The Footy Tipster Free football betting tips from an expert on worldwide football

FAQ / Guide

How does this damn site work?

Well, I've designed this section purely for those of you who are struggling to understand how my betting tips work. It's really rather simple. The team I select in bold is the team I back to win the game. If both teams are in bold, then I have backed a draw. The number after the teams is the level of confidence I feel in my selection out of 10. Also, don't misconstrue what a rating of 2 would mean - I still think it will happen, I'm just not as confident as with other fixtures for various reasons i.e. a derby match. Examples are below.

AC Milanvs Siena (10) - Basically, if AC Milan fail to win this game, the world will implode. Naturally this is an exaggeration but you should get the gist of my point as a result!

Man Utd vs Chelsea (3) - I think Man Utd should win the game, but I won't be putting my house on it because there are a lot of risk elements involved.

Barcelona vs Real Madrid (5) - I'm fairly confdent this will end up a draw.

The only slight complication may be the information I add after the selection. For instance, you might see a scoreline or a first goalscorer, which is pretty self-explanitory. However, if you see -0.5 or -1.5 etc. then it's a recommended handicap bet for the side in bold.  If it's ever a +0.5 or +1.5 etc. then I'll mention that it's for the side not in bold. Also, please don't misconstrue what I mean by placing the scorelines on some games. They are the scorelines I think should happen but if I put a side to win 2-0, for instance, this is not an endorsement of a handicap bet, strange as it may sound. I will mention if a handicap is recommended but a scoreline of 2-0 means I think it should end that way and not that the side is necessarily playing well enough for me to be confident on backing the handicap.

What is the difference between accumulator fodder and recommended bets?

Accumulator fodder is basically a list of sides that have a very good chance of winning their games and can be added to multiples/accumulators to boost the odds - it just saves you all scrolling through the entire list of games that I've posted my thoughts on. Recommended bets are as the title suggests - bets that I recommend, usually doubles or trebles.

Comments section:

I'm all in favour of people posting comments, be they positive or negative, with the proviso that they're useful. I will actively delete any comments that are pointless and/or stupid so keep it logical. All I want to see there are comments relating to bets, the odd bit of banter, and perhaps tips for other sports if you have any. I do not endorse live commentary there (we have a section on the forum for it) nor dead statements (i.e. OMG TEAM X LOST 1-0) as they're pointless.

What is this "live commentary" I keep reading about?

Well, we've basically launched an idea where either ourselves at TFT or our loyal users commentate on a game in-play. What are the benefits of this? Well, you get an expert eye on the game to either re-affirm your own thoughts on the game if you were contemplating making a bet in-play. Alternatively, if you're out with the missus somewhere and can't stream a game, why not tune into live commentary on the forum and keep up to speed with the game? You can make a packet without her even knowing - keep it in mind!

Partnerships/Co-operation:

Whereas I don't want to seem martyr-esque, we at The Footy Tipster do like to help other like-minded sites as best we can to achieve success if we deem them worthwhile for our punters. We're open to most suggestions regarding links or partnerships so feel free to ask. We're also available for "rent", for want of a better word! Basically, if you're a betting tips website yourself and want to increase your website's hits and success rates by employing us to write some tips for you then we're open to doing this. Needless to say that there is a fee for this service (this fee is open to discussion) and that fee would be increased if you wanted exclusive tips (this fee is also open to discussion) because as charitable as we like to be, we don't utilise the majority of our time to simply give free tips to other websites, unfortunately. If you have any queries on the above then feel free to email us at thefootytipster@gmail.com.

Success Rates

We've had a few questions of late regarding why we don't post our success rates on this website. Well, there's some good reasoning behind that, at least in our eyes. Basically, we like people to formulate their own opinions of the website without having any expecatations. For instance, if we put that the success rate was 80% then if you followed our tips and lost the first time around, you'd most likely leave and assume we were liars. However, if we put that the success rate is 45%, then people aren't interested and simply leave. That, personally, is rather offensive considering the amount of hard work that is continuously put into this site. Our motto is "We're good, not God" so we like it much better if you form your own opinions over time and then decide whether you want to stick with us for some good tips and laughs or if you wish to go elsewhere.

Incidentally, the above reasoning is the reason we don't charge people to use this site - we can't guarantee your success. If we could guarantee that then we'd feel justified in charging people but there's just no guarantees in betting. We can categorically state that there will never be charges for punters to use this site - aside from the above, it's against everything that football and betting is in essence. There's enough people trying to take money off you all as it is - I don't intend to become one of them unless you feel inclined to donate to our cause, which is naturally appreciated!

How quickly do we respond to emails?

Well, we try to respond within 1-2 hours if it's regarding a bet. If it's about a link or a different enquiry, it may take a little longer. Unfortunately, sleep is essential on occasion but that is the only time of day that the site is not manned.

What competitions do you cover?

This is quite simply a list of the football leagues & competitions I will make predictions on. This list may be added to or have some removed at any given time, although I do try and maintain consistency in that respect. I've also helpfully added when the league runs from and to, as of 2009/2010 at least.

African Cup of Nations (January every 2 years)
Argentinian Primera Division (Feburary & August to June & December annually)
Asian Cup (July every 4 years)
Australian A-League (August to February annually)
Austrian Bundesliga (July to May annually)
Austrian Liga 1 (July to May annually)
Baltic League (September to October annually)
Belarusian Vysshaya Liga (April to November annually)
Belgian Eerste Klasse (August to May annually)
Brazilian Serie A (May to December annually)
Bulgarian A PFG (August to June annually)
Chilean Primera Division (January to December annually)
Colombian Primera A (Feburary & August to June & December annually)
Confederations Cup (June every 4 years)
Copa Libertadores (January to August annually)
Copa Nissan Sudamericana (August to December annually)
Croatian Prva Liga (July to March annually)
Cypriot Division 1 (August to March annually)
Czech Republic Gambrinus Liga (August to May annually)
Danish Superligaen (July to May annually)
Danish 1st Division (July to May annually)
Dutch Eredivisie (August to May annually)
Dutch Eerste Divisie (August to May annually)
Ecuadorian Primera A (February & September to August & January annually)
English Premier League (August to May annually)
English Championship (August to May annually)
English League One (August to May annually)
English League Two (August to May annually)
English FA Cup (August to May annually)
English League Cup (September to February annually)
Estonian Meistriliiga (March to November annually)
European Championships (June every 4 years)
European Champions League (August to May annually)
European UEFA Europa League (August to May annually)
Faroese Meistaradeildin (March to October annually)
Finnish Liiga Cup (January to April annually)
Finnish Veikkausliiga (April to October annually)
Finnish Ykkonen (April to October annually)
French Ligue 1 (August to May annually)
French Ligue 2 (August to May annually)
German Bundesliga (August to May annually)
German 2 Bundesliga (August to May annually)
Greek Super League (August to April annually)
Hungarian Soproni Liga (July to May annually)
International Friendlies
International Qualifiers - North American
International Qualifiers - European
International Qualifiers - African
International Qualifiers - Asian
International Qualifiers - Oceanian
International Qualifiers - South American
International U21 Friendlies
International U21 Qualifiers - European + South American
Irish Premier Division (March to November annually)
Italian Serie A (August to May annually)
Italian Serie B (August to May annually)
Japanese J-League (March to December annually)
Latvian Virsliga (April to November annually)
Lithuanian A Lyga (March to November annually)
Mexican Primera Division (January to May & June to December annually)
Norwegian Tippeligaen (March to November annually)
Norwegian Divisjon 1 (March to November annually)
Peruvian Primera Division (February to August annually)
Paraguayan Division Profesional (January to June, July to September annually)
Polish Ekstraklasa (August to May annually)
Polish Liga 1 (July to June annually)
Portuguese Liga Sagres (August to May annually)
Romanian Liga 1 (July to May annually)
Russian Premier League (March to November annually)
Russian First Division (March to November annually)
Scottish Premier League (August to May annually)
Serbian Superliga (August to March annually)
Singaporean S-League (February to November annually)
Slovakian Corgon Liga (July to May annually)
Slovenian Prva Liga (July to May annually)
South American Youth Championships (Sudamericana) - (January to February every 4 years)
Spanish Primera Liga (August to May annually)
Spanish Segunda Liga (August to May annually)
Swedish Allsvenskan (March to November annually)
Swedish Superettan (March to November annually)
Swiss Super League (July to May annually)
Swiss Challenge League (July to May annually)
Turkish Super Lig (August to May annually)
Ukrainian Premier League (July to May annually)
Uruguayan Primera Division (N/A - currently in transition)
Venezuelan Primera Division (August & February to December & June annually
Welsh Premier League (August to April annually)
World Cup (June to July every 4 years)

If you have any suggestions on other leagues/competitions that you'd like to see covered by myself, please email thefootytipster@gmail.com