Europe Here We Come

If the season were to end today, the EPL representatives for the Champions League would be Manchester City, Manchester United,  Chelsea and Newcastle.  One of these is not like the others.

As Dennis might say to me, easy there Sparky, it's really early.  Indeed, we're only through five matches and the Newcastle schedule has not exactly been rugged.  But with a 2-1 win over Stoke, there the Magpies are, 4th in the table.  Two things about this start.  First, in previous years, Newcastle would have likely been sitting at three to five points instead of nine.  Second, even though it has been a soft schedule, winning these matches was important so there wouldn't be as much pressure when the tougher games come around.

I only got to see highlights but it appears that in comparison to the matches I did see, the Newcastle-Stoke contest might have been the most viewable of any of the weekend's fixtures.  There were some excellent goals and it seems like the match had a good back-and-forth to it.  Ritchie and Lascelles teamed up again for the winner and get a second straight YouTubeableMoment for their effort; it's a short clip but I love the videos from the stands.  Matt Ritchie also had the assist on the Christian Atsu goal; that was his fourth of the year and he's just one behind league leader Henrikh Mkhitaryan (possibly the best player ever with "kh" in both his first and last name).  We are clear-eyed about how far there is to go in the season and frankly still doubt that the squad is strong enough for a mid-table finish.  But damn this has been fun.


Dearth of Goals

Except for squads that begin with "Man," not a whole lot of scoring this weekend.  Three 0-0 draws and three other sides shut out.  If anybody sat through the West Brom-West Ham scoreless match, let me know if that was a bad as it sounds; of course, Bilic will probably take the point on the road.  Crystal Palace continue without a goal this season, becoming the first EPL team to fail to score in their opening five matches; it's actually six in a row if you go back to last season.  Wait, here's the best part; there were three different managers in those six matches - Allardyce, de Boer and Hodgson.

Actually, the Chelsea - Arsenal 0-0 match wasn't awful.  It certainly had the proper snarl for a London derby, concluding with a straight red for David Luiz.  But some goals would have been appreciated.  Same for Spurs - Swansea.  After a decent CL performance at Wembley mid-week, you might have thought Spurs were ready to move past that jinx talk.  But there they were, scoreless against the Swans.  Textbook case of "parking the bus."  Swansea had nine and sometimes 10 in the box.  Tottenham finishing was a little suspect and Harry Kane hit the cross bar.  So Spurs are one of seven teams with identical 2-2-1 records.   Damn, after we had gotten Michael B to close the window, he's back out on the ledge again.

Jurgen, we've identified the cause of your severe TMJ

So Man City cruised 6-0 over Watford, a very disrespectful showing with former Hornets' owner Sir Elton John in attendance.  Man United added three goals from the 83rd minute on to make the 4-0 win over Everton look slightly more one-sided than it was.  Wayne Rooney was enthusiastically received by the Old Trafford crowd.  As we've said it's early but Everton sit in 18th after a massive summer spend; clearly not what they had in mind.  Not a good start Merseyside as Liverpool could manage just a draw at home to Burnley and then fell to Leicester in the League Cup.  This can't be good for Jurgen Klopp's TMJ.  Seriously, is a jaw supposed to move that far side-to-side?

But cheer up, at least you're not Crystal Palace...


Redefining Victory

The scoreboard says the Union got a 0-0 draw with Red Bulls up in Harrison but we know it was a moral victory.  See, the Red Bulls had hoped to rest stars Sacha Kljestan and Bradley Wright-Phillips for Wednesday's US Open Cup Final against Sporting KC.  Except as the scoreless match dragged on, Jesse Marsch also knew he needed three points from the match to protect his playoff spot and possibly get away from a road game in the knockout round.  So he was forced to use both in the second half.  Didn't help, mostly because Andre Blake was at his best, making some acrobatic stops and some good decisions about when to come out to play the ball.  Can't think of any Union highlights though - maybe some more key interventions from Jack Elliott.  This was the third straight draw for the Union and they remain 10th and nine points out of the playoffs with five to play.  As the ESPN announcers noted, they're not mathematically out of it but...

Taylor Twellman had two points during the telecast that I agreed with.  First, he suggested the difference between the Union and the teams above them was the quality of our designated players.  This makes sense to me - we've hardly seen Maurice Edu because of injury and Alejandro Bedoya is good but not so much so that he elevates the play of those around him.  That suggests that improvement doesn't require a massive shakeup in personnel as much as a better spend on designated players.  His second point was in response to someone saying the Red Bulls hadn't won any trophies.  He pointed to the Supporters Shield banners hanging at Red Bull Arena and asked don't they count for something.  Exactly. Two times the Red Bulls have had the best regular season record in MLS.  In just about every other country, that is the definition of a championship.

Speaking of the US Open Cup Final, Sporting KC did look to be the better side Wednesday night in their 2-1 victory over the Red Bulls.  A late goal for the NJ side did make the finish more interesting.  Looks like maybe Philly did tire them out.


It's A Trap

Admiral Ackbar has the proper warning for the Magpies as they travel to the coast to take on Brighton.  Yes, the Seagulls are 16th in the table and are coming off consecutive losses (one in EPL and one in the League Cup) to Bournemouth, a squad that hasn't exactly been setting the league on fire.  If Newcastle take this match lightly, they'll end up on the wrong side of the score like they did at Huddersfield.  A draw wouldn't be terrible but would suggest that Newcastle are not the stuff of upper table finishers.  The match is your only Sunday EPL viewing at 11 on NBCSN.

Maybe Man City ought to pay heed to the Admiral as well.  Winless and goalless Crystal Palace come to town and on paper this looks like a car crash waiting to happen.  Man City has scored 16 and allowed just two.  My Football Manager pregame message would definitely be to guard against complacency.  This one is at 10 am Saturday on NBCSN.  The other 10 am match on TV is Stoke hosting Chelsea (CNBC).

The weekend starts off with a match featuring two teams that haven't settled well into their new homes - West Ham hosting Spurs at 7:30 Saturday on NBCSN.  The Hammers are in their second season at Olympic Stadium, a place that just seems too big and spread out for a proper club venue.  Last year West Ham managed to finish 11th but had the 5th worst home record.  At least for Spurs, their discomfort with Wembley as a home field will only last one season.

Saturday's NBC 12:30 match is a quick replay for Leicester and Liverpool.  The Foxes won the league cup match 2-0 midweek but have but four points in league play and have surrendered nine goals.  But so have Liverpool.  Maybe a chance to see some scoring?

Arsenal hosting West Brom on Monday (3 pm NBCSN) closes out the EPL TV week.  Those with the NBC Gold subscription might want to check out Southampton - Man United at 10 am Saturday.  

The Union have two chances to resuscitate their playoff hopes with matches on Saturday (vs Chicago) and Wednesday (vs Atlanta).