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.