Parity vs Parody

A stinker from the Union, good news from St. James' Park and what kind of manager are you?


Backing Into the Playoffs

Yes there were a lot teams in the playoff hunt in both conferences until the very end.  Yes that sounds like parity.  But we shouldn't confuse that with good football.  Take the Union for example. They were in position to clinch a playoff spot on Sunday at home but turned in a generally uninspired performance, losing to then 9th place Orlando 0-2.  But no mind, because at the same time the Union were handing the opening to the Revolution, New England was in the process of losing 1-2 to last place Chicago.  So the Union are in good position to take the last playoff spot even if they don't win on Sunday because of the tiebreakers.

Ze Roberto notes that the Union have four losses and two draws in their last six matches.  This is, in the end, a mediocre team.  I'm not forgetting that they used to be an awful team and most pundits, while expecting progress this year, did not expect the Union to make the playoffs.  I can only hope that management realizes that making the playoffs in the MLS is a pretty low bar, given that 60% of the teams get a spot in post season and the rampant mediocrity in the league and will set their sights higher.  The league is expanding - two teams for 2017 and two more for 2018.  Though existing teams likely will have improved records, in the short run at least, they won't actually be better teams. In fact, the expansion draft means they might actually be worse.  I know I tell people we have to support MLS because that's all we have here but it's hard when they seem intent on diluting the product.


Six More Points for Newcastle

Very good news for the Magpies as they win on Saturday (over Brentford 3-1) and Tuesday (over Barnsley 2-0), thanks in part to a boatload (bootload?) of goals from Dwight Gayle.  At the same time Norwich got a win and a draw and Huddersfield Town lost twice.  So going into the weekend, Newcastle sit atop the Championship table.  According to The Newcastle United Blog, they are four points ahead of where they were seven years ago when they won promotion from the Championship to the Premiership.  A long way to go before I can open that special bottle of beer but I like how things are progressing.  Maybe it sounds a bit snotty but I do believe that the only team that can stop them from winning the division is themselves.



DVRed But Unwatched

I recorded a bunch this weekend but many went unviewed.  Some, like the Sunday EPL matches just weren't that interesting.  I saw the results from the other key MLS East matches while watching the Union so I didn't need to go through them.  I was hoping to sit down to enjoy the Liverpool- Manchester United contest but saw the result of that one too - gotta change my home page from Yahoo.  In that case, the spoiler was a good thing because by all reports, the match was uninspiring and I didn't have to waste 90 minutes on it.  Paradoxically, the YouTubeableMoment, actually two of them, come from this match; we present DeGea's saves Part I - Coutinho and Part II - Emre Can.

I did catch Chelsea-Leicester, where the Foxes looked spectacularly mid-tablish as they fell 0-3 at Stamford Bridge.  The 1-1 draw between Man City and Everton was well worth the time.  Two PK stops from Maarten Stekelenburg saved the Toffees asses in a taut, well-played contest.  Though I hadn't been watching the match, I covered up the out of town scores on the TV screen when I saw Arsenal-Swansea at 3-2 with the Gunners down a man; took in the last 20 or so minutes of that one, which ended 3-2 despite the Swans man advantage.  Also "saw" Crystal Palace-West Ham, that is, if you count fast forwarding to get a sense of the game; that may have been more attention than the 1-0 win for the Hammers deserved.  Didn't see it but Spurs came away with just a draw at West Brom, losing a chance to gain on Man City.


Midweek Football

A lighter work schedule allowed for some Champions League and Europa Cup viewing.  It was pouring rain in Leicester, the Foxes were outpossessed by Copenhagen - you knew those things without me telling you, right? - and they looked no more than competent but got a 1-0 win.  Somehow they are undefeated and unscored on in Champions League play and look like good bets to advance to the knockout stage, even as they languish in 13th in the EPL. Man City wasn't totally out of it at Camp Nou until keeper Bravo got a red card for DOGSO.  Pretty soon it was 4-0 Barcelona.  Spurs completed a week of draws with a 0-0 result against Leverkusen; they've been slighly less than awesome recently but haven't paid a price for it yet.  Thursday I sampled Europa league action, watching the 1-0 win by Inter Milan over Southampton; never mind the score, it was an intriguing match.



What Kind of Football Manager Manager Am I?

Scott and Katie got me this book called The Football Manager Guide to Football Management.  I was expecting a guide on how to be better at Football Manager but instead found a primer on aspects and characteristics of real football management.  Still a good read with loads of anecdotes about current and former managers.  Near the end, the author does ask what kind of manager are you. The choices:

Dynastic - not thinking about the next match or even the next season but several seasons ahead
Tactical - knows that the left full back is slow and will pound that side with a speedy winger
Transformative - change the way the club does everything
Dictatorial - my way or the highway
Wheeler-dealer - there's this striker in Mexico we can get for about $1m
Media Darling - make nice with the press
Ideologue - who cares if we win, was it attractive football?

I'd say I'm 35% wheeler dealer, 35% dynastic and 30% tactical.  With limited resources I've had to rely on transfer bargains and loans, even now in our third season in the Premiere League.  Always keeping on eye on which players will need to be replaced in a few years.  And though I don't get way into player details, I do spend a lot of time assessing which formations and touch line instructions make a difference.

Chester had a good week with a clinical 3-0 over Preston North End to advance to the League Cup quarterfinals and a sweet 2-0 win over Man City in league play.


The Weekend

I'll be at Talen Energy Stadium Sunday to see the Union take on the Red Bulls.  Since both teams merely need to be sure they don't lose 12-0 to meet their objectives - Red Bulls top of division, Union in the playoffs - this has all the markings of a 0-0 draw.  Perfect.

Newcastle are heavy favorites against Ipswich.  Again, complacency is probably the bigger opponent here.

Sunday looks like a tasty doubleheader for the EPL.  At 8:30 Man City takes on Southampton at The Etihad.  As you know, I've been wrong before but this could be some fun watching.  Then at 11, The Special One returns to Stamford Bridge as Man United under Jose Mourinho take on Chelsea.  Both contests can be seen on NBCSN.

Saturday's action looks like some mismatches, except maybe not.  Tottenham travel to Bournemouth, who haven't been awful so maybe Spurs need to be careful, that's at 7:30 on NBCSN.  Arsenal host Middlesbrough at 10 on NBCSN and the Gunners should be favored here.  The 12:30 NBC match is Liverpool at home to West Brom; the Baggies are on a good run so Liverpool need to be careful.

Better to have dvred and not watched than to never have dvred at all.