A Keeper?

New Newcastle keeper Dubravka marshaling his defense

I'll admit that I didn't understand Rafa's determination to bring in a new keeper.   Darlow is young and has made some critical saves.  True, he is inconsistent and doesn't have great command of the box.  But, there were other positions that needed attention.

After watching Martin Dubravka's performance in Newcastle's 1-0 win over Manchester United, I stand corrected.  Aside from several big saves to protect the lead, Dubravka generally played with a "not in my house" attitude that seemed to spread to the rest of the team.  Sure it's only one match but he does look like, well, a keeper.

Dubravka wasn't the only hero on the field in a contest that got some added pressure when results elsewhere meant the Magpies kicked off the match in the relegation zone.  I don't recall any errors from the back line.  Jon Jo Shelvey made the passes but also the tackles without getting a yellow card or even fouling that much.  His mate Mo Diame might have played his best game for Newcastle.  Kenedy continued to generate offense and Matt Ritchie got the Newcastle goal.  Perez wasn't awful and even though Gayle didn't contribute to the offense, he blocked two possible goals late in the match.  Actually Gayle should have been awarded a PK in the first half but his reputation precedes him and Craig Pawson gave the benefit of the doubt to the defender.

A massive win, a massive three points.  Certainly not attributing altruistic motives to the Magpies but the defeat of Manchester United was a big favor to their competitors for a Champions League spot.  You're welcome.


The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship (apologies to Humphrey Bogart)

Seeing Olivier Giroud in the blue Chelsea kit was a bit jarring but he seemed to take to it well.  Check out this combination play the Frenchman worked with Eden Hazard, this week's YouTubeableMoment [new link] [better link here - go to :57 seconds](truth be told I wanted to make Ritchie's goal for Newcastle the YouTubeableMoment but felt that would be piling on for Jeff H).  West Brom had been tough up to that point but from there Chelsea went on to a relatively comfortable 3-0 win, possibly easing the pressure on Conte for the time being.

Another manager under pressure - Arsene Wenger - didn't have such a good day as Arsenal were beaten by bitter rivals Tottenham 0-1.  This was a somewhat curious affair in that the outcome was clearly in doubt until the final whistle but as John Cross from The Mirror put it:

That was one of the biggest 1-0 thrashings I've ever seen.

Sorry Gunners fans but I have to agree; Arsenal were totally outplayed.  Metrics at 538 concur.  The loss leaves Arsenal in 6th, eight points adrift of 4th and seven behind Spurs.  It is difficult to imagine Wenger would survive a second straight season in which Arsenal do not 1) finish in the top four and 2) finish ahead of Tottenham.

Rounding out life at the top, Man City disposed of Leicester 5-1 while Liverpool handled Southampton 2-0.


Stick With the Plan

Jese's Stoke teammates try to convince him that
 Charlie Adams should take the PK 

I assume that most professional clubs decide before the match who will take any PKs.  In Football Manager, I submit a list with my order of preference at the start of the match and can do nothing to change it once a PK has been called.  This makes sense to me; you don't want players standing over the ball debating who gets to take it.  That never seems to work out well.

Case in point - Stoke vs Brighton.  Both are fighting to avoid relegation.  Brighton had a 1-0 lead but Shakira Shaqiri leveled things in the 68th minute.  Then, in the 89th minute, Brighton conceded a PK when Dale Stephens pushed Stoke forward Jese in the box.  A big chance for Stoke to take all three points and maybe escape the relegation zone.  But Jese becomes agitated because he will not be the one to take the PK even though he "earned" it;  teammates tried to calm him, with limited success.  We'll never know whether Jese's outburst was responsible but the fact is, Charlie Adams missed the PK.   As Men in Blazers noted, Jese in effect iced his teammate.  What was Jese thinking?

Other action in the relegation battle saw Swansea win again, this time 1-0 over Burnley; the Swans have 14 points from their last seven matches.  Of course, it does reveal how badly they had been sucking that they are 16th and just one point out of 18th despite this streak.  Bournemouth missed a chance to put more distance between them and the relegation fight as they lost to Huddersfield 4-1.  On again, off again Everton were on this time beating Crystal Palace 3-1.  And West Ham brought Watford clearly into the relegation fight with their 2-0 win.

Things are still compact.  Three points separate 13th through 19th and just five points separate 10th through 18th.  At 538, they're predicting 37 points will be enough to keep you up.  The good news for Newcastle is that three wins would get them there.  The bad news is that two of the likeliest wins would be West Brom and Watford, the last two matches of the season.  In other words, safety, if it is coming, might come late. 


Champions League

Hey, the EPL isn't bombing out, at least not yet, in Champions League knockout play.  Man City continued to plow over opponents, handing Basel a 4-0 thrashing in Switzerland.  Liverpool was similarly rude to their hosts, pummeling Porto 5-0 on a rainy night in Portugal.  Tottenham didn't get the win but got two road goals and come back to Wembley even with Juventus.  Spurs got off to a terrible start and were down 0-2 in just nine minutes.  Harry Kane got one back before halftime but the match - and the tie - may have turned on Higuain's PK in first half stoppage time that rattled off the cross bar.  Spurs did have the run of play and Eriksen leveled things at 72 minutes.  A really good result for the English side.


FA Cup, Winter Olympics, Indoor T&F Championships

A busy weekend even if the English football calendar is limited to the eight FA Cup 6th round matches.  They are conveniently spread out over four days for maximum viewing pleasure.  You can see Chelsea -Hull City on Friday (3 pm FS2).  Saturday has Sheffield Wednesday vs Swansea (7:30 FS1) and Huddersfield - Man United (12:30 FS2).  Rochdale will host Tottenham Sunday at 11 (FS1) and the round concludes on Monday with Man City traveling to Wigan (2:55 on FS1).

Chelsea and Man United will have the first leg of their Champions League ties Tuesday and Wednesday next week.  I expect they'll be on one of the Fox channels.

With the free time offered by this limited set of fixtures, why not check out the USATF Indoor Championships on Saturday and Sunday afternoon on NBCSN.  Somebody wrote a useful preview you can check out here.  Man does not live by English football alone.  It just seems that way.