Matt Ritchie scores game winner vs Arsenal (AFP Photo) |
here in this week's YouTubeableMoment. And another thing, Newcastle have allowed the 7th fewest goals in the EPL.
With the relegation fairly settled at this point (there is a worst case scenario in which Newcastle are relegated), we can now return to the sale of the club. Except this may have gotten more difficult. Recall that Mike Ashley spurned what he viewed as low-ball offers when the club was threatened with relegation in hopes of a better price should they survive. Smart or not, he has won that bet and the selling price must be higher, maybe as much as 350 million. Will there be offers? Will he play hard ball? Will Rafa stick around for this nonsense again? Newcastle are poised to become a top tier side but it won't happen with Ashley at the helm.
Arsene to Be Gone
BFS
It's Not You, It's Them
Yet another clever promo from NBC, this time about relegation. Best use of a Chicago song since, well probably ever. So where do we stand after the weekend and mid-week matches, not all of which went according to form.
Huddersfield and Crystal Palace put some distance between themselves and the bottom three. Didn't see the Huddersfield match but one of the English papers suggested it was tense but low quality; a late goal got the Terriers a 1-0 win over Watford and we guess the fans could care less how good the match was. Crystal Palace-Brighton was a good watch, with both sides playing like their EPL lives depended on it; the Eagles early strikes were enough to carry them to a 3-2 win. But Brighton then grabbed an unexpected point with a draw against Tottenham. Swansea's 1-1 draw with Everton was predicted but the point was still valuable. West Ham could have buried Stoke while enhancing their own chances to stay up. Instead, they were lucky to grab a point with Andy Carroll's goal in stoppage time, a cruel ending for Stoke.
Southampton defenders ponder three points lost |
Liverpool kept on rolling with a 3-0 win over Bournemouth while Tottenham's push for a top four spot temporarily stalled in a 1-3 loss to Man City and the draw with Brighton.
With our focus on the top four, I forgot to look at developments in qualification for Europa. EPL gets three spots - League Cup winner, FA Cup winner, and 5th place in the EPL. Well the League Cup went to Man City, who are already qualified for Champions League. So that means 6th place in the table will get you a place in Europa League. And the FA Cup is down to Man United, Tottenham, Chelsea or Southampton. Excluding Southampton, these sides are already going to make either Champions League or Europa. So, unless Southampton win the FA Cup, 7th in the EPL table is also going to get you a Europa spot. Right now 6th and 7th are held by Arsenal at 54 points and Burnley at 52 points. Leicester are nine back and Everton 10 back. That puts Burnley's 2-1 win over Leicester last weekend in a different light. Just for fun we'll note that Newcastle are still mathematically in the hunt as well.
Note that should Arsenal win this year's Europa League, they will compete in the Champions League next year but the EPL will not get another slot for Europa. My read of the rules also suggests that the Gunners would not bump any of the other EPL sides out of the Champions League. Clear as mud, right?
Accam's Razor
It's a philosophical construct that proposes that the simplest explanation for the Union's struggles is that the player they obtained in the off-season to boost the offense has yet to score a goal this season. That would be a bit unfair to David Accam but certainly has a grain of truth. He had at least three good chances on Friday night in the the 0-2 loss to Orlando but couldn't convert any of them. Friday the 13th indeed. The Union started brightly enough, controlling the midfield and creating plenty of chances, which went for naught. Then the inevitable quick counter from Orlando makes it 0-1 at 38 minutes and things went downhill from there. Orlando added a second right before half. Though there were no more goals, it was still a horror show as the Union really didn't generate much in the second half.
Better Viewing Through Technology
Michael B demonstrates proper use of dual monitor technology |
Back to FA Cup
This is a mixed competition weekend, with the EPL schedule reduced to accommodate the FA Cup semi final matches. In the first semi, Man United takes on Tottenham at 12:15 Saturday afternoon. The match will be at "neutral" Wembley, which of course has been Spurs home field all year. There has been some griping about this, though to his credit, I did not see Mourinho complaining. Ah, but the Special One was making news anyway, suggesting he might bench some players after the West Brom result. He's already softened that stance after a midweek 2-0 win over Bournemouth so who knows. Probably a good match to check out.
The other semi is Chelsea-Southampton at 10 am on Sunday. Is this a cruel joke or what? A week after the Saints cough up a 2-0 lead to the Blues, they get to face them again.
The abbreviated EPL schedule is littered with matches of consequence to the relegation battle and maybe the chase for the Europa League. Saturday has two matches on NBCSN - West Brom vs Liverpool (7:30) and Watford - Crystal Palace (10:00). The Hornets are probably safe but can't seem to put the issue to bed; Palace really needs a point or three to get some distance from the bottom three.
Sunday includes Arsenal hosting West Ham (8:30 NBCSN), Stoke-Burnley (8:30 NBC Gold) and Man City - Swansea (11 on NBCSN). Not the most friendly of fixtures for the relegation candidates.
The shortened schedule concludes with Everton - Newcastle at 3 pm on Monday, curiously only available on NBC Gold (update - looks like it's on NBCSN). At this point, the match may have more meaning as a tryout for England's World Cup squad. We Magpie fans have been wondering about Gareth Southgate's disinclination to include either Lascelles or Shelvey in his squad. I will grudgingly admit that Maguire and Tarkowski have better ratings than Lascelles but what about leadership? Hasn't the rap against England in WC play been that they have the talent but somehow can't get the job done on the pitch? Shelvey is a tougher call. He can be mercurial, brilliant passing one minute, stupid fouls the next. But under Benitez, I think he's gotten much steadier.
For the Union, things just get tougher. They have a road match against FC Dallas, who have yet to lose this year. Jack Elliott is listed as a probable starter so the injury he picked up last week must not have been too serious. Nicking a point here would be an excellent result.
The NBC relegation commercial is clever! Speaking of clever, my dual screen streaming was the first time I've ever been accused of being clever (I worked late that night in case my boss is reading this!). Moving on, Atleti is in danger of losing 2nd place to RMA and Spurs 10 point lead over Chelsea was cut in half. And while pessimism abounds, why am I not confident about Spurs beating Man United in the FA Cup semifinal tomorrow? Oh well, 56 days till the World Cup!!
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