Transitions

The boss put me in charge this week, which means I get to do whatever I want.  And that means forcing you all to watch a clip of Aston Villa - something nobody should be subjected to these days.  Mostly I’ve just given up hope and want to fill the space with something more entertaining than “Villa lost, played horribly, are on pace for 14 points, etc”.  Which is all still true this week, in case you were wondering.

Below is a clip of a play that occurred at a crucial juncture in the Villa-Arsenal contest.  Take a look, then answer the poll below:

Make sure to tune in next week when the results will show how big of a homer I am and exactly how many people care enough about Aston Villa to give them 30 seconds of thought*.

Acceptance, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Foxes

Facing the inevitable relegation of Aston Villa, it is time I begin to fully turn my attention to my team of the future, the Leicester City Foxes.  I’ll still comment on Aston Villa and follow their doomed bid to remain in the top league but it is time to start devoting more effort to the team that I would have followed from the beginning if they had been a choice (they were not in the EPL when BFS began).  This change has been a long time in the making and it is past time that I embrace it instead of continuing to resist.  Conveniently, this also lets me do a last-to-first transition in the table and actually have something to both root for and watch.   

Pretty much everything went as anticipated this week: Leicester and Chelsea played an extremely watchable match, Vardy scored, Leicester won, and Chelsea lost.  The Foxes continued their recent trend of winning from ahead, going up 2-0 early in the second half, before clinging to a 2-1 win.  Earlier in the season, their calling card was salvaging 2-2 draws or 3-2 wins from 2-0 deficits.  Their ability to win from any match state will be a key to keeping their strong season going and happens to make every match that much more exciting.  And hey, even if they don’t win another match all season, they are safe from relegation, which is good enough for me right now.  

We’re No Bournemouth

Exchange with Steve immediately after watching Newcastle's unlikely comeback victory over Spurs:

Me: “Well la-de-da Mr. Newcastle fan.  Look whose team can win multiple games in a row.  You disgust me.” 

Steve: “Yeah, but we’re no Bournemouth…”

My favorite moment was this Kyle Walker throw-in:

Just look at that bewilderment.  Walker was just off the field for injury treatment and tried to take the throw before reestablishing himself in the field of play.  Referee Roger East forced Walker to step on the field then step off to take the throw.  (I wasn't confused and the laws are very clear on this point but of course the laws can be a bit pedantic.) I also like to imagine Walker’s face on all of the millions of Spurs fans in the moments after Perez’s late winner (Sorry Michael!).  As for the actual match:

McClaren looked like an effin genius.  He subbed Mitrovic at 72 minutes and he scored 1:45 later.  Perez was also a sub and he scored off an assist from ...Mitrovic.  But keeper Rob Elliot was the star; his saves made the comeback possible.

A generally enjoyable week for those able to catch a few of the other contests as well.  Manchester City and Swansea left most of the scoring until late, each scoring in the waning minutes in a 2-1 City victory.  The other side of Manchester was on the wrong end of a 2-1 score line, losing to the aforementioned Bournemouth and also conceding a goal directly from a corner.  Everton and Norwich played a tale of two halves that should have seen Everton up 3 or 4 in the first half, but having to settle for a 1-1 draw as Norwich stepped up their game after halftime.  I didn’t see the remaining matches but was told that Crystal Palace’s 1-0 win over Southampton was also entertaining (I thought it was, even if Pardew was thoroughly outcoached by Koemen; Palace are now level with Tottenham on points but remain 6th in the table with a worse goal differential) and a supposedly “nasty” 2-2 draw between Liverpool and West Brom was probably worth a look.

Back in Action

Since talking about our personal soccer stories is now acceptable on this blog – thanks Mackenzie! – I am happy to report that two weeks ago I played my first game in almost 6 months.  Finally mostly recovered from a series of leg injuries (though I do now have a torn hip labrum that will be with me forever), I was able to not embarrass myself completely in my team’s first indoor game.  It was nothing to write home about but I did manage to score a tap in after an excellent series of passes and I didn’t make any horrendous defensive mistakes.  The main objective now is to recover both my quick feet and my confidence.  The necessity of quick feet is hopefully self-explanatory, in particular for the indoor game.  The confidence issue is something I did not quite expect and I find myself rushing to make a play just to ensure that I don’t make a big mistake.  Right now, the game feels a lot faster than both my body and especially brain can handle, which makes not screwing up priorities number 1-9 and making a better play priority 10.  A few more games should hopefully fix that.


The Purples Get the Blues

Speaking of Mackenzie, here's the latest from our Senior Foreign Correspondent in France:

Sunday morning, Les Violettes traveled to Alixan for our last game of the season, and the second half was riveting. The first half of the game was very, very slow. No pressure from either side, no intensity, and no motivation. By letting Alixan play at their own pace (and also having no skill to defend against fake-outs), Number 13 on their team scored twice, about five yards from the top of the box (which is not at 18 yards, more like 12), sailing shots that were too pretty not to just watch and let them go in (Ed note: I thought you never score from the top of the box). The second half was significantly better in multiple accounts: way more runs, amazing saves by our guardienne Chris, I introduced the concept of “holding the line” on a free kick, and more scoring opportunities for us, but no actual goals. We finished in a 2-0 loss.  (Ed note: Mackenzie provided a fairly detailed account of the team's shortcomings but we'll leave that for another time.)

BFS Derby                   

It’s that time of year again – the first true BFS Derby of the season.  Newcastle host Aston Villa at 12:30 on Saturday, somehow snagging the primetime spot.  Being the only match on in that timeslot, the rest of you will be forced to endure the misery that this contest will surely bring.  I would recommend going outside instead.  Everything says this should be a win for the Magpies but Newcastle can switch off in a moment's notice; this could truly be some dreadful football.  Probably best to save your Saturday viewing for matches such as Leicester visiting Everton (10am, USA) or Spurs at Southampton (10am, Live Extra).  I nearly glossed over Liverpool against Watford (8:30am Sunday NBSCN) only to realize that Watford are sitting in 7^th and this one could be interesting.  If you only have 90 minutes this weekend the best bet is clearly Manchester City and Arsenal at the Emirates (3pm Monday, NBCSN).  The winner would go top of the table if Leicester fail to get any points from their match.

*In case you were wondering, there was no foul called and Arsenal immediately skewered Villa with a counterattack for their second goal.