Betting suspended on Ranieri

William Hill press release:

Bookmakers William Hill have suspended their book on the
next Manchester City manager after a flurry of support for Claudio Ranieri
forced his odds down from 6/4 to 4/6 favourite.
'We had one customer trying
to get a bet of £8000 on in a Chelsea betting shop before we started to see a
general gamble with people apparently wanting to take any price about Ranieri
and as we had already been tipped off by a foreign source that the former
Chelsea boss was a live contender for the City job we decided to close the book
for the time being in case negotiations might already be going on behind the
scenes'.
Hill had also seen money for Gerrard Houllier, the biggest bet of
£200, as he was backed from 10/1 to 6/1 second favourite, but the only other
serious interest was in Louis Van Gaal for whom Hills took a £200 bet at 9/1.
'There was no serious cash for any other contender outside of these three'
added Sharpe. 'There always comes a time in these markets where you first
suspect and then know that someone knows more than we do.'
Closing Man City
boss odds....4/6 Ranieri; 6 Houllier; 9 Van Gaal; 11 Hiddink; Koeman; 16 Hughes;
20 Warnock.

With van Gaal, Houllier and Koeman apparantly ruling themselves out of contention earlier today, it does seem that the smart money is on Ranieri's appointment.