Didn't Anybody Know That Was A Derby?

Other than being shown live, everything else about Saturday's Aston Villa - Newcastle match proved that nobody but us knew it was a derby.  We got a second tier, although highly entertaining and brutally honest, announcing team.   Villa Park was less than 75% full.  What's up with that?  Even if not a true derby, it was Aston Villa's home opener.  And finally, neither side brought much urgency to the pitch. The Villans managed nary a shot on target; Newcastle got six on frame but they could have had more had they not completely whiffed on several others.  In the end, we were left with a 0-0 draw, which allowed Aston Villa to sit atop the table for a full 2 hours and 15 minutes.  You get the feeling they could have played all day without scoring.

On the Newcastle side, Colback and Janmaat continued to impress, Riviere not so much, though the problem may rest more with the formation than the player.  It's not clear that the lone striker approach is going to work for the Magpies.  De Jong made his debut, as a late sub, and created one of the game's best chances.  We had every reason to think we'd have just one point after the first two games so there's no real reason for distress, other than the fact that they've yet to score.  Update - they got their first goal in a 1-0 League Cup win over Gillingham so it's o...what's that?  It was an own goal?  Whatever, we'll take it.

Dennis provides the Aston Villa perspective:

Pretty much the same performance against Newcastle as against Stoke, with one fewer shot on goal.  Stout defense, a weak attack, and 4 more yellows (on pace for 133).  The defense is definitely from a different planet this season, but has a disturbing habit of blocking shots with less than desirable body parts which might catch up to them at some point.  Williamson's second yellow for Newcastle came a little too late to have any real impact and playing up a man for an extended time was likely the Villans best chance to earn 3 points.  However, 4 points through two games is a more than satisfactory start to the campaign.

Quite a mixed bag of results for our regulars.  Tottenham thoroughly trashed Queen's Park Rangers at White Hart Lane 4-0.  Poor Harry Redknapp, QPR manager.  Check out his sad visage just two matches into the season.  Conflicting rumors have him either being replaced by Tim Sherwood or getting a contract extension.


Arsenal's late rally to tie Everton 2-2 likely left the Gunners fans happy and the Toffee supporters wondering if they're snakebit this year.  Manchester United's 1-1 draw with Sunderland was probably unacceptable to their fans;  the 0-4 loss to third division MK Dons in the League Cup on Tuesday must have alarm bells ringing all over the place.  I had looked forward to a slightly more competitive Man City - Liverpool contest but the Citizens were pretty much in total control taking a 3-1 win at home.  Other notable items include another assist for Chester Blue Gylfi Sigurdsson in Swansea's 1-0 win over Burnley and Chelsea's comfortable 2-0 win over Leicester.


Reinforcements Are On the Way

The transfer window has a few days left and two squads have made splashy signings.  Liverpool have signed Mario Volatelli Balotelli to add scoring punch and provide EPL sportswriters with a possibly unending set of story lines.  Most would argue that Rogers is playing with fire here but he has obviously decided they needed a more mercurial presence up top.  And Man United have signed Angel Di Maria for a transfer fee equal to the GNP of Liechtenstein or something close to it.  Di Maria is no doubt a great talent but some are wondering whether his addition solves the Red Devils problems.  Everton have added the aging but quite serviceable Samuel Eto'o.  Arsenal, which are now looking at five months without Na na na na-ne-na-na na-ne-na-na Giroud, are likely to sign Edinson Cavani.  And Newcastle supposedly continue to seek a striker and the names we hear are Remy and Lacazette, who have both reportedly spurned previous advances from the Magpies.


Who Are Those Guys?

Ultimately a very un-Union like performance on Sunday night against San Jose.  Not too surprised when the Union went up 2-0 in the first half.  Definitely not surprised when they surrendered two goals to the Quakes in the second half.  Oh sure, Chris Wondolowski, miss the volley from the right hand side vs Belgium but make it against the Union (okay not really fair but I'm not bitter at all).  Then, incredibly, the Union respond with two of their own.  Andrew Wenger has had a decent but quiet season, giving little indication of goal scoring potential, but he put up two of the season's best on Sunday. We'll make his first this week's YouTubeable Moment. Sure it was San Jose, sure it was home but just as surely this was an important victory. They next face Toronto twice in three days; those two matches will go a long way in determining whether the Union are players in the final months of the season.

The Red Bulls handled Montreal but both New England and Columbus won as well and Toronto got a draw so the playoff race is still jammed.


The Weekend

It's back to live streaming for me and Dennis.  Aston Villa host Hull City; this really should be three for the Villans but their offense and record at home could interfere.  Newcastle have Crystal Palace at St. James' Park; see everything I just said about Aston Villa.  CP are looking for their first points, Newcastle for their first goal; no wonder this didn't make the live TV schedule.

For those with more mainstream allegiances, matches will be available on NBCSN or NBC.  Two tasty looking fixtures are Everton hosting Chelsea (Saturday at 12:30) and Tottenham vs Liverpool at White Hart Lane (Sunday at 8:30 am).   Everton fans might be happy with a third straight 2-2 result, even at home.  The Spurs will have their hands full with Liverpool; this is a chance to see how realistic a top four finish for them might be.  Man United are a heavy favorite making their trip to Turf Moor to face Burnley and presumably will be looking to put the League Cup disaster behind them.  Man City have every reason to expect three points when Stoke come to the Etihad.  Leicester must be wondering what they ever did to the schedule makers.  Their reward for returning to the EPL was opening matches against Everton, Chelsea and Arsenal on consecutive weekends; Arsenal are the favorite but the Foxes haven't been that easy a mark so far.


I close by noting that I just got my first reffing assignments since tearing my hamstring last November.  Excited to be back and hoping the body holds together.  

One Down, 37 To Go

Entertaining opening weekend, if I don't get too hung up about results.


Lots of Industry Not Enough Inspiration

That was how one of the announcers described Newcastle's performance in the 0-2 loss at home to Manchester City.  I think that's about right.  Recall that I had low expectations for a result and was more interested in how the Magpies played.  Though outplayed in the first half, they performed gamely, refusing to be "outphysicaled" (hey I got the word from an English teacher so it must be legit) by a much bigger side.  But eventually the Citizens broke through on a clever pass from Dzeko that Silva slotted past Krul.  The second half was better for the home side and they came agonizingly close several times, most notably when Sissoko missed from the top of the box in the 83rd minute.  Aguero added an insurance goal in stoppage time to make the final score look a bit more comfortable than it really was.  Though the victory was earned, the result could as easily been 1-1.

High marks for the Magpies in most areas except one - finishing.  Their work rate, to a man, was excellent.  A lot of possession and creative play to get the ball into the final third.  Alas, that was where things broke down.  They could not find the killer pass or the strike to convert the effort into a goal.  High marks for Cabella; he was unafraid to possess the ball in a crowd, which means we may not have to depend on long balls so much this year.  Colback and Janmaat were also excellent in their debuts.  The jury is still out for me on striker Riviere.  We also did not get to see midfielder de Jong, who was out with an injury.

Another Opening Day Upset for Aston Villa

Uh-oh - the Villans may have discovered that a well-organized defense doesn't require them to pull back into a shell.  This could spell trouble for all the other mid-table teams out there.  They looked solid in a 1-0 road win over Stoke.  Vlaar is a known quantity on defense but Senderos impressed as well.  Dennis adds:

This is probably a case of misplaced optimism so early in the season and after only beating a mid-table team 1-0, but this match felt completely different than a typical AV match from last season (aside from already picking up 3 yellows) .  The offense felt similar to last year with a little energy added, but the defense felt like a transplant from another team. They were calm, composed, and organized on nearly every Stoke attack, though Guzan made some uncharacteristically sloppy plays.  It appears that some "veteran presence" did wonders, despite the term usually referring to old guys that can't play anymore.  If the defense can be this stout against other teams and the offence can remain at least average until Benteke returns, the Villans might be able to secure safety well before the last weeks of the season.   


Around the League

There were several matches that caught this viewer's eye.  Foremost was probably the wide open, flowing match between Liverpool and Southampton.  Despite losing many key elements from last year, the Saints still play an appealing brand of football - at least on this Sunday they did anyway.  Clyne's goal on a sweet back heel pass from Tadic is my choice for this week's YouTubeable Moment.  But Liverpool had some good moments of their own to take away a 2-1 win.

Though the joy was short-lived, you had to share the excitement of the fans at Turf Moor, the home park of newly promoted Burnley, after midfielder Scott Arfield had given his side an early lead against Chelsea.  Quality will out and Chelsea rolled to a 3-1 win but the moment was still special.  And add Turf Moor to the list of awesome names for home parks.  As a bonus, the match also featured the first BFS of the season.   I thought it could have been anything from a red card for DOGSO to a no call to a yellow for simulation so I awaited with bated breath Dennis's analysis of Diego Costa's "dive."

Luke and Michael P (Arsenal 2-1 over Crystal Palace) have nothing to complain about, except for maybe Alexis Sanchez's folded shorts, which is not a wardrobe malfunction but a quirkly habit of the Chilean. Michael B seemed happy enough about Tottenham's
stoppage time goal to steal three points on the road against West Ham.  Jeff K, a relatively quiet Everton fan, probably wasn't thrilled by Leicester's tying goal in the 86th minute, but what I saw of the match was entertaining.  And what to do about Man U?  The story line last year from Old Trafford was always about how that was the first victory for [insert side name here] since WWII.  But this year was going to be different with Louis van Gaal at the helm.  Except maybe not as Swansea City got its first win ever at the venerable park.  An assist and a goal by Chester Blue Gylfi Sigurdsson sank the Red Devils.  Another year that will test Jeff H's patience?  Check out this Grantland article that assesses which EPL sides should be worried after one whole week of play.


Union Busting

My heart is not into reporting on this disappointing 0-1 road loss to the Houston Dynamo.  Quite demoralizing.  It's not that they were awful.  In fact, I thought they played a little better than in the win over Montreal.  Just left me with serious doubts as to whether this team is good enough to challenge for a playoff spot.  The only encouraging news from this match for me was the relatively strong MLS debut by rookie keeper Andre Blake.  He did make some poor decisions as you would expect a young keeper to do but he also displayed incredible athleticism.  I would prefer the Union keep him and see if MacMath can fetch something in the trade market.


Chester Splits

We didn't get thrashed by Everton.  Didn't get a result either, falling to the Toffees in our first trip to Goodison Park 0-1.   Possession was 39-61 and shots were 2-22 so maybe it wasn't as close as the score suggests.  We fared better back home, defeating West Ham 3-1 in a match where we were slight underdogs.  Took a beating though as three starters picked up injuries that will have them out between 8 days and 3 weeks.  Next match is Hull City.


Secret Derby

This weekend features the derby that is known only to readers of this blog; this Saturday's Aston Villa - Newcastle match will be the second Fillebrown Derby.  With the season so young, it's hard to get much trash talking going.  I will say that Newcastle has much better hair than Aston Villa but it appears the oddsmakers are not swayed; the Villans go in slight favorites, probably based on the home field advantage.  Last time out these two sides played competitive if not quality soccer; off of their opening day performances we have some hope of seeing a decent match.  They were both impressive from goal line to 18, not so much inside the opponents' 18.  Perhaps we might see that seemingly oxymoronic combination of exciting but scoreless soccer.  Dennis adds his reverse trash talking, displaying confidence typical of an AV fan:

Newcastle looked stronger against City than AV did against Stoke.  And I think we can all agree that Stoke is no Manchester City.  Combining that fact with already having a win this season and playing at home where they were atrocious last season, I do not have high hopes for Villa in this match.  I will take this time to note that AV is 6th in the table, while Newcastle sit at 20th, so my team is better by at least one theoretical measure.  Since I expect the Villans to be soundly beaten this weekend, I'll grasp at whatever straws I can reach.      


Some good stuff from the schedule makers this early in the season.  Everton will host Arsenal. and Man City plays Liverpool at the Etihad;  both should be good matches.  Tottenham really shouldn't be tested by QPR at White Hart Lane.  Not sure what to make of Man United at Sunderland; the Red Devils are heavy favorites and that seems right but they couldn't beat Swansea City at home so who knows.  Chelsea gets to host Leicester and has every expectation of an easy win.

On the MLS side, the Union host San Jose, one of the weaker Western Division squads.  With 10 games to go and just 7 points separating 3rd through 9th, every match is important.  But they'll need to play better than the last two times out.  The Red Bulls host the dreadful Montreal Impact, which should give them a chance to solidify their playoff credentials.

It Is Now Post Time

The horses are on the track...

It's been a long 30+ days since the end of the World Cup.  We've had to subsist on crumbs from a light MLS schedule and some let's-take-money-from-the-Yankees-for-preseason-games-by-calling-it-a-cup tournaments.  But that comes to an end Saturday morning when Manchester United hosts Swansea City in the opening match of the 2014-15 EPL season.  A full slate of games follows that 7:45 am opener covering Saturday and Sunday, with six matches on NBCSN or NBC.  And the MLS schedule gets more consistent as they move into the last part of their season.  La Liga people tell me that the Spanish season will start a week from Saturday.  Better erase unneeded shows from your dvrs.

Newcastle again gets to open against Manchester City.  Hopefully we will see something better than last year's 0-4 thrashing in which Steven Taylor was sent off.  There are many reasons to be optimistic this season - at least for a mid-table finish - but this Sunday I'll be more interested in how the Magpies play than the final score.  Aston Villa opens on the road at Stoke. There's some buzz about the Potters possibly being a surprise team but even if they're not, this is a tough match for the Villans; maybe they'll surprise like last year when they beat Arsenal on opening day.

Other sides of interest, at least to our regulars, have brighter prospects for a result.  Everton is at Leicester,  Arsenal hosts Crystal Palace and Tottenham is at West Ham.  A popular common pick to win the EPL, Chelsea, will travel to newly promoted Burnley.  Liverpool, who many think will struggle to stay in the top 4, faces Southampton at Anfield.

Michael B pointed me to a great series by The Guardian on the prospects for each EPL team.  Here's the link: http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog+football/series/premier-league-2014-15-previews. Their consensus top four is Chelsea, Man City, Arsenal, and Man United.  Fifth through seventh are Liverpool, Tottenham and Everton.  Newcastle is slotted 9th and Aston Villa 16th (ouch). 

And let's go over the only thing you really need to remember about viewing etiquette.  Before blurting out the score or even a key moment of any match, either verbally or cyberly, remember to ask: Are you current?


MacMath Giveth and Taketh Away

The Union have advanced to the final of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.  I confess to not following this competition closely at all, only vaguely aware that the Union had been making their way to the later rounds.  I ask for the court's indulgence, even the semi-final wasn't on any channel nor could you stream it live.   Poor man's FA Cup indeed.  Protecting a 1-0 lead late, MacMath came too far off his line and was burned for the tying goal.  Regular time ended in a draw, as did the 30 minutes of added extra time.  In the shootout, MacMath redeemed himself with two big saves, sending the team on to the September 16th final against Seattle at PPL Park.

That was their second win of the week.  On Saturday, they won the must-win contest against last place Montreal, 2-1.  Except the Union were awful.  The Impact is a bad team and they were without their leading scorer.  But the Union managed little offense; both goals were almost all luck.  Passes weren't just intercepted, they were often straight to the opposition.  They were unable to create any space, had little creativity and frankly looked tired.  LeToux wasn't at his best skillwise but his work rate was the reason the Union scored at all.  MacMath had a decent game and Valdes, in his first game back, put in a credible effort.  The win moved them into the last playoff spot but that did not look like a playoff team to me.  A congested schedule sees the Union traveling to Houston for a Friday match against the Dynamo; sure, it's a road game but Houston is below them in the standings so this is where we see if the Union is going to make a run or not.

Only saw the score of the match but Red Bull fans can't be too happy about an 0-1 loss at Chicago.  They maintain 4th place on the tie breaker.  But with as many as six teams vying for the last two playoff spots, nothing is secure at this point.


Coaching Genius

When picking players for the Chester Blues, I insist on a high rating for determination.  That was quite helpful in  the midweek League Cup game against 4th division Carlisle.  I sat most of the regulars to keep them fresh for Saturday's league match with Everton, believing the second team would be strong enough to handle a 4th division squad.  So Carlisle puts up two goals in the first seven minutes and I'm thinking I'm going to be roasted by the board and fans.  But teams with high determination tend not to be rattled playing from behind and sure enough, my guys came through with three goals before halftime and another two in the second half.  Still might get thrashed by Everton but at least we'll be rested.


All I'm Asking For Is 60% Effort 1000% of the Time

Ted Lasso may be back in the EPL.  We saw him last year during his brief, very brief, tenure at Tottenham, which is documented here.  After a short stint at NBCSN, he is apparently under consideration for the position at Leicester, even if he can't pronounce it properly.  Details here.


Good luck to your chosen side, unless of course your side is playing my chosen side, Newcastle.

Where To Begin?

So many topics to discuss.  We will deal with them all, no matter how superficially.


MLS All-Star Match

The Powers That Be will need to decide what they want this event to be.  The current format - a team of MLS All-Stars versus a top European club - sounded like a cool idea at first but in reality is fraught with contradictions.  It's a friendly, an off-season one at that for the European squad.  But the MLS is looking to grow its reputation so it's hard to expect the all-stars not to play competitively.  So it's not clear the players are going to be on the same page as to what is an acceptable challenge.  Then there's the financial aspect.  The European clubs are clearly expanding their marketing/merchandising range (as Yogurt would say "Never underestimate the power of the schwartz").    The European clubs are happy to take the money but aren't interested in exposing their players to injury.  I get that but not sure the MLS-European dynamic is going to allow for a relatively riskless all-star contest; no reason to think that tension is going away.  It's probably best to keep up the club friendlies, which are clearly identified as friendlies and are less likely to break out into a competitive match, but drop MLS vs European club all-star format. 

Hard not to be down on Bayern manager Pep Guardiola after clearly waving off MLS coach Caleb Porter for the traditional (mandatory?) post-game handshake.  Maybe he felt that some sort of pre-game arrangement was violated and he blamed Porter for not keeping his players under control.  Not sure that's Porter's fault but still...Guardiola looked like another whiny European manager and my first reaction was "eff him" if he wants to come here and make lots of money for his team while the opposition is supposed to lay down.  Okay, that's not completely fair but it brings me back to my original conclusion - this all-star format is unworkable.

Oh yeah - MLS won 2-1 on a superb strike from Red Bulls Wright-Phillips and determined work in the box from Landon Donovan.


MLS - Talking Union Playoffs

They picked up a very satisfying point on the road last Friday versus Sporting KC.  New loanee Bryan Brown's emphatic header in the 71st minute earned the Union a draw against the division leaders.  Even without the injured Maidana, the Union's play is still attractive and enjoyable to watch.

On the personnel front, one curious and one obvious adjustment.  What do you do when you have two young keepers on your roster?  Why, go out and get a 28 year-old international, that's what. The Union's signing of Algerian Rais Mbolhi has met with reactions ranging from "it was a no-brainer" to "wtf?"  I admit to being a little confused but can see possible logic here.  I was never a MacMath fan and was hoping that Blake was our future keeper.  However, Mbolhi is clearly the number one keeper now.  If he is here for a one or two years as a starter and a tutor for Blake, that makes sense.  MacMath would then be available for loan or transfer to shore up other areas.  Will be closely watching how this plays out.

The other change is the return of Carlos Valdes to shore up the back line.  Except does that mean Edu goes back to midfield?  I thought he has done better as center defender and the team's performance has clearly been better.  Edu has been diplomatic about the switch but certainly sounds like he wants to go back to midfield.  Maybe both Valdes and Edu play on the back line?  We'll find out Saturday when they host Montreal.  Pretty close to a must win situation - a home game against the last place team in the division.

Red Bulls

Saw the end of the Red Bulls 2-1 comeback against the Revolution.  All the more impressive, going down 0-1, then going down a man and still rallied for the win and three points that moved them into 4th place.  They face Chicago on the road Sunday and must be thinking at least a draw. 


EPL - Newcastle Been Having Fun All Summer Long

Just one week before the season starts and Newcastle might not be finished with personnel moves.  Rumors linking the Magpies with French strikers Loic Remy and Alexandre Lacazette continue to bubble up. Either would be fine but at this point I get the feeling it's going to be neither.  Not that this has been a disappointing transfer window.  Not counting two recent signees who were immediately loaned back to the selling club, Newcastle have added seven players who could play a significant role in the coming campaign, shoring up weaknesses in the midfield and front line.  One might have wished for a striker on the level of a Remy or Lacazette and maybe some help for the back line but they have done enough that I am fully confident of another mid-table finish.  That's how the oddsmakers see it too, pegging the Magpies for somewhere between 8th and 10th.

Personally less optimistic about Aston Villa given their relatively quiet summer.  Plus Benteke is out until October.  Still, the oddsmakers/prognosticators don't see the Villans in relegation jeopardy with most predictions showing them somewhere between 10th and 12th.

Earlier this summer I wrote about the apparent dismantling of Southampton after their best finish in club history; their coach is now at Tottenham (Ted Lasso did not get the job), Lallana and Lampert went to Liverpool, and Shaw is at Man Utd .  Surprisingly, the forecasts are uniformly positive for another top 10 finish.  Some specifically cite the club's strong academy program.  Personally I think they're assuming that the money from the sales is going to be plowed back into equally good players but I haven't seen it yet.

Tottenham have got themselves a fine manager in Mauricio Pochettino but have they done enough to crack the top four?  Arsenal look a bit stronger with Sanchez and Debuchy and the return of Theo Walcott.  Man City aren't going anywhere and Chelsea will be competitive.   Liverpool added some quality players but lost the dynamic Luis Overbite Suarez; I wonder how competing in Champions League will affect their EPL performance.  Man United also got a new manager plus some key transfers so the betting is they have a shot at a return to the top four; not sure I see that much improvement but I do expect they'll be more competitive than last year.

And by the time you read this, the season opener will be less than a week away.


Chester Debuts In EPL

The cyber debut of the Chester Blues couldn't have gone better as we scored a mild upset at home over Newcastle.  A close match throughout until a own goal sealed the 2-0 win for the good guys.   Very heartened by the prospect that we appear capable of playing at this level.

The dark cloud continues to be Rui Santos.  The young Portuguese midfielder, our most expensive signing, was having trouble communicating until we inked another player who also speaks Portuguese.  Now I'm getting press reports that he's having trouble adjusting to life in Chester.  I get it but - a young kid (19) in a foreign country; I've never been to Chester England so I can't comment on what it's like there.  But my options are really limited.  I can let him go home for a month but lose him for 3-4 games and there's no guarantee he comes back happier.  I can see if signing someone else from Portugal who my scouts tell me is likely to adapt to the new surroundings but I don't have much a budget to work with at this point.  Or I can ignore it and see if goes away.  Of course I could try to replace him but that looks both a financial and competitive disaster.  The internet forums suggest that the third approach is often workable, especially if you constantly praise the player.  Never expected that issues like this would take up most of the time.


I'm sure I forgot something but that's all for this post.  I have a research project underway looking at the distribution of top four or five finishes in each of the EPL, La Ligue and the Bundisliga to get a sense of how concentrated the power is.  My sense is I'm going to find a glass ceiling of sorts with the same few clubs finishing at the top and everybody else looking up but will wait to see what the data says.