Traveblogue

The second Five Guys from the USA tour is in the books.  Last time - chronicled here, here and here - we spread out three games over 10 days and several towns.  This time was much more concentrated, with three games in five days, all spent in London.  Also, we were just Four Guys from the USA, as Don P bowed out in favor guarding his health for a trip to St. Johns.  

Arrival

The lineup - Michael, Charlie, Graham and Steve

We arrived Thursday morning and successfully navigated the various components of London's intricate train system to reach our Airbnb in the Camden section of the city.  This was a spacious old house with plenty of bedrooms and bathrooms.  This should have meant no controversy about room assignments like we had last time and yet somehow, Charlie ended up with a bedroom with no access to a bathroom on the same floor.  En suite is cool if its yours but not so much if you've got one of the other bedrooms.

With guidance, we were
perfect gentlemen

Our backyard was esssentially Regents Park, just a few blocks away.  The Tube stop was a five minute walk away and there were plenty of pubs.  The house came with its own three-legged fox.  Clever fellow - we all saw him at various times but we never could get a good picture. Possibly concerned that we wouldn't behave ourselves, the host left a big hint on the coffee table - see picture right.

Do, do, do, lookin' out our back door

The house wasn't ready when we got there so we dropped our luggage and headed off to The Sheephaven, a pub we saw on our way in.  Turns out it wasn't just any pub.  This was Celtic territory and wouldn't you know it, they were playing Rangers that day at 3 pm.  The Old Firm is one of the most enduring derbies in football as explained here.  Fortunately we got there early enough to get a table and enjoyed some pints and sandwiches.  We were quite jet-lagged at that point and there is a possibility that one or all of us nodded off at various times.

Yankees In London

Salon in Camden Town - No chance they can duplicate that hair

Friday was our touristy day with the main stop being the Churchill War Rooms, a sobering look at how the British government managed to operate during the WWII bombing by living underground.  The first of many fish and chips orders was consumed on the way back to the house.  We also discovered that the English are working on the duplicating Charlie's most valuable hair - see picture left.

Friday evening we reached our full complement as Simon and Annie arrived from Norwich.  Regular readers of the blog will remember Simon from previous posts, especially our last trip to London. Though he was a visitor here like us, Simon again proved the most awesomest host.  He outdid himself Friday night, shepherding us through the Underground to a fine French restaurant with live music and then picking up the tab.

 

Getting Serious

The full crew before kickoff

And finally it was time for football.  With Simon again at the helm, we made our way to Seven Sisters station and then did the mile walk up to the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (guess no one has bid high enough for naming rights yet?).  We walked through the gift shop, which is bigger than some NBA arenas and packed to rafters with Spurs stuff.  Which meant no purchases for me.  We were then off for food and drinks in the hospitality suite, which is really the plush space they use as the lockerroom when the NFL is in town.  Nice enough but agree with Annie that the food was a bit chi-chi; "where are the proper sausage rolls?" she asked.

Though not an outcast per se, I was in the unenviable position of being a Newcastle fan in the company of 60,000 Spurs fans.  Sure, there were about 5,000 from the Toon Army down to our right but they were in their designated space.  A quick goal from Solanke left me with a sinking feeling that this might be a tough day.  The Magpies responded well, first with a goal from Gordon (discussed below in the refereeing section) and then another from Isak (seen here).  I allowed myself a surreptitous fist pump for the first but did not react to the second.   

Newcastle players thank their supporters

Ange made some adjustments and Spurs made this a tense contest the rest of the way.  We had a great view of Maddison's miss from the left side that barely failed to curl in.  Spurs did have the better chances in the second half but Newcastle were pretty well-organized even under the pressure.  Though the xG disagrees (2.37 - 1.02 favor the Magpies), the match felt much closer than that and a draw would have been a fair result.

Hopefully, I was a graceful "winner" back in the hospitality suite for post game libations and food.  I offered to get Michael a beer and when I came back, he had eaten my sandwich.  Insisting it was an accident, he noted that in any case, he was willing to call it even.  

Cottagers All

Craven Cottage in classic London mist

We woke Sunday morning to a thin coating of snow that posed no threat to the 2 pm match at Fulham. Though we had been managing well on the Tube, the continued rain convinced us to take an Uber to Craven Cottage; this meant passing up a scenic walk from the station to the stadium along the Thames.  Though no where near the size and architectural wonder of Spurs Stadium, the Cottage has its own charm.  We had lunch and a beer in the new hospitality suite, looking out on the Boathouse Row of the Thames.

Late action at Craven Cottage

Fulham came out full of fire but couldn't find a goal much to the delight of the Ipswich supporters, who were probably louder than the home crowd.  The Tractor Boys picked off a scruffy goal late in the first half, seen here.  Second half was more of the same - Fulham mostly dominant but simply unable to get the ball in the net.  Finally, they got their break on penalty that Raul Jiminez neatly converted to level things.  In a classic let-down after a big goal, Fulham then conceded a PK of their own and Ipswich were back on top a mere two minutes later.  But in a trend that could spell relegation for Ipswich, they again conceded a goal in stoppage time on yet another PK that Jiminez did not miss.  This was the fourth time this season the Tractor Boys have conceded late, leading to six dropped points.  The xG was interesting - 2.29 to 1.46 favor Fulham; taking out the PKs it would be about .69 -66.  A riveting, if not high quality contest.  

We did get our walk along the Thames but it wasn't quite as scenic as we headed home in the early darkness of a London January.

Moving Down the English Football League Food Chain

Bare patches in the pitch - we're not in the EPL anymore

One more stop on the trip - to Loftus Road for Queen's Park Rangers vs Luton Town.  Accomodations weren't as grand as either Tottenham or Fulham.  Anyone over 5'3" (i.e. everyone in our group) would find the seating, shall we say, cramped.  That is not to say, however, that the atmosphere was any less special.  Not to take anything away from home Spurs or Fulham supporters, I thought the QPR fans were the most vocal and supportive of any we saw.  The match was a hard-fought 2-1 win for QPR.

This Week In Refereeing - Handling Part LXIII

Gonna be a little brutal here about the supposed controversial no handling call on Joelinton in the build-up to the Newcastle equalizer.  You can see the play here.  There are two situations in which this could be a handling infraction.  First, you could argue it was deliberate handling by Joelinton and the play should stop right there; that would be an incredibly harsh interpretation of the rule.  His arms weren't pinned to his side (which is hardly a natural position anyway) but neither was this an attempt to make himself bigger.  In short, they were in a natural position for someone moving on the soccer pitch.  The only other way this could be an infraction was if Joelinton himself was the goal scorer.  In fact, he didn't even get the assist on the play.

The lack of knowledge on this is staggering.  It is true that not that long ago, an accidental touch would have been called handling if it led to a goal scoring opportunity; however, that part was dropped in the IFAB Laws of the Game 2021/22 and now the accidental handball applies only to the goal scorer.  Casual fans may be excused here but coaches, players and pundits should know better.  Further, to those complaining that the rules should be altered to ensure goals like that are chalked off - WE TRIED IT YOUR WAY and enough people hated it that they changed it to the current language.  

More controversy on Sunday at Craven Cottage in the 27th minute when Fulham's Harry Wilson was pulled down by Ipswich's Leif Davis.  I couldn't find a good video of the play but ESPN explains it pretty well here.  Referee Bond, Darren Bond, showed Davis a yellow.  Real time, DOGSO crossed my mind but thought there may have been a covering defender.  The pictures are inconclusive, which is presumably what the VAR decided as well.  There is a second picture in the ESPN article that shows an Ipswich player in the vicinity quickly after the foul.  On the other hand, if the call on the pitch had been red, hard to think that would have been overruled either.

Rain Gray Town (apologies to The Byrds)

London showed us about everything in its weather repertoire but saved the worst for times when it didn't matter.  Other than a few walks to dinner in drizzle, we were fine.  The snow fell in the wee hours of the morning, the wind-driven rains came when we were under covered stands at Craven Cottage, and the coldest temps came when we were packed into the tiny stands at Loftus Road.  I can report that neither Michael nor I donned our Elmer Fudd hats in London - mostly because it was cold enough that we needed the wool caps.  

"Congestion" Fee

A contentious point from the last trip was a ticket issued in Michael's name for driving in London during a peak period without a permit.  Michael gracefully paid it and never asked for reimbursement from the rest of us, a fact which he never fails to point out to us.  He got his revenge this week, as we all paid a congestion fee with Michael constantly hacking as he recovered from a heavy cold.

Only Three Returned

Graham sends his regards from Wales

The plane touched down in Philly on Tuesday afternoon carrying only me, Michael and Charlie. Don't worry about Graham though; he extended his trip to explore family roots in Wales and Ireland.  I believe his schedule called for a stop in Wrexham.

Carabao Cup Footnote

I arrived home at about 2:30 pm on Tuesday and by 3 pm was watching the Arsenal - Newcastle Caraboa Cup semi-final - with Laura's permission I might add.  The Magpies will take a 2-0 back to Saint James' Park for the second leg in four weeks.  Michael was almost as happy with Spurs' 1-0 first leg result against Liverpool; slightly more work to do there as the second leg will be at Anfield.

FA Cup Weekend

This weekend is the 3rd round of the FA Cup, which means the EPL and Championship division sides enter the competition.  If you want a refresher on the FA Cup, check out this old BFS post.  

A few matches are already in the books and there are a couple on Friday (see Aston Villa vs West Ham at 3 pm).  Saturday has a full schedule running from 7 am to 1 pm and there's a bunch more on Sunday.  The round concludes on Monday at 2:45 pm with Millwall vs Dag & Red. [Actually with three matches on Tuesday - who's editing this thing?] 

Newcastle have Bromley (League Two) at home on Sunday at 10 am.  Look for a heavily rotated line up for that one.  The quaint practice of not seeding teams means we can have Arsenal - Man United in the third round (that's also 10 am on Sunday).  Meanwhile, Tottenham get Tamworth FC from the fifth tier.  Ah yes, all part of the charm.

[Also, no mention of Matchweek 21 covering Tuesday - Thursday?  We will blame jet lag.]

  

By the Time I Get to London

You'll still be sleeping...

Though the holiday fixtures represent less than 10% of the year's matches, we still like to grade each team's performance over the festive period.  The chart below provides the basic data - expected points (based on Opta projections), actual points, the difference between actual and expected and the percentage of expected points collected.  The teams are ranked by the percentage of expected points achieved.

Observations and rankings below.

Newcastle - 

Tonali, Guimaraes and Joelinton-
a daunting Geordie midfield combination
Photo by George Wood/Getty Images

This couldn't have gone better.  They won all three contests by an aggregate score of 9-0.  Beating Ipswich wasn't a surprise and they did get a gift when Duran was sent off in the win over Villa.  Most surprising was the ease with which they dispatched Man United at Old Trafford.  Except for the first 15 minutes of the second half, Newcastle looked the far better side and the 2-0 final feels right.  With the turnaround, they have shot up to 5th in the table.

Aston Villa - 

As Dennis put it, with matches against Man City, Newcastle and Brighton, four points was just fine, almost exactly as projected by Opta.  The surprise win over City was balanced by the unfortunate call on Duran that pretty much ruined the Newcastle match.  The 2-2 draw with Brighton seemed like the new Villa - overall a good squad subject to unfortunate lapses.  After falling behind they took a 2-1 lead and seemed poised to put the game away.  This was a winnable match yet somehow by the end they were clinging to the draw.

Tottenham - 

Well, Liverpool was never going to be easy but just one point out of Nottingham Forest (1-0 loss) and Wolves (2-2 draw after surrendering 87th minute goal) had to be disappointing.  To be fair, they are dealing with a Newcastlesque level of injuries and some suspensions, as only Brentford have more players (11) on the unavailable list than Spurs (9).  I always thought of Fraser Forster as a capable back up but he's been making some strange choices that have cost Spurs some goals.  



Manchester United - no Santas for U

Home against Bournemouth and Newcastle and away to Wolves - should have been three to five points (Opta projected 4.7).  Nope, shut out by all three in an aggregate 0-7 scoreline.  The players are taking heat but so is "new" manager Amirom as seen here.

Wolves - 

I love this game - Wolves new manager Pereira starts with 3 wins
Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images

What a great new manager bounce Wolves have gotten from Vitor Pereira.  Okay, maybe beating
Leicester in his debut wasn't all that but a 2-0 clean sheet against Man United followed by a 2-2 draw on a late goal against Spurs are.  He's 2-1-0 out of the chute and are Wolves are out the relegation zone for the new year.

The Rest

Liverpool - Granted they did go into holidays with the highest expected total given their schedule but they did win all.  Part of winning championships is minimizing stumbles along the way.

Nottingham Forest - Four points would have been a decent haul for them but they took all three, finishing with a 2-0 win over Everton.  Remarkably, Forest now sit 3rd in the table.

Arsenal - Same as Liverpool.  Swept through Crystal Palace, Ipswich and Brentford.  Easy set of fixtures but you can only beat who you play.

Ipswich - The Tractor Boys went in with the lowest expected points - just 1.987 - of any team.  And they got shut out in the first two matches.  Then they pulled off perhaps the biggest upset of the season - a 2-0 win over Chelsea.  Possession (75-25) and shots (20-9) suggest they got pushed all over the place and were perhaps a bit lucky, though a draw wouldn't have been ridiculous given xG (1.59-1.78 favor Chelsea) and shots on target (6-5 favor Forest).  They are still in the relegation zone but are just one behind Wolves and two behind Everton.

Bournemouth - Probably really should be 3.5 Santas but we don't cut him in half.  They got a big win over Man United, then draws of varying degrees of satisfaction against Crystal Palace and Fulham.  So they went unbeaten over the busy period.




Crystal Palace - Almost exactly as expected.  Lose to Arsenal, draw with Bournemouth, beat Southampton.  They are so close to breaking free of the gravity of the relegation zone but haven't quite done it yet.

West Ham - Basically the same as Palace with a win (Southampton), draw (Brighton) and a loss (Liverpool), exactly as you would have expected.  We are almost ready to move them out the relegation threatened category.

Fulham - We could make a case for four Santas here.  After all, they didn't lose a match.  The win over Chelsea was certainly an upset.  The draw against Bournemouth was likely a mild disappointment.  But the home draw against Southampton is what puts them in the three Santa category for us.

Everton - The Toffees only managed two draws but given their schedule they weren't expecting much to begin with.  After draws with Chelsea and Man City, the 0-2 loss at home to Nottingham Forest had to be a bit of a disappointment.

Brighton - We could quibble and say it was a one Santa holiday except they didn't lose a match.  They got three points with successive draws to West Ham, Brentford and Aston Villa, which doesn't sound all that bad.  The problem is they were slight favorites at West Ham and heavy favorites against Brentford at home.  You can't live in this league by ties alone.


Chelsea - The Blues had the second highest expectations heading into the holiday and managed just one lousy point - a 0-0 draw with Everton.  They followed that with losses to Fulham (ouch) and Ipswich (really ouch).

Man City - They got four points but given the schedule, it should have been more.  They were upset by Aston Villa, drew with Everton before rescuing some dignity with a 2-0 win over Leicester.  This is not your father's Man City.

Leicester - The Foxes went in with exceedingly low expectations that were not met, getting no points in the holiday fixtures. To be fair, their schedule included Liverpool and Man City but this is factored into the expectations.  They have fallen to 19th in the table and are clearly in a relegation fight.

Southampton - Basically the same as Leicester, though they did manage to grab a point in 0-0 draw with Fulham.  This was followed by losses to West Ham and Crystal Palace, not exactly your high-powered sides. They are now eight points adrift of even 19th place, and 10 points from safety.  It don't look good as they say.

Brentford - A tough set of fixtures (Forest, Brighton and Arsenal) so maybe this is bit harsh.  But just one point so now they're down to 12th in the table.

London Calling (apologies to The Clash)

I posted this before our 9:15 pm departure to London. We arrive at Heathrow 9:20 am Thursday.  We'll head to our AirBnB, get settled, make sure Michael gets the best bedroom, then maybe head out for walk in Regents Park.  Friday is also footballless but we will tour around the city with a planned visit to the Churchill War Rooms.

Then we get serious.  Spurs Newcastle is 12:30 pm Saturday.  Since we have hospitality tickets, I can't wear any of my Newcastle gear.  Tricky match.  Recent form says Magpies have the advantage but both teams have been consistently inconsistent so we could see just about anything.  The rest of the day will likely find us taking in the rest of Saturday's action at a pub or pubs.  The 3 pm choices (all times are GMT) are Bournemouth - Everton, Aston Villa - Leicester, Chelsea - Crystal Palace, Southampton - Brentford and Man City - West Ham.  I would like to see Aston Villa find some form against a struggling Leicester side but since it's London, my guess is we'll watch the Chelsea - Palace derby.  The 5:30 match is Brighton - Arsenal.

Sunday we head south from our AirBnB to the venerable Craven Cottage to see Fulham take on Ipswich at 2 pm.  Again, with hospitality tickets, we cannot wear Ipswich gear.  Though some of us might prefer to see the Tractor Boys win, I don't think any us have a scarf or any similar type of swag.  Afterwards, we'll try to find a good pub to see Liverpool - Man United.  I rate our chances high.

Monday's EPL game is Wolves - Nottingham Forest, two of the leagues hotter sides.  Since this is a London only trip, we're passing on that one but instead heading to another hallowed London venue - Loftus Road.  We'll see Queen's Park Rangers host Luton Town.  I don't know the restrictions on Luton Town gear for this one but I'm sure we'll survive. 

Weather looks a bit dodgy, especially Sunday and Monday.  High 30s to low 40s with pretty much a constant chance of rain or snow showers.  As shown below, we are ready.  If you watch, look for the guys with the Elmer Fudd type hats.

You will know us by our hats

Probably won't do posts while we're there but I said that last time and managed to put together something on my phone so who knows.  We're back Tuesday.

Two thirds of the way through the holiday fixture list and things can't have gone better for Newcastle.

A Good Walk Spoiled

Even the more damning pictures
leave doubt as to whether this is red

Newcastle - Aston Villa was supposed to be one of the better Boxing Day matchups.  The Magpies got a quick goal and maybe had the better of play but it was generally shaping up as an interesting contest.  Then Jhon Duran got sent off for "violent conduct" in the 30th minute and you could hear all that anticipation go up in smoke. You can see the play here.  I guess it boils down to whether you think Duran had a chance to have the right foot land somewhere other than Schar's back.  I thought he slipped and was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt - yellow card at worst.  Plenty of comments on the internet supporting that view.  Others were less charitable, including referee Anthony Taylor, VAR Graham Scott, and the FA, who denied Villa's appeal to have the three-match ban rescinded.

That was pretty much it for the match.  Though it took a while for Newcastle to add a second goal, the action was largely one sided.  Villa managed just four shots and only one on target.  At about 60 minutes with the score 2-0, Dennis and I put the game on our phones and switched to the Nottingham Forest - Spurs match.  The final was 3-0.

Paired with the 4-0 win over Ipswich on Saturday, Newcastle already have six points in the stocking as they head to face Man United on Monday.  The win featured a hat trick from Isak plus a goal and an assist from an in-form Jacob Murphy.  

I Got Your Goodwill to Men Right Here

Though we knew that Newcastle's assistant manager Jason Tindall had been redcarded at half time we didn't have the details.  Turned out there was a bit of scrum on the way to the lockers at halftime.  Details are still murky; story is here.  Villa saw one of their bench coaches ejected as well.  Tempers were certainly flaring with Newcastle thinking Duran had "stamped on" Schar and Villa thinking they had been screwed by the referees.  Guess they forgot it was Christmas.

Golazos in the Mist

Oh the weather outside was frightful

Boxing Day weather in the Midlands featured heavy fog and mist.  Man City - Everton, Nottingham Forest - Tottenham, Wolves - Man United and Liverpool - Leicester were all played in varying levels of limited visibility.  Generally, this seemed to favor the underdogs as Everton got a draw while Forest and Wolves both got wins.  The weather could not help Leicester.

Last Weekend

Already fading from memory but I do remember that my confidence in Aston Villa was validated with their 2-1 win over Man City.  We make Villa's opening goal, a great piece of work between Tielemans, Rogers and Duran this week's YouTubeableMoment.  The feature match was a bomb as Liverpool ran all over Tottenham in a 6-3 drubbing.  And Bournemouth stunned Man United 3-0 at Old Trafford.

In other news, Michael B announced he no longer follows the EPL and Jeff H is taking bids for a new team (I hear Nottingham Forest and Fulham are getting close looks).

Claritin Blue?

Mackenzie was having a bit of trouble with the thick English accents of the announcers on Thursday.  First, she was convinced that Man City's midfielder was Banana Silva.  Then, she asked if Aston Villa's color was Claritin Blue.  What do they say?  Something like the US and Great Britain are two countries separated by a common language.  Technically, as Coach Beard has pointed out, they are five countries separated by a common language.

God Bless Me, Everyone

Best Christmas episode ever?

Speaking of Ted Lasso, a Christmas tradition here at 6911 is watching Season 2, Episode 4, "The Carol of the Bells."  Sweet and funny. Certainly draws liberally from other Christmas stuff  (It's A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol, Love Actually).  Favorite part though may be this back and forth between Director of Football Leslie Higgins and Nigerian player Sam Obisanya:

Higgins to Sam: What does Christmas remind you of at home?

Sam: Colonization.

 

Sunday, Monday and Wednesday Then London

The season hits the halfway point with Matchweek 19 spread over Sunday, Monday and Wednesday (I couldn't find out why Brentford - Arsenal isn't on Tuesday).  I'd argue that Aston Villa - Brighton and Man United - Newcastle are the best of the lot and of course they're essentially scheduled right on top of each other at 2:45 and 3:00 pm on Monday.  Fulham - Bournemouth is probably the best choice of the Sunday 10 am fixtures.  The TV guys went with Everton - Nottingham Forest.

Midweek we're off to London for few days of football.  The itinerary says we leave for London New Year's night, arrive Thursday morning and get our bearings.  Then we'll roam around the town on Friday before getting serious.  Saturday is the 12:30 (7:30 here) Spurs - Newcastle match.  Since it's at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium I'll probably have to wear my Newcastle shirt under multiple layers.  Sunday we'll go to Craven Cottage for Fulham - Ipswich (2 pm, 9 am here); we got hospitality tickets there under the condition that we don't wear any Ipswich gear.  We conclude with a Monday evening Championship Division clash at Loftus Road where Queens Park Rangers will host Luton Town.

This was originally going to be the Fab Five from 2016 but Don P had to bow out with complications from Covid so we're down to just the Four Guys from the USA.

With luck I'll post a holiday wrap Thursday morning and a trip recap the following week.

Happy New Year!

Didn't Mean to Be Mean to Ruud

So Newcastle roughed up Ruud van Nistelrooy's Leicester squad, pouring cold water on their new manager bounce but we really needed an easy W like that.  Especially when easy W's seem in short supply right now.

Jacob Murphy's brace could have easily been a hat trick
JAMES GILL – DANEHOUSE/GETTY IMAGES

Newcastle were all over Leicester from the opening whistle but didn't convert until the 30th minute, leaving me fully expecting to see a goal against the run of play.  Not this time, as the Magpies executed a corner play fresh off the training ground, as seen here.  Not that a 1-0 lead at half felt all that great.  Quick second half goals at 47 and 50 minutes pretty much put the thing to bed.  Murphy's second goal at 60 left no doubt.  Certainly on the screen, 4-0 looked about right (actually even a little light given some missed chances) and the stats fully back it up - possession 59-41, shots 27-4, shots on target 11-1 and xG 3.75 - .23.

Not According to Form

Martinez could only do so much to save Aston Villa
Photo:SkySports

On balance, you'd have to say the weekend was full of surprises of varying degrees.  I put Newcastle's rout in that category, though maybe not the biggest.  Liverpool went down a goal, then down a man to Fulham.  Diogo Jota rescued a 2-2 draw for the Reds.  Everton managed no shots on target and just 23% possession but still came away with a 0-0 draw against Arsenal at the Emirates no less.  Man City contined to puzzle as they looked listless for most of the match and eventually surrendered two late goals to fall to Man United in one of the more tepid Manchester derbies in recent memory.  Aston Villa duplicated that feat, allowing Nottingham Forest goals at 87 and 90+3 minutes in a 2-1 loss.  That match featured this incredible save from Emi Martinez.  

We'll include Crystal Palace's 3-1 beat down of Brighton in the non-derby derby in the list of surprises.  I include the Ipswich 2-1 win over Wolves in the group too but Dennis says Wolves are prone to late collapses so it wasn't a shock.  Thanks to Newcastle's strong showing I was able to turn one eye to the last 30 minutes of this match and it was proper relegation six-pointer.  Ipswich got the game winner at 90+4 minutes on this header from Jack Taylor.  

All of these failures to follow form are highly entertaining to the neutrals but not so much to the partisan ending up on the wrong side of the decision.

Late Goals

I counted five matches with goals after 85 minutes that affected the results:

- Liverpool in 86th minute to get a draw with Fulham

- Ipswich in 94th minute to get a win over Wolves

- Forest in 87 and then 93 to get the win over Villa

- Man United in 88 and 90 to get win over City

- West Ham score in 87 but Bournemouth get equalizer in 90th

Fleeting Grab My Ass AKA This Week in Refereeing

Several incidents of note that became talking points this week.  ESPN has a more complete review here.  I'm mostly interested in the non-penalty call against Elliot Anderson for his pullback on Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers. You can see the play here.  The word from the VAR was that Anderson's tug was a "fleeting grab."  Really?  ESPN argues that refs do seem reluctant to make that particular call but it certainly looks like a foul to me and deserved at least a look on the monitor.  I think it's likely that Sam Barrott would have concluded he made a mistake.  However, he would also notice that he missed the shirt pull on Anderson by Rogers; he didn't quite pull it over Rogers' head but it was clear.  Former EPL referee sums up nicely what should have happened:

I think it's a foul [by Rogers on Anderson before he enters the box] and he [Anderson] then grabs hold of him going into the box. I think it's then a penalty but I think the best outcome here in fairness is the VAR to recommend to the referee to go to the monitor so he has all options open. He then would have seen Rogers ripping his [Anderson] shirt right off his back and he can then give a free-kick [to Forest]. You've got the same net result of no penalty but people accept it better because that's actually happened.

Right, don't try to justify the non-call on a clear pull, but don't overlook the shirt pull in the build-up.  Seems much more honest.

I Come to Bury Antony, Not to Praise Him

Et tu Lee Dixon? Antony got a hard
 time from USA announcers

The USA broadcasting crew gave Man United winger Marcus Matheus Antony a pretty hard time on Sunday.  As Antony came onto the pitch in the 78th minute of the Manchester derby, Lee Dixon noted:

He's scored one goal in his last 40 Premier League games.  If you think he's made up for it with assists, you would be wrong.  That is a very round number.

Effing brutal as Dennis points out.  He also notes that this was perhaps not the unkindest cut of all.  During the pre-game discussion about Amiron's interesting line-up choices, one of the Robbie's said:

You wonder what Rashford and Garnacho did to not be on the bench but Antony still is.

Ouch again.  We note that United did get two goals after Antony entered the match but that may be as relevant as the fact that both came right after I went to the bathroom.

Lee Dixon was also vocal about Kyle Walker's flop after contact with Hojland.  Seen here, Dixon is absolutely correct that Walker should be embarrassed and the internet is having a field week with the footage.

BFS Halo Effect?

Last week, we did have a clip of a University of Vermont golazo and noted that UVM was playing in the NCAA semi-final Friday night vs Denver.  The Catamounts leveled that match at 1-1 in the 84th then beat Denver 4-3 in penalty kicks to advance to the final against Marshall.  In the final they again fell behind but equalized in the 81st minute before winning on a golden goal about five minutes into the first overtime period.  The winning goal came from Maximilian Kissel, seen here in this week's YouTubeableMoment; a true thrill of victory agony of defeat scene in the aftermath.  This was UVM's first national soccer title and we note that it comes after we mention them in BFS.  Coincidence?  Totally.  

Holiday Three Pack

As is usual, the schedule makers have contrived to cram three match weeks over the holiday period.  One is this weekend covering Saturday/Sunday, one is the Boxing Day extravaganza that runs Thursday and Friday and the last goes from Sunday to Wednesday.  Surprisingly there are some off days in there, including a very rare footballless Saturday (12/28).

Newcastle's schedule has them at Ipswich on Saturday, home versus Aston Villa on Boxing Day and at Old Trafford on Monday 12/30 to face Man United.  I realize that it is silly to say the expected haul could range from zero to nine points.  But, all three fixtures are tricky yet are also winnable.  We really should beat Ipswich, even at their place.  Villa are tough but we are home.  And Man United are a real enigma.  Zero seems unlikely but three or less could easily happen.

With so many fixtures, I'll just try to suggest what could be highlights, fully cognizant that my track record is not so good.

We would watch anyway but think the 7:30 Saturday matchup between Aston Villa and Man City is one to check out.  For some reason, I'm always more optimistic about Villa's chances in games like this compared to Newcastle.  Sunday's best choice looks like Spurs - Liverpool at 11:30.  As a warmup, you might want to check out a relegation six-pointer at 9 am between Leicester and Wolves.

For Boxing Day, though I'm biased, Newcastle - Aston Villa looks like the best choice.  In fact, we have a beef with the schedulers who chose Bournemouth - Crystal Palace over the BFS derby for the USA game.  It's not even the seconde best choice - Nottingham Forest vs Spurs looks more interesting.  Actually the Thursday/Friday contests are mostly upper table versus lower table affairs.

Slight schedule change next week - we will post on Saturday rather than Friday as the match week doesn't start until Sunday.  Enjoy the holidays - watch football whenever you can. 

Mediocrity It Is

At least for the moment.

By itself, Newcastle's 4-2 loss Brentford at their place isn't a disaster given that the Bees haven't lost at home yet this year.  The Magpies did rally twice from first half deficits to level things.  Expected goals slightly favor Newcastle (1.64 -1.47).  And the last goal was in the 90th minute when Newcastle were working hard to rescue a draw so the margin of the loss is slightly overstated.  

Mbeumo would look good in a Newcastle kit; at least
he wouldn't be scoring against us (Photo Getty Images)

Still, we must conclude that the glass is about 7/8ths empty.  First, while the first half performance (2-2) was acceptable, they went silent offensively in the second half.  Of their 16 shots, only three were on target.  Brentford's xG was just 1.47 so either the Bees were lucky or Newcastle made some defensive mistakes.  Thinking it's the latter.  Bryan Mbeumo (a possible Magpie transfer target in January) ghosted past Hall far too easily on the first goal. The second Brentford goal came from an "own assist" as Harvey Barnes made a perfect back pass to Wissa, who took a few dribbles then made nice finish.  The game winner was a free kick from the Brentford half of the pitch that landed untouched in the Newcastle penalty area before Nathan Collins slotted it past Pope.  You get the picture.  

We are who we thought we were - a team that will struggle to stay in the top half of the table.

Liverpool Fail To Get Points

Darragh: First to not let Liverpool get any points since
Nottingham Forest on 9/14

Of course, it was Storm Darragh, not any EPL side, that gets the credit.  The Merseyside Derby - the last scheduled at historic Goodison Park - was postponed by high winds and rain.  Given the weather we saw at most of the other venues on Saturday, I'm guessing the threshold for postponing due to high winds must be something over 40 mph.  

Many in the chase pack did not take advantage of Liverpool's off day.  Arsenal could manage only a 1-1 draw with Fulham, seeing a potential game winner ruled out for offside in the 88th minute.  Same for Man City, who's woes continued with a 2-2 draw at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace; they had to rally twice from one goal deficits to get that.  I suppose we should include Brighton's 2-2 draw with Leicester in this group too.

Three sides who did take advantage were Chelsea (4-3 over Spurs), Aston Villa (a decidely mediocre 1-0 win over Southampton, albeit with a rotated lineup) and Nottingham Forest (a bit of a lucky 3-2 victory at Old Trafford).  Not coincidentally, those three sides now sit in the top six.

The Silver Lining Is Getting Really Hard To Find

The only good news for Ipswich this weekend was that the two clubs behind them - Wolves and Southampton - both lost.  I guess Everton not playing was good too.  The dark cloud part is that the Tractor Boys lost another close one at home in a most disturbing way.  They carried a 1-0 lead over Bournemouth late into the match before the Cherries scored in the 87th minute and then again at 90+5 to take all three points.  To make matters worse, the three sides immediately ahead of them in the table all got points.  Leicester and Palace got draws while West Ham got three in a win over Wolves.

Not A Good Sign

When Google text wants to autocorrect your name from Amorim to "a moron."  Ruben Amoron Amirom continues to find life in the EPL not so easy as Man United lost to Forest 2-3 at Old Tratford.

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place and Did

Dennis: How many kits do you have and why is one of them claret?

Steve: Moichandizing. Never underestimate the power of the Schwartz.

Dennis: Newcastle the Breakfast Cereal is just beer, right?

Steve: Nailed it.

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place But Didn't

Dennis:  Did you say that Arteta is a born-again Christian

Steve: No I said he's giving Jesus another chance

Mixed Results in Europe

The quintessential better to be lucky than good:
Barkley's shot took a massive deflection and Villa win 3-2

Aston Villa did not exactly shake the cobwebs out but did manage an important 3-2 win over RB Leipzig in their Champions League match on Tuesday.  Ross Barkley got the game winner but the YouTubeableMoment was the strike from Jhon Duran minutes after he entered the match.  Dennis points out that most players do not score on that play simply because they would never consider taking that shot.  Liverpool got the win but hardly impressed in a 1-0 result over Girona.  Still, this was better than Man City, who lost again, this time 2-0 to Juventus.  Only Arsenal coasted in a 3-0 win over Monaco.  

Liverpool are still top the table with a perfect record and need just one point from the last two group stage matches to get a bye into the knockout round.  Arsenal and Aston Villa are third and fifth respectively and I believe only need one more point to guarantee a spot in the playoffs for a knockout berth; of course they could also still qualify for a bye.  Man City's prospects aren't as rosy. They sit 22nd and have just a one point cushion for a playoff berth.  In other words, they have work to do.

Over in Europa Cup, Spurs had to work their butts off to get a 1-1 draw with Rangers; they are still looking good for a spot in the playoffs for a knockout round berth.  Man United saw their stock rise with a 2-1 come from behind win over Viktoria Plezn (not even sure who she is) and are looking good for advancement to the playoffs as well.  Chelsea cruised to a 3-1 win over Astana in Europa Conference League; they are still top of the table, perfect through five matches.

Wait, so you're telling me that of the seven EPL teams competing in Europe, Man City is the only one in jeopardy of getting bounced out in the group stage?

About Those Two Goal Leads

You know we don't buy that old saw that a two goal lead is the most dangerous in soccer.  The EPL coverage made sure that you knew that Spurs and Brighton both coughed up two goal leads this weekend.  Yeah, but Nottingham Forest and Brentford didn't; okay Brentford didn't get their two goal cushion until the 90th minute but it still counts.  We also note that mid-week, Arsenal and Chelsea both survived that "most dangerous of leads" and that Juventus seemed to have no trouble protecting their two goal margin against Man City.  

ICYMI

The TV ratings suggest that maybe you did.  The LA Galaxy bested NY Red Bulls 2-1 in the MLS Cup Final.  The match was fun for a while, with three goals in 28 minutes.  Tricked me into watching the whole thing.  We note that LA were up 2-0 and did not lose so there's another data point.  Also, you can read about the TV ratings here; in 2022 the figure was 2.16m, 2023 was 890k and 2024 was 468k.  Note that 2022 is not directly comparable with 2023 and 2024 because people may have watched those last two on MLS Season Pass.  We can't know because Apple won't release their viewing numbers.  

College Kids Can Do It Too

BFS Track and Field Guru Jack W sends us this video, showing that golazos are not entirely the province of the pros.  [Post publication note: UVM, featured in this video has made it to the NCAA semi-finals and is playing Friday evening at 5 pm against Denver on ESPN+ or ESPNU - thanks to Nancy F for the heads up.]

But Apparently"Old"Guys Can't

BFS Artistic Director Laura O sends us this video that highlights the downs and downs of Sunday afternoon pickup games.  Not sure which is, uh, "funnier" - the pulled hamstring or the wide open shot that clanks against the post.

Less Frantic

Well, a little bit anyway.  You can do six fixtures live this weekend, thanks to an extra Sunday slot.  Some interesting matchups from various parts of the table.  And no 7:30 Saturday fixture.

There are four choices at 10 am Saturday.  By contract, we have to watch Newcastle - Leicester from Saint James' Park on USA; Opta has the Magpies as big favorites but I'm not buying it.  There's a big relegation six-pointer with Wolves hosting Ipswich.  Your other two choices are Arsenal - Everton or Liverpool -Fulham; with the home field advantage, we don't see Arsenal or Liverpool struggling in either, so of course you should watch them.

Love the 12:30 feature match on NBC between Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa.  The two are level on points with Forest having a one goal advantage on goal differential.  We note that those differentials are just +1 and 0 yet they sit fifth and sixth respectively in the table; one might ask how they got that far up the table.  Opta says it's close and that's probably a reflection of Forest being at home; to me it seems like this is a chance for a top six team to expose a pretender.

On Sunday you can warm up for the Manchester derby with Brighton - Crystal Palace at 9.  The derby is at 11:30; Opta has City as a healthy favorite but there's been nothing healthy about their recent form.  Not that Man United have shone either; they're behind Newcastle in the table for crying out loud.  The Sunday bonus at 2 pm has Chelsea - Brentford (USA) or Southampton - Spurs (Peacock).  The week concludes with Bournemouth - West Ham at 3 pm on Sunday.

Fun stuff

Consistently Inconsistent

Originally this was going to be a post about how mediocrity would be a step up for Newcastle.  Then they pulled off the unlikely draw with Liverpool.  Better to complain about inconsistency than mediocrity I guess.  Plus, I have lots of company - looking at you Aston Villa and Spurs fans.

.02 Expected Goals?

In Saturday's match with Crystal Palace, Newcastle set a new low for offensive irrelevance.  They managed one shot, not on target and registered an xG of .02.     You have to work really hard to do that badly.  The funny thing was that the Magpies carried a 1-0 lead late into stoppage time thanks to a Palace own goal.  On the one hand, it was frustrating to lose the points on a late goal but on the other, even one point from that showing was grand larceny.  Palace at Selhurst Park is never a piece of cake but this was ridiculous.

Schar just barely gets to the equalizer

So we went into Wednesday's match against a decidedly in-form Liverpool with zero expectations.  What a shock to see them go toe-to-toe with the league leader.  Isak's opening goal (a screamer seen here) was certainly not against the run of play.  The contest went back and forth from there, with Liverpool leveling at 1-1, Newcastle scoring to make in 2-1 and Salah scoring two to put Liverpool up 3-2.  This looked like the reverse of Saturday - no points for a good effort.  They rescued a point on a free kick into the box by Guimaraes that Fabian Schar somehow reached before it went over the end line and slipped into the goal.  An easy choice for this week's YouTubeableMoment.  I saw several references to this match as the best game of the year.  Sometimes it's okay if it's your team involved in a great game for the neutral.

WDWWLDDLLWWLDD

No, that's not Welsh for "hello" but rather Newcastle's form over the season's first 14 matches.  They don't have a website anymore because they can't put three w's together.  As the euphoria of Wednesday's draw wears off, we awake to the reality that this is a wildly inconsistent team sitting 12th in the table.  

When Did Virgil van Dijk Become A Thug?

Twice during the Newcastle match, van Dijk "ran into" Newcastle players not any where near the ball.  First, the 6'5" defender clocked 5'10" Lewis Hall for which he was called for a foul.  Then he went after "bigger" game in the form of 6'0" Anthony Gordon, making sure he got his shoulder into Gordon's head.  He got away with that one, presumably because the referee did not see it and was not red card worthy and therefore not subject to VAR.  I used to like him.

A League of Their Own?

After a relatively easy 2-0 win over Man City on Sunday, Liverpool were looking to be in a division of their own.  The draw with Newcastle (you're welcome, rest of the league) slowed that roll a little but the Reds still have have a seven point lead over both Chelsea and Arsenal and are up nine points on Man City.  

Dropping Points

Only three sides failed to drop points this week.  Chelsea got wins over Aston Villa and Southampton.  Arsenal beat West Ham and Man United (surprisingly easily on two corners).   Bournemouth handled Wolves and Tottenham. The Villa loss to Chelsea was more of an issue of performance rather than result, as that was always a tough match.  They did rebound with a solid win over Brentford but their inconsistency is troubling.  Spurs came away with just one point from matches with Fulham and Bournemouth.  At the dark end of the street, Ipswich, Wolves and West Ham got nothing.

In other news, Michael B announced he no longer follows the EPL.  Hey Michael, you're still ahead of Newcastle,if only on goal differential. 

A Sliver of a Silver Lining

Mateta's goal was the difference in the relegation
six-pointer between Ipswich and Palace
Photograph: Tony O Brien/Reuters

An Ipswich fan would be hard pressed to find anything good that came out of week of 1-0 losses to Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace, especially given that the latter is a relegation rival.  The good news is that another relegation rival - Wolves - lost their matches 4-2 (vs Bournemouth) and 4-0 (to Everton).  Based on the relative margin of losses, Ipswich moved past Wolves and into 18th place based on the change in goal differential.  Surprised how tepid both sides were in the Palace match; I'd been looking for some intensity given their positions in the nether region of the table but it was a real snoozer.  

Another Busy Week Ahead

Saturday dawns with a 7:30 Merseyside Derby, likely the last at Goodison Park.  Unfortunately the schedule makers put both Aston Villa (vs Southampton) and Newcastle (at Brentford) at 10 am.  The latter is sadly a clash of mid-table sides that Newcastle need to win if they are to be taken seriously as a top half of table team.  Actually, Villa is in the same situation only more so; they simply have to beat Southampton. The other 10 am choice is Crystal Palace hosting Man City.  Best choice for neutral is probably Brentford - Newcastle.

The 12:30 feature match on NBC is Man United - Nottingham Forest.  That would be 13th place versus 7th place.  Despite position in the table, United are solid favorites.  Even more fun is that if they do win, they will pass Forest in the table, an indication of how compressed the mid-table is.

Sunday has the marquee match of the weekend with Spurs hosting Chelsea (11:30 on USA).  Even on the road, Chelsea are healthy favorites in this one.  The three 9 am appetizers are Fulham - Arsenal, Ipswich - Bournemouth and Leicester - Brighton.  Not much to recommend there but we'll probably go with Ipswich as we have taken a sudden interest in the Tractor Boys struggle to avoid relegation.

Speaking of relegation, there is a Monday match featuring West Ham and Wolves.  Six points above the drop zone, maybe the Hammers aren't in relegation jeopardy yet but they need to win matches like this one to keep it that way.

It's also a European competition week, which means matches Tuesday-Thursday.  We thank the schedulers for staggering the start times to maximize viewing.  Tuesday you can do Girona - Liverpool at 12:45 and RB Leipzig - Aston Villa at 3.  Wednesday the EPL sides play concurrently with Juventus - Man City and Arsenal -Monaco both at 3 pm.  Thursday you can do a triple header! Start with Astana - Chelsea at 10:30, Viktoria Plezn (I didn't make that up) - Man United at 12:45 and Rangers - Spurs at 3.  Hey no fair, I have a planning board meeting Thursday that means I might only see Spurs.

If you care about this, the MLS Cup Final is Saturday at 4 pm between the LA Galaxy (2 seed) and NY Red Bulls (7 seed) on Fox.  Both were 1-0 winners in their conference finals.  I did watch both (Laura and Mackenzie were watching other stuff on Saturday night); the matches weren't awful but I remember little except LA scored late when it looked like it might go to extra time.  

Not many off days in December.