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.