A wise man never takes anything for granted
THE start of the football season is always a time of hope for punters.
We're older and wiser than ever before so surely that experience will lead to a flood of winning bets and an early retirement to the Caribbean.
Already, though, we've seen teams losing when they were supposed to win (Manchester United), winning but not as easily as they should have done (Arsenal and Liverpool) or not being as useless as they were meant to be (Aston Villa).
So I'm not taking anything for granted when Burnley host Chelsea on Monday.
Obviously, Chelsea have raided Atletico Madrid and Barcelona for their summer signings while Burnley have been snapping up players from Wolves, Middlesbrough and that lovely part of the country Unattached.
But it's still 11 against 11 (unless Jose Mourinho's managed to pull some serious strings with the FA) and, with Turf Moor rocking at the return of Premier League football, I reckon the title favourites might have to work hard to break down the Clarets.
I'm going for the draw-Chelsea double result with Burnley holding firm at least until half-time. Ignore this wise old punter at your peril...