Odds Roundup: Bookies Tip Bolton And Barcelona Bosses For Reading Hotseat

Let's start with the more 'proper' news story here, if one can call it that: Neil Lennon has dropped to a price of 3/1 to be installed as Steve Clarke's replacement - with BetVictor and Betfair. The Northern Irishman turned down a move to Berkshire during his playing days in the mid-90s but with the Trotters sitting bottom of the Championship and potentially facing a winding up order, you could expect him to happily jump ship to a club like Reading.

That said, with SkyBet maintaining a distant 20/1 it seems like this could be something out of nothing. Lennon's CV is pretty inconsistent and his personality divisive. Indeed it is pretty easy to see through his five-strong trophy haul from four years at Celtic, added to by 13 major honours as a player.

In other news Luis Enrique, once considered a serious 4/1 contender to take over from Brian McDermott with the club still in the Premier League, still finds himself linked with the Madejski Stadium dugout. That is despite the 41-year-old experiencing something of an upturn in fortunes since 2013 - where he found himself out of work after leaving Roma. Now managing Barcelona to domestic and European glory, many considered Friday's 20/1 price to be emphatically low, but the Spaniard now finds himself at a hilarious 8/1 with SkyBet. That makes him the third favourite.

Looking to the front-runners and there's little change today, Brian McDermott still hovering in the odds-on zone (4/6) while Nigel Pearson has drifted to as far back as 6/1. With no odds available for today's latest rumour, Oscar Garcia, I'm starting to genuinely consider the possibility that some fans bet on Luis Enrique (full name Luis Enrique Martinez Garcia) with the intent of backing the former Watford and Brighton boss. Stranger things and all that.

Naturally we urge you not only to #GambleAware (because betting on Enrique is akin to throwing your money down a well marked 'property of Rupert Murdoch') but also remember how small this market is and how easily these markets can sway. Furthermore, there is a real degree of volatility to them due to a lack of concrete news coming out of the press. We are yet to here of anyone being "on the verge" or "set to" become the new Reading manager, so for the time being we have to make do with these sorts of stories emerging. It's just as well they're slightly funny, or it'd be getting rather tedious rather soon.

All odds provided by OddsChecker and correct at time of writing (08/12).