Really?

C'mon guys, it's 10 degrees with a wind chill below zero and we're still locked in snow and ice that makes venturing outside a risky proposition.  Those were the best games you could offer?  The weather improved mid-week but the games weren't any more thrilling, though at least the results were better.

Blown Lead and Blown Draw

Maybe the neutrals enjoyed the back and forth action at Saint James Park between Newcastle and Brentford but it was no fun for the Geordie fans.  An early header (off his back?) by Botman gave Newcastle a 1-0 lead, arguably against the run of play, in the 24th minute.  The Bees responded well with two goals of their own to take a 2-1 halftime lead that really did feel deserved. A revitalized Newcastle side put Brentford under pressure starting right away in the second half.  That attacking surge was rewarded with a PK converted by Guimaraes in the 79th minute.  Not that a point from this match was all that great but at least they had rescued something. 

Oops, I guess not.  Ouattara grabbed a sneaky goal at 85 minutes and Brentford got all three points.  BFS Goalkeeper Consultant Graham R suggested that this was "not Trippier or Pope's finest moment."  Watch the play here and judge for yourself but I think Graham is correct.

 Dropped points by Newcastle?  Shocking.  How many dropped points does this one count for - 3? 4?.  I think three and Newcastle are back on top of the league with 19 points dropped from winning positions.

This Is All Ya Got?

Newcastle's debacle was a perfect end to a Saturday which included Spurs' 0-2 loss to Man United and Aston Villa's 1-1 draw with Bournemouth.  In the former, Cristian Romero ruined a perfectly good match with a sending off at 29 minutes for a straight red card challenge.  Things had been very lively and evenly matched until then but not so much after that.  Michael Carrick's side needed no heroics for this one as they ran their record to a perfect 4-0-0 under him.  Talk about your new manager bounce.

Aston Villa didn't exactly burst out of the gate but Morgan Rogers did give them the lead at 22 minutes with a blast from inside the box.  Villa never did build on that lead and eventually surrendered the equalizer at 54 minutes. The whole weekend was like that.  The relegation special between Leeds and Nottingham Forest was a 3-1 blowout for the home side; Sean Dyche, if he was not livid, should have been.  Brighton - Crystal Palace played possibly the most boring half of football this season.  Probably just as well I didn't see anything else except Liverpool - Man City, discussed below. 

As Good As It Gets?

So we were down to the last game of Matchweek 25 with nothing to show for it.  But it was Liverpool - Man City so expectations were high.  Alas, for three quarters of the match, we didn't get much, kind of like a heavyweight bout in which they trade a few punches but spend most of the time in a clench.  Fortunately, things got better.  Slowbonzai Slobinside Dominic Dominik delivered this YouTubeableMoment of a free kick at 74 minutes.  Hit with the laces but with his foot coming right to left across the ball, it sliced just inside the post.  And the fun was just beginning.  Bernardo Silva leveled things at 84 minutes. Next, early in stoppage time, Allison committed this foolish challenge that led to a successful Haaland PK.  Real time I thought it was a foul and replay (and VAR) confirmed that.  I'm just surprised he didn't get a yellow as it looked reckless to me.  

Dueling fouls, the ball goes into the net with neither touching it;
 this play should be on next year's ref certification test

There was still a little more fun to be had.  Check out these wild closing seconds of the match. With Allison deep in Man City territory in a vain attempt to snatch an equalizer, Rayan Cherki launched the ball from mid-field towards Liverpool's empty net.  Hilarity ensued.  Szobosly Dominik grabbed Haaland trying to slow him down, then Haaland grabbed Dominik to keep him from directing the ball away from the goal.  The ball went in anyway.  Many minutes later, VAR sorted it all out (correctly both Graham R and I believe).  The goal was waived off because of Haaland's foul on Dominik.  However, now that there was no goal, the referee could then send off Dominik for DOGSO.  Restart is a direct free kick from where Haaland was fouled.  So, a 2-1 final it was.

Mid-week "Thaw"

Jacob Ramsey gets the game winner for Newcastle at Spurs;
his transfer fee/goals is now $54m/1
Photo: Richard Pelham Getty Images

Newcastle didn't exactly shine but still got a 2-1 win at Spurs on Tuesday.  That was good news for Eddie Howe but not so much for Thomas Frank (see below).  Much the same for Aston Villa as they hardly impressed in getting a 1-0 win over Brighton at home thanks to an own goal.  Michael Carrick's record is no longer perfect but Man United did get another stoppage time goal to rescue a 1-1 draw with West Ham.  I saw the last 30 minutes or so of Liverpool's unremarkable 1-0 win over Sunderland.   Nottingham Forest and Wolves played to a 0-0 draw in which Forest got off  35 futile shots (eight on target); that got Sean Dyche sacked but in interviews after the firing, he was not livid.  Leeds grabbed an unexpected point from Chelsea with a 2-2 draw. I didn't get to see the Brentford - Arsenal 1-1 draw so I don't know if that was a decent match.  I'm sure Man City, Aston Villa and others appreciated that outcome.

Conversation That Absolutely Took Place

Michael (before Spurs - Newcastle kickoff): It's a shame someone has to win this match.

Steve: More like a crime...

More Sacking

As noted above, Thomas Frank and Sean Dyche got their walking papers this week.  I've noted in recent weeks how depleted Spurs have been with injuries.  I've read complaints about Spurs style of play or lack thereof.  I will note that last year they scored 64 and allowed 65 goals.  This year they are on pace to score 53 and allow 54.  What might you expect to happen to goal scoring when you lose Maddison and Kulusevski for the season and miss Richarlison for large chunks of time?  I've also read about issues with internal dynamics so maybe there's more to the story.  

The Dyche sacking makes absolutely no sense to me.  Neither does hearing that his likely replacement is Vitor Pereira, who was let go by Wolves back in November after losing eight and drawing two in their first 10 matches.  He will be Forest's fourth manager this season.  Forest were 6-4-8 in league play under Dyche, an average of 1.22 points per game.  That's compared to five points in eight games to start the season.  So owner Evangelos Marinakis has fired two of my favorite managers this year in Santo and Dyche; Nottingham Forest are dead to me.

Just for fun, here's a table listing managers for each club since 8/1/20, not counting caretaker managers.

Anything obvious stick out to you?

No EPL? No Worries

Friday through Monday is the 4th Round of the FA Cup.  Easily the most interesting fixture is Aston Villa - Newcastle at 12:45 on Saturday.  Intriguing in its own way is Wrexham - Ipswich at 2:45 on Friday.  The full schedule is here.  Dennis and I still think there's a conspiracy as Arsenal get Wigan (difference of 66 places) and Man City get Salford City (a difference of 72 places) while Aston Villa and Newcastle square off in this round (a difference of 7 places).  

Champions League has the first leg of playoff matches to determine the last eight to get to the knockout phase.  Newcastle are the only EPL side in that one, facing Grabbag Qarabag on Wednesday at 12:45.  In Europa Cup action, Nottingham Forest will take on Fenerbahce in the first leg of their playoff to advance to the knockout stage of that competition.  And Crystal Palace will face Zrinjski in their playoff to advance in Europa Conference action.

Three More Annoying Things About the Winter Olympics

1) All EPL matches are on Peacock, which you can't DVR.  At least their replays are posted timely.

2) Rebecca Lowe is taken off EPL duty to be the daytime host of NBC's coverage

3) Skeleton - Okay we'll have one sled race where you go feet first and then another in which you go head first.  The 2028 Summer Games should include the backwards 100 meter dash.