Oh To Be A Neutral

What a great weekend to be an unaffiliated fan of the EPL, for whom a match is judged by entertainment value rather than a specific result.  Some of us were not so lucky.  Still, there are probably some happy faces among our readers.  And the Union got a tasty win as well.

'Tis Better to Have Led and Lost Than Never to Have Led at All

Joe can't save us this time - Author of many of last year's
 late game heroics - Joe Willock - was not in uniform
 because the transfer was completed so late

Eff Shakespeare. And the horse he rode in on.  The fact that Newcastle were up - twice in fact - on West Ham does nothing to make the 2-4 final feel any better than an 0-2 loss.  An early goal, some excellent counterattacking and great crosses from Allan Saint-Maximin and Matt Ritchie gave the Magpies a 2-1 halftime lead.  It was fun while it lasted.  The Hammers got the equalizer by the 53rd minute, then added two more in the 63rd and 66th minutes.  The first of those was particularly galling in that it was the result of a soft PK call, which PK was saved by Freddie Woodman but the rebound was put away by Tomas Soucek.  No, the second half was not pretty at all.

Many jumped immediately on Emil Krafth's performance at center back, with some reason.  Not sure what the thinking was to start him there anyway, he's a wing back.  But it's not like Fernandez and Clark were that much better.  I never found out why Lascelles didn't start; Schar wasn't in because he's not fit yet.  Matt Ritchie contributed to the goal but he failed to go with Soucek on the PK rebound and was beaten other times as well.  Shelvey wasn't good either.  This was a team suck.  

Last spring Newcastle's resurgence at least partly coincided with Jacob Murphy and Matt Ritchie getting regular time in the wingback slots.  But if the defense is this leaky, their attacking focus may be a luxury we can't afford.  I won't wimp out here - I would start a back three of Lascelles, Fernandez and Schar (if fit, Clark if not), Murphy and Ritchie at wingbacks, midfield of Almiron, Hayden (or S Longstaff?) and Willock, with ASM and Wilson up top.  If we get ripped up again, we'll have to go back to more defensive wingbacks.  

Louise Taylor of The Guardian offered a succinct and accurate summary of last year, noting that Newcastle: 

were often excruciating to watch as they ground their way to a slightly flattering 12th."

I know it's only one match and West Ham are projected to be a top ten side but it already feels like deja vu all over again.

Snatching A Close One from the Jaws of a Blowout

For about 70 minutes, Aston Villa's performance at Watford was a massive let-down. The scoreline (0-3) was bad enough but worse was how easily they were getting chewed up and how out-of-sync everything looked.  That Grealish was gone and Watkins was out with an injury could explain some of it.  More generously, maybe Dean Smith hadn't quite figured out how to put the new pieces together.  Certainly Matt Targett was exposed on the left side; wonder how much of that was lack of help from Nakamba and Ashley "No Longer" Young.  Buendia didn't add much (anything?) to the attack.  Things got better with Leon Bailey's entrance at 60 minutes.  The Villans got one back in the 70th minute and were on the front foot the rest of the way.  A stoppage time PK made the final 2-3; arguably a draw was probably a fair result here.  On balance, I think once Dean Smith gets the balance right, this will be a fun team to watch.

Who Needed Harry More?

Turns out it was Man City.  Various developments meant that Harry Kane dressed for neither Tottenham or Man City on Sunday.  And what a match it was.  City had a clear possession edge which didn't translate into any goals.  Spurs were lively in the counterattack so this was not one way traffic.  Early in the second half, Bergwijn started one of those counters, then fed Son Heung-min down the right hand side.  Son's finish was sublime.  You can see the whole play as this week's YouTubeableMoment.  In some ways though, the YouTubeableMoment was the rest of the match.  Unlike with Mourinho, Spurs kept attacking.  And also unlike with the Special One, the team played with heart and soul that's been missing.  They deserved the 1-0 and all three points.

Now, what happens with Harry?  Some update here.  

A Moment 74 Years in the Making

You would cry too if this happened to you: a win in your
team's first appearance in the top division in 74 years

Gunner fans will be forgiven for not sharing in the excitement, but the return of first division football to Brentford went like dream.  Recall that this is a club that last appeared in the top division in 1946-47.  The stadium was rocking, even more so when Sergi Canos put the Bees up in the 22nd minute.  Arsenal had some chances but could not break through.  When Christian Norgaard doubled the lead at 73 minutes, a win first time out looked real.  At full time, it was a tear-stained lovefest.  The players and manager Thomas Frank took a victory lap, occasionally heading to the stands to shake hands.    For me the moment is captured by the image on the right - a long-time fan with tears streaming down his face.  Think about the loyalty of  the fans who stayed with Brentford, located in West London. All these years they rooted for a lower division club when there were any number of Premier League teams basically just around the corner.  Hell, Chelsea is only seven miles away. The powers-that-be should pay attention to this stuff.  It's why the reaction to the proposed Super League was so swift and intense.   

Uh Oh, Again

Last year we maybe got ahead of ourselves with early season excitement about a revamped Everton side.  After a hot start, they slid steadily down the table, ending up 10th.  Never one to learn from my mistakes, I will again suggest we pay attention to the Toffees.  This is based mostly on my admiration for the work of Rafa Benitez, their new manager.  Following him during his tenure at Newcastle, I can appreciate both his ability to judge talent and his tactical acumen.  He will get the most out of what he has and he has plenty to work with here.  

Elsewhere

Top table denizens Liverpool, Man United and Chelsea got clear wins in their openers, though none faced what would be considered formidable opposition.  Liverpool took their time but eventually dispatched Norwich 3-0.  Chelsea coasted past Crystal Palace, also 3-0.  Sure it's early but the Canaries and the Eagles are probably in for a relegation fight.  Leeds are like a chicken with its head cut off - they could be down by three or four goals but they still run around like they have a chance.  It does make for entertaining football so even though Man United blew them out 5-1, it was hard to turn away.

Brighton got two goals late to take a 2-1 win over Burnley; yeah, that'll leave a mark.  The stat sheet says maybe Wolves deserve a draw but the scoreline was 1-0 for Leicester.  Best news there was that Raul Jimenez made his first start since fracturing his skull last November.

Conversation That Didn't Take Place But Could Have

Dennis: Did you say Brentford have a Jedi knight at striker?

Steve: No, I said the Forss is with them

Conversation That Didn't Take Place and Did

Dennis: Looking at these full stadiums makes me wonder how dead the south will be once college football starts

Steve: Literally or figuratively?  Too soon?

Dennis: Both and no

Forest Green Sighting!

Liverpool's Harvey Elliott - He looks better in a
Forest Green kit (Photo - Andrew Powell Getty Images)

The Liverpool match gave me a chance to see my latest Forest Green signing Harvey Elliott.  In Football Manager, Liverpool were willing to let me have him on a season-long loan for what seems like an extremely reasonable $300,000.  In real life, he is certainly full of run.  In virtual life through two matches he's had ratings of 8.4 and 7.3 with a goal and numerous chances created.  Making me look good.

So in my virtual world, Forest Green are now in the Championship Division looking at long odds to do well.  Within the game itself, the oddmakers project us to finish 22nd out of 24, meaning we get relegated.  In Genie Scout, a scouting utility created for FM players, we are ranked 19th; at least that would keep us in the division.  In my previous tenure with Chester, I recall that we ended up being a "surprise package," earning promotion to the premier league at the first time of asking.  Maybe we can do it again.

Answer to Last Week's Trivia Question

Start Spreadin' the News

The Union got a much needed 1-0 win over NYCFC at a windy but mostly dry Subaru Park on Wednesday night.  Neither side was big on creating chances, though NY missed a couple of good ones.  The stats say NY was the better side but to my eyes the Union looked in it the whole way.   A solid performance from the back line, an excellent yellow cardless effort from Martinez, and tireless work from Flach. The game winner from Bedoya can be seen here; great cross from Wagner and Bedoya figures out where he needs to be to emphatically put it away.  An aside, WTF is Johnson doing raising his arm calling for offside?  That wasn't even close.  Dude, that's embarrassing.

A peep at the standings shows just how important that win was.  Despite the W, they are 4th in the table, but 5th in points per game.  A loss would have put them more clearly into the group fighting for a playoff berth as opposed to the group with hopes of a second place finish.  I say second because at 46 points, New England are unlikely to be caught at this point.

In Praise of Ted Lasso

BFS Historical Consultant Mackenzie W offers a reason why Ted Lasso is so great:

The antidote to toxic masculinity is empathetic masculinity, which is what Ted Lasso brings to his role as coach

Fillebrown Derby

Some decent matches for Week 2, but here at the offices of BFS, the focus will be on Aston Villa - Newcastle.  All signs point to an AVL win; 538 has it at 49% AVL, 27% NEW, 24% draw.  The good news for the Magpies is we expect to have Joe Willock in the starting eleven.  You can see the match at 10 am Saturday on NBCSN.

There is a London derby too, with Arsenal hosting Chelsea at 11:30 Sunday NBCSN.  These two sides have been heading in opposite directions for a while now.  Also intriguing is Monday's 3 pm game on NBCSN between West Ham and Leicester, two of the sides we might see flirt with a top four finish and definitely looking good for 5th-8th finish.  If I wasn't otherwise occupied with Newcastle - Aston Villa, might be inclined to check out Leeds - Everton - could be a fun match to watch from start to finish. Nuno Espirito Santo will find out if you can go home again as he takes Tottenham on the road to face Wolves (Sunday at 9 on NBCSN).

There's an early relegation showdown Saturday at 10 on Peacock between Crystal Palace and Brentford.  Also some potential blowouts - Liverpool - Burnley (7:30 Saturday on Peacock), Man City - Norwich (10 am Saturday on USA, Southampton - Man United  (Sunday at 9 on Peacock)

No offense intended but in what world would Brighton - Watford be considered the feature match worthy of the Saturday 12:30 slot on NBC?  

I'll be back at Subaru Park Saturday night to see the Union take on Montreal (8pm on PHL-17). The Impact, sorry, CF Montreal, are in the chase pack, just on the good side of the playoff break point.  Three points are important here to keep us in the hunt for second and out of the playoff scramble.

I hate to admit how much other stuff I've been getting done in the absence of mid-week EPL action.