In Case You Missed It

The Union got better.  Eddie Howe "left" Newcastle.  Infantino tried to sell the World Cup. 

Not A New Manager Bounce

Since the World Cup, the Union have three league wins (plus a win and and two losses in Leagues Cup).  The most fun of these was the comeback down 0-2 to Atlanta which featured two goals in stoppage time for the win.  The comeback is chronicled here (video should start at about 72 minutes).  They did lose on Thursday to bow out of the Leagues Cup but I can't see that as a problem; it was a heavily rotated lineup and they don't need the extra matches.

I'm seeing comments about the new manager bounce under Ryan Richter and that Carnell always does worse in his second year with a team.  Not buying either.  Four important pieces to last season's success were not available to Carnell this year - Baribo (leading scorer), Wagner (leading assist provider and part of solid back line), Quinn Sullivan (key to attacking from wing) and Glesnes (center back in solid back four). Without replacements for these changes, what did we expect?

I have no idea about Ryan Richter as a manager; maybe he'll be great.  But he is fortunate to start his tenure with three of those problems addressed.  Wagner was reacquired and has been dishing the assists (3 in 3 MLS matches).  Quinn Sullivan is back from injury and is creating havoc down the right wing.  And Neil Pierre has been a revelation at center back, not just a replacement for Glesnes but an upgrade; besides a being a solid presence in the middle of the back line, he's added two header goals as well.

All of sudden, the playoffs don't look unreachable.  At the very least, the team is entertaining to watch (last night's game excluded).  

Look What They've Done To My Team, Ma (apologies to Melanie)

The exodus of biblical proportions continues Tyneside. The manager's gone (see below).  Gordon, Tonali, Guimaraes, Trippier, Krafth and Ramsdale are gone.  Lewis Hall may be gone soon.  Livramento will likely miss opening day with an injury, as might Lewis Miley.  Pope is likely to be demoted to back up keeper.  Transfers in include Lukas Hornicek, Sean Steur, Aladji Bamba, and Bazoumana Toure. You are forgiven if you don't recognize those names.  They are young, possibly really good players but unproven at this point.  

The starting lineup for the season opener next week versus Liverpool could look like : Hornicek (G), Burn (LB), Botman (CB), Thiaw (CB), Hall (RB), Joelinton (MC), J Murphy (MC), Bamba (MC), Barnes (LW), Elanga (RW), and Osula (ST).  That might actually represent an improved defense as Hornicek could be an upgrade over Pope.  The front line is one that we saw more than occasionally last year but was inconsistent.  The midfield frankly is just plain scary without Tonali and Guimaraes.  

I've seen a few pundits peg Newcastle for 7th but that seems highly optimistic to me.  Top 10 would be amazing from where we stand right now.

Newcastle's Season in Two Pictures

Speaking of replacements, a common thread for last year's disappointing season for the Magpies was that many of the off season acquisitions just didn't get the job done.  Was this because they were bad choices or did they have a bad year?  Courtesy of DataMB, the charts below suggest it was the latter.

This one compares Elanga 24/25 to Elanga 25/26; the blue indicates that he was a shell of his former self at Newcastle last year.  Here's Woltemade's:

Pretty much the same story for Nick.  I tried to compare Wissa but he's not even in the 25/26 data base because he played so little.  These charts do offer some hope of a bounce back season as opposed to these players simply not being good enough.  Of course, another possibility is that prior performance in another league doesn't translate into success in the EPL.

No Howe

Newcastle and Eddie Howe finally parted company last week.  The official story line is that the decision was mutual.  Probably was, at least in the sense that Howe was likely just tired of feeling unwanted.  I for one will miss him as he guided Newcastle through its most successful and entertaining period since I've been a fan.  

I think there's some chance we'll see him in charge of the England squad come the next European Championships.

Know Your EPL Gaffer

Speaking of managerial turnover, the EPL roster has many new names on it. How many managers can you match with their club?

Answers next week.  This story provides some perspective on the number of changes.  No fair reading it before you take the test.

I'll Take That Bet

Dennis and his friend Jeremy have had a standing bet on who will finish higher - Aston Villa or Wolves.  Dennis has been doing pretty well recently.  I predict that trend will continue.

Equal Opportunity Supplier

Apparently Newcastle did not want to put its thumb on the scale when it comes to the North London Derby.  Having providing Spurs with a top quality midfielder in Sandro Tonali earlier this summer, they evened things up by sending Bruno Guimaraes to Arsenal.  I'll miss them both but probably Tonali more - he's just steadier where Guimaraes can be highly flammable (inflammable?) at times.

Not For Sale

Infantino: What was I thinking?
Alexander Hassenstein /Getty Images

You likely read/heard about Infantino's plan to sell shares of the World Cup. As detailed here, thanks to opposition from UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asia federation, that proposal had a shelf life of about three days.  Beyond just being rejected, the way the plan advanced has set in motion a chain of events  that could threaten Infantino's position at FIFA (story here).  And information surfaced that during his UEFA tenure a high level executive got a six figure payout upon leaving the organization; as related here, there are allegations that the executive was Infantino's witness.  The payout has been confirmed but Infantino denies the allegations.

Many were pleased, including me, with the swift torpedoing of Infantino's plan.  But I caution that we not read into this some sort of grass roots effort to take back the game.  This was basically the second most powerful organization in football (UEFA) telling FIFA to knock it off.  

Girls Got Moves

BFS Track and Field Consultant Jack W sends along this clip of a UVA attacker beating four defenders before slotting the ball in the upper left corner.  

Union Activity

The U have two league matches this week - away to NYCFC on Sunday and home to Inter Miami on Wednesday.  My calendar says I have a ticket for the Miami game.  NY are 5th in the table and Miami 2nd so these will be good tests of how much the team has improved.