England v Estonia

Bang on here, we tipped up 3-0 and 3-0 it was.

A must win game for England in Tallinn tonight against Estonia and the pressure is really on Steve McClaren. He has failed to win over the majority of Three Lions fans and, despite a 1-1 draw versus Brazil on Friday, most want him to be shown the door.

The criticism following the stalemate with Brazil was perhaps a little harsh on McClaren, and his team, but they still fail to convince going forward. There is little attacking shape when in possession of the ball but this has been the case for years and I attach no blame to the new boss.

That said, they should have easily enough to breeze past the hapless eastern europeans tonight and remain competitive in Group E. Dropping points is simply not an option and would almost certainly end any hopes of qualifying for EURO 2008. Their opponents have yet to register a point or a goal in six group matches.

England have been well supported to win the match this evening but 1.25 about them doing so remains, in a place. If you have followed my column over the past couple of seasons then you will know that is no price for me but the gulf in class between the two is alarming and I’ll be shocked if John Terry doesn’t lead his team to a comfortable win. They never do things in style so I think we can rule out a goal fest and I’m certain that by backing a couple of correct scores then we can make siding with England pay at generous looking odds.

Dutching the 6.5 with Betfred about a 2-0 win along with the general 8.0 for England to win by three without reply looks tempting and that is the bet for me. We are looking at odds of over 2.59 if either obliges.

I cannot see the Estonians causing the English defence too much concern and therefore this is the way to go instead of backing them at a skinny looking 1.70 giving up 1.50 goals on the Asian Handicaps.