Sports Then and Now

The Premier League has been glittered with some of the best footballers from around the world, with 111 of the 2017 foreign FIFA-affiliated countries represented over the league’s 28-year history. Included in that are six players from New Zealand that have enjoyed successful stays in the top-flight in England.

Gambling on the sport has always been popular, with bettors able to wager on their favourite players to score the first goal. However, it isn’t just football that gamblers can bet on as they can also play at Casino Dreamz and find all their favourite slots, poker and blackjack titles. However, which Kiwi players have enjoyed more success than others in the Premier League?

Chris Wood

The only active player in the Premier League to have been born in New Zealand is Chris Wood. The striker has only got better with the more experience he has had in the top-flight throughout his career.  His talents were quickly noticed by Burnley, who paid a then-club record fee of £15 million to take him to Turf Moor in the summer of 2017. He scored on his debut for Burnley as they drew 1-1 at Wembley against Tottenham Hotspur.

Since then, he has scored at least ten goals in each of his last two seasons in the Premier League. Wood is currently on course to set his best-ever goals return in the Premier League this season having scored eleven goals in 26 appearances. Before having success at Burnley, he had finished the 2016-17 season as top scorer in the Championship for Leeds United.

Ryan Nelson

Ryan Nelson played in the top flight in England for eight years. His career in England spun across three different clubs, with the majority of his success coming during his seven-year stay with Blackburn Rovers. He made 208 appearances for Rovers during his stay and scored eight goals. During his time at Ewood Park, he helped Blackburn maintain their Premier League status and also played a part in the club finishing in the UEFA Cup spots.

He left Blackburn on transfer deadline day in January 2012. Nelson was released on a free transfer after sustaining a knee injury, but Tottenham Hotspur were quick to add him to their squad. He went onto play eight games for Spurs before being released at the end of the season. His final season in England came in the 2012-13 campaign, as he played 24 times for Queens Park Rangers.

South Africa has been lucky enough to host some of the most epic sports events in history, and we haven’t stopped there. Alongside some international events, our proudly South African country hosts a variety of successful annual sporting events too! 

With the pressure on, and excitement practically tangible, these events bring some thrilling opportunities to take part in online sports betting. So, what are some of the biggest sports betting events of 2020?

Annual South African Soccer Events

Telkom Knockout Cup 

This soccer fan favourite event sees sixteen Premier Soccer League teams go head to head for the highest paying cup in Africa. The total prize money amounts to R14.2 million. The Telkom Knockout Cup will take place in August 2020.

Premier Soccer League (PSL) 

1997 saw the rise of South Africa’s top soccer league where SA’s 16 best soccer clubs competed annually. It gave local players the opportunity to play professional soccer and put them on the map to be discovered by international teams. 

Annual South African Cricket Events 

The SuperSport Series

This four-day cricket event brings together six provincial teams. Broadcast all over the country, this event began for the purpose of improving the overall cricket skill that local teamscan compete more successfully in international games. 

The six teams that participate in the SuperSport series are the Dolphins, Highveld Lions, Cape Cobras, Titans and the VKB Knights. Over the four days, the best teams prove themselves, and a final is played on the fourth day to determine the overall winner. 

Liverpool Football Club is without a doubt one of sport’s most historical establishments and the most successful football team in England, an accolade only challenged by nearby rivals Manchester United. The current success of the club on and off the field begs the question, how does this team compare to that of Liverpool’s most successful years?

LFC City Explorer is a sightseeing tour bus based in Liverpool. The bus is one of the best ways for supporters to catch the city’s best sights before it stops outside one of sport’s most iconic stadiums. In this article, LFC City Explorer walks us through how the modern Liverpool FC team compares to that of the 1980s. 

Modern Success vs 1980s Glory

When it comes to sports history, Liverpool FC is right up there with the absolute best and biggest names in the industry. The history of LFC began all the way in 1892 when the club was founded. Since then, the club has consistently played in the top fight for several decades, boasts one of the largest fanbases in the game and has an impressive trophy cabinet bursting with silverware.

The 1980s are widely regarded as the most successful period for this illustrious club. Liverpool FC dominated English and European football during these years. Under the leadership of managers such as Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool won two European Cups, two FA Cups, four League Cups and seven League Titles. The club’s trophy success and pass-and-move style of attacking football was lauded at the time and has since been described as an inspiration by some of football’s most iconic names.

Less than 24 hours after the World Health Organization declared the spread of the coronavirus to be a pandemic the sports world is coming to a screeching halt as sports leagues and college conferences struggle to deal with this intersection between public health and the sports world.

It started Wednesday afternoon with the NCAA announcing that all of their upcoming championships would be played without fans.

With most of the premier Division I conferences having started their men’s basketball tournaments earlier this week, it didn’t take long until they all announced that they would not admit fans starting on Thursday.

However, after a Wednesday evening address by the President as well as continued uncertainty on how best to address the growing crisis, by soon before game time on Thursday most conferences, including the ACC, Big Ten and SEC had all canceled the remainder of their tournaments. The Big East tipped off their first game on Thursday (Creighton against St. Johns), but the game and tournament were later canceled.

 So, what is typically one of the most exciting weekends for college basketball now looks to be an opportunity to catch up on shows from Netflix or Amazon Prime.

College basketball is not the only major sports group impacted by the growing crisis.

After two members of the Utah Jazz tested positive for the virus the game Wednesday night between the Oklahoma Thunder and Utah Jazz was postponed and the NBA later announced an immediate suspension of their season.

By the end of this month, the final groups for Euro 2020 will have been decided and all eyes turn to the tournament starting in June. This year’s final competition will be multi-hosted, commemorating 60 years of European Championships. 1960 marked the inauguration and since then, 10 different nations have won the trophy with Germany (formerly West Germany) and Spain the most prolific winners with three championships each. The football betting odds are currently in England’s favour, but let’s go back in time to some of the most iconic finals.

1964

In the 1964 European Nations’ Cup Final, Spain became the first host nation to win the tournament. They faced the maiden winners, the Soviet Union in the final and prevented them from becoming back-to-back winners. It took extra time for Spain to secure their place in the final, as they beat Hungary 2-1, while the Soviet Union hammered Denmark 3-0 at the Nou Camp. 

The cauldron that is the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid played host to the final, which was won within 90 minutes. A one-goal lead is always a fine margin, and so it proved again as the hosts were immediately pegged back after taking the lead through Jesús María Pereda – Galimzyan Khusainov equalising within two minutes to set up a thrilling encounter. It took six minutes for Spain to take the lead, and six minutes from time they restored their lead, through Marcelino. 

We’re now into a new decade and Liverpool are on route to shattering English Premier League records left, right and centre but how else has the game evolved over the past 10 years?

VAR 

The technology in the Premier League is unquestionably one of the hottest topics on people’s lips this season. The introduction of VAR – video assisted referees – came in at the start of the 2019/20 season and it’s fair to say everyone is divided on whether or not it’s a good thing for the game. The concept was well received but the manner in which it’s being used is killing the game for many fans as celebrations are being put on hold and goals are being determined by the smallest margins with offside decisions becoming laughably tight. 

Then, of course, there is the length of time it takes for decisions to be reached. This and the lack of engagement with fans in the grounds are the biggest complaints with the argument regularly made that the same issues don’t occur in other sports such as the NFL where Super Bowl 2020 will be televised globally in the coming weeks to prove how tech can enhance the game just to rub salt into the wounds of soccer. 

Goal line technology 

Despite the teething issues with VAR it would be too much of a sweeping statement to claim that soccer can’t do technology. In 2013, goal line technology was introduced and has been a roaring success as it transmits a signal in milliseconds to confirm when the ball has crossed the line. Sure, you no longer get talking points like the infamous ‘ghost goal’ but key decisions, such as potentially title deciding decisions like in last years match between Man City and Liverpool,  are correct.