Pyrrhic Victories

pyr·rhic

adjective

1. (of a victory) won at too great a cost to have been worthwhile for the victor.

Some great results for Newcastle and other sides of interest to BFS but they came with significant downsides. League matches, FA Cup replays and the opening contests in the Africa's Cup of Nations provided diverse and interesting stories.

Every Silver Lining Has A Dark Cloud Behind It

Daryl Murphy puts away the game winner for Newcastle

Newcastle's away match with Brentford was a war of attrition and the hard-won 2-1 victory left some scars.  Dwight Gayle got Newcastle ahead early with his 20th goal of the season; he's the first Magpie to do that since Alan Shearer in 2003/2004.  But he (Gayle that is) wasn't around long to enjoy it, leaving with a hamstring injury less than 10 minutes later.  Brentford leveled the match in the 52nd minute and things started to go downhill. Isaac Hayden went down with a groin injury and was substituted out for Vurnon Anita, who sustained an ankle injury not long after entering the match.  Brentford were dominating play so it was a bolt out of the blue as I read the live update on The Chronicle that Daryl Murphy had scored the go-ahead goal in the 79th minute. But this match was far from over and Brentford continued to press.  The situation became even more perilous as Gouffran sustained an injury, though he was able to continue and Newcastle hung on through nine minutes of stoppage time to collect the three points.  With losses by Brighton and Reading, Newcastle are now top of the table by a point over Brighton (who have a game in hand) and seven ahead of Leeds, who moved into third with Reading's defeat.

Gayle's injury will likely keep him out 2-3 weeks while Hayden won't miss any time.  Anita on the other hand is out for 2-3 months with ligament damage to the ankle.  But as bad as the injury news was, the more ominous threat to the good feeling was the possibility that owner Mike Ashley and his partner in crime Graham Carr may be re-inserting themselves into transfer policy.  Apparently Ashley would like to see a return to the policy of "buy young, sell high."  Yeah, how'd that work out for you Mikie?  I mean WTF?  Benitez has done well to keep the club atop the Championship division but promotion is by no means assured and these injuries, combined with the Magpies recent loss of form, suggest some bolstering of the squad with players who can help now is necessary.  Young players with promise won't help.   Does the guy want  to end up a permanent Championship division club? I gotta stop, the more I think about it, the angrier I get.  

Newcastle weren't the only ones to sustain losses while winning.  Tottenham played possibly the most perfect half of football this year and pretty much cruised to a 4-0 win over a decent West Brom side.  But center back Jan Vertonghen rolled on his ankle and had to leave the match.  A few days later, the diagnosis was ligament damage and at least two months on the sidelines.  Judging from Vertonghen's reaction at the time, he didn't need a doctor to tell him this was serious.  So Pochettino will have to decide whether he'll use Michael B's new BBF Kevin Wimmer or Ben Davies to continue with three at the back, a strategy that has made Danny Rose and Kyle Walker so much more dangerous; or, he may have to return to a flat back four.  

Costa Living Adjustment

Even easy wins without injuries didn't come without drama.  Diego Costa had some kind of issue (injury, fight with medical staff, fight with the club about wage demands, all of the above) and didn't even make the trip to Leicester.  He wasn't missed as the Blues handled the Foxes 3-0.  As the week progresses, it looks more and more like this is a fight about wages.  Apparently a Chinese club is offering to pay him about $37.5 million a year.  He makes about $10 million a year now.  Yeah, that would be a nice raise.  But in the middle of a Premier League season in which Chelsea are well-positioned to win the league, is this kind of turmoil helpful?  I also don't get the attraction of being a big fish (albeit a filthy rich one) in a little pond when you're already a big fish (but only sort of rich) in a big pond.   I'm impressed how the club, Conti and the other players have reacted.  But the clubs chasing Chelsea probably won't mind if everybody at Stamford Bridge gets a little distracted.

Alexis Sanchez sat away from his Arsenal team-mates (Picture: NBC)

Not on the same level as Costa's issue, but even Arsenal's easy 4-0 win over Swansea (helped by two own goals) had a little theater.  Soon after scoring in the 79th minute, Alexis Sanchez was subbed out for Danny Welbeck.  He did not handle it well, sitting away from his teammates and hiding under his jacket. I get that he doesn't like to be subbed but now his manager has to answer questions about whether there's a problem.  Again, is this a distraction the Gunners need?  Plus, Wenger has to think about player fitness what with league play, FA Cup matches and Champions League fixtures.  

The two Manchester matches on Sunday were entertaining, though in different ways.  Everton blew open what had started as a tense contest and put a 4-0 hurting on Man City.  Check out this goal from Tom Davies, one of this week's two YouTubeable Moments; the run, the splitting of the defense, he gets back on his feet to be available for the pass and the chip over Bravo - just an awesome effort for his first EPL goal.  The increasingly erratic Man City fall to fifth with this loss.  Meanwhile over at Old Trafford, Liverpool and Man United staged a taut affair that ended, fairly IMHO, as a 1-1 draw.  Liverpool got a PK goal in the first half on a handling call in the box against Pogba; at first I thought the call was harsh but on further review, Michael Oliver got it right.  The hosts were able to snatch a draw after Ibrahimovic put away a beautiful cross from Valencia in the 84th minute. That video replays showed Valencia to be a hair offside doesn't take away from drama or quality of the goal.

So we end the weekend with Chelsea still on top but dealing with Costa.  Tottenham are seven points back but looking for a replacement for Vertonghen.  Liverpool are also seven back and certainly in the hunt.  Arsenal round out the top four, just one back of Tottenham/Liverpool.  Man City are another two back but have lost two of the last five and seem to have big problems in the back.  Man United are sixth but have not lost in 12 league matches.


Stadium of Flight

There were maybe 15 or so people left in the stands by the end of Sunderland's home 1-3 loss to Stoke.  We already addressed Swansea's non-result.  What about Crystal Palace?  I switched over to that contest after Arsenal had gone up 3-0 on Swansea.  The Eagles managed to turn a tight game into a 0-3 loss to West Ham, surrendering goals at 68, 79 and 86 minutes.  One of those, from the Original Bunned One himself, Andy Carroll is this week's second YouTubeableMoment.  Hull City escaped the cellar with a win over Bournemouth but still find themselves, along with Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Swansea, locked in a relegation struggle.


A Fox By Any Other Name

Checked in on a few of the opening matches in the Africa Cup of Nations.  Generally brisk affairs but a little light on moments of real quality scoring wise and big on draws.  Zimbabwe-Algeria was an excellent back and forth contest.  Algeria opened with a goal from Leicester's Riyad Mahrez but found themselves down 1-2 late.  Mahrez struck again in the 82nd minute and Algeria managed to get a point.  Mahrez and Leicester teammate Islam Slimani both feature for the Algerian side.  I can't help but point out that Leicester are known as the Foxes while Algeria's nickname is the Fennecs - which is a North African fox.  Yeah, we can be easily amused here at BFS.


FA Cup Replays - The Kids Are Alright (musical accompaniment from The Who)

Ritchie taps home his second goal Photograph: Richard Lee/BPI/REX/Shutterstock

Jurgen Klopp gambled and took a very young squad to the coast for the replay with Plymouth.  It paid off in that he got a 1-0 win while resting some of his first teamers.  Farther north, Rafa Benitez had to do the same, though less by choice and more due to injuries.  The three kids - Stuart Findlay, Daniel Barlaser, and Yasin Ben El-Mhanni - acquitted themselves nicely in Newcastle's 3-1 win over Birmingham.  That match also featured the return of JonJo Shelvey from a five match ban; he only managed two assists and set up the play that resulted in a PK.  I have seen his creativity but still can't believe the Magpies are so dependent on him.  Given his propensity to get suspended for various misdeeds, they really do need a quality player who can fill his boots during those absences.

Three minnows completed their upsets as fifth tier sides Lincoln City and Sutton United beat Ipswich (2nd division) and AFC Wimbledon (3rd division) respectively.  League Two Blackpool also punched their ticket for the 4th round with a win over Championship division Barnsley.  So the final tally for the 3rd round was 12 upsets out of 32 contests.  The fourth round will include 13 Premier League, 11 Championship, 3 League One, 3 League Two and 2 National League) sides.  The next round matches are the weekend of 1/28.


Asterisk on That TV Ratings Comment

Commenter Jack (college roommate, twice best man and all around good egg) noted that the Edinburgh Cross Country meet outdrew the Man United match for TV ratings.  I'm a big follower of both sports but as I am generally not worried about the future of soccer (it seems to be doing quite well thank you), I am heartened to hear of any sign that track and field/cross country is not dying for lack of interest.  But alas, I must put an asterisk on this result.  The match in question was Man United's FA Cup contest with Reading, not a Premier League clash.  Still, we will take any good news.


Maybe A Rest for the DVR

Save for the Man City-Tottenham contest (Saturday at 12:30 on NBC) this weekend doesn't offer the neutrals much to get excited about.  Of the top six, only Man United face what might be considered a tough fixture on the road to Stoke (10 am Saturday on NBCSN).  Otherwise, Chelsea host Hull City, Liverpool are home to Swansea, Arsenal take on Burnley at home; don't see a lot to choose from there.  If you like watching car crashes, reeling Crystal Palace hosting Everton at Selhurst Park (10 am Saturday on CNBC) might be your thing.

For quality match ups you might do better to follow the Championship Division, where many of the top sides have to face each other.  Unfortunately, with the Africa Cup of Nations, not much TV coverage.  But you can see Brighton (2nd) vs Sheffield Wednesday(6th) Friday at 5 pm on beIN Sports.  Derby County (7th) host Reading (4th), Leeds United (3rd) travel to Barnsley (10th) and Huddersfield Town (5th) take on Ipswich Town (14th) at home.  Newcastle get to host 24th place Rotherham; hopefully Shelvey's return will make this an easy match but why do I still have a queasy feeling?