The Spring of Our Discontent

A most discouraging series of events since we last spoke.  It's not a question of seeing the glass half full - it's broken.


Newcastle Derby Fail - Again

It wasn't just that they lost, it was how they lost.  Sure, the score was only 1-0 but that just shows how bad Sunderland are (Defoe's marvelous strike right before halftime aside - would have been goal of the weekend most other times).  Newcastle were beaten in every phase of the game but most decidedly - and distressingly - in how much effort the players put into the match.  The Magpies were still shorthanded due to injuries and suspensions and they were once again forced into using Janmaat (a less than 100% Janmaat I might add) at center back.

But this leads me to part two of this particular rant.  Injuries are part of the game but Newcastle knew they were thin at center back yet did nothing during the January transfer window.  No wait, they did worse than nothing - they let a defender go.  Bad luck my ass.

And part three goes out to the raving lunatics fans.  How did that running Alan Pardew out of town work out for you?  I'll wait to the end of the season to do the comparison but the records of Newcastle and Crystal Palace with and without Pardew will be, ahem, interesting.  I'm not saying Pardew is a great manager but the fans are contributing to the zoo-like atmosphere that surrounds this franchise.


Union Busting

Meanwhile, my chosen (given?) franchise on this side of the pond put up two more losses.  One was an absolutely moribund 0-1 loss to the second worst franchise in the MLS - the Chicago Fire.  They generated no real scoring threats.  Distressing as it dawns on us that we are the worst franchise in the MLS.  Then they put up a marvelous 90 minutes at Sporting KC.  Unfortunately, the match was 96 minutes long, with stoppage time and KC managed to squeeze in two goals during stoppage time to snatch a 3-2 victory from the jaws of defeat.  Keeper Rais Mbohli's troubles continued and he's now been benched exiled to France.  So at one point we had an Algerian international (Mbohli), a top prospect (Andre Blake - now injured) and a mostly serviceable MLS keeper (MacMath - now on loan and injured!) yet this weekend we'll be starting a former LaSalle University keeper with no MLS experience.  It will be very interesting to see where they go from the KC performance; do they pick up on the positives or does the late collapse leave a scar?  But there's a larger question - did they really do enough in the offseason to make this team a playoff contender? 


Aston Villa - One Step Back, One Half Step Forward?

Okay, so a result against Manchester United was a long shot but they barely showed up in the 1-3 loss.  And everybody below them got points over the weekend.  That put incredible significance into Tuesday's match at home vs QPR.  This was terrific entertainment from a neutral's perspective, probably heartstopping for fans from either side.  Dennis will provide the details but Benteke's hat trick got the Villans a draw, which was obviously better than a disastrous loss that would have given QPR three points.  Still, the relegation threat hangs heavy in the air.

I'll just skip over the forgettable MU match and the horrid weekend - I literally watched every single team behind us gain ground.  Don't need to relive it, especially with such an excellent match on Tuesday.  NBC likes to really be a tease in these important matches, constantly showing a "live table" - what the table would look like if the game ended right now.  Unfortunately for me, they decided to show the live table just after halftime of Villa - QPR, while Villa held a 2-1 lead.  Seeing the Villans on 31 points with 3 teams at 26 or fewer was just awesome.  And a lie that didn't last.

But at least this was one of the best matches of the year with both teams clearly trying for three points right from the start.  Villa did what they do best and conceded early, but equalized within several minutes to keep the home fans engaged.  Benteke might have finally announced his real return to the league with a hat trick - included a break away finish showing excellent composure and a classic 25-yard-out-up-and-over-the-wall-bending-into-the-near-post free kick.  I can't tell if he is finally shaking off the rust from his achilles injury or if he is shaking off the apathy that he has shown on and off all season.  Or maybe Paul Lambert really did marginalize him and Tim Sherwood is catering to his strengths.  Whatever the case, if this Benteke shows up for the rest of the season, we might have a chance.

The other Villan stand out was pretty clearly Jack Grealish, whose performance almost lived up to his hair and diving acumen.  He controlled the midfield with both his passing and his fancy footwork and made several excellent attacking runs, but failed on more than one occasion to score fairly easy goals.  He also continued his disturbing trend of crumpling to the ground much too easily after contact - if he starts building that reputation now, there is no coming back.  Given the circumstances and his lack of experience, it was an overall fantastic appearance.  And it gave reporters a chance to ask him about his notoriously low socks, which has been a source constant debate in my house - "How can he possibly be wearing shin guards under those?".  The answer, appropriate for a 19 year old, is that he wears a children's size.


The Early Boyd Did Not Get the Vorm

Despite intense early pressure, Burnley's George Boyd and his mates, could not put anything past Tottenham's substitute keeper Michel Vorm.  But Spurs couldn't do anything either so that was a 0-0 draw.  Chelsea solidified their hold on first with a 2-1 win over Stoke, but Charlie Adams had what could be the goal of the year.



With a 1-0 win over Southampton, Everton simultaneously put an end to their relegation threat and likely to the Saints' Champions League hopes.  And Arsenal took all the fun out of Saturday morning with a 4-1 pasting of Liverpool


International Break

The USMNT continued the habit of surrendering goals late in a 3-2 loss to Denmark and a 1-1 draw with Switzerland.  Frankly, the score in friendlies just doesn't matter, like the points in Whose Line Is It Anyway.  And the trend of late goals could easily be attributable to late substitutions to check out new players - at least in friendlies anyway.  No, what matters is how they are playing.  And against Denmark they were mostly awful, except for maybe a great strike by Altidore.  Against Switzerland, they were pretty good, except for a stupid red card by Altidore.  What pissed me off about that, aside from ruining the last 20 minutes of an entertaining match, was how he came off the field with this innocent "What did I do" swagger when everybody in the world knew he had just dropped multiple F-bombs on the referee. 

A side note on BFS staff viewing.  I was at Dennis's house a week ago Sunday.  We were killing time and I suggested watching the Euro qualifier between Scotland and Gibraltar.   Why are you interested in Scotland, Dennis wondered.  Always liked the country, they have some EPL players in the side.  Anyway so we're watching and Scotland is up 1-0.  Then Gibraltar scores.  The announcer says something about it being the country's first goal in international competition.  Wait, that can't be right.  But we can't look it up out of fear that we'll see the match result (Dennis says prophetically the headline will read something like Gibraltar scores first international goal but are routed 6-1 by Scotland).  Afterwards, we did confirm that it was indeed the first goal in their 10 matches since being brought into the UEFA.  And BFS was there.  Sort of.


Still Hopeful in Chester

Once again I was left to rely on my imaginary Chester Blues for some solace amidst the real world chaos.  And to some extent, they responded.  First, there was a 4-1 thrashing of Huddersfield, easily the squad's best effort in months.  Next was a tough away match at Birmingham, which the pundits saw as a draw.  Alas, they were correct.  So heading into the final Sunday, we sit in 5th, behind Aston Villa on goal differential.  We end with Man United at home; we've already lost twice to them but both matches were at Old Trafford so we're holding out hope for a result.  We will finish no worse than 7th and still have a shot at 4th. 


Weekend

A mixed bag of stuff.  The Manchester derby is always fun; that's Sunday at 11.  Both sides are comfortably in Champions League spots at this point but the loser of this match might find things a bit tense over the next few weeks.

Blog favs Newcastle (at Liverpool) and Aston Villa (at Tottenham) are not in line for results this weekend, especially with those clubs still in the hunt for Champions League spots.  Dennis will be hoping that Chelsea (London derby at QPR) and Arsenal (at Burnley) take care of business and do not give away points to the relegation candidates.  He will also be rooting for Southampton (hosting Hull City) and Crystal Palace (at Sunderland). West Brom v Leicester has relegation relevance written all over it, with the Baggies needing a few more points to be safe and Leicester, despite last week's upset over West Ham, are still firmly ensconced in last.  And, in the middle/nowhere, matches of little consequence include Swansea at Everton and West Ham at Stoke City.

The Union will try to pick up the pieces with a home and home series with the new New York Football Club on Saturday (at PPL) and Thursday (at Yankee Stadium).

Also, we have a US-Mexico friendly on Wednesday.

Things have to get better at some point, right?