Pardew's Swansea Song?

Things are going so well for my teams we're going to start calling this a blah-g.  Other than my computer Chester Blues in Football Manager, not too many results this month.

Newcastle fell behind to Stoke City early on a goal by Ichabod Crane Peter Crouch (right) and things stayed that way until the final whistle.  The Magpies were actually the better side in the first half but managed no serious offensive threats.  The more distressing aspect of this match was that, unlike the Crystal Palace and Hull City contests, Newcastle's attack was increasingly futile as the game wore on.  The second half was among their worst of the season so far.  The only serious shot came after 80 minutes and was a bolt out of the blue rather than the result of relentless attacking pressure, which one might have expected from a team down 0-1 late.  Do we need any more evidence that the lone striker approach of the 4-2-3-1 isn't working?  Pardew gets blamed for stuff that may not be his fault, but this surely is. If the personnel aren't right for the formation, there's nothing to do about that until the January transfer window.  So instead of trotting out the same ineffective line-up, maybe he should try something else.

Newcastle travel to Wales to face Swansea City on Saturday.  Reports vary on whether Pardew is out with another loss but I'm betting that, unless they are blown out like at Southampton, he survives; a loss at home in two weeks to Leicester might be a different matter.

Speaking of tenure among EPL managers, Pardew (hired 12/9/10) currently ranks second to Arsene Wenger, who started on October 1, 1996.  This does not look like a profession for the faint of heart.  Two others (Allardyce at West Ham and Pearson at Leicester) were hired in 2011.  Of the remaining positions, five started in 2012, five in 2013, and six in 2014.  By my calculations, the median tenure of EPL managers as of September 30, 2014 was 487 days or about 1-1/3 years.  George Steinbrenner would be proud.


At Least We Have A Nicer Stadium

Stop me if you've heard this one.  Team goes on the road.  Falls behind early.  Offensive looks weaker as the match goes on.  Loses 1-0. That was the Union's fate vs DC United on Saturday, played in the cavernous and lifeless RFK Stadium.  This used to be the highest scoring team in MLS but they have been anemic of late.  Our corners have become so bad that Jeff H suggests we do short corners so that at least we retain possession.  The back line has been solid but you can't win games 0-0.  Home against 9th place Chicago on Thursday night; sitting three points out of the 5th spot, this is pretty much a must win for the Union.


Derbies and the Rest of the EPL

Pretty tame stuff for derbies, IMHO, from Arsenal-Tottenham and Liverpool-Everton, though there were several goals of the highest quality.  Saw Luke P at a party Saturday night and he was not pleased with the Gunners 1-1 draw at home, followed by the Union loss to DC United.  Michael B seemed okay with it (Spurs draw that is).  Tame might be a slightly unfair label for the Liverpool-Everton 1-1 draw.  Sure, it doesn't get more dramatic than an equalizing goal in stoppage time but the match really came down to just two outstanding moments of quality from Gerrard and Jagielka, which you can see in this week's YouTubeable Moment.  Nothing remarkable in Aston Villa's 0-3 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.  Manchester United survived Rooney's straight red for a 2-1 home win over West Ham.  Man City squandered a 2-0 lead but eventually came away with a 4-2 win over Hull City.

Chester Take Two

Real life has limited my time with Football Manager and the real calendar has almost caught up with the cyber calendar.  We won our third round match in the League Cup over 3rd division Stockport 3-0.  I went with the same strategy as before, resting virtually the entire first team.  And it nearly backfired again.  Scoreless through 90 minutes, John Guidetti (real player) notched a hat trick in added extra time.  We then took Fulham 2-1 at home with Irish striker Ronan Gallagher (made up player) netting two.  We sit in 5th place with 12 points in five games; that's a bit of an illusion because we've played mostly lower table teams so far but avoiding relegation does appear to be a realistic goal.


The Calendar

Match of the week looks to be Chelsea hosting Arsenal Sunday at 9 am.  That means Tottenham-Southampton, a potentially interesting match which starts at the same time is relegated to NBC Extra Time; the Saints sit second in the table so Spurs need to watch out.  Liverpool have what looks like a winnable match at home versus West Brom.  Aston Villa continue their brutal champions tour with an away match versus Man City; at least it gets them a prime TV slot - 12:30 Saturday.  Man United and Everton at the crack of dawn on Sunday could be interesting too.  I will have to watch Newcastle-Swansea on NBC Extra Time, possibly on replay given my refereeing schedule.


Postscript:  Just finished watching Newcastle-on-Delaware, aka the Union, versus Chicago.  Like the Magpies, they appear competent until the final third, where they become utterly punchless.  But tonight, they score late as Oguko cleans up a mess in the box in the 88th minute.  Surely, they will hold on for the three points.  Except no, they don't.  World class keeper Rais Mbolhi commits a shocking turnover in the 92nd minute that allows Chicago to tie the match.  Ridiculous.