Newcastle Qualify For Europe*

 * If the season were to end today.

Okay, getting ahead of ourselves here but I can't remember Newcastle getting a result on opening day so we're excited.  Mixed results elsewhere, including the Union crashing hard in Cincinnati.

Newcastle See the Forest

If the strikers can't score, go with a defender:
Schar puts Newcastle up 1-0

So it took a while for the dominance to show on the scoreboard but this was all Magpies.  The 2-0 final is very flattering to Nottingham Forest.  But it's also a reminder that while Newcastle have a lot of the pieces in place, their finishing will need to be much more clinical.  They won't get this many scoring chances against the better clubs.

Still, it was cool watching Newcastle move the ball with such ease into dangerous positions; non-shot xG was 3.3.  A lot of chances but no goals.  In some ways highlighting our lack of a star striker, it was defender Fabian Schar who broke the ice with a rocket from about 20 yards out.   On quality and context, we make it this week's YouTubeableMoment.  Things felt much calmer after that, even if it was another 20 minutes before Callum Wilson salted things away.  Lots of reason for optimism.

Title Race Over

We only sort of jest.  In recent years, the smallest of missteps has been the difference between first or second place and Liverpool made one on Saturday, managing just a draw against newly promoted Fulham.  Meanwhile, Man City showed off their new striker - Erling Haaland - who looks like he will have people forgetting who Jesus was.  Sterling too.

Technically, City are not in first at this time as Spurs dumped on Southampton for 4-1 win to lead the division on goal differential.  Arsenal and Chelsea also got wins over Crystal Palace and Everton respectively.  

Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss (apologies to The Who)

The news was not so good for Man United fans at Old Trafford, as Pascal Gross scored twice in Brighton's 2-1 win over the Red Devils.  Yes, it's only one game but changing the manager doesn't look to be what this team needs.  Ronaldo wants out.  He didn't start but Ten Hag had to put him in when they fell behind.  I'd be looking at some significant personnel changes to rework the chemistry.  

A Second Bite of the Cherries (h/t Michael B)

Opening day was also not so kind to Aston Villa.  They surrendered a quick goal to Bournemouth but were still in the game until a late second tally sealed the result.  I did not see the match but Dennis reports that the result is not as distressing as the lackluster performance from Villa.  The internet was full of disparaging remarks about Gerrard's line up choices and system of play.  Unlike Man United, I'd be looking for a few more matches before making any decisions about Villa's future.

Conversation That Did Not Occur But Could Have

Dennis: Did you say Arsenal's new motto is "In God We Trust?"

Steve: No, I said they will be depending on Jesus this season

Heard on Telecasts

Ten Hag says his management style does not include
hair dryer treatments.  We don't doubt it.
Photo: Jan Kruger/GettyImages

After Darwin Nunez scored the second goal to wrap up Arsenal's win over Crystal Palace: "Darwin ensures the evolution of the front line is in good shape."

Erik ten Hag when asked about his management style, said he won't be using the hair dryer treatment.

A commentator wondered who would be missed more - Sterling from City or Mane from Liverpool.  That got Dennis going - as in the correct answer - Mane - is obvious and he is currently doing the statistical research to back that up.

How Many Brothers in the Family

Spurs got a goal from Ogee, who was their second leading scorer last season.  Turns out, he has many brothers.  Ogee also scored for Arsenal, Leeds, and Man United.

Who's in the Technical Area?

Some new teams and some new managers.  Can you match the team with their manager?

Answers next week.

Joker in Queen City

You can't spell Medunjanin without "adieu"
Nice job Haris

Even VAR could not save the Union this time in a 3-1 defeat in Cincinnati.  A goal was correctly called back late in the first half but that only delayed what you could see was coming.  The hosts got two quickly in the second half and added a third before the U got on the board.  The score looked right based on what I saw and the stats pretty match back it up too.  Just two shots on goal for the U; passing percentage was just 78%.   Cincinnati's press seem to bottle up the free flowing passing we'd gotten used to and the long game just didn't work.  

The glass is 7/8 full says they were due for a stinker and there's no reason for long term concern.  I would like to see them make sure the long passing game can work if teams press them like Cincinnati did on Saturday.  Again, we got help in other places, with Columbus knocking off NYCFC 3-2 so the three point lead continues.

The match also marked the end of the MLS career of Haris Medunjanin, who will head for a second division Dutch club to be closer to his family.  He made 172 appearances in the MLS, including 100 starts for the Union; in 2019 he was the only non-keeper to play every minute.  A pro's pro.  

Shameless Cross Promotion

FanHub - a relatively new platform to cover track and field by AthleteBiz - picked up the post about the similarities between soccer and track and field.  You can see the post here.  While you're there, we encourage you to explore the site.  Lots of great content from talented writers and producers.  An excellent way to stay current on a sport that just doesn't get the media coverage it deserves.

Away for the Weekend

Best action looks like Chelsea - Tottenham Sunday at 11:30 on USA; Spurs will be tested here but could come away with something.  Man City and Liverpool have what look like home walkovers against Bournemouth (Saturday 10 am on USA) and Crystal Palace (Monday at 3 on USA) respectively.  

Newcastle are more underdogs than I would like to see in their away match at Brighton (Saturday at 10 on Peacock).  At 538, they favor Brighton 49/25/26; I guess the "bright" side is that a draw would not be a bad result.  

Aston Villa will look to bounce back at home, taking on Everton at 7:30 on Saturday on USA.  This really should be three for Villa.  More importantly, we'll be looking for improved performance regardless of the result.

The Saturday 12:30 feature match on NBC returns and it is a curious one - Brentford hosting Man United.  Shockingly, the numbers at 538 barely favor Man United at 39/36/25; hard to imagine a draw with Brentford is acceptable even for an away match.

For the neutral sorting out the five 10 am Saturday matches, I'm going out on a limb to recommend Brighton - Newcastle.  I think that could be both highly competitive and entertaining.  Your other choices are Arsenal - Leicester (okay, that could be good too on Peacock), Man City - Bournemouth (USA) , Southampton - Leeds (Peacock) and Wolves - Fulham (also Peacock).  

Who'd I forget?  Right - Nottingham Forest host West Ham at 9 am on Sunday on USA.

On this side of the pond, the Union host Chicago at 7:30 on Saturday.  A perfect bounce-back opportunity.  NYC is on the road at Miami so maybe we shouldn't expect much help.  

I'll be in New Hampshire Friday - Monday and don't expect to see much (any?) of the weekend's action.  BFS co-founder Dennis will be there too so next week's post could be on the light side.  Maybe with judicious use of DVR and Peacock replays we'll be able to piece something together.

A New Hope?

The EPL season opens Friday with all the hopes and fears that come with that.  Another solid performance from the Union

Missed the Extra Point This Time

For the third straight weekend, I watched the Union replay on ESPN+ late Saturday night and into early Sunday morning.  This time I watched with my sister on her laptop at my parents' place in New Hampshire.  I pointed out to her that it is not always this easy for the Union.  

Textbook form from McGlynn

There were shades of the DC United match as they built a 3-0 lead in the first half and added three more in the second half for a 6-0 pasting of the Houston Dynamo.  Gazdag was in the middle of it of course,  McGlynn got his first ever for the U (an incredibly well-taken free kick for this week's YouTubeableMoment) and Uhre got two more.  Yes, Houston are not a good side.  But now we are seeing the Union act like a powerhouse, brushing off the weaker teams as opposed to playing down to their level.  

We did get help from Montreal, who managed a 0-0 draw with NYCFC.  So the Union lead is now three points, though NY still has a game in hand.

Predictions

For once Newcastle go into a season not dreading the threat of relegation because 1) they were pretty good for the last few months of last season 2) they improved the squad somewhat - though not as dramatically as we might have hoped and 3) if there's a whiff of relegation come January, the new owners will [over]spend whatever is necessary to avoid that fate.

Question:  Newcastle's finishes the last five years are 11th, 12th, 13th, 13th, 10th.  So how come I feel like Newcastle spent those five years a heartbeat away from relegation?  Dennis would probably say it's because I'm a pessimist.  Maybe.  But, look at the table below; except for 2019-20, they spent at least the first half of each season way too close to the drop zone.  

Usually they were on pace for a mid-30 point total, which typically means you're no more than a short slump away from 18th place or worse.  Their second halves would generate a low to mid-50s point total, which leaves the drop zone comfortably back in the rear view mirror.  If they had flipped these first and second halves, it probably would not have been so stressful.  I have no memory of the 2019-20 first half.  Probably spent it saying this won't last.  And, I was right.

I sampled only two sets of predictions this year - 538 and The Guardian.  I would highly recommend The Guardian series because of fun stuff like "If Netflix did a documentary on this team..."  Also, they assess which players may feature at the World Cup.  The Newcastle preview is provided here.  You can use that link to track down all the others.

So Man City and Liverpool are projected 1-2 by both sources.  And probably any other source you can find.  I'm shocked, shocked I tell you.  The Guardian have Newcastle all the way up at 7th while 538 seems more down-to-earth at 13th.  I should mention that I compared last year's projections to actual and by far the most accurate were 538's - 20-30% better than any other.  Absent the signing of a marquee type attacking midfielder, I think The Guardian overshot the Magpies' potential.  You can see 538's projected order of finish here.  Selected projections from The Guardian include Aston Villa at 10th (compared to 7th at 538), Spurs at 3rd (4th in 538) and Man United 6th (same as 538).

Too Much Peacock

So the first weekend is loaded up with eight games on Peacock and just two on USA.  Makes multi-game viewing much harder.  

The season opens Friday with a London derby featuring Crystal Palace v Arsenal at our favorite venue, Selhurst Park.  That's at 3 pm on USA.  We never pass up Friday afternoon football.

Hopefully this weekend will not see a repeat of the pitch
invasion that occurred at St. James' Park when Newcastle
faced Nottingham Forest in the 6th round of the FA Cup

Saturday, the 7:30 early bird special is Fulham - Liverpool.  Welcome back to the big show guys! Four to choose from at 10 am, all on Peacock.  We, of course, will be taking in Newcastle hosting newly promoted Nottingham Forest; 538 likes the Magpies chances but not as much as you would think - 54/20/26 (chance of Newcastle win/Fulham win/draw - we will use that convention a lot).  Dennis has Aston Villa at Bournemouth covered.  Spurs should be solid taking on Southampton at home.  The neutral looking for a competitive match might choose the Leeds - Wolves contest. No feature match on NBC but USA will carry the Everton - Chelsea match at 12:30.

Three more on Sunday, again all Peacock.  At 9, we'll likely go with Man United hosting Brighton over Leicester - Brentford.  West Ham and Man City have the 11:30 slot all to themselves.

MLS action continues with the U heading to Cincinnati; that's Saturday at 7:30 on PHL-17 or ESPN+. This should be another win but on the road they'll need to be careful.  NYC is on the road to Columbus so maybe we can get some help again.

Yikes, let the games begin.

Making Hay

Back from Eugene.  With 10 days of track and field plus four Union matches over the last few weeks, I'll do my best to recall what happened.   I didn't miss any matches thanks to full event replays on ESPN+.

In our last post - which seems forever ago - we suggested that this part of the schedule was a chance for the Union to put up some points, making hay while the sun shines as it were.  We can report that it was a full harvest - 12 points in four matches, perhaps even more than we could have asked for.

Missed the Extra Point?

The sequence began  with 7-0 trouncing of DC United.  The score was 3-0 by the 25th minute.  Every pass, every shot (except  Gazdag's missed PK!?) seemed to work.  It was like all the luck that had eluded them for weeks showed up.  Dennis wondered if we would have preferred to save some of those goals for upcoming matches.  We decided it was better for the scorers to get the feel of putting the ball in the net and worry about the consequences later.

One Night in Miami

My memory is less clear on the 2-1 win in Miami.  Gazdag got the first on a PK and Burke scored the second on a nice header.  I remember the final minutes were not as comfortable as we would have liked thanks to a tremendous shot from Higuain.  The stats say this was close so there was some argument that a draw would have been a fair result.  On the other hand, xG (shot and non-shot) at 538 reads 1.75 - .95 for the U so maybe this was fine.  

You Say You Want the Revolution (apologies to The Beatles)

Back home Saturday for their third match in nine days, and a tougher opponent in the New England Revolution to boot.  I returned from action at the World Championships and watched the replay with the volume turned down low so as not to wake the rest of the house.  Disappointed when Bou put New England up in the 61st as we hadn't looked all that dangerous.  Fortunately, they leveled things with a Uhre header off a Wagner corner at 75 minutes; we'll make it this edition's YouTubeableMoment, as seen by the Sons of Ben.  Then, Kessler fouled Gazdag in the box; one of the easier PK calls this year - Kessler with fully extended arms pushed Gazdag, right in front of the referee.  Gazdag converted again and the Union were winners here too.  Not much doubt for me that they stole the extra two points.  Almost everything is dead even - except of course possession, which the U always suck at.

One Night in Orlando - The Sequel?

Daniel Gazdag had 3 goals and 2 assists
over the four matches
Photo:Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

One more to go but at least they got some rest for this one against Orlando.  Again, I watched late in Eugene after the evening's track events.  The theme here is VAR continues to be our friend.  First, Gazdag's goal was initially ruled out for offside.  MLS doesn't use lines like the EPL so this is still in the realm of should be clear and obvious error.  The replays I saw did nothing to make me think it was in the clear and obvious category.  But, referee Chilowicz was emphatic and kept pointing to his hip to the complaining Orlando players, as in the defender's hip kept Gazdag on side.  Maybe he saw a view we didn't on TV.  I don't think he was saying I have a new artificial hip.   Also, I may have woken up a few with my "YES!"  VAR came to the rescue late in the match too.  More accurately, VAR did not screw us.  There was contact between Gazdag and Carlos in the Union box.  By contact, I mean Gazdag had two fistfuls of Carlos's shirt and clearly kept him from jumping.  But the call on the field was no foul.  I was sure this was going to be overturned and would be a PK for Orlando.  And the video did show that Gazdag clearly fouled Carlos.  Good on Chilowicz to notice however that Carlos in fact grabbed Gazdag's shirt first. The revised call?  Foul on Orlando, free kick coming out.  I saw lots of whining about that one but it was clearly the correct call.  This was not a pretty game to watch.  Each side had one shot on goal.  MLS had xG at .9 -.7 in favor of the U.  On paper this looks like a draw, a boring one at that.  

On the positive side, the passing has improved; except for the Orlando game, they've been over 80% in this streak.  They had three multiple goal matches in a row and two more shutouts.  Maybe they were a little lucky to come away with 12 points instead of 8 or 10.  Maybe the table flatters them a little right now but not that much.  They head into the weekend top of the table, with a one point advantage over NYCFC, who have a game in hand.  But there is a gap of six points down to third place Red Bulls.  

When Life Gives You Lemons, You Find Someone Else to Boo

Richarlison's transfer to Tottenham meant that Dennis would be denied the chance to boo him when Everton visited Minnesota United for last week's friendly.  No worries, another on his "boo worthy" list - Dele Alli - did make the trip.  And what a performance from the former Spurs star.  He got booed by the crowd for some shithousery and missed a wide open net from a yard out; check out that miss here.  The evening was topped off by a 4-0 win by the home team.  A good time was had by all despite Richarlison's absence.

 

Life Imitates Art

In transfer news, Newcastle continue to be linked with every breathing attacking midfielder (except Dennis - WTF?).  I can't really take the articles seriously at this point.  However, two names did catch my eye - Arnaud Kalimuendo and Alan Virginius - who both currently play in France.  In my Football Manager virtual world, I signed both of these players in 2021 for my Forest Green side.  Kalimuendo  (a free transfer) really wasn't good enough to start when we were in the Championship Division so he went out on loan. He's improved but is not good enough to start as we play in the Premier League this season and has been loaned out again; frankly, not sure he will ever be good enough but we'll see.  Virginius ($200k transfer fee!), on the other hand, logged considerable time at right attacking midfielder last year and will start for us this season.  He has enormous upside potential.  

Given the overlap of Newcastle and Forest Green transfer targets, I wonder if 1)that's proof that Genie Scout (the FM add-on that rates players) is really good or 2) that means Newcastle use Genie Scout to identify targets.  I'm going with the former as the latter is too distressing to even ponder.

How Track and Field Is Like Soccer

1. For in-stadium viewing, higher up is better

For half the meet we had second row seats the first turn, the other half we were in the upper section looking down the home straight.  While you can see and appreciate the intensity and speed (and in our case, the high jump) from the track side seats, you lose too much perspective on the events.  For the field events, we could only go by the crowd reaction as to the quality of the attempt.  It was hard to see the action on the far turn and though we could see the finish line, it was impossible to sort out finish order.  I've found soccer to be the same - the close ups are cool but it's hard to follow the action anywhere but in front of you.

2. You can't blame on field officials for what it says in the rule books

We've been through this many times.  People get upset at the referees for applying the rules as written.  Your problem isn't with the referee, it's with the rules.  This happened at the World Championships to Devon Allen, US hurdler who had an excellent chance to medal.  Unfortunately, he was disqualified for a false start because his reaction time to the gun was .099, or .001 faster than allowable.  No doubt it sucked, on many levels.  But how is the starter supposed to make an exception?  He's a medal contender so we'll let it slide?  Or, this is his hometown crowd so we'll ignore it?  That's a dangerous road to go down.  Not saying it's a good rule, but fix the rule, don't apply it only when you feel like it.

3. Announcers will frequently say his first attempt was way over the bar

I realize that's a good thing in the high jump but lousy in soccer but the announcer do say it both sports.

4. There are guys named Przybylko

There's a shuh-BILL-koh
at the World Championships

Speaking of high jump, the brother of MLS striker Kacper Przybylko, Mateusz, competed in the final in Eugene.  He cleared the first two heights but went out at 2.27 meters (7 ft 51/4 inches) to finish 12th out of 13.  At 30, he is in the twilight of his career.

Oh, and though it was hard to hear, I think the stadium announcer butchered the pronunciation. 

5. Sausage sandwiches!

Just like Subaru Park, right down to the production delays and supply issues.  By the time we got to the front of the line, the only choice was chicken basil sausage topped with tomato salsa.  The good news though is that it was really good.

Offside Reinterpreted Again

The IAFB (rule making authorities for football) has issued a clarification on the offside rule.  Technically, the rule has not changed; an attacker in an offside position receiving a ball that was deliberately played by a defender will still be ruled onside.  But, what constitutes deliberate play has been more explicitly delineated.  From Athletic Weekly:

IFAB’s new laws state: “‘Deliberate play’ is when a player has control of the ball with the possibility of passing the ball to a team-mate, gaining possession of the ball, or clearing the ball.

“If the pass, attempt to gain possession or clearance by the player in control of the ball is inaccurate or unsuccessful, this does not negate the fact that the player ‘deliberately played’ the ball.”

In addition, IFAB provided the following indicators that a player “deliberately played” the ball:

• The ball had travelled from distance and the players had a clear view of it
• The ball was not moving quickly
• The direction of the ball was not unexpected
• The player had time to coordinate their body movement
• A ball moving on the ground is easier to play than a ball in the air

I think there may still be trouble with the phrase "clearing the ball."  Much of the annoyance of the existing interpretation has been when the defender strains to head or kick the ball clear, makes contact, but gets an uncontrolled result.  We'll see how this plays out.  Geoffrey Rush may have the best explanation of the announcement here.

Last Week of Summer Break?

Yikes, the EPL season opens next Friday.  And Newcastle without an attacking midfielder to wear.  I hope I can get you a sample of previews/predictions for the league in next week's post.

This weekend we'll be back at Subaru Park to see the U take on Houston.  That's at 7:30 on Saturday.  Those without tickets can watch on PHL-17.  Houston are 11th in the Western Conference and 538 has the U as serious favorites (64/14/22).  Anything but three points here is a disappointment.

Maybe we can get some help from Montreal as they host NYCFC; that's at the same time as the Union match.  

If you need a little more to watch, check out the UEFA Women's Final between England and Germany.  That's Sunday at noon on ESPN.

Starting next week, you'll have no trouble finding a game.

For Whom Does the Ball Not Lie?

The Union clearly steal a point in Columbus.  The USMNT U-20s win the CONCACAF Championships with Union players contributing mightily.

Rasheed Wallace, as far as we know, was the first to use the expression "ball don't lie" in response to a missed free throw for what the person believes was an unjustified foul call.  The original use is seen here.  The phrase works well in other settings, perhaps no more so than for, ahem, soft PK calls in soccer.  For our money, the call against Gazdag in the 18th minute of the Union's contest with Columbus falls into that category.  You can see the play here.  Santos' effort wasn't great but Blake's save was still pretty good.  Ball don't lie.  

Interference?  Was the shot unsavable anyway?

That was but one piece of the Union's lucky escape from Columbus with a 0-0 draw.  I don't need the stats to tell me who had the run of play but they do paint the picture well.  Possession was 35/65, shots were 4/16, shots on target 2/5 and xG .3 to 1.5.  The U's passing accuracy continued to be abysmal at 70.5%.  Columbus also had a goal pulled back after VAR review for offside.  You can see the play here. No doubt that Hurtado was in an offside position.  My first thought was that there was no interference.  Clearly Blake's reaction suggests there was not.  The picture provides some support for the decision; when the shot was taken, Hurtado was on the "shot side" of Blake.  But did it matter?  As in, even properly sighted, would Blake have gotten to the ball?  Columbus not happy but that's their problem.

Playing spin doctor here, remember this was the third match in 8 days and the "kids" were still in Central America playing in the CONCACAF U-20 Championships.  Martinez was serving a one-game suspension for his two yellows on Wednesday.  As we noted last week, a draw here was always about the best outcome possible.  If you take away the PK attempt, the xG differential drops to .3 - .7; as in the U defense wasn't all that bad.  Curtin also trotted out a new formation (5-3-2 or 3-5-2 depending on whether we had the ball - Curtin called it a 3-4-1-2) and he gave Harriel, Uhre and Carranza much of the night off.

The lack of offense and the passing accuracy do need to be addressed though.

The Kids Are More Than Alright (apologies to The Who )

With a 6-0 thrashing of the Dominican Republic the USMNT U-20 team took the CONCACAF U-20 Championships.  Their performance in this competition had two extra benefits - the team is now qualified for the 2023 U-20 World Cup and more importantly, for the 2024 Olympics.  

Paxten Aaronson was indeed No.1 at CONCACAF U-20

The Union's teen crew fingerprints are all over this hardware.  Paxten Aaronson was MVP and leading scorer with seven goals in the tournament.  Quinn Sullivan had six plus three assists.  Jack McGlynn appeared in all seven matches logging 333 minutes while Brandan Craig got 425 minutes in five appearances.  

We awaited with bated breath their return tonight and hope that they add some scoring punch to the Union's attack.

Time to Make Hay?

The Union sit second in the table, two points behind the Harrison Pink Cows but we have game in hand.  There's also a bit of a gap between 1-4 and the rest of the division.  The U's next two matches are DC at home (tonight at 7:30) and Miami away on Wednesday.  DC are 13th in the table while Miami sit in 9th.  This really should be six points but at a minimum, they must get four points from these two matches.  The week after things aren't as easy with a home match vs New England, then Orlando on the road.  Three matches in nine days, four in 16.  A crucial period for the Union.

A busy period yet BFS will probably be silent until 7/29.  This year's World Championships in track and field are in Eugene and we will be there.  A slight chance we'll fire something out before boarding an early morning flight on Friday but definitely nothing the following week.  

A Butting Rivalry

The Union and NYCFC continue to find new ways to dislike each other but the U get the win.  The trip to Chicago wasn't as much fun.  

Twenty Minutes of Chaos

There were plenty of good reasons to be a Subaru Park Sunday night.  Two top teams in the East facing each other, full house, great energy, Brendan Aaronson in the building, and, of course, sausage sandwiches (more on them below).  But the last 20 minutes of the match were chaotic and confusing to those of us in the stands.  Even with some explanatory texts from Dennis, it was not always clear what was happening.

The match to that point had certainly held our interest, even if it wasn't the highest quality football.  These two teams don't like each other and they play like it.  The U had a 1-0 lead thanks to an Elliott to Bedoya to Uhre hook up.  Except for one flurry in the first half, we commented that it looked like the only way NYCFC was going to score was with a PK or maybe a set piece.

Things got a little harder for us to follow when Carranza went down after some contact to the head in the 76th minute.  On comes the trainer - Paul Rushing.  Suddenly, a hockey match breaks out and Rushing is in the middle of it.  We didn't see exactly how it started but Dennis told us that Rushing shoved Acevedo.  Watching the replay on the DVR at home, I saw the NYCFC players getting in Carranza's and the Rushing's faces, claiming Carranza was milking the contact (which is entirely possible).  Rushing had enough and pushed Acevedo twice.  Pretty tame stuff actually.  A few players got yellows but Rushing was the one to see red.  I'm guessing it might have been based on language rather than physical actions. He got a standing O on the way out.  

Unfortunately, a PK was on the way.  Wagner looked to a have blocked a shot on the goal line out for a corner, which was what referee Villareal signaled.  But after some discussion in the corner, the next thing we see is Villareal pointing to the spot.  We thought it was the VAR who intervened but later found out it was the AR who convinced Villareal that it was handling.  You can see the play here (should open to the right spot).  I don't think that's handling because his arm was moving back towards his face as the ball was played and because of how close Wagner was to the kick.  Oh well.  

Burke is the Union player closest to Martinez;
yeah, he is way onside

With the score now tied at 1-1, on we go into seven minutes of stoppage time - the "fight" remember?  Late in stoppage, Martinez took one of those shots he is wont to unload from about 25 yards out.  Usually they go wide or high.  This one was on frame.  Except it deflected off of Corey Burke, past Johnson for the game winner.  But, no, the other AR has this one offside.  Fortunately, the VAR told Villareal he better check this.  As you can see from the picture, Burke wasn't even close to being off; there were at least three plus the keeper behind him.  We didn't get much off a look at the stadium but Dennis said it was looking like a good goal.

Play continued on for a bit, with NYCFC getting the ball into the Union penalty area in the closing seconds.  We see Villareal raise his arm as if he's called full time.  Except he hasn't.  We believe that he is checking with the VAR, for what, we have no idea.  Dennis texts to tell his they're looking at another possible handling call.  Fortunately, the decision is that it wasn't handling and the match over.

So the Union survived being down one trainer to claim all three points in a wildly entertaining, if confusing match.  The win catapulted them past NYCFC and back into first.

The Quintessential Trap Match

After the thrill of the NYCFC win on Sunday, the trip to Chicago to face the last place Fire on Wednesday had all the makings of a trap game.  A short turnaround and a short bench with the kids (McGlynn, Sullivan and Aaronson) away on international duty (U20 CONCACAF) didn't help.  The Przycago squad featured two Union alums in CATSpurr shuhBILLkoh and Fabian Herbers.  Even with the short rest, Curtin started the same XI again.  Except for a few minutes in the first half, there wasn't too much offensive punch.  Chicago weren't much better but did get a goal in the 67th minute.  When Martinez got himself a second yellow at 72 minutes, the nine game unbeaten streak looked in jeopardy.  There was a penalty shout when Burke looked to have been fouled in the box but the claim was dismissed without a trip to the monitor.  The xG was .7 to .5, which tells you pretty much how unexciting this match was.  WL is better than DD but with the NY win already in the bag, WD or WW were on the table.  That was deflating.

Redo the Halftime Talk

On Wednesday, NYCFC was about to head into the locker room down 0-3 at halftime to Cincinnati.  They proceeded to score at 45, 45+2 and 45+7 (a little stoppage time there).  I'm assuming it made Nick Cushing's halftime team talk a lot easier.  NY even came out and took the lead at 52 minutes before Brenner completed his hat trick at 70 minutes to level things.  Sounds like a lot more fun than the Union match.

The draw kept NYCFC from passing the Union in the standings.  However, Montreal did get a road victory at Seattle and sit atop the division.  The Red Bulls got a home win against Atlanta to also move past the Union.  Here's the thing - all three have 29 points but the other two have more wins than the Union.  All those draws hurt the points total but also put them in a weaker position on tie breakers.  Somehow, that seems ironic.  

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

Looks like somebody reads this blog

So last week we posted about the production problems at the sausage sandwich stand behind Section 104 at Subaru Park.  I guess management heard our complaints.  Jeff H and I arrived about 30 minutes before game time to find no line, a full complement of sweet or spicy sausages ready and waiting as well as plenty of peppers and onions.  We got our sandwiches in mere minutes.  The buns were not toasted but everything else was just as you would want.  If I knew it was this easy to get things changed, I'd have said something long ago.  

Newcastle Get Their (Bot)man

This one feels important.  Newcastle had been clear in their desire to sign Sven Botman from Lille but couldn't seem to get the deal over the line; with AC Milan also interested, I was never fully confident this would happen.  The 22 year-old center back will shore up the Magpie defense.  With Targett and Pope previously signed, this has already been a pretty good window.  Adding a winger like Rapinho, Diaby or even Ekitike would make it about as good as we could have asked for.

 

Bucket List Denied

Richarlison is taking his baggage to London

It's no secret that Dennis and I don't like Richarlison.  Not much of team player, an inflated view of his talents and prone to on-field theatrics.  This article makes several of the same points about him.  Dennis has tickets to the July 20th friendly between Minnesota United FC and Everton at Allianz Field and was so looking forward to booing him in person.  Except, Spurs just announced that they have have agreed in principle to a £60 million transfer fee to acquire Richarlison from Everton.  Dennis is not happy, noting "now I am seeing a bad MLS team play a bad EPL team with no upside."

I, on the other hand, am thrilled because I'd seen a few too many articles linking him to Newcastle.  We have dodged that bullet.

Hello Columbus

No rest for the Union as they are back in action Saturday night, again on short rest and again without the kids. Having beaten Costa Rica 2-0 on Tuesday - with Paxten Aaronson scoring both goals - they play Friday night in Honduras, against Honduras in the CONCACAF U20 semi-final.  If they win that one, the final is Sunday.

Though this isn't the best Columbus side, Saturday looks like a tough test for the Union.  In fact, 538 has the Crew favored 42/30/28.  Three would be great but one may be all we should hope for.  That game is 7:30 on PHL.  

Sorry, no book review this week.

Another Tie for Fathers' Day?

 A distressingly familiar scene at Subaru Park.  Lots of talk but no signings Tyneside

Jim Curtin Has Enough Ties Already

Well, it was entertaining - good end to end action.  The 1-1 result with Cincinnati is certainly fair, matching up with what we saw on the field and in the stats.  But there's no way the Union should be getting a home draw with Cincinnati.  Two glaring and consistent issues mark the season to date:

1) Poor pass completion percentage consisting of:

    a) Passes directly to the opposition

    b) Passes made with no recognition that a defender is ready to step into the passing lane

    c) Passes made on the wrong side of the run

2) Lack of a dynamic attack

They only gave up one goal but Blake had his hands full 
with Cincinnati getting 17 shots off

Not a great day for Uhre; he had an unbelievably low 11 touches the whole game.  He did have one decent header chance but fitting for the day, it went wide.  Trying to remember that it took a while for Gazdag to settle in last year.  Uhre has somewhat a similar situation in that he didn't get to the club until after the season began.  

This was the league leading 8th draw for the Union.  On the positive side they remain undefeated at home.  The negative? Just three wins in eight tries in the friendly confines of Subaru Park.  That's too many dropped points at home.

Side note: Ray Gaddis and Haris Medjunanin were in the starting XI for Cincinnati.  Very nice that the usual chant of "Sucks" when their names were announced was quite muted.  Still both respected here.  Relieved that Gaddis did not break his scoreless streak with a goal against us.

No One Wants To See How the Sausage (Sandwich) Is Made

We are big fans of the sausage sandwich at Subaru Park.  A Premio sausage on a fresh roll garnished with fried peppers and onions.  A top five stadium offering.  Conveniently located in the upper concourse right behind our seats.  And the line is never longer than five and is usually just 2-3.

Yet somehow, it takes 15 minutes to get served.  Even if there is sufficient inventory (which rarely happens), it takes 5 minutes from order to delivery.  This is partly because the cashier takes the order and lets the cook do the assembly, even as she's cooking.  The bigger problem though is that they never have enough cooked sausages and garnishes.  Seems like there's never more than 10 or so sausages on the grill, so it doesn't take too many orders to deplete the supply.  Best example came this Saturday when Dennis and I were lucky to get the last of the peppers and onions and we watched as the cook put enough raw items on the grill for about 3 more orders despite there being 4 people behind us.

Yes, it's a slow week when I have to complain about the food prep at Subaru Park.  Maybe it's better the process is slow.  Keeps demand down.  Like Yogi Berra said, it's so crowded nobody goes there anymore.

Names, Names, Names

Still mostly a cavalcade of names being paraded through the media without much real action in the transfer window for Newcastle.  Thursday they did land their second signing of the summer, completing a deal for Burnley keeper Nick Pope.  We do have a decent keeper and Pope is not exactly a youngster at 30.  Also, I've been supportive of Karl Darlow.  Yet, I am okay with this, as Dubravka has missed significant time the last two seasons with injuries and Darlow hasn't been the keeper I thought we had back in 2016.   This feels like an improvement.

Unfortunately, the rest of the news is about supposed negotiations or possibly outright rumors and speculation.  Botman and Ekitike remain the most frequently mentioned.  Hearing Moussa Diaby's name more often.  Still see links to Jesse Lingard and new ones to Gareth Bale.  Also, Richarlison mentioned as alternative to Ekitike - please, please, no.  

Lucy In With the Sky Diamonds (apologies to The Beatles)

I just finished "Manifesto," the autobiography of Dale Vince, who owns the Forest Green Rovers.  A fascinating story of a man who went from a new age traveler to building a windmill on a hill to founding Ecotricity, a green energy company.  Here's a decent synopsis and review of the book.  There's only one chapter on Forest Green, how he brought his principles on energy, food and transport to a football team.  Like the review says, the book is a cross between telling his story and pitching his philosophy.  

The Epilog references a project he was working on at the time of publication - Sky Diamonds, that is making diamonds from the carbon in the sky. I am not making this up.  Since publication, the production of Sky Diamonds has become a reality.  Details on the process are here. 

Side note: Forest Green was promoted to League One and Vince's goal remains getting the club to the Championship Division.

Back to Subaru Park

Sunday evening it's back to Chester for me and Jeff H as we'll watch the Union take on NYCFC.  At 538 they see the match as a dead even - 36% chance for either to win with a 28% chance of a draw.  That feels optimistic to me, although I forget we did beat them 2-0 up in NYC in March.  NYCFC are in first, one point up with a game in hand.  The Union are perched precariously in third, with first definitely in sight but seventh only a bad weekend away.  Hard to imagine they sort out their offensive issues against this team but a 1-1 draw does seem possible. 

Yeah, short post but you got a food review and a book review so there's that.

World Cup in Philly

Certainly a quieter period but there was some important stuff, including World Cup qualifiers, some USMNT matches and the Allentown Over 30 Championships.  And news that The Linc will host some 2026 World Cup matches.

Final Tickets Punched

With a couple of European playoffs and two international playoffs, the last spots in the World Cup line up were filled during this international break.  Wales defeated Ukraine - who had earlier defeated Scotland - to grab the final Europe spot.  This was a tight 1- 0 affair, with the only tally coming when a Bales' free kick was redirected into the net by Yarmolenko for an own goal.  Ukraine actually held a pretty decent statistical advantage; sometimes it's just not your year.  The result means that Wales will be the USMNT's first opponent in the World Cup.  

I didn't see the Australia - Peru playoff but maybe that was for the best.  It featured three shots on target and went to kicks from the spot, which the Aussies won 5-4.  I did see the other international playoff between Costa Rica and New Zealand.  Also, not a goal-laden affair.  Costa Rica got a quick one from Joel Campbell at three minutes and that stood for the entire match.  Biggest takeaway for me was watching Newcastle's Chris Wood see the frustration of his club season carry over to the international level.  He had a goal taken away by VAR for a foul in the build up, saw several good assist possibilities wasted by teammates and missed a few of his own.  

Who Was In the VAR Booth?

VAR says "nyet" to Ukraine PK

Ukraine's luck against Wales was probably worse than I let on above.  Late in the first half, they were arguably hard done by the decision of Mateu Lahoz to not call a penalty against Joe Allen for a potential foul in the box. You can see the play here (should open to 4:04 to see the play).  Certainly the VAR was consulted but Lahoz was not asked to even venture over to the monitor for a second look.  I thought it was a foul.  Makes you wonder who might have been in booth.  

USMNT Active

Hello Muddah, hello Faddah,wish we could play
against Grenada; Pulisic in the mire (Getty Images)

They had four matches over the break - friendlies with Morocco and Uruguay and Nations League
contests ("glorified friendlies?) with Grenada and El Salvador.  I missed the 3-0 win over Morocco which featured a goal from Medford's own Brenden Aaronson.  The 0-0 draw with Uruguay seemed like a useful experience.  This was a good test against a top ranked (13th) team.  The 5-0 rout of Grenada was expected and frankly didn't offer enough of a challenge to help in the WC prep.  The El Salvador match probably had some value in that regard.  Not that El Salvador are that highly ranked but it was a road match against a team that doesn't like us in absolutely ridiculous conditions (mud and downpour).  The US fell behind in the late in the first half and their prospects didn't look so good after Arriola was sent off - incorrectly in our opinion - with a straight red.  They still had the run of play and when Costa Rica had a defender sent off for DOGSO, you felt like a draw was important.  And they got it, courtesy of a nice header from Jordan Morris, his first goal since returning from surgery. 

A decidedly mixed bag for the window.  Biggest thing I saw was even better performances from Musah.  I've always liked his game but it seemed like he stepped it up a notch.

Hardware for Sportif Allentown

Sportif Allentown celebrate - Dennis is third from left in the back

We traveled up the Northeast Extension (I-476 for you younger readers) to see Dennis and his Over 30 team play for the league championship.  Clearly not a neutral here but I thought his team had the run of play but simply couldn't convert.  They finally got a tally mid-way through the second half but the lead was short-lived.  The prospect of two 10-minute sudden death periods, or worse, kicks from the spot loomed.  Fortunately there was a handball in the box and the PK was converted in the 84th minute.  No controversy about the call; it was so obvious, the offender's teammates yelled at him, not the  referees.  

Dennis scored an important goal in the semis but in this one his contributions were good runs, some that were seen, others not.  In a way, he contributed to the first goal, as he was standing at the center line ready to replace the guy who scored the goal; good thing he didn't get in right away.

All Things Considered, FIFA Would Rather Be In Philadelphia

Or Boston, Miami, New York/New Jersey (you can't fool us, it's Secaucus), or Toronto.   Actually, those are just the cities in the Eastern group; there are Central and Western venues.  The full list is here.  Knowing how FIFA works, we can only hope that there were no bribes involved and that we won on the merits.  

Farrah vs Bolt

Wait, how does a 10k man face off against a sprinter?  In a charity soccer event that's how.   BFS Track and Field Consultant Jack W sends along this article about a fun event at London's Olympic Stadium.  We like both athletes, though we note that Farrah is an Arsenal fan.  

EPL Fixtures Released

You can see the full list here.  Highlights include that each team will play 38 matches, two against each team, one home and one away.  

Another highlight is that the English Football Association asked the EPL not to schedule matches between top six clubs on the final weekend before the World Cup starts.  Their thinking was that a large percentage of the English national team players come from these clubs and they were hoping not to have a tough contest right before the world tournament.  Part of me gets that but as Dennis noted, it looks like more effin' Big Six privilege.

Back to Subaru

Things will actually get even lighter now that the international break is over.  All we got for a while is MLS.  Dennis and I will be at Subaru Park on Saturday night as the Union take on Cincinnati FC; that's 7:30 on PHL 17 I think for those who can't make it down to the park.  I'll also be there a week from Sunday when the U take on NYCFC.  That should be fun.