Drop Zone Drama

I welcomed the international break as a respite from the horror show Tyneside.  I'll recount some of the highlights of the break for me, then step back into the grim reality that is Newcastle.

We Knew Him When

A familiar sight for Union fans - Aaronson celebrating goal

Finally tuned back into the USMNT.  Yeah, they were friendlies but it was a good chance to see what this team might look like heading into the WC Qualifiers this fall.  Among the pleasant surprises was seeing former Union player Brenden Aaronson making second half appearances in which he clearly had an impact.  In the 4-1 Jamaica win, he could have had an assist shortly after entering the game but Reyna couldn't finish after Aaronson gave him a sweet through ball.  Brenden got one anyway a few minutes later.  He also helped on another by creating space for Lletget on one of his two goals.  Aaronson didn't get on the scoresheet in the 2-1 win over Northern Ireland but still looked pretty dangerous.

Certainly some reason for optimism for this squad going forward.  Pulisic wasn't so great in the Jamaica match but did well against Northern Ireland.  Sergino Dest had an awesome strike versus Jamaica and looks unlike any defender I've ever seen in a US uniform.  Yunus Mensah is now officially on the US squad.  So many more players with soccer skills, not just raw athletic talent.  

Whoa No, Guadalajara Won't Do (apologies to Steely Dan)

 Once again, the US won't be competing in the Olympics as the team crashed out of the qualifying in a strange 2-1 loss to Honduras in Guadalajara.  Again.  The first Honduran goal came late first half stoppage time with the US looking like their heads were maybe already in the locker room.  The second goal was a dreadful mistake by keeper David Ochoa - a sloppy clearance that ricocheted off an Honduran attacker and into the net.  Jackson Yueill brought the US back into the match with a thunder strike but there would be no equalizer.  So the Yanks stay home again.

Save It For the EPL?

Checked in on several of the European WC qualifying matches.  Scotland's 2-2 draw with Austria might have been the best.  Scotland fell behind twice but rallied late to salvage a point from the match.  The equalizer came in the 85th minute on a lovely bicycle kick from Aston Villa's John McGinn, this week's YouTubeableMoment.  Dennis was happy enough about it but wished that McGinn had saved that one for Aston Villa.

Saw Belgium take out Wales 3-1 then draw Czech Republic 1-1.  The latter was not exactly their finest but probably just a stumble on the way to qualification.  England-Poland was a bit of a snooze; Poland without Lewandowski is like trying to watch Newcastle score.  But they did manage to make it interesting with a second half goal that made England work for the 2-1 win.

Not your fault, buddy.  Ireland keeper Bazunu
walks off after 0-1 loss to Luxembourg

Ireland's chances took a serious hit with losses to Serbia (2-3) and, shockingly, Luxembourg (0-1).  Wished I could have seen the latter match, as it featured my FM Forest Green's keeper Gavin Bazunu.  He doesn't look culpable on the Luxembourg goal and in fact the game reports suggest he had a great game.   He has been awesome for my Forest Green side. 

  

Caveat Emptor

The Special One now comes with
 his own warning label

After a listless performance in the North London derby and then coughing up a two goal lead and losing to Dinamo Zagreb in Europa League action, Jose Mourinho was back in the hot seat.  A 2-0 win on the road over Aston Villa may have calmed things for the moment.  They climbed back to 6th and still have some hope of a top four finish.  Still, the picture (left) might be good advice for any owners hoping to sign Jose should he get sacked.

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place But Didn't

Dennis: You think that should have been a yellow card?

Steve: No, I said it was a Vinicius challenge

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place and Did

Michael (as Spurs were losing 2-3 to Dinamo Zagreb): Two goal lead the most dangerous in football

Steve: Most dangerous lead is any Spurs' lead

Gutless Performance

Tried to put it off but now I must review the EPL action from the prior weekend.  Friday was great as Leeds rallied from a goal down to best Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage.  As the Cottagers were solid favorites here, this was a serious blow to Fulham.  So I went into Saturday thinking Newcastle were sort of playing with house money.  They were underdogs on the road, so I was hoping they just put up a good effort and if they got a point, well great.  They did neither.  The Chronicle used the word "gutless" numerous times in their write-up.  Might be a tad generous.  The 3-0 final for the Seagulls does not flatter them.  This was a thorough beat down.  A failure on every level.  I thought it might have signaled the end for Bruce, especially with the international break looming; if Ashley was going to pull the trigger, this would have been the time.  But no.  That means he's likely in for the rest of the season.  After the weekend results, 538 shows both Fulham and Newcastle with a 47% chance of relegation.  So the Leeds loss was more damaging to Fulham than the Newcastle debacle was for the Magpies.  Just doesn't feel that way.

Hopefully some of you tuned into the fun 3-3 draw between West Ham and Arsenal.  Jesse Lingard - the loan that keeps on giving - opened the scoring for the Hammers and by 32 minutes they were up 3-0.  An own goal from Soucek, then one from Craig Dawson made things considerably more interesting.  For the record, that meant West Ham had surrendered three consecutive own goals, two of them from Dawson.  Lacazette completed the comeback in the 82nd minute.  Ironically, the draw put a dent in both teams' hopes for the top four.  

Aston Villa came up totally flat against Spurs and went down 0-2.  Key point here was that we found out that Sanson is not French for Grealish.  

FA Cup Quarters

Frankly, I can't remember much about the matches.  Leicester beat Man United 3-1 with a couple more from the "in-form" EatANacho.  Chelsea, Southampton and Man City also advanced so the semi's will feature Chelsea-Man City and Leicester-Southampton.  One of these is not like the others.

In Case You Missed It

Courtesy my neighbor Mary R

Oh To Be in England Now That the Clocks Have Sprung Forward

Break's over and the 7 am matches have returned.  Actually the fixtures are on the tepid side and we might not see much happening in the table this weekend.

We are all about relegation now so our focus will be Sunday morning.  Newcastle host Spurs at 9:05 on NBCSN.  The good news is that we might see Allan Saint-Maximin back for the Magpies.  The bad news is that it probably won't matter.  A draw here would be stunning.  Then at 11:30 we'll watch, probably in perpetual fear, Aston Villa take on Fulham.  The Villans are favored, but not by a lot.  This is another weekend when losses for both Newcastle and Fulham will be far more damaging to Fulham.  I hear that Grealish is back for Aston Villa so that's a good thing.

Saturday afternoon has the two best matches for the top of the table chase.  Man City travel to face Leicester at 12:30 on NBCSN while Arsenal host Liverpool at 3 pm, also on NBCSN.  City and Liverpool are favored but both could be interesting matches.  The Leicester match is likely one of the last chances to derail City's title bid, if that's even possible at this point.  

Chelsea will look to take advantage of a home match versus West Brom (Saturday at 7:30 am on NBCSN if you're inclined to rise early).  Wolves - West Ham on Monday at 3 pm on Peacock might be worth a look.  

Fortunately, the midweek Champions League and Europa League quarterfinal action will more than compensate for the shortcomings of the EPL schedule.  Tuesday/Wednesday will have leg one of the Champions League quarters involving Real Madrid - Liverpool (Tuesday 3 pm), Man City - Dortmund (Tuesday 3 pm), Bayern - PSG (Wednesday 3 pm) and Porto - Chelsea (Wednesday 3 pm).  Thursday has four Europa quarter final first legs, all at 3 pm - Arsenal - Slavia Praha, Granada- Man United, Ajax - Roma and Dinamo Zagreb - Villareal.  Very cool that five EPL sides are still alive in these competitions.  Looks like you can brush up on your Spanish and take in Real Madrid - Liverpool on Univision but the rest are probably only available on ParamountPlus.  

I'm sure I missed something but that's all I got this week.