Another Season in the Books

6911 set up for proper last day viewing

Thanks mostly to the Leicester-Tottenham match, the live table did change by the minute during Sunday's final matches.  Newcastle continued their Alfred E Neuman-like (What, me worry?) end to the season.  The Union win again with less than their best.  And now all we have to look forward to is a month of June full of Euro 2020 2021.

Depressingly Familiar

At two points on Sunday, Leicester had a place in the Champions League.  Jamie Vardy gave the Foxes an early lead against Spurs with a PK.  Coupled with Chelsea's struggle against Aston Villa, a win would have gotten them fourth.  Harry Kane temporarily put that to rest with a late first half tally.  But Vardy got a second PK to restore Leicester's hopes, especially with Villa up 2-0 on Chelsea.  And then it fell apart.  Schmeichel surrendered an own goal on botched corner and Bale added two more late to seal a 4-2 win for Spurs.  Chelsea's 1-2 loss to Villa was irrelevant at that point.  Thus we are left with top four of Man City, Man United, Liverpool and Chelsea.

Turns out Spurs needed that rally to get their own ticket for Europe next year (albeit in the less desirable Europa Conference League).  Until Bale's goal put Spurs in front of Leicester, Arsenal were holding the seventh spot thanks to a comfortable lead over Brighton.  West Ham had left no doubt about sixth place with their convincing 3-0 win over Southampton.  So the Europa picture is Leicester and West Ham in the Europa League and Tottenham in the "tertiary level" Europa Conference League.

Leicester again lose out on Champions League on the last day of the season.  West Ham at least is a newer face in the top seven, recovering nicely from last year's relegation threatened 16th place finish.

What Were We Worrying About?

With a 2-0 win over Fulham, Newcastle finished 12th with 45 points.  Are you kidding me?  Seven weeks ago they were 17th with 28 points, just two outside the relegation zone.  The Magpies took 17 points from the final nine matches; extrapolate that over a 38-game season and you get almost 72 points and a top four finish.  Easy there Sparky. Nine of those points came against bottom of the table competition.  On the other hand, eight points did come against top seven sides, so it wasn't just bottom feeding.

We are left with the question of how could a 45-point, 12th-place season be so incredibly stressful.  Part may have been the schedule.  A bigger part is likely injuries, including covid-19 related absences.  We can't ignore that the only significant piece of January business, acquiring Joe Willock from Arsenal on loan, paid off big time (more on that below).  Unfortunately, the solid finish could lead to complacency Tyneside.  See, we were fine except for injuries.  We don't need to make changes.  Yeah, except Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin look to be injury prone and the early signs from Mikel Arteta are that he has no intention of making the Willock deal permanent.  No, the worst thing would be to stand pat - that would pretty much guarantee another season on the brink.

Aston Villa Are the Mid-Table

Not in the mid-table.  They are the entire mid-table.  The win over Chelsea gave them an completely creditable 11th place finish with 55 points.  It's 10 points down to the next spot - Newcastle - and every team below them was relegation threatened until late (well maybe not Wolves).  It's only four points up to 10th place Everton but every team above them was a serious candidate for Europe (well maybe not Leeds).  

Villa went from 17th and incredible escape last year to this 11th place finish.  What if Grealish hadn't missed so many games?  Looking over the fixtures he missed, we might conservatively give Villa seven more points.  With 62 points, they would have been in the hunt for at least a Europa League spot.  We can only hope management takes the summer window seriously.  Hang on to the key players like Targett, Cash, and Konsa, find someone to replace Douglas Luiz, add some depth.  This team could challenge for top seven with some judicious spending.

Loanee of the January Window - Lingard or Willock?

This is an incredibly tight contest.  Willock had eight goals in 14 games, averaging a rating of 7.13; Newcastle averaged 1.25 points per game in those 14 games versus 1.04 in the other 24 games.  But Lingard was probably better.  He had nine goals and four assists in 16 games, averaging a rating of 7.22; West Ham average 1.875 points per game in those 16 games versus 1.45 in the other 22 games. He also played all but 14 minutes of those games.  Newcastle went from relegation threat to a comfortable 12th place finish.  West Ham got a 6th place finish and a Europa spot.  However, they were already in the hunt before Lingard showed up; Jesse just made sure they stayed there.  The Newcastle bias of the BFS panel shows through and the award goes to Willock,  as we feel he made more of difference to the Magpies final standing than Lingard did.  But ya done good too Jesse.

Separated at Birth

We had thought about posting this for a few weeks but held off on pointing it out, until Dennis said he saw it too.  When exactly did Tottenham sign Jack Sparrow?  And will he be back next year?  Guess it might depend on who Daniel Levy picks as his new manager.

Good Thing That Wasn't NYCFC

Glesnes in action: BFS choice for PoM

Or somebody comparable.  For the second straight match, the Union looked mediocre versus mediocre
competition.  But for the second straight match, they escaped with a 1-0 win, this time against DC United.  Quite a few passes that were not intercepted as much as sent directly to the opposition.  Some communication breakdowns that led to shockingly easy scoring opportunities.  And again, not making the most of the chances they generated.  Three things stand out for me.  There was a moment of brilliance on a through ball from Monteiro to shuhBILLkoh, with CATSpurr calmly finishing the play.  Blake had his usual result saving save.  And a big shout out to Glesnes for always being in the passing lane to disrupt the DC United attacks.  At whoscored.com, they had Blake above Glesnes (8.0 to 7.7) but we would have gone with the Norwegian.  We also got a quick look at new addition Daniel Gazdag.  Hard to draw much from the appearance, except that he showed up ready to play, even just for one match.  He probably won't be back until July after the Euros.  

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place But Didn't

Dennis:  Who's the player on DC United wearing 20-20?

Steve:  Brendan Hines-Ike

Dennis: What's the deal with his number?

Steve: Everybody knows Hines-Ike is always 20-20

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place and Did

Bob K: Did you say Spurs owner Daniel Levy had trouble getting out of jail?

Michael B: No, I said he misspent the Bale money.

Not Istanbul (Not Constantinople) [apologies to They Might Be Giants]

The Champions League Final was originally to be held in Istanbul.  But with Turkey on the UK red list for travel fans of the both finalists - Man City and Chelsea - would not be allowed to attend.   The clubs proposed Wembley but UEFA staff would have had trouble getting exemptions to fly to London.  So the compromise city was Porto.  With Portugal on the UK green list, about 6,000 fans from each club will be able to attend.  That match is this Saturday at 3 pm on CBS (the main network).  City are prohibitive favorites.

The Europa League final looks good with Villareal taking on Man United.  That one is on CBSSports at 3 pm on Wednesday.  United are the favorite here too but I wouldn't count The Yellow Submarine out.

The Union have one more match - home against Portland - before a long international break sets in.  That's Sunday at 7 pm on FS1.  They better bring their A game or it might not be pretty.  

The USMNT is gearing up for a busy second half to the year.  Nice article here from Axios (hat tip BFS La Liga correspondent Bob K).  You might want to take a moment to acquaint yourself with the roster.  Nice to see two ex-Union names (McKenzie and Aaronson).

And of course, Euro 2020 kicks off a year late on June 11 with Turkey taking on Italy at 3 pm.  Group stage matches every day from 6/11 to 6/23.  Knockout games most days until the final on July 11th.  

We're going to take off until 6/11 when we'll present our thoughts and viewing plans for the Euros.

A Little Drama Left

The weekend and midweek results leave a few issues unresolved as we head into Sunday's season finale.  Leicester got their first FA Cup ever.  There was a pile of games that were of little consequence but we watched anyway.  And a play that never works, worked for once.

Fates Were Sealed

Results went in favor of Newcastle this weekend, so much so that the Magpies suddenly find themselves safe from relegation.  And they weren't the only ones.  Nine different sides saw their destinies decided - for good or bad - by Tuesday evening.  Also, not a bad week for the Union.

Done and Dusted

Paul Dummett's header makes it 2-0 

As we've noted before, nothing better than starting the weekend off with your side getting a good result on Friday.  In truth, Newcastle's 4-2 win over Leicester wasn't merely good, it was great.   Possible Loanee of the January Window, Joe Willock (Jesse Lingard might argue otherwise) got the Magpies an early - and deserved - lead with a goal in the 22nd minute.  But the possibility that this would be Newcastle's day became real with Paul Dummett's header goal in the 34th minute.  Certainly a point was possible and the way they were playing, Newcastle looked capable of taking all three.  Second half goals from Callum Wilson extended the lead to 4-0.  A couple of late goals for Leicester (one of course from EatANacho) made this unnecessarily close but Newcastle held on for the 4-2 win.

Clearly the efforts from Wilson and Willock were key but don't overlook the continued brilliance of Dubravka in goal.  He had seven saves, often at critical points, to ensure that the Magpies would get the win.  Also, Matt Ritchie had another solid performance.  With the win, Newcastle's magic number fell to one point, meaning that Fulham would need to win every one of their final four matches.  Dennis chided me for insisting that it was not over, pointing out that Fulham had won five all year and now needed to win four straight.  He suggested that there was something like a .13% chance this would happen.  I was forced to concede that for Fulham to win four they would need to score at least one goal a game without conceding any and given that they were averaging .74 goals per game, this was highly unlikely.  

But .13% is still non-zero so we held off celebrating for the moment.  Flash forward to Monday afternoon with Fulham hosting Burnley.  The Clarets, perhaps in a sympathetic gesture to the Toon Army (I doubt it),  took control early and had things pretty much well in hand with a 2-0 lead by half time.  I suppose the fact that a win also meant Burnley were safe from relegation might have had something to do with it.  The second half proceeded uneventfully and both Newcastle and Burnley (and others it turns out - see below) get to celebrate another year in the top division.

Since the 0-3 debacle to Brighton, which left them with 47% chance of relegation, Newcastle have 11 points from six matches, including eight points from four of the top seven teams.  They clearly stepped up to the challenge, ending the relegation threat much earlier than expected.  

Others Done and Dusted

The Fulham-Burnley result settled the fate of of five different clubs.  Fulham were consigned to relegation, ending the threats for Newcastle, Brighton, Southampton, and Burnley.  Earlier in the weekend, Crystal Palace clinched safety with a 2-0 win over Sheffield United.  Combined with their 3-1 win over Aston Villa, Man United clinched a Champions League berth when Everton tipped West Ham 1-0 (which means Lingard did not score).  Sam Allardyce's non-relegation streak was ended with West Brom's 1-3 loss to Arsenal.  And Man United's 1-2 loss to Leicester on Tuesday meant that Man City were crowned champions of the Premier League.  

With all this clinching, there are still some important spots to play for.  The last two Champions League slots are still up for grabs, as are spots in the two Europa competitions.  Leicester and Chelsea still look best positioned for the Champions League but Liverpool have a game in hand so it's not quite done.  Fifth through seventh are tight, with West Ham, Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal and Everton still in the hunt.

At 17 (apologies to Janis Ian)

McGlynn (2nd from left) - 16 is not is age

Suspensions, a congested schedule and generally limited depth for the Union meant that Jack McGlynn started on Saturday vs Chicago and again on Wednesday versus New England.  He wears #16 and while that could be his age, he's actually all of 17.  Didn't play like it though.  WhoScored.com gave him a solid 7.0 against Chicago; not as good Wednesday with a 6.2 but still acceptable.

The Union looked solidly in control at Chicago and the 2-0 win is a fair accounting of what I saw on the pitch.  Back home at Subaru Park, New England proved a much tougher opponent.  Though an even match throughout, the Revolution looked poised to steal a victory with an 85th minute goal from Teal Bunbury.  Fortunately, shuhBILLkoh pulled that one back in just three minutes and the 1-1 final was a totally deserved result.  Never good to draw at home but New England are hot right now, so this is not awful.  It was also in the middle of three games in nine days.

All Some To Play For

The downside of all this early clinching is that the number of matches of consequences drops dramatically.  There is the FA Cup Final featuring Chelsea vs Leicester (12:15 Saturday on ESPN+), but despite a full weekend plus mid-week fixtures, a little thin on excitement.

Take Newcastle home to Man City on Friday at 3 pm (Peacock). No really, take it.  Not much to see there.  Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa Sunday at 7 am (NBCSN)?  Southampton - Leeds Tuesday afternoon at 1 pm?  See what I mean?

Look carefully though and there are some important matches.  West Ham is at Brighton Saturday at 3 pm on Peacock.  The Hammers need a win to keep their CL hopes alive.  Tottenham hope to keep Europa League in the picture as they host Wolves on Sunday at 9:05 on NBCSN.  Liverpool will hope to get all three at West Brom (Sunday 11:30 on NBCSN).  And Everton need to take care of Sheffield United Sunday at 2 pm on Peacock.

Wait, what's this?  No matches on Monday.  First time since April 2nd (?) with no EPL, Champions League or Europa League.

Tuesday afternoon does have a good looking fixture, with Chelsea hosting Leicester at 3:15 pm.  This is a break for Liverpool in that somebody's dropping points. To be fair, there are several matches on Wednesday with consequences, including Everton-Wolves, Tottenham - Aston Villa, Crystal Palace-Arsenal, Burnley-Liverpool and West Brom - West Ham.  Okay, so I maybe overstated how many meaningless matches there are.  Maybe the matchups aren't scintillating but they are meaningful.

Will be at Subaru Park Saturday to see the Union face the Pink Cows.  That's at 7:30 on PHL-17.

Spend your day off on Monday wisely.  European Championships are coming soon.

Special Bonus BFS

As the lead GIF maker for this blog, I felt it would be criminal if we did not show off this "beauty" from Arsenal's Thomas Partay late in their victory over Chelsea. Partay is sent on his way by Lacazette only to be double teamed in the Chelsea box, decide that it was just too much running, and that he should lay down for a second. He takes the slightest nudge from Hudson-Odoi, bravely stumbles forward a few steps, then simply collapses. Truly a masterpiece that was immediately (and I mean immediately) rewarded with the appropriate yellow card.  

-Dennis

Every Day Can't Be Christmas

 After a run of good results, things were on the ugly side last week.  Still, there were some positives if you look hard enough.

Split Screen Loss

If a goal is scored at SJP and no one hears it, it still counts

Spent most of the Newcastle-Arsenal watching on split screen without audio thanks to events in Manchester (more on that below).  I say this like it's a bad thing but maybe it wasn't.  An early goal from Elneny set the tone for this one.  No possession, no pressure, no shots is no way to go through life in the Premier League.  Only Arsenal's inability to get a second kept this one close.  When the Gunners got another goal at 66 minutes, it was was over.  Except for the overall flat performance, the 0-2 final was about what we had expected.

Fortunately, Chelsea did their job on Saturday, beating Fulham 2-0 on a brace from Kai Havertz.  The magic number is four points, meaning that Fulham must win three out of Burnley, Southampton, Arsenal and Newcastle, while the Magpies would have to lose everything from here on out. I'm sticking with improbable but not impossible.  That qualifies as optimism Tyneside.

West Brom only got a point against Wolves so their magic number is three points; they can only drop two points in matches with Arsenal, Liverpool, West Ham and Leeds. Good luck with that.  Brighton's 2-0 win over Leeds puts them just short of officially safe.  Burnley's loss to West Ham leaves them in basically the same condition as Newcastle.

Spurs Baled Out

Tottenham kept themselves barely alive in the Champions League chase with a 4-0 stomping of Sheffield United, largely on the strength of Gareth Bale's hat trick.  Leicester, despite playing all but 10 minutes a man up, could only manage a 1-1 draw at Southampton.  In fact, they were down 0-1 at half and had to come from behind.  No goals, just an assist for EatANacho.  West Ham kept their hand in by edging Burnley 2-1.  The match of the weekend, Man United vs Liverpool was postponed.  Leicester and Chelsea remain the favorites to qualify.

Everybody Doesn't Do It

By "it" we mean fall down at the slightest contact looking for the foul.  Check out how Villa's Ollie Watkins looks to have been tripped, goes down on one knee but pops right back up to slip the ball past Jordan Pickford.  Nice goal in any circumstances but we make it this week's YourTubeableMoment for bucking the trend.  Great match btw, especially the first half.  Both teams, with not lots to play for, looked interested.

Not For the Faint of Heart

The Union tested their fans with an ugly 0-2 loss to NYCFC on Saturday night and a nailbiting 1-1 draw Tuesday night in the second leg of the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinal against Atlanta.  Though that draw was good enough to send the Union onto the semis with a 4-1 aggregate score, even this "good" stuff  was uncomfortable to watch.

Saturday night started off bad and went downhill.  First, they yielded an early goal to fall behind quickly.  Then Jose Martinez completed a disciplinary double.  Already suspended for the Champions League match due to accumulation of yellow cards, he got himself sent off with a straight red card for a fist pounding to the head of NYCFC's Castellanos; expect a minimum one game suspension to go with it.  There was some solace in they kept it at 0-1 for a long time. When shuhBILLkoh, Wagner and Flach came on at about 60 minutes, it looked like we had a chance at a draw.  Then, an ill-advised back header by Glesnes didn't reach Blake and led to the second, and clinching, goal.  

Right back at it Tuesday night.  Recall the Union entered the second leg with 3-0 lead.  Curtin said the plan was not to sit back; he wanted to come out on the front foot.  And they did for the first 15 minutes, taking the game to Atlanta.  No goals from the pressure but it did keep Atlanta at bay.  The rest of the first half was more even.  Then Flach attempted an interception just outside the box when he would have been done better just to check his man; he missed and Sosa buried the shot.  Perfect.  Atlanta was the better side for most of the second half and had plenty of chances.  Then shuhBILLkoh provided needed relief with a goal at 88 minutes on a nice cross from substitute Cory Burke.  Would have been nice about 20 minutes sooner but there it was.  

 I got to see both up close and personal.  Not sure how it worked out this way but with the limited seating all our seats for May are 10 rows behind the Union bench.  

An American in London

Last week, Christian Pulisic became the first American male (Carli Lloyd and Alana Cook have done it) to score in a Champions League semi-final  match.  Wednesday he became the first American (male?) to get an assist in a Champions League semi-final helping to seal Chelsea's win over Real Madrid.  Chelsea came in with a slight advantage based on the 1-1 result in the first leg in Spain.  A goal by Werner had provided Chelsea with a modest cushion but a goal from Real Madrid at any point would have be enough to force extra time.  Despite several good opportunities, the Blues could not put it to bed.  Enter Pulisic.  Check out the goal he set up here; notice the composure in the box, then the pinpoint pass to Mason Mount.  Nice.  

Can PSG get a result at the Etihad? Hail no.

In the other semi, PSG must have thought hell froze over for their second leg with Man City.  They were already up against it, down 1-2 after last week in Paris.  The weather provided an extra challenge as the pitch was covered in hailstones (picture right).  Things just got worse as Mahrez scored in the 11th minute.  PSG always needed two anyway so it wasn't totally over.  Mahrez's second at 63 minutes settled that.  Bad on PSG for hacking their way through the final 30 minutes or so.  Only one red card but arguably should have been two more.

So Christian Pulisic will join Zach Steffen in the final on May 29, the first time two American men will be in the Champions League final.  And both from southeastern (sort of) Pennsylvania.

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place But Didn't

Dennis: Did you say the Brighton PK taker was bad?

Steve: No, I said he was Gross.

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place and Did

After Man United leveled Europa first leg semi-final with Roma at 2-2:

Steve: United look good for more.  They might win this 4-2.

Dennis (after United got their 6th):What idiot said 4-2?

What does the Roma manager say in the lockerroom after that?  "Well, boys, at least we got two away goals.  A 4-0 or 5-1 win back at home sends us through."

Meet the New Boss

Speaking of Roma, guess who will manage them next year? That's right, the Special One.  Mourinho had quite a good run in Serie A last time.  Like how some are calling it "baffling and yet inevitable."

Get Off the Fainting Couch

So what to make of Sunday's protest in Manchester?  You can read the BBC write-up here.  Things were a little uglier than I realized but don't think my basic position has changed.  To call it a riot seems like overkill; this looked largely orchestrated to make a point.  Take the pitch invasion.  Yes, it is technically trespassing, but the fans entered, made their point, then left on their own.  Unfortunately a few did dumb things like destroy some camera equipment or go places inside the stadium they didn't need to.  Not good.  And apparently there were a few incidents with police.  Also not good.  But overall, not a riot in my book.

So I got irritated at some of the reaction.  The self-serving statements from the team and local authorities are lame.  You knew about this protest for a week and were incredibly ill-prepared.  How could it have been so easy to break in to the stadium?  As for the team statement, two weeks ago you demonstrated exactly how little regard you have for the fan base; what did you expect?

Also disappointed in the NBCSN team.  They were falling over themselves to call it disgraceful, uncalled for, etc.  Felt like I was watching Fox News.  The protest was a generally measured response to an attempted coup of the English Premier League.  NBCSN made sure we saw the same guy throw the camera tripod over the railing like 50 times.  Okay that was bad but it was one incident.  As far as they knew, that was the most violent act of the protest.  The whole crew was breathlessly reporting like this was the end of soccer as we know it.  Spare me the faux outrage guys.  One guy left a shoe on the pitch and a steward, clearly not in fear of his safety, retrieved it for the protestor.  And Rebecca Lowe was incredulous.  Uh, I'm going to guess that the steward, who was, you know, actually there, had a better read of how (not) dangerous the situation was than you sitting in the studio in NYC or wherever.  As I'm recounting the events, I'm remembering how pissed I was at the time; I ending up turning off the coverage in disgust. Maybe it was just too soon after the January 6th insurrection here, but this was pretty tame stuff and you guys overreacted.  I'm much more concerned about someone leaving threatening messages on the desk of the US Speaker of the House than someone sitting on the lockerroom bench where Marcus Rashford puts on his cleats.

A minor point I realize but Rebecca Lowe made a point of apologizing to Arsenal fans for the disrupted coverage of the Newcastle match.  What about the Magpie fans?  I wasn't the only one who noticed this.  In some ways, it's a tell.  Just like how the television schedule is about making sure the Big Six get coverage.  That bias hasn't been on display so much since the pandemic hit because few matches are scheduled concurrently.  Wonder if that goes back to the old ways when things return to normal.  I realize they want good ratings but it's also clear which side their bread is buttered on.

Still No Days Off

Another week with matches every day.  Newcastle get their fun out of the way early, with a 3 pm match at Leicester on NBCSN.  No expectations there; a point would be awesome.  But Leicester are likely very motivated to lock up third place and a Champions League berth.

The other match that has my full attention is Fulham-Burnley on Monday at 3 pm on NBCSN.  I'm probably the only person outside of family and friends of the players who cares about this one.  A loss for the Cottagers would be crippling.  Burnley has no interest in losing either since they would reduce their cushion to just six points.  

The Champions League chase pack have work to do.  Chelsea travel to Man City for the Saturday NBC feature match on Saturday.  Besides a preview of the Champions League final, this will a chance for City to clinch the EPL title or a chance for Chelsea to hold onto their fourth place spot.  Probably worth watching.  Fifth place West Ham host Everton (Sunday 11:30 on NBCSN); the Hammers are favored but Everton don't seem to have given up just yet.  Sixth place Liverpool have an easier fixture, hosting Southampton Saturday at 3:15 on Peacock.  Spurs have a very tricky fixture at Leeds in Saturday's first match (7:30 on NBCSN); Leeds have been generally a tough match up lately.

Aston Villa offer a second chance for Man City to clinch the title as they face Man United (Sunday 9:05 on Peacock).  A Villan win seals the title and even a draw effectively locks up trophy based on goal differential.  On Sunday we hope Arsenal put West Brom out of their misery; a loss there consigns the Baggies to relegation.  Two largely irrelevant matches round out the weekend - Sheffield United vs Crystal Palace (Saturday at 10 am on NBCSN) and Wolves - Brighton (Sunday at 7 am on Peacock).

The midweek fixtures have a couple of gems - and a reason for Ole Gunner to be miffed.  Man United have to play Leicester on Tuesday at 1, then turn around and play Liverpool at 3:15 on Thursday.  Just one day rest between two tough matches.  Wednesday features Chelsea - Arsenal at 3:15; the Gunners position in the league table takes a little of the luster of this one but Chelsea will likely still be under pressure for a top four placing.  Aston Villa will take on Everton (again - this is the match postponed due to covid outbreak earlier in the year) on Thursday at 1 pm.

The Union will try to put up some points in the MLS with matches on Saturday at Chicago (1pm) and Wednesday home versus New England (7:30 pm).  Hopefully they can move past the heady stuff of the Concacaf Champions League and focus on league play now.

Sorry no days off again.  You'll have to wait until Monday May 17th.