First Point of Spring

Newcastle was home against a relatively weak side, so it's not like the 1-1 draw with West Brom is anything to write home about, except it was the Magpies first point since February 28th.  And though they played better than the previous week (low bar), this still ended up being a nailbiter.  The positive was that they fell behind - I can't watch set pieces in Newcastle's end anymore - but rallied before halftime to draw even.  At one point, before they scored, the Magpies were actually sitting in the 18th place. 

Thanks for Nothing

The top table teams have not been very helpful the last few weeks, conceding points to Newcastle's relegation opponents.  The most egregious offenders have been Southampton and Everton (technically not a top table team...didn't they get to 10th before they started tanking?), who have gifted six points each in the last two weekends to the likes of Sunderland, Leicester and Aston Villa.  Not that Dennis is complaining.  As he describes below, Saturday's 1-0 win over another upper table side - West Ham - has his Villans sitting pretty.

And looking forward to playing the aforementioned slumping Southampton next week.  Not a ton to say about this week's performance that hasn't been said in the past several weeks - Grealish continues to impress, Benteke continues to regain his pre-injury form, and I continue to wonder how a team that can play like this is only just now managing to stay out of the relegation zone.  Not that I am counting my chickens before they hatch, as I am all too aware that Villa are not technically safe yet.  Any win or any Hull loss is the easiest route, but there are plenty of other scenarios that guarantee our safety.  Not out of the woods yet, but feeling pretty good.  All I need now is to get Sherwood to stop making ridiculous substitutions.  He was at it again this week - with a 1-0 lead in the 92nd minute, he replaced Grealish with Sanchez.  He took off the one player on the field most likely to either draw a foul or waste time at the corner flag with the player most likely to give the ball away cheaply.  Come on.  


Still to Play For

Two relegation spots were sewn up this weekend as QPR lost to Man City and Burnley, despite beating Hull, were eliminated by results elsewhere.  West Brom's point against Newcastle has left them safe.  The last spot is still very much in play, with just four points separating 14th from 18th.  But Aston Villa can make themselves safe with a win at Southampton, and Newcastle (at QPR) and one of Leicester or Sunderland (face each other in the Stadium of Light) will also be safe with a win combined with a Hull loss at White Hart Lane.

Gotta say I am rooting for Leicester to stay up.  You might recall several months ago when I espoused the virtues of this Leicester side and wished my team could play a little more like them.  I always find them exciting to watch and they don't seem to know when to throw in the towel. Definitely hoping I get to see them in action next season, but asking for all of Villa, Newcastle, and Leicester to make it seems greedy.

I've been a bit cavalier about places at the top.  Though the top four make the Champions League, the fourth place side has to go through some annoying qualifying rounds in July/August; thus the race for second and third (Chelsea has clinched first) are quite relevant.  And it happens that third place Arsenal (70 points) face fourth place Man United (68 points) at Old Trafford.  This is good news for second place Man City, who know that one or both of their pursuers will drop points.

And Tottenham and Southampton have fallen down so badly in their quest for Europa League spots that Swansea is now in the mix, with just two points separating the three.  Recall that we won't know whether 5th through 7th or just 5th and 6th will qualify because the FA Cup Final, in which Aston Villa could nab a spot by winning, isn't until after the EPL season ends.  Dennis and I would be fine with a Spurs win and Southampton loss this weekend as it would serve our relegation needs quite nicely.


Goal Line Technology

Most of the time it seems like the goal line technology has merely confirmed calls made on the field.  Such was not the case on Monday, when play would have continued if not for the beeping on referee Kevin Friend's watch.  The first picture makes it look like maybe the AR missed something...



Friend's reaction to the Arsenal complaints about the decision was excellent as well.  He simply looked at his watch, pointed at it, and shrugged his shoulders, silently saying "What do you want me to do?  The watch says it was a goal!" Here it is as this week's YouTubeableMoment.

Old Business

Had this in my notes for last week's post but forget to include it.  Two weekends ago there was a kind of trifecta that probably would have won a boatload of cash had someone played it.  Eden Hazard, Steven Gerrard, and Robbie Van Persie all missed PKs that weekend.  Hazard promptly headed the rebound in so that worked out for him.  Liverpool eventually got the winning goal in the run of play so that wasn't a disaster.  But Man United couldn't score and eventually fell to West Brom 0-1; given that they sit two points behind Arsenal for third, that wasn't too cool.


Mighty Lame Soccer

That's what MLS stands for in Philly right now.  Goalkeeping silliness continued as Mbohli didn't even make the trip to Vancouver and the Union acquired another keeper without MLS experience and chose to take someone from the MLS goalkeeping pool (who knew that this even existed?) rather than bring the beleaguered Algerian international.  However, this sideshow is merely symptomatic of larger issues.   Some questionable calls (possible offside on the first, definite push in the back on the second) left Bryan Sylvestre totally exposed in goal but the real problem is that the squad can't generate enough offensive chances and doesn't convert the precious few that it gets.  Already down 0-2, any chance of improvement ended when Richie Marquez (a recent bright spot) was shown a straight red for a challenge that probably didn't deserve that sanction.  Loved hearing the field microphones pick up manager Jim Curtin saying "That might not even be a foul [wishful thinking on his part] and "That's not a ****ing red card [probably accurate]."  But it was called and the Union conceded another to make the final 3-0 for White Caps.

Didn't see the first ever derby between the Red Bulls and NYCFC, which ended as a victory for the New Jersey side of this nascent "New York" rivalry.  Chris K, if he's not signing up to be in the MLS goal keeper pool, may have comments for us.


Learning Through Playing

You may recall how, through playing Football Manager, I learned of the Home Grown Player rule which requires at least 8 of the 25 rostered players to have trained in England.  With Chester's recent qualification to the Europa League, I just became aware of the second part of this rule - of those 8 players, at least 4 must have trained with your club for at least three years between the ages of 15 and 21.  Well that might not be a problem for your Manchester Uniteds, your Chelseas, your Arsenals.  But it is for Chester, which, shall we say, doesn't have the greatest youth intake system.  Right now I have two players that meet the definition and they are nowhere near good enough to see any playing time; two more will meet the requirement in a few weeks but they are also not of sufficient quality to actually play.  This problem will go away in two or three years as some of the younger players I've signed start to qualify as club trained but in the short run, it looks like we'll have to go with 21 registered players.


Plenty to Watch Live

By my count 7 of the 10 EPL matches this week matter for something other than pride or prize money and you can see plenty without having to stream online.  Saturday at 7:45, NBCSN has Aston Villa at Southampton; the 10 am match is Sunderland-Leicester, and Liverpool-Crystal Palace at Anfield is the 12:30 contest.  Sunday morning has Man City traveling to Wales to meet Swansea and the 11 am match is Man United-Arsenal at Old Trafford.  I will have to stream Newcastle's match with QPR.

Union are in action Sunday at home facing DC United.

Hoping to report to you next week that Newcastle and Aston Villa are safe.