A wise wager away from the Wembley bore

HOW can we possibly consider backing England to win at short odds against Slovenia at Wembley following the shattering injury blow which was was dished out to Roy Hodgson on Thursday morning.

Andros Townsend is ruled out. I will certainly miss the aimless dribbles and powerful shots which sometimes fly into the net but usually fly over Wembley stadium and into neighbouring Harrow.

Townsend’s shots are certainly not as straight as an arrow and I think even Roy can come up with a plan that does not include the winger. Stewart Downing anyone? Anyone? Nope, okay.

I’m certainly not expecting a classic at Wembley with 11 of Slovenia’s last 12 matches featuring two goals or fewer and under 2.5 could be the way to go once again, particularly as Gary Cahill is raving about the England defence under the influence of Gary Neville.

“We are definitely a lot harder team to play against now,” claimed Cahill on the back of four straight clean sheets against the mighty Norway, Switzerland, San Marino and Estonia.

Cahill must have forgotten about the defeats in the last 12 months against Chile, Germany, Italy and Uruguay.

However, my wisest wager of Saturday is to oppose Morecambe by backing Bury in League Two.

Morecambe have been slipping down the League Two table at an alarming rate and in all competitions they have lost eight of their last 11 matches, including a 1-0 reverse at the hands of Dover in the FA Cup last week.

Bury’s JPT Wembley dream died against Tranmere in midweek but the main aim is promotion and the Shakers can shake off their dodgy away form (two wins in nine) to keep heading in the right direction.

Unlike Andros Townsend’s shooting.