Swallowed By A Minnow

minnow ‎(plural minnows)

1. A small freshwater fish of the carp family.
2. More generally, any small fish.
3. (soccer) A low-level team, in comparison to their opponents. 

One of the quaint features of the Third Round of the FA Cup is that usually several minnows advance at the expense of some of the top tier sides.  The problem is that it's not so effin' quaint when it's your team that gets swallowed by a minnow.  

Windass kicked Newcastle's butt

Eddie Howe took a slight risk playing a heavily rotated side for the contest with third tier Sheffield
Wednesday Saturday.  However, we will not second guess him even though the gamble backfired in a 2-1 loss.  First, this wasn't exactly Man City or Arsenal that they were facing.  Second, Howe did have to factor in that the Magpies had a quarterfinal League Cup match on Tuesday.  Yes, in theory that is less desirable hardware than the FA Cup but if you're that close to the final, it probably should take precedence.  And lastly, that wasn't chopped liver he put out there.  Dubravka, Manquillo, Murphy, Isak, Anderson, Lewis and Ritchie are Premier League level players and could have gotten the job done.

Sheffield Wednesday didn't exactly play like a minnow though Newcastle did have the run of play.  But it was Josh Windass for Sheffield that broke through at 52 minutes.  Shortly thereafter, Howe put in Guimaraes, Almiron and Willock with the result that Windass scored again at 65 minutes.  On came Trippier and Newcastle quickly got one back and looked all the world like they had an equalizer and maybe even a game winner.  Except it wasn't to be and Newcastle were bounced out in the Third Round by a League One side again.   

Deja vu All Over Again

On Sunday, Aston Villa not only repeated Newcastle's feat but surpassed it.  Villa's line up was even more heavily rotated than Newcastle's but at least they managed to carry a 1-0 lead late into the match.  And then poof, it was gone.  First Dendoncker made an incredibly stupid shirt grab that continued into the penalty area.  The PK was converted and Villa would play the last five or so minutes down a man.  Frankly, a draw was the likely result at that point.  Except Stevenage then grabbed the game winner in the 90th minute. No one was more relieved than Dennis when the game winner slipped past Olsen, addressing his worst fear was they'd get stuck with a mid-week replay.

Stroll Around the Grounds (apologies to Simon and Garfunkel)

Stockport Sports Village - capacity 2,398, including 192 seats

I did get to sample the action from a bunch of different games over the four days, including several at the smaller, neighborhood-friendly grounds where a second story window sometimes is a great seat.   I was surprised that unlike in previous years, none of the pitches reminded me of the dirt and weeds of our own club venue, the Water Tower Recreation Center.  No, apart from some worn touchlines, corner areas and goalie boxes, they were in pretty good shape.  My favorite this time was Stockport Sports Village, home pitch of Stockport County FC.  It didn't strike me at the time but of course the pitch is in perfect condition - it's artificial turf.

One venue that did not fare so well was the New Lawn Stadium, where the match between Forest Green and Birmingham had to be postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.  Before you go thinking this might have been some Crash Davis type scheme to buy the Rovers some extra time, know that there were heavy rains throughout the night.

Sauce for the Goose

Or something like that.  At this point in the FA Cup, VAR is used, but only in fixtures at Premier League venues.  That does not seem like a level playing field to me.  If you can't have it in all cases, it shouldn't be used at all.  If the Newcastle match had been at St. James' Park, Sheffield Wednesday's first goal likely would have been ruled out for offside and Newcastle's definitely would have been.  There were several incidences of handling or fouls in the box that could have ended up with different calls with or without VAR.  

Tough Day for the Overdog

Over the 31 third round matches (Forest Green - Birmingham postponed) the favorites were just 13-12 with six draws.  The composition of the fourth round so far, with six replays to go, is:

PL - 9  (9-8-3 overall)

CH - 8 (8-9-6) 

L1 - 4 (4-5-1) 

L2 - 3 (3-3-0)

NL - 1 (1-0-2)

On the other hand, many of the upsets were minor, with the difference in seeding less than 10.  Aston Villa (44) and Newcastle (42) were by far the biggest upsets.  Next levels were Wrexham over Coventry (28) and Blackpool over Nottingham Forest (27).  But these were atypical.  More common was stuff like Burnley over Bournemouth, Ipswich over Rotherham, and Grimsby over Burton, where the difference was just five seeds.

The luck of the draw meant that match ups were closer than usual.  Three League Two sides are advancing.  Sure Stevenage was a huge upset but Grimsby over League One Burton isn't a shocker.  And Walsall?  They beat Stockport, a side merely three places below them in the League Two table.

O'er The Lampard We Watched (apologies to Francis Scott Key)

An Everton exit in the third round of the FA Cup would normally be considered a disaster.  The mitigating circumstance this time was that the defeat came at the hand of in-form Man United.  And, the 3-1 final aside, Everton actually played pretty well; the second tally was a Conor Coady own goal and the third was a stoppage time PK.  However, the Toffees' rocky season to-date does have us wondering how much longer Frank Lampard remains as manager.  They are thoroughly engaged in the relegation battle, sitting 18th, a mere three points from the bottom.  That the five sides above them are within spitting distance may provide some comfort.  The dark cloud to that thin silver lining though is their horrendous recent form.  Everton have taken five points from the last 30 on offer.  They have no wins in the last six matches. Their only wins this season are against Crystal Palace, West Ham and Southampton, 12th, 17th and 20th respectively in the table.

At 4/5, Lampard is far and away the "favorite" as the next EPL manager to be sacked.  Graham Potter (whose woes are discussed below) is 2/1 and David Moyes, who's West Ham club are ahead of Everton only because their goal differential is one better is at 8/1.  Everton's next two matches are 20th place Southampton (1/14) and 17th place West Ham (1/21).  I can't see anything less than four points being enough for Lampard to keep his job.

Well Now I Carabao It

Dan Burn - Your basic 6'6" "striker [Photo APP]

With the 2-0 win over Leicester in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, Howe's line up choice for the FA Cup on Saturday is further vindicated.  Newcastle's domination of the Foxes was complete.  Possession was 53/47, shots were 22/7 and shots on target were 7/1.  The match was scoreless through 60 minutes, so despite having the run of play, a smash and grab 0-1 loss was a fear for a while.  Also, the xG advantage was slim - just 1.8-1/3 - reflecting the late appearance of Jamie Vardy who fortunately missed two really good opportunities.  Both Magpie goals  were well-taken but we'll go with defender Dan Burn for the YouTubeableMoment.  His reception, move, finish and especially his kneeling slide were all worthy of highly rated striker.

Man United handled Charleton 3-0, though that scoreline is misleading as two of the goals game at 90 and 94 minutes.  Nottingham Forest and Wolves played to a 1-1 draw with Forest advancing on PKs.  Speaking of rotated line ups, Guardiola trotted out a largely backup Man City team against Southampton.  After falling behind 0-2, he put many first teamers back in but it was too late and the Saints pulled out the upset.

The draw for the two-legged semis is Newcastle - Southampton and Nottingham Forest - Man United.  Those matches take place on 1/24 and 1/31.

Yes, we make fun of the competition until our team is in the semis.  Now it is very important.

Bale Retires Two Games Too Late

My final memory of Bale - the PK against the US

On Monday, Gareth Bale announced he was stepping away from the game at 33.  This ESPN article does a nice job capturing his career.  Unfortunately, we will remember him for two agonizing equalizers in November 2022 - one for LAFC to level the MLS Final against the Union and the PK to earn Wales a draw with the US in the World Cup.  Seriously, he had a fine career but if it had been a month shorter, we wouldn't have minded.

Vini Vidi Vinicius

Latin for I came, I saw, I scored against Chelsea.  Fulham's Carlos Vinicius added to Chelsea's woes with a nifty header that allowed the Cottagers to come away with a 2-1 win in a London Derby on Thursday.  This has not been a pretty year for Chelsea and the trend continued.  You could already make a solid Premier League squad from their injury list which includes Mendy, James, Kante, Chilwell, Fofana, Broja, Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, and Sterling.  Add Zakaria to that list, as he exited Thursday's match with some type of leg injury.  Things got worse, as shortly thereafter, newly acquired Joao Felix - who had been having a good game - picked up a straight red for serious foul play.  He'll probably get a three match suspension for the challenge.  Through 11 matches as the Chelsea manager, Graham Potter has four wins, three draws and four losses.  As noted above, he's now number two in the EPL Sack Race.

Derbies, Relegation Relevant Fixtures and Six Pointers

Good stuff up and down the table this weekend.  The 7:30 Saturday match is a Manchester Derby at Old Trafford.  Both sides are in good form, well, leaving aside City's 0-2 loss at Southampton in the Caraboa Cup.  At 538 they have the match 26/52/22 favor City but hoping it might be closer than that.  On Sunday at 11:30 we have a North London Derby with Spurs hosting Arsenal.  Tottenham are the underdog at 32/44/24.  Here's hoping they don't wait until the second half to start playing for real.

The Saturday 10 am slot presents a conundrum for relegation aficionados, with three solid choices.  Everton host Southampton (USA), West Ham are at Wolves (Peacock) and Nottingham Forest take on Leicester at home (also Peacock).  All three should be tight affairs.  Really hard pressed to choose one over another here but will probably go with Everton-Southampton as part of the Frank Lampard Sack Watch.  

Newcastle have a classic "trap" match, taking on Fulham at home (Sunday at 9 on Peacock).  The Magpies haven't lost in 13 matches dating back to August 31.  They beat the Cottagers 4-1 in the reverse fixture back in October.  Defender Antonee Robinson will miss the match with a yellow care accumulation suspension.  But recall that Fulham played that earlier match down a man for 82+ minutes and they come in with a four game win streak of their own. This should be a win but overconfidence can be deadly.

The NBC feature match on Saturday of Brentford - Bournemouth does not overwhelm.  Chelsea will hope to address an inconsistent run of form with a home match against Crystal Palace (Sunday at 9 on USA).  Brighton hosting Liverpool (10 am Saturday on Peacock) isn't the projected blow out it used to be but unfortunately, at least for me, is overshadowed by the relegation matches scheduled for the same time.  And don't forget we have that old favorite, Friday afternoon football, as Aston Villa will host Leeds at 3 pm on USA.  This one should be wide open and fun.

Dennis notes that almost every one of the matches this weekend is a six pointer.  Look at how close each side is in the table:

Aston Villa vs Leeds 11-14 (3)                    Man United vs Man City 4-2 (2)

Brighton vs Liverpool 8 - 7 (1)                    Everton vs Southampton 18-20 (2)

Nottingham Forest vs Leicester 15-13 (2)   Wolves vs West Ham 19-17 (2)

Brentford vs Bournemouth 9-16 (7)            Chelsea vs Crystal Palace 10-12 (2)

Newcastle vs Fulham 3-6 (3)                       Spurs vs Arsenal 5-1 (4)

In six of the matches, the sides are within one or two places of each other in the table.  In three more the difference is just three or four places.  Only Brentford - Bournemouth looks out of place here.  Like they used to say about classic vinyl albums - drop the needle anywhere on the record and you'll like it. 

There are mid-week replays in the FA Cup on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Also, there are two "make up" EPL matches to watch.  Crystal Palace host Man United on Wednesday and Spurs travel to Man City for a tough road match on Thursday.  Both matches are at 3 but not sure of TV options.

So the holidays are over but footballless days are still rare.  Happy New Year to us.