On Monday, Joe Kinnear, Newcastle's Director of Football (General Manager in American terms), resigned, putting an end to a seven month long front office nightmare. Reaction was swift. Brought in to be owner Mike Ashley's "eyes and ears" and to beef up the Newcastle squad with key signings, Kinnear's tenure was an unmitigated disaster. From the start, many interpreted the move as an expression of Ashley's lack of confidence in Alan Pardew, who still had to manage his team with that shadow hanging over him. But even worse, Kinnear failed to make a long-term signing in either of the two transfer windows during his tenure.
Much will be made of Kinnear presiding over the departure of Cabaye but I don't hold that against him. Newcastle's philosophy, at least under this owner, of sign talent young and cheap, get some productive years, sell at profit made that inevitable. No, the bigger issue is that this approach requires acquiring new talent on a regular basis and Kinnear failed in two important transfer windows. Loic Remy, who has slumped recently but fueled the run up the table, is here on loan only through the end of the season and a long-term signing looks unlikely at this point. Luke de Jong is also just a loan, though Newcastle does have an option to purchase the player at the end of the season. Several replacements for Cabaye were identified and wooed but in the end, no deals were closed. The dreadful derby defeat at the hands of Sunderland close on the heels of the inability to replace Cabaye gave ownership the chance to let Kinnear do the right thing. This is the most positive piece of news coming from Tyneside since November. Unfortunately, it also is a classic case of closing the barn door too late; not much can be done about the roster now until summer.
Moving Up (or Down) the Table
There was quite a bit of rearranging in the table this week as 12 teams, including eight of the bottom ten, ended the weekend's matches in a different place than they started. But as predicted Newcastle was still in 8th.
Not for long though if current form holds. Sunderland made a joke of the Tyne-Wear derby, handing the Magpies a 3-0 defeat that wasn't even as close as the score sounds. This is the third straight loss to the Black Cats and the second consecutive 3-0 loss to them at St. James' Park. About the only positive for the day was that at least this time no Newcastle fans were arrested for punching police horses - at least not that I heard about.
Cabaye's departure can't explain the indifferent (or reckless in the case of Anita's foul in the box) defending by Newcastle. Plus, the Magpies were missing two key offensive cogs - Gouffran (injury) and Remy (suspension); even Papisse Cisse, who hasn't seen much time lately, was unavailable due to injury. Luuk de Jong was largely ineffective in his Newcastle debut, though it was hard to expect much in that situation anyway. I don't mean to go all silver lining here (which is a major departure for me) but I'm still reserving judgment on the post-Cabaye Newcastle future. I don't think it's as bleak as current form suggests. What's that? We play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday? Oh bloody hell...
Aston Villa came away with no points but at least were competitive with Everton. In fact, they were a mere five minutes away from stealing a point at Goodison Park before Kevin Mirallas' (Belgian!) free kick from 25 yards out dashed the Villans hopes. But we'll let Dennis provide the details.
About 2 minutes after Villa scored to take an improbable 1-0 lead, they immediately went into the classic "underdog that scored a goal when they weren't supposed to and now will not venture out of their own half for the rest of the game" defense. As soon as I saw the new tactics, I said (and this can be verified) "Villa loses 2-1". And yea, verily, it came to pass. Villa aren't an organized or talented enough team to play team defense for 55 minutes. Paul Lambert added to the problems with a confusing substitution in the 80th minute - why take out Vlaar, the captain and best defender, when you are all-in on a defensive plan? In any case, the Villans eventually caved to the constant pressure of the Everton attack and came away with no points. One bright spot was the excellent play from Bertrand, who has been a quality loan acquisition so far.
And verily, Aston Villa remains in 10th.
Arsenal moved back to the top of the table with a steady 2-0 win over Crystal Palace. Oxlade-Chamberlain (not a pharmaceutical company) scored at 47 minutes and again at 73 minutes for the game's only goals. Having seen several of Arsenal's matches against lower table teams, my sense is that the Gunners can take awhile to put these teams away. But, at the same time, I never see them panic and they always seem in control of the match, like there's plenty of confidence that they will get the job done. I hear many analysts think the race will come down to Man City and Chelsea. A bit early to discount the Gunners, no? Sorry Luke and Michael P if I just jinxed your side.
Speaking of Man City and Chelsea, the second and third place sides played a tense match Monday. Chelsea manager Mourinho was fresh off his complaints about West Ham's 19th century tactics after their 0-0 midweek draw; now that's rich - if you look up "parking the bus" in the dictionary you get Jose's face. For Man City though, he appeared to commit more players forward while keeping a deep back line, giving up the midfield. The strategy worked; even though Man City had more possession and shots, Chelsea took away a 1-0 win. The two sides are now tied on points, though Man City holds a commanding lead on goal differential.
A date with Hull City was supposed to be the chance for Tottenham to get their drive for a Champions League spot back in gear after the rout by Man City, but the 1-1 draw was not what the doctored had ordered. In fact, the Spurs were behind for much of the match after Shane Long put the home squad up at the 12 minute mark. Fortunately for Tottenham, Paulinho was able to the square things up with a goal in the 61st minute so the Spurs got a point. Things were looking up even more when Liverpool could also manage only a 1-1 draw on the road at West Brom; I did see this match and thought the score was a fair outcome. No surprise that the Liverpool goal was by Sturridge off a cross by Suarez. West Brom's equalizer came courtesy of Liverpool defender Kolo Toure's gift pass right onto the foot of striker Anichebe, who scored, completing Toure's "bad awful day". Tottenham also benefited from Manchester United's 2-1 loss away to Stoke City. Also saw this match and also thought it was a fair result. Despite a line-up that for the first time included Van Persie, Rooney and the newly acquired Mata, Stoke outscored the Red Devils and earned the win, withstanding a furious attack in the closing minutes.
This weekend starts off with a good one - Liverpool hosting Arsenal. With their main rivals facing easier fixtures, the Gunners really need a result to stay in first. The easier fixtures of which I speak are Chelsea hosting Newcastle and Man City visiting Norwich. The Newcastle fan in me hopes for a point but that looks like a long shot without Remy and the Canaries are unlikely to test the Citizens. By Sunday night, a three-way tie at the top is a very real possibility; a draw for Arsenal and wins for Chelsea and Man City would make that a reality. Man City's massive goal differential (41 versus 26 for Arsenal and 24 for Chelsea) would give them first, at least for the moment.
Another key match is Tottenham v Everton as both are fighting for Champions League and/or Europa League spots. With the match at White Hart Lane, you would think the Spurs have the advantage but their form has been very spotty. I could easily see a draw here, which would be a better result for the Toffees. Other matches of interest to the blog are Aston Villa hosting West Ham and Manchester United hosting Fulham. The Villans should be thinking three points with a home match against the Hammers; a win would put them eight points clear of the relegation zone. Fulham has been awful and it's hard to see Man United not taking all three points there, which will put more pressure on Everton and Tottenham.
USMNT
Did not see any of the US 2-0 victory over South Korea. Chris Wondolowksi had both goals but still probably finds himself on the outside looking in for a spot on the World Cup roster. Remember Buddy Ryan's famous criticism of Cris Carter - all he does is catch touchdown passes. Wondo seems to find himself is a similar situation, with some questioning his overall skills and commenting, all he can do is score goals.
No Chester Blues action this week as I had to study for the referee recertification exam. At least it was time well spent and I'm now certified through the end of 2015.
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