Best and Worst 2012: Part four

Alastair Cook - 'a legend in the making'

In part four of Betting.Betfair's Best and Worst of the Year - see parts one, two and three - our contributors lament Adam Scott's loss of nerve, hail British athletes and put their faith in Harry Redknapp... 

Michael Lintorn

Moment of 2012: I usually resist overly obvious choices but can't swerve Manchester City's injury-time title triumph.

Hero of 2012: Roberto Di Matteo went from Cobham cone distributor to Champions League winner, then pocketed millions for a few months' work in which his reputation soared. Honourable mentions go to Stephan El Shaarawy (king of Milan at 20) and Ashley Roberts (the most likable ever reality show contestant).

Villain of 2012: English football fans for their increasingly smile-eroding lack of originality and the tabloids for the glee with which they conduct their search for a controversy on which to pin each weekend's action.

Best Bet of 2012: Backing outsiders Zambia to win the African Nations Cup pre-tournament (I still can't quite explain why), resisting the temptation to lay before the final against Ivory Coast and rejoicing as they prevailed in a scary penalty shootout.

Bet for 2013: Italy to win June's Under-21 Championship, which should trade at around 7.06/1. They have their most promising generation in ages - replete with Mattia De Sciglio, Marco Verratti, Alessandro Florenzi, Lorenzo Insigne and El Shaarawy - and Serie A's reduced financial might has meant that they all play regularly for top teams.

Luke Moore

Moment: Has to be that Zlatan goal, and his overall performance against England in Stockholm. An unbelievable display from one of a handful of players in world football capable of stopping the world with his ability. 

Hero: Andrea Pirlo - In a world where people appear to be getting younger and younger, Pirlo showed us that you don't have to be quick. All you need to do is slow the rest of the players down to your speed. 
 
Villain: Sadly there are far too many, but if I had to pick one it would be South Yorkshire police. Hopefully in 2013 we can finally lay the ghosts of Hillsborough to rest for the sake of the families. 
  
Best Bet: David Price to blast Audley Harrison out in the first round. Made a tidy profit on that one. 
 
Bet for 2013: QPR to stay in the Premier League. Honestly. Mark my words.

Romilly Evans

Moment: Europe retaining the Ryder Cup. Drama right up until the final putt, this biennial battle is the gift that keeps on giving.

Hero: Andy Murray. Eternally gifted, eternally foiled by playing in the greatest tennis era of all-time. Rather than resign himself to his frustrating fate, though, Murray buckled down and got the major monkey off his back in glorious style at Flushing Meadows. Vindication at both Grand Slam and Olympic level must have been worth the wait. 

Villain: Adam Scott. A lovely guy with supreme ability, so perhaps only a pantomime villain. But 'tis the season. And sometimes your pocket can rule your mind. His collapse at Lytham may have let in a worthy winner in Els, but the Claret Jug should be Scott's and a 50-1 winner mine. As it stands, though, we will both go in search of redemption in 2013.

Best Bet: Yet to collect, but hopefully it's the Denver Broncos for the Super Bowl at 33-1. Peyton Manning coming back from career-threatening injury in a season which could yet confirm that he's miles better than his brother, Eli, and even the superior of Tom Brady as the best quarterback of the modern era.  

Bet for 2013: Oliver Fisher looked destined to follow Rory McIlroy to infinity and beyond, but has gone in the opposite direction. Only one second-tier victory in the Czech Open to his name and missed out on claiming his PGA tour card by bogeying the last in qualifying last week. He's showing the green shoots of recovery, however, and is one to be followed at massive prices in Europe/US now that he appears ready to fulfil his potential.

Daniel Thomas

Moment: The last 200 metres of Mo Farah's 10,000m at the Olympics takes some beating - I particularly enjoyed the footage of a flag-wearing Greg Rutherford cheering him on - but for the importance and the sportsmanship, I'll opt for Justin Rose's monster putt on the 17th on the last day of the Ryder Cup and Big Phil's rueful thumbs-up and smile straight afterwards. A fantastic image.

Hero: Many of our other esteemed contributors have nominated one of our Olympic heroes so in the interests of keeping it fresh, I'll go for Alastair Cook. To lead England to victory in India - probably the hardest tour of them all - in his debut series as captain was phenomenal, especially from being 1-0 down. His batting was imperious throughout and his captaincy was spot on. A legend in the making.

Villain: Hard not to opt for one of Chelsea's many miscreants or Kevin Pietersen for his SMS-based antics,  but I'll go for Peter Herbert, the ridiculous frontman for the Society of Black Lawyers, who seemed to spend months camped outside Sky Sports News headquarters. His publicity seeking efforts ranged from threatening to arrest 35,000 Spurs fans to accusing the FA of 'covering up' Chelsea's ultimately baseless accusations of racism against Mark Clattenberg. But the lowpoint was when he effectively blamed Spurs fans for getting assaulted by Italian ultras in Rome. Time to go and do some work Peter.

Best bet: My best punt of the year came courtesy of Betting.Betfair's darts supremo Jaymes Monte, who tipped up Mervyn King at a huge 65.064/1 to win the World Grand Prix. I got on King antepost and didn't lay out until the final, when he traded around evens, guaranteeing myself a rather nice green book.

Bet for 2013: Lay Liverpool every home game. Despite largely poor performances at Anfield over the calendar year, the Reds are consistently underpriced to win their home games, with the Asian bookmakers showing a baffling loyalty towards them. While they have shown signs of improvement under Brendan Rodgers, pressing the lay button is likely to remain a good strategy for some time yet.

Ian Lamont

Moment: On TV: Super Saturday at the Olympics. Watching live: Seeing League Two side Crawley Town win at Hull City, two divisions higher, in the FA Cup fourth round. A totally dominant, clinical performance by the Reds in Matt Tubbs' last game and on Sanchez Watt's quite stunning debut on loan from Arsenal. It was arguably their best performance of 2011-12.

Hero: Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah have to share it. Ennis overcame the doubters after her World Championship silver the year before to win Olympic heptathlon gold and Farah, well, to win the 5,000/10,000 double was almost super human. 
 
Villain: Daniel Levy, for letting Harry Redknapp leave Tottenham.
 
Best Bet: Laying Rotherham for the 2012-13 title at 4.47/2 at the start of the season back in August. No team should be that short in the lower divisions for a season-long bet. I 'layed to back' and went 'green' within weeks, backing at 11.010/1 within weeks. They are currently 8.07/1. 
 
Bet for 2013: Andy Murray to win Wimbledon. I really believe he has the confidence to get that monkey off his back now. Currently he is 3.7511/4.

Paul Robinson

Moment: Has to be that Saturday night in August when Ennis, Rutherford and Farah all won Olympic gold within minutes of each other. The stadium and the entire country was rocking. In a fine year of British sport, that was the highlight.

Hero: Lord Coe. The driving force behind London 2012. It may have cost a fortune but hopefully the legacy will live on for a long, long time.

Villain: Chelsea fans who boo'd Rafa Benitez. The man hadn't been manager for one game yet and a large section of home fans boo'd him. No matter what you think of him, he didn't deserve that.

Best Bet: A Lucky 15 during the Cheltenham Festival. I did the four Championship races and after three days I was 3/3, including Rock On Ruby at 10/1. Alas Midnight Chase couldn't win the Gold Cup to net me a four figure sum but the return and satisfaction of the bet was still decent.

Bet for 2012: Coventry City to be promoted from League One. Currently 7/1 with Betfair Fixed Odds. After a dismal start to the campaign the Sky Blues are flying under new boss, Mark Robins. Up in mid table now, Coventry will be eyeing the Play-Offs.