One Point Closer to Safety

Newcastle grabbed an unlikely point at Anfield while the Union lost the one they were supposed to win but won the one they were supposed to lose.  Plus a little more Super League post-mortem.

An Unlikely Draw

Newcastle managed two stoppage time equalizers in a 1-1 draw with Liverpool.  How is that possible you ask?  Well, the first one was disallowed correctly based on the letter of the law (more on that below).  But we get ahead of ourselves.

Dubravka with one of his 8 saves - POM for me

Liverpool took an early lead on some brilliant work in the box by Mo Salah.  Much of the rest of the match was spent watching the Reds fail to convert golden opportunities either because of great work by Magpies keeper Martin Dubravka, or simply poor choices by Liverpool attackers.  Newcastle weren't totally toothless but my pre-game hope for no worse than an 0-1 loss looked like the best we were going to get.  Enter stoppage time with the score still 1-0.  Callum Wilson appeared to level things in the 93rd minute with this goal.  As you can clearly see, the ball clearly comes off his arm and under existing laws, this is an easy call for the referee.  Massive let down.  I hadn't recovered from that disappointment when Joe Willock put in the real equalizer in the dying seconds of the match.  Of course this is an easy choice for this week's YouTubeableMoment.  This is Willock's third straight game winning or tying goal so we may have to rename the feature after him.  Of course, they wouldn't have been in that position without Dubravka's work in goal.  Also, another 7.1 performance from Jacob Murphy.  

Only a point but it means that most likely a draw with Sheffield United at home on the penultimate weekend will be enough to ensure safety.  Relegation percentage is down to 2%.  Basically, it would take a string of improbable - though not impossible - results to drag the Magpies down now.

Common Denominator

What do the teams currently sitting 5th to 7th in the table (i.e. on the outside looking in at Champions League participation) have in common?  They all dropped points to Newcastle in the last month - Liverpool and Tottenham two each and West Ham three.  Just sayin'.

Turns Out There Are Dumb Questions

Or people have short memories.  The response after Callum Wilson's goal being ruled out is humorous.  How does this rule make sense?  Blah, blah, blah.  Go back to 2019 when the rule was changed.  This was exactly what people wanted:

• Football does not accept a goal being scored by a hand/arm (even if accidental)
• Football expects a player to be penalized for handball if they gain possession/control of the ball from their hand/arm and gain a major advantage e.g. score or create a goal-scoring opportunity

The rule was changed precisely because people were complaining about goals exactly like Wilson's counting.  Personally, I like the old rule better but please just choose one and then shut up.

Lose Some Win Some

The Union were solid favorites in their home opener versus Miami.  They played like it and when Monteiro's goal put them up 1-0 in the second half, you felt like it was going to be a W.  But this was a classic case of not taking advantage of other scoring opportunities and two late games from Miami turned this into a 1-2 defeat.  Hard to say if it was just a lack of scoring punch or maybe some complacency.  Definitely unsatisfying and a poor result heading into what looked like a tough Concacaf Champions League quarterfinal fixture in Atlanta on Tuesday night.

On Tuesday, Atlanta did indeed push the Union around for most of the first half and only heroic work by Andre Blake kept the score at 0-0 well into the second half.  That was breathing space that allowed the Union to figure some things out.  In the 57th minute, Wagner sent a corner into the box that eluded Glesnes' attempted diving header (fortunately!?) and landed at shuhBILLkoh's feet and he calmly put it away; replay can be seen here.  Cool, an away goal.  But wait there's more.  Two well-crafted counter attacks yielded two more goals and an unlikely 3-0 result for the first leg.  Of course, there is still the matter of the second leg but Atlanta will have to win by four goals at Subaru Park on Tuesday night.  

Random Observations

I remember watching a lot of games but poor memory and limited time mean I'll just offer some random thoughts about the last week.

- Wolves win the "Ready for the Beach" award with their awesome 0-4 loss to Burnley

- Leicester added six points with wins over West Brom and Crystal Palace; and yes EatANatcho had goals in both

- Chelsea put a serious dent in West Ham's Champions League hopes with their 1-0 win; that means Jesse Lingard did not score this week

- We suggested Man United might have trouble with Leeds and sure enough, that one ended 0-0

- Sam Allardyce's reputation as relegation rescuer is in serious jeopardy after West Brom surrendered a tying goal to Aston Villa in stoppage time

- Man City's 1-0 win over Spurs in the Caraboa League Cup Final probably did not attract new viewers to the sport

- First half of Chelsea - Real Madrid Champions League semi-final was excellent but the second half was like both managers had been replaced by Jose Mourinho; the 1-1 draw (nice goal from Pulisic) is probably a slight advantage for Chelsea as the second leg is in London

-Sort of rooting for PSG so that 1-2 home score against Man City was disappointing

- Europa matches ended too late for this edition of BFS

Super League Redux

Sounds about right- CL sponsor responds

Certainly been enough to take in about this clusterf***.  But I do want to focus on the financial side. The thinking was that this league would generate significantly greater revenue through TV rights, etc. for the participating clubs. As detailed here, JP Morgan was going to provide the advance funding secured against these expected TV revenues.  But would that have actually happened?  The article suggests that the TV networks were not convinced they'd be shelling out massive new amounts.  Dennis and I can tell you about all the times we sat in hospital project meetings with managers and consultants optimistically projecting admissions and revenues that had virtually no chance of materializing given the realities of their service areas.   The Super League might have been able to generate some additional revenues from the early stages of league play but the later stages would be no different than the current set up.  The Real Madrid - Chelsea semi-final would be basically the same whether you call it Champions League or Super League.

My second point on this subject is that it's not dead yet.  The issue of club finances is real and does need to be addressed.  The question is how.

 

Staffing Change

BFS is pleased to announce that Scandinavian Correspondent Philip S has been promoted to Super League Correspondent.  This comes with a 10% salary increase and an upgraded parking spot.

Full Slate

No extracurricular competitions this week so everybody plays.  Newcastle face a struggling Arsenal at home.  Not as bad as going to the Emirates but never a good match up for us, especially since Joe Willock cannot suit up for this one as he can't play against his parent club.  That's 9 am Sunday on NBCSN.  Fortunately, Fulham take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (12:30 Saturday feature match on NBC) so they aren't likely to get any points either.  The other marginally relevant relegation players may fare a little better.  Brighton are home to Leeds (10 am Saturday on NBCSN), though we have pointed out what a tough draw Leeds have been lately - no flip flops on these guys yet.  Burnley host West Ham on Monday at 3:15 on Peacock.  West Brom may have the easiest fixture - home versus Wolves; maybe Santos will have read the riot act to his charges and they will show up for this one.

Biggest match up in the good neighborhoods is Man United Liverpool on Sunday at 11:30 on NBCSN.  Tough to say that's a must win for Liverpool but it sure looks like it since Chelsea (vs Fulham) and Leicester (vs Southampton) look likely to get three points this weekend.  Spurs will seek to keep things alive hosting Sheffield United on Sunday at 2:15 on Peacock.

After no live soccer since November 2019, I get two matches in four days.  Saturday I'll be at Subaru Park to see the Union take on NYCFC.  Not an historically productive fixture for us so maybe a draw would be fine, especially given the congested schedule.  Will be right back there on Tuesday night to hopefully watch them close out Concacaf Champions League quarter final against Atlanta.

Also Champions League and Europa League second legs of the semi-final ties Tuesday-Thursday.

I forget the last footballless day but it's been awhile.  Might have been back to April 2.  And schedule is full through May 12th.  No one said this would be easy.