Disgruntlement

That was Jim Beglin's pinpoint characterization of the mood at Saint James' Park during the Magpies' truly moribund performance against Everton.  There was plenty of that to go around this week.

Another Monday Loss

The losing goal skips under Hornicek
Credit Getty

Newcastle lowered their record on Mondays to 0-0-3 with the 0-1 loss to Everton.  While not the 4-1 pastings of the other two defeats, their uninspiring showing here was just as troubling.  They managed just two shots on target and really didn't offer much in the way of attacking football until maybe the final 15 minutes.  The only goal of the match was a shot that Hornicek let slip under him, allowing Barry to bury it in the back of the net.  The compression of the table at this early stage (11 sides are within six points of the drop zone) probably overstates the number of teams at risk but this Newcastle team needs to sort out who they are before the threat becomes real.

Conversation That Didn't Take Place

Dennis: Is Newcastle's problem that the players aren't good enough or that it's the wrong system for this group of players?

Steve: 

Not Much Better in Birmingham

Aston Villa let what should have been three points slip away with a 1-1 draw at home against Fulham.  Police have ruled the case a suicide, not a murder.  Early on, John McGinn slammed his PK attempt into the crossbar.  Nicolas Jackson did give them the lead late in the first half and overall the Villans did look like they were the better side.  Except they forgot to show up for the second half.  And, when Suzuki caught a Fulham corner in the goal, things were level at 1-1.  They would stay that way and Villa's chance of climbing higher in the table was gone.

Their fun week continued with a 3-0 thumping at the hands of Barcelona in Champions League action.  Not that this was unexpected, especially with the match at Camp Nou but it wasn't exactly what they needed to bounce back.  The good news is that they are still in the top eight right now.

Lividpull

What shirt pull?
Credit NBC Screengrab

Michael B and I both noted that, for the neutral,  there's nothing better than watching two good teams go at it.  You appreciate each play for what it is, not for how it affects your team.  Such was

Liverpool versus Arsenal.  The Gunners went up early on a goal from Kai Havertz.  Somewhat surprisingly they almost immediately struck a more defensive posture.  Fortunately for us viewers, Arsenal can go from zero to attack in six seconds so the despite the conservative approach, the action was still two-way.  

The game did feature an interesting non-call at 20 minutes when Timber clearly pulled Isak's shirt as the striker attempted to head a cross. You can see the play here but don't blink or you'll miss it.  Part of the reason there's not much on the video is that VAR did not intervene so there was no prolonged analysis at the time.  It sure looked to me like the shirt pull did affect Isak's momentum to reach the ball.  The Premier League did not issue a statement.  There were multiple social media posts saying PGMOL issued an apology but I found nothing official.  I did find this NY Times article in which former EPL referee Graham Scott provides his explanation for the decision.  Frankly, it was a bit shocking to me. Check out this statement:

VARs are asked not to interrogate an incident forensically and delay the match if there is no appetite from anyone in the stadium for an intervention. 

Isak demonstrates to Madley what Timber did

He also suggested Iraola's "muted" response indicates that it couldn't have been that obvious a foul.  Seriously?  So if a player or coach doesn't complain vociferously, there's no reason for VAR to intervene?  Isn't this just asking for more theatrics from the players in the form of embellishing fouls and then getting in the referee's face when it's not called.  As the picture right shows, Isak did in fact complain to Madley, showing him exactly what Timber did.  How much of an appetite does a player need to have to convince the VAR to take a good look?  Hmm, maybe they do have "to make a meal of it."

Carrick's Wild Ride

Man United's match with Chelsea was the car crash we forecast as they were beaten 2-0.  They were outshot 20/10, shots on target were 10/4, and expected goals were2.83/1.27.  On the disciplinary side, they racked up 19 fouls and six yellow cards; two of those were for Lisandro Martinez, who got himself sent off at 63 minutes while giving Chelsea a PK.

Surprisingly, Carrick survived and was on the sideline for their Champions League match with Roma.  When the Red Devils fell behind 2-0 within 17 minutes, surely this had to be the end for him.  Not so fast, and please don't call me Shirley.  The Red Devils rallied to win on the strength of two goals from Cunha at 83 and 86 minutes.  But, perhaps indicative of Carrick's luck this season, even that had a messy footnote.  Cunha, already on a yellow, took off his jersey celebrating the winning goal and was shown a second yellow and sent off.   After the match, Carrick was seen forcefully directing Cunha to get off the pitch during the postgame celebration.  Although Cunha appeared frustrated with his manager, Carrick was absolutely correct here as Cunha should have been nowhere near the pitch and was risking an extended suspension.  

He will manage the club versus Aston Villa this weekend.  It's not clear if he survives a bad result in that one, especially with an international break coming right after. 

Quick Summary

In other action, Man City got knocked off 1-0 by Brighton for their second straight defeat.  With Arsenal's win over Liverpool, the Gunners are top of the table.  Spurs continued to roll with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace; their cause was helped immensely by Mateta's sending off at 13 minutes.

Howlerween

Coinciding with Halloween weekend, there was a rash of keeper howlers. Aston Villa dropped two points thanks to Suzuki's mistake.  Newcastle were beaten by this howler from Hornicek.  Man City survived Donnarumma getting beaten on the near post.  Though Ipswich manager Gary O'Neil did not throw keeper Christian Walton under the bus, many suggest that poor positioning by Walton in relation to the wall on a Hull free kick from the top of the box was responsible for a goal.  And, while we might not label it a howler, Andre Blake did allow a tasty rebound that was buried for the only goal in their 1-0 loss to Cincinnati

Buh-bye to Fifth

Though not awful, the Union hardly distinguished themselves in a 1-0 loss at Cincinnati.  It's a little strange as the stats suggest they weren't that bad - 15 shots, 6 on target, expected goals of 1.8.  I just don't remember them looking that good.  Unfortunately, the loss clinches "not 5th."  And, 8th place and a play-in wild card spot are not off the table.  Cavan Sullivan did get on for 30 minutes but Iloski was still out injured.  

An International Break Beckons

Friday is Everton - Coventry City.  Early Saturday is Leeds - Spurs.  Two at 10 are Arsenal - Hull City and Fulham - Newcastle.  Feature at 12:30 is Nottingham Forest - Man City.  

Four at 9 am Ipswich - Bournemouth, Sunderland - Chelsea, Brighton - Brentford, and Crystal Palace - Liverpool.  The matchweek concludes with Man U - Aston Villa at 11:30.

Here are the Opta match predictions:

I was thinking Spurs need to beware of Leeds but Opta says they actually underdogs.  Off recent form, the Newcastle percentages aren't a surprise.  The match I'm most looking forward to is Man United - Aston Villa.  I had it as the most competitive match of the week and Opta agrees.

The Union host Toronto at 4 pm.  A win gets them 6th, a draw guarantees no worse than 7th.  

The USMNT will have a two-legged CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal series with Haiti; matches are Saturday (11/14) and Tuesday (11/17).  

This will be the quietest week in a while.

Lastly, we have an explanation as to why the blog has so many typos: