"The Son Was In My Eyes"

Son lets go the winner; note Newcastle once again in
University of Pennsylvania kit

Newcastle keeper Martin Dubravka did not offer that up as an excuse but any way you look at it, he should have been able to stop Heung-Min Son's shot.  So 82 minutes of resolute defending went out the window and the Magpies lost 0-1 to Spurs.  True enough, Tottenham missed some golden opportunities, hit the post once and were denied a goal with a brilliant clearance off the line by Schar.  But Newcastle, despite a mostly defensive posture, managed some decent attacks of their own and were also denied by the post.  Really can't get too upset at either Dubravka, who has mostly been more than dependable, or the result.  It's just that they seemed so close to walking out of Wembley with a point.  Will be interesting now to see how much the style of play will change with the introduction of Almiron.  We can only hope that the Magpies offense will consist of more than the occasional counterattack.


A Paws in the Action

Yes, even BFS is resorting to cat videos.  Shortly after Wolves went up 3-1 over Everton, a black cat invaded the pitch.  The best part was that no one was willing to take on the invader so it had the run of the field for over two minutes. As I suggested, turns out, this might have been the most interesting match of the weekend.  The 3-1 win was purrfect for Wolves and while it was another disappointing result for Eveton, it wasn't a catastrophe.

All I remember of the Cardiff's 2-0 win over Bournemouth was being annoyed that a relegation foe was going to get three points.  Didn't see any of the other Saturday matches.  A 1-1 draw between Southampton and Burnley was probably a good thing for Newcastle.  Chelsea did in fact take a pound of flesh out of Huddersfield, easily winning 5-0; the Terriers are looking more doomed to relegation every week.

The Sunday games were better.  Leicester Man United was decent flowing football though there was just the one goal on a beautiful ball into the box from Pogba to Rashford.  Man City took just 46 seconds to get the jump on Arsenal, though some might say it was a rather pedestrian start given they only needed 25 seconds to score against Newcastle on Tuesday.  Koscielny got one back for Arsenal at 11 minutes but Aguero's hat trick was too much for the Gunners.  Man City's second goal is this week's YouTubeableMoment, so many fundamentally sound elements leading to Aguero's tap in.

Note that Man City's mid-week win over Everton means they are top of the table based on goal differential but have played one more match than Liverpool.  The contest was rescheduled because Man City and Chelsea will be playing in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday February 24th. 


Why Do You Even Do This?

Recall this was Ted Lasso's (Jason Sudakis as the short-tenured manager of Tottenham) reaction upon finding out that the EPL allowed ties but no playoffs.  I was reminded of that quote while reviewing the latest projections from 538, shown here. I draw your attention to the three rightmost columns in the table.  Note that there are six sides (Wolves, Watford, Leicester, Bournemouth, Everton, and West Ham) that all have less than a 1% chance of winning the league, qualifying for champions league, or being relegated.  Not exactly nothing to play for but pretty damn close.  I suppose there's a slim chance of Europa League qualification.  The prize money difference looks like no more than about $12 million between 7th and 12th.  Doesn't seem like it's a good thing that on February 8th, there is so little to play for.


FA Cup Replays

Alas, the last true minnow - Barnet of the 5th division - went out in the replay to Brentford.  Newport of League Two is still alive but face Man City in the next round.  Good luck with that.  I'll shift my allegiance to AFC Wimbledon (currently last in League One), who face Millwall.  Hats off to the loyal Don fans, who could easily choose to follow any of the other London franchises.  Sort of like rooting for a AA baseball franchise located in Mt. Airy instead of being a Phillies fan.


Union Looking to Sign Fabian

Not a Union transfer target

Union replacement for Dockal?

I realize that the MLS is generally limited to signing talent past their prime but I fail to see how signing a 73 year-old singer is going to help.  What?  Oh, that Fabian.  That makes a little more sense.  Though we still have the issue of talent past its prime.  Fabian does have pedigree but also some medical history.  Some are saying his failure to sign elsewhere was about money and not medical issues.  If that's true, this may be a good gamble for the Union.  Additional details here, apparently he's in town Friday for the medical exam.


This Week in U-12

Uh, we call that even after the first week in U-7

But ref, my fiancee's going to be really mad if I take it off

The otherwise decent 1-1 draw between West Ham and Liverpool offered two of this year's best U-12 Moments.  First we had the most incredible foul throw I can recall in EPL history.  Sadio Mane didn't just fail to keep both feet on the ground, he lifted his back leg just like a U-7 player in the first week of the season.

Then in stoppage time, Arthur Masuaku comes on for Felipe Anderson.  Except he's wearing a ring.  The fourth official points that out but Masuaku has trouble getting the ring off, eventually pulling it off with his teeth.  But the clincher for me was when Masuaku gives to his manager Pellegrino, who sticks it in his pocket.  A classic.  This is how I ended up with a collection of rings, necklaces and earrings.  I'd stuff them in my pocket but the players would never remember to ask for them back.


Schedule

Last week I meant to include the observation that any match week that begins with absolutely no chance of Newcastle ending the weekend in the relegation zone is a good one.  Probably safe this week too, although there's a chance with a big enough loss to Wolves, we could find ourselves in 18th again.

The weekend begins early with Fulham hosting Man United; I'd be inclined to sleep late, though I will say that the Red Devils rarely blow teams out of the water.  TV is offering two of the 10 am matches - Huddersfield vs Arsenal and Liverpool vs Bournemouth.  Neither of those sound real competitive.  I'll be more likely to use NBC Gold to check in on the relegation special between Southampton and Cardiff City; not saying it will be quality but could be compelling.   For the second straight week, the NBC game of the week is a head scratcher featuring Brighton (who appear to be ready to abandon the mid-table and fall into the relegation scrap) and Burnley (who are already in the scrap, sitting 17th, just two points above the drop line).

Sunday looks a little better with Tottenham-Leicester at 8:30 and Man City-Chelsea at 11.  Figure the home sides should be favored there, although Spurs have been leaving until late to take care of business so that could be a fun watch.  We would hope that Chelsea can keep the spread under a field goal and make it interesting.

Newcastle play Monday afternoon at Wolverhampton. We lost the reverse fixture in early December on a late goal after playing down a man for most of the second half.  Wolves are a good team, arguably the best outside the usual top six suspects.  Almiron may help, as will the return of some injured players but I'm not holding out much hope for a result here.  A draw would be more than satisfactory.