Waiting For the Puff of White Smoke

It's not overly dramatic to say that the most important piece of off-season business for Newcastle is to get Rafa Benitez a new contract.  Thus, The Chronicle's suggestion that waiting for the news that a deal has been inked is similar to waiting for the well-known signal that a new pope has been selected is apt.

Other than updates that Ashley and Benitez have talked face-to-face and electronically, news is frustratingly scarce.  The good news is that although we hear Benitez linked to other clubs like Celtic or Milan or Marseille, it's usually accompanied by a comment that Benitez really wants to stay and these are only possibilities if no deal is forthcoming.  The consensus seems to be we could likely hear that he's been signed before the end of the week but if that doesn't happen, we should be worried.  Very worried.


Leave Our Longstaff Alone

Man United may be preparing a bid for Newcastle's holding midfielder Sean Longstaff.  Magpie officials insist he is off-limits but I wonder what would happen if Benitez doesn't stay.  With Hayden, Diame and Shelvey not likely to be around next season, we really need to be keeping players of his quality and age.

Juan Mata's name has come up as a Newcastle transfer target.  His price will be right - he'll be a free transfer and his salary doesn't sound excessive.  But he certainly doesn't fit the strategy of acquire young, sell old.  He's just one of a dozen names being thrown around but at this point, we really can't expect anything until the Benitez contract issue is resolved.

On other fronts, we might see a bidding war between the Manchester clubs to acquire Leicester's Harry Maguire.  City need to replace the retiring Vincent Kompany and United need to put together a better team.  A price of £75 million might not be out of the question.


The Kompany You Keep

And it's time to wave goodbye to Vincent Kompany, who announced he's heading to Belgium side Anderlecht as a player-manager.  He goes out a winner but he would have done that regardless of his team's final results.  Just a quality player who lost more than his share of time due to injuries.  We wish him well.


Domestic Triple

For those who spent any time on the FA Cup Final, condolences.  It was a match for about 20 minutes, with Watford actually having better early chances than Man City.  But after goals at 26 and 38 minutes, you knew it was over.  The Citizens added four more in the second half and the 6-0 final is a fair reflection of the match.  I will say that things seemed to stall early in the second half until Guardiola switched in DeBruyne for Mahrez and the onslaught ensued.  So Man City become the first club to accomplish the domestic triple - the EPL title, the League Cup and the FA Cup.  No mean feat.


A Good or Bad Draw?

Two markers was usually not enough to keep Ilsinho under wraps

Going into the match, I would have been happy with a Union draw, even at home, with Seattle.  Afterwards not so much.  Seattle, tired from a midweek match and resting seven starters, parked the bus.  With Panamanian international Roman Torres anchoring the middle of the defense, it was more like parking the Mack double semi.  Geez he's huge.  So the Union had the run of play and almost all the chances.  Good on Sounder keeper Frei for a few good saves but bad on the Union for not putting more on net.  Aaronson missed a sitter, shuhBillko had one just miss while Monteiro and Picault were regularly well wide of the mark.  Great excitement when Ilsinho entered the match before the 60th minute and regularly shredded the Seattle defense; the anticipation of the crowd when he got the ball was audible.  And a good crowd it was - over 18,000 fully engaged.  A fun place to be even if the end result was mildly frustrating.  The 538 metrics suggest it was a rout but the Union need to be better finishers for that to become a reality.  And it's not like this hasn't been an issue.  Yes, they've been scoring a lot but they've been missing a lot too.

This was the first time I can remember the Union taking the play so directly to a club like Seattle.  Sure they were slightly undermanned but it's a pretty deep squad.  If they can handle a good side like that, the Union should do well in the Eastern Conference.  Results elsewhere were very kind to the Union.  DC lost, Montreal drew at home to New England, Toronto lost and Atlanta lost.  So they sit in first on goal differential with a game in hand.  Awesome.


Schedule

The Union continue a West Coast home stand, taking on Portland at Talen Energy on Saturday night at 7:30 and I get to go for the second week in a row.

Still some European action to finish.  Aston Villa (remember, Dennis's old team?) face Derby County for promotion to the Premier League on Monday at 10 am (ESPN+?).  Then the Europa League final between Chelsea and Arsenal is on Wednesday at 3 pm on TNT.  And we close out the club season with the Champions League Final a week from Saturday (6/1) with Liverpool-Spurs, at 3 pm, also on TNT.

We'll be taking the week off and will report back after the Champions League Final.  Our focus will include the Women's World Cup and the CONCACAF Gold Cup, plus continued tracking of the best Union season evah.