Sports Betting: Curbs First To Go

Confusion at St James' Park left bookmakers with a tricky decision.

A leading sports betting firm has opted to pay out on Alan Curbishley being the first Premier League boss to leave his post.

Punters who had money on Kevin Keegan being the first managerial casualty of the campaign thought they were quids in when reports emerged on Tuesday suggesting he had parted company with Newcastle United.

However, with the Keegan situation still unclear, Curbishley resigned as West Ham United manager on Wednesday.

Bookmakers are not certain whether the Hammers man was the first to leave, but William Hill has decided to pay out anyway.

"It is not fair to keep Curbishley backers waiting, but at the same time it could still emerge that Kevin Keegan effectively ceased to be Newcastle boss before Curbs departed West Ham," said Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe.

He added that the pair had been the favourites in the managerial sack race.

Croatia manager Slaven Bilic, a former West Ham defender, is the early favourite to succeed Curbishley, although one punter has placed a £10 bet at odds of 10,000/1 on US presidential candidate Barack Obama being the new man in the Upton Park hot seat.