Overrated/Underrated

Overrated
Leaving Arsenal for a bigger club

Here are a few names for Patrick Vieira to conjure with as he ponders his employers next season: Nicolas Anelka, Marc Overmars, Manu Petit. They will be vaguely familiar, because they all played together. But only vaguely. Because all three opted to forsake Arsenal for pastures new; pastures, so they told us, greener and greater. And while all three were certifiably big names while at Highbury, they are less so now. Anelka (via ill-tempered seasons at Real Madrid and PSG) is now on loan, trying to prove he is worth about two-thirds of his value three years ago. Overmars too has found that an eye-popping transfer fee is no guarantee of long-term security, having become a peripheral figure at Barcelona. The Catalan giants were also Petit's nemesis, and he's now back in the Premiership, a lesser figure. Will Vieira (courted by Real for two years now) follow suit? He is better than them all , but knows all too well that those who have greatness thrust upon them by Arsène Wenger are not necessarily great forever.

Underrated
German racehorses

On an annual basis, xenophobic British bookmakers underrate German horses that come here to race on the Flat, and in doing so they present us with opportunities which are too good to miss. The Germans have their own racing season and not many of their horses are brought over - but when they do their odds almost always reflect a patronising view of German racing. Last July at Newmarket, for instance, Proudwings won a Group Two race at 10-1 and was available at a bigger price all morning. The same thing happened a year earlier when Abitara won at 20-1. Other German horses such as Silvano, Boreal and Paolini have all won or been placed in some of the world's biggest races over the past year. The trend looks likely to continue this year, but despite their horses being as consistent as their football team used to be, the bookies haven't learnt their lesson. By looking next to a horse's name in any newspaper it'll tell you if it's not from Britain. If you see a (GER) by it, make a small investment.