Hardware!

The sand of the ocean is still ringing in my ears (not a typo, I got slammed by a wave and am still shaking sand out of various body parts) but we will soldier on.  A good win for the USMNT, a split for the Union and continued activity in Newcastle.


A Trophy Is A Trophy

ROBYN BECK/Getty Images

CONCACAF is a trap for the US - damned if you don't win, discounted if you do.   Screw that - winning the Gold Cup was a key accomplishment.  First of all, you can only win the confederation championship of your confederation - we can't move to Europe.  Second, CONCACAF is not as bad as people say.  Third, I realize Jamaica didn't even make it to the Hex for World Cup qualifying but this group of Reggae Boyz is way better than they were a year ago, when Theodore Whitmore took over as interim manager.  Fourth, yes some of the teams were not at full strength (e.g., Mexico and Costa Rica) but remember the US was without all of their European players (Pusilic, Cameron, Yedlin, etc.).  Let the confetti fall!

After a string of lackluster outings, the US put up two consecutive strong performances.  The 2-0 semi-final win over Costa Rica was a bit of payback for the 0-4 WC qualifier disaster last year.  If I remember right, the US got off to a good start but needed a couple of key saves from Howard to stay level.  Then Dempsey came on to set up Altidore for the first and put the match away with a well-struck free kick.

They also started brightly in the final against Jamaica.  Of course, that can be a little misleading because Jamaica willingly cede possession to the other side and then catch you napping with their speed on the counter.  Altidore's late first half free kick gave the US a 1-0 lead at the break (Question - does Andre Blake, who had to leave the match with a lacerated hand, make the save on that shot?  Miller got a hand to it so maybe Blake gets all of it.  Hard to say and it was a great take from Jozy) but Jordan Morris lost his man on a corner kick and Jamaica leveled things at 50 minutes.  That got Dempsey into the match possibly a little earlier than planned.  US had the run of play for the rest of the match and Jamaica were clearly running out of steam.  Subs Zardes and Dempsey combined to put a ball right on Morris' foot and he buried the game winner in the 88th minute. The sweet finish from Morris is this week's YouTubeableMoment.

So where do we go from here?  Back to the WC qualifiers in September.  For me some of the players whose stock went up in the Gold Cup were Morris, Nagbe, Villafana, and maybe Dwyer.  Acosta was up and down but did show some promise.  Howard is still a force in goal.  If Dempsey is cool with the role of super-sub, that's good.  Altidore got some goals after a long quiet period.  I'll be interested to see how the team plays when they fold the European guys back in. But certainly the best we've been able to feel about the USMNT in a while.


Treading Water

The news is not so good on the local front.  The Union completed its third straight match on a night with the USMNT playing and finally got a win.  Last week's 0-1 loss at Columbus wasn't much fun to watch, though you could argue that an 0-0 draw wouldn't have been a totally unfair result.  The winning goal was a random deflection off of Yaro.  However, when you manage zero, zilch, nada shots on goal, 0-0 is the best you can hope for.

Wednesday's home return against the Crew went a little better.  An early goal provided some momentum and they could have been up 2-0 after Sapong got pulled down in the box.  But Alberg was stopped on the PK.  Did you notice the "discussion" between Sapong and Alberg as to who would take the kick?  According to The Inquirer, before the match Curtin had said Alberg would take any PKs.  You can see Sapong pleading with Alberg to take it.  Bedoya has to come in and tell Sapong to stick with the plan.  Not the best thing to have happening on the pitch but apparently they got things smoothed out at halftime.  Playing a man up for much of the match, and two up at the end, the Union sailed to an easy 3-0 win.  Sapong for his part had a role in all the goals.

But trading wins isn't going to make up ground.  With 13 matches to play, the Union are in 8th, five back of Columbus (with a game in hand) and three back of Orlando.  Not insurmountable but they will need some road wins to cut into the gaps.  Tonight's match (7:30) at Foxboro vs the Revolution  would be a good place to start.  I can hardly bring myself to watch matches at Foxboro; almost as bad as Yankee Stadium as a soccer venue.


Another Signing

On Friday, Newcastle completed the transfer for holding midfielder Mikel Merino (loan with purchase after a year).  He played at Osasuna first, then Borussia Dortmund.  Looks like a decent acquisition.  All the activity so far seems helpful, but mostly in adding depth to the squad - certainly an important step in preparing for the coming season so that when, for example, Shelvey gets suspended, as he inevitably will, we're not shorthanded.  But IMHO, all of this work, which has been done with a very low net spend, needs to be capped off by at least one bigger signing.  I'd prefer that be for a high quality striker.  I keep hearing about getting James McCarthy but the price of $25m (euros, pounds, dollars, whichever) seems like a ridiculous sum to spend on a player of his quality.  Also too, he doesn't help the striker situation.  Still plenty of time in the transfer window.

Either my internet skills are declining or maybe it's too early but I didn't find any good team-by-team previews of the upcoming EPL season.  I did find one betting firm's computer prediction here.  Will keep looking.

This Is Not My Beautiful Game; This Is Not My Beautiful Team

Musical Accompaniment for this post Courtesy of the Talking Heads

I watched all or part of three matches on Wednesday.  By the end, I was ready to take up curling.


Waiting for Godoy

Joined the Costa Rica-Panama Gold Cup quarterfinal match at about 50 minutes with the score 0-0.  What I didn't know at the time was that earlier Panama's Anibal Godoy had pulled down a Costa Rican attacker in the box but was not penalized.  Neither team offered much of an attack and the match was seemingly drifting towards PKs to get a result (no extra time for the quarters or semis in the Gold Cup, straight to kicks).  But in the 77th minute Godoy sent a beautiful header off a free kick into the net; the problem was that it was his own net.  The header was awesome - check it out here.  
Textbook case of karma.  That was it for the scoring and Costa Rica is on to the semis.


El Salvador Not So Toothless

Eric Lichaj puts US up 2-0

Moving to the US - El Salvador match, things were not much better even worse.  The US were mostly disorganized on defense and couldn't string together two passes in the attack.  El Salvador had them on their heels.  Tim Howard saved Eric Lichaj's butt after Eric delivered a classic hospital ball off a back pass and there were several other breakdowns but fortunately no goals.  Late in the half Michael Bradley delivered a flat free kick into the box that Omar Gonzalez slightly redirected for the opening goal.  Minutes later, Lichaj - holding up his run like an experienced striker even though he's a right back - took a clever and perfectly weighted pass from Clint Dempsey and nutmegged the keeper for a wholly misleading and arguably undeserved 2-0 half time lead.  Lichaj's poor celebratory head-first slide into the corner presaged the greater ugliness to come in the second half.

After the break, the US continued to have breakdowns and errant passes so a third goal was unlikely.  Fortunately, El Salvador seemed more interested in physical play and simulating fouls than scoring.  Just an ugly half that featured Henry Romero giving Jozy Altidore a purple nurple (there's an expression I never expected to use in my adult life, much less a soccer blog).  Not satisfied with that assault, Romero bit Altidore minutes later.  I am not making this up.  Neither infraction was spotted by the referee or his assistants.   Neither side cloaked themselves in glory but the US does advance to play Costa Rica in the semis.

I can see a number of line up changes for the Costa Rica match.  Hedges was not too good at center back and Morrow (who had showed well in earlier matches) wasn't much better at left back.  Gonzalez and Lichaj had some bad moments but also some decent stuff plus they each got a goal.  Arriola wasn't awful but can't seem to get a shot on goal.  So we might see Besler, Villafana and McCarty get starts.


Playoffs?  Playoffs?

Wednesday's depressing trilogy with the beautiful game concluded with the Union's underwhelming 1-2 loss to Montreal.   As I said last week, a draw wouldn't be good enough for a side with playoff aspirations so the defeat suggests we are back in Jim Mora territory with respect to the Union's playoff chances.  Totally forgettable - all I remember is that the Union goal was an absolute gift and that the winning goal came off some confusion/misplay by Wijnaldum and Elliott.  Missing Bedoya, Pontius, Blake and Herbers didn't help the Union cause.  Just a bad night and a blow to the playoff chances.


The Other Side of the Bracket

 The other Gold Cup quarterfinal matches were much more watchable.  Canada spotted Jamaica two goals, got one back but came up short in a 1-2 loss; Andre Blake did some decent work in goal for the Reggae Boyz.   The speed of Honduras gave Mexico all they could handle but El Tri came away with a 1-0 win that featured good up and down the field action.  Despite six yellows and a few dust-ups, I didn't find it as chopped up by constant fouling as the US-El Salvador match.  Maybe because it was more competitive, maybe it was better refereeing but it was just more fun to watch.


In Praise of the Fourth Official

Yeah, I know they don't actually have the pressure of making the big calls, but after watching the Honduran manager blister the fourth official for a non-call by the referee, I have to give these guys some love.  Checking the Laws of the Game to see the specific duties of the fourth official we find:

- Taking sh*t from managers and players

Look it up if you don't believe me.


Action on the Tyne

A veritable flood of new signings by Newcastle.  First they added winger Jacob Murphy from Norwich; Murphy hasn't played above the Championship level yet but did appear for England's U21 team this year. Shortly after, they added full back Javier Manquillo from Atletico.   Manquillo is listed as right back but can play both sides.  I'll maintain that they still need a striker, especially with the departure of Daryl Murphy.  Mixed feelings about Murphy moving on; he's probably not EPL level at this point in his career but he saved Newcastle's butt a few times last season.

It was reassuring to see the Magpies reel in some targets.


Hoping for Better

So Saturday will be another USMNT/Union double header.  The Union is on the road to take on the Columbus Crew, who fell out of the top six last week.  Still an important chance for the Union to gain ground on a side ahead of them.  That's at 7:30.  Later that night (10 pm on FS1), the US takes on Costa Rica in the Gold Cup semi-final.  What to expect?  Who knows.  I'm not planning for a pretty game.  The other semi - Jamaica vs Mexico - is Sunday night at 9 pm on FS1.  The final will be on Wednesday at 9:30 on FS1.

21 days to go for the EPL season, 23 if you're Newcastle or Tottenham.

Entertaining Isn't Always Good

Not when you're the USMNT playing a squad of amateurs and sixth division French players.  Sure, the US 3-2 win over Martinique held your attention but for the wrong reasons.  After a scoreless first half (not a good sign right there) the US did break through for a 2-0 lead.  But then they surrendered that lead and entered the 75th minute tied with a minnow (from the small CONCACAF pond no less).  Fortunately, one of the players who did have a good match, Jordan Morris, got his second goal of the night for the game winner in the 76th minute (this week's YouTubeableMoment).  Exciting when it shouldn't be.  Coming on the heels of a mediocre performance in a 1-1 draw with Panama on Saturday night, this was not a good few days for the team.

Bruce Arena, correctly IMHO, assessed his needs for the group stage play and chose a roster to give some players a chance to impress him.  The gamble will likely pay off in so far as the US looks to be in good position to advance to the knockout stage despite the mediocre performances.   But the news is bad in that Arena probably hasn't found a lot of prospects for the first team.  The depth of the US squad is quite suspect at this time.   Dom Dwyer and Jordan Morris have likely seen their stock rise.  I thought Eric Lichaj (pronounced "Smith" "Lehigh") showed pretty well at right back.  Kelyn Rowe did some nice work setting up the goal versus Panama but was also partially culpable on the Panama goal.  Was there anybody else you'd like to see get more playing time when the critical matches come up?  Maybe Gyasi Zardes?  Kellyn Acosta at this point is not playing like the heir apparent to anybody.

Mexico is employing the same strategy as the US - playing their second team to get through the knockout stage.  Their match with Jamaica was a bit of disappointment, a 0-0 draw that wasn't as freeflowing as I had expected.  Brad Friedel may be right; Jamaica gave the Mexicans too much respect and didn't attack like they could have.  I don't know Costa Rica's squad as well but Bryan Ruiz was playing; they only managed a draw with Canada.  With the rosters likely to change for the knockout rounds, handicapping the tournament is difficult.


Road Point

John McCarthy makes a big time save

to keep the Union in the match

I only saw the highlights of the Union draw against Sporting KC but they sure make it look like the home side ran rampant over our squad and only a fine performance by John McCarthy in goal kept us in the match.  The PK on Sapong that allow us to get a tie?  Close call but for me (biased of course), the fact that Sapong had gotten past the defender inside the box means that any contact is not likely to be accidental and certainly not shoulder-to-shoulder.  I'm okay with the call and very happy with a point in a place where most sides come home empty handed.  Good to have that be the final action before the Gold Cup break.



Dithering on the Tyne

Another week full of rumors and speculation but no signings for Newcastle.  For me they are walking a fine line.  Overpaying for transfer targets by 20% is not a good strategy.  But at some point they will likely have to compromise, at least a little on some of the transfer fees.  Maybe clubs will get nervous that they can't unload the players and prices will come down a little.  Then Newcastle look like geniuses.   I keep hearing about possible rifts between Ashley and Benitez but the issue to me looks like it's as much Rafa who's unwilling to grossly overpay as Ashley being a tightwad.

It's also not like this has been a hyperactive transfer window so far, with maybe Everton being the exception.  The Toffees have been busy this summer and just added Wayne Rooney.  Man United has acquired Romelu Lukaku to replace Zlatan Ibrahimovic, at least in theory.  


Coming Up

Some of you may need to brush up on your Spanish for the US-Nicaragua match at 7 pm on Saturday.  TV coverage is FXX (691 on my Fios) - not sure how many get that channel.  Your alternative is Univision.  Quarterfinal matches are Wednesday and Thursday.  Wednesday's matches are at Lincoln Financial Field.

Wednesday will also see the Union traveling to Montreal.  The club could still be missing Bedoya, Pontius and Blake because of the Gold Cup action but that tournament won't have an, um, impact on Montreal.  I suppose a draw is acceptable but if the Union are going to be a play-off team, this is a club they must beat.

Plus C'est La Meme Chose

French for it appears that nothing much has changed since we last spoke.  Not entirely true but pretty close.


Transfer Doings on the Tyne

Two weeks ago Newcastle's only transfer signing was to make the Christian Atsu loan permanent.  A lot of water has flowed under the bridge or over the dam since then and for all that activity, there has been exactly one more completed deal.  Returning to the old pattern, the Magpies have added a Frenchman who's under 27 and cost less than $15m.  Meet Florian Lejeune.  This does appear to be a good signing and Newcastle did not overpay.  There are plenty of stories and rumors about Benitez being frustrated and/or ready to quit because of the slow progress in the transfer window.  There may be a little bit of fire behind the smoke if owner Mike Ashley is limiting Rafa to younger, cheaper players.  On the other hand, Benitez may just be frustrated that the market is way overpriced right now and though he knows he needs to add players, Rafa is not likely to grossly overvalue his targets.  Hopefully the Lejeune signing will silence some of this noise.

Not all EPL teams have had such a quiet summer so far.  Everton have done well, adding keeper Jordan Pickford from Sunderland, playmaker Davy Klaassen from Ajax (altogether class, it's pronounced  I - yaks) and defender Michael Keane from Burnley.  Bournemouth have also been busy, adding keeper Asmir Begovic from Chelsea, Jermain Defoe from Sunderland and Nathan Ake from Chelsea.  Man City have done more housecleaning than anything else, dropping Pablo Zabaleta (picked up by West Ham), Gael Clichy, Jesus Naves, Willy Caballero (who chose Chelsea over Newcastle, imagine that) and Bacary Sagna.  Decent players all but not surprising they are gone as Man City will be aiming higher this year.  They did add a high quality playmaker in Bernardo Silva.

On the managerial front, we have "new" faces in Mauricio Pellegrino at Southampton, Frank deBoer at Crystal Palace and Marco Silva at Watford.  A new manager at Southampton is like the swallows returning to Capistrano - a regular annual event.


Union Doing Okay

Six points from three matches while we were away for the Union.  Not too bad, though the wins came against two of the division's weaker sides - DC United and the Revolution.  Still, as a colleague once noted, you can only beat who you play.  Made sense at the time.  Even in the loss to the Red Bulls, they showed heart.  After being pushed around in the first half and looking totally vulnerable at the start of the second half, Derrick Jones got sent off.  We expected a slaughter at that point.  Instead, they played much better and even had a couple of great set piece opportunities to take the lead.  In the end though they surrendered two late goals but maybe they learned something in the process.

A common pose for CJ Sapong lately

C.J. Sapong is having a great season, not only with his own goal scoring but in creating opportunities for others.  Haris Medunjanin leads the team in assists and is providing leadership on the pitch.  Simple but effective pass here from Med to Alberg for a goal; the quality of the strike makes it this week's YouTubeableMoment.  Fafa Picault provides speed like we've not seen before, which means that the previously annoying habit of sending long balls forward that no one could get to is now a serious attacking option.

Yes, it's been much better of late but let's not get ahead of ourselves.  The team is still prone to lapses on defense and has depended on some excellent shot stopping from Andre Blake.  Even in the 3-0 win over New England, at 2-0 the Revolution hit the post and at 2-1 that match could have gone in any direction.  The Union now have three straight away - Sporting KC on Thursday, Montreal on 7/19 and Columbus on 7/22.  The latter two are really big as they are trying to get separation from Montreal below them and catch Columbus, who currently hold the last playoff spot.    As of today, the Union are three out of that spot with two games in hand.


Glorified Friendlies

Tried to get into the Confederations Cup but just couldn't.  Recall that this is essentially a tune up for the host country in preparation for next year's World Cup.  Not clear how much the players are into summer tournaments after a long club season, especially with WC qualifying matches to be played later this year.  I did see the first Mexico-Portugal match and it was decent but still didn't entice me to watch any others.  Feel free to give me crap for missing out on good stuff if there was.  Germany won.

The Gold Cup, which is the bi-annual CONCACAF championship, is a little more real - more on a par with the quadrennial European Championships, except the teams aren't as good.  But it does tend to stir national rivalries and the matches will have more bite (if less quality) than the Confederations Cup. You can get more details here on the tournament.  The winner of the tournament does get a chance to possibly play in the 2021 Confederations Cup but having just sort of trashed that competition, it doesn't sound like such a big prize.  But it would be good for the US to play in a tournament like that.


Chester

Slightly ahead in the virtual calendar as we are well into pre-season friendlies.  The board has ramped-up expectations for the club this year.  In addition to competing for the EPL title (which we've won the last two years), they want us in the Champions League quarter finals and the FA Cup semi finals.  So I'm diligently fine tuning the roster, adding some older players in hopes of getting the wins in the tournaments, which is much different than the week-to-week process of winning a league title.

TV

The Gold Cup will dominate the schedule for the next few weeks.  Fox and FXX will have the games.  Only 37 days to the start of the EPL season.