Making Lemonade

We had low expectations for much viewing during the obligation-filled trip to NH.  Surprisingly, we got in three matches on Saturday squeezed in between activities or after everybody else was asleep.  The five hour layover in Danbury on Monday allowed me to fit in two more; details on that saga below but it's perfect example of what to do when life gives you lemons - find a bar and watch soccer.

My Kingdom For A Finisher

Trippier clears the ball off the line;
the difference between a draw and a loss
Getty Images

We needn't spend much time on the 0-0 draw between Brighton and Newcastle.  That score totally flatters the Magpies.  Several shots were cleared off the line, Nick Pope had some great saves and goal line technology revealed that one ball was a few inches from crossing the line.  Newcastle had one shot on target and xG was 1.65 - .45 in favor of the Seagulls.  Not disappointed in the result so much as the performance. The silver lining here is that this was a match Newcastle would have lost in recent years so we'll take the point and move on.

The search for a striker or attacking midfielder continues.  A half a dozen names keep floating by but there is no action.  BFS can confirm that Dennis F is still available even after Sportif Allentown raised the asking price.

Better Is Relative

Aston Villa were much improved from the opener, though that was a pretty low bar.  Even so, they were clearly the better side and the 2-1 win over Everton was deserved.  This is a side that looks to be still putting the pieces together.  At the same time though, some of the pieces are falling apart.  New acquisition Diego Carlos went down with a ruptured achilles that probably rules him out for the season.  That leaves a big hole that they'll want to fill before the transfer window closes (loan deal for Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah?).  Coutinho also left with some type of injury but doesn't sound like it's serious.  Still think the long range prospects are good for Villa. 

This Isn't Professional Wrestling

Or is it?  The 2-2 draw between Chelsea - Tottenham provided plenty of talking points, not all of which relate to the quality of play.  Before turning to the more soap operay aspects, let's acknowledge that at least all four goals were of high quality.  Now, let's look at the talking points.

1) Romero vs Cucurella (Round 1) - In the first half, Romero executed a clean tackle but Cucurella fell awkwardly and his right foot landed solidly on Romero's knee, probably leaving a mark.  There would be a rematch.

2a) At 68 minutes Spurs leveled things at 1-1 at 68 minutes on a nifty shot from Hoyburg Hodgebejerg Hojbjerg; the goal came shortly after Bentancur had scythed Havertz down deep in Spurs territory.  Pretty clearly a foul.  But also by shortly we mean 40+ seconds.  There is no way VAR (Mike Dean) should intervene here and fortunately he did not.  

Offside would have been an incredibly harsh call

2b) The tougher issue on this goal was whether Richarlison was in Mendy's line of vision while in an offside position.  Looking at the picture on the right, no doubt he is in an offside position.  However, it also looks like Mendy had a tight but unobstructed view of the shot.  We think Dean got this one right too.

2c) Not sure what exactly happened but Tuchel and Conte clashed right after this goal.  I think it was because Tuchel was incensed by the nature of Betancur's challenge.  Or maybe because, as Warren Zevon would say, he's just an excitable boy.

3) Chelsea went back up 2-1 on a great strike by Reece James.  In response, Tuchel sprinted along the touch line - RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE SPURS BENCH.  Yeah, that's a bit provocative.  Post match, Conte concedes it would have been awesome if he had stuck a foot out to trip Tuchel. 

4) Romero vs Cucurella (The Rematch) - Deep in stoppage time on a Spurs corner, Romero yanked Cucurella's hair, pulling him to the ground.  Mendy ended up tipping the ball over the crossbar so the call on the field was another corner for Spurs.  VAR reviewed but determined that there was nothing to overrule.  At first blush that seems ridiculous because the hair pull was real and it was spectacular.  However, since there wasn't a goal scored on the play, the only option to overturn the call was if the hair pull was deemed serious foul play/violent conduct.  That Anthony Taylor missed a foul is not enough here.  And the rules are silent on hair pulling.  Is it the same as shirt pulling, which is a common foul?  Or is a "blow to the face?"  Absent clearer guidance, we think Taylor and Dean got this one right too.  A few days later Dean suggested he made an error; he said that at the time he didn't think it was violent conduct but now wishes he had asked Taylor to look at the incident on the pitch-side monitor.  Of course, it is entirely possible that Taylor would have reached the same conclusion.  Watch the IAFB for possible new wording on what constitutes violent conduct. That the Spurs scored on the subsequent corner only magnified the controversy.

Am not! Are too!! Conte and Tuchel discuss the match

5) Post match, Conte and Tuchel got into it again.  I believe this driven by Tuchel's feeling that Conte's handshake was perfunctory, not even looking him in the eyes.  The exchange was enough that Taylor showed both a red card.    The Football Association has charged both with improper behavior (sorry, behaviour), which would mean touchline bans.  As of publication, I didn't see a  final decision.

As far as we know, there was no chair throwing and we believe that this was a real contest.  Therefore, we conclude that despite the hair pulling and theatrics of the whole affair, it was not professional wrestling.

Conversation That Didn't Take Place But Could Have

Michael B: Five hour layover in Danbury?  I didn't think you flew to New Hampshire

Steve: We didn't.

Best Sports Bar in Connecticut

TK's - the BFS approved soccer bar in Danbury, CT

Driving home from NH on Monday, the car started to make an awful screeching sound.  Laura went on line to find the nearest auto repair shop.  We pulled into Cardinale's in Danbury, CT.  The father and son team determined that the problem was that the brake calipers on the right front wheel were not releasing properly.  The good news was that they could fix it.  The bad news was that it would take three hours.  The good news was they directed us to TK's, a nearby sports bar.

The better news was that this is no mere sports bar. We walk in and the Liverpool - Crystal Palace match was on the big screens.  Bob the bartender went through the choices of local beers with a good range of IPAs, lagers and ales.  He pointed out the menu, which includes 76 flavors of wings.  John, one of the dozen or so patrons, struck up a conversation with us right away.  Turns out this is the official Connecticut home of Bayern Munich fans.  These guys know their stuff. 

As for the match, Dennis ran into the jinx of the pundit, texting that it didn't look like Palace would get away with their typical way of stealing a game seconds before Zaha scored.  Nunez earned himself a red card at 57 minutes for a head butt.  The consensus at the bar was that you can't do that but everyone was annoyed at how Andersen made a meal of it.  Luis Diaz made a sensational shot that leveled things a few minutes later.  Someone at the end of the bar said 11 v 10 probably made this an even match.  And that's how it ended, 1-1.

We don't often break down in Danbury and have to spend three hours waiting on car repairs but when we do, we hang out at TK's.  We took home a bucket of wings and can report that the Jamaican Jerk and the Half and Half wings are excellent.  An order of San Francisco fries ensured that we wouldn't eat the wings in the car.  Check out their website here.  Only fair that I give them a plug because Bob handed out the link to BFS to some of the customers.  Also, a shout out to Cardinale's, who got us back on the road and home that evening (yes, that's Laura's 5-star Yelp review).  More of the shameless cross promotion you've come to expect from BFS.  

In Other Action

Man City and Arsenal managed solid wins over Bournemouth and Leicester respectively.  After just two weeks they are the only sides with perfect records.  At the other end of the table, there are just three teams with no points so far -  Everton, West Ham and Man United.  Just as you predicted right?  Well, maybe Everton.  From the highlights, Nottingham's 1-0 win over the Hammers might have been the best match of the weekend.  I only saw highlights of Brentford's 4-0 drubbing of Man United.  The xG at 538 reads 1.75 - 1.25 in favor of the Red Devils so maybe there was some bad luck there.  Certainly, the first goal was a howler from DeGea; we don't often make mistakes the YouTubeableMoment but this was so bad, we'll make an exception. Rounding out the action, Leeds and Southampton played to a 2-2 draw while the Wolves - Fulham scoreline was 0-0; the latter match featured a whopping four shots on goal.

Feast or Famine for the Union

Gazdag got another one against Chicago

The Union scored early and often in a 4-1 win over Chicago on Saturday but could not find the net in an 0-1 loss to Dallas on Wednesday.   In truth, the U were a little loose against Chicago but got by because of Blake's work in goal and the performances of Uhre, Carranza and especially Gazdag.   Daniel is tied for 7th with 12 goals and has six assists to go with them.  How about at least a little discussion of him for MVP?

Against Dallas, they moved the ball around well enough but somehow still managed to look punchless.  It shows in the xG at 538; shot-based was just .5 while non-shot based was 1.8.  In other words, they got the ball in good positions but it didn't translate into meaningful shots.  

Not overly worried but would be happy if they didn't have these occasional power failures.  Fortunately, while we were losing two of the last three, NYCFC were losing all of their last three so we've actually opened a decent advantage over them.  In fact, they haven't won since 7/23 and have seen Montreal slip past them into second.  The U lead Montreal by five points but we have played one more game.  

While You're Waiting for the Next Season of Ted Lasso (h/t Bob K)

In 2020, Ryan Reynolds and Ryan McElhenney bought Wrexham AFC for £2 million.  The Dragons compete in the National League, the 5th tier of English football.  An FX docuseries chronicling events since the actors purchased the club comes out on August 24.  Details can be had here.  

There's Always the Week After

There are some intriguing fixtures this week but one of them is not Newcastle hosting Man City Sunday at 11:30 (USA).  At 538 they have the Magpies with a 12% chance of winning, 18% chance of a draw; as Lloyd Christmas would say, so you're telling me there's a chance.

Monday afternoon at 3 pm features winless Liverpool at pointless Man United.  This looks more like a chance for the Reds to get squared away as opposed to Man United finding a way out of the wilderness they've wandered into.

Saturday's early risers can do Tottenham hosting Wolves at 7:30; at least it's on USA so those of us looking to grab another 30-45 minutes of sleep can catch up via DVR.  No reason to think Spurs aren't good for this one.

Four choices at 10 am.  The schedulers chose Leicester - Southampton for USA but I'd have it as my second choice.  We'll be going with Crystal Palace - Aston Villa; this is at Selhurst Park so while I think Villa are the better side, the Eagles may give them a good challenge here.  Fulham hosting Brentford could be a competitive match.  The fourth option is Everton - Nottingham Forest.  In prior years I would be so worried about Newcastle's relegation risk that, against my better judgment, I'd root for Everton; now I can snicker if Everton lose.  

The NBC 12:30 feature match is Arsenal at Bournemouth.  Underwhelming choice.

Two 9 am Sunday fixtures to warm you up for the Newcastle massacre.  Leeds will host Chelsea on USA while West Ham take on Brighton in London.  I'll go with the latter.  Despite their positions in the table, I think these are two evenly matched sides who will put on an interesting show.  Of course, I said that about Brighton - Newcastle last week.  Well, it was draw.

The Union travel to Washington to face DC United 7:30 on Saturday night.  We are not expecting a repeat of the 7-0 drubbing the Union hung on DC last time.  And you always worry about payback after a result like that.  However, DC have yet to score in four matches in August.  They have a -21 goal differential.  They have four wins and three draws against six losses at home.  Really, anything less than three points here would be disappointing.  

In other MLS action, Montreal host New England (Saturday 7:30) while NYCFC travel to Chicago for a 6 pm Sunday fixture.  

It's nice to be home but I wouldn't mind being at TK's for the Man United Liverpool match.