Early Christmas?

Another Newcastle win plus a new hip in the same week.  Very cool.

Rondon celebrates goal in University of Pennsylvania colors

Recall that I said I'd be happy with a draw at Huddersfield so the 1-0 win was even better.  Again with 5 at the back, willing to cede possession.  Rondon took advantage of the scoring opportunity he was given (nice cross from Manquillo) and Huddersfield did not convert the few chances they got.  As opposed to other matches, I didn't watch the last 20 minutes assuming the equalizer was just around the corner.  The Magpies seemed to have things pretty tight at the back.  I am wondering about the change kits - looks like University of Pennsylvania surplus.

Jesus Saves Scores

Gabriel Jesus made life miserable for Everton with a brace of goals at the Etihad.  Calvert-Lewin pulled one back at 65 minutes but shortly thereafter Sterling scored to give Man City their comfortable 3-1 win.  Similarly, Shaqiri's two goals meant doom for Man United and their beleaguered manager (more below) as Liverpool stay atop the table with their 3-1 win.  Some may say that both Shaqiri's tallies were deflected past DeGea; true dat, but they were both struck from high percentage locations so hard to say it was pure luck.  The 538 metrics agree, suggesting it was a blow out.  The win means Liverpool stay just ahead of Man City.

Judging by scorelines, looks like I missed the two best matches of the weekend.  Watford were up 3-0 on Cardiff but two goals after the 80th minute meant an exciting finish.  And Arsenal lost for the first time since August 18th, dropping a 2-3 decision to Southampton.  That looked like a marvelous back and forth affair (unless you're a Gunner fan), with Arsenal coming back from 0-1 and 1-2 deficits before Charlie Austin sealed the thing in the 85th minute. Arsenal were wearing those sea green kits that remind me of my high school prom tuxedo again; I haven't done the numbers yet but I'm wondering it that's a good color for the Gunners.

I did see West Ham continue their hot streak with a 2-0 win over Fulham.  I think I watched Chelsea beat Brighton 2-1 but not remembering any details.  Spurs left it late but did get the 1-0 win over Burnley.  No change at the top four but Arsenal fall a little farther behind and Man United have pretty much confirmed their mid-table status.  

May Outlasts Mourinho

As regular as the swallows returning to Capistrano, Jose Mourinho is leaving a team during his third year with the club.  A little surprised it was the loss to Liverpool that was the final straw.  The caretaker manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer...  Wait. Stop right there.  The new Manchester United guy is a former Arsenal player? Oh, okay, it's Norwegian.  Anyway, his first four matches are Cardiff, Huddersfield, Bournemouth and Newcastle so he has an excellent chance of starting 4-0.

I wouldn't be placing any bets for Theresa May's long-term tenure either but she did outlast the Special One.

Schedule

Lots of games.  Too many to discuss.  I will note that Newcastle's holiday fixtures are Fulham (H), Liverpool (A), Watford (A), and Man United (H).  My initial reaction is that three points might be a good haul for us, which sucks.  Maybe we nick a point at Watford but I wouldn't hold my breath.  

Hopefully you get to watch a lot and have a good holiday season.  Probably won't be back to post until after New Year's Day.

House of Cards

Sunday's annoying 1-2 loss to Wolves was actually set in motion by events in the draw at Everton.  Working backwards, on Sunday DeAndre Yedlin was playing out of position at center back when he drew the red card for DOGSO.  Why was he playing at center back?  Because Fernandez picked up an injury in the first half.  Okay, we'll bring in Ciaran Clark.  Wait, he was already in the game.  Why? Because Schar picked up his 5th yellow for the season in the Everton match and was suspended for the Wolves contest so Clark had to start.  When you're as thinly put together as Newcastle are, these little things can have a big impact.

Clark and Dubravka watch the point slip away

As it was, the Magpies did perform heroically and were seconds from snatching a draw despite playing down a man for 37+ minutes.  But close only counts in horse shoes, hand grenades and atom bombs.  Hard to say the last second goal felt like a gut punch because I'd been expecting it all along.  I am encouraged however by how the lads do play with heart, not always a given with some of the non-Rafa managed squads we seen in the past.  So despite the loss, I'm not feeling the need right now to crawl out on the ledge.

Regular BFS readers know I'm not a big fan of referee Mike Dean but I don't fault him on the DOGSO call.  First, it was clearly a foul.  Second, from the replays I saw, I doubt VAR would have overturned his call so you can't say it was egregious.  I do wonder if another referee might have been satisfied with a yellow in that situation and I think VAR would have been inconclusive in proving that it should have been DOGSO.  Many Newcastle partisans were also on Dean's case for not calling on elbow to Perez's face; looked there was contact but not sure it was a foul.

Sarri Not Sorry

Dressed for a slumber party?

Chelsea put paid to Man City's unbeaten streak with a solid 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge.  I thought the Citizens had the run of play in the first half but Kepa (best name for goalie I've heard in a while) denied some good scoring chances and it was the Blues who took the halftime lead thanks to Kante's stoppage time goal. David Luiz added a second at 78 minutes (Hazard assisted on both goals) for a surprising 2-0 win for Chelsea.  Liverpool are now the only unbeaten side.  Speaking of Liverpool, who stole their uniforms and replaced them with pajamas (see right)?  But good teams win with whatever they're wearing and Liverpool eased away to a 4-0 win over Bournemouth.

I went with West Ham - Crystal Palace London Derby on NBC Gold over the TV choices for the 10 am game and was rewarded with a highly watchable match.  Palace went up early, but West Ham got three unanswered goals. Schlupp added one back to keep it interesting.  And who is this Felipe Anderson?  Five goals in six matches from him.

Spurs showed no ill effects of the derby disaster and handled a tricky fixture with Leicester, coming away with a 2-0 win at King Power Stadium. Arsenal left it late but did not spoil last week's derby win with an unnecessary home draw to Huddersfield; the 1-0 win keeps them close to the top 4.  Monday's seeming afterthought of a contest - Everton v Watford - was an excellent mid table contest.  The Toffees had an early lead but Watford were just the better side and they got two in rapid succession.  But Lucas Digne's free kick in the 96th minute grabbed a point back for Watford.

Mourinho and May

Both had better weeks, though neither is out of the woods.  Man United were not pressed by Fulham in a 4-1 romp at Old Trafford.  But they are 6th in the table, 10 points out of a Champions League spot.  Plus, they have to face Liverpool, a somewhat tougher opponent than Fulham, this Sunday.  On the other hand, the Red Devils opponents for the 14 Days of Christmas are Cardiff, Huddersfield, Bournemouth and Newcastle.  Bring us some figgy pudding indeed.

For her part, Theresa May survived a no confidence vote from her Conservative Party.  That means she can't be challenged by her party for a year.  On the other hand, she had to postpone the vote on Brexit, presumably as it did not have the votes to pass.  Not clear if she survives without an agreement to exit the EU, which Britain is due to leave on March 29.  

MLS

The MLS Cup was fast paced and noisy but not quite as gripping as one would have hoped.  I'm sure Atlanta supporters had a great time.  So they take the title in just their second year of existence.  Apparently some franchises are just better than others at figuring this out.  

Meanwhile the Union just traded Fabian Herbers to Chicago for a second round pick.  Not exactly the roster shake up so far that we might have expected.  Graham points out it's not a good sign when you end up trading a #6 draft pick, which Herbers was in 2016, for a 29th pick.  We didn't lose anybody in the expansion draft.  Wait, Cincinnati is getting a franchise?  Well, there goes Bob K's rooting interest in the Union.  After all that time we spent cultivating his support.  Plus, he'll probably get to celebrate the franchise's first playoff win before we do.

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

BFS Health Care Consultant/Track and Field Analyst (admittedly we don't have a lot of stuff in either area but we are covered just in case) Jack W sends along this article about a dispute between the US Soccer Federation and the US Soccer Foundation. Seems like a fight that has nothing to do with improving the sport for its participants. Jack notes that pretty much the same thing - minus the lawsuit (at least so far) - has gone on between USA Track and Field and the USA Track and Field Foundation.   Geez, I thought we were on the same team.  

Champions League Bonus Coverage

Man City and Man United went into the last day of group stage play with knockout berths already clinched but both Liverpool and especially Tottenham went in with some work to do.  Liverpool needed to beat Napoli 1-0 or by two goals so their 1-0 win at Anfield was sufficient.  Spurs, playing Barcelona at Camp Nou, needed to match whatever Inter Milan did at PSV.  At the time Inter got the tying goal against PSV, Tottenham were down 0-1.  So Spurs desperately needed to level things.  And they did on a brilliant piece of build up play; we'll make it this week's YouTubeableMoment  (unfortunately it doesn't show how they worked the ball out from the back but trust me it was some fine work).  So all four EPL sides advance to the knockout stage. 

Weekend

Best match of the weekend looks to be Liverpool hosting Man United Sunday at 11 on NBCSN.  The pesky 7:30 am Saturday match is just good enough to get up for - Man City coming off their first loss hosting Everton.  For the 10 am matches, we'll be taking in Huddersfield - Newcastle; 538 has the Terriers as healthy favorites but I am holding out hopes for a draw here.  The TV match is Spurs-Burnley but I would be tempted to go with Wolves - Bournemouth for a competitive mid-table fixture.  The NBC game at 12:30 is another London Derby featuring Fulham and West Ham. The Hammers are on a roll and have been playing some attractive football; the Cottagers are still looking for that clean sheet and the promised trip to McDonalds.  Sunday has top table teams Chelsea (vs BHA) and Arsenal (home versus Southampton) at 8:30; upsets don't look too likely there.  

Under the Knife

I get my hip replaced Monday.  Depending on how quickly I recover I come home Tuesday or Wednesday.  No idea if I'm going to be up for blogging or not.  Maybe it will be a pleasant distraction, maybe sitting in the chair will be uncomfortable excruciating.  So, just in case I'm not around to remind you, don't forget that the 14 Days of Football start on Friday 12/21.  There are 40 matches between then and January 3.  Only days without games are 12/24, 12/25, 12/28, and 12/31.  In some ways this might be a stupid idea on the part of EPL, with teams being overextended leading to increased injuries to players.  But it certainly is good marketing - plenty of product to watch during the holidays.  We'll certainly be back in January to rate all the teams on their holiday performance, adjusted of course for degree of difficulty.  Enjoy.

Midtable Interrupted

A loss at home to West Ham partially redeemed by a mid-week draw at Goodison Park leaves Newcastle closer to the bottom than to mid table status plus some wild stuff in the derbies.

Newcastle were not awful in the 0-3 loss to West Ham but it sure felt that way.  Down 0-1 at 60 minutes I didn't believe it was a lost cause even with all the missed chances (looking at you Ayoze).  Chicharito's second in the 63rd minute convinced me otherwise.  That deflated the Magpies and they never really threatened again.   Putting a positive spin on it, the loss should dampen any overrating of this team and should reemphasize how critical the January transfer window will be.

Resolute defending was the order of the day in the 1-1 draw to Everton.  Benitez returned to the back three (Lascelles, Fernandez and Schar) with the offensive emphasis on counterattacking and set pieces.  The ball spent an inordinate amount of time in the final third and the Toffees did get some good chances.  But more often than not, the Everton possession ended with a cross into the box that was easily dispatched by our big guys.  A beautiful cross from Murphy finished by Rondon was offset by Richarlison's goal off a scramble on a corner and it was honors even as they say.  Big shout out to Dubravka for excellent command of the box.  I think maybe we'll see a back three for awhile.

The bigger news is that Ashley is claiming the club is close to being sold.  Arthur Blank, owner of Atlanta Falcons but more importantly owner of Atlanta United FC, has been linked with Newcastle.  But his people deny it.  Ooh boy, we've been down this road before.  Frankly, can't really believe anything reported about a possible sale.

Miguel Almiron - trading red and black for white and black?

We're also being linked with Atlanta midfielder Miguel Almiron.  Supposedly Newcastle are one of the sides he would consider coming to England.  Makes sense - he wants to play rather than sit on the bench so a non-top six club would be logical.  But the transfer price is probably over 20m pounds so how in the world are we going to compete for him at that level?

We head into the weekend at the top of the bottom as Michael B put it - 14th in the table but closer to 20th than 13th.  Despite that, feeling a bit more optimistic - especially after the rebound performance at Everton.


Derby Doings

Arsenal-Tottenham was just wild.  Spurs looked disinterested and fell behind 0-1.  Then they got interested and went up 2-1.  Then they fell apart, allowing three unanswered goals.  Metrics at 538 suggest it was the 4-2 blow out we saw.  I was nervous when I saw Mike Dean as the referee.  To be fair, he had to make the call on Vertonghen - his arm was in a weird position and arguably swung toward the ball.  No idea why he gave the yellow to Dier - must have felt he was taunting.  The call on Son?  I did not see any contact.  Neither did Dennis.  The boys in the studio did.  It was an incredibly sloppy challenge.  Using my 15 second review limitation for VAR, the call would probably not get overturned.  Turns out not to have mattered.  A deserved win for the Gunners and they slide into 4th, still unbeaten since 8/18.

Liverpool Everton was about as good a scoreless match as you could want.  End to end play, decent scoring chances.  Of course it didn't end scoreless thanks to the strangest goal of the year on basically the last play of the match. What a cruel way to lose any match but especially a derby that looked to be heading for a draw.  Easily this week's YouTubeableMomentFiveMinutes. (Warning: includes Klopp celebration and multiple views of the goal - not recommended for Everton fans.)


Other People's Bad Days

Mark Hughes saw his Southampton side blow a two goal lead on the way to a 2-2 draw against Man United.  Then he got axed.  No Mickey D's for Fulham players as they failed to keep a clean sheet against Chelsea.  The Cardiff Wolves match was actually pretty good viewing for what the announcer called a Championship Division match in EPL wrapping; the 1-2 loss would seem to put Wolves status as a mid-table side in jeopardy.


Mid-week action

The Tuesday/Wednesday matches provided some interesting fodder.  Wolves decided maybe they do want to be mid-table and upset Chelsea 2-1 at home.  West Ham look like they too want to be mid-table, following up the win at SJP with a solid 3-1 win over Cardiff.  Brighton, who looked mediocre playing  man up on Saturday versus Huddersfield, enjoyed playing a man down, scoring two "shorthanded" goals in a 3-1 defeat of Crystal Palace.

At the top, Man City saw their average win margin drop after a close 2-1 win over Watford.  Liverpool went down 0-1 but came back for a 3-1 win over Burnley.  Spurs bounced back nicely with a 3-1 win over Southampton.  Game of the mid-week was probably Man United-Arsenal which played out with all the snarl of a derby.  The Gunners will likely be the happier side after the 2-2 draw at Old Trafford.  Mourinho may or may not be "under siege" after their third straight draw but you can now bet on who will be ousted first  - Mourinho or Theresa May.

We go into the weekend with Man City still just two points up on Liverpool.  Third through fifth is tight as Spurs lead Chelsea and Arsenal by two.  Then we have a big gap, eight points until we get to 6th place Everton.  And there is a clear mid-table right now as just five points separate 6th through 13th.   Then there's the relegation threatened portion of the table; just four points separate 14th through 20th.


MLS Final

Atlanta host Portland at 8 pm Saturday night on Fox. We are solidly in the Atlanta camp for this one.  Far and away a better regular season record.  Yeah, it's indoors and on turf but also in front of a crowd that will exceed 70,000; I thought it had to be SEC football or NASCAR to draw a crowd of that size in Georgia.  Lastly, there is the possible Atlanta-Newcastle connection so our rooting interests are firmly established.

On the EPL side, the big match of the weekend is Chelsea - Man City on Saturday at 12:30 on NBC.  Chelsea, already 10 points behind, might be out of the title hunt with a loss.  At 538, they have City as a big favorite despite the match being at Stamford Bridge.

Newcastle are the Sunday match against Wolves (11 am NBCSN).  This is just like the West Ham fixture - really should  be thinking of this as a potential three points but you never know with the Magpies.

Looking at the Saturday 10 am games, I might go with the London Derby of West Ham versus Crystal Palace but the relegation implications of Cardiff - Southampton might be an attraction.  There are two TV choices - Arsenal -Huddersfield (CNBC) and Man United-Fulham (NBCSN).  There's an early game (ugh) Bournemouth versus  Liverpool and special late Saturday match Leicester - Tottenham.   Geez, even without dvr you could do four EPL plus the MLS final on Saturday.

Also, Everton -Watford at 3 pm on Monday if you're still thirsty for more.


Coming Soon!
The 12  14 days of soccer.  All EPL sides have 4 matches between 12/21 and 1/3.  Unfortunately, I will be house-bound recovering from hip replacement surgery and will only be able to watch every match.  BFS will provide a review with its exclusive Santa rating system when it's over.

Three on the Spin

A third consecutive W for Newcastle, some interesting EPL stuff and so-so first legs of the MLS conference finals

With Dummett out due to injury, Benitez used his depth at center back to go with a back three using Ritchie and Yedlin as wingbacks.  Pretty clever and it did seem to throw Burnley off for awhile.  Though we didn't park the bus, Newcastle were certainly willing to cede the majority of possession to the Clarets.  I worried whether Ritchie might get himself caught too far forward but he acquitted himself nicely on the defensive end;  as we shall see, he wasn't so good on the other side of the ball.

Clark's deft header gave Newcastle a 2-0 lead

Newcastle were gifted an early lead courtesy of an own goal by Ben Mee (wonder if he muttered "f" Mee under his breath?).  Ciaran Clark added a second at 23 minutes and the rout was on  we spent the next 67+ minutes wondering if the Magpies would blow it.   Sure enough, at 40 minutes, a rare mistake by Dubravka brought Burnley back into the match.  And the Magpies did surrender some decent chances in the second half but continued to offer some excellent counter  atttacking of their own.  Ritchie could have put the match away but instead ended up with a top candidate for the Miss of the Season, watch this video and tell me you don't think you could have put that one away.  Joselu hit the post (hard) late in the match also.  In typical Newcastle fashion this was squeaky bum time the whole way.  Even the announcers recognized the match was up for grabs, noting at about 60 minutes with Newcastle up 2-1 that any of the three possible results seemed equally likely at that point. 

We soar one spot up in the table to 13th and are arguably one more win away from mid-table credentials.  Right now you have to say the bargain basement shopping by Benitez has paid off.  LeJeune, Lascelles and Shelvey are out with injury but Fernandez, Schar and Ki have filled in brilliantly.


Sheep in Wolves Clothing

Hair today, gone tomorrow; it's
 Fellaini in case you didn't
recognize him

Wolverhampton has certainly cooled off.  They were effectively handled at home by offensive juggernaut Huddersfield.  Two tallies from Aaron Mooy (Mooy bien?) were all the scoring in the Terriers 2-0 win.  Crystal Palace again played well enough to deserve a result and this time actually got one, nicking a 0-0 draw from Man United at Old Trafford no less.  Decent watch even without goals plus we got to see Fellaini's new haircut (see right); Dennis wondered how it was possible but said "somehow it looks worse."  This weekend it was Arsenal in the sea green kit that looked like my high school tux and for awhile it looked like it did not suit them.  Bournemouth gave them fits but the Gunners finally prevailed 2-1 on a 67th minute tally from Aubameyang.  Man City ate up West Ham 4-0 and Liverpool pretty much did the same to Watford at 3-0.

The anticipated match of the weekend ended up maybe not so great for the neutrals but Spurs fans ate it up.   Early goals by Dele and Kane had Tottenham up 2-0 before Chelsea knew what was happening.  Watching with Michael B, he was partly enjoying the good run but fearing that they would somehow blow it.  Not to worry, as Son's individual effort put the match away at 54 minutes; we make it this week's YouTubeableMoment.  Giroud got a late goal for Chelsea but the 3-1 final doesn't overstate how much Spurs owned this match.

So 13 weeks into the season we have a top of the table that looks almost normal:

Man City      35
Liverpool     33
Tottenham    30
Chelsea        28
Arsenal        27
Everton        22
Man United 21

The bottom remains incredibly tight with just four points separating 13th through 20th.


MLS Playoffs

The first legs of the Conference finals were mildly underwhelming, at least for the neutral.  I would imagine Atlanta fans are thrilled that their team will take a 3-0 back to Harrison NJ for the second leg against the Red Bulls.  Taylor Twellman may have exaggerated but only slightly - that third goal is probably a killer.  Hard to say who got the advantage with the 0-0 draw at Portland.  Sporting KC comes home with the score level but Portland can gain the upper hand with just one road goal.  Mildly disappointed that the Supporters Shield winning Red Bulls are headed out as I like to see the best team from the regular season do well but it's hard not to like Atlanta with the packed stadium.  Yeah, even if it is indoors and on artificial turf.

The second legs are going on as I speak write but I'll be watching them on dvr.


Double Derby  (actually Triple Derby)

A fun Sunday ahead.  The North London Derby is at 9:05 with Arsenal hosting Tottenham and the Merseyside Derby right afterwards at  11:15 with Liverpool hosting Everton at Anfield.  Both are on NBCSN.

By the time you get this, the first match of the weekend will be underway.  If you're interested, Cardiff City are hosting Wolves at 3 pm on Friday on NBCSN.  Maybe stream at work?  No early match Saturday (there was much rejoicing).  The 10 am matches probably aren't going to wow anybody.  The TV game is Man City-Bournmouth and figure the Citizens are a field goal favorite there.  I'll be taking in Newcastle-West Ham at St. James' Park on NBC Gold.  Starting to get some confidence about the Magpies, which could be dangerous.  There is every reason to think they can win this but, hey, it's Newcastle.  The other 10 am games, all on NBC Gold are Huddersfield-Brighton, Leicester-Watford, and Crystal Palace-Burnley;  those would be of interest mostly to those of us in the bottom half of the table worried about relegation.  If you want to get loose before the derbies, you can get up at 7 am to watch Chelsea-Fulham (West London Derby); the Blues may take last week's drubbing out on Fulham and new manager Claudio Ranieri.  But if I were Chelsea, I'd be careful because Ranieri has promised his players a trip to McDonald's if they keep a clean sheet; clearly that qualifies as this week's U12 moment. What, no Rita's wooder ice?

Post scripts:
Forgot to mention that Bob K's beloved Sevilla ( aka  Los Hispalenses [The Ones from Hispalis], Sevillistas,
Los Rojiblancos [The White and Reds], Los Nervionenses [The Ones from Nervión], Los Filigranas [The Filigrees],
El Grande de Andalucía [The Great of Andalusia]) top La Liga table after 13 matches.

MLS results - Atlanta-Red Bulls was an unstirring 0-1 win for the Red Bulls with the goal coming very late. That means a 3-1 win on aggregate for Atlanta.  Atlanta should be praising VAR to the high heavens right now.  Red Bulls had a goal overturned in Atlanta on Sunday and another one taken back Thursday night.  If those goals had stood, the aggregate would have been 3-3 with Red Bulls advancing on the away goal.  We note our view that in both cases, the VAR decision was correct and handled very quickly.

SKC and Portland was a marvelous match.  SKC scored first to take the aggregate lead but Portland scored the next two for what seemed an insurmountable lead.  But SKC added a second at 81 minutes, setting up a chaotic finish, which included 9+ minutes of stoppage time. The Timbers added a late goal in that stoppage time to seal a 3-2 win.  Good stuff.

Second Helpings

Now we give thanks that the international break is over...

Italy celebrates a goal vs Poland with Lasagna

The USMNT offered up another lackluster performance, losing to Italy 0-1 on a stoppage time goal.  They played like a team waiting for a replacement to their interim manager.  The highlight had to be that the Italian side featured Lasagna.  I am not making this up.  Italy played a striker by the name of Kevin Lasagna. 

In truth, the new League of Nations Nations League made the fall international breaks somewhat more interesting, at least for Europe.  Details can be had here.  Basically, it replaced friendlies with matches that had some consequences.  Performance in the Nations League affects the qualifying process for the 2020 European Championships by setting seeds for the draw and offering some additional paths to the Euro Final.  Supporters like the replacement of friendlies with some more meaningful contests.  Critics fear it could water down the championships by allowing weaker teams into the final.  I saw a few matches, including England-Croatia and Switzerland-Belgium this past weekend; they were highly watchable contests so put me down as a supporter.


Union Shakeup?

No real surprises so far, except maybe that it wasn't "curtains," as Jeff H suggested it might be, for the Union manager.  Jim Curtin was retained by new sporting director Ernst Tanner.  This will not be a universally popular move among Union fans.  I'm already on record as supporting the decision.  He wasn't perfect (why did it take so long to figure out we were better with both Burke and Sapong in the line up?) but he made the playoffs with a mediocre squad.  I can remember many times discussing with Jeff H what exactly were Curtin's substitution options late in a match; other than bringing in Ilsinho, not much.  High salary pick up David Accam was ineffective, though injury might explain that.  We got two goals for $623,000 from Jay Simpson.  There were times when Bedoya probably should have been substituted but that's rarely going to happen with your captain, designated player and second highest paid player. 

As discussed in detail here, Tanner has picked up the options on Elliott, Mbaizo, Rosenberry, Ilsinho, Jones, Picault and Burke.  Already guaranteed for next year are Blake, McKenzie, Real, Trusty, Aaronson, Accam, Bedoya, Fontana, Medunjanin and Sapong.  Players dropped were Fabinho, Simpson, Marquez, Herbers, Epps, Yaro and Najem; Fabinho might be back but at a lower salary.  The futures of Gaddis and Creavalle are up in the air.

Most troubling is the likelihood that Dockal and his 18 assists are gone.  So instead of trying to build on last year, the highest priority of the off-season has to be finding a replacement.  And as you might note, much of the roster is already set, though a few key pick ups (striker?) would still be possible.  To improve on last year's record, they will need to find a viable replacement for Dockal and a serious scoring threat.  Neither will come cheap.


MLS Playoffs

Two pretty good conference final series.  In the East, we have Supporters Shield winner Red Bulls against Atlanta.  These were far and away the two best sides in the regular season.  The first leg is at 5 pm Sunday (ESPN) in Atlanta with the second leg back in Harrison on Thursday night at 7:30 (FS1).  The Western final features Sporting KC versus Portland.  SKC were the regular season leaders in the West with Portland fifth.  First leg is Sunday in Portland 7:30 pm (FS1) and the return leg is Thursday at 9:30 (ESPN).  If you are dvring, don't forget to add 60 (or even 90) minutes for the second legs as they will play extra time and go to PKs to determine a winner.


Three Days of EPL

Newcastle were surging before the break but now have to travel to Turf Moor to face Burnley.  That place used to be a venue where visiting goals went to die but the Clarets have surrendered 10 goals in five home matches so it's not quite the fortress it used to be.  I'm preparing myself for a 0-0 draw that could set the cause of soccer back a year or two.  If you must watch, it's at 3 pm on Monday on NBCSN.

Some better choices on Saturday.  The TV match (10 am NBCSN) is West Ham vs Man City.  I'd be more inclined to head to NBC Gold for either Man United - Crystal Palace, Watford-Liverpool or maybe Brighton - Leicester City.  The NBC 12:30 match looks great - a real test for Spurs as they host Chelsea.  A potential relegation special only available on NBC Gold at 10 is Fulham vs Southampton.  Not expecting Everton to struggle against Cardiff City.

The Sunday games aren't great but will have to do.  Maybe Bournemouth, wearing their proper colors, can make some trouble for Arsenal (8:30 NBCSN), who are coming off three straight draws; on the other hand, Arsenal haven't lost since August 18th so maybe not.  The 11 am game (also NBCSN) is Wolverhampton -Huddersfield.  Not necessarily the greatest but we try not to miss any chance to watch Wolves.

Enjoy those turkey sandwiches.

Sending Goals to Newcastle

A veritable scoring outburst from the Magpies plus some decent MLS playoffs.  Got a few leaves raked as well so a good weekend.

Not sure what color that is but it is definitely not cherry red

Maybe Bournemouth didn't know who they were.  The Cherries came out in these sea green kits that reminded me of the tuxedo I wore to my high school prom.  Newcastle were more than happy to take advantage of the confusion.  Despite continued sloppiness in possession, the Magpies were clearly the better side and got two goals from Rondon as their reward.  The second came on a beautiful cross from Kenedy and is this week's YouTubeableMoment. Note that the ball to Kenedy came from Ki.

Oh crap, not the dreaded two goal lead.  Memories were still fresh from the collapse at Manchester United.  Sure enough, Bournemouth got one back in first half stoppage time.  So the second half was a nailbiter.  To their credit, Newcastle did not retreat into a defensive shell.  I was a little surprised to see Benitez sub Atsu for Diame but it worked out great.  Atsu's pace gave the Magpies some decent possession down the right wing that not only relieved some pressure but also generated some decent scoring chances.  Overall, a really big win that left me wishing I was Quayside to take in the atmosphere.

New dilemmas - Ki and Schar have done well for Shelvey and Lascelles.  What does Benitez do when the latter two are available again.  Can you lose your starting job due to injury?  Well, Shelvey wasn't exactly shining when he went down so I could see Ki getting an extended run.  Lascelles was doing okay so that's more like we can be happy there was no fall off when Schar went in but that's not the same as outperforming the injured player you replaced.  I'd put Lascelles back in.  With Florian LeJuene making a rapid recovery from ACL injury, we could have some issues at center back come January.  Lascelles, Fernandez, Schar, Clark, Lejuene would all be competing for playing time.  At least this is a good dilemma to be facing as we sit 14th in the table heading into the international break.


Ups and Downs

Remembering Vichai at Leicester
Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

The weekend opener of Cardiff City -Brighton was much more interesting than expected, possibly due to the possibly unfair red card picked up by the Seagulls Dale Stephens.  Cardiff stole all three points with a goal in the 90th minute.  I did not watch the Leicester - Burnley match but was able to catch the touching post-game ceremony honoring the memory of  Leicester owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who died in a helicopter crash.  His son walked the perimeter of the field, acknowledging the fans tributes to his dad. 

Tottenham - Crystal Palace was exactly what we've come to expect from these sides lately.  Spurs did just barely enough to get a 1-0 win while Palace did well enough but still couldn't come away with a result.  Chelsea - Everton came off like a derby.  At half time there were more yellow cards (5) than scoring chances (0?).  The second half was good end-to-end action but ended the match ended 0-0.

I skipped Liverpool - Fulham, which looked like a good choice as the Reds looked the easy 2-0 winner.  Afterwards, Fulham announced that Claudio Ranieri (ex of Leicester) would be their new manager.  Have to say it was a middling Manchester derby.  An early City goal suggested blow out but the first half ended 1-0.  A second goal early in the second half goal added to the sense that a rout was coming but United came back with a goal (though not from run of play) to keep it interesting for a little while before City's third goal put it away.  Man City just clearly better at this point.  Maybe should have watched Arsenal-Wolves 1-1 draw.  Gunners fans must not be too happy.

Almost a third of the way through the season and three sides remain unbeaten.  Man City stays at the top with 32 points, with Liverpool two back.  Chelsea drops off a little after the draw to Everton but are just two behind Liverpool.  Tottenham, not really playing well and dealing with some key injuries, somehow have 27 points, one back of Chelsea.  Arsenal round out the top tier with 24 points.  Arguably there is some semblance of a mid-table that includes Bournemouth, Watford, Man United (ouch), Everton, Leicester and maybe Wolves; depending on how charitable you feel, you might include Brighton and West Ham in that list.  I'm not convinced those two won't find themselves in the relegation fight but right now they are clear.  Certainly from Newcastle (14th) on down, we're looking at candidates to go down. 

 
MLS Playoffs

Checked in on Sporting KC Real Salt Lake and saw SKC up 2-0 so tuned out.  Checked back in and it was 2-1 but SKC was about to take a PK.  Two goal lead restored.  Except then RSL got another shortly thereafter, leaving them a goal down but with the away goal differential.  There followed some hairy scrambles in front of the SKC goal and several times it looked like SKC was going to let this one slip away.  A late stoppage time goal ended that threat but it was a wild contest.

Atlanta NYCFC was a very nasty affair.  Way too much hacking - mostly from NYCFC - for my tastes.  Valentin Castellanos, NYCFC midfielder, earned himself a spot in my Hall of Shame for his tangle with Brad Guzan.  The two had some pointed words and ended up face-to-face.  Castellanos made a half-hearted head butt and then collapsed on the ground like Guzan had instigated the contact.  Really low class.  The commentator (I think it was Taylor Twellman) said he was so disgusted he threw up on his mic.  I was more than happy to see Atlanta advance here.  Note there were 70,000 fans in attendance.  You'd think it was NASCAR or something.

The Red Bulls took their sweet time to put away Columbus.  Recall they were down 0-1 coming to Harrison New Jersey.  The early goal was helpful but that only meant a draw on aggregate and a Columbus goal would have been devastating.  They took until the 73rd minute to get a second.  And even that wasn't any guarantee, as a Columbus goal would still have been enough to send the Crew into the conference final.  Fortunately, the Pink Cows got one more in the 76th minute so things got a little less tense.  I'm sort of okay with the Red Bulls anyway but I will almost always root for the Supporters Shield winner to do well in the playoffs.


International Break

Figures that just as Newcastle get hot, they get a week off.  Watched/napped through the US 0-3 loss to England on Thursday.  They (the USMNT) play Italy Tuesday at 2:45.  Don't want to put too much weight on friendlies but the US look like a team struggling to figure out who they are.

Back late next week to review EPL and MLS conference finals.

Off the Mark

Newcastle finally get a W.

Story line at St. James' really should be the number of chances that Watford failed to convert, especially in first half.  Could have been 0-2 or 0-3.  Better in second half.  Benitez subs look like genius but were in fact driven mostly by injuries.  But Ki (in for Shelvey who was clearly having a bad day anyway even before the injury) put in a good free kick that Perez (who started the day on the bench, for good reason based on recent form) redirected for the game's only goal.  Because of the significance, we'll make it this week's YouTubeableMoment (chosen to show fan reaction as opposed to the goal itself).

As I expected, the 538 metrics suggested that Watford should have come away with the three points here.  We're not complaining, but Newcastle were lucky.  We vault out of the relegation zone to 17th but this squad still must be strengthened.

As we had hoped, the weekend started out with a very competitive match between Bournemouth and Man United.  Eddie Howe will likely feel the Cherries could have come away with at least a point but Rashford's stoppage time goal put them on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline.  The NBC featured match was also quality.  Lacazette's late tally gave Arsenal a 1-1 draw with Liverpool.  In truth, it felt like there were more goals.  Wait, there were.  But it was called back, incorrectly, for offside.  As the picture shows, Sane was clearly behind the ball when Firmino took his shot.  That it rebounded off the woodwork to Sane does not change the call.  Looking at the picture, you can see that the AR was maybe not in the best position to see it.  Score one maybe for VAR?


Then we had the rare late Saturday afternoon match featuring Wolves and Spurs.  Oops, second goal incorrectly disallowed for offside.  AR is well-positioned but still raised the flag.  Score two for VAR?  This was another one of those frustrating efforts from Spurs.  Took forever for them to get a comfortable cushion, which they promptly threw away with two PKs in nine minutes.  They still hung on for a 3-2 win which left Wolves personnel and fans stewing about that offside call.  Yeah, but maybe letting in three goals had something to do with it too.

Sunday featured another rare event, the joined-in-progress double header.  Well, with Man City clearly not challenged by Southampton, I went to NBC Gold to see Chelsea-Crystal Palace in its entirety.  A good choice.  The Eagles were competitive and pulled level with a nice goal from Andros Townsend.  Alas, quality will out and Chelsea got two more to pull away for a 3-1 win.

I dvered but never got to the Huddersfield Fulham match.  A 1-0 game decided with an own goal, maybe that was a good thing.

So at weekend's end, there are still three unbeaten sides.  Man City top the table with 29 points and average margin of victory of 2.6 goals.  Chelsea and Liverpool are in pursuit with 27 points.  Tottenham slipped into 4th but lead Arsenal by just one point.  Despite the loss to Man United, interloper Bournemouth still occupy 6th place.


MLS Playoffs

I saw all or parts of each of the first leg of the conference semi-finals.  My lasting memory is damn, that Yankee Stadium pitch is small.  Red Bulls are probably fine despite 0-1 loss at Columbus.  NYCFC however are probably in real trouble after losing 0-1 to Atlanta at home.  In the West, pundits are saying Portland are looking pretty heading to Seattle up 2-1 with the Sounders carrying key injuries.  Really?  Seattle got an away goal and should be favored to win at home (54% at 538).  Sporting KC got a 1-1 draw at Salt Lake so they should be favored to advance with a result at home.

Because of scheduling issues, the second leg of Seattle-Portland was Thursday night at 10:30.  Worth it for those who stayed up.  First half was scoreless but feisty enough, definitely a fair representation of perhaps the best derby in the US.  At 68 minutes, Seattle scored to make the aggregate 2-2 and give them the advantage because of the away goal.  Ten minutes later Portland scored to go back on top.  In stoppage time, Seattle scored again to level the aggregate score at 3-3 and since both sides had an away goal, we went to extra time.  Often the extra time can be a cagey affair with neither side willing to risk giving up a goal.  Not here.  Portland scored three minutes in.  Seattle pressed and were rewarded with a PK at 97 minutes.  Intense to the final whistle but extra time ended at 4-4.  On to PKs and Portland outshot Seattle 4 to 2 so the Timbers advance.  Good recap here.  Hope the other three second legs are this good.


Talking Union

The process of retooling for next year is about to begin. Pretty good piece from Inky reporter Jonathan Tannenwald here.  I divided the Union roster into those likely to get better, those likely not to get better. The second list is longer than you would think and includes starters like Gaddis, Bedoya, Sapong, Dockal and Medunjanin, not to mention Ilsinho.  Tannenwald's logic about Dockal is interesting but recall how the Union struggled until he settled into his role.  Are we dooming ourselves to another slow start if we change again?  He's also much more impressed with Bedoya than I am.  The information on Accam is news to me.  If he was hampered with a hernia all season, I'd argue it's too soon to give up on him.  I remember how Jamaal Lascelles looked really mediocre in the 2016-17 season for Newcastle and only later on did we find out he was hampered with the same problem.

If Dockal is too expensive and doesn't stay, I'd say filling that playmaker role is the number one priority, even above finding a high quality striker.  Offensively, we were equal 5th lowest in goal scored so an upgrade at striker is probably necessary too.  Though the team seemed shockingly susceptible to counter attacks, the Union did have equal 9th fewest goals allowed across both conferences; given that the center back pairing for most of the season averaged 19.5 years old, that seems pretty good.   But overall, we should expect a lot of roster turnover.


Soccer Parents

From Don P, we get this rather unique approach to coaching.   Maybe someday we'll find out that this kid becomes the England national team keeper.


Early to Rise

Newcastle get a second straight home match with a tough opponent in Bournemouth.  I'm surprised that 538 has the Magpies at 41% for the win and 28% for a draw.  The Cherries are a good squad, as we saw in their performance last week against Man United.  I'd take the draw in a heartbeat.

With America's flip back to EST, the 7:30 and 7 am matches are back.  Going to struggle to get up in time to see Cardiff at Brighton at 7:30 on Saturday.  I'll be doing the Newcastle-Bournemouth match on NBC Gold at 10.  Leicester-Burnley is the 10 am TV game or you can go to NBCGold for Huddersfield - West Ham or Southampton - Watford.  Yikes, maybe Newcastle-Bournemouth is your best bet.  A London derby - Crystal Palace vs Tottenham - is the NBC feature match at 12:30.

Not sure I'll make the 7 am start for Liverpool - Fulham; the Reds may be in an angry mood after the draw to Arsenal and a midweek Champions League loss so this might be tough for the Cottagers.  More likely to be ready to watch Chelsea host Everton at 9:15.  Definitely will tune in for the Manchester derby at 11:30; this time it's at the Etihad.  If derbies bore you, go for Arsenal Wolves which kicks off at the same time.

After finishing that triple header, you can go for the MLS tripleheader at 3 (Sporting KC - Real Salt Lake), 5:30 (Atlanta - NYCFC) and 7:30 (Red Bulls - Columbus).  If I could only pick one, I'd probably choose the last one.  Sporting KC and Atlanta are already well-positioned going home whereas the Red Bulls clearly have some work to do.

I know those leaves aren't going to rake themselves but they're also not going anywhere either.

New York, New York

Musical accompaniment courtesy ol' Blue Eyes

Two trips in four days to the Big Apple and the Union season was done. On Sunday a DVR mishap meant that I missed the first 15 minutes of the match so when I started watching, NYCFC were already up 2-1.  Things did not get better from there on the way to a 1-3 loss at Yankee Stadium.  Besides the loss itself there was a dust -up between teammates Dockal and Burke; whatever went on, manager Jim Curtin looked to take Dockal's side and Burke found himself on the bench for the second half.  He did not take it well as the camera showed him with tears in his eyes on the bench.  Burke not Curtin.

With the loss 3rd place went out the window.  Soon enough, with DC getting a tie at Chicago and Columbus beating Minnesota, 4th and 5th were out the window too.  So we finished 6th and as a reward got NYCFC in a one game first round playoff match right back at Yankee Stadium (soccer's Little Shop of Horrors) Wednesday night. Well, we could hope that the Union learned a few things about playing on that smaller pitch.

But first a word about that smaller pitch.  According to Wikipedia, the dimensions at Yankee Stadium are 70 by 110, or 7700 square yards.  The next smallest field in MLS is in Portland at 110 x 75 or 8250 square yards.  That is about 7% bigger.  Many of the fields are 120 x 75 or 9000 square yards - about 14% bigger than Yankee Stadium.  Looking at the markings on the field at Yankee Stadium, I guess it's close to 70 yards but might be a little short.  The goal is 8 yards wide.  From the goal to the edge of the penalty area is 18 yards on either side.  So there's 44 yards.  On the goal line you can see the hash mark that identifies 10 yards from the corner circle, which is one yard itself.  That gets us another 11 yards on either side so we're up to 66 yards wide.  Does the distance between that hash mark and the edge of the penalty area look like two yards?  Maybe but it could be less, which would put the width at less than 70 yards.

Watching the match the field definitely plays small.  Which IMHO favors a team with better soccer players over a team of better athletes.  I base this a lot on personal experience.  Man, give me lots of room to run, which I could do, to cover up my lack of touch.  Put me under pressure and there goes what little ball skills I had plus it encouraged panicked decision-making.  Yes, these guys are professionals but the same general principals apply - less room for ball handling mistakes and less time to make decisions.  And NYCFC just look to have better players than the Union.

I guess we can't "make there" and won't "make it
anywhere," at least this year. AP Images

The DVR worked fine for Wednesday's match but otherwise the playoff game looked pretty much like a repeat. They looked maybe a little better but it was still a 1-3 result.

Jeff H asks if the end-of-season thud means "curtains" for the Union manager.  I think that would be harsh.  The last few weeks provided a healthy dose of reality; the team improved but this was not a great leap forward.  But to sack Curtin would be saying he didn't get enough out of the players he has.  Maybe on the margins, he could have made some better decisions but how much are the Union's shortfalls driven by the roster as opposed to managing the players?  I think it's mostly the latter.


Uninspired

That's how Dennis described the 0-0 draw between Southampton and Newcastle.  Can't argue with him except to ask what the hell was he doing watching that match anyway.  Totally forgettable but still worth a point and the Magpies shoot up the table to 19th.  If things continue, we could be facing the prospect of a renewed Tyne Wear Derby, a rather dismaying concept to the Toon Army.

Frankly the whole weekend seemed remarkably forgettable.  I saw Liverpool take forever to put away Cardiff City 4-1.  All I remember of West Ham - Leicester was a late goal from Ndidi to help the Foxes snatch 1-1 draw and the awful ankle injury to Amartey (no video - I'm too squeamish for stuff like that).  I did enjoy Crystal Palace's stubborn performance versus Arsenal at Selhurst Park.  The Gunners two goals from the run of play were countered by two PKs earned by Wilfried Zaha and converted by Milavivis Milovojic Miloandotis Luka. 

The Tottenham - Man City match was happily a closely contested affair.  For the quasi-neutral (pulling for Spurs so that Man City doesn't get too far ahead again but mostly wanted an interesting match) there was much to enjoy.  Michael B, with whom I watched, was less than thrilled.


Daylight Savings Ends

Which means we can get an extra hour of viewing?

We'll be on NBCGold once again for Newcastle-Watford.  The people at 538 have this as three points for the Magpies.  I don't see it but do take some comfort that the Hornets could only get a draw on the road to Fulham.   You can get the morning started at the civilized hour of 8:30 with Bournemouth hosting Man United.  Off of recent form, maybe this isn't the blow out you might normally expect.

The 11 am slate, including Newcastle-Watford, probably won't get anybody's heart racing.  The TV match is Cardiff-Leicester; with NBC Gold you could opt for Everton-Brighton or West Ham - Burnley.  See what I mean?

The NBC feature match has more to offer as Liverpool travel to London to face Arsenal.  The Gunners have sort of quietly gotten themselves into 4th and will be looking to make a statement here.  Liverpool are still tied with Man City on points at the top of the table.  Looking for something interesting here.  Bonus game late Saturday afternoon is Wolverhampton-Spurs.  Wolves have been a bit off lately after getting me exciting about their prospects.  Spurs will be looking to rebound after the tough loss to Man City; will definitely check this one out.

If I am to believe the Fios Program Guide, Sunday will see Man City taking on Southampton starting at 9:55, with Chelsea -Crystal Palace joined in progress after the first match.  Bizarre.  Monday has a relegation special - Huddersfield -Fulham; probably check that out if only to scout Newcastle's competition.

To the full EPL schedule we add the MLS Conference semi-finals quadruple header on Saturday [correction Sunday].  Viewing starts at 3 pm with Columbus-Red Bulls, then proceeds to Portland-Seattle at 5:30, NYCFC-Atlanta at 7:30 ending with Real Salt Lake - Sporting KC at 10.  I'd be most interested in the NYCFC match; Atlanta are really good but NYCFC seem to have exited their funk and generally do not lose at Yankee Stadium.

Looks like we're going to need that extra hour.

Permission To Panic?

Michael B still says no but after Newcastle's home defeat to Brighton, I'm ready.

Newcastle are proving they are quite diverse.  They can lose with 30% possession and one shot or with 68% possession and 27 shots, like they did on Saturday.  Six of them were on target and I recall at least three clear cut chances.  So it wasn't a matter of creating opportunities, it was a lack of quality in finishing.  Meaningless Annoying fact of the week: Newcastle are the fourth team to lose their first five home matches in top flight English football history.

Both of my potential heir apparents (heirs apparent?) should Newcastle go down - Wolverhampton and Crystal Palace -  lost as well.  Didn't see Wolves match but they fell behind Watford early and often at home and went down 0-2.  I did see the Palace match.  They maybe had the better of play, certainly in the first half but were undone by two late goals at Goodison Park.  That match had some of the nastiness you'd expect in a derby which this was not.

Spurs continue to underwhelm on the pitch but look great in the table.  Their latest effort was an unspectacular 1-0 defeat of West Ham at Olympic Stadium or whatever they call that place now.  I did catch Arsenal-Leicester on Monday; after a slow start, the Gunners poured it on for a 3-1 win and looked maybe at their best this season.  The win put Arsenal ahead of Spurs (on goal differential) for the first time in awhile.  Man City feasted on another lower table side, putting up 5 against Burnley.  Liverpool-Huddersfield wasn't nearly as bad as I predicted and figure that Sir Patrick Stewart probably stayed for the whole thing, if he was there.  The Terriers gave as good as they got and even hit the post before losing 0-1.


But He Said He Was Sarri

The Special One responds to the question "How many years
do you usually stay with a team?"

Well this marquee match certainly did not disappoint, and the extra curricular stuff just added to the fun.  Chelsea went up early on a nifty header from Rudiger but the Red Devils looked lively enough.  Anthony Martial then laid down the law so to speak with goals in the 55th and 73rd minutes.  Man United looked like they were going to leave Stamford Bridge with all three points.  Except Ross Barkley helped Chelsea snatch a point back as he put away a loose ball in the 96th minute.  To be fair, the sequence included a shot off the post and a nice save from DeGea so it wasn't like the Blues hadn't earned the goal.

Great stuff but things weren't quite finished. In the celebration, Chelsea Assistant Manager Marco Ianni raced past the Man United bench and twice taunted Mourinho.  I don't think the Special One noticed the first taunt but Ianni got his attention the second time.  Which set off a display of what Mackenzie would call "aggressive male posturing."  Nice highlights of the whole match can be found here;  I'd watch the whole thing but skip to about 2:20 if you want to see the nonsense.  As Mourinho left the pitch he raised three fingers to the crowd and pointed to the pitch to remind everybody that he won three championships here.  I offer a second interpretation in the picture caption.

So the weekend concludes with three sides still unbeaten, which is this week's second Meaningless Annoying fact of the week: this is the third time in the history of English top flight football that three teams are undefeated after nine matches.  Chelsea have a second draw so they're two points back and Man City, which usually win by a touchdown, lead Liverpool on goal differential.


Help From Florida

I was at Talen Energy Sunday with Ze Roberto, Jeff K and Alex S to see the Union take on the Red Bulls.  Our guys seemed to be the better side going against the wind in the first half but didn't grab a goal.  The Red Bulls almost seemed to be happy to just try the occasional long ball to Bradley Wright-Phillips while conceding possession and space, at least on the wings.  But none of it resulted in anything resembling a serious scoring chance; well maybe there was one involving a loose ball at about the six but nobody got a foot on it.

Then VAR, a frequent savior for the Union this year, came back to bite us in the ass.  During a Red Bull corner, several players on the field and every substitute warming up on the goal line shouted hand ball.  After looking at the replay - and only spending about 10 seconds doing so - Ted Unkel came back with a guilty verdict.  Bedoya basically parried the ball with both hands like a keeper might.  I suppose you could argue he was protecting his face but this was clearly hand to ball so I'm not going to complain.  The converted PK was the sum total of scoring for the day.

Following the action elsewhere on line, we could see that DC United was beating NYCFC and that Columbus Orlando looked headed for a draw.  DC were never headed but things took an interesting turn in Florida. Frequent Union tormentor Sacha Kljestan converted a PK in the 96 minute to allow Orlando to steal the win for the Lions.  So we retain 4th place and still have a shot at 3rd.


The Referee Did Not Cost You the Match, Parts Infinity Plus One, Two and Three

Things did not start out well on this front as I got a note from one of our teenage referees reporting some unsavory behavior by parents at a U10 match.  Geebus Christmas, we don't even keep the final scores in those matches.

In the Newcastle loss, replays pretty clearly show that the corner that led to the Brighton goal should have been a goal kick.  Very hard for the referee to see it but the AR probably should have been able to get it right.  Fair enough, but the whole thing was set up by an awful pass by Muto.  Without his ill-advised pass, the play never gets near the Newcastle goal in the first place and there's no call to mess up.

Maybe the most depressing piece came after the Union match.  Before the hand ball call described above, Ted Unkel had not endeared himself to the Talen Energy crowd.  You might say they were screaming Unkel.  And honestly, I was puzzled by a few of his calls and totally annoyed when he wouldn't show a yellow when a Red Bull player clearly delayed the taking of a free kick by standing in front the Union player.  But nothing all that awful.  And of course, the hand ball call that incensed the crowd was probably correct.  So we're heading back to the parking lot and this 8 year-old is  chanting about how the referee cost us the game.  Sorry kid.  He didn't even get the call wrong.  But beyond that, the Union lost because they could not turn possession into any kind of meaningful attack, not because of the referee.  Sigh.


Hey Old Guys

As if we needed a reminder that some of us aren't so young anymore, we were also blessed with news Fulham's Ryan Sessegnon became the first player born after 1999 to score in the Premier League.  The pedant in me must remind everyone that Sessegnon (born in May 2000) is not the first player born in the 21st century to score (as some are saying) because, as everybody knows, the 21st century started in 2001, not 2000.  See, there was no year 0...oh never mind.


Good News From [Virtual] Chester

After the weekend's defeats on both sides of the pond, I was reluctant to open up Football Manager even though we were heavy favorites against West Brom.  Fortunately, Chester continued their solid streak with a 7-1 win over the Baggies.  The best win on this streak came at Stamford Bridge.  Down 1-2 at 80 minutes I was beginning to accept that we might not win.  I did switch the formation to a more attacking 4-3-1-2 (from 4-1-3-2) and we grabbed the equalizer in the 85th minute.  More than content to leave with a draw, I switched to a 4-4-2, with an eye towards protecting the point.  I was stunned when we put the game winner in just two minutes later.  We too are undefeated after nine matches.


Union Fate Up in the Air

All the MLS sides play their final match at 4:30 on Sunday.  Three matches are of concern to us.  The easiest scenario is for the Union to beat NYCFC at Yankee Stadium; that nets us third place and home field for the knockout round.  A draw could be enough to grab 4th but could also leave us in 5th.    A loss could leave us 4th but could drop us to 5th or 6th. 

DC is finally sent back on the road but their opponent - Chicago - certainly doesn't scare anybody.  Columbus is home to Minnesota so it's hard to think the Crew aren't going to finish with a win.  That means we need a draw to stay ahead of them.  Checking in at 538, their experts are predicting wins for NYCFC, Columbus and Chicago (really?).  If that happens, we're 5th and traveling to Columbus for the knockout round.

Kind of quiet week in the EPL.  No 7:30 Saturday match which is always appreciated here.  The 10 am matches don't really get the blood going.  Newcastle travel to Southampton, where a win or even a draw would have to be considered an upset.  The TV game is Liverpool - Cardiff, which doesn't feel like a close match.  Even the 12:30 NBC game doesn't exactly promise a lot as Leicester will be hosting West Ham.

Sunday is most noteworthy for the fact that Britain ends daylight savings time before we do so the matches are at 9:30 and 12 as opposed to the usual 8:30 and 11.  The two 9:30 matches are Burnley-Chelsea and Crystal Palace-Arsenal. Doesn't sound all that appealing.  The noon match might be better as Man United take on Everton at Old Trafford.  Monday's match at 4 pm might be the most interesting of the week.  Tottenham will host Man City.  Spurs will not be able to get away with the tepid brand of football they've been playing, but here's hoping they're up to the challenge.

Weather looks awful for Saturday morning which makes for guilt-free viewing!

At Least the Magpies Didn't Lose This Week

Okay break's over, back to work.

And bright and early too with a 7:30 Saturday am match.  At least it looks decent, with Chelsea hosting Man United.  Unless you like Relegation Specials, the 10 am fixtures may leave you a little cold.  We'll be taking in Newcastle vs Brighton at St. James' Park. Very scary fixture that one.  Every reason to expect the Magpies could/should win here but the flip side is that a loss will be quite devastating.  Watch the crowd reaction if Newcastle don't start well; things could get really ugly.

Cardiff - Fulham is another relegation level battle.  The TV game is a London derby with West Ham and Tottenham.  Spurs have been feasting on weaker sides lately and this might be another chance to get three points even if they are not at their best.  A sleeper match to check out might be Wolves-Watford but you'll have to go to NBC Gold to catch it.

The "featured" Saturday 12:30 game has Liverpool traveling to Huddersfield.  If Patrick Stewart is in the stands for that one, he may plead "beam me up" at half time given the relative recent form of those two sides.  Only one match on Sunday at 11 - Everton vs Crystal Palace and a Monday fixture as well, Arsenal - Leicester at 3 pm; both are on NBCSN.


MLS Wind Down

Not much left to the regular season.  The Union still have a chance to finish as high as third but as low as sixth.  I will be at Talen Energy Sunday at 3 pm to see the Union take on the New Jersey Red Bulls in the final home match of the season.  The experts at 538 have this as a draw and I'd be happy with that.  But note that if NYCFC were to somehow beat DC United in DC on Saturday, anything less than a win for the Union on Sunday would mean no 3rd place.

Looking at the four teams likely to be in the one-and-done round of the playoffs, I'd be very concerned if we had to place DC United away; they are 11-2-2 at home.  Columbus is no slouch at home either with 10 wins and just two losses.  But neither is as good as NYCFC, who are 11-1-4 in Yankee Stadium.  And because the Yankees crashed out of the baseball playoffs, there is no hope that the place will be occupied and the match moved to Yale University or West Bridgeport High School or something like that.  Moral of the story - the Union better make sure they nail down 4th place.

As Ze Roberto has pointed out, technically the Union control their own destiny.  Sure, all we have to do is beat the Red Bulls at home and NYCFC at Yankee Stadium.  No sweat, right?  Strategic scoreboard watching is hard too.  If DC beat NYCFC this weekend (Saturday) then we have a chance for third regardless of our result on Sunday.  But a DC win also increases the chances we'll finish behind them in 5th or 6th.  Columbus are also very likely to get four or even six points in their final two matches.  Maybe we just let it play out and be happy we're in the playoffs.

A Tale of Two 2-0 Leads

It was the best of matches, it was the worst of matches...

Some say it's all about the journey not the destination.  And that's what made Newcastle's 2-3 loss to Man United all the worse.  Would have been much easier to swallow an uncomplicated defeat at Old Trafford than what actually went down.

First Kenedy stunned the Red Devils with a goal in the 7th minute.  For the record, that was the first time this season the Magpies had a lead.  Before Man United could recover, Muto had slipped another in to give the Magpies a 2-0 lead at 10 minutes.  I can't help but note that in this space last week I had suggested that maybe Muto should be in the starting eleven.  Newcastle looked lively for the rest of the half and took the 2-0 lead into the second half.  But this is Newcastle.  The text stream with Jeff H reveals the thought process:

- At about 50 minutes (score 2-0):  Uh oh.  Newcastle look to be in prevent defense
- At about 57 minutes (score 2-0): Now they've gotten my hopes up.  The eventual 2-3 loss will be heartbreaking
- At about 75 minutes (score 2-1): Man United will score winning goal in the 8th minute of stoppage time   

The second half was almost all Man United possession and pressure, occasionally broken up by a tepid Newcastle counter.  Juan Mata started the comeback with a well-taken free kick at 70 minutes.  Shortly after my text at 75 minutes, Martial leveled the match.  And in the 90th minute (so I was way off), Alexis Sanchez headed the game winner to complete the nightmare.  To demonstrate that I am completely over it, we'll make the goal this week's YouTubeableMoment.

Journey over destination my butt.  Yes, the destination sucks but let's make the journey unbearable too.


Playoffs!

A much happier tale at Chester-on-Delaware.  With Montreal having pinned back Columbus, the Union took the field at Talen Energy knowing they'd need a win against Minnesota to clinch a playoff spot.  Goals by Burke and Bedoya at 8 and 17 minutes served notice to the Loons that this was business.  Of course, the earlier events at Old Trafford had me appropriately wary.  Then Picault added goals at 23 and 44 (the second being good enough to merit co YouTubeableMoment)and I began to relax and contemplate happier things.  Like we'd be in 4th place by night's end.  Like third place is in reach because our last match is against the current occupant, slumping NYCFC.

Pretty clearly this is the best Union season ever.  Also pretty clearly, that's not exactly a high bar.  In European terms we'll finish solidly mid-table out of the 23 MLS franchises.  We certainly don't look a threat to challenge for the Supporters Shield anytime soon.  But, there was progress.  I see some discussion about what to do with Dockal.  Failure to sign him again for next year would be an incredible step in the wrong direction.  Once he got settled, the team was clearly better with him in the No. 10 role.

Philip S points us to 538 global club rankings here which has the Union at 315.  That puts us in the lower half of the Championship Division, England's second tier.  That's actually a little higher than I expected.


Auditioning

So I took in the Crystal Palace Wolves match on NBC Gold.  Not exactly neat and tidy, as evidenced by the seven yellow cards.  But secretly, I was checking out both teams as a possible substitute for BFS EPL rooting interest next year should Newcastle, gasp, be relegated again.  Wolves usually play a little more exciting football than this but maybe were just keeping things tight to get a point or three on the road; it paid off with a 1-0 win.

Totally wrong about the level of scoring in the Liverpool - Man City match but it was still excellent to watch despite the 0-0 final.  I confess that I was pleased when Mahrez failed to convert that late PK that would have given Man City all three points.  I think that attempt is still rising.  Did you see that Jesus expected that he would take it but yielded to the more experienced Mahrez?  Also the graphic showed, I think, that Mahrez has made just 2 of 5 PKs.  What's the saying, Trust in Jesus?


Not Real

Like a proud papa, Ze Roberto (Bob K) points out that it's October 11th and tops in La Liga is not Real Madrid, Barcelona or Atletico.  Nope, it's his beloved Sevilla.  They got there with a win over Celta Vigo while Barcelona drew with Valencia and Real Madrid lost to Alaves.  One question Bob, looking on-line to get Sevilla's nickname and there are at least five possibilities, none short.  What do they go by?



Kneeling Knockaert

Doncha just hate it when the wall jumps to block a free kick and the bastard keeps the ball on the ground?  I vaguely recall somebody kneeling behind the wall to foil that tactic but had forgotten about it until I saw Brighton's Anthony Knockaert getting down on one knee against West Ham.  Couldn't find that picture but did track down another time when Knockaert did the same thing against Tottenham (right).  Guess it makes sense but wouldn't it be more effective if he laid down completely?


Crime Spree

Mercury must have been retrograde.  Or in Uranus.  Whatever the cause, EPL players were on their worst behavior this weekend.  Before the weekend's matches 215 yellow cards (about 30 a week) and 11 red cards had been shown.  By close of business Sunday, 47 more yellows had been flashed and another 3 red card ejections were in the books.  Wonder what the record is.  It will take someone with even less of a life than me to undertake that research.


He Always Was A Good Finisher

Courtesy of Jack W, we have video here of Usain Bolt's first goal as a professional.  Maybe a little lucky but good first touch to be able to get the shot off and it's on frame. 


International Break

Which means mostly these days that Newcastle will not lose this weekend.  We'll be back late next week to review the weekend schedule.  In the meantime, cut the lawn, it's getting shaggy.

Where Has All the Offense Gone?

Gone to Manchester City I guess.  Another shut out for Newcastle and the Union didn't even manage a shot on target.  At least I have virtual Chester to show me what scoring looks like.


Almost There

Blake saves the Union bacon (Photo Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports)

Despite not getting a shot on target, the Union nearly took all three points at Columbus but had to settle for a 0-0 draw.  An own goal by the Crew was wiped out by VAR, but we maintain that the Union are still a net beneficiary of the process. The real key moment came in the 90th minute when Blake made an incredible save on shot by Harrison Afful.  To give up a goal that late would have been aw... no that's too easy.  Not going there.  As we noted last week, a win would have made 4th place a real possibility. But the unexpected point on the road moves the Union very close to clinching a playoff spot.  In our nation's capital, Montreal got thrashed by DC United so now any combination of three points gained by the Union or dropped by Montreal seal the deal. 


Discontent at St. James' Park

With a 0-2 loss at home to Leicester, I think we can safely remove the label of overachievers from the Magpies.  Four goals and two points from seven matches, heading to Old Trafford.  Struggling to find a silver lining here.  Feeling very much like Will Rogers; I'm not a supporter of any EPL team, I root for Newcastle.  Fan protests about the owner, some booing of personnel decisions by Benitez, just not a pretty scene.  Is there an obvious change of strategy that would make things better?  I don't see it.  Maybe play Muto some more.  But all the moves seem like marginal changes.


Elsewhere

The featured Chelsea-Liverpool match, though low-scoring was a good watch, with a late goal from Sturridge rescuing a point for the Reds.  So Liverpool are no longer perfect and they drop to second in the table behind Man City, who dispatched Brighton 2-0.  After sarcastically dissing the Cardiff City-Burnley and Bournemouth-Crystal Palace matches last week, they turned out to be two of the more interesting contests, ending in 2-1 wins for Burnley and Bournemouth.  Sped through Spurs comfortable if unimpressive 2-0 win over Huddersfield; they really haven't been on top of their game since the big win over Man United.  Speaking of Man United, Mourinho is once again at the top of the oddsmakers list in the Sack Race after his side fell to West Ham 1-3.  Didn't see the match but rising BFS favorite Wolverhampton scored two late goals to take the measure of Southampton; Wolves sit 9th in the table.


Chester Relief

Mostly anyway.  A hiccup 1-1 draw at home to Everton but mostly solid wins since then.  Back top of the table.  At least somebody is scoring goals.


Weekend

Hoping the Union settle everything with a win at Talen Energy this Saturday night against Minnesota.  Mixed feelings about Montreal-Columbus.  A win by the Impact would improve our chances of finishing 4th but a loss or draw seals our playoff berth.  Let's be greedy and hope for an Impact win, knowing we'll take of business in Philly.  DC United, which could still catch Philly, has another of its 12 remaining home matches (it's really four, a result of a late opening of their new stadium) against Chicago.

This can't be right.  The NBC feature match at 12:30 on Saturday is a struggling Man United hosting a drowning Newcastle.  I can't imagine a result that doesn't stoke the fires of discontent in one or both camps.  A Newcastle upset win will raise the pressure on Mourinho; even a draw might cause a riot.  A Newcastle loss is sort of expected but it will just add to the mess.

There is a second straight week of #1 vs #2.  Liverpool host Man City at 11 am Sunday.  Every reason to think there might be a goal or two there.  Some interesting stuff in the Saturday 10 am matches.  I might be inclined to watch Crystal Palace - Wolves from Selhurst Park (NBC Gold).  The TV match is Spurs - Cardiff City; wouldn't expect Tottenham to have an issue there.  Leicester hosting Everton could be good too.

Don't miss the early start to the weekend with Brighton and West Ham kicking off at 3 pm Friday on NBCSN.  Hey, no 7:30 Saturday match.  Thank you schedulers. 

Yeah, I know there's been all kinds of Champions League and League Cup stuff going on but I've been swamped with work as my plan for part-time retirement has been temporarily compromised with a full calendar.



 

D'oh

Actually applies to both of the Union matches.  Simpson (Jay, not Homer) got a rare start and was the unlikely source of two goals in the "upset" win over Sporting KC on Sunday.  The first was a real nice volley off a Bedoya header; such a quality goal has to be this week's YouTubeableMoment.  The result is a bonus two points even as Jim Curtin rested many first teamers in advance of Wednesday's US Open Cup final.  It looked like a win-win.

Which made the 0-3 loss to Houston in that final a real big downer.  They fell behind 0-1 early but then looked fully capable of rallying from the deficit.  Until they surrendered a second goal in the 25th minute.  As Jeff H said, it looked like deer in the headlights from that point on.  They never really tested Houston and went meekly into the night.  A common admonition I get from my Football Manager assistants is that the team seems to think off their recent string of performances, all they have to do is show up.  Yeah, maybe the Union came in a little overconfident, looking at Houston's poor recent form.  More disappointing than the previous losses in the final because this one did seem winnable.

So we will not dwell on that but will return to the implications of the win over SKC and MLS results elsewhere.  NYCFC finally did us a favor and snuck away from Montreal with a draw; that was two points dropped for the Impact.  Updated projections now have the Union 5th at 50 points, DC 6th at 48 points and Montreal on the outside looking in with 46 points in 7th.  One more win (home against Minnesota at home 10/6?) might be enough.


Mostly Forgettable

Sakho only had half the goal to work with

My initial impression that the weekend offered a tepid fixture list was pretty much borne out with the matches I saw.  Certainly the 0-0 draw between Crystal Palace and Newcastle offered little.  Sakho's missed header in the 82nd minute let the Magpies off the hook; still wondering how he missed such a wide open shot.  The picture at left gives you an idea of just how bad it was.  I suppose we should be grateful for the point on the road.  This team is so punchless you wonder where the goals - and points - are going to come from.

Dennis and I started on Liverpool-Southampton but at 2-0 we switched to Leicester-Huddersfield in hopes of something more competitive.  I guess the 3-1 win for the Foxes was a little better but the standout moment for me was the foul throw in which the back foot came up about two feet.  Tottenham weren't great but good enough in the 2-1 win over Brighton.  I know I saw Arsenal - Everton (2-0 to the Gunners) and West Ham - Chelsea (0-0) but have no lingering memories of either.  Honestly, the Fulham - Watford 1-1 draw was the best thing I saw this weekend.  Probably should have watched Wolves take another point from a Manchester club, this time drawing Man United 1-1 at Old Trafford.

In any event, now Liverpool are the only side with a perfect record.


Try Again

Three matches of interest for the MLS East.  The Union travel to Columbus for a 7:30 match on Saturday night.  Not expecting anything here but...should the Union take all three points, they would be on track to finish 4th, which would mean the play-off game would be at Talen Energy.  Just sayin'.  Also on the calendar is DC United-Montreal.  This is a good thing as one (or both!) of the sides chasing us will drop points.  And on Sunday (1 pm ESPN), the Red Bulls host Atlanta in a match up of the two best teams in MLS.  Even with a win, the Red Bulls will be hard-pressed to pass Atlanta but a loss would surely seal their fate.

The EPL fixture list has a real attractive matchup for the featured NBC slot - Chelsea hosting Liverpool.  The visitors are ever so slight favorites according to 538 but a draw may be in the offing here.

Newcastle have a difficult assignment in Leicester (10 Saturday on NBC Gold). Though 538 favors the Magpies, I'm feeling like a draw here would be good result.  The 10 am TV games are Huddersfield-Spurs (CNBC) and Man City - Brighton (NBCSN); I might be more inclined to look in on Wolves-Southampton on NBC Gold.  Okay, I confess to scouting Wolverhampton as my team of choice next year should Newcastle not survive the season. 

Sunday's match up at 11 is Cardiff-Burnley while you can see Bournemouth-Crystal Palace Monday at 3 pm.  Try to hold down your enthusiasm.