How losing is winning !
clubgowi subscribers have already received today's newsletter which extended to some 5,300 words, this will be one of what is likely to be 13-14 emails this week.
You can read a sample of one of these previews in the previous post on this website. There are likely to be 40-50 of a similar standard sent to members this week and, in almost every 7 day period and for 52 weeks per year (we never close), there will be an average of 35-40. clubgowi is not like any other service, never has been and as such should not be compared to any, it would not be fair to them !
It is not possible to sign up to become a clubgowi subscriber at present, it has pretty much been closed for three months, it was open for a couple of days recently when we had a few spots on offer, but that was it, there is a waiting list currently and you are welcome to join that, just email us and that will ensure you get first chance to sign up, whenever a place comes up.
However, you can sign up to our NFL newsletter which is now offered as a stand alone product, as well as being part of the full clubgowi package. Details are on the "Join Now" tab and if you email us first via the contact us form, I will tell you how to make a small saving on that. All four weekend NFL previews produced winners at odds of between 2.06 and 2.47 and you can read one below.
Early days yet but we are +28.7% (ROI) through the opening two weeks, that is not sustainable, however, returns on NFL have been very good during the life of clubgowi, if I told you what they were during the time of Gambling and Other Wholesome Interests (GOWI) and before, you would probably not believe me, as they are so far out of kilter with what is "expected" on US Sports and, on top of all that, I think I was responsible for (well, I know I was responsible) the biggest ever payout on the sport in Europe and that was well over seven figures in the days when that was a lot of money !
I backed the Giants in Week 1 (see below), they lost, there is nothing wrong with losing and if you also actually learn something and I clearly did , it can be worth far more and provide 2-3-4 winners down the line and I was quick to jump ship this week.
I personally think that WTA tennis and NFL notes are my best, odds on some of the women's matches are just incredible and you often find matches with favourites allocated 15% too much (IMO) in a 2% profit margin book ! There was something about this on the website earlier this month, which I think is worth a look, infact I think you should read it if you have a spare two minutes at some stage.
The Lions won 24-10 last night ...................
NFL : Detroit Lions @ NY Giants
I previewed (poorly !) the Giants opener in Dallas and those notes are reproduced below. Odell Beckham Jr did not play, NY fell out of the blocks and stayed there, 16 points down early, they lost 19-3. OBJ and Ezekiel Elliott of the Cowboys were both subject to game time decisions, Beckham ran some sprints in warm up, but missed out , EE was passed fit and was the dominant player with 104 yards on the ground and 36 from five receptions. For the Giants it was a very lethargic and downbeat showing and no one came out with much credit.
They would not have wanted the (divisional rival) Cowboys to win last night, but their 42-17 loss to the Broncos hardly gave the formline a boost, we should never read too much into one game in any sport, having said that, in the NFL we only have 16 of them in the regular season and what else is there ! Dallas gave up at least one touchdown in all four quarters, two in two and that reflects badly on the Giants total of one field goal in 60 minutes . Elliott had about 22 yards total on 9 carries and 4 receptions and that says a lot about how poor and not for the first time the Giants offensive line was.
Detroit started slowly themselves last week and were ten points down to the Cardinals after the first quarter, but won 35-23, with Matt Stafford throwing for 292 yards and four TD's, like the Giants, they do not have a huge running game, but I feel theirs has a little more potential and we discussed that a couple of times last season. I saw quite a bit of improvement in their maligned defensive line last week , they kept Arizona to a one dimensional offense and that is so often the key to winning and there is a good chance they can do similarly to the Giants tonight, they had seven hits and one sack on Carson Palmer last week and came up with some unpredictable and hard to call plays which is always a plus.
The Giants offensive line looks a liability and was overmatched against Dallas, Eli Manning hardly went to new receiver Brandon Marshall, which in the absence of OBJ was odd in the extreme and theer must be a reason , they might have to tonight, but Detroit have an improved secondary and look a team on the rise. They started 2015 slowly (0-5 and 1-7) but went 6-2 to finish the season and recovered to 9-4 after a 1-3 start 12 months ago. They have spokem about really going for it early this time round and got off to a flyer last week and can build on that today. I don't feel there should be much in this , maybe NYG as a very marginal favourite, but 1.98-1.98 would be closer than current odds IMO and I have to go with .................
1.75 units Detroit Lions to beat New York Giants 2.47 Pinnacle/Vegas Line/Sportmarket Pro.
The Giants’ offense crossed the 50 just twice in ten drives last week and have not scored 20 points in any of their last seven starts . The Lions have won 5/10 on the road, scoring 21+ points in seven of those and my feeling is that NYG are going to have to step up on almost anything we have seen from them in quite some time to win this.
Good Luck.
New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys (written September 10th)
This is the third year running that these two arch rivals have met on opening day and ahead of last season's game I wrote .............
These two met on opening day last year with the Cowboys edging a close one 27-26, that set the tone for much of what happened to the Giants in 2015, with 8 of their 10 losses coming by less than a touchdown, five by a FG or less, 5 of their 6 wins were by at least a TD and they really struggled to win close games. That cost veteran ,long time and hugely successful head coach Tom Coughlin his job, it was a "joint" decision, but the truth is he wanted to stay and was dragged out kicking and screaming, at least when the television cameras were not rolling ! Ben McAdoo was the surprise choice to replace him, the rookie has been given every chance to succeed, with a $200m +upgrade of a terrible defense and some expensively retained coaches. Odell Beckham Jr, Sterling Shepard and Victor Cruz give veteran quarterback Eli Manning an array of receiving riches and if the Giants can just keep things honest with even a little more product on the ground, they could be in business !
They kind of know what they will face today, with no Tony Romo for the Cowboys who are also missing some of their better pass rushers, it will be all about the run for them, behind three Pro Bowl offensive linemen, they averaged almost 5 yards per carry in the two games with the Giants last season and more of the same will be the order of the day , but I doubt it will be that easy. They couldn't run win an "ugly" contest against the Jets last year when tackle Damon Harrison had 4 tackles and 4 assists and he was one of those big money additions. If he and his team mates can just slow up the run, that will put huge pressure on rookie Cowboy quarterback Dak Prescott. Giants to kick start what might be a good season.
That again went down to the wire with the Giants winning 20-19, seven of the last eight h2h meetings in Texas have been decided by six points or less, the last two by exactly one and the Giants also edged the late season rematch in NY by three points in a low scoring encounter. Dallas still won the division going 13-1 in the other other 14 matches and Dak Prescott picked up the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award, the Cowboys averaged over 28 points per game from their other starts and all 3 regualr season losses came in inter divisional match ups, which are both noteworthy and the truth is, regardless of how well teams play in other games, it often all chances in the vital divisional games where all kinds of other elements come into play.
This match up is always close and will be again IMO, the Giants have won the last three and have not won four consecutive games in the series since 1990, but Dallas have done so twice in the interim, incuding five straight immediately before the recent swing, so i don't think that NY will be in any rush to give up their crown just yet ! I favour them to stay within a field goal , star receiver Odell Beckham Jr, who is just about the most exciting player on the planet is "questionable", 70% of Giants with that designation actually played last season and my feeling is he will (suggestion was they were not worried about his fitness, he has not practiced much, just that he was medically cleared ), but I will view that as a bonus and not essential to my bet (Giants have upgraded their receiving options anyway), as this feels very much like the Giants defense against the Cowboys offense #3 and the Giants just have the edge for me, Prescott really struggled against the NY secondary last year ( he had 20 incompletions in each game and two of his four interceptions came against New York !) and with Steve Spagnuolo still the visitors defensive coordinator and the only changes he has made being upgrades, I see little changing. Spagnuolo has spent 12 years playing on or coaching defenses in this division and probably knows the Cowboys plays as well as anyone in football.
