The betting plunge on Nemanja Vidic being crowned this season’s PFA Player of the Year has forced bookie Paddy Power to cut the defender’s odds to just 5/4.
The big Serbian has been the bedrock of Manchester United’s defence as they stretch their record run of league clean sheets to 13 games and counting to caterpault the champions to the top of the league.
Vidic opened the season as a 150/1 outsider to take the coveted players award with his odds on a downward curve ever since as punters increasingly took note that it was more a case for the defence than United’s attack for the club’s dominance so far this season.
Vidic had still been available at 11/4 last week before another flourish from punters took his odds down to the present 5/4. The largest bet on the central defender so far has been £250 at 18/1, with Paddy Power now facing a payout of close to £40,000.
Some punters appear to have followed the same logic elsewhere but perhaps are more misguided in where their money has gone. United keeper Edwin van der Sar was first quoted for the award at the beginning of the month at 20/1 and has since been backed down to 10s even though he’s had very little to do, such has been the impregnability of United’s back four.
Other names in the running include last year’s winner Cristiano Ronaldo who is joint-second favourite at 4/1 with Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard whilst veteran Ryan Giggs is now 8/1 from a pre-season 100/1 following his Indian summer in the United midfield.
Darren Haines, spokesman for the bookie, said: “The betting on Vidic has snowballed as punters increasingly realised just who was the main man behind United’s success so far this season. We’re now looking at our biggest payout ever on the Player of the Year award should Vidic win.”