Newcastle pissed away weeks of good work with an awful 90 minutes at Selhurst Park. Coventry nearly made FA Cup history. Nottingham Forest set a new sour record for sour grapes.
Europe? Europe? (apologies to Jim Mora)
After a run of strong performances, Newcastle laid an egg in an 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace. The Magpies were outplayed in every phase of the game. Notably, they managed just two tepid shots on goal, both very late in the contest. Palace were physically all over Newcastle, playing like a side that wanted to put a few miles between themselves and relegation. I can't remember so many passes being smothered at the source. What is difficult to understand is that this was the same lineup and formation that dismantled Tottenham 4-0 just 10 days ago.
Europe may not be totally gone but another performance like that one and it is.
Ya Done Good, Bruno
We do pick on Bruno Guimaraes a lot here but we did fail to note that after picking up his 9th yellow card on January 13th, he went 11 matches without picking up a 10th. The importance of that, of course, is that another yellow in any of those contests would have meant a two game suspension. Apparently he can exercise self-control
No Quad Triple Double For You
What looked like a possible big haul of trophies for Liverpool has evaporated in a spring of disappointment. The FA Cup hopes were dashed by Man United. A possible Europa League championship went bye-bye after a terrible home performance against Atalanta. And now the EPL title seems to be a long shot after losses to Crystal Palace and more recently to Everton. Three points down with four games to play doesn't sound outrageous except for the way they have been playing in the last few weeks.
The Sourest of Sour Grapes
Everybody complains about refereeing but Nottingham Forest took it to a new low this week. To set the scene, Forest were playing Everton on Saturday. Prior to the match the standings had Everton 16th with 27 points, Forest 17th with 26 and Luton Town 18th with 25.
The fun actually started mid-week, as Nottingham warning the PGMOL that the VAR for the match - Stuart Attwell - was a supporter of relegation rival Luton and that he shouldn't be assigned to the game. Fuel was added to the fire when there were three incidents in the match where no penalty was called on the pitch and VAR declined to send match referee Anthony Taylor to the monitor. This of course amplified the outrage, with Nottingham officials now yelling "we told you so and look what happened." Details can be had here from ESPN in their weekly review of VAR.
Much to unpack here. First, I haven't seen anybody point out that Everton, at least at the time, was also a relegation rival with Luton. What was Stuart Attwell's play here? Manipulate the calls to ensure a draw so neither team got three points? I guess with Everton two points ahead and Forest only one point ahead, maybe it was to ensure a Everton win. Of course, I kid on all points.
As to the three calls themselves, only one complaint holds any water. It's not clear that Reyna was even fouled so the "clear and obvious error" threshold wasn't met. On the Young handling, I thought proximity, the fact that Young had just arrived to that position (as in his arms would still be moving) and that his arm was barely at 45 degrees and somewhat behind his body ruled out VAR intervention as well. The possible foul on Hudson-Odoi? Taylor signalled that he thought Young had gotten the ball. The replay suggested he did not. In that situation, I would think Attwell should ask Taylor what he saw and if he says Young got the ball, then Attwell needs to send him to the monitor. Okay, bad call there.
Boo effing hoo. Wasn't the first time and it won't be the last time. The ESPN article points out that Forest are a net beneficiary this year of bad calls. Fortunately, Forest's handling of this has drawn near universal condemnation and most are expected fines to be levied. Also, note in the ESPN article that there is occasionally attention to the issue of referees having a link to certain clubs. Dennis points out that it is virtually impossible that an English referee didn't grow up supporting a team. But this much focus seems to be a rare circumstance.
The One That Got Away
The Saturday FA Cup semifinal - a 1-0 win for Man City over Chelsea - did little to add to the legacy of the magic of the competition. On the other hand, Sunday's semi between Coventry and Man United did. Reporting the result, a 3-3 draw in which Man United advanced on PKs, hardly does the the match justice.
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| Coventry were this close to an FA Cup Final |
So it was on to PKs. Rasmus Hojlund with kick to make the final 4-2 on PKs. As soon as struck it, Hojlund raced to the stands, celebrating and no doubt expecting he would soon be mobbed by his teammates. He might still be waiting. Likely embarrassed that the match had even gotten to that point, the Man United players were slinking towards the sideline.
Coventry - Man City would probably have been a terrible final but I doubt their fans would care. Another Manchester derby may not be that much better, unless maybe United feel like they're trying to save ten Hag's job.
Yes, That Was Vaseline
Watching a match a few weeks, Dennis and I both saw Man United keeper Andre Onana smear what looked like Vaseline on his goalie gloves. Made no sense to either of us. It's a lubricant. Wouldn't it make the ball harder to hold on to?
BFS Artistic Director Laura O saw an article in The Athletic confirming that is was indeed Vaseline. The key paragraph:
In the months since, I’ve done some research and learned the intricacies of why it’s effective. My understanding is that latex is a porous material, so over time, when the palm of the glove breaks down, it allows dirt and water to flood the latex and you end up losing grip. What Vaseline does is moisturise the latex of the gloves while also acting as a repellent to water and grime from covering the glove, allowing the latex to do the job it’s designed to do: grip the ball.
Better living through science.
And More Games
We have a full slate for the weekend, a random midweek London derby and European semi finals. At this point, it's difficult to have an EPL game that doesn't have implications for the league title, spots in next year's European competitions or relegation. Wait, looks like Fulham - Crystal Palace might qualify; they both look safe from relegation and Europe. Too bad because that might be the most competitive match of the weekend. See, just because the game has "implications" doesn't mean it's going to be a good one.
Clerking the Penn Relays on Saturday so might not get to much of the action. A 7:30 match wtih West Ham vs Liverpool (USA). Four at 10. We'd be taking in Newcastle Sheffield United if we were home. Hark to pick a great choice for the neutral. Wolves - Luton Town? Man United - Burnley. Feature 12:30 match is 15th place Brentford vs 16th place Everton. There's a Saturday afternoon special with Aston Villa hosting Chelsea. Actually that might be the best of the day.
North London derby with Tottenham hosting Arsenal 9 am Sunday. That one should be good as both sides have a lot to play for. There's also Bournemouth Brighton. At 11:30 Nottingham Forest might really have something to complain about as they host Man City. Thern there's another random Thursday London derby between Chelsea - Spurs.
Champions League and all the other Europe stuff is back. Tuesday is Bayern Real Madrid and Wednesday is Dortmund PSG. On Thursday Aston Villa are hosts for the first leg of their ECL semi with Olympiacos.
And there's a Union match at Subaru Park vs Real Salt Lake at 7:30 Saturday. It's behind the double pay wall of Apple TV plus MLS Season Pass. Maybe radio again for me.
Again, I know I missed stuff but finals must be graded.
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