Can Vinnie Be Beaten?
Nicola T saw off Sov last night and is in decent shape entering the final stretch. Sisqo, Stevie B and Ivana are up for eviction with 2 being shown the door on Friday night and it looks a foregone conclusion that Baldwin will be first out, followed by Trump.
It’ll then be a vote to win, if it follows the same pattern as last year, with 7 housemates up for the crown. We told you to back Nicola T at 20s and 16s e/w on the Outright, and 5s to be Top Female. If Ivana goes on Friday, then Nic only has Steph to beat in the latter market and as third favourite at 10s on the Outright looks to have a great chance of making the last 3.
Nic continues to prove herself an incredibly sweet, extremely warm and likeable presence in the house whereas Steph has come across really poorly in recent edits – snooty, superior and forming a holier-than-thou clique with Vinnie Jones, also nominating supposed friend and ally Ivana. In a vote to win we’d expect Nic to outpoll Steph but to be on the safe side you may want to consider laying off some of your potential Top Female profit, with Nic likely to be trading around the 1-2 mark, or shorter, when it becomes a 2-horse race.
Vinnie is now a best-priced 8-13 on the Outright, largely through default. The way he has cunningly got other HMs in his pocket, and sewn the seeds for the demise of others, is extremely see-through. He knows the game well and if the odds are to be believed, he is playing it to perfection. There’s still a nagging doubt because he is hogging so much of the limelight and could yet slip up. He is walking a dangerous tightrope, potentially coming across as unpleasantly forceful, manipulative and controlling.
In a positive vote to win there is still scope there for someone to topple him, but the others are all so wishy-washy it may require something dramatic to occur in the house over the next week or so for it to happen and someone to build up a head of steam. Bowers, Sisqo and Basshunter are all too bland and toothless, and Steph too condescending. Our hope is, he starts picking on Nic which he has done already, trying to liken her to Nasty Nick from that infamous first series of Big Brother, and belittling her status as a WAG.
Apart from Nic, we see Alex Reid as the only other HM who could beat Vinnie. He has been on a proper journey, using the CBB experience to try and work out who he is and what he wants to be. He is malleable and stupid but in a strangely endearing way and a victory for him could be seen as another poke in the eye towards Katie Price. So the contrary British public could get behind him big time in the final push. We suggested keeping Vinnie green and you should certainly do likewise with Alex so recommend taking the 7s on the Outright and 11-2 for him to be Top Male. Just a shame he can’t get Vinnie in the Cage – that’s one showdown we’d pay good money to see.
Rob Furber