My Project Restart Cup Runneth Over

Like someone after a fast who overeats and gets a food coma, I have perhaps overindulged in the last week.  Through Thursday, I have seen all but two of the 22 matches.  Yes, I failed to heed the words of Dr. Ian Malcolm.   Not saying it wasn't worth it, just maybe some moderation would have been better.  So let's check out the results.


Black Lives Matter

Before the first ball was kicked, I had this week's YouTubeableMoment.  Besides the moment of silence before the match to remember covid-19 victims and the BLM patches and BLM on the jersey backs instead of names, check out what happened when Michael Oliver blew the whistle for the Aston Villa - Sheffield United match to start.  Watching live, with no hint that this was the plan, seeing the players take a knee in unison like that was an affecting moment.  Well done.

Unfortunately there was an incident in Monday's Man City - Burnley match with a plane trailing the banner "White Lives Matter Burnley."  Burnley and EPL officials were quick to respond with statements.  Though police have said no criminal act was committed, Burnley officials believe they have identified the fans involved and they will be receiving lifetime bans from the club.  Ben "Eff" Mee solidified his position as a BFS favorite with his post-game comments:

 “I’m ashamed and embarrassed that a small number of our fans have decided to put that around the stadium. There are a group of lads that are in there embarrassed to see that. It’s missed the whole point of what we’re trying to achieve and these people need to come into the 21st century and educate themselves as a lot of us do.  It doesn’t represent what we’re about, what the club is about, what the players are about and what the majority of the fans are about. It’s a small minority of people and I’m really upset that it happened. ”

Wid or Wid-out?

Like a Philly native specifying whether his cheesesteak should include onions, TV viewers must decide how they want to watch a match - wid natural or enhanced sound.  With natural all you hear is what's actually in the stadium; enhanced sound gets you simulated crowd noise.  The default choice for TV viewers is enhanced and you have to do some work to get natural.  If you're streaming, the choice is usually there right at the start.  Most of my viewing has been live on TV and I'm too lazy to do the work to go natural.  Also, I don't find it offensive.  Sometimes I think they're getting better about matching the sounds to the action but it's quite spotty.

I did check out some replays with natural sound and was surprised that no crowd noise didn't bother me either.  Also surprised that there is a good spike in the noise when a goal is scored.  You could hear an excellent reaction from those in attendance when Brighton tallied in stoppage time to upset Arsenal.

So, if I have an easy choice at the start, I'll probably go natural but the difference isn't enough for me to do any work if the default option is enhanced.


It Pays to Increase Your Word Power

occlusion

1.

n

the act of blocking

Use in a sentence:

“The seven cameras located in the stands around the goal area were significantly occluded by the goalkeeper, defender and goalpost. This level of occlusion has never been seen before in over 9,000 matches that the Hawk-Eye Goal Line Technology system has been in operation.

No goal for SHU

Within 45 minutes of the Project Restart restart, we had a controversy.  Late in the first half of the Aston Villa - Sheffield United match, a Blades delivery into the box had appeared to most viewers to have completely crossed the goal line.  But Michael Oliver kept pointing to his watch saying the goal-line technology had not signaled for a goal.  Only later was it clear that the GLT didn't actually know what happened here.  Should the VAR have intervened?  Maybe, but as I recall there was a stoppage of play within about minute after the incident, which didn't really allow that much time for the VAR to consider the possibility that GLT hadn't seen this one, especially given that it hadn't happened before.  You can see the incident here.

Fortunately, there were no serious consequences to the incident.  I kid.  The match ended 0-0 so it was a critical point for Aston Villa in their scrap to stay up, which couldn't have pleased other relegation rivals.  At the same time, Sheffield United dropped two points, which damaged their Champions League hopes, possibly to the delight of other clubs like Man United, Wolves, Spurs, etc.  Metrics at 538 say Villa outplayed Sheffield here so both clubs might be lucky to have come away with a draw.  Let's see if this matters at the end of the season.


Life Is Better 11 v 10

In their return to action Sunday, Newcastle were pretty much toe-to-toe with Sheffield United.  A 0-0 draw looked both likely and fair.  Then the Blades John Egan got a second yellow at 50 minutes.  The Magpies were patient but eventually put up three goals in what ended up as a rare romp for them.  Any Newcastle goal could qualify as a YouTubeableMoment given their infrequency but check out Matt Ritchie's blast that made things 2-0; we'll make it this week's YouTubeableMoment - Game Action Division.  Also good to see Joe L Linton get a late goal to complete the scoring; that has to be a boost to his confidence.

With those three points, 538 now has Newcastle with a less than 1% chance of relegation.  At 38 points, with many clubs behind them in the table, even I'm getting optimistic that they'll be staying up.


Wither the Gunners?

Perhaps no club rues the shutdown more than Arsenal.  They had 15 points from seven matches in 2020.  After a poor start to the season, they had some momentum, maybe enough to lift them into contention for a Champions League spot if Man City were banned.  So in the first match back, the aforementioned Man City took the Gunners rather easily with a 3-0 win.  Meh, not many beat City at home anyway.  But the 1-2 loss to Brighton is going to leave a mark.  First, they weren't that great to begin with against the relegation-threatened Seagulls.  Looking at 538, neither team really stood out.  But then to give up the goal in stoppage time, ouch.  Nice shot from Maupay in the 95th minute.  Arsenal are now 9th in the table, closer to Newcastle than a Champions League spot.  Sure, they are just six behind Man United but there's a raft of teams in front of them as well.  Maybe the 2-0 win over Southampton on Thursday will get them back on track.


In Praise of Adama Traore

Not to get Dennis angry, since he (Traore, not Dennis) used to play for Aston Villa, but I love watching him play (Traore, not Dennis, though I do enjoy watching Dennis play too).  He came into a 0-0 draw at West Ham at 64 minutes and 20 minutes later the Wolves were up 2-0 and Traore had a hand in both goals.  He's like a pitcher who used to only have a 95 MPH fastball and nothing else.  Traore operated at one speed - super fast  - but you figured out how to deal with it.  Now he has a change up, curve-ball and maybe something else.  He varies his pace, he can cross the ball and he makes good decisions about dribbling and passing.  Traore was almost as good in a starting role against Bournemouth.  He kept pouring crosses into the box until one of them was converted into a goal.  At WhoScored.com, Traore is the second highest rated player with a 7.60 average rating, behind only Kevin deBruyne's 7.88.  Sorry, Dennis.


Virtual BFS Derby

Can't swear to it but I believe Dennis and I have watched every Newcastle - Aston Villa match (at least Premier League versions) together.  Work schedules and the pandemic put that to the test.  So we each set up multiple monitors, set up a Skype call, simonized our starts to the NBC Gold replay and took in the action together, complete with all the usual snide remarks.  Truthfully, Villa had more opportunities but the 1-1 draw seemed fair in the end.  The problem for Villa is that they really needed all three points.


The Title Chase (Is Over) - Congrats Liverpool

Liverpool managed only a 0-0 draw in what might have been the most lackluster Merseyside Derby in years.  The 45 point difference in the table was a major problem but this was one match that probably really suffered from the empty stadium.  Man City's trouncing of Burnley meant that the magic number only dropped to five points and hoisting the trophy would have to wait until midweek.  Liverpool did its job on Wednesday with an easy pasting of Crystal Palace.  That left City needing a win at Stamford Bridge on Thursday to force a showdown next week.  But it was not to be, as Chelsea came away with a deserved 2-1 win that featured a nifty goal from American Pusilic.  And thus a thirty-year title drought is ended for Liverpool.  When they last won in 1989-1990, the first division included such names as Wimbledon, Millwall, Coventry City, Luton Town, and Charlton Athletic.  You can look it up.


The Race for Fourth Fifth Sixth

As we know, Champions League berths usually go to the top four finishers in the EPL.  But this year of course is different.  First, we are still waiting on the results of Man City's appeal of a two-year ban from participation in Champions League.  Should the ban be upheld, fifth place will be good enough this year.  But wait, there's more.  The winner of the Europa League also gets a berth.  Right now, both Man United and Wolves are still alive in that competition.  They also happen to be the most likely to finish fifth in the EPL.  So, it is possible that sixth place might be good enough to qualify.

Man United seem intent on not letting it get to that point.  After good results against key competitors for the berth, they look most likely to claim a spot.  The 1-1 draw with Tottenham looked about right to me and the impressive 3-0 (Martial hat trick) win over Sheffield United could be aptly described as separating the wheat from the chaff.  Two wins for the Wolves kept them right in the mix.  And Spurs got the draw with Man United and an unspectacular 2-0 win over West Ham to offer at least some hope of a challenge.  Biggest talking point in that match was Harry Kane finally finding the net, ending a long drought related to performance, injury and pandemic.

I know there's probably a lot more that happened but that's all I've got.


Taking It Easy

Thanks to the FA Cup quarters, match week 32 will play out leisurely over the course of Saturday to Thursday.

Thursday has an important fixture with Sheffield United - Spurs at 1 pm; a Tottenham win might spell the end of Sheffield's Champions League hopes.  The other Thursday matchup, Man City - Liverpool just doesn't have the same heft anymore after the Reds secured the top spot on Thursday.

Other Champions League contenders have eminently winnable road matches as Man United travel to face Brighton (Tuesday 3:15), Wolves are at Aston Villa (Saturday 7:30) and Chelsea square off against West Ham (Wednesday 3:15).

Villa are up against it versus Wolves so will be looking for help elsewhere.  Newcastle take on Bournemouth (Wednesday 1 pm) and Southampton are at Watford (Sunday 11:30).

Sort of good news on FA Cup viewing.  ESPN has Norwich - Man United at 12:30 pm on Saturday and Sheffield United - Arsenal at 8 am on Sunday.  You'll need ESPN+ for Leicester - Chelsea at 11 am on Sunday and Newcastle -Man City at 1:30 on Sunday.  If I read the FA website correctly, matches will be at the site of the first team listed for each match.

MLS announced stuff related to their restart tournament but we'll deal with that later.

Welcome Back!

Empty Stadiums, Crowded Dens?

Looks like the EPL restart is real.  Two matches on Wednesday June 17, then Matchweeks 30 to 39 packed in tightly ending on July 26.  That's 92 games in 40 days.  I will probably have to set ground rules for myself so I don't try to watch too many and burn out.  Something like only watch games involving Newcastle or with Champions League or relegation implications.  Might still be too many.

All matches look to be set for regular home venues with no neutral sites.  No fans either.  Weekend fixtures are spread out over Friday to Monday with no overlap of matches; weekday fixtures will cover Tuesday to Thursday but there will be some overlap.  Still, a boatload of viewing opportunities.  Full schedule is here. Roughly it breaks down like this:

Match week 30 - 6/19-22
Match week 31 - 6/23-25
Match week 32 - 6/27-7/2
Match week 33 - 7/4
Match week 34 - 7/8
Match week 35 - 7/11
Match week 36 - 7/15
Match week 37 - 7/18
Match week 38 - 7/26

I fully expect that Match weeks 33-38 will actually be spread out around the listed date as opposed to all games on the same day.  Also, a temporary rule change will allow for 20 on the named roster and five subs allowed per match.


Now, Where Were We?

So Liverpool is the presumptive champion, needing just six points (or Man City dropping six points) to claim the title.  Man City, Leicester City and Chelsea hold the next three spots.  But as we will discuss below, Man City's participation in the Champions League is in doubt.  So that brings 5th and 6th place Man United and Wolves (and maybe even Sheffield United) into the picture.  When we last left Tottenham and Arsenal, the former did not resemble a Champions League side while the latter were on a roll but maybe started from too far back.

The southern half of the table is really crowded.  Norwich may be done but just four points separate 15-19th and two points separate 15th-18th.   In descending order that group includes Brighton, West Ham, Watford, Bournemouth and Aston Villa.

We happily note the absence of Newcastle in that list.  In 13th with 35 points, their odds of going down are pretty slim at this point.  The remaining fixtures don't offer lots of easy points but fortunately they don't need many and there are enough teams below them they should be safe.

The current table can be found here.


FA Cup Too?

I had completely forgotten that Newcastle had reached the quarterfinals after a 3-2 win over West Brom.  Their prize is a date with Man City on June 28.  The other fixtures are Norwich - Man United, Sheffield United - Arsenal, and Leicester - Chelsea.  That first one might not be too good but, well, as somebody said, two out of three ain't bad.  These matches explain why Matchweek 32 has to be spread over six days.  Semi-finals are July 18 with the final on August 1.


Champions League Too?

That is not clear at this point.  The UEFA Champions League Executive Committee meets on June 17th.  Four sides had already made it to the quarter finals when play was suspended - Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, RB Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain.  Four matches remain, with Man City -Real Madrid, Juventus - Lyon, Bayern - Chelsea and Barcelona - Napoli still to go.


The Cover-up Is Always Worse Than the Crime, Part MMCXVIII

When we last spoke, Man City had been assessed a two-year Champions League ban from UEFA.  A good explanation of the case can be found here.  City's appeal was heard last week.  But they have two problems.  Besides the initial claim of violating the financial fair play regulations, City is alleged not to have cooperated with the investigation.  Oops.  As the article notes, the implications of this decision are enormous, both internally for Man City and for the other clubs chasing Champions League berths.


A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

What the Summer of 2020 will look like?
Allsport/Getty Images

As the EPL prepares to open to empty stadiums, BFS Travel Consultant Jeff K sends along this article from the NYT about a mural Arsenal used in 1992 for the final training session at old Highbury.  Certainly, this is one way to give the venues a bit more of a "lived in" look in the age of social distancing.  But read further and you find a second current events issue here. From the article:

The day before the start of the season, Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell was warming up with his friend and teammate Ian Wright. “He turned to me and asked if I noticed anything about the mural,” Wright told The New York Times last week. “I looked and looked and eventually said no. So he said, ‘There’s no black faces.’”

The artists were adamant that it was not deliberate and quickly agreed to modify the painting.  A benign enough incident on one hand but an excellent example of how what's obvious to some just doesn't register with others until it's pointed out.


MLS Too?

Yes but details are missing.  As a Union season ticket holder we got this message on Wednesday:

Today, Major League Soccer announced a plan for all 26 teams to return to play in Orlando in a tournament beginning July 8.  The tournament will consist of a total of 54 matches, including 39 in group stage and 15 in knockout rounds.   Group stage matches will count in the MLS regular season standings and the tournament winner will earn a spot in the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League.  

This is tremendously exciting and our goal is still to play as many matches as possible at Subaru Park in 2020. Upon completion of the MLS is Back Tournament, MLS plans to continue its regular season with a revised schedule in home markets, followed by the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs and the 25th MLS Cup. The schedule will be developed so teams face only opponents from within their own conferences. The final number of matches and the schedule for the remainder of the 2020 MLS regular season will be announced in the coming weeks. As we did beginning in May and continuing until further notice, we are suspending all further season ticket membership payments. 

Details on the format and group draws for tournament can be had here.  No fans will be attending those games.  No specifics are out yet on the regular season.  Sure sounds like it will be in empty stadiums though I haven't seen that definitively stated.  I thought I had pitched the idea here a few months ago about a cut-down schedule involving just in-conference play but apparently it didn't get past the editors and into the blog.


Check Your DVRs

Clean out old recordings, etc. as there will be 22 matches in 9 days.  Things get rolling Wednesday with Aston Villa hosting Sheffield United.  This is a critical match for both sides as we really can't take it for granted that the rest of the season will come off as planned.  For Villa, a win would take them clear of the bottom three while three points for the Blades would move them into fifth, which might be good enough for CL this year.  At 3:15 we can take in Man City versus Arsenal.  City's fate is more in the hands of UEFA appeals board but Arsenal could use the boost.  I guess the fact that the Gunners haven't lost in 2020 has little meaning when they haven't played in over three months.  Both matches are NBCSN.

The weekend contests are spread over Friday to Monday.  All on either NBC or NBCSN with the exception of Bournemouth - Crystal Palace, which will be on NBC Gold.  I'd say Friday's 3:15 match between Tottenham and Man United (NBCSN) is worth checking out; a Spurs loss would leave them seven points behind United - not insurmountable, except the way they were playing before the break, it is.

Saturday's menu isn't going to blow you away except for the fact that we haven't had anything to watch for so long.  You can watch them all live if you want but not sure I'm recommending that.  Brighton - Arsenal at 10 am (NBCSN) might be best choice although 538 is saying Watford - Leicester at 7:30 am (NBCSN) is basically a toss-up - really?  The "feature match" at 12:30 on NBC is West Ham - Wolves.

Sunday will find me taking in Newcastle - Sheffield United at 9 am at an empty St. James' Park (NBCSN); I guess the good news is at least the home crowd won't be booing.  Dennis will endure Villa hosting Chelsea at 11:15 on NBCSN.  The day concludes with a Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park at 2 pm on NBC.  The match week concludes on Monday with Man City hosting Burnley at 3 pm on NBCSN.

No rest for the weary as things continue on Tuesday with Matchweek 31.  This is also not necessarily the finest set of fixtures.  As of this writing, the TV schedule is not available.  We do note with interest the BFS Derby on 1 pm on Wednesday at St. James' Park. The reverse fixture back in November was a disaster for the Magpies. At the time, Aston Villa looked like they belonged in the Premiership while Newcastle clearly were Championship Division material.  An amazing reversal of fortunes.  Clearly the match is way more critical for the Villans.

Matches of interest to BFS readers include Spurs hosting West Ham (Tuesday 3:15) and Man United taking on Sheffield United (Wednesday 1pm).  At 538 they see comfortable wins for the home sides.  On Thursday I'm inclined to check out Southampton - Arsenal (1pm) as 538 sees this as a close one and real test as to whether the Gunners are really going to contend for a CL position.  That's followed by Chelsea - Man City; even at Stamford Bridge the Blues are underdogs but we're still hoping for a good match.

Totally curious as to how everybody experiences the matches without crowds.  My guess is that it will be incredibly weird to start but we'll get used to it.  Has to be better than Korean baseball.