Better Than Leftovers

Like they used to say about old records  - drop the needle down anywhere and you'll like what you hear - you could have picked just about any match last weekend and seen a good contest.  Excepting of course, Aston Villa - Newcastle, which was a stinker for all but diehard Villa fans.

BFS Derby viewing party; Baine (far right) has
 Newcastle colors but roots for Aston Villa

Dennis may add his own comments but the Fillebrown derby was a sleeper and Aston Villa fully earned their 2-0 win.  Newcastle were simply not present and surrendered two set piece goals.  On the first, maybe Dubravka didn't get the wall exactly right but the free kick by Hourihane from just outside the box was well-taken anyway.  On the other, it looked like neither Magpie defender was sure who was supposed to cover El Ghazi.  One goal was going to be a struggle, two goals was a mountain to climb.  The stats say Newcastle had five shots on target but that seems high. Even though they have just one goal between them, the front three of Joelinton, Almiron and Saint-Maximin have been creating good chances and generating good offensive pressure.  Against Villa, they created nothing.  The points definitely meant more to Villa and the whole thing was a reminder of how lucky Newcastle have been to this point.

Dennis definitely had more fun than me.  Like me however, he doesn't get comfortable until they are up by four or more goals.   So he spent most of the second half fearful that somehow they would blow it.  Around 80 minutes he believed a draw was safe and around 90 minutes he conceded that the Villans were going to win.  I paid for the post-match dinner though it's not clear whether this was because Newcastle lost, I'm the dad, or my consulting firm had a good year.


Better Viewing Elsewhere

The three unluckiest sides to date - Watford, Everton and Southampton - saw no change in their fortunes.  I didn't see Watford - Burnley (0-3) or Everton - Norwich (0-2); the 538 stats say the Hornets and Toffees could have won those matches based on expected goals.  I did watch the 2-2 draw between Arsenal and Southampton.  Certainly that was an unexpected point for the Saints on the road but with Arsenal scoring in the 96th minute, Southampton were denied the full three points and again, 538 says they might have been unlucky.  Great match to watch by the way.

I had high hopes for Bournemouth - Wolves and maybe gave up on it too soon.  Wolves were all over Bournemouth quickly and tallied at 21 and 31 minutes.  When Simon Francis was sent off for a second yellow at 37 minutes, I was thinking it was over and switched to my dvred Arsenal-Southampton match.  Maybe a hasty decision as Bournemouth got one back at 59 minutes.  Since I didn't see it, I can't say if the final 30 minutes were compelling and I certainly got my money's worth with Arsenal - Southampton.  Still, maybe I should learn to hang in as you never know.

Spurs certainly responded under new management.  They looked great against West Ham and carried a 2-0 into the halftime locker room.  Kane added a third early in the second half and Spurs were cruising.  Two late goals for the Hammers made the final score deceptively respectable and served as a reminder that Spurs still have work to do.

Man City - Chelsea played a great first half.  Blues got the jump before City countered with two goals by halftime.  Second half was nowhere near as fun and the final was 2-1.  Those watching any of the other 10 am games might have missed Liverpool's thrilling 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.  The Eagles had tied the match at 82 minutes before Firmino got the game-winner at 85 minutes.  Wished I could have seen that one too but there are only so many minutes in a Saturday.

And none of the above qualify as match of the weekend.  That honor goes to a marvelous 3-3 draw between Sheffield United - Man United.  Before a raucous 32,000+ at ancient Bramall Lane (opened in 1852 for cricket, hosting football since 1862), the Blades fashioned a 2-0 lead over the Red Devils.  Then, three goals in less than eight minutes (72, 77 and 79) completely turned the tables.  At 2-3,  I was texting Jeff H as to whether this would be looked back on as the moment Cinderella Sheffield saw their carriage turn back into a pumpkin.  Spoke too soon.  Oliver McBurnie leveled things in the 90th minute. There was a bit of a wait as it wasn't clear whether the ball had come off McBurnie's arm first.  Too hard to tell IMHO so the VAR decision to let the goal stand was fair.  Sorry Jeff H, but it's this week's YouTubeableMoment.   A totally deserved draw for Sheffield.

So, slightly more than one-third of the way through the season, the top four - Liverpool, Leicester, Man City, and Chelsea - doesn't look that weird.  But 5th through 10th certainly has a different feel to it; in order they are Wolves, Sheffield United, Burnley, Arsenal, Man United and Tottenham.  Everton and West Ham linger near the relegation zone.

Results to date leave four six managers at elevated risks of being sacked.  Surprised that Marco Silva survived an 0-2 loss to Norwich at home.  Everton's next five matches in order are Leicester, Liverpool, Chelsea, Man United and Arsenal.  That's just nasty; losses in any or all of those matches in isolation wouldn't seem like justification for sacking.   So maybe Silva survives until Burnley on Boxing Day?

Unai Emery's Arsenal were lucky to escape with a 2-2 draw at home versus Southampton.  They are winless in their last five and eight points out of fourth.  He's hanging on by a thread.  With West Ham just three points clear of the relegation zone, Manuel Pellegrini is certainly in jeopardy as well.  Ole Gunnar Solkjaer saw his team snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat and that may buy him some time.  And with their clubs now 19th and 20th in the table, Ralph Hasenhuttl (Southampton) and Quique Flores (Watford) probably shouldn't be buying new houses just yet either.  Good article here from the Guardian on the pros and cons of dumping Silva, Emery and Pellegrini.

Wrote the above late Thursday night.  By Friday morning, Emery was gone.  The Europa League loss to Eintracht Frankfurt was the final straw.  Freddie Ljungberg takes over as interim manager.  Mikel Arteta, Massimiliano Allegri and Nuno Espirito Santo are mentioned as leading candidates.  Certainly Arteta would be a natural fit but he's Guardiola's assistant right now.  Santo has led his Wolves squad to 5th in the table so a mid-season switch there might be awkward.

Trivia question: Who is currently longest tenured manager in EPL (answer below)


Champions League

Great midweek viewing here too.  Spurs ceded two goals to Olympiacos before storming back for a 4-2 win.  They clinch a spot in the knockout round.  Man City were already in pretty good shape so the 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk was good enough to send them onto the knockout round as well.

Full body magic spray - good for what ails you

Two more entertaining matches on Wednesday.  Chelsea spotted Valencia a goal before netting two of their own, the second from American scoring machine Christian Pulisic.  A dubious PK call gave Valencia a chance to level but Arrivabeluga Archipelago Kepa made a brilliant save, which you can see here, to protect the lead.  Ah, but the joy was short-lived as Valencia eventually got their equalizer in the 82nd minute.  A win would not have guaranteed Chelsea a berth in the knockout round though it would have left them sitting pretty  A win over the group's weakest member (Lille) in the final group stage match will see them through.  Liverpool looked better on the stat sheet yet could only manage a 1-1 draw with Napoli.  This left them short of qualifying for the knockout round so they will need a win or draw against FC Red Bull Salzberg to book their ticket.  Best memory from that match might have been the total body magic spray treatment that a Napoli player got after landing on his shoulder (see picture above right). You can see he's shrouded in a cloud of the stuff.

Final group stage matches are 12/10 and 12/11.


The Weekend and Week Days Too

We enter December, a month in which you won't go more than a day or two with no EPL team in action.  There are league matches on 16 days and Champions League/Europa League add three more days of viewing.  The longest drought will be from 12/17 through 12/20.

Newcastle get us started early Saturday as they offer themselves up to Man City for the 7:30 NBCSN match.  We're hearing that there could be some notable changes, like Atsu for Almiron and Krafth for Yedlin.  Sean Longstaff will return from suspension, likely taking Shelvey's place.  The phrase "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic" comes to mind.  They are taking on a City squad that will be without Aguero, which means they can only choose from Jay Zeus and Mahrez for striker.  This one's all about keeping the goal differential down.

Four matches at 10 am.  TV choice is Spurs - Bournemouth (NBCSN) and we'll probably go with that.  Burnley - Crystal Palace might be a good second choice on NBC Gold; Chelsea hosting West Ham in another London derby and Liverpool - Brighton don't look quite as exciting.  That Southampton vs Watford is the "feature" 12:30 match on NBC is possibly puzzling but maybe not if you love relegation battles.  Somebody has to get points here.

Four matches on Sunday. The two at 9 am are Norwich-Arsenal and Wolves vs Sheffield United.  The former is on NBCSN but we're more inclined to watch the latter on NBC Gold.  They are 5-6 in the table and play attractive football.  At 11 we have Leicester - Everton and Man United - Aston Villa.  I can see reasons to check out both.  Could be I watch the first on Gold, then go to the dvr for the second.  What else ya gonna do on a snowy Sunday?

Take Monday off but be ready to report back to work on Tuesday.  The NBCSN match is Burnley vs Man City at 3:15 on NBCSN.   Crystal Palace - Bournemouth is at 2:30 on NBC Gold.  Six more on Wednesday.  The TV match looks good - Man United vs Spurs.  Big match up for both of those teams.  Big enough that it relegated the Merseyside derby to NBC Gold at 3:15; is this a slap at Everton or what?  Newcastle get to travel to Sheffield Thursday; the Magpies are solid underdogs in this one too.  You'll have to go to Gold to watch, as Arsenal - Brighton gets the NBCSN TV slot.

Will that hold you until next Saturday?

Trivia answer: Eddie Howe - Bournemouth 7 years 47 days