Win Some, Lose Some, Draw Some

Until the Union's midweek win my Football Manager Chester Blues had provided the only good news of the week.  A disturbing trend we've seen in the past.


U Know the Way in San Jose (musical accompaniment courtesy Dionne Warwick)

BFS Referee Consultant Graham R reminds me of the expression "Better to be lucky than good sometimes."  That certainly applied to the Union performance in a 2-1 win in San Jose.  Oh, and we still love VAR.  On a night when the Union passing was atrocious they still found a way to take all three points.  As is becoming their habit, they did surrender the opening goal.  And in the first of favorable VAR calls, Wagner was not sent off for DOGSO; probably the correct call on the field but if the initial call had been a red card, probably would not have been overturned either.

Przybylko just one shy of  CJ Sapong single season record
 of 16 goals (photo Nhat V. Meyer Bay Area News Group)

Things did not improve in the second half as a leaky back line gave up the second goal in less than a minute. But wait, VAR to the rescue again.  Extremely tight, but correctly ruled offside, a call that never would have been spotted without VAR.  I didn't sense a marked improvement in their overall play but the Union managed to score in the 70th and 76th minutes.  The latter was a sweet cross from Monteiro finished with an equally sweet header from CATS-purr shuh-BILL-koh.  VAR still had one more role to play.  Collin inexpertly road Andres Rios off the ball in the box and was whistled for a foul in the 81st minute.  Again, the review went in the U's favor.  Obviously biased here but I think they got it right; Collin did not use his arms and actually had pretty good position on Rios.  From there, San Jose didn't really threaten and the all three points came home with the Union.

This was a marked improvement over Sunday's effort in New Jersey, an 0-2 loss to the Red Bulls.  They were never in the game.  It wasn't horrible defending but the offense just wasn't very threatening.  I guess they did have a chance that first required a save from Robles, then a clearance off the line.  The Red Bulls got their first goal on a Blake howler; on a ball coming through his box, he didn't hold on or push it hard enough to the side.  The ball was a sitting duck for the rebound.  The second goal came late after it was clear the Union were not going to mount a serious threat.

Helpful news from the out of town scoreboard.  Toronto's draw on Saturday meant the Philadelphia clinched a top four spot, which translates into home field advantage for the first round of the playoffs.  NYCFC's  4-1 thumping of Atlanta allowed the Union to move back into second place, which would mean a home playoff game in the second round, were the Union to get that far.  Atlanta have Montreal and New England while Philly have Columbus and NYCFC.  Going to be tight.


How to Take Your Shirt Off While Celebrating a Goal Without Getting a Yellow Card

Excessive celebrating in the stands is not a cautionable offense-
though maybe it should be 

Did you catch Chris Wondolowski's act on Wednesday night?  San Jose's leading scorer was serving a red card suspension but was in the stands for the game against the Union.  After the Earthquakes' goal, he celebrated by taking his shirt off.  He was not yellow carded.






Championship Football

Fabian Schar - defender, goal scorer and now apparently goalie

And I mean that in the worst way.  Newcastle and Brighton put on a display of Championship Division (2nd tier) finishing at St. James' Park on Saturday in a match that truly deserved the 0-0 final score it yielded.  The Magpies were listless and disorganized.  No soul whatsoever.  Well except for Fabian Schar, who must be thinking do I have to do everything myself.  Check out his clearance off the line to save a sure goal - my choice for this week's YouTubeableMoment. You can see from the picture how close it was. Truly for 70 minutes Newcastle were awful and Brighton not that much better.  The introduction of the original Bunned One - Andy Carroll- and Saint-Maximin sparked both the play and the crowd but did not result in a goal.

Some of the poor play is down to the players but the chaos surrounding their formation and system goes to Steve Bruce.  Apparently a week's worth of planning had to be scrapped after just 20 minutes because the formation/system simply wasn't working.  And how about the announced crowd of just 42,000 (with scads of empty seats to boot)?  Geez, they used to get 52,000 real bodies when they played in the Championship Division.  Yeah, things are just great Tyneside.


What Is Wrong With Tottenham Man United Everton?

Possibly a little harsh on Spurs but not the other two.  Still, you'd have to say something doesn't look quite right for Tottenham this season (written before I saw they lost to Colchester in League Cup play - see below).  They fell to a good Leicester that passed the retest in their second straight contest against a "top six" team.  The Foxes fell behind Tottenham when Harry Kane scored while basically prone on the turf (should have been this week's YouTubeableMoment).  But two second half goals, including James Maddison's 85th minute winner, gave them a 2-1 win.  Great match for the neutral but I had to spend the weekend talking Michael B off the ledge.

Man United were effectively stymied by West Ham 0-2 and frankly looked in some disarray, especially on the attacking side.  But what to say about Everton?  Losers at Bournemouth last week, the Toffees fell to newbies Sheffield United 0-2 at home.  Metrics at 538 say they may have been unlucky in several matches so maybe it's temporary slump.  But untimely too as the top six does seem a little less exclusive this year.

This is a stupid game - Palace manager Roy Hodgson shortly
 after his Eagles let a win slip away.

Started watching Man City Watford but after two quick tallies moved on to Burnley Norwich.  Not sure why City went for the two point conversion but the 8-0 result sure put a hurting on Watford's goal differential.  Burnley got a quick jump on the Canaries with goals at 10 and 14 minutes and cruised to a 2-0 win.  I did not see Crystal Palace - Wolves but the box score reads like a train wreck.  Palace were gifted an own goal early in the second half; they went a man up after a second yellow at 73 minutes.  Yet there was Jota scoring in the 95th minute to snatch a 1-1 draw.  Couldn't find the picture of Hodgson after the goal online so I took it from NBC highlights video.  Not a happy camper.

Decline the Penalty?

Speaking of not doing well when opponent gets a red card.  Last week Aston Villa could only manage a draw despite a man advantage for the last 20+ minutes.  This week they couldn't manage a win even playing a man up for about 50 minutes.  Yeah, it was Arsenal but the Villans surrendered three goals, including two in the last ten minutes, in the 2-3 loss.  Scary to think how they'd do 11 v 10 for the whole match.


False Precision

Back in the day when I was a fleet-footed redhead (well, that's what the school newspaper called me),
electronic timing of races, which could measure down to 1/100th and even 1/1000th of a second, was just getting implemented.  At the same time, digital stopwatches that measured to 100th of a second also came out.  But Track & Field News, guardians of track archives, would always round any hand timing up to the nearest 10th of second, arguing that 100ths of a second was suggesting precision not possible with hand timing.

An inch offside?

I feel that way about VAR and offside.  On the one hand, the technology does look sophisticated as they identify the relevant body parts, fiddle with the dials and draw precise lines to determine whether the play was offside.  The problem is that it's still based on the VAR's opinion as to when the ball was struck.  As Charlie O points out, that's kind of like deciding exactly when the ball is in the first baseman's mitt.  So we have goals overturned for incredibly tight offside infractions because the standard for offside is not a clear and obvious error but rather a yes or no question.  It doesn't matter how close it is, you are either on or offside. Don't see a solution but it is frustrating.


I Still Don't Carabao It Cup

Most notable result is Colchester advancing over Spurs despite not managing a shot on target; they got their win based on kicks-from-the-spot.  Overall, the round of 16 will feature 11 premier sides, three from League One and two from League Two; note the absence of any Championship sides.  And with the quaint practice of no seeding in these competitions, the round of 16 will include matches such as Chelsea - Man United and Liverpool - Arsenal.  Good thing I don't really care about it.


Two Venues That Are Better Than Yankee Stadium

BFS Travel Consultant Jeff K sends this article about soccer in Greenland, where the season looks to last about 40 minutes before the elements take over.  But check out the venue where they play (video above).  Not to be outdone, BFS Scandinavian correspondent Philip S sent the following pictures of Aalesund Norway, where he saw QPR play a friendly against a local squad.

Think of these images next time you're watching NYCFC (or New England) in their home parks.


Maybe Not Such A Great Weekend for Neutrals

Scanning the weekend's fixtures I'm not seeing many obvious choices for exciting viewing.  I guess Man United v Arsenal Monday at 3 pm (NBCSN) is the best option.  You can get up at 7:30 on Saturday to catch Liverpool at Sheffield United (NBCSN) but not expecting a tight match there.  The 10 am TV game is Chelsea - Brighton.  538 odds suggest that Bournemouth - West Ham or Aston Villa -Burnley will be more competitive matches.  Bottom dwellers Wolves and Watford also face each other.  You'll need NBC Gold for any of those matches.  The 12:30 NBC feature match is Everton - Man City at Goodison Park; doesn't feel like a great fixture for Everton to sort themselves out.  The other 10 am matches (all NBC Gold) are Crystal Palace - Norwich and Spurs - Southampton.  Tottenham are comfortable favorites so look for Michael B out on the ledge again if they don't secure all three points.

Leicester - Newcastle at 11:30 is Sunday's only match.  There are reports of a big shake up in the Newcastle line (Schar as defensive midfielder?).  The Magpies are of course big underdogs for this road match and it's hard to see them getting a result here. 

MLS scheduling is quite regimented the next two Sundays.  This weekend all the Eastern Conference matches start at 5 and the Western Conference matches begin at 7:30.  The following Sunday every fixture starts at 4 pm.  Aside from the Union-Columbus match, Toronto,  DC United and Red Bulls are fighting for the 4th spot and the home field advantage.  Toronto takes on Chicago while DC and the Red Bulls face other in New Jersey.  You can catch that one on FS1 but not sure how you do it spoiler-free if you're watching the Union first.

Any smoke you smell this weekend isn't burning leaves but my DVR.  Somehow I'm going to ref two games, watch 5-6 matches and stay current with the Track and Field World Championships, which start on Friday.  These sporting events are not going to watch themselves.


Late news - Peter Kenyon may have a renewed (continuing?) interest in purchasing Newcastle.  Color us skeptical.

Non-Stop

Once again, the news was much better on this side of the Atlantic.


Can't Say No to This

Union stock went up again as they battled likely Supporters Shield winner LAFC to a 1-1 draw at a sold-out Talen Energy Stadium.  For the second straight Saturday, this was the place to be.  Jeff H and I hadn't even finished our sausage sandwiches before shuh-BILL-koh gave our boys the lead with a looping header off a cross from Picault.  I would be remiss if I didn't mention Bedoya's role in that goal; he accurately read that Picault was going to win a header and positioned himself properly to receive that ball and send it right back to Picault down the wing.  So I spilled some peppers and onions on my lap - totally worth it.

I am not throwing away my shot - Mark McKenzie has
made the most of the chance he was given

LA drew level late in the half after a shot glanced off the cross bar that Carlos Vela deposited into the net.  That was it for the scoring but the game was great end-to-end stuff.  Consensus is that the Union actually played better than in the 3-1 win over Atlanta.  McKenzie was solid again.  We got some offensive push out of Gaddis.  Blake had to make some fingertip saves and also made better decisions in his box.  By the end, it looked like both sides were content with a draw.

Meanwhile, Atlanta were losing at home to Columbus.  They rallied with a road win over the other Ohio squad (Cincinnati) but the tables are turned now.  The Union hold a one-point lead over them for second place with both teams at 30 games played.  Both must play NYCFC and San Jose during the run-in.  Atlanta also have Montreal and New England while the Union have Red Bulls and Colorado.  Second place would mean that a likely second round match up with Atlanta would be at Talen Energy; of course I get ahead of myself here because they would need to win the first round match up for that to matter.   A top four place isn't in the bag yet either but any combination of two points added by the Union or dropped by any two of DC United, Toronto and Red Bulls, well that would be enough.  Second place would mean that a likely second round match up with Atlanta would be at Talen Energy instead of playing in front of 50,000 on turf, indoors in Atlanta.


Outgunned, Outmanned

Willems gives the Magpies an early lead. We were satisfied
 at the time but it was only momentary.
  Jason Cairnduff/Action Images via Reuters

It was fun while it lasted.  Willems gave Newcastle a short-lived lead at Anfield with a beautiful curling shot in the 7th minute.  The illusion lasted until the 28th minute when Sadio Mane got the first of his two goals; the second came at 40 minutes.  Salah put the match away in the 72nd minute.  Adding injury to insult, Schar limped off with some kind of calf injury sustained trying to stop Salah.

Actually 3-1 is an improvement over last year's 4-0 defeat at Anfield and meant minimal damage to our goal differential.  Realistically, there were no expectations of a result here.  But clearly, these are teams in two different leagues, at least figuratively.  Plus we are back in the relegation zone.


The League Turned Upside Down

Elsewhere the big news was clearly the Norwich 3-2 upset of Man City.  Yes, I know I pooh-poohed that fixture last week and it turned about to be the best of the weekend. Even after spotting the Canaries two goals, the late first half tally by Aguero made you feel like this was a case of a world class sprinter who, after getting the baton way behind, would eventually blow past the opposition.  That's why we'll make the goal from Pukki that restored the two goal lead this week's  YouTubeableMoment.  Not especially pretty but plenty exciting.

Sunday saw more craziness as Watford let Arsenal get out to a two goal lead before rallying to grab a 2-2 draw.  Commentator Lee Dixon had no shortage of words as Arsenal looked nearly helpless trying to play the ball out from the back.  Surprisingly, Unai Emery remains fairly far down the list in the Sack Race, though that may be due to a surfeit of candidates.  Cough, cough, looking at you Steve Bruce.

One those candidates would be Everton's Marco Silva, who saw his side fall to Bournemouth 1-3.  Roy Hodgson did himself no favors with an 0-4 pummeling by Tottenham; the score actually flatters Crystal Palace - they were totally outclassed.  Ole Gunnar may have bought himself some time with a 1-0 win over Leicester; that was important to re-establish their top four credentials.  Nuno Santo is also farther down on the list than we might expect.  His Wolves were easily handled by Chelsea 2-5 and they sit in 19th place with just three points, behind, ahem, even Newcastle.

Dennis F didn't take much joy in Aston Villa's 1-1 0-0 draw with West Ham.  That's because they played the final 25 or so minutes a man up and looked frankly like they were playing even up.  His lament - where are the goals going to come from?  Still the result was enough to edge the Villans ahead of Newcastle on goal differential.


EPL Refuted

Decidedly mixed results for English sides in the first week of group play in the Champions League.  Man City were fine in a 3-0 win over Shaktar Donestk but Chelsea went down 0-1 to Valencia at home and Liverpool fell on the road at Napoli 0-2.  Spurs will be kicking themselves after giving up a two-goal lead at Olympiacos to settle for a 2-2 draw.  Second set of games will be mid week in early October.


It Must Be Nice

To have your side at the top of the table.  Ze Roberto couldn't help but send this along:

Not convinced that Sevilla is going to blow us all away but look good right now.

What Comes Next?

Massively important contest for Newcastle on Saturday at home versus Brighton (12:30 NBC).  I really hate the idea of "must win" matches in September but this is close to that category.  Injury situation is not great, with Saint-Maximin, Ritchie, and Longstaff still out (never good to have your Longstaff out of commission).  The good news is that Andy Carroll may be a named substitute for the match.  At 538, Magpies are a healthy favorite but this has all the feel of a draw to me.

Bonus Friday football this week as Southampton and Bournemouth square off in a South coast derby, except they don't like to call it that.  Check it out at 3 pm on Friday on NBCSN.

Saturday starts out with a good one -  Leicester hosting Spurs at 7:30 on NBCSN.  The Foxes flunked last week's top six test against Man United and maybe loaded for bear; Spurs got into the top four and will be looking to stay there.   Saturday's 10 am TV match is Man City taking on Watford on NBCSN.

Full slate on Sunday headlined with Chelsea-Liverpool at 12:30 pm on NBCSN.  Wonder if Liverpool will take out the midweek loss to Napoli on Chelsea.  You can also see West Ham versus Man United at 9 am on NBCSN.

Several key matches in the MLS.  The Union could put the Red Bulls in the rear view mirror with a win on Sunday in Harrison - that's at 6:30 for your Sunday dinner time viewing.  Even a draw would be enough there but the Union are clear underdogs.  On Saturday Atlanta will be big time favorites at home against San Jose.  We can look to LAFC and Seattle for help against Toronto and DC United respectively.  A good chance we might not be in second but may clinch home field for the first round by Sunday night.

Got through refereeing two matches on Saturday so I'll be out there again this weekend (with Dennis F!), which means heavy reliance on the DVR.


For those paying attention, yes I did see Hamilton this week.

You Call That A Break?

Break may be a misnomer.  It's not like things stop.


Hey, No Fair

So while everybody is supposedly on international break, somehow NYCFC grab four points from two matches and now have a three point lead on the Union.  The good news is that it could have been worse and we will thank Toronto for pulling out a draw in NY on Wednesday.  Wait, you're telling me Toronto missed a PK and could have won 2-1?  Eh, still a helpful result.


The Last Straw?

Flores - I don't always coach in the EPL, but
when I do, I prefer Watford

Seems like this happens a lot.  A team drops points to Newcastle and their manager is sacked shortly
thereafter.  The latest victim is Watford's Javi Gracia.  Sure, his team had lost their opening three but they just got a point on the road against Newcastle.  It's like the losses were bad but a draw to Newcastle?  That's it, you're gone.  Note that Gracia led the Hornets to their best finish ever just last year.  Yikes. The good news is that Gracia is replaced by the "Most Interesting Man in Football" Quique Sanchez Flores.



The View from Europe

Newcastle's Fabian Schar is a goal scoring
machine regardless of which shirt he's wearing
Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

I got to see four of the Euro Championship qualifiers and most were entertaining.  Ireland - Switzerland was a 1-1 draw that featured a goal from Newcastle center back Fabian Schar matched by a brilliant header from Ireland's McGoldrick in the 87th minute.  Germany - Netherlands was good back-and-forth stuff but also featured possibly one of the most egregious calls in international football.  You can see the incident here starting at about 4:25.  How in the world is that handling?  The defender has no clue where the ball is.  Which leads to a second question; how in the world does UEFA not require VAR for the qualifying matches?   Fortunately, at least from my perspective, the Dutch proceeded to put two more in to take a 4-2 road win.  Sweden - Norway was a competitive Scandanavian affair that ended in a 1-1 draw.  And if you like scoring, England's 5-3 win over Kosovo might have been fun.  English manager Gareth Southgate probably wasn't too thrilled to see his side cough up two early goals in the second half after roaring out to a 5-1 lead.  Still, the Lions incredible streak in qualifying continues.  Didn't see exactly how many games it includes (something over 31), but the last time they lost a qualifier was in 2009 to Ukraine.

At some point down the road we'll go into more detail about the qualifying process.  Know that it it is not easy to thoroughly understand how it works.


An American in Bremen

This week's YouTubeableMoment comes courtesy of Philip S, who sent along this video.  So many great pieces to this goal by American Josh Sargent.  Note that the ball never touches the ground.  Sargent didn't get called up for summer Gold Cup action but did feature in the recent friendlies against Mexico and Uruguay.  The word is we'll be seeing more of the 19 year-old.


The Weekend

Jam packed days ahead which include my return to the pitch as a referee after hip replacement surgery and a trip to Talen Energy to see the Union take on LAFC.

Newcastle will be hard pressed to get anything out of Saturday morning's 7:30 match (NBCSN) at Anfield.  At 538 they have Liverpool at 85% win, 12% draw and 3% Newcastle win.  Eternal optimist Lloyd Christmas (right) offers his view.  Well, maybe but we're hearing that Almiron, who scored for Paraguay on international duty, may be out.  That beeping you hear is the sound of the bus being parked at Anfield.

There are five matches at 10 am.  The TV game (NBCSN) is Spurs - Crystal Palace which seems decent enough.  If you want to try NBC Gold, Man United - Leicester could be good see if the Foxes, currently third in the table, want to mix it up with the heavies again.  Also, noted top six foiler, Wolves are home to Chelsea.  The NBC "feature" match is Norwich hosting Man City.   Forgive me if I write that canary off even before it gets into the coal mine. 

Sunday has two matches at 9 and 11:30 but we are not overwhelmed.  The first is Bournemouth - Everton and the later game is Watford - Arsenal.  Bonus Monday match has Aston Villa hosting West Ham at 3 pm on NBCSN.

On the MLS side, the Union could wake up in third place on Sunday morning as LAFC are a tough customer while Atlanta host Columbus and NYCFC host San Jose in the abominable Yankee Stadium and its U-12 pitch.  On a more positive note, if my math is correct, any combination of three points gained by the Union or dropped by DC United and Toronto will clinch a top four spot for Philadelphia.  With DC on the road in Portland, that could happen this weekend: Toronto have a little easier time hosting Colorado.

Here's hoping my hip is still attached after Saturday.

Best Night Evah at Talen Energy Stadium?

An inspiring performance by the Union on Saturday took away a little of the sting of a lackluster showing by Newcastle earlier in the day.


First Place Again

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't looking forward to the match as much as the circumstances might have otherwise dictated.  Sure it was one versus two but Atlanta was hot and fundamentally a better team.  Just looking for a competitive contest.  My fears were largely borne out in the first half as Gaddis and Medunjanin were often beaten, allowing Atlanta to get some dangerous chances.  It had all the feel of an 0-2 loss.  The goal in first half stoppage time did nothing to quell that sense.  Not that the Union were bad, just Atlanta were better; seemed like everything the Union could do with some difficulty came easy for Atlanta.

That was somewhat of an audacious shot by Kacper

Fortunately, Gaddis and Medunjanin were much steadier in the second half.  Good entertaining football.  Still, without some changes, the match still seemed out of reach.  So Curtin put in Ilsinho at 57 minutes and four minutes later, Aaronson slips one past Guzan.  Next we see Santos at 77 minutes.  A draw doesn't seem so outrageous now.  That is, until Blake and Elliott have a horrible miscommunication that by all rights should have been converted to a goal by Josef Martinez.  Except he misses.  Minutes later, Wagner carries the ball past midfield, puts a good pass to Santos, who eludes the defender and sends the ball into the box to shuh-BILL-koh, who somehow puts this laser shot past Guzan for a 2-1 lead.  An easy pick for this week's YouTubeableMoment, it was likely the most electrifying moment in Union history.  The malodorous blue and yellow smoke had barely cleared the field before shuh-BILL-koh returned the favor with a pass that Santos easily deposited in the net for the insurance tally.  Pandemonium reigned!  Orlando's loss later in the evening meant that not only were the Union top of the table, they clinched a playoff berth.  On August 31st?  Definitely not your father's Union. 

Just a little cold water now.  Realistically, given the schedule and that both NYCFC (2) and Atlanta (1) have games in hand, holding onto to first or second will be a challenge. Second place would be awesome as that would offer the possibility of a second round home match versus Atlanta or NYCFC instead of a road match.  Third place probably means a first round home contest with the sixth place team (currently New England but could easily be Toronto, Montreal, DC United or even Red Bulls).


Mediocrity Reigns

Last year's returning top scorer, Schar opens his account in 2019.

Things weren't so great on the other side of the pond.  A home match with Watford certainly held out the chance of three points.  Except not when you surrender a goal in the second minute.  It was a bit unlucky but there it was.  Fortunately, the Magpies did not collapse.  But they didn't exactly excite either.  A very funky looking goal from Schar got things level just before halftime.  Watching the replay, I thought there was a real chance it would be ruled out because it sure looked like the ball game off Hayden's arm in the scramble that led up to the goal.  I would argue that Newcastle were the better side in the second half but that is a relative term.  The 1-1 draw was fair in my mind.   Did you notice that Javi Gracia got a yellow card in the second half?  One of the rule changes this year - managers can get booked.

They didn't miss Ritchie as much as I feared.  Willems may be an okay replacement.  And Atsu can do some of the things they were hoping that Saint-Maximin would provide.  I'd argue the biggest issue right now is converting Almiron's work rate into scoring chances.  No doubt the guy runs his butt off.  It's just that so far it's not generating much offense.  I'm hoping it's just adjusting to players other than Rondon and Perez. 

At four points from four matches, you can't say Newcastle are too far off what you would have expected, maybe just not collected in the way you would have predicted.  Settle in, it's going to a long season.


Too Much Sunshine

Can I just say the English football is not meant to be watched in sunshine, at least on TV?  The stands cast uneven shadows that give the cameras fits, you lose sight of players either because it's too bright or the shadows too dark.  Geez, watching the broadcast from Saint James' Park, with that baffled overhang, Watford in their traveling green were invisible much of the time.

Saturday offered a forgettable slate of matches that turned out to be head turning for a variety of reasons.  Man United fans will be forgiven for hitting the panic button after a 1-1 draw away to Southampton.  The result is particularly galling given they had a man advantage from the 73rd minute on but failed to find the game winner.  Same for Chelsea fans, who saw their side cough up a 2-0 lead - at home no less - to Sheffield United; the own goal charged to Zouma looked harsh to me but maybe I didn't see it clearly.  The upstart newcomers have five points so far, same as Man United, Chelsea and Spurs.  Ooh, one of these is not like the others.

Saturday's match noir would have to be Crystal Palace - Aston Villa.  A scoreless first half saw four Villans (Villains?) get yellow carded by Kevin Friend; he was already not Aston Villa's favorite. Trezeguet got himself a second in the 54th minutes.  Crystal Palace took the lead at 73 minutes courtesy Jordan Ayew.  But in the 96th minute, Lansbury seemingly snatched a draw for AVL.  Except Friend had blown the whistle for a Jack Grealish dive.  The goal was disallowed; the only part of the play that was reviewable was whether Grealish had been fouled in the box because Friend had blown the whistle before the goal was scored.  To complete the ugly day, Villa fans got into all kinds of skirmishes with security inside and outside the stadium.  You can see the key plays with extended highlights here; the Grealish incident is at about 8:00.  For our money, that was an incorrect call.  Grealish takes contact twice before going down and frankly it's not clear he even embellished the fall.

Sunday was better football.  As we had suggested the Everton - Wolves match was a joy to watch.  Don't remember the announcer but somebody said Wolves might be suffering from "Europa League fatigue" as they went down, not without a fight, 2-3.  Dennis relayed to me that Men in Blazers said "Europa League must be stopped.  It's the climate change of the football world."  Not sure if this is an improvement but a few years ago these same guys said qualifying for the Europa League is like getting an STD from a super model.  Anyway, we digress - it was a great match.

Then on to the main course - a North London Derby.  Up 2-0 by 40 minutes, Spurs seemed to be in charge.  A late first half goal gave Arsenal hope.  The second half was wide open and Arsenal pulled even in the 71st minute.  The Gunners definitely had the run of play from there on in and Spurs might consider themselves lucky to walk away with a point.  At one point in the second half, Spurs looked in total disarray, like they needed a time out to get reorganized.  Clearly they have some work to do. 


Random Notes

BFS Track & Field Consultant Jack W sends on this example of all-out defending.  Reminds me of this underrated defender. 

Literary critic Philip S alerted me to some excellent prose from the Guardian:

Burnley’s fibrous, streetwise approach make them the closest the modern footballer will get to playing Wimbledon at Plough Lane.

Alas, that fiber might have been stretched a bit in a 0-3 loss to Liverpool.


International Break

No club football this weekend but there are some tasty looking European Championship qualifiers.  Good luck finding them though.  You can see Ireland-Switzerland on Thursday and Germany Netherlands on Friday but from there college and NFL football takes over.  I'm guessing you'll need ESPN+ to catch the likes of Sweden Norway or Scotland Belgium.  Ah well.  Maybe we need the rest anyway.