Leicester - were you really there?

No doubt in future years thousands of people will claim to have backed Leicester to win the Premiership. It will become footballing's equivalent of claiming to have seen The Sex Pistols at Manchester's Lesser Free Trade Hall. And of course I will be of that number for I have indeed backed them. My story will grow with the years until it's as though I masterminded the whole shebang. And, of course, the rather mundane truth is that I backed them at 12/1 a couple of months ago.

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Not at the 5000/1 that was freely available at the start of the season. (And just imagine if Betfair had a higher price ceiling than they do, what price might then have been available). This means that at the start of the season the odds being offered on Leicester were the same as those on the Loch Ness Monster being discovered.

I'm grateful to Daniel Taylor of The Guardian for that snippet and for him phoning up someone at William Hill and unearthing the following brilliant raw data:


Twenty-five people had a bet on Leicester at 5000/1 with William Hill. Twenty-five.

These 25 bets added up to a total stake of £68.55.

Three of these bets were placed in Leicester? Three!

One of the bets was a woman in Edinburgh who placed 5p and is no doubt sweating on her potential £250 winnings. The two largest bets were of £20 each.



Just so you know.