Defending champion PSV moves on without Koeman

Soccer Betting Lines

11/02/2007 - Heerenveen, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After the unexpected resignation of manager Ronald Koeman earlier this week, unbeaten PSV turns to Jan Wouters as its interim boss for Saturday's match at Heerenveen.

Without Koeman, who signed to manage Spain's Valencia on Friday, Wouters is in charge of guiding the defending champions until a full-time boss is selected.

"Everything is pretty much the same after Ronald Koeman left, although I have made some small changes," said Wouters, who has been an assistant at PSV since 2006.

Wouters played 70 games for the Netherlands during his playing career and was a huge part of the team's 1988 European Football Championship. His club career took him to Utrecht, PSV, Bayern Munich and Ajax.

He got his first coaching job at Utrecht in 1996, and had stints at Ajax and Rangers before joining PSV.

PSV (7-0-2) has continued to display championship form this season, scoring 23 goals and allowing just three in nine matches.

But Koeman's departure can't bother the team or it could easily lose its grip on the top spot in the Eredivisie. PSV is just two points in front of Ajax and Feyenoord.

Seventh-place Heerenveen (4-3-2) has displayed the second-best offense in the league so far with 25 goals. If the club is going to contend for a higher spot in the league, this weekend against a shocked PSV is a great chance to pick up points.

Ajax (6-0-3) and Feyenoord (7-2-0) would welcome an upset by Heerenveen.

Ajax got its first victory under manager Ardie Koster last week ("Compliments to the team," Koster said. "They really fought for each other."), and battles sixth-place Roda on Sunday.

Feyenoord also faces a test Sunday against eight-place Graafschap in the third match of the weekend featuring two top-eight teams.

In Friday's lone league game, substitutes Adil Auassar and Ekrim Kah scored in the final 20 minutes as Willem II defeated Venlo 2-1. Ibrahim Kargbo scored in the 10th minute for Venlo.

Also on Saturday, AZ hosts NEC and Excelsior hosts Sparta.

In Sunday's other matches, Groningen hosts Vitesse, Heracles hosts Twente and Utrecht hosts NAC.

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Betting Football

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.