The great stadium has also held cricket matches as well as boxing bouts in the past. The stadium went through two major renovations in its time including one that lasted four years from 1932 to 1936. The second major renovation started in 1992 and went on until 1993 that led to the now famous painted crowd scene when one of the stands was demolished. Highbury was demolished for good in 2006 and was converted into luxury apartments.

The capacity of the old stadium was 38,419 at the time of its final game but its highest attendance was around 73,000. The cost of construction and renovation work is indicative of the times as well with the renovating work in 1992 and 1993 costing ?22.5 million. Compare this figure to the total of just ?125k for actually building the entire stadium in 1913. In 2006, Arsenal played their final game at home to Wigan Athletic and they won that game by 4-2 and what was fitting was that their captain and talisman Thierry Henry grabbed a hat-trick.

No fewer than 12 international matches were held at Highbury from 1920 to 1961 but this gave way to England always playing at Wembley in their build up to the 1966 World Cup and after it with England being very marketable World Champions at that time. Highbury was actually bombed in the second world war and Arsenal were forced to play their home games at White Hart Lane for a period of time until work had been completed in 1946.

Highbury also received a blow in the early 1990?s as well as it was judged to be too small for international football and it missed out on a coveted place as a venue for the 1996 European Championships which were held in England. After the now famous ?Taylor report?, Highbury became an all seated stadium for the first time and this saw Highbury turned into four separate all seated stands and it remained that way until its closure in May 2006.

The nickname of Arsenal FC is the Gunners and Highbury was the home of some great players down the years like Dennis Bergkamp and World Cup winners like Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit and Thierry Henry. Many Arsenal fans campaigned against the closure of Highbury but there is one thing that is certain in this world and this is that you simply cannot hold back change but every Arsenal fan can be immensely proud of their new stadium at the Emirates. Besides watching the games live you can also what Live streaming at sites like bwin.com.

Let us look at a five runner race here to show what I mean. These five horses are priced as follows and are 2-1, 5-2, 3-1, 4-1 and 10-1. Converting these prices to decimal odds would make them 3.00, 3.50, 4.00, 5.00 and 11.00. Firstly to see which of these horses has moved in the betting so far then you may want to check this with the betting history. The 2-1 favourite could well have been 3-1 an hour ago and so this horse has already been supported and there has already been a betting plunge.

So this may mean that there is very little margin left for anymore movement. But this is where the shrewd punters separate themselves from the novices who step in thinking that someone must know something about this horse and so want to get in on the ?good thing? and back the horse at 2-1 when the shrewd punters were backing it at 3-1 and getting better value. But once again the shrewd punters may be interested in the 2-1 favourite but not to back it but to lay it back because they view the price as being too short.

But as a punter wanting to back a horse then do you really want to be backing the favourite at 2-1 when it has been 3-1 only an hour ago? I wouldn?t really want to be backing this horse now after all that movement and would be looking to get on something else. But let us say that this horse fell even further on the run up to the race and hit 6-4 while the second favourite drifted out to 7-2. Here I would be wanting to know why a horse that was considered good enough to be a 5-2 shot could suddenly be 7-2?

Usually a large part of this is to do with the favourite falling in price. The bookmakers will try and keep the same margin with regards to their profit and so will push the prices of other horses out to compensate for the favourite contracting in price. Sometimes there are sound reasons for these movements and other times it is purely to do with comments and rumours that have caused a stampede. So here in this race I would certainly be looking to back the 7-2 chance that had drifted from 5-2 than the 6-4 chance that had fallen sharply from 3-1. hrase then this is a licence to lose money.

The top teams do manage to mix excellent attacking flair with strong defensive qualities, this is precisely why they are the top teams. No team will ever win a major league if they are weak defensively however good they may be going forward. The same is also true with regards to teams being strong defensively who cannot break teams down.

This second type of team is where you can find betting profits in cup games. When you watch games in the premier league, many managers play football in what can only be described as a counter attacking style. This is a far easier way to play than to attack too much. Strong teams will defend properly and the holes and space that are created by over zealous attacking play will often lead to these teams being beaten and sometimes heavily.

Team bosses know that if they travel to Arsenal or Manchester United that they have to show them respect. They are hoping to absorb the pressure and then pinch a goal that could lead to a draw or even a win. But when teams play in this counter attacking way, it is usually a very strong indication that these teams are not very strong offensively.

What this means is that when they are playing against lesser teams either in the same league or in cup competitions against lower league sides then they can and do struggle to break them down. This can be seen in the results of middle to lower premier league teams whenever they play in domestic cup competitions.

I mentioned earlier this weak about the effects of the early rounds of the Carling Cup and most of the premier league teams who fit the category that I have just been talking about actually struggled to win their second round matches. This letting your opponent come onto you type of style has been prevalent in many sports and it is a common theme. It is also common to see counter attacking styles in martial arts and boxing. There have been many cases in boxing where a fighter has deliberately taken punishment in an attempt to allow his opponent to make a mistake.

This all has to be done carefully of course and thorough calculations need to be made. Otherwise if all you are doing is defending passively then you will inevitable suffer a loss. There is a world of difference between playing a counter attacking game and being passive. A counter attacking style is also an aggressive style by sheer definition. This is because a counter attacking style always has aggressive moves just waiting to show themselves.

But it is often far more difficult to win sporting contests by taking the initiative than it is to sit back and wait for your opponent to make a mistake. If a teams usual style of play if to play the counter attack then, this is usually an indication of a teams limitations with regards to their attacking capability.

It is precisely for this reason why teams do not fare as well as expected against lesser league teams in cup competitions and often do not deserve to be the strong favourites that they are.

Then the top Premier League clubs started to downgrade the tournament and that has slowly spread to all Premier League clubs. With survival in the Premier League being worth an estimated ?65 million per season to each club then is it any wonder why the top teams are not overly bothered about progressing in this competition. So this is clearly a case where upsets can be found and this is even starting to spread to Championship clubs as well who are going for promotion.

At the end of the day, the skill difference between clubs from different divisions is only as great as what it is when the superior team plays to its full potential. So this is where there can be definite mileage in opposing the favourites in competitions where the incentive to win is reduced. Another example could be taken from the Champions League. This format produces more matches which clearly makes more profit for the clubs. But having a league with four teams and the top two progressing to the knockout stages while the third placed team goes into the Europa League often produces a final round of games where some teams have very little to play for except pride.

One such group this season after five games had the leaders on 13pts, the second placed team on 10pts and the third placed side on 5pts while the bottom team had lost all their games. The bottom two were playing each other in the final game with almost nothing to play for. The third placed side which was Rangers in this example had already locked up the Europa League spot while the bottom side which was Bursaspor of Turkey could not finish in any other position but 4th in the group.

Rangers would have been the favourites going into that final game but how big of a favourite could they be with nothing to play for and vital league games coming up? This is where you need to be very careful and also where you can use psychology to your advantage. A lack of incentive is a major stumbling block to any side operating at its full potential and has led to many so called superior teams getting beaten on the day.

For numerous reasons, maybe they are at work and there is no television at work or no Sky channel. Maybe their partner is demanding that she watches the latest soap opera or they have to give in to their children who want to watch their programs. Or maybe they just find the whole package too expensive and being able to watch sport at their leisure just stretches the family budget too far.

If only there was a cheaper option then life would not only be a lot simpler but a damn site less expensive too. You would love to be able to bet during the actual match itself but doing so whilst not being able to see what is happening doesn?t really appeal to you. Well the answer may just be a whole lot closer than what you think.

Imagine having access to not only live streaming of numerous sporting events direct to your computer but to also be able to bet on them as well. With so many high profile events coming up all across the world then the road to betting nirvana could well and truly be opened up to you.

Bwin?s new streaming and Live betting service is sure to be a massive hit and with next years World Cup in South Africa now only eight months away then this is precisely the right time to step in and make bwin your number one choice for sport. If like me your main use of Sky is to watch the sport and especially the football then you may just end up saving yourself money as well.

With the Champions League and Europa Leagues having only just started then this will be your chance to watch these games live on your computer whilst having the option to use your sporting expertise as well. Do you really fancy yourself as a real judge of football? Do you think that the commentators and pundits are often wrong and that you could call it better?

Well here?s your chance to prove it with bwin’s live betting and streaming facility. Do you think that you can call the action in the Champions League game at the Nou Camp between holders Barcelona and current Seria A champions Inter Milan? Can you read the game plan of the wily Mourinho and with the score at 0-0 after twenty minutes, what is your current view about who will score the first goal and who will be ahead at half time?

Or maybe your knowledge of soccer tactics and strategy can leave you with an excellent guess as to how many goals will be scored in this match. Have you been watching games in the past and knew how the match was going to play out and wished ?if only I could wager money on this?. Well now you can, maybe your knowledge of the players and how the match is going leads you to conclude that someone will be sent off in this game??now you can bet that there will be and all from the confines of your own computer screen at your desk. Make the most of live betting and live streaming direct to your computer?..I know that I certainly will be.

Live betting is an entirely separate market to that of the normal betting and it is important you understand the differences and what opportunities there can be for you to profit. Live betting is a recent addition to betting opportunities. The introduction to the market of the betting exchanges meant that bookmakers now had to compete with the fact that punters could either be the bookie, or bet in the ever changing markets against one another, rather than involving the bookmakers. It was logical, therefore, to implement opportunities that customers were showing to be popular i.e. the in-play markets. Betting during a game is fast and exciting, with the odds constantly changing to reflect the action.

Bookmakers offer a slightly more stable live betting market that an exchanges. Because the market on an exchange is essentially a supply and demand market with the best odds to back and lay what you can bet on, new users can often get frustrated at the ferocity of the changes ? which are updated literally every second during play. Bookmakers offer their prices statically and whilst they do update to reflect the games developments they are far less volatile and easier to manage. Some sports are particularly suited to live betting online and bookmakers offer a multitude of in play bets rather than just the win market so you can be cheering on parts of the game you perhaps never knew existed!

Football is suited to live betting. Using this sport as an example you can put bets on things like who the next goalscorer will be, who will get booked next, how many corners from that point forward and so on. There is lots of variety and the key thing is to have fun and perhaps enjoy the game from a different perspective. For example, you may have a bet with friends on three different players to get booked next. You will be watching as the tackles fly in very closely from then on, awaiting the referee?s decision!

But betting live is not about just having fun and losing, you can profit from the live odds on offer. Because you are taking into account match information that is right in front of you there is already information like who the in form players are, who looks sharp, if a defender is partially injured but trying to run off injury and so on. It is therefore very easy to scan the opportunities for value and make great live bets. As I mentioned earlier the odds compilers are waging war against the in play bettors to eliminate the value but no-one is perfect! Learning to spot the in play value bet is a good way to enjoy betting. If you get good at it, money can be made.

Any sport that is based on a match playing itself out over a period of time can be bet in play. Normally it will be clearly marked in advance if the market will be put in play when it begins by your sports bookmaker. All you have to do is make sure you have the TV switched on and your computer running. Wait for the kick off and then the fun begins!

By Malcolm Clarke

In fact Cricket was played at Bramall Lane as recently as 1975 and then it became solely used for football purposes. Sheffield United?s close neighbours Sheffield Wednesday also used to play there until 1888 when they moved across the city to their own stadium at Hillsborough. But football and Cricket are not the only sports to be played at Bramall Lane as the Sheffield Eagles Rugby League team have also played there in the past and still do from time to time.

The current capacity is 32,702 which is not large by football stadium standards but it has a lovely modern feel to it inside. Most of the ground has been recently renovated and redesigned over the past few years. The ?South Stand? was built in 1975 and now represents the oldest part of the stadium which has seen development done in stages over the years. The Kop end was erected and completed in 1991 and became an all-seater in 1994.

In 1996 it was the turn of the ?John Street? stand to undergo redevelopment with the original stand being demolished which left Bramall Lane temporarily three sided with a direct view across the city if you were sat high enough in the stand. In 2001 there was a new section built into the corner of the Kop while as recently as 2006, the Bramall Lane stand was totally redeveloped and became known as the ?Westfield Health Stand?.

Prior to the all seated era of English football, the attendance record at Bramall Lane is 68,287 in 1936 for an FA Cup match between Sheffield United and their close neighbours Leeds United. In fact Bramall Lane has one very big claim to fame and it is little known that the stadium is now the oldest major football ground in the entire world that is host to games played at a professional level.

It is also the only ground besides the Oval to host an England international and an England test match at Cricket. Sheffield United currently reside in the Championship League in England which is the second tier of English football after they were controversially relegated in 2007.

As a former professional Online Texas Holdem poker player I can?t help but looking at the situation for Sheffield United and Bramhall Lane in a strategically opportunistic way. The stadium is one of the few stadiums in England to be situated almost on the verge of the city centre and it is only five minutes walk to buoyant shopping malls of Sheffield city centre from Bramall Lane and as such, this creates numerous business opportunities and potential for further expansion of the ground in the future.