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.