Dos a Cero (Mas Tres)

They call it the international break but there was no respite from the bad news.  Though there was some positive results mixed in, they were few and far between and, again, my Football Manager Chester Blues were the brightest spot of the week (3-1 win over Portsmouth to move into second in the EPL).

Though high on entertainment value, what with the two comebacks, the 2-0 (+3) loss to Mexico still goes down as a pretty devastating loss.  But it might have been better than a win on PKs, which could have buried the lead story, namely, that they played like crap.  Hard to say how much of the poor performance was because of the game plan and how much was execution.  Klinsmann, feeling that this was a critical match, went with a largely veteran roster.  Not going to fault him too much for that.  But he also seemed to have laid out a game plan that conceded the first two-thirds of the field to Mexico and relied on set pieces and quick counters for any offense.  Well that's not the type of team he told us he was building.  As for execution, how many passes went directly to the opposition, how many times were US players beaten to the ball, how often did they just look, well, not fast enough?  Old and crafty might work but old and slow doesn't. 

This column by Ridge Mahoney is one of the more measured critiques of Klinsmann.  The "grit and determination" that he cites was certainly on display Saturday, especially after falling behind in extra time.  But, as he also notes, grit and determination were never in short supply for US teams. The problem was/is they could/can only take us so far.  Looking at the Saturday night's roster, how many of those players do you see on the 2018 World Cup roster?  Bottom line, it feels like there's a lot of work to be done.

A Krul Twist

In warmups before the Netherlands-Kazakhstan Euro qualifier, the Dutch number one keeper Cillessen injured himself. Number two keeper, Newcastle's Tim Krul started and was doing well until he landed awkwardly, rupturing a ligament.  The Magpies will now be without their number one keeper for the rest of the season.  We didn't even have a match this weekend and there was bad news for Newcastle.

Not that everything was great for the Dutch either.  Though they defeated Kazakhstan, they lost to the Czech Republic and failed to even grab one of the third place playoff spots, meaning they will not be in next year's European Championships, despite the expanded field.  Hard to imagine the Netherlands not in the top 24 in Europe.

Belgium fared much better, notching a couple of wins and finishing top of their group.  This is a talented group that has arguably underachieved to date.  They may need to win something soon before they find they are past their prime. Excellent article on the Red Devils here.  I'm am really trying to get Alex Witsel on my Chester team but so far he claims no interest in joining.

A few other Euro tidbits.  England won all ten of their qualifying matches.  Gibraltar and Andorra lost all of theirs; Gilbraltor takes last place on the strength (?) of a minus 54 goal differential (2 for, 56 against), well ahead of Andorra's minus 32.  And we saw a dismaying number of matches on artificial grass, including the one in Kazakhstan where Krul was hurt.  I get that they may not be able to grow grass there but did you notice all the brown patches?  They can't even have green artificial turf.  Dennis pointed out perhaps the most offensive sight of the weekend - England playing Estonia at Wembley Stadium with the football lines (and a giant NFL logo to boot) from the Jets-Dolphins game still visible on the pitch.

D'oh

The Red Bulls stumbled on their way to the Supporters Shield, losing 1-2 to Toronto while FC Dallas was winning 2-0 over Vancouver.  The two sides are now tied with two matches remaining.  The schedule seems to favor NJ/NY, with matches against the Union and the Chicago Fire.


 Utley Slide - Red or Yellow?

Was it just reckless or did he use excessive force?  Some have argued no foul because he got the ball was able to reach the base.  As we've explained before, it doesn't matter if you got the ball if you commit a foul in the process.  Red card for me, deserving of suspension. If this was soccer I mean.

Speaking of baseball, the St. Louis Cardinals won 100 regular season games but were ousted from the playoffs by the Chicago Cubs.  This early exit reminds me that my disenchantment with baseball began, not with the Phillies decline, but paradoxically with their finest season, 2011.  What was the point of assembling a team like that when, to even get to the NLCS, you had to go through a best of five crapshoot?  That was an awesome team that is a mere footnote in history because of the post season failure.  But that means they couldn't do it in the clutch right so by definition they couldn't be all that good.  Maybe your definition.  I remember being disappointed that Cliff Lee didn't hold a lead in game 2.  Guess he's not a clutch player.  Except in 2009 he was 4-0 in post season with a 1.58 ERA in 40 IP (and a bad-ass, seemingly FU catch in the World Series.  Turns out he was thinking of letting it drop to try and get a double play but decided against it).  Maybe he had a character transplant that took out his "clutchness."  Or maybe, it's a just a small numbers problem.

Contrast that with Chelsea, which won the EPL by a fairly wide margin of eight points last year.  Their performance in the two biggest playoff type competitions was mediocre; they lost in the Round of 16 in the Champions League and lost in the Fourth Round of the FA (to Bradford no less).  Okay, they did win the Capital One League Cup but who talks about that?  My point is that the 2014-2015 Chelsea is clearly recognized as the best team in the EPL last year on the strength of league play, not any of the playoff type stuff.  It's very straightforward - you play every team twice, once at home and once on the road.


Back to Work

EPL is back and the weekend starts off (7:45 NBCSN) with bang - Tottenham-Liverpool at White Hart Lane.  Off recent form you'd be tempted to favor Spurs here but Liverpool may get a bounce playing their first under new manager Jurgen Klopp.  The 10 am TV matches are Chelsea-Aston Villa (oooh, probably not the time or place for the Villans to find some points) on USA and the more appetizing Everton-Man United on NBCSN.  The late Saturday TV match features Arsenal traveling to Watford.  Can't imagine what the powers-that-be were thinking when they made Newcastle-Norwich the featured only match on Sunday; that's one scintillating match-up.  Even without Krul, this really has to be a win for the Magpies so watch out for the St. James' Park crowd if Newcastle fall behind.

You'll have to go on-line but it might be worth it to see Southampton host Leicester City.  I'm betting Dennis will stream that one.  Refereeing obligations will probably keep me from seeing the London derby featuring Crystal Palace and West Ham.  First place Man City is also demoted to on-line this week, probably on the basis of their opponent, Bournemouth.

After taking in the Newcastle-Norwich classic, you might want to check in on the Red Bulls-Union match (3pm on TCN) in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Union have already won twice this year.  Wait, what?  Wow, that's correct.  Not holding my breath for a third, especially given the importance of the match to the Red Bulls.

Going to be chilly this weekend.  I suggest getting a fire going and watch soccer.