International Football

Random thoughts on matches from Europe, South America and Africa.  I won't represent it as comprehensive review, just a survey based the smattering of matches I saw.


Keep Your Pants On

That proved to be difficult in Colombia as monsoon rains turned the pitch into a quagmire. Check out Yerry Mina after scoring the tying goal in the 2-2 thriller with Uruguay.  Great match to watch, and not just because Ray Hudson was doing color.  Colombia was up 1-0, then down 1-2 before Mina's tally.

Chile did themselves no favors with a 0-3 loss to Ecuador.  Then they struggled against Peru, pulling out a narrow 2-1 win with a late goal from Arturo Vidal.  They are certainly not out of the picture but have left themselves plenty to do in the last eight games of qualifying.  Argentina, without Messi, didn't have a great break with a draw at Peru and a loss at home to Paraguay and now sit in the fifth spot.

Still eight matches to go but the play of Uruguay and Ecuador so far suggest that one of Argentina, Chile or Colombia might find themselves in that fifth spot which means a playoff series instead of an automatic ticket to Moscow.


Can't Anybody Here Spell?

As players exited the tunnel in Reykjavik, did you notice their warmups - Island and Turkye? Hopefully they didn't pay for those.  A very good international break for "Our Boys" always a favorite here at BFS.  First they put in two stoppage time goals to turn a potential 1-2 loss into a 3-2 win over Finland.  Then, they disposed of Turkey (or Turkye or however you're supposed to spell it) 2-0 to move into second place in the group, behind Croatia on the tiebreaker.  This is a competitive group but Iceland should be in the mix, along with Croatia, Ukraine and Turkey.

Several of us gathered at Michael B's new pad to watch but Spain-Italy was hardly an advertisement for the beautiful game.  Keeper Buffon absolutely butchered a clearance, missing the ball completely and giving Spain the opening goal.  Italy gave little indication that they would tie the match but amazingly they did.  Overall, not enough attacking football to make the match enjoyable and the takeout food from the Co-op was the highlight of the evening.  France-Netherlands was only 1-0 but it was much more watchable as the Dutch made a match of it in the second half.  Belgium defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 4-0 then Gibraltar 6-0 to stay atop their group.


Didn't You Used to Play for the Union?

Checked in on the Algeria-Cameroon match as it looked to be the most competitive of the offerings from African qualifying.  And there was Rais M'Bolhi in goal.  He was perhaps Exhibit A in the clusterf*** [Ed Note: Although the NY Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer both broke historical precedent in the last week by fully spelling out the f-bomb, we at BFS will not follow their leads.  We note that Donald Trump and Chris Christie were the subjects of  the articles in which the word appeared.  Probably just coincidence right?] that was Union management prior to the arrival of Earnie Stewart.  It wasn't that he was awful - which he was - it was we already had two potential number one keepers and his arrival made no sense.  Anyway, he wasn't terrible in this match, though he did let the tying goal through the five hole and made me happy that Blake is our keeper.  Cameroon was more than happy to leave with a 1-1 draw.


Chester Scoring Drought

The Blues are having trouble putting their shots on frame but haven't paid a disastrous price yet.  We beat Atletico 1-0 in Champions League group play but followed that up with a lackluster 1-1 draw at Newcastle. Chester sit third in the table, behind Aston Villa and Tottenham, but we better sort out the offense before we face the heavies.  The manager probably needs to adjust the training regimen.


Back to Work

MLS league play resumes with four teams competing for three playoff spots open in the East. The Union can clinch one of those with with a win at home against Orlando this Sunday.  And really, if you can't beat this team at home, do you deserve a playoff spot?  I believe the Union could also back into a spot if Chicago can beat New England on Sunday.  And the Red Bulls still have a legitimate chance to win the East, especially with home match vs Columbus and a road game with the Union to conclude their season.

In the Championship division, Newcastle are a huge favorite at home against Brentford; anything less than three points here is a disappointment.  Huddersfield Town (vs Sheffield Wednesday) and Norwich (vs Rotherham) are also favorites so the Magpies likely stay in third through the weekend.

In the "really big shew" (as Philip S calls it), we have another mostly underwhelming card.  Chelsea Leicester at 7:30 Saturday morning (NBCSN) is probably worth a look.  NBCSN agrees that Man City Everton is the best of the 10 am games, though you can check out Bob Bradley's debut as Swansea manager (first American in the Premier League managerial ranks) against Arsenal on CNBC.  Tottenham fans can only live stream their beloved Spurs as they travel to the Midlands to face West Brom.  Monday's Liverpool-Man United match looks like a good dvr game for those with full-time jobs.

Now get out there and watch.

Roads to Moscow

Not too much league play for the next few days as World Cup Qualify continues in earnest.

The path to the finals in Moscow varies, depending on which continent you come from. South America may have the simplest but the toughest.  With only 10 countries participating, they can go with a simple home and away match against each side.  At the end of the 18 matches, the top four go to finals and fifth place plays the winner of the Oceania confederation qualifying process in a two match playoff.  The bad news is that there are four sides ranked in the world top 10 - Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, and Chile - so getting one of those top four spots is a tough proposition.  After eight matches, form is sort of holding but not exactly as Uruguay sits atop the standings followed by Brazil, Argentina and Colombia, with Ecuador in the playoff spot.  Chile is just 7th but with matches against Ecuador and Peru over this break, they could easily move into the top four.  You can follow South American qualifying on beinSports on Thursday and Tuesday.

With 53 nations competing for spots, Africa's qualifying is more complicated.  The bottom 26 teams played a home and away first round.  The 13 advancing from that round are joined with the 27 sides that got a first round bye for a second round of home and away matches.  The 20 surviving the second round are then divided into five groups of four for group play.  The winners of each group get WC final spots.  Group play begins during this break.  No surprises so far.  The top ranked sides - Algeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Tunisia and Senegal are in separate groups.  Cameroon, not a bad side, is in the group with Algeria.  Tough break.

Oceania's process seems really complicated for a small confederation.  I will simply state that New Zealand will face Papua New Guinea in a two-legged final to determine who gets to play the fifth place country from South America.  I must also ask why Australia is not part of this confederation.

Apparently because they are part of the Asia confederation.  Last time I checked Australia was its own continent but never mind.  Talk about a complicated process to get to four teams from 46.  First round is lower ranked teams.  Second round is eight groups of five.  Eight winners plus four best second place advance to third round, which is round robin play in two groups of six.    First and second from this group play get a WC spot.  The two third place sides play a two legged tie to determine who gets to play the fourth place team from CONCACAF.  Australia, Japan and South Korea look like good bets for three of those spots.  Iran, Uzbekistan, and Syria are in the mix too.

Still with me?  Good.

Europe, even with 54 countries competing for 13 slots, is not that complicated. Teams are divided into nine groups of six for round robin play.  The nine winners get spots, the eight best second place teams are paired for home and away matches, with the four winners getting the other four slots.  We're only at match day two there so there's a long way to go.  Scroll around Fox Sports and ESPN between now and Wednesday and you'll find plenty of these matches.

CONCACAF is fairly complicated.  Early rounds are home and away matches for the lower ranked teams in the 35 nation confederation.  Then we get to the fourth round with three groups of four, who do round robin play with the top two in each group advancing to what is affectionately known as the "hex."  Six teams play home and away.  Top three are into the final, fourth place plays third place from Asia for a final spot.  Hex play doesn't start until the November break.

And there you have it, more info on World Cup qualifying than you could ever want.


The Good, the Bad and the Ultimately Still Bad

Full credit to the Union for a tough match against the Red Bulls.  They took an early lead, came back from 1-2 to tie.  Yes, they played hard, which was good.  And against possibly the hottest team in the MLS right now.  But they still lost 2-3.  And the score kind of flatters them.  How many errant passes?  The 50-50 challenges seemed to go against them about 90-10.  Results from other precincts were not helpful either and we now sit in 6th, three points up on New England.   Still, a win over Orlando seals the playoff deal though.

Afterwards I was thinking positive spin - tough result against a top team, playoffs still possible, etc. Upon further review, I'm less upbeat.  Yes, the team is not bottom of the table material but maybe has only progressed to also-ran status.  And Barnetta's departure at the end of the season to return to his hometown team, along with Noguiera's exit earlier this year threatens the progress we have seen.  No other player, except maybe Blake, has been as important to this team as Barnetta.  Without a number 10 of higher or similar quality to replace him, Blake's heroics will only serve to keep the margin of defeat lower.


We. Can't. Watch

Hey, that works on two levels.  With no streaming available, I was left to follow Newcastle-Rotherham on The Chronicle's live blog.  Christian Atsu's goal (this week's YouTubeable Moment) had the Magpies up 1-0 but they couldn't find a second and had some serious defending to do later on.  Apparently it got hairy enough that the blogger posted the header We. Can't. Watch.  But they held on for the three points and remain in third place.


Worst Prediction?

Apologies to whomever may have tuned into Leicester-Southampton on my recommendation.  Who would have expected a 0-0 draw from those sides?  There was more interesting stuff elsewhere.  Certainly Tottenham dismantling Man City 2-0 was noteworthy.  There was no aspect of the game in which Spurs weren't top drawer.  Except PKs.  Should have been 3-0.   Friday's Everton-Crystal Palace 1-1 draw had some spirit to it.  Man United couldn't have been too pleased about a 1-1 draw with Stoke.  Chelsea eventually tamed Hull 2-0.


And then we have Arsenal's 1-0 defeat of Burnley on a Koscielny goal at 90+3.  What a kick in the teeth for a game Burnley side.  The goal came with controversy, except most focused on the wrong aspect.  See the picture to the left. Oxlade-Chamberlain kicked the ball and it hit Koscielny's arm and went into the goal.  Most of the immediate post game commentary was about whether it was handling.  Though it would seem unfair to allow a goal that clearly came of off Koscielny's arm, that's not the test.  The question is whether Koscielny deliberately handled the ball.  For me the evidence says no.  But, there's a second, more important problem that you can see from the picture. Where is Koscielny at the time the ball was struck?  Yes, he's ahead of the ball with only one defender between him and the goal line.  Clearly offside.  I was surprised it didn't come up in immediate post game analysis but there was plenty of discussion on the web.


Sack Race

The ax fell on Swansea's Francesco Guidolin after a 1-2 loss at home to Liverpool. Recall that the oddsmakers had him as mostly like to be first to go.  With Guidolin's departure, West Ham's Slaven Bilic moves to top with David Moyes (Sunderland) and Tony Pulis (West Brom) in "hot pursuit." The historical accuracy of these odds would give me pause if I was one of these guys and considering buying a house in the city where I managed.


International Break

Scan your local listings and you'll find plenty of international football to watch for the next week.

The Rafa-lution Will Not Be Televised and Will Only Occasionally Be Available on Live Stream

And that's a shame given Wednesday's match with Norwich.

A disappointing draw and a stunning win for the Magpies, a retrospectively satisfying draw for the Union and a bunch of eyebrow raising results in the EPL.  In short, a great first week of fall.


The Rafa-lution Starts Now?  (Musical Accompaniment here)

We were two minutes away from a real downer of an opening paragraph here.  On Saturday, Newcastle were both unlucky not to win and lucky not to lose.  They completely dominated Aston Villa for about the first 55 minutes but only led 1-0 - on an own goal at that - because of a complete failure to convert chances.  By that point it should have been 3-0, 4-0 and no worse than 2-0.  The tide turned and the Magpie possession dried up.  First a goal called back on offside.  Then a real goal at 88 minutes.  Then an onslaught that Newcastle barely survived.  One point on the road isn't terrible but this match was winnable.  Of course what made it all that much worse was that I got to watch this on beinsportsconnect; just like the good old days of 2015, watching the Magpies underperform.

Move forward to Wednesday night back at Saint James' Park (packed with 48,000 on a weeknight!) to face second place Norwich.  No live stream for this one.  Things started out brightly enough with Gayle providing a goal in the 24 minute.  A PK surrendered by Gouffran left things level at halftime.  At 69 minutes, despite apparently outplaying the Canaries, a deflection off of Laschelles had Newcastle down 1-3.  Gayle got one back two minutes later but entering stoppage time, they still trailed 2-3.  At 90+5 Gouffran tied it.  At 90+6 Gayle won it, completing his hat trick and sending the raving lunatics St James' faithful into delerium.  I wish I could find a suitable video but seems like the good stuff is blocked for us US surfers.  Now, is this a season defining moment, one they can draw on in the months ahead?  Or is it another indication that Newcastle will be their own worst enemy and make this promotion effort a bigger struggle than it needs to be?  Wait, the answer could be both, couldn't it?

Dwight Gayle celebrates scoring the fourth goal for Newcastle United. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

Upon Further Review...

...the Union's draw in Toronto isn't all that bad.  Certainly I wasn't expecting any points from the trip up north.  But the first half was possibly the Union's best of the season, highlighted by a cheeky chipped goal from Alejandro Bedoya, taking over the #10 role with Barnetta out with an injury.  They were so good, Jeff K texted me at half time "Who are those guys?"  Second half not as good as the first, possibly in part due to the knock that Bedoya took that clearly slowed him down.  No, the second half saw the Union on the back foot for most of the time and the tying goal at 70 minutes was hardly a surprise.  Were they lucky to hold on for the draw?  Maybe.   Was 1-1 a fair result?  I thought so. Was that a foul on Altidore in the box in the closing seconds?  If by "on Altidore" you mean he tripped Sapong, then yes.  I'll admit it looked squirrelly so when the whistle blew I feared the worst.  But the replay shows the ref got it right.  That didn't stop Altidore from going ball-istic; he booted the ball into the stands and deserved a yellow card and then continued to berate the official as the final whistle sounded, earning him that yellow card.  Michael Bradley and manager Vanney were livid too.  Calm down guys and check the replay.

Other teams were mostly accommodating over the weekend to our needs as well.  The Red Bulls beat Montreal, DC United thrashed Orlando and Columbus upset New England.  Tuesday and Wednesday weren't as helpful as Toronto could only tie Orlando, Montreal got a win over over San Jose and DC pummeled Columbus.  So with most everybody's games in hand taken care of, the Union sit in 4th with 42, Montreal is 5th with 41 and DC is 6th with 40. On the outside looking in are New England at 36 and Orlando with 35.  Even with no more points for the Union, Orlando must win all three of its games to pass them - because we have the tiebreaker - and of course, one of those games is at Talen Energy Stadium.  New England can't afford to lose any games if it wants to catch the Union, but two wins and draw could in theory.  A win against Orlando and none blow-out losses to the Jersey Cows should be enough.


Didn't See That Coming

The EPL feature a pile of results that were not obvious going into the weekend, at least to me.  Reports about Chelsea's revival (by me?) may have been greatly exaggerated.  They were taken apart by Arsenal 3-0 and that score flatters Chelsea.  Leicester haven't been great but Man United have struggled just as badly.  So they bench Rooney and come away with a 4-1 win over the Foxes.  Huh.  Everton have been cruising but they fell to Bournemouth 0-1.  Can somebody explain West Ham to me?  A 0-3 loss at home to Southampton leaves them with just one win in six matches and 18th in the table.  Some are theorizing that the converted Olympic Stadium is too big and leaves them feeling like a team with without a home.  This article from the Guardian offers some insights - underwhelming performance from summer signings (very Newcastlish) plus injuries and key departures on the defensive side are among the reasons mentioned.  I will note the Chester Blues picked up one of those disappointing signings - Gokhan Tore - in the summer transfer window and he is performing admirably on the cyber pitch; with 3 goals and two assists in six appearances, often as a sub, the head of the fan club has labeled Tore's signing "a marvelous piece of business."

My favorite unexpected result is Alan Pardew getting some measure of satisfaction against Sunderland, at the Stadium of (Fading) Light no less. The method of the madness might make it even better.  Down 0-2 at 60 minutes, Crystal Palace tallied at 61, 76 and 90+4 for a stunning come from behind win.  Thank you to NBCSN for getting to that match just in time for Benteke's winner.

On the less surprising side is Man City's 3-1 win over Swansea, keeping them perfect through six matches.  Hull offered little resistance to Liverpool, going down 1-5.  Tottenham also was business-like in a 2-1 win over Middlesbrough.  So not everything was eyebrow raising.


Downa Shore

A quick treat to the beach will likely limit viewing this weekend.  Not a great set of fixtures so maybe that's okay.  My choice would be Tottenham hosting Man City Sunday at 9:15 (TV?).  Many of the top teams have "softer" assignments this weekend - Liverpool traveling to Wales to face Swansea, Chelsea on the road to Hull, Man United at home versus Stoke and Arsenal traveling to Burnley.  Another match to check out might be Leicester-Southampton; given their styles and relatively standing, this could be an entertaining match for the neutral.

MLS schedule has plenty of key match-ups.  The Union travel to Harrison NJ to face the Red Bulls, while DC goes to Toronto, New England hosts Sporting KC and Orlando hosts Montreal.  With the right set of results (say a draw for the Union and losses by New England and Orlando), the Union could be set for the playoffs by Sunday night.

Going to have a pile of dvred matches to go through Sunday night and Monday.

At Least There's Still Football Manager

Pretty much the only good results I got this weekend were Chester's on the virtual pitch.


When It Rains It Portlands

Playing in a steady rain downpour monsoon in the City of Roses, the Union failed to come away with any points in their match with the Timbers.  Though their play was not terrible, the 1-2 loss probably is a fair reflection of the match.  A 0-0 draw through 45 minutes and the terrible conditions gave me hope that a point might be possible.  Such hopes looked silly when Portland scored in the opening minute of the second half.  Even the quick response by the Union to level things a minute later didn't restore my optimism.  And sure enough, in the 53rd minute Portland scored again.  The Union were not punchless; they are creating good chances.  They're just not converting them.

Soccer America had this article on the playoff race in the Eastern Conference.  After making this statement:

Conference leader Toronto FC (47 pts.) and co-second place New York City FC and New York Red Bulls (both 45 pts.) can confirm their slots this weekend. Philadelphia is another four points back in fourth and will probably need at least a couple of games to nail down its slot but fifth-place Montreal is not assured of anything.

So it seems four teams will  battle for the two remaining slots and to thanks the schedule-makers, there are four head-to-head meetings on the docket along with several games against common opponents to further muddle the picture.

Mahoney then analyzes the schedules of New England, DC United, Montreal and Orlando, concluding that they will finish 5th through 8th with 44, 43, 42, and 41 points respectively.  Anybody see a potential flaw in this modeling?  Right.  The Union need at least 43 points to make the post season (fortunately they are in good stead on the first tiebreaker - number of wins).  But that means at least two points from the following four matches - Toronto away, Red Bulls away, Orlando home, Red Bulls home.  A win over Orlando is probably enough but what if they only draw that match.  Even a point is a long shot in the other three matches.  Mahoney's a good writer but I am reminded of all the pundits last year that scoffed at the prospect of Newcastle being relegated.

The Union did get a bit of help from other quarters.  DC United could only manage a draw vs Chicago and Columbus thumped Orlando 4-1.  New England's 3-1 win over Montreal was neither here nor there as they continue to sit in 5th and 6th. Toronto - Red Bulls was a great watch, though maybe less so for Red Bulls fans.  Up 2-0 and 3-1, the Jersey Cows came home with just a point after Altidore scored at 68 minutes and again at 86.


Told You We Should Have Saved Some

Newcastle could have used at least two of the six tallies against QPR as they fell, at home, to the Wolves 0-2.  In front of 52,000 raving lunatics loyal fans no less.  There will be hiccups in this campaign but this one seemed unnecessary.  Especially when three days later the Magpies reversed the score in the League Cup tie.  Changing the order of the results would have been okay by me; I'd much rather have the three points than a spot in the round of 16 for the league cup.  The bright side could be that Benitez learned a little more about the team that will serve him well as the season progresses.


Maybe It's Better As A Neutral

This was the first weekend I had a chance to watch multiple games.  Not having to put each match in the context of what it means to Newcastle increases the enjoyment, as I take each match based on how I feel about the teams.  This was most obvious as I tuned in late to see Watford and Man United tied.  Then, two goals by the home side at 83 and 95 minutes doomed the Red Devils to another loss.   In previous years the joy of seeing the underdog win would have been tempered by the realization that a Newcastle relegation rival had just picked up three unexpected points.

Friday night's Chelsea-Liverpool was a cracker, featuring Jordan Henderson's (left) amazing strike; Liverpool were the deserved 2-1 winners there. (Henderson's goal, while awesome, will not be the week's YouTubeable Moment though as that honor will go to Azpilicueta's incredibly pure strike in the league cup match vs Leicester.)  Crystal Palace may be slowly finding their game but the 4-1 thumping of Stoke might put Mark Hughes in front in the Manager Sack race (nope according to this listing he's second behind Swansea's Guidolin).

Top table teams had a relatively easy weekend with Man City beating Bournemouth 4-0, Arsenal handling Hull 4-1 and Spurs edging Sunderland 1-0; the latter may not have been as close as the score suggests.  Question - what happened at West Ham?  After just one win against four losses, they may wish they were forever blowing bubbles back at Upton Park instead of Olympic Stadium.

Chester Comes Through

The prospect of Arsenal at the Emirates suggested even Football Manager might not provide any consolation after the mostly unsatisfying string of results in the real world,   We played a defensive 4-1-3-2 but still fell behind 0-1.  We leveled things midway through the second half and the possibility of taking a point became real.  We kept the formation tight and I pushed the time wasting slider to the max.  Next thing I know we're scoring off a corner and take all three points.  Even a 0-0 home draw at Liverpool the next match didn't diminish the luster of the win.  The Blues sit in second, two points behind Tottenham after eight games.  Much better than reality...

Lusterless BFS Derby

What's worse than derby (the once passion-filled Newcastle-Aston Villa match) that only two people knew about to begin with?  A derby in the championship division that only two people know about.  Worse than that?  It's probably a derby that only one person cares about anymore since Dennis likely isn't spending too much time on the Villans.  The Magpies fell to 3rd in the table but Aston Villa are really struggling, sitting in 18th in the table.  The only good news there is that there are 24 teams in the championship division so they are not currently in the relegation zone.  Sigh, longing for the days past when the match was interesting, at least from a relegation race perspective.

Mixed bag in the big boys division.  On the one hand, there's Man United-Leicester (7:30 Sat on NBCSN) and Arsenal-Chelsea (12:30 Sat on NBCSN).  But the other heavies have lighter match-ups, possibly made a bit more difficult since they're all road matches; Totteham is away to Middlesbrough, Everton heads south to face Bournemouth, Liverpool is away to Hull and undefeated, undrawn Man City travels to Wales to face Swansea City.  

MLS action includes the Union at Toronto (a point would be so sweet but doesn't seem likely), DC United takes on Orlando (a draw might be the best result for the Union), Red Bulls vs Montreal (easy to root for the Jersey Cows here) and Columbus plays New England (let's go Crew).  Check your local listings for which of those may be televised.

Fall is here so it's a good time to watch some soccer.

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?