Sometimes It's Better Not To Watch

Downa shore as they say in Philly so I didn't get to see much this weekend.  No dvr, Olympic coverage, the sun was in my eyes, etc.  But maybe this wasn't a bad thing.


MLS Least East

Certainly I was better off not having viewed the Union's 1-3 loss at home to Toronto.  Can't lay it completely at one player's feet but Ken Tribbett did not have a good match, even with the nice diving header that leveled things briefly at 1-1.  A chance lost to grab some points at home in a tight playoff race.  Fortunately for the U, several others in the division were stumbling around as well.  NE lost to Columbus, Montreal lost to Chicago (at home!), and the Red Bulls coughed up a 2-0 lead and drew with DC United.  Orlando got a draw and NYCFC did beat the Galaxy.  So I guess the chasers (DC and Orlando) did gain a point on the top six.  Still, pretty weak effort from the East.


Newcastle Win Again

On the road to Bristol, the Magpies got another win, scraping by 1-0.  The goal by Gayle, on a great pass from Diame was top drawer and this week's YouTubeableMoment.  My guess is that this would have been a nerve-wracking affair to watch so again maybe not a bad thing I couldn't see it.

They also beat Cheltenham 2-0 Tuesday in the Capital One League Cup to advance to the 3rd Round where they will play Jenkintown  TBD.  Recall that this competition is easily the least prestigious of any of the extracurricular cups but wins are wins for the Magpies.

Rafa also doesn't seem set on his squad yet.  Janmaat is likely out by the end of the week but will be replaced by American international DeAndre Yedlin.  Janmaat was always an offensive threat coming from right back and we will miss his forays down the wing but his defense was always suspect.  For better or worse, Yedlin is pretty much the same player except faster and maybe more athletic.


New Attitude Towards Bottom Half of the Table

Didn't see much of the admittedly lackluster set of EPL games this weekend and again, this may have been a good thing.  Certainly didn't need to see Costa score another late game winner, this time against Watford.  The Leicester-Arsenal 0-0 draw may or may not have been a defensive classic but I watch the Foxes to see scoring.  Might have been worth checking out West Ham, if only to see the first EPL contest in their new digs, the former Olympic stadium.

I did get to see Burnley's 2-0 dismantling of Liverpool.  As I was watching that contest, it dawned on me that in any previous year this upset would have, well, upset me because it would have been unexpected points for a Newcastle relegation rival.  Nice, I can now wholeheartedly pull for the underdogs, but hopefully just for one season.  Also saw a bit of Middlesbrough's 2-1 win over Sunderland.  Enjoyed that as a)any Sunderland loss is a Newcastle win even if we're not in the same division and b) as I said a few weeks ago, I kinda like Middlesbrough.


Did You Actually Pay for Those?

Southampton penalized for ridiculous away kit?

Jeff H settled in Sunday night to watch the replay of his Man United side taking on Southampton.   He immediately texted to ask who was responsible for the Saints new away kit (left).  Hmm, the colors themselves aren't awful but that design on the front is kinda weird.  Maybe Southampton is like the Oregon football team, Nike's beta site for crazy uniform ideas.  How much can you complain when you're getting the stuff for free?



September on the Virtual Calendar

Chester are 3-0 and have yet to surrender a goal but the wins have come against weaker sides and we haven't really gelled yet.  Maybe I did too many transfers for a side that won the previous year.  Not sure what's wrong but if we play like this against the better teams, we will not be getting too many points.  There are definitely disagreements between my coaches and some of the outside sources as to the quality of some of the new players.  My research says these new players are four star performers (out of five) and some of my coaches are telling me they're only 1.5 or 2 stars.  Also, there may be some language issues; I may have to find another French player or coach to help out.  Who would have thought these were the pressing issues of a football manager?


Yankee Go Home

I'll admit it.  The early departure of the USWNT kind of killed my interest in the Olympic soccer.  Plus the men's tournament being a U-23.  I caught most of both finals but don't have much to say.  Wait, I do.  The new practice of allowing fourth substitute when matches drag into extra time is a step in the right direction.  But we're still stuck with 14 guys running around on the field at well under 70% capacity.  Seems like a formula for ensuring these contests go to kicks from the spot.  Why not allow 2-3 or even more subs?  Yeah, it penalizes those sides with better conditioning but not many of them are scoring in added extra time anyway.  It does reward sides with more depth and might lead to more games being decided in the run of play.

Newcastle on TV

Well, sort of.  I mistakenly thought the match vs Brighton was going to be on beIN Sports.  It's actually on beIN Sports Connect, their streaming service.  Shouldn't be a problem but you never know.

The EPL weekend looks a little better than last week.  Good match to start on Saturday morning with Tottenham hosting Liverpool (7:30 NBCSN).  Chelsea-Burnley at 10 on NBCSN? Meh, but it may be the best of the lot of 10 am matches, though Leicester City hosting Swansea might produce a goal or six.  At 12:30 we have third place Hull City taking on second place Man United on NBC; obviously early in the season based on that description (referring to Hull not Man United).  Sunday morning is West Brom home to Middlesbrough at 8:30 on CNBC, then the potentially engaging Man City versus West Ham at the Etihad at 11 on NBCSN.

A full MLS calendar tonight (Wednesday) with several key East contests.  The Union travel to Columbus and they really need to bring home some points, preferably three.  I'm guessing we'll see Yaro in place of Tribbett.  Other big matches include Orlando-Toronto (hoping for Toronto win), Montreal-DC (a draw might be best?) and San Jose vs New England (come on Quakes).  Everybody turns around for another game on the weekend.  The Union host Sporting KC Saturday night; that could be a tough match and a draw might be a good result.  More big weekend matches include DC-Chicago, Toronto-Montreal (a derby?) and Red Bulls vs New England.  Check your local listings as they say.  And then the table on Monday to see if there's a shake up in the playoff situation.

Okay, now to figure out this beIN Sports Connect setup without getting mad at the computer...