That's Entertainment

apologies to The Jam

If you weren't entertained in some way by last week's results you either 1) need to choose a different sport (may we suggest curling?) or 2) are a Man United fan.  Seriously, between the Union's playoff win and the spate of surprising EPL results, that was one of the more captivating weekends of football in recent memory.

Pandemonium!

What victory looks like

Oh hell, let's just skip to the end of the Union playoff match with NY Red Bulls.  In the 123rd minute of a scoreless match, seconds away from a dreaded shoot-out, Jakob Glesnes launched an unlikely shot that beat one of the better keepers in the league to send the Union on to the next round.  No question Glesnes's blast is this week's (year's?) YouTubeableMoment.  Want another angle? Check out this one from the stands right in front of the play.  The best soccer moment I've ever experienced live.  Well, except maybe when Masterman beat Bartram in the City semi-final in 2005.  

Of course, the context of the goal was as critical as the quality of the strike.  We knew that this match would not be pretty given how the two teams play.  And mostly it wasn't.  The Union had several good chances in regular time and at least one in extra time.  The Red Bulls also nearly scored in the first extra time period, although we question whether the goal would have withstood VAR review for offside.  But as the second overtime period was winding up, all I remember is the sinking feeling that the match was going to be decided by kicks from the penalty spot.  So the outpouring after the goal by Glesnes might have been as much relief as joy.  But so what?  Great stuff either way.

The Nightmare the Union Avoided

Tuesday night we got a glimpse of the alternate reality that the Union could have experienced Saturday. Second seeded Seattle pretty much bossed seventh seed Real Salt Lake for 90 minutes of regular time and another 30 minutes of extra time but could not break through.  So they went to kicks from the spot.  Seattle looked to have gained the advantage when Stefan Frei stopped Pablo Ruiz, except Frei had come off the line too soon and Ruiz didn't miss the retake.  RSL's keeper David Ochoa stopped Seattle's sixth kick so when Justen Glad made his, Seattle exited the playoffs.

I did see the two other Eastern Conference playoff matches but memories are hazy.  I recall two kind of strange goals at Yankee Stadium as NYCFC downed Atlanta 2-0.  The Nashville - Orlando game ended 3-1 but felt closer than that.  Probably because Orlando had more possession.  

Quinn Sullivan Does Have A Drivers License

BFS can confirm that at least one of the Union's teenagers is in fact able to drive himself to the matches.  Quinn Sullivan's mom and her sister-in-law were sitting behind me and Graham on Saturday and she said that Quinn had gotten his license just before joining the Union.  Her sister-in-law also knew the answer to the question "What has 18 legs and three drivers licenses? "  The correct response, of course, is the Union bench.

Second Best Result

Saint Maximim displays gymnastic celebration
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images

I had some expectation that Newcastle could get a result at home against Brentford.  Lascelles early goal validated that feeling.  Ivan Toney's goal 67 seconds later snapped me back to reality; still not sure how Darlow didn't stop that shot.  The Bees went up after Newcastle left an attacker unmarked at the far post.  Joe L Linton managed to even things up shortly before the half.  The Magpies fell behind again on a shot that deflected off Lascelles for an own goal.  Fortunately, sub Ryan Fraser sent an awesome cross into the box that Allan Saint-Maximim deftly volleyed in for the equalizer.  Newcastle had great attacking energy so a game winner wasn't out of the question.  On the other hand, they were experiencing what The Guardian would later call "jaw dropping defensive lapses" so a game loser was also on the table.  For better or worse, it ended 3-3.  Exciting match.

On balance I thought Newcastle were the better side tripped up by their own mistakes and some bad luck.  The good news was that there was life to the effort.  At no point did I get the feeling that Newcastle couldn't rally, a far cry from earlier this season when a one-goal deficit was insurmountable.  Also, we saw new life in Joelinton and Shelvey; is it possible that Eddie Howe can get those two contributing at some reasonable level?   Of course, the bad news is that they had to rally several times just to get a draw.  Darlow was not at his best and I wouldn't be surprised if Dubravka is between the pipes this Saturday.  We may need also need support at center back and wing back; that's what the January transfer window will be for.

That Is Newcastle All Over

There are two ways to do things.  The right way and the Newcastle way.  New manager Eddie Howe was unable to be on the field for his first match after testing positive for COVID-19.  Dennis notes that while there is nothing funny about the disease, that is "pretty hilarious."  

A League of Their Own?

Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool played three good squads in Leicester, Everton and Arsenal.  They beat them by a collective 10-0.  All three matches were basically devoid of suspense.  That said, we did enjoy this goal from Christian Pulisic; great vision for the run, not so great first touch, but he somehow recovered to get the ball into the net.

Way too early to say this but these three look different than the rest.

Surprises Elsewhere

Maybe not much fun at the top of the table but plenty of weird stuff the rest of the way down.  Norwich got their second straight win, besting Southampton 2-1.  Burnley grabbed a point at home against Crystal Palace; that's not terribly surprising, except that the score was 3-3, a big number for a team that went in averaging a goal a game.  Wolves derailed the West Ham train with a 1-0 win at Molineux; we were happy to see Raul Jimenez get the game winner and happier that he did his scoring against someone other than the USMNT.  

Gerrard after Watkins goal; I love this game!!!

Though Tottenham's win over Leeds wasn't unexpected, this was a strange contest.  Spurs were awful in the first half and fully deserved their 0-1 deficit after 45 minutes.  We would like to know exactly what Conte said to rally his club because Spurs were totally different in the second half, dominating play and grabbing two goals to take all three points.  Likewise, Aston Villa's 2-0 win over Brighton was certainly not out of the blue.  Playing for new coach Steven Gerrard, the Villans ceded possession for much of the match without giving up serious chances and then tucked away two goals of their own in the final 10 minutes.  

The weirdest result with the perhaps the greatest consequences was Watford's 4-1 trashing of Man United.  Already down 1-2, Maguire got himself sent off with a second yellow in the 69th minute.  The Hornets didn't take immediate advantage but they did manage to put two more away in stoppage time.  Speculation immediately turned to when, not if, Solskjaer would get sacked.  He didn't make it to Sunday brunch.  Michael Carrick took over for the Champions League win (?!) over Villareal but as of this writing it looks like Ralf Rangnick will take over as interim manager for the rest of the season.  I will confess to knowing nothing of Rangnick so I found this article helpful.  Money quote:

It doesn’t matter how talented a player is, if the mentality is shit, forget about it.

BTW, the end result of all the weekend's weirdness is that Newcastle sit at the bottom of the table, two points behind awful Norwich and five points from safety.  

Not Your Son's Leicester

Nobody's doing much against Chelsea this year so Leicester's home loss to the Blues wasn't unexpected.  But this one wasn't close at all and the 0-3 final somewhat flatters the Foxes.  After five top 10 finishes in the last six years (including two consecutive 5th place finishes the last two years), this Leicester side isn't in the same category.  With four wins and three draws through 12 matches, they sit 13th in the table.  Based on their expected goals, it looks like they are exactly where there should be; that is, I don't see a streak of bad luck here.   For the last two years they've been around 1.8 goals per game while this year they are down to 1.3 per game.  I don't know what's going on there but it ain't like the good, not-so-old days right now.

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place and Did

Steve (after Watford 4-1 win over Man United): Surely Ole Gunnar does not survive this

Michael: Agree, he's gone.  And please stop calling me Shirley

Much To Be Thankful For

There's a full EPL slate this weekend plus mid-week bonus fixtures on top of a four MLS conference semi-finals.  

Biggest on the agenda is the Union hosting Nashville in a conference semi-final Sunday at 5:30 (ESPN).  The Union are favored but this figures to be close.  They traded home 1-0 wins in the regular season.  Remember that Nashville were missing a few key players in the loss to the Union in October, notably key attacker Hany Mukhtar.  I haven't been able to find out the status of Monteiro and Mbaizo, who both missed the Red Bulls match due to "Covid protocols."  A winnable match but by no means a sure thing.

Sporting KC will host Real Salt Lake on Sunday at 3 pm and NYCFC travels to New England for a 7:30 match on Tuesday.  The West's number one seed, Colorado, fell Thursday to Portland on a late goal.

The EPL weekend starts with a classic BFS horror show, Newcastle traveling to face Arsenal.  Sure, I 'll get up at 7:30 (NBCSN) to watch the Magpies get the crap beat out of them.  I'm surprised that 538 only has that at 57% vs 20% (23% chance of draw) in favor of the Gunners.  Anything less than a 3-0 loss will be a good day.  

Three to choose from at 10 am.  I'm going with Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa on Peacock.  I know Palace haven't lost in their last seven and they've beaten some quality sides.  But they've also drawn with sides like Newcastle and Burnley.  I will be disappointed if Villa doesn't grab at least one point here.  Your other choices are Liverpool vs Southampton (USA) or Norwich vs Wolves (NBCSN).  Saturday finishes with an odd pick for the NBC feature match - Brighton vs Leeds.  On second thought, this might be fun to watch even if it doesn't have a big impact on the table.

Sunday the schedulers have done us no favors, cramming four matches in at 9 am, on Peacock no less.  We will probably go with Burnley hosting Spurs; I'm having a hard time understanding 538's projection of 37%/37%/26%, suggesting either side has a 37% chance of winning, with a 26% of a draw.  Really?  Of course, I did just see Spurs lose to Mura 1-2 in Europa Conference League action.  Other 9 am choices are Leicester - Watford, Brentford - Everton (Bees favored?!), and Man City hosting West Ham.  That last one on paper is 2nd vs 4th but does not offer the prospect of a close match; this will be a test of my earlier point (see A League of Their Own above).  The EPL weekend closes with a fascinating match up at 11:30 - Chelsea hosting Man United.  Curiosity alone will get me to tune into that one.  Recent form says no contest but Man United will be performing for their new manager.

In the interests of time, here's the full slate for Matchday 14 covering 11/30-12/2.  I haven't seen a TV schedule for these matches.  Other than that, I will only say that Newcastle's match with Norwich is really scary - if we can't get a result at home against the Canaries, we are the worst.

 

Dos a Cero

Is there a phrase more dear to the hearts of USMNT fans?  Of course the win over Mexico lost some of its luster with the subsequent draw to Jamaica.  Some interesting results in UEFA qualifying.  The MLS playoffs start this weekend.  And Newcastle transfer rumors continue.

Mexico spent much of the night chasing Tim Weah
Photo:Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer/USA TODAY Network

First half maybe against Mexico, there was maybe a slight advantage for the visitors but it was 0-0 at the whistle.  The US were clearly the better side in the second half and Christian Pulisic's goal was no less than they deserved; it's an easy call for this week's  YouTubeableMoment.  The goal came from a great cross from Tim Weah, who spent the second half making runs down the right side.  Player of the match for me.

Tuesday against Jamaica wasn't nearly as much fun.  They looked off balance to start but recovered quickly and were up 1-0 by the 11th minute thanks to, here's that name again, Tim Weah.  But they didn't really have much of a chance to work with that lead because of Michael Antonio's thunderbolt in the 22nd minute.  Geez, it's like he plays in the EPL or something.  Check out this laser strike from 34 yards.  The rest of the match was a struggle.  In fact, Jamaica missed one absolute sitter and had a second called back for a questionable foul, so questionable one wonders if there had been VAR, would the call have been reversed.  The team was missing Weston McKennie and Miles Robinson for yellow and red card related suspensions; certainly didn't help but the whole team looked flat so maybe it wouldn't have made a difference

Venue for Canada - Mexico CONCACAF qualifier,
 not NHL Winter Classic
Photo:(Craig Ryan/CBC)

Mexico found this trip  north of the border difficult as they lost again on Tuesday in Edmonton.  We will concede the conditions may have favored the Canadians a tad (see picture).  Like the conditions in Mexico City never favor Mexico?  Canada took it to El Tri.  Best moment was the celebration of Cyle Larin's second score which featured a jump into a snow bank.  That put the home side up 2-0 but there would be a wild finish, with Mexico scoring one late and barely missing an equalizer in stoppage time.

So Canada got six points, beating Costa Rica on Friday before the Mexico result.  Panama also got six, beating Honduras and El Salvador.  Through eight fixtures Canada are on top with 16, US next with 15, while Mexico and Panama have 14.  With six to go, not comfortable yet.

A "Rainy" Night in Georgia and Other Results from Europe

The last two match days in UEFA WC qualifying produced some exciting and strange moments.  Sweden had spent the qualifying process building a lead over Spain.  They threw it all away with a 2-0 loss to Georgia.  Rainin' all over the world indeed.  Combined with Spain's win over Greece, the results meant Sweden now had to beat Spain in Seville.  This did not happen as Spain were content to play their possession game and Sweden never threatened; Morata's goal in the 86th minute was the final blow.

Spain's Iberian neighbor Portugal did not fare well.  We reported on their draw with Ireland last week.  That set up a winner take all match with Serbia (well, technically a draw would have also sufficed for Portugal based on goal differential). Portugal scored early but Serbia levelled things before halftime.  The match went into the late stages even until this unlikely goal from Aleksandar Mitrovic sent Serbia onto Qatar. The celebration tells you just how much it meant.

Italy was the third upset.  Even after a 1-1 draw with Switzerland, they held the goal differential advantage over the Swiss.  Both had winnable final match day fixtures.  Except while the Swiss were pummeling Bulgaria 4-0, the Italians could only manage a 0-0 against Northern Ireland meaning Switzerland get the berth.

Teams winning their group and punching their ticket to Qatar are Germany, Denmark, Serbia, Spain, France, England, Netherlands, Croatia, Switzerland and Belgium.  But, all is not lost for Sweden or Portugal or Italy as they will enter the playoffs in March for three additional spots.  Competition will include Scotland, Turkey, Wales, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, North Macedonia, Czech Republic, and Austria (those last two got a spot in the playoffs due to a complicated formula involving the Nations League).  Teams will be divided into three groups of four and play a semi-final and final format.

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place But Didn't

Dennis (during Netherlands - Norway):  Did you just recite the Lord's Prayer?

Steve: No, I said the Dutch are giving us this day our Daley Blind.

Tyneside Transfer Rumors Continue

Newcastle target? Dennis F (2nd row, 3rd from the left)
would bring speed and his reputation
as a winner (note trophy) Tyneside

Check out this article from Skysports reviewing the long list of names that have been mentioned as possible transfer targets for Newcastle.  I find two things amusing.  First, apparently the only criteria was the name being mentioned in connection with Newcastle by a footballing publication.  Okay, I can play that game.  BFS has spoken to and can confirm that Dennis F is interested and available to transfer to Newcastle.  He is a thirty-something attacking midfielder who would be a free transfer from Sportif Allentown.  His wage bill would be considerably less than Aaron Ramsey's £400,000 a week.  

Second, if you scroll down far enough, you'll see that Demba Ba is willing to come out of retirement and has made himself available. Now I have fond memories of Ba's time at Newcastle but they are about as relevant as my fond memories of Marty Liquori beating Jim Ryun at Franklin Field; they are just too far in the past.  Dennis asked why not drag Alan Shearer out.  I'll go a step further and suggest Bobby Robson.  I will concede that even at his advanced age, Ba is probably a better candidate than Dennis, but I'll take Dennis over Shearer (who is 51) or Robson (who is dead).

More seriously, there are some names in the article that I'm cool with.  Tarkowski, Adeyemi, Sarr, Calvert-Lewin could help.  Also, it appears that ownership may be more active than initially expected in January, recognizing how far this team has to go.  This article suggests we might see up to six new players.

Onto the Playoffs

I say that with some trepidation.  The Americanization of the game, with the emphasis on post-season,  has created the situation where many will feel that if Union don't advance against Red Bulls this Saturday, the season was a bust.  Thinking that way ignores the deep run into the CONCACAF Champions League and a second place finish, even after losing many key personnel from last year.  The Union are solid favorite at home against the Red Bulls but in a single game, who knows what can happen.  We will be there for the 2:30 start on Saturday.  Those without tickets can check out the action on PHL 17.

There's a full slate of EPL matches as well, many of which look interesting.  The bad news is that six of the 10 are crammed into the 10 am Saturday time slot.  We'll be taking in Newcastle-Brentford (Peacock), which despite the Bees early good fortunes, is really a contest of relegation candidates.  Every reason to think the Magpies can grab a draw or maybe even more here.  Dennis won't be watching because he'll be looking in on Aston Villa as they take on Brighton (NBCSN) under the direction of Steven Gerrard.  This one also looks close but maybe the new manager effect throws this one in Aston Villa's favor.

If we weren't wedded to out beloved Magpies, we'd probably go with Wolves vs West Ham (USA) as the choice for the 10 am matches.  Burnley vs Crystal Palace could be a close contest too.  Probably not so much Watford vs Man United or  Norwich - Southampton, both on Peacock.

The weekend kicks off with Leicester - Chelsea on NBCSN at 7:30 am on Saturday.  Though the Blues are favored here, might still be worth getting up for.  The NBC 12:30 feature match has some cachet - Liverpool hosting Arsenal.  This will be a good test for the Gunners; who bring an eight-game unbeaten streak into the contest.  Is the resurgence for real?

On Sunday, Man City host Everton at 9 and Spurs take on Leeds at 11:30, both on NBCSN.  The home sides are favored here, especially Man City.  If Spurs really are turning things around, a win over Leeds is a must.

I wish we could point to a full slate of games on Turkey Day but all we'll get is an MLS playoff match with Colorado hosting a first round winner at 4:30 on Fox.  It will have to do.

Every Point Might Matter

Newcastle either stole a point from Brighton or got the result they deserved, depending on your view of Leandro Trossard's theatrics.  Aston Villa were not so lucky and it cost Dean Smith dearly.  The Union set themselves up nicely for the playoffs.

That Might Come In Handy Next May

Newcastle traveled south to Brighton with minimal expectations (at least for me anyway).  They were doing their typical defend with honor routine, pretty well, until Clark got called for a PK in the 24th minute.  See all the gory details on that below when we discuss the art of the dive.  Scoring just didn't seem in the cards for the Magpies so another 0-1 or 0-2 loss was looming.  Fortunately, Isaac Hayden didn't have the right script and leveled things in the 66th minute with what would be Newcastle's only shot on target.  Newcastle goals are such a rare thing, it's hard for me not to make it this week's YouTubeableMoment.  Though there were no more goals, the rest of the match was exciting as both teams seemed to think they could win.  Newcastle were especially optimistic after Brighton's keeper got sent off for DOGSO.  Except Brighton had some really great chances too so it was a nerve wracking final 10 minutes.  In summary, the point looks pretty sweet.

Newcastle entered the match bottom of the table thanks to Brentford's loss to Norwich.  The draw was enough to lift us out, if only on goal differential.  Eddie Howe has been confirmed as the new manager and we are about seven weeks from the January transfer window.  Maybe things are moving in the right direction, only about as fast as a massive ocean liner doing a 180.

You Can't Play Tottenham Every Week

The 3-0 win over Spurs last week did not signal the possible rebound of Man United.  Midweek they struggled to get a 2-2 draw with Atalanta in Champions League play.  By struggled, I mean they needed a stoppage time PK to snatch the draw.   Saturday was worse as they were totally dominated by Man City in an 0-2 derby defeat.  The score understates how bad they were.  Five shots total, just one on target and 33% possession.  They were a team only in that they had the same color jerseys.  A let down for the neutrals who might have been looking for some excitement.

Fortunately, excitement was to be found in other corners.  Forget about the 0-0 score line, Everton-Spurs was great viewing - good action and plenty of snarl.  Fans of both sides will likely be pleased.  Toffees thrilled to see their defense put up a clean sheet, Spurs to see their side play as a team and with passion.

Allison's own goal was a bad omen for Liverpool

Even better viewing was West Ham's 3-2 upset of Liverpool.  The stats say the Reds dominated but the Hammers did punish them for the opportunities they offered.  Just two years ago they finished 16th, a slim five points ahead of relegation.  They were playing in a stadium that seemed lifeless.  Life certainly looks better for them now.  Be sure to notice the feeling in the stadium as you check out the goal from Kurt Zouma that put them up 3-1 here.

The uh-oh don't look now warning continues to apply to Arsenal.  Though they only managed a 1-0 win over Watford, those three points move the Gunners to 5th, just two behind Liverpool and three behind  Man City and West Ham.  Chelsea did not distinguish themselves at home in a 1-1 draw with Burnley.  Sure they had 25 shots but only four were on target.  To be fair, the xG stats say the Blues might have been a bit unlucky.  In any case, despite dropping two points, they stay top of the table with a three point cushion.

Don't really want to talk about Villa losing 1-0 at Southampton.  See comments under the discussion about coaching changes.

The Art of the Dive: How to Win Free Kicks and Influence Referees

The Two Robbies make Trossard
 the cover boy for embellishment

In the Brighton - Newcastle contest we have a textbook example of the "dark arts" used by attackers to get their way.  With the score 0-0, Ciaran Clark may or may not have made contact with Trossard in the box; the Brighton forward insured that there would be further discussion as, well after the possible contact, he fell down. Watch the play here.  Note specifically that Coots waves his finger at Trossard, as if to say "I'm not buying your act."  Except then he goes to VAR and overturns his decision and awards the PK.  The "boys in the studio" had a field day with this one.  The two Robbies pointed out how Trossard deliberately chose not to put his right leg on the ground, instead extending it parallel to the ground to ensure that he would fall.  They even broke out the still picture to show how Trossard did it (see picture above).  Attackers are going to keep doing this as long as they are rewarded for their antics.  This one was especially galling after Coots' initial reaction.

A decidedly mixed weekend for VAR.  Clearly, we put Coots' use in the bad category.   I recall Craig Pawson not overturning a goal for West Ham after going to the monitor (and watching the whole play this time!), ruling that Allison was not fouled on the Hammers goal; we put that in the good category.   We have the Richarlison play in the Everton-Tottenham match.  Initially Chris Cavanagh called a foul in the box, but he overruled himself after checking the play on the monitor; I put that in the bad category, not so much in that the final call was "wrong" but because it was re-refereeing a close call as opposed to correcting an obvious error.  Coots got one right late in the Newcastle match, where the video picked up a clip by keeper Sanchez that caused Wilson to go down.  There were others I think but don't remember specifically.  While there was some good use of VAR, still too much re-refereeing for my taste.  The point of VAR is not to get the call right but to spot egregious, obvious errors. 

But It Was Only My First!

There has been a rash of complaints from players receiving yellow cards for reckless challenges, arguing that "it was only my first foul."  Dude, if it was reckless, it's a yellow.  Imagine that defense in the US legal system; "I realize I killed the guy but it was only my first offense."

Even With Ties and No Playoffs, This Is A Hard Job

The wisdom of Ted Lasso not withstanding, being a football manager is not easy.  Dean Smith, despite leading Aston Villa out of the Championship Division three years ago, engineering a miraculous finish to stay in two years ago and leading them to a respectable finish last year, got sacked for the crime of losing five straight matches.  There is no doubt that the team is underperforming expectations right now.  Also true that they did look rudderless in a 0-1 loss to Southampton.  They did bring in some fine talent in the off season, but Jack Grealish was the soul of that team for nine years so maybe some patience was in order.  Geez, it was just September 25th when Villa upset Man United at Old Trafford.

Daniel Farke also got sacked from Norwich this weekend.  What's weird about that one is that it came hours after the Canaries got their first win of the year.  

For those keeping score at home, that means the five (Munoz at Watford, Bruce at Newcastle, Santo at Tottenham, Farke at Norwich and Smith at Aston Villa)- or one quarter of - EPL managers were sacked before Remembrance Day.   Of course, it's likely not the end of it.  Ol Gunner is, well, under the gun at Man United, Brendan Rodgers' Leicester side has been underperforming (see their latest 1-1 draw with Leeds) and, after a good start, Everton are struggling under Rafa Benitez.  The best part?  Brendan Rodgers is frequently mentioned as a replacement for Ol Gunner.

Steven Gerrard takes the job at Aston Villa. Norwich are close to landing Frank Lampard, although we hear Dean Smith's name in relation to that job too.  Despite my years of experience with the Chestnut Hill Youth Sports Club and Masterman High School, I have not been approached about any of the vacancies.

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place and Did

Steve: So Aston Villa are going to pay for Gerrard's training to eventually succeed Klopp at Liverpool?

Dennis: If he does succeed Klopp, then Villa will have gotten their money's worth

Steve: True.  You won't see a headline like "Gerrard Named Klopp's Successor Despite Messing Up at Aston Villa

Who Has the Advantage?

Yes, it's a good sign when the opposing keeper
is taking the ball out of his net
Photo:Andrew Zwarych / Philadelphia Union

I won't say the Union backed into second place but they didn't exactly grab it by the scruff of the neck.  Through the first half, things looked okay, even great.  NYCFC were down a man, the Union were up 1-0 (goal from shuhBILLkoh) and Nashville were losing to the Red Bulls.  All good.  Except then Nashville tied things up.  It got worse when the second half of the Union match started.  Exactly who had the man advantage was unclear.  With the NYCFC pressure, a goal was inevitable and indeed it came from Castellanos in the 53rd minute.  The rest of the match was a struggle, as was watching the scoreboard to see if things changed in Nashville.  Curtin put some youth on the pitch for the final minutes and that seemed to relieve the pressure.  At final whistle, the score in both matches had stayed at 1-1 and the Union captured second place.   

The glass 7/8ths full assessment of the season is that despite losing several key players from last year's Supporters Shield winning side and a deep run into CONCACAF Champions League that stretched resources, they still managed to finish second in the East.  The glass is 1/8ths empty view is that this team can sink into stretches of mediocrity; also their overall lack of speed can limit their attacking ability.  Hopefully, there won't be a stretch of mediocrity as they take on the Harrison Pink Cows on 11/20 in the first round of the playoffs.

Forest Green Real Life Performance of the Week

No goal for you - Ireland's Gavin Bazunu denies CR7

Gavin Bazunu plays keeper for my FM Forest Green side; we have him on loan from Man City.  He's doing great for us, thank you very much.  On Thursday the real life Bazunu was in goal for Ireland versus Portugal.  He did great for them too, thank you very much, recording a clean sheet in the 0-0 draw.  Obviously doing well under my tutelage.

Might Want to Watch

No league games this weekend but we do have some suggestions for you.  First, the group stage of the UEFA World Cup qualifying finishes in this international break.  Recall that the first place finisher in each of the 10 groups automatically qualifies while second place gets you to playoffs next March for three additional spots.  First place is therefore a lot better than second. And wouldn't ya know it, there's a pile of matches between the top two in many of the groups this week.  The list includes:

Italy - Switzerland 2:45 Friday (ESPN2)

Croatia - Russia 9 am Sunday

Spain - Sweden 2:45 Sunday

Portugal - Serbia (I'm not kidding) 2:45 Sunday

Netherlands - Norway 2:45 Tuesday

Except for Italy-Switzerland,  looks like you need ESPN+ to stream.  There's probably some interesting matches involving second place in other groups but I didn't tease that out.  ESPN has provided a good group-by-group summary here. Depending on time, you might find us checking in on Scotland as they play Moldova (Friday at noon) and Denmark (Monday at 2:45).  

On this side of the pond, we have two more rounds of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.  Big match for the US Friday night at 9 pm hosting Mexico at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati. It's possible given the location that there might even be more US fans than Mexico fans in the crowd.  They'll turnaround quickly to face Jamaica away on Tuesday at 5 pm.  The Mexico fixture is on ESPN2 but I think you'll need ParamountPlus for the Jamaica game.

 Not as packed as a normal weekend, which is why they call it a break.

Outgunned, Outmanned, Outnumbered, Outplanned

 apologies to Lin-Manuel Miranda 

Well maybe not outplanned. Graeme Jones' game plan did work for a long time but it was no where near enough to mask the fundamental differences between Newcastle and Chelsea.  Aston Villa didn't have a good time either.  At least the Union and my Football Manager Forest Green did okay.  Some strange doings elsewhere.

Under the Cosh

From The Free Dictionary:

under the cosh

Contending with a difficult or stressful situation; experiencing pressure or difficulty. Primarily heard in UK.Local businesses have been increasingly put under the cosh by the austerity measures imposed by the government after the economic crash.Manchester United has really been under the cosh in this second half. I don't think they've left their own side of the pitch more than a handful of times.

Replace "Manchester United" with "Newcastle" and "second half" with "the whole game" and that is exactly how the color commentator described the Magpies' 0-3 loss to Chelsea.  The lads did put up a well-organized defense that took Chelsea sometime to crack.  And it took a pretty good shot in the 65th minute from Reece James to do it.  Unfortunately, James did it again in the 77th minute.  Jorginho added a PK to round out the scoring.  Everything on the stat sheet screams 0-3 too.  Very tough to go into a match with the realization that your only hope for a result is to keep the score at 0-0.

Eddie Howe ready to step in ?

As of Thursday, they still have no permanent manager have reached an agreement in principle with former Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe. Transfer rumors come and go.  Coutinho, Tarkowski, Conor Coady, Aaron Ramsey, Deli Alli, Ismaila Sarr, Karim Adeyemi, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham.   We hear that the January transfer budget will be £50 million; not sure whether to believe it or not.  Given that is more than they've spent in the last three (?) years, I guess we should be grateful.  However, those thinking there would be a major overhaul of the squad in January should dial back those expectations.  We can only hope it will be enough to avoid relegation.

Seeing Red

Might apply in more than one way for Aston Villa - West Ham.  The Hammers were only slight favorites so we had some high hopes for at least an interesting match and maybe even a result.  An early, seemingly savable, goal that slipped past Martinez put a early damper on proceedings.  Fortunately the Villans shook it off, grew into the game and were rewarded with a solid looking goal at 34 minutes.  But then Declan Rice put another seemingly stoppable ball past Martinez minutes later.  Fifteen minute of decent football shot to hell.  Still, it was only 1-2 with a whole second half to play.

Except it got worse.  Early in the second half, Fornals dribbled deep into Villa territory before taking an elbow in the face from Hause; the ball still made its way to the 18, at which point Konsa fouled Bowen.  By the time VAR had sorted everything out, Konsa had a red for DOGSO and Hause was incredibly lucky to only get a yellow.  You can see the whole sordid thing here.  It took a little while for West Ham to take advantage but they eventually did to make the final 1-4.  Grrrr.  Annoying on so many fronts.  Martinez is usually rock solid, they had some frustrating stretches, the red card (and being lucky not to have gotten two on one play); maybe West Ham are a better side but I don't think this game proved it despite the final score.  

You Can't Play Newcastle Every Week Part II

After a frustrating loss to West Ham last week, Spurs were even worse this week, looking entirely moribund against a Man United side that hadn't exactly been overwhelming themselves.  In some ways, the 3-0 final favoring the Red Devils looks harsh given that Tottenham had 58% of the possession and were only outshot 9-10.  Ah, but look closer to see Spurs had zero shots on target.  Depending on own goals to win is a tough way to go through the EPL.

Santo did not make it to Tuesday as manager.  On the one hand, the situation was so bad that you felt that Santo was simply not going to be able to turn it around.  And clearly, the squad was not gelling and maybe some of that is on him.  On the other, he was Manager of the Month in August.  A win over Man United would have moved them into fourth.  Spurs have talent, maybe enough to compete for 4th but  this is not a team that contends for the title.  Santo walked into the effed up Harry Kane situation that was not of his own doing.  Did that contract nonsense maybe affect his performance?  Uh, well, he has as many yellow cards (2) as he does goals (1) plus assists (1).  More on his underperformance here. 

I used to respect Tottenham as a club that took the classy route to becoming a big four/six club with judicious spending and patience.  The sacking of Santo after just 10 matches is another example of how that's just not the case anymore.  Fired Poch when they were becoming a regular Champions League participant.  Hired Mourinho.  Participation in the Super League fiasco.  Handling of the Harry Kane situation (either let him go or spend some money to make the squad match expectations).  So now they've hired Conte.  Will be real interested to see if Kane responds and if Spurs are big spenders in January.   If Conte gets a $200 million transfer budget and the team miraculously improves,  please do not tell me that this proves that Santo was not up to the job.

Table Matches Results

The top three had eminently winnable matches.  Only Chelsea, as noted above, managed to do so.  Liverpool at least got a 2-2 draw with Brighton.  Man City struggled early and fell behind 0-1 to Crystal Palace.  Then LaPorte got sent off.  Palace didn't take advantage of that until very late but the 0-2 loss was a shock anyway.  Based on these results, it only seems fair that the top three in order are Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City.

The proverbial results elsewhere didn't do much to help Newcastle on the relegation front.  Burnley got their first win, 3-1 over Brentford; how does Burnley score three goals?  Southampton got a 1-0 win, albeit over Watford; how does Watford score five against Everton and none against Southampton.  Leeds also got a win, albeit over Norwich.  We would have been better served with draws in those last two.  

Don't look now but after starting the season with three straight shut out losses, Arsenal have five wins and two draws since.  The latest result was a solid win 2-0 win over Leicester.  Right now West Ham are fourth in the table but there will be plenty of competition for that spot.

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place But Didn't

Dennis: Did you say NBCSN commentator Arlo was paying close attention to West Ham's midfield Declan?

Steve: Yes, he was on him like White on Rice

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place and Did

Dennis (while watching Norwich-Leeds): Amazing how both Grealish and Buendia have a much larger negative impact on their former teams than a positive one so far on their current team.

Steve: Like when a top econ major switches to math and the GPAs of both departments drop

Just Askin'

So the buyout provision in Nuno's contract for which he'll be paid the remainder of his £14 m in salary for two years would appropriately be called a "Santo Clause", no?  He did last longer at Tottenham than Ted Lasso.

Just Sayin'

Spurs will now be paying about £29 million for two people not to manage the club.  

You Can Only Shut Out Who You Play

Paxten Aaronson got another goal v Cincinnati

Certainly Cincinnati was not the most difficult of opponents but the Union still had to take care of
business, which they did pretty well.  Early pressure and a quick goal set a great tone for the rest of the evening.  Initially we thought the goal was Mbaizo's (would have been his first ever) but turns out Gazdag had deflected it; given how important it was to make the night less stressful, we make it this week's YouTubeableMoment.  Though they wouldn't add a second until the 50th minute on a nifty strike from Paxten Aaronson, the Union were pretty much in control here; the final could have easily been three or four to zero.

By itself the win didn't change the Union's playoff situation.  They had already clinched a playoff berth by kickoff due to results elsewhere.  And, the win didn't seal a top four spot because Atlanta had a game in hand.  But, good news for us it that Atlanta could only manage a draw with that game in hand, a 0-0 draw with the Harrison Pink Cows.  Thank you to our Moo New Jersey neighbors. 

   

Critical (But Not Necessarily Winnable) Fixtures

Some meaningful matches this weekend.  Newcastle do need to start collecting some points and Brighton might normally be a place we could find one or three, except they are no where near each other in the table this year.  How exactly did this end up as the feature match on NBC Saturday at 1:30?  The question becomes even more poignant when you realize the highlight of the weekend is a Manchester derby, which will run on NBCSN at 8:30 Saturday morning.  The thinking must be we'll watch a Manchester derby at any time on any channel but if you don't make it easy to watch Newcastle - Brighton, no one will tune in.  But is getting more people to watch Brighton - Newcastle necessarily a good thing?

Aston Villa also have a critical fixture at Southampton at 4 pm Friday on Peacock; after four straight lossses and the Saints not being the toughest opponent, a result here is kinda important for the Villans.  They are slight underdogs but they should be able to at least work a draw here.

At the top of the table, Chelsea figure to have it pretty easy hosting Burnley (11 am Saturday on Peacock).  Liverpool face a sterner test, traveling to West Ham (11:30 Sunday on NBCSN).

Some of the more competitive looking matches include Crystal Palace vs Wolves (the best choice of the three 11 am matches Saturday, as evidenced by the fact it's the one on NBCSN), Everton - Tottenham at 9 am Sunday (also NBCSN) and Leeds - Leicester ( 9 am Sunday on Peacock); that last one wouldn't figure to be so tight but Leicester are not the Foxes of the last few years.

Rounding out the schedule is Brentford - Norwich (11 am Saturday on Peacock) and Arsenal - Watford (Sunday at 9 on Peacock); every reason to think that the Gunners will extend their seven-game unbeaten streak.

Really? This is sacriligious to both sports

The MLS regular season wraps up Sunday afternoon/evening.  Though the Union are in the playoffs with home field advantage for the first round, there is still plenty to play for as they face NYCFC (Sunday 3:30) at the worst soccer venue in the world, Yankee Stadium.  I will skip all the permutations except to note that the Union could finish anywhere from 2nd to 4th and that there is a big difference between finishing second, third and fourth.  Fourth means you get New England away for the second round match.  Third means the second round game is on the road, though not against New England.  Second means the second round match is at home vs Nashville.  Yeah, I know I'm assuming that the Union will win the first round match so this is meaningful.

We're heading into another international break, which means more CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.  Only two matches during this break - hosting Mexico on 11/12 at 9 and away against Jamaica on 11/16 at 5 pm.  Not sure if we'll check in next week so don't forget those USMNT fixtures.

Now, off to play some Football Manager, where Forest Green recently grabbed a road draw against first place West Brom, then scored five goals each in wins over Luton and Reading.  I tell ya, some days, it's the only good football thing that happens.