If Alfred Lord Tennyson had been a soccer fan he might have
posed the question whether 'tis better to have led and lost than to never have
led at all. After watching Aston Villa's
heart-wrenching last minute 1-2 defeat to Stoke, followed immediately by
Newcastle's 0-5 shellacking at the hands of Manchester City, I'm going with the
former. Aston Villa was exciting,
Newcastle was unwatchable (except that I did watch). Table wise it's a different story. Newcastle was always going to lose that
match, you just hoped for something more entertaining. For Aston Villa, that was exactly the place
to steal a point to help in the relegation battle.
It was also exactly the script by which we got the majority of our points in the early season. We won three of our first four games by scoring early and holding strong, so when we scored in the first twenty minutes I thought we might be able to recreate some of the old magic. But this game is probably how most of the earlier ones should have ended, with defensive lapses costing Villa a crucial 1-3 points. Despite Michael B fully jumping on the Villa bandwagon, relegation inches closer.
Champions League Race Is On
Tottenham - West Ham was the match of the weekend. Spurs down 0-2 but with the run of play for
much of the match. In the 81st minute
Danny Rose got them on the board, setting up a wild finish. Then a PK call in stoppage time. The actual PK was stopped by Adrian but Kane was able to put the rebound in the net. Sure, the PK call was on the soft side but Tottenham arguably should
have been playing a man up for much of the second half after Noble was not
shown a second yellow for a rash challenge.
Kane relief: Harry Kane scores from the follow-up to his own saved penalty to earn Tottenham at point at White Hart Lane against West Ham Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Southampton-Liverpool was good but not as much as I had hoped. More notable for referee Kevin Friend's difficult day with three penalty shouts and a possible DOGSO for Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet. Manchester United upset by Swansea, Arsenal get by Crystal Palace. When the dust settled, Arsenal in third, followed in quick succession (1 point difference) by Man United, Southampton, Liverpool and Tottenham; just four points between 3rd and 7th.
Southampton-Liverpool was good but not as much as I had hoped. More notable for referee Kevin Friend's difficult day with three penalty shouts and a possible DOGSO for Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet. Manchester United upset by Swansea, Arsenal get by Crystal Palace. When the dust settled, Arsenal in third, followed in quick succession (1 point difference) by Man United, Southampton, Liverpool and Tottenham; just four points between 3rd and 7th.
BFS Derby
Smarting from last Saturday's defeats, Aston Villa and
Newcastle will square off on Saturday; no live TV for this fixture so Dennis
and I will be streaming on Live Extra. Can you blame them for passing on this one?
As a nice bonus, we will be watching this one from the same location. And we might both be rooting for Aston Villa, because, honestly, is Steve really going to be sad if Newcastle lose this match? Does it really make a difference? Not sure I'd go that quite that far - a win pretty much would end the relegation threat, a tie would be helpful. The problem is that the Magpies are unlikely to pick up points in March (Manchester United, Everton and Arsenal) and April (Sunderland, Liverpool, Tottenham and Swansea); there are several good opportunities to get the necessary points in May but by that time we'll be in full panic mode. Plus there's the little matter of history between the two clubs; Aston Villa fans were not so kind when the boot was on the other foot 2009. Dennis, don't forget your scarf; I'm wearing mine even if you don't have one.
As a nice bonus, we will be watching this one from the same location. And we might both be rooting for Aston Villa, because, honestly, is Steve really going to be sad if Newcastle lose this match? Does it really make a difference? Not sure I'd go that quite that far - a win pretty much would end the relegation threat, a tie would be helpful. The problem is that the Magpies are unlikely to pick up points in March (Manchester United, Everton and Arsenal) and April (Sunderland, Liverpool, Tottenham and Swansea); there are several good opportunities to get the necessary points in May but by that time we'll be in full panic mode. Plus there's the little matter of history between the two clubs; Aston Villa fans were not so kind when the boot was on the other foot 2009. Dennis, don't forget your scarf; I'm wearing mine even if you don't have one.
Frankly not the greatest of line-ups this weekend. Though it doesn't count in the standings, the
most interesting fixture is Sunday's Capital One League Cup final between
Chelsea and Tottenham on BeIN Sports at 11 am.
Will have to find a viewing location as we do not get that channel.
As for EPL matches, Liverpool-Manchester City early Sunday
could be good. I expect the Citizens
will find Liverpool a touch more competitive than the Magpies. Other matches of the CL contenders look easy
but after Chelsea's home draw to Burnley last week, I'll be more
circumspect. But really, Manchester
United hosting Sunderland, Arsenal hosting Everton, and Southampton at West
Brom all sound like wins, right?
No straight up relegation battles, but as I note above, Newcastle still
need a few more points to assure safety so the match with Aston Villa may
have see both sides a bit desperate.
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