Did That Seem Weird To You?

Results that didn't align with what we saw on the pitch, some interesting calls by referees, outright strange results.  Certainly an interesting week.  The fact that Newcastle and the Union got points was helpful.

Correct Use of VAR

That ball is obviously bound for the back of the net:
Wilson levels things for Newcastle
Photo:Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

The Crystal Palace Newcastle match at Selhurst Park was good Championship Division fare - tense,
competitive and physical but not necessarily a display of the beautiful game.  Benteke clearly why he plays for Palace and not, say, Liverpool as he converted one of his multiple chances; to be fair, he had another ruled out (see below).  The Eagles thoroughly dominated possession (75/25) but could only take a 1-1 scoreline late into the match.  That would be thanks to another great finish from Callum Wilson, a second consecutive YouTubeableMoment of the Week for the Newcastle striker.

Palace looked to have snatched a late winner on a header from Benteke only to see it ruled out by VAR.  You can see the play here (should open to the play but it's at 8:35 if it doesn't).  Aside from the fact that it saved the Magpies' butt, I argue that this was an excellent use of VAR as opposed to re-refereeing.  You can see how Clark was held and that the holding directly affected his ability to mark the goal scorer Benteke.  

Though just about everything screams Palace victory here, Newcastle hung on for a point.  Seems like a small thing but might mean a lot in May.  Or, it could just be a preview for when the two teams face either in the Championship Division in the 2022-23 season.

Incorrect Use of  VAR

Aston Villa did not need any help in losing to 1-3 to Arsenal.  This was a curiously flat performance from a generally reliable squad.  However, the PK call late in first half stoppage time was not helpful at all.  It is also an excellent example of how NOT to use VAR. You can see the play here (5:22 of highlights).  Pawson saw the play and made no call at the time.  He was told to look at it by VAR Michael Oliver.  I don't think Targett ever touched Lacazette.  Even if he did, the Gooner went down on his own, not from any contact that there might have been.  And lastly, how on earth is that an egregious error?  At best it was inconclusive.  The icing on this crap cake was that Martinez made a great save on the PK only to see the rebound fired past him.  At least it happened in a match that wasn't going Villa's way to begin with.  

You Can't Play Newcastle Every Week

Though the London derby between West Ham and Spurs was close on the scoreboard, Spurs looked remarkably lifeless for this key fixture.  Hammers did have an xG advantage and it's hard to say they didn't deserve the win.  Yes, life is hard when you can't play a crappy team.  

Wat the Ford?

Josh King celebrates one of his 3 goals vs Everton- remember
when he played for my Chester Blues FM side?
  Photo:Jan Kruger/Getty Images

WTF is not the usual abbreviation for Watford but it was appropriate this weekend.  I got a bit of a spoiler about this one yet it was still fascinating.  Dennis let slip that Watford had put up five goals on Everton but didn't provide context.  So I was speeding through my recording of Leeds-Wolves 1-1 draw while keeping an eye on the Everton- Watford score.  Seeing Everton up 2-1 in the 75th minute, I switched over to that one, which fortunately I had also recorded.  The last 15+ minutes was a car crash, at least if you're an Everton fan.  Two quick ones at 78 and 80 minutes, then a couple more to salt it away.  I saw the term "shambolic defense" more than once.  Benitez's honeymoon may be over at Goodison.

Kick the Can (aries)

Already down 0-5, Norwich got a man sent off.  Soon there was a PK.  Krul, a PK specialist, stopped it.  Except he came off his line too early.  Mount did not miss the retake.  They added a seventh in stoppage time.  This was just, um, cruel.

Not Your Father's Man United

For the neutrals and Man United fans, how could you not be disappointed with the 0-5 loss to Liverpool at Old Trafford that saw the Red Devils down 0-2 by the 13th minute?  Two more goals before half and a third from Salah to complete his hat trick in the 50th meant completed the rout. Liverpool fans were probably okay with it.

Man City kept pace with Chelsea and Liverpool with a solid 4-1 win over Brighton.  Still early but there is a little bit of separation between these three and the rest.   Fourth looks wide open.

All You Need to Know About the Ashley Error Era

This is the first season since 2018-2019 that Newcastle have gone the first nine matches of the season without a victory.  Ooh, all the way back to then, huh?

Don't Have to Outrun the Bear

This was a better, though not stunning, first half from the Union; they went into the locker room up just 1-0 thanks to a shuhBILLkoh PK on what was maybe a harsh handling call.  They came out flat in second half and Nashville looked way more dangerous.  Well, except for the fact that they couldn't get too many shots and none were on target.  Still, it felt like we were one mistake away from a draw.  Watching Bedoya run out of gas and not seeing Curtin make a sub was frustrating for us in the stands.  In the end, they survived with a 1-0 win, as Nashville didn't get a shot on target until a weak header in stoppage time.  This was a case of not being great, just better than your opponent.  Full credit to the back line and Leon Flach.  Assume he put in his usual 7 miles or so.

That win opened the possibility that the Union could clinch a playoff spot with a win at Toronto Wednesday night.  They came out strong and dominated the first 37 seconds, ending with a Bedoya goal.  The rest of the night was quite rocky.    They spent the rest of the first half on the back foot but somehow got to break still up 1-0.  The second half was more of the same and Toronto finally broke through when an attempted clearance bounced off a Toronto body to the waiting foot of Jozy Altidore, who knew what to do with it.  Things continued to go downhill as minutes later Jack Elliott, trying desperately to intercept a pass into the box, put one past his own keeper.  Properly shocked, and with an injection of some speed (Santos) and youth (McGlynn), the Union started to play better.  They got one back on a cross from Wagner to Santos' head.  They even looked good for a possible winner but in the end settled for a draw.   Probably a fair (and disappointing) result.

Early scores from elsewhere were encouraging but even they turned sour.  Nashville fell behind Cincinnati 1-3 only to bury them 6-3.  Atlanta trailed Miami but eventually came away with all three points.  At least Orlando lost.  The bad news is that the draw has severely compromised their chances of finishing second.  The good news is that 1) they are still a good bet to make the playoffs, 2) with a win against Cincinnati will pretty much seal up a top four spot and home field for the first round game 3) second place is not out of the question yet.  Secondary bad news is that the team have hardly been setting the world on fire even as they get results.  Particularly frustrating has been the passes sent directly to the opposition. 

 

ICYMI

Jason Sudeikis was the guest host for SNL.  He professed surprise that Ted Lasso was a hit, given that it's about two things Americans hate - soccer and kindness.

Turn the Clocks Back (if you live in England)

We head into those few weeks when the time differential with England is a mere four hours, eliminating those nasty early morning start times.  Well, starting Sunday anyway.  If 538 projections are to be believed, there's a host of competitive matches.

Unfortunately, Newcastle isn't one of them.  The Magpies get to host a hot Chelsea squad.  Yeah that should go well (Saturday at 10 on Peacock).  The other likely blowouts include Man City hosting Crystal Palace (Saturday at 10 on NBCSN) and Liverpool hosting Brighton (Saturday at 10 on USA).  Must be nice to be one of the top three sides.

After you get past those three though, things look pretty tight.  Start Saturday morning at 7:30 on NBCSN with Leicester - Arsenal.  Both have been somewhat inconsistent but may be sorting some things out.  Two of the Saturday 10 am contests should be close - Burnley hosting Brentford and Watford - Southampton; both of those are on Peacock.

The NBC feature match at 12:30 is Tottenham - Man United.  Both of those side need to do something to save their managers.  We'll tread lightly on Norwich - Leeds (10 am Sunday on NBCSN) as that migh be close but in a Championship Division kind of way.  But do tune in for Aston Villa - West Ham at 12:30, also on NBCSN.  We are expecting a better showing from the Villans at home.  The week finishes with Wolves - Everton on Monday at 4 on NBCSN; that should be a lively affair.

The Union close out their home season with Cincinnati on Sunday night (7:30 PHL17); anything less than three points in that one will be a disappointment.  Rivals NYCFC have Miami, the Harrison Pink Cows host Montreal, Atlanta play Toronto, and DC host Columbus.  It is entirely possible that by kickoff Sunday night, the Union will have secured a playoff berth.  However, the advantages of a second or third seed are significant so they will still have much to play for.  

Maybe weird is okay...

Remind Me Again Why We Do This

Generally unsatisfactory results across the board.  What's worse, it was pretty much as expected.  To quote Ted Lasso, "why ya even do this?"  Well, there was some cool stuff along the way, just not for my teams.

Intangible Intangibles

There was a school of thought that said even though the Newcastle roster hadn't changed, the resolution of the uncertainty surrounding the takeover plus the excitement in the stands would be enough to raise the level of play at St. James' Park.  Recall that I was skeptical.  When Callum Wilson's header gave the Magpies the lead in the second minute Sunday against Spurs, I was ready to be proven wrong. The moment was awesome, with the full energy captured in this week's YouTubeableMoment.  Except then reality set in and Newcastle were down 1-3 by halftime and it was business as usual.  Arlo White, after watching some in the ownership group celebrate Wilson's goal said, "Don't worry, it's like this every week."  Prophetic but in the wrong way.

Energy in the stands doesn't change who this team is.  Face it, the only thing that is going to make it materially better is new players.  Dennis tells me the over/under is that just seven players who started the Spurs match will be in the lineup come March.  Figure a new face up top, in the midfield, in the center back pairing and likely a wingback/fullback.  Seven sounds right.  They might spend more this January than during Ashley's entire tenure.  Well maybe not, but close.

As expected, Bruce did not survive the week.  Frequently mentioned replacements include Frank Lampard, Steve Howe and Paulo Fonseca.  Occasionally mentioned replacements include Steven Gerrard, Roberto Martinez and Lucien Favre.  My name has not come up.  Graeme Jones is the caretaker manager and it looks like he'll be in charge this weekend against Crystal Palace.

Good Samaritan of the Week - Eric Dier

Reguilon (l) and Dier (r) team up to save a fan

The score was a disaster, Steve Bruce looked miserable but somebody was having a worse day.  Just before half time, a fan in the stands suffered cardiac arrest.  Good on Sergio Reguilon to get Andre Marriner's attention to stop the match.  Also good on Eric Dier to sprint across the field to alert the medical personnel that the defibrillator was needed in the stands.  There was also a doctor in the house - Dr Tom Prichard.  The bottom line is the fan survived and though still in the hospital, is doing well.

Wait, so why does Dier get the award over Reguilon?  Easy.  Dier contributed an own goal late in the second half to make the final margin score just 2-3.  Though we don't really want Tottenham's charity - at least with respect to the final score - you still have to salute Dier's effort.  

Jonjo We Barely Had Time to Miss Thee

Jonjo had missed a string of games due to injury but came on in the 60th minute to replace Sean Longstaff.  This will go down as a cameo appearance as he managed to get yellow cards in the 78th and 83rd minutes and was sent off in his return. Probably not the best way to impress your new boss.

They Huffed and They Puffed

And eventually Wolves blew the house down.  Aston Villa had a nice two-goal cushion on Wolves going into the 80th minute.  Then things fell apart as Wolves managed three goals from there. After McGinn's goal in the 68th minute put the Villans up 2-0 I texted Dennis to see if he felt like a draw was possible.  His response - "Yeah, that should be a draw wrapped up.  But you never know."  I offered to take the fall because of my cheeky comment but Dennis graciously chose to point the finger at Dean Smith for some of his late game subs, especially taking off Buendia (best game in a Villa shirt so far?) and Cash.  Not sure if they were injury or fitness concerns but things did go downhill from there.  Looked like a draw would have been a fair result here.  The teams are pretty close talent-wise.

Sometimes You Lose But Actually Tie and Sometimes You Tie But Actually Lose

Between the 2-2 draw in Montreal and the 2-3 loss in Minnesota, the Union came away with just one point for their efforts this week.  That Montreal leveled things with a last minute goal makes it look like the Union got robbed off all three points.  In fact, they were lucky to get one.  They were absolutely moribund in an 0-1 first half.  They did play better in the second half.  But in truth both the goals were quite lucky.  The first was an own goal off the back of the keeper's legs.  The second was a deflection but not credited as on own goal.  The stats and expected goals say Montreal dominated this one.  Though disappointed not to have stolen all three here, I had to remind myself that before the match I said a draw would be a great result.

Fast forward to a colder and rainier St. Paul on Wednesday night.  On balance, maybe the play was better.  Except for this incredibly nasty habit of giveaways and hospital balls in the final third  fourth way too close to the goal.  Each of the Minnesota tallies looked eminently preventable. The result took some of the luster off a great performance from Gazdag; he had a brace, plus he and Monteiro maybe finally started to click on the field together.  You can see the first of his two goals here.  The U probably deserved a draw for this one.

If they were only going to get a point out of the two matches, the draw with Montreal was the better choice; three points for an Eastern Conference playoff contender would have been dangerous.  Four matches to go and we shouldn't be ordering our playoff tickets just yet.

Injury to Insult

After the Aston Villa and Union results, Dennis informed me that his game was cancelled.  "Brutal day in the soccer world for me."

I did have some better fortune with my Football Manager Forest Green side, who grabbed a 2-1 win over Reading with a 90th minute goal from Harvey Elliott.  So glad he didn't dislocate his ankle in my version of reality.  We are currently third in the table.  However, both Stoke and West Brom look way better on paper than us and I do feel we've had a run of fortuitous 2-1 wins.  

Good Stuff Somewhere?

But somewhere the sun was shining.  Didn't get to see it live but anyone who went with Leicester - Man United over the other 10 am games was certainly rewarded.  Four goals from the 78th minute on with a 4-2 win for the Foxes.  Chelsea came away with a 1-0 win at Brentford but everything, including my own eyes, say Brentford were the better side here. Relentless pressure, especially in the last 10 minutes or so but the Bees just couldn't break through.  I was hoping for a bit more scoring in the Everton - West Ham match and the 0-1 final in favor of the Hammers was mildly disappointing too.  Still it was a good watch.  And the London Derby featuring Crystal Palace and Arsenal was pretty cool too, with Lacazette's 95th minute goal rescuing a 2-2 draw for the Gunners from the jaws of defeat.

Brighton maybe stumbled a bit with a 0-0 draw at Norwich.  Still, only Liverpool have fewer losses than the Seagulls and they are 4th in the table right now.  Liverpool (5-0 over Watford) and Man City (2-0 over Burnley) kept pace with Chelsea to remain 2nd and 3rd.

  

Midnight Came

On the off chance there would be more magic, I chose Inter Milan - Sheriff over the more fashionable Atletico Madrid - Liverpool match for Tuesday's Champions League action.  Probably not a great decision (see below).  Still there was a moment when Sheriff looked like it might pull off an away draw, which would have been disastrous for Inter Milan.  The hero of the win over Real Madrid - Sebastien Thill - tied things at 1-1 in the 52nd minute.  Enter the villain Arturo Vidal, he of spiked hair, to ruin things a mere six minutes later.  Another goal made the final 3-1.

They are still top of the group and could still see their way to the knockout stages with a home draw against Inter Milan in two weeks and a win over Shakhtar Donetsk.  That would force Inter Milan to have to beat both Shakhtar and Real Madrid to get past Sheriff. 

Apologies to Diego Simeone

While I was watching Sheriff turn into a pumpkin, I missed out on a CL classic between Atletico Madrid and Liverpool.  The Reds stormed out to a 2-0 lead by the 13th minute but AM drew level with two of their own from Griezmann.  Several key events drove the second half.  First, Griezmann got a straight red for a high boot to Firmino's face.  Some thought it was harsh in that it wasn't intentional but it was really high and really in the face.  A little later AM committed a foul in the box and looked to me like there was no argument for that one.  Maybe the toughest call was the PK for AM that was overturned by the VAR.  Real time I did not think it was a foul but the ref called it on the field.  The video suggests it was not a foul, though I'm not sure if it was in the egregious error category.  Anyway, the match ended 3-2 for Liverpool.

Simeone heads down the tunnel without
 shaking hands, as he usually does

Than the sh...stuff hit the fan.  Diego Simeone sprinted down the tunnel without shaking Klopp's hand. The British press was up in arms.  Yours truly thought it was uncool.  Turns out, Simeone rarely, if ever shakes hands after a match.  He thinks it's a bad idea.  I sort of see his point.  Tensions high, etc.  On the other hand, I thought the idea was that no matter what happened out there, you're supposed to be sporting about it.

But the story about Simeone snubbing Klopp was bogus.  Not being a follower of La Liga, perhaps I might be forgiven for my hasty conclusion.  I am surprised however, at how long it took for the point that Simeone never shakes hands to come out.

More Fun

I sorta mean that seriously. Interesting matches up and down the table.  Marquee fixture is Man United - Liverpool at 11:30 on Sunday on NBCSN.  The crew at 538 see Liverpool as a solid favorite; we're just hoping for some good action. 

West Ham - Tottenham looks good too as both are in the hunt for European football next year; should be a competitive match with the Hammers maybe slight favorites at home. That's Sunday at 9 on NBCSN.  Sort of in the same category are Arsenal - Aston Villa (Friday football! at 3 pm on NBCSN) and Brentford - Leicester (Sunday at 9 on Peacock).  Both of those figure to be tight contests as well.

Sliding down the table a bit, we have Crystal Palace hosting Newcastle Saturday at 10 on Peacock.  This fixture should not be out of reach for the Magpies.  Relegation candidates Southampton and Burnley square off at the same time, also on Peacock.  And look for Leeds - Wolves to be a high energy, close match on NBCSN also at 10 on Saturday.  Your fourth option for 10 am is Everton - Watford on USA.  We'll be going with Newcastle because we have to but Leeds - Wolves might be a better choice.

In the NBC feature match at 12:30, Man City take on fourth place Brighton as heavy favorites, even on the road.  First place Chelsea have a slightly easier task, hosting last place Norwich Saturday at 7:30. At least that one is on NBCSN so we can dvr and hustle through it if necessary.

Saturday night we're back at Subaru Park for a tasty match up between the Union and Nashville.  We're definitely expecting better things from this one; maybe not a win but certainly at least a draw against the second place team in the conference.  The Union's playoff chances will get a boost one way or another on Saturday as DC Untied and NYCFC face off; somebody's dropping points there.

I'm sure I've forgotten something but that's the way it goes sometimes.  

Not Renouncing My Fanship

 As several have pointed out, there are many, um, dismaying aspects related to the sale of Newcastle to the Saudi PIF.  They include the Saudis terrible record on human rights, the implications of where the British economy is heading post-Brexit (see this excellent analysis from The Atlantic sent by BFS Travel Consultant Jeff K) and the frightening possibility that Newcastle will become the new Man United - everybody loves them or hates them.

Boiling it down a bit, what we really have is twenty filthy (in more ways than one) rich owners agreeing to sell one of the EPL franchises to a filthier (in many more ways than one) richer owner.  If we want to go down this road, we will conclude that we should drop our interest not only in EPL football but in professional sports more broadly.  Probably college sports too - at least Division I  football and basketball anyway.  And if we're serious about sanctioning the Saudis, why not withdraw diplomatic staff, impose economic sanctions, try to isolate them as the world did to South Africa.  Stewing about them buying an EPL franchise seems like misdirected energy.

I am not proud that I just made that argument.  However, I'm also not renouncing my fanship at this point.

No Weah That Was An Own Goal

After a lackluster 0-1 loss away to Panama on Sunday, the USMNT slipped past Costa Rica 2-1.  Things did not start well as they found themselves down 0-1 within the first minute.  This was not according to the script.  Fortunately, the youngest line up the US ever put out for a WC qualifier got their act together and put Costa Rica under pressure.  That attacking paid off relatively quickly when Sergino Dest levelled things at 25 minutes with a rocket (more on that goal below).  The game winner came on a shot from Tim Weah that somehow slipped past keeper Leonel Moreira.  It went down as an own goal which you can see here.  Sure looks to me like the shot would have gone in so I don't fully understand how it ended up as an own goal.  Further irony here that neither the Weah nor Moreira were supposed to be on the pitch.  Weah got moved into the starting XI when Paul Arriola sustained a groin injury in warm-up and Moreira was a second half substitute for Keylor Navas, who picked up an injury in the first half.

The loss to Panama had moved the Costa Rica match into the pretty much critical category.  Through six of 14 matches, the US now sit second in the table, one ahead of Canada and three up on Panama.  Recall that only the first three automatically advance to the WC Final.  No way we should be celebrating anything right now.  The tricky part of the reading the table at this point is the vastly different set of games each country has played.  Looking at the limited set of overlapping matches that we do have offer mixed insights.  Canada beat El Salvador at home while the US only managed a draw.  Mexico drew Panama away while the US lost.  On the other hand, Panama only drew Costa Rica at home compared to the US win - of course we maybe threw away that advantage with the 0-1 loss to Panama.  Another way to look at it is lost points against what you might have expected.  The US is definitely down at least two (home draw with El Salvador) and maybe four (home draw to Canada and road loss against Panama).  Canada certainly dropped two (home draw to Honduras) and maybe two more in the road draw to Jamaica; but we should probably give them +2 for road draws with Mexico and the US.  Panama probably dropped two with home draw to Costa Rica and one (or even three) in the road loss to El Salvador.  

Okay, too early to do that maybe but I think the point is valid.  This thing has a long way to go.

U-9 Moment of the Week

Sharp-eyed Dennis noticed that when Dest fired that rocket past Navas, his left boot (Dest's, not Dennis's) was untied.  Reminds me of a U-12 game I refereed a few weeks ago when, after seeing at least three untied boots, I requested everybody check their laces at the next stoppage of play.

Others noticed as well.  Grant Wahl wrote about it in this article that includes complete video of the goal, which we'll make this week's YouTubeableMoment.  Good discussion of Dest's varied fortunes in the WC qualifiers thus far (Sergino's Destiny?).  Great line from Wahl here:

Bringing a Barcelona starter [Dest] to Estadio Cuscatlán [venue for El Salvador v US] felt like taking a bottle of Mouton Rothschild to a Jägermeister-drenched freshman dorm party. 

The Run of Play Is Overrated

We heard Paxten was better than his brother;
 could it be true? Photo Jeff Dean AP

As we have said on many occasions (if we haven't then we should have), a game in hand is useless if you don't get a result.  For 45 minutes, the Union looked on course to get just one point, or maybe none, against bottom dweller Cincinnati.  The home side had better possession and better scoring chances. Several factors were at play, namely that the Union were missing six or more first teamers to international duty or suspension and to the fact that they came out in a completely unfamiliar 3-4-1-2  formation.  Clearly against the run of play, they stole a goal when shuhBILLkoh calmly settled a ball in the box, took it slightly to his right, and slotted a shot past the keeper in first half stoppage time.

Things got better in the second half as Curtin abandoned the back four, moving Elliott to a defensive mid-fielder.  Elliott is not unfamiliar with the position and his ball skills are solid for a central defentder.  The move paid off as it was Elliott dribbled the ball into the final third to set up the second goal at 56 minutes.  Elliott dished off to Nathan Harriel who sent a beautiful cross to the Aaronson the Younger (Paxten) who rifled a header for a two-goal lead.  You can see the play here.  A late goal from Medunjanin meant the final minutes were nerve-wracking but U held on to grab all three points from their game at hand.

The great run (13 points out of a possible 15) has given the U some breathing room, though with six games to go, nothing is guaranteed.  

European Qualifiers

Only got to see Wales and Scotland.  How many countries are in this country?  The Welsh 2-2 draw with Czech Republic keeps their hopes for a second place finish in the group.  Scotland offered a highly entertaining 3-2 comeback win over Israel to put themselves in good shape for a second place finish.  The process is drawing to a close, with most countries looking at one or two more matches.  Germany and Denmark are in.  Recall that first place in the group automatically moves you to the WC final.  Second gets you into a playoff for additional slots.  There's also a Nations League route.  More details can be had here.

Coach Beard Book Club

If It's Good Enough
 for Coach Beard...

Those paying attention to the season finale of Ted Lasso might have noticed that throughout the episode, Coach Beard was intently working his way through a book; you might have also seen that he had about 50 sticky tabs marking key sections.  Laura stopped the episode to identify the book, then immediately ordered it from Amazon.  It now sits on our dining room table ready for use.  Not saying it will change my Football Manager tactics, though you never know.

A sad thought though - no more new Ted Lasso for several months.  We will probably watch season two in its entirety over again (maybe more than once) before then.

An Ugly Side

My favorite sports (soccer and track) found themselves in the news recently for the wrong reasons - coaching misconduct.  The NWSL story is outlined here.  The developments related to Mary Cain suing Nike and Alberto Salazar is discussed here.  Fitness is a fair issue in athletic competition, appearance is not.  This is awful.

Dead Man Coaching

Speaking of the Sack Race, despite Arsenal's poor start, Mikel Arteta has a host of other gaffers ahead of him now.  Steve Bruce is the epitome of Dead Man Walking now that the transfer of ownership is complete; they won't flinch at the £10 million or so to buy out the rest of his contract.  Many are surprised he'll still be coaching on Sunday but as of Thursday night, he was still in charge.  Next on the list is Brendan Rodgers, he of underperforming Leicester.  The hilarious thing here is that Rodgers is listed as a favorite to take over for Bruce. Nuno Espirito Santo is up there too given Spurs slow start.   

We will confess to having completely missed Watford's sacking of Xisco Munoz after their loss to Leeds a couple of Saturdays ago.  Claudio Ranieri of Leicester fame is his replacement.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Between EPL, MLS, Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference, we have much to do this week.

Many might tune in to see Newcastle host Tottenham on Sunday at 11:30 (NBCSN) because of the new ownership.  Of course, there won't be any change on the field - it will be the same players until January.  The mood in the stands might be different and maybe there's a small chance it translates down to the field.  Color me skeptical.

I recommend Everton vs West Ham Sunday at 9 on NBCSN.  That one looks competitive, though West Ham have stumbled somewhat recently.  

Saturday at 10 am presents some choices.  If you like evenly matched teams perilously close to the drop zone, Southampton - Leeds is your best bet even if it is on Peacock.  Normally, we'd be a little more hyped about Leicester hosting Man United (USA) but the Foxes have mostly disappointed this year.  BFS will be taking in Aston Villa home to Wolves because 1) it's Aston Villa and 2) there's a chance it could be a good match.  

Top of the table stuff starts early with Liverpool at Watford (7:30 but on Peacock - grrr, why can't they just leave the 7:30 match on something you can dvr?).  Man City get to host Burnley (Saturday at 10 on Peacock), which will probably not end well for the Clarets.  And Chelsea get the featured 12:30 Saturday match on NBC, traveling a few miles down the road to face Brentford; the Bees have been full of surprises but getting a result here would probably be the biggest.

Rounding out the schedule there is Norwich vs Brighton (that's 6th place Brighton to you) Saturday at 10 on Peacock and a London derby on Monday at 3 pm on NBCSN featuring Arsenal and Crystal Palace.  

The already crowded Saturday will also include the Union vs Montreal at 1 pm on PHL-17.  This is a tricky fixture for the Union and I'll say now that a draw would be a perfectly acceptable result.  

Tuesday to Thursday will be filled with the European competitions.  Check your local listings for the matches that interest you.  We will note that Tuesday has a cracker of fixture between Liverpool and Atletico Madrid (3 pm).  Unfortunately that one coincides with a big match for the Cinderella side of the Champions League - oddly named Sheriff - against Inter Milan.  Improbably, Sheriff are top of the group after a massive upset of Real Madrid.  A win over Inter Milan would set them up with a solid chance of a second place finish and advancement to the knockout stage.  The odds say that midnight is fast approaching and the coach will be turning into a pumpkin; we'll probably still watch just in case.

Okay, back to work.  Watching soccer I mean.

The Reign of Error Is Over

Alternate title:

Oil to Newcastle

Toon Army celebrates sale in usual muted fashion

The on-again, off-again, mostly off-again sale of Newcastle to the Saudi Public Investment Fund
somehow was actually completed today.  Details can be had here.  Frankly, I hadn't been following developments all that closely, not trusting that anything in the press was little more than rumor and speculation.  It appears that two specific items cleared the way.  First, there was clarity that the Saudi Public Investment Fund is independent thus meant that Saudi Arabia would not have control over the club.  Not sure if this is a distinction without meaning but it was enough for the Premier League.  Some will still question the morality of the league approving ownership for anything related to Saudi Arabia. The second change was the resolution of a dispute between beIN Sports and Saudi Arabia over illegal streaming.  

So what now?  Changes on the field can't really happen until the January transfer window.  Well, more technically, roster changes can't happen until then.  Newcastle are on schedule to reach the end of the year certainly in the bottom five, if not the bottom three.  Expectations for this window will be high; at a minimum we would expect investment sufficient to ward off relegation.

Could Newcastle become one of those "big money" clubs that people love to hate?  I think we can probably hold on that thought until, say, Newcastle win the league a few times.  I do want it on record that I was a fan long before the money came into play.

Sucks To Be Right Sometimes

The Force was not with us last weekend

Looking over last week's edition, I see we were right about Newcastle and Aston Villa.  Newcastle weren't outclassed but the 1-2 loss to Wolves matched what I saw on the field.  The dreaded results elsewhere conspired to drop us to 19th place.

Aston Villa offered us just a little more hope when Watkins leveled things in the 67th minute but hopes were quickly dashed when Tottenham scored minutes later.  The scoresheet says it was an own goal for Matt Targett but that is completely unfair to him; if he hadn't attempted the tackle on Lucas Moura, it's an easy tap-in for the Spur.  Again, 1-2 loss looks about right.

We did suggest Liverpool - Man City would be close and it was.  Sometimes those top-of-table fixtures don't deliver but this was a cracker as they say over there.  Though much of the match was 0-0, there was plenty of activity.  Then, we saw four goals in the final 30+ minutes, with City rallying twice to earn a 2-2 draw.  A match worthy of its hype.  Unfortunately for both, the draw means that Chelsea's 3-1 win over Southampton puts the Blues top of the table.  That one might have been fun to watch too as it was 1-1 until Ward-Prowse got sent off in the 72nd minute; Chelsea got goals at 84 and 89 minutes to make it look like a runaway. 

We offered hope that Rafael Benitez would come up with a game plan to keep Everton close with Man United despite missing Calvert-Lewin and other personnel.  The stats say the Red Devils did dominate but the Toffees snatched a 1-1 draw with a wonderful strike from Andros Townsend.

We suggested that Crystal Palace - Leicester might be more competitive than usual.  That one ended 2-2 as Palace rallied from a two-goal deficit and was probably a better viewing choice than Spurs - Aston Villa.  We did question whether 538 was perhaps off base listing Brighton - Arsenal as the most competitive match of the weekend.  So after a statement win over Spurs last weekend, the Gunners stumbled to a 0-0 draw and the stats say it flatters them.  

We did miss a few.  Burnley did not in fact get a win at home versus Norwich.  The Canaries remain winless but not pointless after a 0-0 draw.  Glad we missed that one.  Leeds did escape the ranks of the winless with a 1-0 home win over Watford and Brentford continued to confound with a 2-1 win over West Ham.   

List of Teams With Fewer Losses Than Brighton and Brentford

Liverpool

U Beat U

The only team that could beat the Union on Sunday versus Columbus was the Union.  And try they did.  The Union that is.  The Union had the run of play without a goal to show for it.  Then Glesnes and Elliott lined up to take a free kick from distance.  As Glesnes peeled away to leave Elliott to take the kick, I muttered under my breath "not my first choice."  So Elliott of course shoots wide of the wall and finds the corner of the net.  I thought it was an error by the keeper, either in how the wall was set up or in his reaction to the shot.  The U doubled the advantage with a quick goal right after the break on a nice hook up from shuhBILLkoh to Bedoya.  We couldn't find a clip of just the goal so we present the highlight video as this week's YouTubeableMoment; the play starts at about 49 seconds.

Flach ran his usual 10k+ and added an insurance goal

Up 2-0 I wondered if the second half might be boring.  No chance as the Union did their best to make it a game.  First, Wagner got his second yellow - for a silly challenge - at 64 minutes.  That's a long time to play a man down but maybe we can keep them off the board for a while.  Then Powell gets whistled for a foul in the box in the 74th minute.  We thought maybe it was 50/50 challenge but certainly not a terrible call.  But Blake saved the PK!  Not a great take but he did have to go the right way.  Columbus continued to press and only an acrobatic save from Blake minutes later kept the margin at two.  Finally, Flach put things to bed with a goal in the 89th minute that arguably should have been saved.  BFS Keeper Consultant Graham R speculated later that if the teams traded keepers, the final would have been 1-2 favor Columbus.

Huge three points that catapulted the U from 7th to 3rd in the crowded MLS Eastern Conference.  They have 10 points from last four games and a game in hand versus most of the league.  Even better, that game in hand is against Cincinnati - this Saturday at 8 pm.  Still, there is work to be done, as the margin over 8th place Atlanta is just three points.

US Get Three

After a first half that included two controversial non-calls for DOGSO against Jamaica, the USMNT did manage two goals and a mostly comfortable win.  This was mostly expected, although the personnel wasn't.  No Pulisic, no Reyna, no Brooks, etc.  The roster was just slightly older than the Union bench.  Speaking of the Union, Jamaica featured Blake in goal and Alvas Powell at right back, while the US started Brenden Aaronson and had Mark McKenzie on the bench.  We digress.

One of the teenagers, Ricardo Pepi, had both goals, one assisted by Aaronson on a pinpoint pass into the box.  Also happy to see good work from Yunus Musah in the midfield.  Maybe not a statement win but an important one anyway.  The proverbial results elsewhere worked in our favor, as Mexico - Canada ended 1-1 while El Salvador knocked off Panama 1-0.  After four matches, US are top of the table on goal differential over Mexico, Canada are two points back and Panama three back.

US are back in action Sunday at 6 pm, then Costa Rica on Wednesday at 7.