Patrick Kennedy muses to samba beat

So it's just one more spin of the wheel for Patrick Kennedy, who announced this week he will step down in a year's time as chief executive of the bookmaker Paddy Power.

He will be missed, except perhaps by David Moyes, Fernando Torres, the organisers of the Euro football championships, the Ryder Cup, Cheltenham, blind persons' charities, feminist groups, elderly groups, the pope and everybody else on the sharp end of a Paddy Power stunt on Kennedy's watch.

He was asked at this week's agm about the bookie's losses if Brazil, the 3/1 outright favourites, win the World Cup on home turf. He said there are two WC betting markets: the overall one, but also win-draw-win after 90 minutes on individual matches.

A Brazil win wouldn’t clear out Paddy if, Kennedy said, the country failed to win several matches within 90 minutes, needing extra time or penalties instead. The bookie wouldn’t have to pay out on those games.

“My prediction however is that Brazil don’t need more than 90 minutes to win individual matches,” he said. Too true.