Unexpected

Sometimes it's good to be wrong.  I was sure Newcastle were going down 0-3 or worse to Liverpool.  The 2-0 victory was beyond all expectations.  To be honest, Newcastle were a bit lucky to come away with the win.  The first score was an own goal off Skertl (his 7^th career OG, which ties him with Jamie Carragher for second all-time in Premier League history; only three to go to catch Richard Dunne) and Liverpool had a goal called back on a phantom offside. But their work rate was perhaps the best of the season and they earned the points. Still in the relegation zone but this was a bonus three points.

Happy to see that I was close in my expectations of several of the matches.  Man United – West Ham was a decent watch even if it was a 0-0 draw.  I said normally I’d yawn over Chelsea - Bournemouth but suggested that you never know with Chelsea this year; apparently we do know – the Blues went down 0-1 on a late goal.  And Everton – Crystal Palace was a highly entertaining 1-1 draw; the score is a little misleading as the Toffees hit the woodwork three times and Tim Howard saved Everton’s bacon a few times.  Best goals of the weekend were easily the two that Stoke put up against Man City in their stunning 2-0 win at Britannia.  I’ll choose this one as this week's YouTubeableMoment.  The spin move from Shakira Shaqiri, his pass to Arnautovic, the run and the finish were all top drawer.  Michael B lamented giving up two points at West Brom as Tottenham could manage only a 1-1 draw.  And Arsenal took their time but eventually vanquished Sunderland.

Dennis had a better weekend as Aston Villa stole a point at Southampton and Leicester showed no let down at Swansea.

This wasn't quite at the same level as the heist they pulled off against Manchester City, but it wasn't too far off.  Villa got a fortunate goal right before half on a poor corner that had even worse defending.  Naturally, as teams on the bottom of the table are expected to do, they came out in the second half and played as defensively as possible - usually 10 men in their own half and 8+ behind the ball.  Just as naturally, the tactic did not work and Villa conceded on a similarly ugly corner and ended with a 1-1 draw.  This was certainly a welcome point, but the second half was so disheartening.  It is one thing to be the inferior team and another to completely acknowledge it and let the opposition have their way.  Several weeks ago, I commented that Villa playing sustained defense looked like a result of poor play rather than a tactical decision.  That has seemed to reverse under Remi Garde - the passing is actually looking better, but they are simply playing more defensively.  Villa needed to show enough life to at least make Southampton hesitate and think before throwing everything forward.  Playing this way just isn't a recipe for long term success.  Now 6 points adrift of 19th place and 8 from safety, they are quickly approaching the time in the season where draws won't do the trick.  But when you are the last place team, it is really hard to look at the schedule and find any wins.  Facing Arsenal this weekend is not a good place to start either.

Leicester, on the other hand (more like at the opposite end of the universe), continue to be the team I dream about in a dominating 3-0 win over Swansea.  Free flowing, high scoring, amazing work rate, supreme confidence -  can you hear the jealousy?  The only oddity this week was that Vardy didn't score and he can probably blame much of that on teammate Rihad Mahrez's selfishness.  Mahrez had multiple chances to choose between trying for a hat trick and playing Vardy in - each time he chose to go for personal glory.  Were I Vardy, I would be a little upset, as a hat trick is not on the same level of glory as extending the EPL consecutive match scoring streak.  Hopefully this isn't the kind of petty nonsense that starts to weaken what appear to be a real title contender.

Timberrrrr

Not necessarily a pretty match but it was competitive.  Columbus put Portland in the driver’s seat early when keeper Steve Clark took too long to deal with a pass back and saw his attempted clearance ricochet off a fully stretched Valeri and into the net.  Portland’s second was off a decent cross and header though it originated from a missed call from the AR.  The ball looked out to just about everybody but the AR never raised his flag, the Columbus players stopped, assuming the call was forthcoming, while the Portland players kept moving.  Hey, they’ve been told since U10 to play the whistle so not much sympathy here.  Columbus got one back when the Timbers keeper Kwarasey spilled the ball in the six-yard box and Kamara put it away.  The Timbers defense did a great job of stifling the Crew’s attack and you can’t really say that Columbus ever really threatened to level the match.  Full credit to Portland – they were the better side.

Meanwhile, in France

Senior Foreign Correspondent Mackenzie W provides this update from a little town in France:

The match between PAFF and Pont La Roche started with a light drizzle. The field was a muddy mess but at least that even a bottom-tier women’s recreational team plays on grass (and yes, I am still mad. http://bookedforsimulation.blogspot.fr/2015/06/blondes-have-more-fouls.html). The match didn't start off too great for Les Violettes. For about the first ten to fifteen minutes, we were grosse merde. I'm not sure if there was a single combination passing sequence and it looked like a bunch of eight year olds playing dump-and-chase. Unsurprisingly, the other team took this opportunity to score twice against us, once about five minutes in, and the other maybe fifteen minutes later. They were two beautiful shots that glided lithely into the back of the net. Eh, it happens.

With a change in gameplay (two goals tend to light fires under one’s cul) came a change in our luck. A high kick in the box resulted in a PK, or a kick from the spot [Ed note: a high kick should be an indirect free kick regardless of location but okay - maybe the rules are different over there - they do have a different word for everything]. Whatever. I was super surprised when my name was called to take the kick. I quickly saw that the keeper wasn't centered; she left more room on her left. Silly goose, that's my right! I sunk the ball in the right side panel with a satisfying swish. My first goal in France!

The second half consisted of significantly more slipping, runs from behind by the defense, our team getting beat by simple fakes and tricks, which was how the third goal got scored. It was not a lack of trying on Chris’s part, our guardienne. She had some amazing mud covered slides and saves, but when a team doesn't practice defending against fakes, well, I'll take it up with management. It was Chris who told me later, while I was munching on the standard after-match fare of bread and Camembert, how our second goal was scored. Because we play 8v8, the keeper can't punt the ball, but instead she launches the ball indoor soccer style. She threw me the ball, which I turned and passed to Claire, who then beat a run down and scored.

So we finished 3-2. I don't think the coach was too happy about the result (I couldn't understand him) but at least we scored this time. It’s better than before. We still have a lot to improve, but there’s only one game left before the break. I'm curious to see how we’ll do after the new year.

Oh and one small side note. One time I called for the ball at the top of the box, but I don't think anyone but the sidelines heard me. One of the many (male) spectators said, "Don't worry, right idea. It will happen eventually." I responded with, "But I don't know how to say 'Top of the box' in French!" But we all know, it doesn't matter if I know how to say it or not, you never score from the top of the box.

Calendar

Looking over this weekend's fixtures, I'm not finding a lot of marquee match-ups.  Leicester hosting Chelsea might be interesting as we see if the upstart Foxes are sticking around at the top.  There's a Monday Night Basketball derby with Newcastle traveling to White Hart Lane to face Tottenham.  No live TV?  Michael B and I are outraged.  As Dennis mentioned, Aston Villa face a tough challenge in the early Sunday morning match hosting Arsenal.

Crystal Palalce-Southampton might be a competitive mid-table contest; that's Saturday at 10 am on USA.  Everton face Norwich on the road in the early Saturday morning match; you would think the Toffees have enough to come home with all three points.  The other televised 10 am Saturday match is Man City hosting Swansea; note that Gary Monk went out of order in the Sack Race, getting fired this week despite having longer odds than Steve McClaren.  The "featured" Saturday match on NBC is Bournemouth-Man United. Other matches include West Ham hosting Stoke and Liverpool taking on West Brom at Anfield.  See what I mean?  Nothing that pops out at you as a must see.

Oh, though it wasn't my only highlight of the week, my Chester Blues did take care of Stoke 4-1 and moved into sole possession of second place.

Limited viewing this weekend but I will leave you in the capable hands of Dennis for next week's post.