Save Some For Later?

Newcastle continues to be very un-Newcastle-like while the Union come away with a bad draw.  And it's still way too early to be making any conclusions about the EPL season.

Who Are These Guys?

Coming off a 2-0 win on the road at Derby on Saturday, the Magpies turned around and put a 6-0 hurting on Queens Park Rangers Tuesday at Loftus Road in London.  I was following that one on-line and was certainly happy with the halftime score of 2-0.  Then the Lads went nuts with three goals in 15 minutes and added another late.  Shelvey had two more, Perez and Mitrovic had one each and defenders Clark and Hanley also scored.  I remember a few times last year wishing for a more even distribution of goals across games.  Hope that isn't the case this year.

So five straight wins in Championship action, the last four being shutouts.  The Magpies now sit in second, one point behind Huddersfield.  We're not even 1/6th of the way through the long season but the Rafa-lution does seem to be in full swing and progressing according to plan.

Jonjo Shelvey, second left, celebrates with team-mates after scoring his second goal at Loftus Road. Photograph: Craig Mercer/CameraSport via Getty Images

Is It Better to Have Led and Drawn Then To Never Had Led At All?

Yeah, yeah, I know I said a draw might be an okay result for the Union hosting Montreal.  I was probably spooked by the dreadful performance the week before and was hoping for a modest improvement.  They did not look awesome in the first half but Barnetta's goal late gave them a 1-0 lead heading into the locker room.  In the second half, they spent most of the time shredding the Impact down the left side with great work by Herbers and Ilsinho.  Trouble was, neither could finish, which left the door open to a late Montreal tally and another two points lost.  We were tasting those three points so the draw was a decidedly unsatisfactory result. 

I thought Ilsinho did a pretty good job after he came on for Herbers.  Yes he failed to add to the lead but he provided a lot of possession while we were holding a one-goal lead (best defense is a good offense).  He got a bunch of crap from many in my section because there were times when he wasn't moving too much.  Turns out he's still having trouble with a foot injury.  That he is likely our best option, even hurt, highlights that depth is still an issue for this team.  Carroll is likely to return this week but even though Edu has played some USL games, I'm not hearing that his return is imminent.

The good news is that we're still 4th, with an eight point cushion over 7th.  The Red Bulls draw with DC United didn't help matters and struggling NYCFC gave all three points to New England.  Worse yet, the next three matches are on the road against quality opponents - Portland, Toronto and Red Bulls.  Do you see a lot of points there?  I don't.  Then the season ends with home matches vs Orlando and the Red Bulls.  There is some consolation that the teams chasing the Union (Montreal, Orlando, New England and DC) have multiple matches against each other which means they all can't gain on the Union.  Still feels like a hairy finish.

Haters Gonna Hate

Another bad weekend for Diego Costa haters.  He put Chelsea up 1-0 against Swansea with a fine strike.  Then after the Swans had come back to take a 2-1 lead (btw, this was a great match to watch), he deposited a bicycle kick in the net to level things in the 81st minute.  There was some talk about whether it was a dangerous play but discussions with my brethren suggest that none would have disallowed the goal.  Of course, the good news here, for some anyway, is that Chelsea only managed to come away with a draw.

Man City continue to be perfect after a 2-1 derby win at Old Trafford.  Reasonably entertaining match, slightly overshadowed by the personalities of the managers, Guardiola and Mourinho. DeBruyne was the well-deserved man of the match there with a goal and essentially an assist. Tottenham's pasting of Stoke got boring enough that I switched over to Arsenal-Southampton. Koscielny's bicycle kick goes as this week'sYouTubeAble Moment.  That I chose this one over Costa's probably outs me as a Costa hater.  Arsenal got the 2-1 win on a very late PK, with Fonte penalized for fouling Giroud; announcers suggested Giroud was giving as much as he got but even with me rooting for the underdog Saints, I thought it was the correct call.

Leicester continue to struggle, taking a 4-1 loss to Liverpool.  We're only four games in but one of the things that worked in their favor last year - relatively few injuries - may be reversing itself.  Captain Morgan struggled but stay in with some kind of problem but Danny Simpson had to leave with a hamstring problem.  They now get to deal with the congested schedule that comes with a Champions League berth.  Hmm, 3-0 over Club Brugge on Wednesday; looks like they got off to a good start there.  

Other EPL sides had mixed results in the opening of group play.  Man City continues to roll with a 4-0 win over MunchingGladbag (sp?), but Arsenal could only draw vs PSG and Tottenham went down 1-2 to Monaco.  Memo to FoxSports: a big WTF? - having the results scroll across the bottom during match replays isn't a real winner for your business.  Happened twice this week, leading me to turn off the match.

Friday Night Lights

Another Friday match from the EPL - likely the best match of the weekend - has Chelsea hosting Liverpool at 3 pm on NBCSN.  Can't say I'm intrigued by much of the other fixtures.  Hull-Arsenal, Leicester-Burnley, Watford-Man United, Man City Bournemouth, Tottenham-Sunderland.  Not seeing riveting stuff in that list.  Might check in on Everton-Middlesbrough (who lost for the first time last weekend).

The Union take on Portland at 6 pm on Saturday in Oregon.  Would really like one point there.  For all the talk of the West's dominance, Portland's record is actually a little worse than the Union's and they hold the last playoff spot right now.  Fifth place Montreal hosts New England (maybe a draw would be best?), Orlando hosts Columbus (that's easy c'mon Crew) and DC goes to Chicago (also easy, c'mon Fire). The Red Bulls have a chance to move into first with a win over Toronto on Sunday.  

Gotta be cooler than last Saturday right?

Hexed and Vexed

Keeping it short...

So after 120 or so international matches in about 6 days, we're back to league play.


You Can Only Beat Who You Play...

Sure it was St. Vincent and Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago but the USMNT took care of business in both matches.  Christian Pulisic and Sacha Kljestan had a fine time setting up or scoring goals.  So the team is onto the final phase of World Cup qualifying - The Hex.  Six teams - US, Mexico, Costa Rica, Trindidad & Tobago, Honduras and Panama - will play each other home and away between November and October.  The top three advance directly to the WC Final in Russia.  The fourth place side will face a home and away playoff with a team from the Asian Football Confederation.

I don't mean to ignore the qualifying matches in Europe and South America but there were so many of them.  I did get to see a few.  France could only manage a 0-0 draw away to Belarus.  Iceland was lucky to get a 1-1 road draw when a Ukrainian PK hit the post.  All of the qualifying processes have a long way to go.


...Unless You Don't

The Union looked ineffective on the road against Chicago.  The 0-3 final maybe flatters the Fire a little given that the Union did have decent possession but mostly they laid an egg.  Missing Bedoya and Blake (international duty) and Yaro (injury?) clearly hurt.  Ilsinho was back but didn't look full recovered.

Bob K: Any reason I should watch the DVR of the match?

Me: Only if you just swallowed poison and need an emetic.

And the news was not good from around the conference.  Orlando pummeled Montreal and New England also won.  DC United lost and falls into 7th, out of the playoffs.


Derby and Derby

Saturday looks to be a decent lineup.  Start with the Manchester derby at 7:30 (NBCSN); at 10 you can choose between Arsenal-Southampton (NBCSN) or Tottenham-Stoke (CNBC).  The day wraps up with Liverpool-Leicester at 12:30 on NBCSN.

The important match of the day for me will be Newcastle traveling to Derby at 12:30.  No coverage and I'll be out on the pitch reffing so I will only be able to read about it later.

Sunday you can watch Swansea-Chelsea at 10:55 on NBCSN.

Big weekend for MLS.  I'll be at Talen Energy to see the Union-Montreal in person.  Key match for the U and not an easy one.  I think a draw might be an okay result here.  Toronto takes on Chicago (I'm okay with Chicago upset here), New England faces NYCFC (c'mon NY), the Red Bulls have DC United (looking for Red Bulls to handle this one), and Orlando plays LA (get your troops in order Mr. Arena).

I feel your pain Miguel, but it's early in La Liga.  They will right the ship.  Bob K tells me that, in the past, newspapers wouldn't even bother printing the tables until a month or two into the season.

Signs of Life

Now that's more like it.  All kinds of results for BFS home sides.  We'll gloss over the fact that many came with the opposition down a man or two.


www.newcastle.com

Three W's in a row for the Magpies; last time I saw that was on their website.  Thought I had everything set up to watch the match with Brighton and every other beinSport Connect channel was working but no Newcastle; so I followed live updates from The Mirror.  This was a very satisfying 2-0 win.  Granted it was at home and the second goal came after a Brighton player was sent off but the Magpies frontline was depleted by injuries so this was an important win.  The rehabilitations of Yoan Gouffron and Jonjo Shelvey continue, as both played pivotal roles in the victory.  Still early but the trend is good.

Ernst Blofeld's Jonjo Shelvey's second-half free-kick was his first goal for Newcastle

Benitez continues to add and delete personnel.  In are veteran striker Daryl Murphy, younger left back Achraf Lazaar (does this mean Dummett is available?) and attacking middie Christian Atsu (a loan from Chelsea).  Sissoko is off to Tottenham.


C'mon the U

Good news from Chester-on-Delaware.  First a midweek 2-1 win on the road at Columbus, then a 2-0 win at home over Sporting KC.  Did not see the Columbus match so can't comment on that.  For the KC match, I'd argue the Union had the run of play even before the two ejections, though they didn't convert any of a number of scoring chances.  Roland Alberg had a noteable trifecta.  First there was this strike for the opening goal, this week's YouTubeable Moment.  (Oh yeah, and how great is it to hear Tommy Smyth doing color for the Union match; sticking it in the roof of the old onion bag indeed!)  He also had the assist on the second goal.  And third, his fine acting job resulted in Espinoza being ejected for violent conduct.  Comparing reports, many of us were left wondering whether it was even a foul.  In any case, six points in four days and the U sit in third, three out of first but only nine ahead of seventh.  No time to let down.

Red Bulls looked pretty much in control in 1-0 win over New England; I watched that match and thought the score doesn't reflect how it looked.  Orlando got three valuable points in a mild upset win over NYCFC.  Montreal's win over Toronto kept things pretty tight at the top.


Eden Returns to Paradise

Remember the scene in "Happy Gilmour" when he starts sinking putts - "Happy learned how to putt, uh-oh."  Well "Eden Hazard learned how to enjoy the game again. Uh-oh." Check out this goal in Chelsea's 3-0 win over Burnley.  This is not good news for the rest of the EPL.  Neither is the fact that Chelsea will not be distracted by any European competitions this year.  The simultaneously praised and maligned decision to reacquire David Luiz for about $40 million to me is a sign that Chelsea is all in for a title chase this year.


JIP

New abbreviation I just figured out in reading TV schedules - joined in progress.  That's how I saw most of the weekend's EPL action.  Saw some of Spurs - Liverpool; not a terrible result for either side but neither has found their feet yet at this point.  Watching West Brom-Middlesbrough 0-0 snoozefest was more boring than cleaning the shore house.  Chelsea was hardly put upon by Burnley.  Leicester got their first win, beating Swansea 2-1; real hospitable-like of the Foxes to order in a Welsh monsoon just for the match.  Arsenal, Man United and Man City all got wins.  Still way too early to be looking at the table.


Going Solo

Not a good month for Hope Solo.  Zika post wasn't a great idea.  Not a great tournament; though you can't put the USWNT defeat all on her, she did have two bad matches in a row.  Then the unfortunate comments about Sweden.  A six month suspension from the USWNT team and now leave from her club team.

I have very mixed feelings about all this.  Two questions pop into my head.  Given some of her earlier transgressions, discussed here, the relatively tepid remarks about Sweden were the straw that broke the camel's back?  Really?  I'm left with the impression that she was viewed as indispensable to the USWNT's fortunes and US Soccer only lowered the boom after a poor performance and once there were no major international competitions on the calendar until 2019; as in, it's convenient for us to level the serious discipline now that her star is falling.  That feels like the wrong signal to me. Too often it seems to me that when you see an athlete do something stupid you look back and realize there's a long trail of misbehavior that has been forgiven or only lightly punished because of their athletic talent.

The second question is whether things would have played out differently if she was a male athlete. Clearly a hypothetical question but I'm not convinced she would have taken so much grief for some of the things she said and did had she been a male.  We hear "boys will be boys" as an excuse for bad behavior (looking at you Ryan Lochte) from male athletes but don't hear "girls will be girls" when it's the women acting up.

Not exactly the same sentiments but clearly Mike Woitalla at Soccer America here is struggling a little with these events, at least as they relate to my first question.


Chester Gellin'?

A solid 4-1 win over Middlesbrough, then a 2-0 win on the road over CSKA Moscow in Champions League action.  Squad depth is allowing for nice rotation in a congested calendar.


International Break

If you have beINSports you could see a lot of World Cup qualifying action.  Thursday you can see a trio of CONMEBOL (South America) matches and Friday there's a quadruple header for CONCACAF, starting at 3:35 with the USMNT taking on my favorite drink side, St Vincent and Grenadines.  For both days the matches are lined up sequentially so some will be live but JIP.  US comes back on Tuesday with a home match against Trinidad and Tobago.

MLS, which doesn't shut down for the international break, has some important matches.  Thursday night has NYCFC hosting DC United; since I'm more concerned about teams below us, I'll go with NY for the win.  The Union travel to Chicago; it's a road game but they really need the three points against the last place team in the conference.  Not happy that we will be without Blake and Bedoya, who will be off on international duty; Ilsinho's return may mitigate the loss of Bedoya a little.  Red Bulls are in the same situation; they travel to Vancouver but the White Caps are 9th in the West. Tuesday has a big match between Montreal and Orlando;  again, since Orlando is the one outside the playoffs looking in,  I'll go with Montreal in that one.

How'd it get to be September already?

Sometimes It's Better Not To Watch

Downa shore as they say in Philly so I didn't get to see much this weekend.  No dvr, Olympic coverage, the sun was in my eyes, etc.  But maybe this wasn't a bad thing.


MLS Least East

Certainly I was better off not having viewed the Union's 1-3 loss at home to Toronto.  Can't lay it completely at one player's feet but Ken Tribbett did not have a good match, even with the nice diving header that leveled things briefly at 1-1.  A chance lost to grab some points at home in a tight playoff race.  Fortunately for the U, several others in the division were stumbling around as well.  NE lost to Columbus, Montreal lost to Chicago (at home!), and the Red Bulls coughed up a 2-0 lead and drew with DC United.  Orlando got a draw and NYCFC did beat the Galaxy.  So I guess the chasers (DC and Orlando) did gain a point on the top six.  Still, pretty weak effort from the East.


Newcastle Win Again

On the road to Bristol, the Magpies got another win, scraping by 1-0.  The goal by Gayle, on a great pass from Diame was top drawer and this week's YouTubeableMoment.  My guess is that this would have been a nerve-wracking affair to watch so again maybe not a bad thing I couldn't see it.

They also beat Cheltenham 2-0 Tuesday in the Capital One League Cup to advance to the 3rd Round where they will play Jenkintown  TBD.  Recall that this competition is easily the least prestigious of any of the extracurricular cups but wins are wins for the Magpies.

Rafa also doesn't seem set on his squad yet.  Janmaat is likely out by the end of the week but will be replaced by American international DeAndre Yedlin.  Janmaat was always an offensive threat coming from right back and we will miss his forays down the wing but his defense was always suspect.  For better or worse, Yedlin is pretty much the same player except faster and maybe more athletic.


New Attitude Towards Bottom Half of the Table

Didn't see much of the admittedly lackluster set of EPL games this weekend and again, this may have been a good thing.  Certainly didn't need to see Costa score another late game winner, this time against Watford.  The Leicester-Arsenal 0-0 draw may or may not have been a defensive classic but I watch the Foxes to see scoring.  Might have been worth checking out West Ham, if only to see the first EPL contest in their new digs, the former Olympic stadium.

I did get to see Burnley's 2-0 dismantling of Liverpool.  As I was watching that contest, it dawned on me that in any previous year this upset would have, well, upset me because it would have been unexpected points for a Newcastle relegation rival.  Nice, I can now wholeheartedly pull for the underdogs, but hopefully just for one season.  Also saw a bit of Middlesbrough's 2-1 win over Sunderland.  Enjoyed that as a)any Sunderland loss is a Newcastle win even if we're not in the same division and b) as I said a few weeks ago, I kinda like Middlesbrough.


Did You Actually Pay for Those?

Southampton penalized for ridiculous away kit?

Jeff H settled in Sunday night to watch the replay of his Man United side taking on Southampton.   He immediately texted to ask who was responsible for the Saints new away kit (left).  Hmm, the colors themselves aren't awful but that design on the front is kinda weird.  Maybe Southampton is like the Oregon football team, Nike's beta site for crazy uniform ideas.  How much can you complain when you're getting the stuff for free?



September on the Virtual Calendar

Chester are 3-0 and have yet to surrender a goal but the wins have come against weaker sides and we haven't really gelled yet.  Maybe I did too many transfers for a side that won the previous year.  Not sure what's wrong but if we play like this against the better teams, we will not be getting too many points.  There are definitely disagreements between my coaches and some of the outside sources as to the quality of some of the new players.  My research says these new players are four star performers (out of five) and some of my coaches are telling me they're only 1.5 or 2 stars.  Also, there may be some language issues; I may have to find another French player or coach to help out.  Who would have thought these were the pressing issues of a football manager?


Yankee Go Home

I'll admit it.  The early departure of the USWNT kind of killed my interest in the Olympic soccer.  Plus the men's tournament being a U-23.  I caught most of both finals but don't have much to say.  Wait, I do.  The new practice of allowing fourth substitute when matches drag into extra time is a step in the right direction.  But we're still stuck with 14 guys running around on the field at well under 70% capacity.  Seems like a formula for ensuring these contests go to kicks from the spot.  Why not allow 2-3 or even more subs?  Yeah, it penalizes those sides with better conditioning but not many of them are scoring in added extra time anyway.  It does reward sides with more depth and might lead to more games being decided in the run of play.

Newcastle on TV

Well, sort of.  I mistakenly thought the match vs Brighton was going to be on beIN Sports.  It's actually on beIN Sports Connect, their streaming service.  Shouldn't be a problem but you never know.

The EPL weekend looks a little better than last week.  Good match to start on Saturday morning with Tottenham hosting Liverpool (7:30 NBCSN).  Chelsea-Burnley at 10 on NBCSN? Meh, but it may be the best of the lot of 10 am matches, though Leicester City hosting Swansea might produce a goal or six.  At 12:30 we have third place Hull City taking on second place Man United on NBC; obviously early in the season based on that description (referring to Hull not Man United).  Sunday morning is West Brom home to Middlesbrough at 8:30 on CNBC, then the potentially engaging Man City versus West Ham at the Etihad at 11 on NBCSN.

A full MLS calendar tonight (Wednesday) with several key East contests.  The Union travel to Columbus and they really need to bring home some points, preferably three.  I'm guessing we'll see Yaro in place of Tribbett.  Other big matches include Orlando-Toronto (hoping for Toronto win), Montreal-DC (a draw might be best?) and San Jose vs New England (come on Quakes).  Everybody turns around for another game on the weekend.  The Union host Sporting KC Saturday night; that could be a tough match and a draw might be a good result.  More big weekend matches include DC-Chicago, Toronto-Montreal (a derby?) and Red Bulls vs New England.  Check your local listings as they say.  And then the table on Monday to see if there's a shake up in the playoff situation.

Okay, now to figure out this beIN Sports Connect setup without getting mad at the computer...

Random Thoughts

Thoroughly pressed for time so can only offer random observations from a busy week of football.  Hey, retirement is way harder than it looks...

Newcastle lose one and win one.  People (looking at you Toon Army) really need to chill out about this team.  They play 46 games in the Championship Division so we have a long way to go.

Maybe Bedoya did not overwhelm in his Union debut but he certainly looked steady in the midfield in their 4-0 win over New England.  The score somewhat flatters the Union but they did look pretty good.  Looking forward to Barnetta and Bedoya developing a rapport.

Leicester sees how hard it will be this year, losing 1-2 to a Hull City side that is in total disarray.  But, see Newcastle comment above - long way to go.

Thoroughly entertained by the Liverpool 4-3 win over Arsenal.  EPL at its best.  Chelsea 2-1 over West Ham was a good watch too, except for the fact that the reviled (here at least) Costa scored the winning goal.

USWNT just couldn't put enough shots on goal (or in the net for that matter) and were eliminated by Sweden.  Carli Lloyd may or may not have been offside on the disallowed goal; I thought it was possible her knee was ahead of the Swedish player and that AR had been calling offside tight all match.  She also may or may not have pushed off the Swedish defender.  But the offside call that disallowed the Swedish goal was pretty bad.  Not even close.

Brazil men have found their scoring touch and will play in the final against Germany.  Not exactly a rematch of the 7-1 World Cup pasting Germany put on Brazil since these are U23 teams but still should be a good match.

The schedule continues to be full:

Friday

12 - Women's Olympic bronze match (Brazil-Canada) MSNBC
3 pm - Man United - Southampton (USA -one of several Friday matches this season)
4:30 - Women's Olympic gold match (Sweden-Germany) NBCSN

Saturday

Too many to mention - Olympic bronze and gold medal matches, full slate of EPL and MLS matches.  Spurs-Crystal Palace only available on streaming (sorry MMB).  Frankly, other than Leicester-Arsenal at 12:30 on CNBC, the EPL schedule looks a mite tepid to me.  Big MLS match for the Union vs playoff rival Toronto at 7 pm.

Sunday

Two more EPL matches including what I believe is the new Northeast derby between Sunderland and Middlesborough at 8:30 on NBCSN.  Also, there's RedBulls vs DC United at 3 pm on ESPN; used to be a lot of fire in that match but I would think the Red Bulls should be able to handle this.  

Enjoy.

Failure to Launch

Henry Winter of The Times summarizes Newcastle's opening day 0-1 defeat at the hands of Fulham so I don't have to:

The curtain rose on the new season and Newcastle United promptly fluffed their lines. They were deservedly defeated by a more organised, better-balanced Fulham side, for whom Denis Odoi, Tom Cairney and Scott Malone excelled, while Matt Smith took his headed winner well.

This setback for the Sky Bet Championship favourites will acquire a positive sheen in retrospect only if it serves as a wake-up call. This was a painful reminder that the season will not be the cakewalk anticipated by some. Complacency must be banished, more invention is required and there must be more individuals willing to take responsibility…

Smith evades Lascelles, the Newcastle captain, to score for Fulham in the first halfGRAHAM HUGHES/THE TIMES

I will only add that Newcastle were also "outphysicaled" (it's a word, ask Mackenzie's soccer coach/English teacher) by their opponents.  They really missed Mitrovic (four game suspension) up top.  It felt like old times watching the Magpies.  Michael B counsels patience which I shall keep.  Btw, Aston Villa also lost so they are with Newcastle near the bottom of the table.


Reinforcements Are On the Way

Disappointment from that match still hung in the air for Saturday's 7 pm  kickoff between the Union and DC United at RFK Stadium, perhaps the worst venue in the MLS.  New acquisition Alejandro Bedoya was not available but Charlie Davies was.  With Barnetta back in the lineup, midfield play was better but they still found themselves down a goal early.  Barnetta leveled things in first half stoppage time on a well-taken free kick and the Union took the lead after Ilsinho's brilliant pass set up Pontius for the go ahead score.  The Union had seemed in control for much of the second half but things got dicey late.  After several close calls, the tying goal in stoppage time was nearly a foregone conclusion.  Another two points lost.

Kudos to Earnie Stewart for taking steps to improve the team.  Maybe they won't work out but at least he didn't stand pat in the face of a steady flow of negative results until it was too late to do anything.  In other words, the opposite of Newcastle.


Learning From A Draw?

Tuesday completed the trifecta of disappointing results as the USWNT could manage only a 2-2 draw against Colombia.  Very similar to the Union match.  Fall behind 0-1, good work rate to go up 2-1, then surrender the tying goal late.  Not Hope Solo's finest moment but also not fair to put it all on her.  Some key starters were rested and frankly the team at times was playing like all they had to do was show up to get the W.  Also, to be fair, the fine 1-0 win over France on Saturday had put them in position of only needing a draw to win the group.  Still, I will turn again to the esteemed Mr. Winter again and suggest that "this setback...will acquire a positive sheen in retrospect only if it serves as a wake-up call."  As in, a performance like that in the knockout rounds will see them out of medal contention so hopefully they learned something.


At least Chester didn't let me down - a 5-0 pasting of Stoke City.

I see that the Galaxy tied the Red Bulls late and the Jersey team had their coach ejected for arguing about PKs not called.  Didn't see the match.  Going in a draw might have sounded good but not so sure after had a 2-0 lead.


Heads Will Not Roll

At least not yet.  At the Olympics, the Brazilian men's team slumbered through scoreless draws against lesser powers South Africa and Iraq, which turned Wednesday's match against Denmark into a must win.   More than 20 minutes in against Denmark and still no goals meant the situation was bordering on a national crisis.   Finally, they broke thru at about 25 minutes and then the floodgates opened.  The 4-0 win gave Brazil first in the group and moved the country back to DEFCON 3.  They did look like a team capable of winning gold; unfortunately for them, anything less is likely to be considered a major failure.  But hey, no pressure.  Just go out there and have fun against Colombia on Saturday night.


The Weekend

Okay, there's whole 'nother set of games this weekend so hope springs eternal.  Newcastle host Hudderfield but there is no coverage so this part of the Rafalution will not be televised.

The USWNT have a quarterfinal match against Sweden Friday at noon on NBCSN.

And the EPL season gets underway.  I enter this campaign without a serious rooting interest.  Crystal Palace is a bit of a favorite; I'll probably check in on Middlesbrough.for reasons I'm not entirely clear - a storied history, maybe as a Northeast placeholder for Newcastle, don't know.

Defending champion Leicester open the calendar with a 7:30 match at Hull on CNBC (coverage of the Olympics means you'll have jump around this weekend and next to find your games).  The most promising matches include Everton and Tottenham at Goodison Park (10 am Saturday on CNBC), Arsenal hosting Liverpool Sunday at 11 (NBCSN) and Chelsea vs West Ham on Monday at 3 pm (USA).  Don't worry Manchester fans, your sides will be televised - Man City on Saturday at 12:30 on CNBC (hosting Sunderland) and Man United on Sunday at 8:30 on NBCSN (at Bournemouth).

Key games in the MLS East on Saturday too.  The Union, now in 5th protecting a five point lead for the last playoff spot, travel to face the New England Revolution; we expect to see Bedoya in the lineup.  Frankly, I'd be real happy with a draw there.  Red Bulls, sitting in 3rd face 4th place Montreal at home, the NJ side must be thinking three points in that one.

Are you ready for some football?

Playoffs? Playoffs?

So the relative slow period of the last few weeks, when your only choices were MLS, various friendlies and the International Champions Cup (friendlies disguised as a competitive tournament), is over.  Olympic competition starts on Wednesday, Championship Division play opens on Friday and the EPL is a mere 10 days away.  MLS continues and, if I'm not careful, real time will catch up to virtual time in Football Manager.


Your Father's Union

BFS was able to obtain Jim Curtin's post game comments after the 1-2 loss at home to Real Salt Lake.  I know it says Jim Mora but it could have been Curtin.  On the heels of the 1-5 loss in Montreal, we are left to wonder if this is not indeed the same Union team we've been watching for the last six years.

I agree with Mora that the defense didn't necessarily lose the Salt Lake match.  Sure, they didn't close down the shooters quickly enough but the shots, especially the first, were well-taken.  For me, that match was lost in the midfield.   Alberg simply doesn't provide the possession and passing that Nogueira did.  Barnetta was also out for this match, serving a suspension for accumulated yellow cards.  Ilsinho has some of those skills but tends to work on the wings.  Things sort of held together for the first half with the Union getting its share of possession, if not shots on goal and left with a 1-0 lead thanks to a PK.  But in the second half, there was fitful possession, poor touches and give aways. Oh, and our favorite, long balls lofted to the middle.  Only in the closing minutes did they mount any threatening attacks.

They don't look like a playoff team right now.  I don't know what options Earnie Stewart has or when Maurice Edu is going to return.  If I read the MLS rules correctly, the transfer window closes on Wednesday.  This article suggests that Alejandro Bedoya might be on his way to Philly.  That would be cool, except that he's more of a winger than a box-to-box midfielder like Nogueira.

The Red Bulls put a 4-1 pasting on first place NYCFC but then had what I assume was a disappointing draw against Chicago.  They certainly have recovered from the poor start and winning the conference is still attainable; repeating as Supporters Shield winners maybe not so much.


Newcastle's Championship Season

Starts Friday at Craven Cottage against Fulham (2:45 BeIN Sports).  The TV schedule through September says I'll be able to watch the Magpies on 8/27, 9/10 and 9/24 (BFS derby featuring Newcastle and Aston Villa).  That's not terrible.


This page provides a thumbnail on each of the Championship sides from a bettors prospective.  Ze Roberto suggested that you would expect the recently relegated sides to have decent odds of winning promotion so maybe I shouldn't get too excited.  To his point, you can see Norwich and Aston Villa with the second and third best odds of winning the division.  On the other hand, there is a huge gap in the odds between Newcastle and every other side.  I remain optimistic.

A few more last minute acquisitions look possible.  Mo Diame would look good up top but apparently Hull City has sweetened their offer in hopes of keeping him.  According to Dennis, Ciaran Clark is a serviceable defender who could add some depth if Newcastle can sign him away from Aston Villa.


EPL Starts 8/13

The Guardian has started its team-by-team previews so check this site to see how your team is expected to fare.


Olympic Soccer

The men's side of this is really a U-23 tournament; only three players over 23 are allowed on each roster.   The USMNT did not qualify.  The women's tournament has no age restrictions and the USWNT is a prohibitive favorite.  It's the usual format.  Three groups of four play round robin with with the top two from each group advancing plus the two best third place sides.  Yes, the group stage eliminates just 4 of the 12 teams.  The US is matched with New Zealand, France and Colombia.   Group stage matches for the US are 8/3, 8/6 and 8/9.  Quarters are 8/12, semis 8/16 and final 8/19.  Compact little competition there.


Chester Defend Premier League Title

The Chester Blues opened their defense of the EPL title with a 3-0 win over Sunderland.  The oddsmakers have us finishing in the top half of the table.  But last year they had us being relegated and we won so what do they know?  We haven't really seen our full side together as many players were away for the Olympics.  I feel like we are a better team than last year but more so because we were really young last year and some of these players should improve plus we've added depth at most positions.  We did get Paul Pogba but I don't think the Football Manager version - at least my 2010 edition - of him matches the real life figure.  I told our board the goal was to challenge for the title, make a deep run in the FA Cup and get to the knockout stage of Champions League.


Suggested Viewing

Plenty to take in over the next week.  I'd start with USWMNT vs New Zealand on Wednesday at 6 pm on NBCSN.  As I said, I'll be watching Newcastle Friday afternoon at 2:45 on BeIN Sports.   Saturday we have the USWNT vs France (should be one of the better group stage matches) at 4 pm on NBCSN and the Union traveling to Washington to face DC United at 7 pm (check your local listings).  Sunday sees Red Bulls vs Galaxy in LA (9:30 on FS 1) and Tuesday features the USWNT in their final group stage game versus Colombia at 6 pm on NBCSN.

Think that'll hold you for the week?