After such a great season with twists and turns, the final Sunday seemed, at least from this distance (Lyon, France), to be a bit tepid. I didn't get to see any matches live and really only have picked through match highlights so far, but it all seemed according to form and mostly without drama.
Manchester City looked in control hosting West Ham. Liverpool was able to overcome another Skertl own goal (did he set the EPL record this year?) but was apparently never in danger of scoring the 15 or whatever goals against Newcastle they would have needed if Man City only managed a tie.
On the Europa League qualification front, Tottenham handled Aston Villa with relative ease, which made Man United's draw versus Sunderland irrelevant. And even though West Brom staggered to the finish line with another loss, Norwich went down 0-2 to Arsenal so it is the Canaries that are relegated while the Baggies get to play EPL again next year.
Luis Suarez entered the weekend needing only one goal to break the single season EPL mark (for the 20 team/38 game league as opposed to the 22 team/42 game league). He had seemingly gotten that goal with his quick free kick in the 19th minute but referee Phil Dowd disallowed it. For what reason, I'm not sure. The video I found isn't much help. It's possible the ball was still moving but according to reports, Dowd wasn't looking at the ball and the assistant referee made no signal. A ceremonial restart (a proper sounding soccer phrase that simply means you can take the kick only after the referee blows the whistle) is not required unless the kicking team has asked the referee to move the defense back 10 yards or if the referee needs to show a card. There was no card and if the attacking team took the kick right away, it's not likely they asked for the 10 yards. Crummy way to lose a record. Of course, if Suarez hadn't bitten Ivanovic last year, he wouldn't have had to sit out the first six games of the season and would likely have broken the record easily.
Howay the Lads
I'll do a broader post-mortem on Newcastle in the next few weeks but a few comments now. With the loss to Liverpool and Stoke's win over West Brom, the Magpies fell to 10th in the table. A top half of the table finish was the club's stated goal before the season commenced and it seemed like a worthy target given last year's 16th place finish. But the way they achieved the goal - a Europa League quality first half paired with a relegation worthy second half - suggests a struggle next year. The heady results of November morphed into the distressingly bad football of April. As Dennis would put it, "it was a great season until it started to suck."
But we know approximately, no exactly, when and why it started to suck - the departure of Cabaye. Followed closely by an injury to Remy. Newcastle will start next season with neither and one can only wonder where the offense will come from. Needless to say, this will be a critical transfer window for the Magpies.
Hackworth on the Hot Seat
After another lackluster performance (0-1 to DC United at home), Union manager John Hackworth is reportedly under fire. Hard to say exactly what share of this season's struggles should fall on his shoulders but it feels like more than a little. The squad definitely has an improved talent base and has shown flashes of quality play but is unable to sustain them. They haven't seemed to gel as a team either. Both of these sound like issues a manager can affect. A mid week match against Kansas City likely won't help matters.
Sounds like the Red Bulls could have used BFS Keeper Expert Chris K in their 4-5 loss to previously winless Chicago. Still, four goals is a month's worth for the Union so things can't be all bad.
More La Liga Stumbles
All three top teams gave up points this weekend. Real Madrid (Ronaldoless and Baleless) fell out of the race with a loss. Atletico and Barca both came away with draws, setting up this weekend's finale between the two. Atletico only needs a draw but Miguel B points out that the match is in Barcelona. Hopefully the recently overloaded Atletico bandwagon will tip the scales in their favor.
FA Cup
Final this weekend between Arsenal and Hull City. If I have this right, win or lose, Hull will play Europa League next season because if the FA Cup winner is qualified for Champions League, the spot goes to the FA Cup runner up. Not a terrible season for Arsenal what with fending off Everton's challenge for the last Champions League spot but the Gunners did spend a lot of time at the top of the table (more than any other side?) so the fourth place finish may be discouraging. An FA Cup win would probably make them feel much better.
World Cup Rosters
Some interesting stories as the rosters are released. Eddie Johnson does not make the 30-man roster for the US. By definition, this means he will not make the 23-man roster and will not be going to Brazil. England manager Roy Hodgson has made some news leaving off Ashley Cole and Michael Carrick from his 23-man roster, though Carrick is on stand-by and could still be chosen.
The View from Lyon
Had hoped to see the home side play while we are here but they will be in Nice next weekend. Oh well, guess we'll just have to spend time doing other things. Again, not expecting any sympathy.
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