Missing the Point

So much activity - two sets of EPL matches, the Capital One League Cup Final, the start of the MLS season, relegation battles.  We'll only be able to scratch the surface.

Newcastle Travails Continue

Senator Everett Dirksen (R-IL) used to say something like a billion dollars here, a billion dollars there and pretty soon it adds up to real money.  Tyneside, the adapted version is something like a point lost here, a point lost there and pretty soon you're relegated.

To say the Magpies could have picked up a point at Stoke is not the same as saying they played well.  Neither side distinguished itself and the gale in which the matched was contested probably had a lot to do with it.  But a point was well within Newcastle's reach but a late goal from Shakira Shaqiri was enough for a Stoke 1-0 win and all three points.

I realize this is kind of like complaining about poor towel service on the Titanic, but I was absolutely gobsmacked by McClaren's substitutions on Wednesday.  Clinging to a 0-0 draw, the Newcastle manager chose to go for more offense and inserted Emmanuel Riviere for Gouffran .  I'm okay with the philosophy but exactly why did he think Riviere, he of exactly one EPL goal in over a year for Newcastle, was the man for the situation?  Only after they fell behind did he go with the more logical choices of Perez and Doumbia.  Too late, though Doumbia forced Butland to make an awesome save in stoppage time. 

Sure this was not one of the matches from which we expected to take points but it feels like a lost opportunity.


In the Basement

Fortunately for Newcastle, most of the results from the weekend and the midweek games went our way.  Aston Villa went down twice, as did Norwich, though Leicester certainly waited long enough to put the Canaries away.  Alan Pardew's inability to beat Sunderland continues, as Yedlin's stoppage time goal gave the Black Cats a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace and a point; Sunderland lost on Saturday 0-1 to West Ham.  Swansea lost to Tottenham but did steal away from the Emirates with all three points, beating Arsenal 2-1.  With results at Watford and Southampton, Bournemouth is pretty much out of danger.  Same for West Brom, who got a win against Crystal Palace and a point from Leicester.  The five likely relegation candidates (Aston Villa, Newcastle, Sunderland, Norwich, and Swansea) gathered exactly four points from 27 possible between Saturday and Wednesday.

No real excitement from either Villa match.  They looked awful for the majority of play in both matches (though showed some real life in the second half against Everton on Tuesday) but were never actually in either contest.  Only a few more weeks and we can be officially put out of our misery.

Caballero Was A Horse

The competitive, if not scintillating Capital One Cup Final went to extra time and then kicks from the spot before Man City could claim the title.  The Citizens number two keeper Willy Caballero, who looked nothing like an EPL keeper in the 1-5 FA Cup loss to Chelsea, was the hero, stopping three of Liverpool's spot kicks.  So Pellegrini, who is out at the end of May, got another trophy.  Did you notice that Christian Benteke did not make an appearance in the match?  Curious.


Top of the Table

Leicester didn't look all that great but still came away with more points in the last week than any of the other top four teams.  Home matches with Norwich and West Brom might have sounded like an easy six points but in the end they had to work hard for the four they got.  Tottenham lost ground, beating Swansea but losing to a surging West Ham 0-1.  Arsenal lost both their matches (more below) and Man City lost their EPL match to Liverpool.

For sheer theater, nothing beat the Man United Arsenal classic, though Gunners fans would probably just as soon forget the whole thing.  MUN broke from the line quickly and had a 2-0 lead by the 32nd minute.  It wasn't just the two goals, it was the source of the goals - 18 year old Marcus Rashford who was a last minute replacement as Martial was hurt in warm ups.  This was Rashford's EPL debut; earlier in the week he had made his senior team debut in the Europa League match and tallied two there as well.  As an aside, it's hard to label van Gaal a genius for the move - he really didn't have a lot of options.  Fortunately, Arsenal got one back before halftime and it was game on.  Herrera restored the two goal lead (assisted by Rashford!) but only momentarily before Ozil closed the gap again.  That was the final score but there were plenty of fun moments, including some tussling.  But the highlight had to be the normally stone-faced van Gaal's histrionics on the sidelines, this week's YouTubeable Moment. 

The internet obviously jumped on this one as fast as possible too.  My favorites are below, but there are dozens out there:

Life Imitates Football Manager?

I'm currently at roughly the same place as real life on the calendar in Football Manager.  My Chester team took on Chelsea in the League Cup Final.  And like the real event, the virtual contest went to extra time.  Though we were serious underdogs to Chelsea, we took a first half lead before surrendering the equalizer early in the second half.  We battled through the next 45 minutes and then almost 30 minutes of extra time before giving up the winning goal in the 119th minute.  Disappointing to be that close but a good run in the tournament.  In regular time this was a draw and that level of performance in regular league play might be enough for us to finish top four.

In fact, our next match was Man City at the Etihad.  Ooh, it was ugly with both teams whistled for more than 20 fouls each and the match ending with 20 players on the pitch, each of us having one sent off.  But it was a 0-0 draw on the road against one of the main competitors for the title so it was a good result.


Another Playoffless Year?

MLS play begins this weekend.  The Union will feature many new faces and the buzz about the team is pretty good.  I'm especially looking forward to a young and fast attacking midfield.  Unfortunately, the predictions pretty much conclude the same thing - this is a better team but we're still looking at the lower end of the Eastern Conference standings and the playoffs don't seem likely.

The Red Bulls are little changed from last year's Supporters Shield winning side.  Key defender Matt Miazga is off to Chelsea and hasn't been replaced but otherwise they look pretty good.  Definitely a playoff team and likely contender for both the Supporters Shield and the MLS Cup.  Sigh, what's it like to root for a contender?

I found this website useful in looking at the prospects for each team and the conferences in general.  This one is pretty good too, though it's even less optimistic about the Union's prospects.


Busy Weekend

Big north London derby at 7:45 on Saturday morning (NBCSN).  A loss for either Tottenham or Arsenal would be very damaging at this point.  Frankly a draw probably isn't great for either side.  First place Leicester is off to Watford (12:30 Saturday NBCSN)and the Foxes will need to take care if they don't want to come home with no points.  They might be rooting for a draw in the derby.

Absolutely critical match for Newcastle against Bournemouth at St. James Park on Saturday at 10 - you'll have to stream that one if you're interested, though I can't think of any reason a neutral would want to take in this match.  Aston Villa is facing another loss going on the road to Man City.  Big relegation match between Swansea and Norwich on Saturday.  Not sure where my rooting interests lie; a Swansea win improves our chances over Norwich but could put the Swans out of reach.

We should be keeping a close eye on West Ham, who have now crept back to within one point of the last Champions League spot.  They travel to Goodison Park to take on Everton.  Don't look now but Chelsea are just eight points out of 4th; a key factor may be how much they go in for the Champions League and rest players in EPL matches.  The Blues take on Stoke at home on Saturday.  The Sunday matches are the staggering Crystal Palace at home to Liverpool and West Brom taking on Manchester United at the Hawthornes.

And after the EPL doubleheader you can do an MLS doubleheader with the Red Bulls hosting Toronto in New Jersey and the Union traveling to Texas to face Dallas FC.

Good thing there's not much yard work to do yet.