Three Points Is (Are?) Three Points

Merino sends home the game winner (from EPL website)

Newcastle played like crap, well maybe except for the last 20 minutes after Merino, Diame and Mitrovic came in for Hayden, Perez and Joselu.  But Crystal Palace were worse, managing exactly no shots on goal.  The stats say Newcastle pass completion was 80% but sure didn’t seem like that to me.  This was tepid stuff, not even Championship Division quality.   But another Matt Ritchie corner, this time to Mikel Merino in the 86th minute, was enough for a 1-0 win and three points.  They surely would have lost a match like this before Benitez.  His substitutions rescued the result and they play with more confidence even if things aren’t going smoothly. So we take the three points and move on.

That said, let us not get ahead of ourselves too much.  The schedule has been generous, they are not blowing these weaker sides out of the water and in fact could be considered lucky to have the point total they do.  We got the three points Saturday but the way they played it could have been one or even zero.  Which is why a sale is so critical.  If Ashley is still the owner at the start of the new year, the net transfer spend in January will be zero, meaning Benitez will have to address the lack of quality finishing by selling players.  The stakes seem incredible right now; this is a franchise possibly poised to return as a force in the EPL but which, without a change in ownership, will be doomed to many more years of life in the relegation zone.

Sorry, no Amanda Staveley pictures this week...

Failure Cross the Mersey (Musical Accompaniment courtesy Gerry & the Pacemakers)

Not a good weekend Merseyside.   Tottenham/Harry Kane pounced early and often against the beleaguered Liverpool backline and had a 2-0 lead by 12 minutes.  Salah’s goal at 24 minutes provided some hope of a more competitive affair but Dele’s late first half tally squelched that.  Liverpool looked mostly demoralized/disinterested in the second half; the 4-1 final score does not flatter Spurs. 

Oh but things were worse for Everton.  Midweek in Europa League action, they had an ugly 1-2 home loss to Olympique Lyonnais in which a hockey game broke out, complete with a fan throwing punches at one of the French players.  In Sunday’s match with Arsenal, also at Goodison Park, the Toffees got off to a great start thanks to a laser from Wayne Rooney.  But by 53 minutes they were down 1-2 and Idrissa Gueye’s second yellow pretty much sealed things.  The final was 2-5 and the whole thing just looked bad for a franchise of Everton’s reputation.  Ronald Koeman was sacked the next day.  My distaste for that as an remedy is well-known but this side was not gelling and the team looked disorganized and undisciplined; those are issues that are certainly the manager’s responsibility.

Speaking of disinterested play, Man United came up short at Huddersfield and fully earned the 1-2 defeat.  The Terriers got two first half goals, Man United didn’t get on the board until the 78th minute and I don’t recall much of a creative or urgent performance from the Red Devils.  So they drop five behind Man City, who dominated Burnley but took some time putting the pesky Clarets away 3-0.  Chelsea – Watford was a great watch and the 4-2 final score doesn’t tell the story well.  Chelsea had a 1-0 lead but the Hornets rallied to take a 2-1 lead.  Chelsea leveled and a draw was looking a likely result until Azpilicueta  put the Blues in front at 87 minutes.  A stoppage time goal from Batshuayi makes the result seem more decisive but this was a close match. 

Not much to recommend in the "featured" Southampton – West Brom match on NBC, except that it provided this week’s YouTubeable Moment.  Watch this solo run from Boufal.  I think my favorite part is when he gets two West Brom defenders to collide into each other.

Union Finale

Okay, that wasn’t exactly Orlando’s first team but still – 6-1?  Two for Sapong so he gets the club record for goals in a season.  Brian Carroll got a nice, unsolicited tribute when he walked out on the field, then a more formal one in a pre-game ceremony.  Not sure if he was in Curtin’s plan for the day or the blowout created the opportunity but Carroll did come in for the second half.  Fun to hear the crowd yell “shoot” any time he touched the ball, even if he was in the Union half.  A good day to be there but it would have been more fun if this had been a tune up for the playoffs. 

Jeff H and I compiled a list of some things that did go right for the Union this year:

- Ashli Rice singing The Star Spangled Banner at most home matches
- Mad Beatz Philly drumline outside the stadium and on the field before home matches
- the sausage sandwiches

Okay, maybe Jack Elliott's rookie season and C.J. Sapong's scoring record should be on the list too. 

Playoffs?  Playoffs?

I hope Toronto’s Supporters Shield doesn’t get diminished by whatever they do or don’t do in the playoffs.  At 69 points, 12 points up on the closest pursuer, can we acknowledge that Toronto are far and away the best side in MLS this year?  Good on whoever wins the MLS Cup but that’s such a crap shoot compared to dominating over six months.    

First round matches featured a very mild upset by the Red Bulls over Chicago; the upset was probably more the way that New Jersey dominated play in the 4-0 win.  The other match was a blowout too, with Vancouver sending San Jose packing 5-0.  And exactly how did San Jose make the playoffs anyway?  Their goal differential was a whopping minus 21!  Looking at results, they tended to win close and lose big, getting beat by three (or more) many times.  Atlanta - Columbus was an intriguing 0-0 draw, with the Crew advancing on kicks from the spot.  Houston slipped by KC in the final knockout match.  

Designated Players

Digging a little deeper into Taylor Twellman's view that designated players (DPs) could be all the Union need to become a competitive side, I got list of all the designated players and their Audi player ratings from the MLS website.  I have to say he's onto something.

First, let's look at the numbers per team.  The Union had just one DP (Alejandro Bedoya) who actually appeared in any games; Maurice Edu is also a DP but he didn't play at all.  Two teams - DC United and Minnesota - had no DPs; they both finished with fewer points than the Union.  Three teams had two DPs - Colorado, FC Dallas and Montreal; of those three, only FC Dallas had more points than the Union.  That means 16 teams had the maximum of three DPs.  Of those, only two - Los Angeles and Montreal - finished behind Philadelphia.

Next, I looked at the Audi ratings for the DPs and how they ranked within their team.  Of the 55 DPs, Bedoya's rating was 37th.  He was the 6th highest rated player on the Union, behind Blake, McCarthy (not a joke - he was superb filling in for Blake), Sapong, Medunjanin and Onyewu.  More than half of the other DPs were either the 1st, 2nd or 3rd highest rated player on their squad.  So most teams had 1) more DPs and 2) DPs that were typically the teams stars.  This is not saying Bedoya is a bad player, just that almost every other team got way more out of the DP process than the Union.  Of course, I can find an exception; Montreal had 2 DPs who were easily the team's two best players but they finished three behind the Union.  On balance though, the argument looks pretty good.

Is the Union so cash poor that it can't afford to do what nearly every other franchise in MLS does with respect to designated players?  

Remember to Turn the Clocks Back (if you live in England)

We're heading into that two week period when we're only four hours behind so don't forget to take that into account in your viewing habits.

Newcastle head to Turf Moor for a tough match against Burnley.  Curiously, the Clarets have actually been better on the road than at home this year but I still think this is going to be a difficult fixture for Newcastle.  They are close in the table (Newcastle ahead by just a point) and their scoring stats are very similar.  Reminds me of an NFC East matchup - intense, competitive, not necessarily pretty to watch.  I would be happy with a draw here.  That's at 4 pm on Monday on NBCSN.

The weekend has a great match to start - Spurs going to Old Trafford at 7:30 Saturday on NBCSN.  Man United are a bit off right now.  Tottenham appeared to be on fire but curiously surrendered a 2-0 lead to (gulp) West Ham in a mid-week League Cup match.  Michael B reminds me this was the fixture that put him into a funk last year on the Sunday we were in Newcastle watching the match at the Akenside Bar.  He has reason to hope for better this time.

For me the most interesting 10 am match is the London derby featuring Crystal Palace - West Ham.  Slaven Bilic did not get the dreaded vote of confidence after last week's blowout loss to Brighton (and Hove Albion) but his tenure is hanging by thread.  It's possible that the League Cup win over Spurs buys him more time but a loss to Palace might be the end for him.  That's on Universo if you get that station.  West Brom looks like more fodder for Man City unless complacency wins out; that's on NBCSN.  The EPL website lists two matches on CNBC at 10 - Liverpool v Huddersfield and Watford - Stoke; hoping it's the former as that seems the more interesting of the two.  Saturday concludes with Chelsea traveling to Bournemouth for 12:30 featured match on NBC.  

Sunday's contests at the later 9:30 and 12 times are Brighton - Southampton and Leicester - Everton.  Caretaker manager David Unsworth, in his second spell in that role for Everton, already has a loss under his belt (League Cup defeat to Chelsea) while Claude Puel will be managing his first game for Leicester.  

Plenty of MLS playoff matches if you're into that kind of thing.  The first leg of the four conference semi-final series will be spread out between Sunday, Monday and Tuesday on ESPN or FS1.  Check your local listings as they say.  I'll be focusing on the Toronto - Red Bulls match up.  Could be a classic case of hot team that maybe underachieved causing fits for the Supporters Shield winner.

All I Want For Christmas

Decent news on the pitch for Newcastle but possibly even better stuff happening off the field as the likelihood of a sale before the end of the year increases.  Some interesting EPL results as well.


Good Draw

I'm going with the glass 3/4 full view for the Magpies 2-2 draw with Southampton.  Yeah, maybe it could have been a 2-1 win if not for Florian LeJeune's brain cramp of a foul in the box.  But overall they played well and Newcastle's history at the Little Stadium of Horrors (St. Mary's Stadium) says it was a good point to get.  The Saints were pressing hard so there's no guarantee Newcastle don't surrender the tying goal late even without LeJeune's mistake anyway.  Nice to see 1) great work rate from Perez and 2) a goal for him.  I'd say overall it was pretty good viewing for the neutral - a tight, competitive match and the non-PK goals were top quality.  In fact, we going with a Newcastle goal - Isaac Hayden's blast from the top of the box - for this week's YouTubeableMoment.


Not Rumors Anymore

Next Newcastle owner?

Reports have Amanda Staveley (right) making a £300 million bid (plus a commitment to spend £150 million in the next two transfer windows).  Today's reports say she has signed a non-disclosure agreement which would allow due diligence to proceed.  There is reported interest from Russian, Chinese and Turkish parties as well.  Ashley has indicated he wants out by the end of the year.  This would be a good thing since he has indicated there will be no money for the January transfer window under his ownership.  Whether a deal can actually be completed this quickly is not clear.  One can only hope.



Don't Look Now But...

Watford, after a 2-1 win over Arsenal, are now fourth in the table, ahead of bigger names like Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal.  Another great game for the neutral with the Hornets scoring the winner in stoppage time - off the foot of one of Dennis' all-time favorites, Tom Cleverley (jk).  But the bigger upset of the weekend was clearly Crystal Palace taking the measure of Chelsea.  The Eagles are no longer goalless, pointless or winless after the 2-1 result at Selhurst Park.  Their first tally was actually on own goal and Chelsea responded fairly quickly with one of their own.  Wilfired Zaha, returning from injury, got the game winner late in the first half.  Gotta love the Crystal Palace faithful, who were in full throat for the entire match.

Looking around at other draws last weekend, sometimes it's hard to say who is happier.  Jurgen Klopp must be thrilled that his Liverpool side kept Man United off the scoreboard but slightly disappointed that all he got was a 0-0 draw.  Can't think that Mourinho saw much to be pleased with for his side.  Leicester grabbed a late draw from West Brom via an 80th minute goal from Mahrez.  We're going to put this in the category of a bad draw since the Foxes manager, Craig Shakespeare, was sacked after the match.  Everton must consider themselves lucky to sneak away from the coast with a point after needing a PK in stoppage time to rescue a 1-1 draw with Brighton.  And Hove Albion.  That result won't do much to take the pressure off of Ronald Koeman.  And lastly, Sean Dyche can't be too pleased with Burnley's 1-1 draw at home to West Ham given that his side played a man up for over 60 minutes.  Still, the result leaves The Clarets seventh in the table, ahead of all expectations at this point.

At the top end of the table, Tottenham got a workmanlike 1-0 win at home versus Bournemouth to stay third in the table.  Man City pasted Stoke 7-2, padding their already gaudy goal differential and opening a two point gap over Man United.


At Least They Didn't Have Their Flip-flops On

Full credit to the Union squad, who have nothing to play for at this point but pride or perhaps ensuring a spot on next year's team.  On the road against the Chicago Fire, they fell behind quickly but rallied to take a 2-1 lead.  Check out the soft touch from Bedoya on the Union's second goal; at Jeff H's insistence, we'll make this the YouTubeableMoment - MLS Division.  Alas, Chicago is just a better side and quality will out.  Jack Elliott surrendered a PK (actually his second mistake of the game - but really he has been one thing that went right for the Union this season) and then the Fire got the game winner in the 78th minute with Nikolic completing his hat trick.  Good effort but no result for the Union.  We note sadly that in 2015 the Union finished seven points ahead of Chicago but this year are 16 points behind the Fire.


European Playoffs

The draw for the European WC qualifying playoffs was held on Tuesday.  Here are the match-ups:

Northern Ireland - Switzerland
Croatia - Greece
Denmark - Ireland
Sweden - Italy

Each is a two game series with the winner on aggregate score advancing to the World Cup.  The games will be played in early November.


The Weekend

Well, I finally have to plunk down the $50 for NBCSN Gold as the Newcastle - Crystal Palace match is not on TV.  A hearty thank you to Chelsea for letting the Crystal Palace get their first win last week so at least the Eagles don't come to St. James' Park looking for their first goal or result.  Still, the Magpies better not be overconfident.  Anything less than three points here is a bad result.

Sunday has a good double header.  Clear underachievers Everton host an arguably underachiever Arsenal at 8:30 followed by Tottenham - Liverpool at Wembley at 11.  Both are on NBCSN.  Saturday's fare is somewhat less enticing though Chelsea - Watford has some potential (7:30 NBCSN).  Both Manchester sides are on at 10 am - City take on Burnley (CNBC) while United travel to Huddersfield (NBCSN).  Huddersfield surrendered two more in a loss to Swansea last weekend and have scored more than only Bournemouth and Crystal Palace.  The "featured" NBC match at 12:30 on Saturday is Southampton - West Brom; actually, it might be an interesting, competitive match between two mid-table teams.  For those looking for an excuse to blow off work early on Friday, West Ham is hosting Michael B's beloved Siegels Seagulls at 3 pm on NBCSN.

I'll be at Talen Energy Stadium on Sunday to see the Union conclude their season against Orlando.  Neither have much to play but here's hoping the Union put in the same effort as last week.

Oh wait, if I don't mention Tottenham's 1-1 at Real Madrid in the Champions League, Micheal B will be all over my case. 

Yankee Stay Home

Perhaps the title of last week's post should have been "Wither the USMNT."  Certainly they stepped up with a good effort in the 4-0 win at home against Panama but Tuesday's sleepy 1-2 performance against Trinidad & Tobago simply wasn't good enough.  Combined with wins by Honduras and Panama, the US will being watching next year's World Cup on TV.

Pulisic's reaction says it all (ASHLEY ALLEN / GETTY IMAGES)

Despite the 4-0 scoreline, the US performance against Panama was not flawless.  They did take advantage of Panama's defense, which was "shambolic" in the words of commentator Ian Darke.  But the US defending was nothing to write home about either; Kasey Keller labeled it "laxical," which it was, even if it is not a word.  Tuesday's effort was inexplicably awful.  Don't blame the field (hilarious though that the pump draining the last of the water that had flooded the pitch was louder than the crowd).  Don't blame the short turnaround (the team had clicked on Friday and it made sense to go with the same group of players).  Still at a loss as to how they couldn't at least get a draw.

So now everybody should expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition.  Bruce Arena was a caretaker manager for the rest of this WC cycle so he was leaving anyway.  Bucknellian Sunil Gulati is unlikely to be reelected to lead US Soccer next February.  But the changes likely have to run much deeper than that.  We have a lot of people playing soccer; don't have the figures but it has to be way more than we had in, say the 80s.  Why aren't we producing more top level players from that expanded pool?  I realize that basketball and football take away a huge chunk of talent but that can't be the only thing.  One potential reason is addressed in this article from June 2016; I might have chosen "rich" instead of "white" as the defining characteristic but the point ends up being the same.  I should probably do a more thorough analysis of this but it sure seems to me that the teams ahead of us in the Hex table have plenty of MLS players on their roster.  In other words, we're not getting beat by sides that depend on professionals from the European league. 

As things were unraveling on Tuesday night I started to wonder if it would be better if the US didn't even get into the play-in series with Australia.  Kind of like Newcastle getting relegated in 2016.  This is a sign that you can't keep doing things the way you have been for the last 15+ years.  We came a long way between 1986 and 2002 but things seem to have stagnated since then.  Of course this is really painful lessen but maybe it is necessary.


Shaqiri and Madonna Share the Stage

A boatload of critical matches for the final rounds of group play in Europe.  The Portugal-Switzerland match featured Shaqiri on the pitch for the Swiss and Madonna in the stands rooting for the Portuguese. (Her son is now enrolled at the prestigious Benfica soccer academy.)  A win or draw for the Swiss would have given them the automatic berth but they looked pretty listless in a 0-2 loss that means Portugal is in.

How about that Iceland side?  Friday, they got a big win in Turkey at the same time Croatia stumbled through a draw with Finland.  All the Vikings had to do was handle Kosovo at home on Monday - which they did 2-0 - and they punched their ticket to Russia.  Croatia will be left to survive a playoff series.

WDDDDDWWWL is not Welsh for "we are not going to the World Cup this year" but rather their sequence of results in European WC qualifying.  They had a great run, losing just once in 10 matches but that tense 0-1 loss to Ireland in the final contest sends the Irish, not Wales, to a playoff spot.  Scotland's draw with Slovenia meant that Slovakia will be heading to the playoffs.  Northern Ireland closed with two losses but will still be in the playoffs.  So the tally for the Four Countries in That Country is one in for sure (England), one still alive (Northern Ireland) and two out (Scotland and Wales).

Netherlands didn't make it either.  A third place finish in Group A means they'll be home for the WC.  Italy lost just once in group play but had the misfortune to be in the same group as Spain so they have to make it through a playoff series as well.  The draw for that playoff series is Tuesday with the matches to be played in November.


No Picnic in South America

Very tough to make it out of CONMEBOL qualifying.   Only Brazil had a spot going into the final two matches and there had been a lot of shuffling of places throughout the process. When the music stopped and the chairs were filled, Chile was the one left standing without a ticket.  Another pretty good squad, Ecuador, is also staying home.   Uruguay and Argentina finished well to take 2nd and 3rd behind Brazil.  Colombia kind of limped home with a loss and a draw but still finished 4th.  Peru managed two draws in the final match days and grabbed the playoff spot. 

And another thing...look at the heavyweights that can't make it out of the European and South American confederations WC qualifying, then look at CONCACAF.  Makes you realize how far behind the US really is.    If you can't win the Ivy League title, you ain't ready for the Bowl Series Division.  Jeff H has suggested a losers' friendly series, an NIT of the World Cup if you will.  Certainly we could have the US, Netherlands, Chile and Ghana.  The European playoff losers could help fill out the brackets. 

Joy in Mudville

Somewhere the sun was shining and you can find any number of great videos of fans reacting to their country qualifying for the WC.  My favorite so far is this guy getting down on his knees as Mo Salah's PK in stoppage time sent Egypt to the WC for the first time since 1990.  Hey, who among us hasn't watched a match in pajamas?  Here's the actual play; pretty good call by the commentator, who might actually be crying.


Did I Miss Anything in Newcastle?

Um, apparently I did.  First there was a training ground dust-up in which Jamaal Lascelles was trading punches with Mo Diame and Jon Jo Shelvey tried to play peacemaker (I am not making this up) only to get a broken finger for his efforts.  Despite media efforts to make a big deal of it, not sure there's a big problem here.  More importantly, the rumors and speculation of an impending sale of Newcastle are rampant. Details can be had here.  Apparently as many as four groups are interested.  Why yes, now that you mention it, Amanda Staveley is quite attractive; I hadn't noticed.  Unfortunately that's not a characteristic I'd be looking for in an owner.  My concern is a willingness to do what it takes to make Newcastle the club it should be.  The Magpies could be a real bargain at about $400 million.  I heard Liverpool would sell for about a billion. 


Chester-on-Delaware

Better known as the Union, they didn't play over the international break but managed to be eliminated from playoff contention anyway as the Red Bulls beat Vancouver over the weekend to wrap up the last spot.  If MLS was more like Europe without the conference setup, the Union would sit 17th in the table of 22 teams.  If three were relegated each year, they would be safe but not by much.  In EPL terms, this is a lower table side and you'd be hard pressed to find many positives about this season. We'll save a post mortem on them for a few weeks. 


Chester (FM version)

My apparently undisciplined managerial style (to some anyway) resulted in a 2-0 win at St. James' Park in which we limited the Magpies to one shot on goal.  That we only got two goals is a tribute to the Newcastle keeper and maybe all we could expect against a side that played four in the back plus a sweeper to try to slow us down.  We also got a 5-1 win vs St. Pat's Athletic in Champions League group play using mostly second team players. 


Weekend

Feels like forever since the EPL played.  If you're motivated or don't have a life, you can catch seven of the 10 matches this weekend without even having to resort to streaming.  Not saying they're all classics though.

Newcastle have a tough fixture as they head to the coast to take on Southampton Sunday at 11 (NBCSN).  The Saints haven't been setting the league on fire and have just five goals in seven matches; they've been held scoreless in four.  But they don't give up a lot either.  The EPL website notes that Newcastle have failed to keep a clean sheet at St Mary's Stadium in 26 visits dating back to 1969 and that Rafa is 0-0-3 in previous trips here.  Yeah, I'd be happy with a draw.

Saturday's 7:30 match (NBCSN) has second place Man United taking on Liverpool at Enfield.  This a big test for Liverpool's defense; was Klopp able to address some of their issues over the break?  You have a choice at 10 am - Crystal Palace vs Chelsea at Selhurst Park (NBCSN) or Spurs-Bournemouth at Wembley (CNBC).  Palace's woes have been well-chronicled and it's hard to see how playing Chelsea is a good thing for them.  Spurs have the quality to handle the Cherries, though maybe they will have to imagine they're playing somewhere other than Wembley.  Saturday's viewing concludes with Arsenal traveling to Watford for the 12:30 NBC match; though the Hornets are a surprising 8th in the table and have just one loss, only West Ham and Crystal Palace have surrendered more goals.

Everton take their troubles to the coast to face the Brighton.  And Hove Albion.  On paper the Toffees are favored but that hasn't helped them much this season.  That's at 8:30 Sunday on NBCSN.  You can also catch the Leicester-West Brom match at 3 pm on Monday on NBCSN.

Michael B would probably get on my case if I didn't mention Atletico Madrid is hosting Barcelona on Saturday.  Probably a good match if you're into that league...

Whither the USMNT

CONCACAF qualifiers for the World Cup end this week with matches on Friday and Saturday.  The US will take on Panama in Orlando on Friday at 7 pm on ESPN2 and then travel to Trinidad & Tobago Tuesday for an 8 pm match on beIN Sports.  ESPN has a simple synopsis of the situation here.  The short analysis is that two wins for the USMNT gets them no worse than third place and an automatic ticket to Russia.  A draw with Panama on Friday opens up all kinds of unpleasant scenarios ranging from needing to play a team from Asia to being out of the World Cup altogether.  The odds still look pretty good but this cycle has been way harder than recent years.  Happy to see that DeAndre Yedlin will be back on the right side either as a fullback or wingback; this has been a problem spot and they were much better in the matches in which Yedlin occupied this position.

The South America qualifying situation is pretty tight with only Brazil having assured a spot at the table.  Several of the matches will be on beIN Sports on Thursday at 4, 6 and 7:30.  Curiously, and unfortunately, the most interesting match - Argentina vs Peru - is only available on beIN Sports en espanol.  Good matches on Tuesday too, including Peru vs Colombia; all of those matches start at 7:30 but I don't know the TV coverage (beIN has the US match at 8).  This analysis from goal.com walks you through the various scenarios.

And there'll be several matches for the European qualifiers too.  Your best bet there is online ESPN3 but you can catch a few on Fox Sports.  Sunday has Slovenia-Scotland (FS2) and on Monday there's Wales-Northern Ireland at 2:45, also on FS2.


A Good Result

Newcastle's Joselu scores the equalizer against Liverpool 

Maybe Newcastle were a little lucky to walk away with 1-1 draw against Liverpool.  The fivethirtyeight metrics suggest Liverpool did not do well with the opportunities they created while Newcastle didn't create that many.  Definitely agree on the latter but I thought the Magpies defended pretty well, absent maybe Ciaran Clark's miskick.  Liverpool did have 17 shots but just two were on target.  Yedlin certainly made a game saving tackle coming from nowhere to squelch what looked like a golden opportunity for the Reds.  Somebody else (Lascelles?) cleared one off the line.  Wijnaldum hit the post.  As I think about it, Newcastle probably were lucky to come away with the point.  And getting just one goal and limited chances against the suspect Liverpool defense doesn't speak well of our attacking game.  But we already knew that was an issue.  Whatever, this was a game we surely would have lost in the last few years so something is going right.  Maybe we'll turn out to have a solid, lower mid-table side that doesn't have to sweat through a relegation battle.  That's a start.


Damage Report No. 1

Patrick Stewart reacts to another Spurs tally

Jean Luc Picard's team took it on the chin in a 0-4 defeat at home to Spurs.  Harry Kane got two more and Tottenham's win here was never in doubt.  They looked right at home, certainly more so than they do in their own home park.  Huddersfield surrendered more in one afternoon than they had all season.  The Man City-Chelsea was marquee match up was decent enough - at least the winner was a high quality strike from Kevin deBruyne; we'll make his goal the week's YouTubeableMoment; if you want to torment a Chelsea fan, send him this video with the goal from like 15 different angles.

Who's got it worse - Crystal Palace or Everton?  So Crystal Palace already had five defeats and then looked at their upcoming fixtures to see Man City, Man United and Chelsea as their next three matches.  That's some cruel scheduling.  Man United did not save their fire power for late this time and were up 1-0 by the 3rd minute.  It was 3-0 by early in the second half and the only thing left to watch for was whether the Eagles might get their first goal of the season.  Didn't happen so the ledger reads seven losses, seventeen goals allowed and none scored.

But consider Everton, which spent a gazillion dollars this last transfer window, languishing at 16th in the table with just four goals scored in seven matches.  The recent 0-1 defeat to Burnley at home means the Toffees have four losses in five matches.  To be fair, there was Chelsea, Tottenham and Man United in that sequence but Burnley?  Apparently Lukaku was less expendable than they thought.  Is it an issue of bringing in quality players without regard to how they fit in as a team?  Crystal Palace you felt might struggle but this was not expected and is probably all the more frustrating to the Everton ownership and fans.


Not Dead Yet

The Union came up with a very solid performance against Seattle.  The 2-0 win combined with the Red Bulls loss to Toronto means they are not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.  The Bulls do play over the international break so a win at home over Vancouver would mean it's over before the Union get to play again.  But for now, we're in the same boat as Lloyd Christmas.


Seriously?

Our favorite Football Manager side - Chester - has won all eight EPL contests, won its initial league cup match and sits atop its group in the Champions League play.  Everybody is getting decent playing time and injuries are minimal.  Everything is peachy, right?  So my top player, Bernardo, who has been the playmaker we hoped for, says he is having trouble settling in at Chester.  Next, some of the players think our top scorer, Perez, is full of himself; others are getting down on those that are dissing Perez.  And now a key defender has gone to the press to say the club lacks discipline.   I'm not even sure what his beef is.  We don't have an issue with excessive fouling or accumulation of cards.  People aren't skipping practice; the last time that happened I immediately fined the player.  Geez.


What Would You Do?

Not a metaphorical depiction of Crystal Palace's season.
This is the taxi in which Aguero was a passenger.

Among the multitude of injuries plaguing Man City is the loss of Aguero for up to four weeks due to broken ribs sustained in a car crash.  Aguero was not the driver; he was in a taxi on the way to the airport.  So it's not his fault right?  Except here's a few more details.  He was in Amsterdam on Thursday night to attend a concert, with the critical match versus Chelsea on Saturday morning.  There's been much discussion about whether this is cool or not.  His manager Pep Guardiola, at least publicly, says he's fine with it, just bad luck.  I was surprised how strongly I reacted the other way.  What the f#^& is he doing flying to concert with a big match like coming up in less than 48 hours?  I'm not saying he should have been home in bed - I'd be fine if he went out to the local pub for a beer.  But international travel?  Man, talk about managerial discipline...


I close with this message from USMNT coach Bruce Arena.  Thank goodness the match isn't in Harrison NJ.

Back to Reality

A poor outing from Newcastle but some pretty good viewing otherwise...


Championship Level Finishing

 Tomer Hemed scores the winner past Newcastle’s Robert Elliot.
Photograph: Craig Mercer/CameraSport via Getty Images

And of course the Magpies stumble on the coast, losing 0-1 to Brighton.  And Hove Albion.  Newcastle were not awful and fivethirtyeight metrics suggest this was a very close contest.  This one came down to whose finishing was the least bad, with the only goal a scraggly looking corner that bounced around a few times.  Yes, both teams looked like they are playing in the Premier League with Championship Division quality finishing.  Joselu, Gayle and Perez aren't bad given what we paid, but they are simply not going to convert chances at the same rate as higher priced players. Not a disastrous result and maybe instructive if Ashley et al get that until this problem with finishing is addressed, the relegation threat will remain.


Brighton may be turning into a favorite of Michael B's with their Jewish owner (Tony Bloom) and Israeli striker, Hemed.  But just to clarify Michael, their nickname is the Seagulls, not the Siegels.


Return of Scoring

And not just the "Man" sides.  Saturday started brightly with Spurs 3-2 win over West Ham.  Tottenham built a 3-0 lead with two more from Harry Kane, then had to hang on after Aurier was sent off with a second yellow.  Great stuff for the neutral but probably white knuckle time for Spurs fans.  Even better was Leicester-Liverpool.  Coutinho helped Liverpool to a 2-0 lead, first with an pinpoint cross to set up Salah, then a laser of a free kick.  Either could have been this week's YouTubeableMoment but we'll go with the free kick.  But with Liverpool's defending this was not a safe lead.  First Okazaki got one back in first half stoppage time. After Henderson made it 3-1 Vardy responded immediately to make it 3-2.  Mignolet then fouled Vardy in the box and we were looking at a level match.  Except Vardy did his power shot up the middle and Mignolet stopped it.  So it ended 3-2 for Liverpool but Klopp sure has some work to do.

I flipped back and forth between the Chelsea-Stoke and Man City-Crystal Palace.  The Citizens did look a little lax and then tight through 44 minutes until Sane broke the ice.  Then the rout was on and the final there was 5-0, leaving the Eagles pointless and goalless through six matches with a -16 goal differential.  Chelsea got on Stoke early and that was a 4-0 match that wasn't all that interesting.

Probably better viewing would have been Everton-Bournemouth, where the Toffees were trailing 0-1 through 76 minutes.  This would have been a potentially devastating loss.  But then Oumar "Pain" Niasse rallied Everton with two goals in five minutes for a big comeback win that may quiet things Merseyside for at least a little while.

Arsenal continued to get healthy, albeit on lesser lights, but I'm sure the 2-0 win over West Brom was satisfactory.  Man United kept pace with City (though not on goal differential) with 1-0 win at Southampton.  That match featured Mourinho's 9th sending off, this time for entering the pitch.  Though he denied it, the video was pretty clear; why not just say it was an emotional moment and I lost track of my location instead of denying something so easily proved?  Ah, the Special One.  He didn't get a touch line ban for this transgression.  Huddersfield posted another clean sheet but the 0-0 draw with Burnley may not have been a thriller; the Terriers have ceded just three goals so far this season.


Not Going to Make It

On Saturday, the Union came up with a sterling performance against the Chicago Fire to keep the flickering play-off hopes alive. But an 0-3 road loss to Atlanta on Wednesday put the chances on life support.  In the Chicago match, Chris Pontius ended his season-long scoring drought with a pair of goals and CJ Sapong got his 14th to tie the Union record held by Sebastien LeToux from the team's inaugural season.  The 3-1 final fairly reflects the Union dominance.  I didn't get to see the Atlanta match but Jeff H says we weren't awful; metrics from fivethirtyeight suggest it was a little closer than the score indicates.  So now we're seven behind the Red Bulls with three to play.  Any combination of three points gained by them or dropped by the Union and the deed is done.

Did you notice that in the East, four of six playoff berths are sewn up but in the West, no one has clinched a spot yet?


Schedule

Big home match for Newcastle on Sunday as they take on Liverpool at St. James' Park (11:30 NBCSN).  Not feeling very confident about this one.  In theory, even the Magpies should be able to get a goal or two against this defense.  On the other hand, this will be likely the toughest test for the Newcastle defense since the opener against Spurs.  I'll be on tape delay, leaving for the Union match with Seattle at just around kick-off time helping Mackenzie move into her new apartment.

Saturday's first match looks interesting with Spurs traveling to Huddersfield for a 7:30 match on NBCSN.  As we mentioned earlier, the Terriers have been stingy with the goals but maybe they haven't seen the likes of Harry Kane yet.

Chelsea at Stamford Bridge hosting Man City is the week's top match and gets the 12:30 spot on Saturday, though it's on NBCSN for some reason.  Between them, the two sides have 33 goals and allowed just seven.  Hope it's not a bust.

The continuing car crash that is Crystal Palace's season moves on to Old Trafford.  What a prospect, six straight losses, no goals, and now they get to face Man United at home.  For those who simply can't turn away, that's at 10 am Saturday on NBCSN.  We will note that Admiral Ackbar wasn't totally off-base with his warning to Man City last week as they struggled for almost the entire first half.  Man United would do well to heed his words.  Everton will try to stay on course with a home match against Burnley.  Like Bournemouth, this is a match that the Toffees can't afford to lose.

The Union host Seattle on Sunday but could already be out of the playoffs depending on what the Red Bulls do against Toronto on Saturday. 

Europe Here We Come

If the season were to end today, the EPL representatives for the Champions League would be Manchester City, Manchester United,  Chelsea and Newcastle.  One of these is not like the others.

As Dennis might say to me, easy there Sparky, it's really early.  Indeed, we're only through five matches and the Newcastle schedule has not exactly been rugged.  But with a 2-1 win over Stoke, there the Magpies are, 4th in the table.  Two things about this start.  First, in previous years, Newcastle would have likely been sitting at three to five points instead of nine.  Second, even though it has been a soft schedule, winning these matches was important so there wouldn't be as much pressure when the tougher games come around.

I only got to see highlights but it appears that in comparison to the matches I did see, the Newcastle-Stoke contest might have been the most viewable of any of the weekend's fixtures.  There were some excellent goals and it seems like the match had a good back-and-forth to it.  Ritchie and Lascelles teamed up again for the winner and get a second straight YouTubeableMoment for their effort; it's a short clip but I love the videos from the stands.  Matt Ritchie also had the assist on the Christian Atsu goal; that was his fourth of the year and he's just one behind league leader Henrikh Mkhitaryan (possibly the best player ever with "kh" in both his first and last name).  We are clear-eyed about how far there is to go in the season and frankly still doubt that the squad is strong enough for a mid-table finish.  But damn this has been fun.


Dearth of Goals

Except for squads that begin with "Man," not a whole lot of scoring this weekend.  Three 0-0 draws and three other sides shut out.  If anybody sat through the West Brom-West Ham scoreless match, let me know if that was a bad as it sounds; of course, Bilic will probably take the point on the road.  Crystal Palace continue without a goal this season, becoming the first EPL team to fail to score in their opening five matches; it's actually six in a row if you go back to last season.  Wait, here's the best part; there were three different managers in those six matches - Allardyce, de Boer and Hodgson.

Actually, the Chelsea - Arsenal 0-0 match wasn't awful.  It certainly had the proper snarl for a London derby, concluding with a straight red for David Luiz.  But some goals would have been appreciated.  Same for Spurs - Swansea.  After a decent CL performance at Wembley mid-week, you might have thought Spurs were ready to move past that jinx talk.  But there they were, scoreless against the Swans.  Textbook case of "parking the bus."  Swansea had nine and sometimes 10 in the box.  Tottenham finishing was a little suspect and Harry Kane hit the cross bar.  So Spurs are one of seven teams with identical 2-2-1 records.   Damn, after we had gotten Michael B to close the window, he's back out on the ledge again.

Jurgen, we've identified the cause of your severe TMJ

So Man City cruised 6-0 over Watford, a very disrespectful showing with former Hornets' owner Sir Elton John in attendance.  Man United added three goals from the 83rd minute on to make the 4-0 win over Everton look slightly more one-sided than it was.  Wayne Rooney was enthusiastically received by the Old Trafford crowd.  As we've said it's early but Everton sit in 18th after a massive summer spend; clearly not what they had in mind.  Not a good start Merseyside as Liverpool could manage just a draw at home to Burnley and then fell to Leicester in the League Cup.  This can't be good for Jurgen Klopp's TMJ.  Seriously, is a jaw supposed to move that far side-to-side?

But cheer up, at least you're not Crystal Palace...


Redefining Victory

The scoreboard says the Union got a 0-0 draw with Red Bulls up in Harrison but we know it was a moral victory.  See, the Red Bulls had hoped to rest stars Sacha Kljestan and Bradley Wright-Phillips for Wednesday's US Open Cup Final against Sporting KC.  Except as the scoreless match dragged on, Jesse Marsch also knew he needed three points from the match to protect his playoff spot and possibly get away from a road game in the knockout round.  So he was forced to use both in the second half.  Didn't help, mostly because Andre Blake was at his best, making some acrobatic stops and some good decisions about when to come out to play the ball.  Can't think of any Union highlights though - maybe some more key interventions from Jack Elliott.  This was the third straight draw for the Union and they remain 10th and nine points out of the playoffs with five to play.  As the ESPN announcers noted, they're not mathematically out of it but...

Taylor Twellman had two points during the telecast that I agreed with.  First, he suggested the difference between the Union and the teams above them was the quality of our designated players.  This makes sense to me - we've hardly seen Maurice Edu because of injury and Alejandro Bedoya is good but not so much so that he elevates the play of those around him.  That suggests that improvement doesn't require a massive shakeup in personnel as much as a better spend on designated players.  His second point was in response to someone saying the Red Bulls hadn't won any trophies.  He pointed to the Supporters Shield banners hanging at Red Bull Arena and asked don't they count for something.  Exactly. Two times the Red Bulls have had the best regular season record in MLS.  In just about every other country, that is the definition of a championship.

Speaking of the US Open Cup Final, Sporting KC did look to be the better side Wednesday night in their 2-1 victory over the Red Bulls.  A late goal for the NJ side did make the finish more interesting.  Looks like maybe Philly did tire them out.


It's A Trap

Admiral Ackbar has the proper warning for the Magpies as they travel to the coast to take on Brighton.  Yes, the Seagulls are 16th in the table and are coming off consecutive losses (one in EPL and one in the League Cup) to Bournemouth, a squad that hasn't exactly been setting the league on fire.  If Newcastle take this match lightly, they'll end up on the wrong side of the score like they did at Huddersfield.  A draw wouldn't be terrible but would suggest that Newcastle are not the stuff of upper table finishers.  The match is your only Sunday EPL viewing at 11 on NBCSN.

Maybe Man City ought to pay heed to the Admiral as well.  Winless and goalless Crystal Palace come to town and on paper this looks like a car crash waiting to happen.  Man City has scored 16 and allowed just two.  My Football Manager pregame message would definitely be to guard against complacency.  This one is at 10 am Saturday on NBCSN.  The other 10 am match on TV is Stoke hosting Chelsea (CNBC).

The weekend starts off with a match featuring two teams that haven't settled well into their new homes - West Ham hosting Spurs at 7:30 Saturday on NBCSN.  The Hammers are in their second season at Olympic Stadium, a place that just seems too big and spread out for a proper club venue.  Last year West Ham managed to finish 11th but had the 5th worst home record.  At least for Spurs, their discomfort with Wembley as a home field will only last one season.

Saturday's NBC 12:30 match is a quick replay for Leicester and Liverpool.  The Foxes won the league cup match 2-0 midweek but have but four points in league play and have surrendered nine goals.  But so have Liverpool.  Maybe a chance to see some scoring?

Arsenal hosting West Brom on Monday (3 pm NBCSN) closes out the EPL TV week.  Those with the NBC Gold subscription might want to check out Southampton - Man United at 10 am Saturday.  

The Union have two chances to resuscitate their playoff hopes with matches on Saturday (vs Chicago) and Wednesday (vs Atlanta).

Lascelles a Prince in Wales

Dennis once did a pithy movie review - "it was good until it started to suck."  Newcastle's match with Swansea on Sunday was the opposite.  The first 25 minutes offered little to recommend it but from then on it was a match even the neutral could enjoy. End to end action, though with a 1-0 final, there is some question as to the quality of finishing.  Fairly late I had reconciled that even a loss wasn't going to be a disaster because of how well the Magpies had played.

How did Abraham not score from this position?  Click on
the YouTubeableMoment to find out.  CREDIT: PA

And they could have easily lost this one.  Abraham had beaten Elliot but somehow Jamaal Lascelles saved the shot off the line.  Lascelles later scored the game winner with an emphatic header of a Matt Ritchie corner.   Lascelles work at both ends of the pitch gets him a YouTubeableMomentHighlight Reel.  A smart man predicted last year that Lascelles could be a Premier League defender; check out the Yank
at 31 seconds in this video. Jamaal was less than stellar for much of last season but we later learned he was playing with a groin injury from December on.  Rafa must have seen something in the guy to make him captain at age 23.

Speaking of Rafa, he didn't even make the trip to Wales after undergoing surgery to repair a hernia.  Probably got it from the heavy lifting he's done to make something out of this franchise.  Anyway, he still did the team talk and was in constant communication with the coaches on the field.  His replacement - Mikel Antia sure looks like Matt Dillon.

Too Soon?

Yeah it's only September but in two matches you could detect the distinct odor of relegation flop sweat.  Crystal Palace ceded an early goal to Burnley, then spent the rest of the match frantically chasing an equalizer, which was not forthcoming.  Four matches into the season, they are seeking not only their first points but their first goal; it's the worst start to a top flight season in 93 years.  And it got Frank de Boer sacked after just 77 days.  I'm not a big fan of ditching the manager, especially so quickly, but this article suggests that his hiring was in fact a very poor decision by ownership that needed to be addressed swiftly.

As the West Ham-Huddersfield match continued scoreless, you could sense the desperation in the West Ham players and fans.  An incredibly lucky ricochet broke the tension and the Hammers added a second soon after so all ended well in London.  Lifelong Huddersfield fan Patrick Stewart was seen in the stands but we believe Bob K did not make it over for the match.

The featured matches were again largely busts.  Sadio Mane got himself sent off, leaving Liverpool a a man short against Man City; that one turned into a 5-0 rout for the Citizens.  At Goodison Park, Everton looked largely uninterested and Spurs were more than happy to take advantage for a 3-0 win.  At least Stoke - Man United delivered a compelling 2-2 back and forth draw.  Newcomer Choupo-Moting tallied both for the host Potters.  Arsenal did indeed appear to get healthy at Bournemouth's expense; the Gunners 3-0 win left the Cherries without a point through the first four matches.  At least Bournemouth have a goal this season, which puts them ahead of Crystal Palace on goal differential.


We Love VAR

Most important moment in Union 1-1 draw at Minnesota

A 1-1 draw seems like a logical conclusion when a stoppable force (Union) meets movable object (Minnesota).  Not awful but just not good enough at this point.  And that one point wouldn't have been possible without the help of the Video Assistant Referee.  In the 68th minute with the score 1-1, Onyewu went up for a ball in the box and the ball hit his arm.  Referee signals PK and issues Onyewu a yellow - his second of the night.  A big turning point in the match.  Except upon review, the referee determined that Onyewu had been fouled prior to the handling.  I thought they got it right but the Loons went nuts about it.  The Union have dropped to 10th and sit nine points out of the last playoff spot - currently held by the Red Bulls.  Yikes, haven't been paying attention to the NJ squad but this doesn't seem like a good year for them.


Calendar

On the road for much of the weekend but hope I can catch up Sunday with judicious use of the DVR. A north London derby featuring Chelsea-Arsenal Sunday morning at 8:30 (CNBC) is obviously a biggie.  Arsenal were better against Bournemouth and got a win in their Europa League opener so maybe things are improving.  Chelsea's 2-1 win at Leicester moved the Blues up to third.  With the match at Stamford Bridge, this is a real test for the Gunners.

Newcastle are home versus Stoke.  Last week was a test of how much they were going to struggle to avoid relegation.  This week is more about whether the Magpies might be a legitimate mid-table side.  Stoke are decent but with the match at St. James' Park, we should be thinking at least a draw.

TV matches include Spurs-Swansea (12:30 Saturday NBC), Crystal Palace - Southampton (Saturday 7:30 NBCSN), Watford - Man City (10 am Saturday NBCSN) and Man United hosting Everton (11 am Sunday NBCSN).  That last match features the return of Wayne Rooney to Old Trafford; wonder what the reception will be like.  For those looking for an excuse to leave the office early, you can catch Bournemouth-Brighton at 3:00 Friday afternoon on NBCSN.

The Union travel to NJ to take on the Red Bulls.  Hard to see a result coming out of that match.