Match Fixer

Match Fixer takes place inside the murky underbelly of Asian Football. The so-called squeaky clean city-state of Singapore plays host to betting syndicates which have for decades fed off the insatiable illegal gambling habits of the local population and in the process made a select few bookies very rich and far too powerful. Neil Humpreys, a former Football correspondent for the national Singapore press, lifts the lid off a previously unexplored - but very real - subject. In his debut novel, corruption is destroying the Beautiful Game in Asia and has spread its tentacles into the UK via spread betting cartels that have already knocked out floodlights and caused chaos in the English Premier League. Against such a background, former West Ham United apprentice striker Chris Osborne arrives in Singapore for a final roll of the dice to get his once promising career back on track. However not even a boyhood spent growing up in the East End prepares him for the crooked shenanigans, bloated former British footballing jetsam and the underground party drugs scene that welcomes him to life in paradise. "Match fixing is destroying The Beautiful Game in Asia, and corruption has spread its tentacles into 'squeaky-clean' Singapore. Feeding off the insatiable gambling habits of the local population, illegal football betting has made a select few bookies - particularly one named Tiger - very rich and far too powerful. Against such a backdrop, Chris Osborne, a young, handsome striker from the West Ham United academy, arrives on the Singapore football scene. A series of unexpected events at West Ham and Melbourne Victory has seen Chris - once tipped to play for England - end up at an S-League club in a desperate bid to get his faltering career back on track. However, not even a boyhood spent growing up in London's East End prepares him for the bent bookies, dubious team-mates, the underground party drugs scene and a seductively beautiful journalist that welcome him to life in paradise."--Publisher description Match Fixer takes place inside the murky underbelly of Asian football. 'Squeaky-clean' Singapore plays host to betting syndicates, which have for decades fed off the insatiable illegal gambling habits of the local population and made a select few bookies very rich and far too powerful. Corruption is destroying The Beautiful Game in Asia and has spread its tentacles into the UK via spread betting cartels. Floodlights have been knocked out. Players jailed. Questions asked. Against such a backdrop, former West Ham apprentice striker Chris Osborne arrives in Singapore for a final roll of the dice to get his once promising career back on track. However, not even a boyhood spent growing up in London's East End prepares him for the crooked shenanigans, bloated former British footballing jetsam and the underground party drugs scene that welcome him to life in paradise. acknowledgements......Page 8 one......Page 11 two......Page 16 three......Page 23 four......Page 32 five......Page 44 six......Page 56 seven......Page 62 eight......Page 79 nine......Page 93 ten......Page 101 eleven......Page 117 twelve......Page 131 thirteen......Page 143 fourteen......Page 159 fifteen......Page 170 sixteen......Page 184 seventeen......Page 194 eighteen......Page 213 nineteen......Page 224 twenty......Page 233 twenty-one......Page 242 twenty-two......Page 252 twenty-three......Page 266 twenty-four......Page 276 the author......Page 288