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.