I got into Robert Perez and Thierry Henry and that same
and then Cesc fàbregas beyond that.
So yeah, a lot of my friends. I jumped on Chelsea and Liverpool
and they're probably in a better spot now than I am.
Well, it's good to ask you I suppose back then you didn't
expect to go so long after. After those good years to
really get back to the top of the table you struggling with
the with the Arsenal right now.
Yes, but it's good to take your lumps. So I guess guess. Yeah
to jump on the bandwagon. I feel like I'm being punished
for that. But now that the team is at least on the rebound.
I think under arteta. They're looking a lot better.
But yeah still a ways to go before we get back to 2004.
I always think unless you have the tough times. You can't
enjoy the really good times or in your case the absolute other
way around.
Okay, so that's the Gunners. We're going to get on to
the actual odds for this season in a second, but just just talk to
me. Little bit about betting in the United States because in
Australia, I know it's very big certainly in the United
Kingdom. There's a betting
shop on almost every street corner.
It was very much, a cultural growing up across football and
all sports. Lots of horse racing as well. The United
States something that I thought was interesting. When I first
moved here, all those years ago. It wasn't really
that much of a big deal, but it's growing, isn't it? Jay? It
is growing when I got to the US two and a half years ago just
words like spread and moneyline and total. They just went
really part of the vernacular how you consume Sports whereas
in Aurelia and in the UK, it definitely is. I remember when
Arsenal beat Villarreal and 2006 in the Champions League
semi then I'm thinking of my head, what are their odds going
to be against
Barcelona? That kind of stuff, I think will become more
natural in the US and just thinking about the odds,
the likelihood to win games. And just noticing
with the Premier League as well, a lot more betting
interest because it makes it for a lot of people more fun.
Definitely. And it just positions You Know How likely
is something to happen? So when we talk about less the city
winning the title
in 2016, how on?
Lockley was that will bedding can quantify those five
thousand to one. And so I think just thinking about the game in
those terms how unlikely How likely is something putting
odds to, it can make the story more compelling. Want to pick
you up on that Leicester city story because I think I must
have said that three hundred
times that there were five thousand to one that year. Do
you think because of Leicester city? We will never see odds
that long ever again, even for a newly promoted team
potentially. Yeah. That was a good job by my team, you know,
price those five thousand to one, but I think that
Now just with with the Premier League with the depth of
talent, we may not see that degree. But at the same time
that was incredibly unlikely or not counting on something like
that happening again, but certainly it does show that any
team can win
with the increased popularity of Betty across the United
States, different from Australia, and the UK because
of the different rules in the different laws in different
states. How do you go about navigating that J?
It is difficult. It is a strange one, whereas Australia,
it is largely more National. Whereas, here it is. It's
specific. But at the same time, it's not too different, you
know, Premier League batting in every state that's legal is
going to be pretty similar.
And do you think that as the years go by every state will
eventually become on board? Wouldn't put my money on every
single state. But that would be the hope. It's certainly more,
and more expectable. Take it up. Okay,
interesting, right? Let's get onto the old, shall we? On
a lot of people out there really interested. Let's start with
the title odds. We know it's going to be three horse race.
How quickly did you take it to a three-horse race? How quickly
did Manchester United for you drop out? Yeah. Well, they
started reasonably well to the season Man United. And we
thought that it would be
a four horse race coming in. But Manny and I did over
the past two months of kindly withdrawn, their name from
the race. And now we see it as City, Liverpool and Chelsea. We
make City the favorite. I think the thing to look out for with
cities that they haven't gotten the
best out of Kevin De bruyne, a jack grealish, Phil foden
Raheem Sterling these types of players and they're still top
of the table despite that. So they have a lot of upside to
come. And I think the most interesting thing about these
odds is that, you know,
These three times City, Liverpool Chelsea, the three
favorites for the premier league, and they're also three
of the top four favorites, for the Champions League, which
just shows you that the premier league right now is clearly
the best league in the world. These are the best
teams. So that's really exciting. Now the race to
the top for
is really exciting because it's got some names involved in it
that we don't always see the likes of West Ham. United list
is less the city, of course, have been there the last couple
of years, Spurs, Arsenal and Manchester United's. You've got
United those favorites to finish fourth,
we do. Yeah, despite. B,
the fact that they don't really deserve it based on what
they've shown, but we think they've got a lot of upsides to
come
before Thursday. My Gunners were the big mover
having rebounded from their typical
standard annual crisis to begin the season,
but now we see West Ham's just as likely as them to upset
and steal that spot from man united. I think the wire with
West Ham and it's been well chronicled is just their lack
of depth. If McHale Antonio goes down Declan rice.
They don't have Mason Greenwood or Jesse lingard just sitting
on the bench Gathering. Just like you, how to do that and
have that luxury. Whereas United, Paul Pogba goes down.
Sometimes you don't even notice. They have so much
talent there. And so we expect that
particularly, now with Ralph Ragnar coming in that they are
the team. That's most likely to get forth. Yeah, Fair Point.
Okay, let's go on then and finish with the relegation
situation. The bottom three at the moment, all level on 10
points and that's quite tight. And
this is what you've got Norwich as the favorite, something to
go down and Burnley and then you Castle. So you're gone for
the three at the moment that are in the bottom three. Yes,
Norwich. They're the ones
that have the most to worry about with.
I think where they are bottom think their talent probably
just doesn't stack up to those other teams and they need to
start stealing points. So when they played Tottenham right
now, we have them + 2 10 to win or Draw. So we think they're
about a 30% chance to get anything out
of that game and they need to start getting those points
where they're not supposed to. And then Newcastle I think of
definitely the most interesting team in this mix just because
of the broader happenings around the club. The
fact that we could have a super team, the next PSG in
the championship next year, but that getting that win.
That was really important because,
you know, as you guys discussed they have a brutal run coming
up and so to get that win against Burnley, very
important. Well J, as I say bookmakers are never wrong. So
we are holding you to all of that. Thank you J so much for
joining
us are no doubt. You'll be back later on in the season. Thanks,
Rebecca. Thanks fair to Jake. Roger. That was. This morning's
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