Did That Seem Weird To You?

Results that didn't align with what we saw on the pitch, some interesting calls by referees, outright strange results.  Certainly an interesting week.  The fact that Newcastle and the Union got points was helpful.

Correct Use of VAR

That ball is obviously bound for the back of the net:
Wilson levels things for Newcastle
Photo:Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

The Crystal Palace Newcastle match at Selhurst Park was good Championship Division fare - tense,
competitive and physical but not necessarily a display of the beautiful game.  Benteke clearly why he plays for Palace and not, say, Liverpool as he converted one of his multiple chances; to be fair, he had another ruled out (see below).  The Eagles thoroughly dominated possession (75/25) but could only take a 1-1 scoreline late into the match.  That would be thanks to another great finish from Callum Wilson, a second consecutive YouTubeableMoment of the Week for the Newcastle striker.

Palace looked to have snatched a late winner on a header from Benteke only to see it ruled out by VAR.  You can see the play here (should open to the play but it's at 8:35 if it doesn't).  Aside from the fact that it saved the Magpies' butt, I argue that this was an excellent use of VAR as opposed to re-refereeing.  You can see how Clark was held and that the holding directly affected his ability to mark the goal scorer Benteke.  

Though just about everything screams Palace victory here, Newcastle hung on for a point.  Seems like a small thing but might mean a lot in May.  Or, it could just be a preview for when the two teams face either in the Championship Division in the 2022-23 season.

Incorrect Use of  VAR

Aston Villa did not need any help in losing to 1-3 to Arsenal.  This was a curiously flat performance from a generally reliable squad.  However, the PK call late in first half stoppage time was not helpful at all.  It is also an excellent example of how NOT to use VAR. You can see the play here (5:22 of highlights).  Pawson saw the play and made no call at the time.  He was told to look at it by VAR Michael Oliver.  I don't think Targett ever touched Lacazette.  Even if he did, the Gooner went down on his own, not from any contact that there might have been.  And lastly, how on earth is that an egregious error?  At best it was inconclusive.  The icing on this crap cake was that Martinez made a great save on the PK only to see the rebound fired past him.  At least it happened in a match that wasn't going Villa's way to begin with.  

You Can't Play Newcastle Every Week

Though the London derby between West Ham and Spurs was close on the scoreboard, Spurs looked remarkably lifeless for this key fixture.  Hammers did have an xG advantage and it's hard to say they didn't deserve the win.  Yes, life is hard when you can't play a crappy team.  

Wat the Ford?

Josh King celebrates one of his 3 goals vs Everton- remember
when he played for my Chester Blues FM side?
  Photo:Jan Kruger/Getty Images

WTF is not the usual abbreviation for Watford but it was appropriate this weekend.  I got a bit of a spoiler about this one yet it was still fascinating.  Dennis let slip that Watford had put up five goals on Everton but didn't provide context.  So I was speeding through my recording of Leeds-Wolves 1-1 draw while keeping an eye on the Everton- Watford score.  Seeing Everton up 2-1 in the 75th minute, I switched over to that one, which fortunately I had also recorded.  The last 15+ minutes was a car crash, at least if you're an Everton fan.  Two quick ones at 78 and 80 minutes, then a couple more to salt it away.  I saw the term "shambolic defense" more than once.  Benitez's honeymoon may be over at Goodison.

Kick the Can (aries)

Already down 0-5, Norwich got a man sent off.  Soon there was a PK.  Krul, a PK specialist, stopped it.  Except he came off his line too early.  Mount did not miss the retake.  They added a seventh in stoppage time.  This was just, um, cruel.

Not Your Father's Man United

For the neutrals and Man United fans, how could you not be disappointed with the 0-5 loss to Liverpool at Old Trafford that saw the Red Devils down 0-2 by the 13th minute?  Two more goals before half and a third from Salah to complete his hat trick in the 50th meant completed the rout. Liverpool fans were probably okay with it.

Man City kept pace with Chelsea and Liverpool with a solid 4-1 win over Brighton.  Still early but there is a little bit of separation between these three and the rest.   Fourth looks wide open.

All You Need to Know About the Ashley Error Era

This is the first season since 2018-2019 that Newcastle have gone the first nine matches of the season without a victory.  Ooh, all the way back to then, huh?

Don't Have to Outrun the Bear

This was a better, though not stunning, first half from the Union; they went into the locker room up just 1-0 thanks to a shuhBILLkoh PK on what was maybe a harsh handling call.  They came out flat in second half and Nashville looked way more dangerous.  Well, except for the fact that they couldn't get too many shots and none were on target.  Still, it felt like we were one mistake away from a draw.  Watching Bedoya run out of gas and not seeing Curtin make a sub was frustrating for us in the stands.  In the end, they survived with a 1-0 win, as Nashville didn't get a shot on target until a weak header in stoppage time.  This was a case of not being great, just better than your opponent.  Full credit to the back line and Leon Flach.  Assume he put in his usual 7 miles or so.

That win opened the possibility that the Union could clinch a playoff spot with a win at Toronto Wednesday night.  They came out strong and dominated the first 37 seconds, ending with a Bedoya goal.  The rest of the night was quite rocky.    They spent the rest of the first half on the back foot but somehow got to break still up 1-0.  The second half was more of the same and Toronto finally broke through when an attempted clearance bounced off a Toronto body to the waiting foot of Jozy Altidore, who knew what to do with it.  Things continued to go downhill as minutes later Jack Elliott, trying desperately to intercept a pass into the box, put one past his own keeper.  Properly shocked, and with an injection of some speed (Santos) and youth (McGlynn), the Union started to play better.  They got one back on a cross from Wagner to Santos' head.  They even looked good for a possible winner but in the end settled for a draw.   Probably a fair (and disappointing) result.

Early scores from elsewhere were encouraging but even they turned sour.  Nashville fell behind Cincinnati 1-3 only to bury them 6-3.  Atlanta trailed Miami but eventually came away with all three points.  At least Orlando lost.  The bad news is that the draw has severely compromised their chances of finishing second.  The good news is that 1) they are still a good bet to make the playoffs, 2) with a win against Cincinnati will pretty much seal up a top four spot and home field for the first round game 3) second place is not out of the question yet.  Secondary bad news is that the team have hardly been setting the world on fire even as they get results.  Particularly frustrating has been the passes sent directly to the opposition. 

 

ICYMI

Jason Sudeikis was the guest host for SNL.  He professed surprise that Ted Lasso was a hit, given that it's about two things Americans hate - soccer and kindness.

Turn the Clocks Back (if you live in England)

We head into those few weeks when the time differential with England is a mere four hours, eliminating those nasty early morning start times.  Well, starting Sunday anyway.  If 538 projections are to be believed, there's a host of competitive matches.

Unfortunately, Newcastle isn't one of them.  The Magpies get to host a hot Chelsea squad.  Yeah that should go well (Saturday at 10 on Peacock).  The other likely blowouts include Man City hosting Crystal Palace (Saturday at 10 on NBCSN) and Liverpool hosting Brighton (Saturday at 10 on USA).  Must be nice to be one of the top three sides.

After you get past those three though, things look pretty tight.  Start Saturday morning at 7:30 on NBCSN with Leicester - Arsenal.  Both have been somewhat inconsistent but may be sorting some things out.  Two of the Saturday 10 am contests should be close - Burnley hosting Brentford and Watford - Southampton; both of those are on Peacock.

The NBC feature match at 12:30 is Tottenham - Man United.  Both of those side need to do something to save their managers.  We'll tread lightly on Norwich - Leeds (10 am Sunday on NBCSN) as that migh be close but in a Championship Division kind of way.  But do tune in for Aston Villa - West Ham at 12:30, also on NBCSN.  We are expecting a better showing from the Villans at home.  The week finishes with Wolves - Everton on Monday at 4 on NBCSN; that should be a lively affair.

The Union close out their home season with Cincinnati on Sunday night (7:30 PHL17); anything less than three points in that one will be a disappointment.  Rivals NYCFC have Miami, the Harrison Pink Cows host Montreal, Atlanta play Toronto, and DC host Columbus.  It is entirely possible that by kickoff Sunday night, the Union will have secured a playoff berth.  However, the advantages of a second or third seed are significant so they will still have much to play for.  

Maybe weird is okay...

Remind Me Again Why We Do This

Generally unsatisfactory results across the board.  What's worse, it was pretty much as expected.  To quote Ted Lasso, "why ya even do this?"  Well, there was some cool stuff along the way, just not for my teams.

Intangible Intangibles

There was a school of thought that said even though the Newcastle roster hadn't changed, the resolution of the uncertainty surrounding the takeover plus the excitement in the stands would be enough to raise the level of play at St. James' Park.  Recall that I was skeptical.  When Callum Wilson's header gave the Magpies the lead in the second minute Sunday against Spurs, I was ready to be proven wrong. The moment was awesome, with the full energy captured in this week's YouTubeableMoment.  Except then reality set in and Newcastle were down 1-3 by halftime and it was business as usual.  Arlo White, after watching some in the ownership group celebrate Wilson's goal said, "Don't worry, it's like this every week."  Prophetic but in the wrong way.

Energy in the stands doesn't change who this team is.  Face it, the only thing that is going to make it materially better is new players.  Dennis tells me the over/under is that just seven players who started the Spurs match will be in the lineup come March.  Figure a new face up top, in the midfield, in the center back pairing and likely a wingback/fullback.  Seven sounds right.  They might spend more this January than during Ashley's entire tenure.  Well maybe not, but close.

As expected, Bruce did not survive the week.  Frequently mentioned replacements include Frank Lampard, Steve Howe and Paulo Fonseca.  Occasionally mentioned replacements include Steven Gerrard, Roberto Martinez and Lucien Favre.  My name has not come up.  Graeme Jones is the caretaker manager and it looks like he'll be in charge this weekend against Crystal Palace.

Good Samaritan of the Week - Eric Dier

Reguilon (l) and Dier (r) team up to save a fan

The score was a disaster, Steve Bruce looked miserable but somebody was having a worse day.  Just before half time, a fan in the stands suffered cardiac arrest.  Good on Sergio Reguilon to get Andre Marriner's attention to stop the match.  Also good on Eric Dier to sprint across the field to alert the medical personnel that the defibrillator was needed in the stands.  There was also a doctor in the house - Dr Tom Prichard.  The bottom line is the fan survived and though still in the hospital, is doing well.

Wait, so why does Dier get the award over Reguilon?  Easy.  Dier contributed an own goal late in the second half to make the final margin score just 2-3.  Though we don't really want Tottenham's charity - at least with respect to the final score - you still have to salute Dier's effort.  

Jonjo We Barely Had Time to Miss Thee

Jonjo had missed a string of games due to injury but came on in the 60th minute to replace Sean Longstaff.  This will go down as a cameo appearance as he managed to get yellow cards in the 78th and 83rd minutes and was sent off in his return. Probably not the best way to impress your new boss.

They Huffed and They Puffed

And eventually Wolves blew the house down.  Aston Villa had a nice two-goal cushion on Wolves going into the 80th minute.  Then things fell apart as Wolves managed three goals from there. After McGinn's goal in the 68th minute put the Villans up 2-0 I texted Dennis to see if he felt like a draw was possible.  His response - "Yeah, that should be a draw wrapped up.  But you never know."  I offered to take the fall because of my cheeky comment but Dennis graciously chose to point the finger at Dean Smith for some of his late game subs, especially taking off Buendia (best game in a Villa shirt so far?) and Cash.  Not sure if they were injury or fitness concerns but things did go downhill from there.  Looked like a draw would have been a fair result here.  The teams are pretty close talent-wise.

Sometimes You Lose But Actually Tie and Sometimes You Tie But Actually Lose

Between the 2-2 draw in Montreal and the 2-3 loss in Minnesota, the Union came away with just one point for their efforts this week.  That Montreal leveled things with a last minute goal makes it look like the Union got robbed off all three points.  In fact, they were lucky to get one.  They were absolutely moribund in an 0-1 first half.  They did play better in the second half.  But in truth both the goals were quite lucky.  The first was an own goal off the back of the keeper's legs.  The second was a deflection but not credited as on own goal.  The stats and expected goals say Montreal dominated this one.  Though disappointed not to have stolen all three here, I had to remind myself that before the match I said a draw would be a great result.

Fast forward to a colder and rainier St. Paul on Wednesday night.  On balance, maybe the play was better.  Except for this incredibly nasty habit of giveaways and hospital balls in the final third  fourth way too close to the goal.  Each of the Minnesota tallies looked eminently preventable. The result took some of the luster off a great performance from Gazdag; he had a brace, plus he and Monteiro maybe finally started to click on the field together.  You can see the first of his two goals here.  The U probably deserved a draw for this one.

If they were only going to get a point out of the two matches, the draw with Montreal was the better choice; three points for an Eastern Conference playoff contender would have been dangerous.  Four matches to go and we shouldn't be ordering our playoff tickets just yet.

Injury to Insult

After the Aston Villa and Union results, Dennis informed me that his game was cancelled.  "Brutal day in the soccer world for me."

I did have some better fortune with my Football Manager Forest Green side, who grabbed a 2-1 win over Reading with a 90th minute goal from Harvey Elliott.  So glad he didn't dislocate his ankle in my version of reality.  We are currently third in the table.  However, both Stoke and West Brom look way better on paper than us and I do feel we've had a run of fortuitous 2-1 wins.  

Good Stuff Somewhere?

But somewhere the sun was shining.  Didn't get to see it live but anyone who went with Leicester - Man United over the other 10 am games was certainly rewarded.  Four goals from the 78th minute on with a 4-2 win for the Foxes.  Chelsea came away with a 1-0 win at Brentford but everything, including my own eyes, say Brentford were the better side here. Relentless pressure, especially in the last 10 minutes or so but the Bees just couldn't break through.  I was hoping for a bit more scoring in the Everton - West Ham match and the 0-1 final in favor of the Hammers was mildly disappointing too.  Still it was a good watch.  And the London Derby featuring Crystal Palace and Arsenal was pretty cool too, with Lacazette's 95th minute goal rescuing a 2-2 draw for the Gunners from the jaws of defeat.

Brighton maybe stumbled a bit with a 0-0 draw at Norwich.  Still, only Liverpool have fewer losses than the Seagulls and they are 4th in the table right now.  Liverpool (5-0 over Watford) and Man City (2-0 over Burnley) kept pace with Chelsea to remain 2nd and 3rd.

  

Midnight Came

On the off chance there would be more magic, I chose Inter Milan - Sheriff over the more fashionable Atletico Madrid - Liverpool match for Tuesday's Champions League action.  Probably not a great decision (see below).  Still there was a moment when Sheriff looked like it might pull off an away draw, which would have been disastrous for Inter Milan.  The hero of the win over Real Madrid - Sebastien Thill - tied things at 1-1 in the 52nd minute.  Enter the villain Arturo Vidal, he of spiked hair, to ruin things a mere six minutes later.  Another goal made the final 3-1.

They are still top of the group and could still see their way to the knockout stages with a home draw against Inter Milan in two weeks and a win over Shakhtar Donetsk.  That would force Inter Milan to have to beat both Shakhtar and Real Madrid to get past Sheriff. 

Apologies to Diego Simeone

While I was watching Sheriff turn into a pumpkin, I missed out on a CL classic between Atletico Madrid and Liverpool.  The Reds stormed out to a 2-0 lead by the 13th minute but AM drew level with two of their own from Griezmann.  Several key events drove the second half.  First, Griezmann got a straight red for a high boot to Firmino's face.  Some thought it was harsh in that it wasn't intentional but it was really high and really in the face.  A little later AM committed a foul in the box and looked to me like there was no argument for that one.  Maybe the toughest call was the PK for AM that was overturned by the VAR.  Real time I did not think it was a foul but the ref called it on the field.  The video suggests it was not a foul, though I'm not sure if it was in the egregious error category.  Anyway, the match ended 3-2 for Liverpool.

Simeone heads down the tunnel without
 shaking hands, as he usually does

Than the sh...stuff hit the fan.  Diego Simeone sprinted down the tunnel without shaking Klopp's hand. The British press was up in arms.  Yours truly thought it was uncool.  Turns out, Simeone rarely, if ever shakes hands after a match.  He thinks it's a bad idea.  I sort of see his point.  Tensions high, etc.  On the other hand, I thought the idea was that no matter what happened out there, you're supposed to be sporting about it.

But the story about Simeone snubbing Klopp was bogus.  Not being a follower of La Liga, perhaps I might be forgiven for my hasty conclusion.  I am surprised however, at how long it took for the point that Simeone never shakes hands to come out.

More Fun

I sorta mean that seriously. Interesting matches up and down the table.  Marquee fixture is Man United - Liverpool at 11:30 on Sunday on NBCSN.  The crew at 538 see Liverpool as a solid favorite; we're just hoping for some good action. 

West Ham - Tottenham looks good too as both are in the hunt for European football next year; should be a competitive match with the Hammers maybe slight favorites at home. That's Sunday at 9 on NBCSN.  Sort of in the same category are Arsenal - Aston Villa (Friday football! at 3 pm on NBCSN) and Brentford - Leicester (Sunday at 9 on Peacock).  Both of those figure to be tight contests as well.

Sliding down the table a bit, we have Crystal Palace hosting Newcastle Saturday at 10 on Peacock.  This fixture should not be out of reach for the Magpies.  Relegation candidates Southampton and Burnley square off at the same time, also on Peacock.  And look for Leeds - Wolves to be a high energy, close match on NBCSN also at 10 on Saturday.  Your fourth option for 10 am is Everton - Watford on USA.  We'll be going with Newcastle because we have to but Leeds - Wolves might be a better choice.

In the NBC feature match at 12:30, Man City take on fourth place Brighton as heavy favorites, even on the road.  First place Chelsea have a slightly easier task, hosting last place Norwich Saturday at 7:30. At least that one is on NBCSN so we can dvr and hustle through it if necessary.

Saturday night we're back at Subaru Park for a tasty match up between the Union and Nashville.  We're definitely expecting better things from this one; maybe not a win but certainly at least a draw against the second place team in the conference.  The Union's playoff chances will get a boost one way or another on Saturday as DC Untied and NYCFC face off; somebody's dropping points there.

I'm sure I've forgotten something but that's the way it goes sometimes.  

Not Renouncing My Fanship

 As several have pointed out, there are many, um, dismaying aspects related to the sale of Newcastle to the Saudi PIF.  They include the Saudis terrible record on human rights, the implications of where the British economy is heading post-Brexit (see this excellent analysis from The Atlantic sent by BFS Travel Consultant Jeff K) and the frightening possibility that Newcastle will become the new Man United - everybody loves them or hates them.

Boiling it down a bit, what we really have is twenty filthy (in more ways than one) rich owners agreeing to sell one of the EPL franchises to a filthier (in many more ways than one) richer owner.  If we want to go down this road, we will conclude that we should drop our interest not only in EPL football but in professional sports more broadly.  Probably college sports too - at least Division I  football and basketball anyway.  And if we're serious about sanctioning the Saudis, why not withdraw diplomatic staff, impose economic sanctions, try to isolate them as the world did to South Africa.  Stewing about them buying an EPL franchise seems like misdirected energy.

I am not proud that I just made that argument.  However, I'm also not renouncing my fanship at this point.

No Weah That Was An Own Goal

After a lackluster 0-1 loss away to Panama on Sunday, the USMNT slipped past Costa Rica 2-1.  Things did not start well as they found themselves down 0-1 within the first minute.  This was not according to the script.  Fortunately, the youngest line up the US ever put out for a WC qualifier got their act together and put Costa Rica under pressure.  That attacking paid off relatively quickly when Sergino Dest levelled things at 25 minutes with a rocket (more on that goal below).  The game winner came on a shot from Tim Weah that somehow slipped past keeper Leonel Moreira.  It went down as an own goal which you can see here.  Sure looks to me like the shot would have gone in so I don't fully understand how it ended up as an own goal.  Further irony here that neither the Weah nor Moreira were supposed to be on the pitch.  Weah got moved into the starting XI when Paul Arriola sustained a groin injury in warm-up and Moreira was a second half substitute for Keylor Navas, who picked up an injury in the first half.

The loss to Panama had moved the Costa Rica match into the pretty much critical category.  Through six of 14 matches, the US now sit second in the table, one ahead of Canada and three up on Panama.  Recall that only the first three automatically advance to the WC Final.  No way we should be celebrating anything right now.  The tricky part of the reading the table at this point is the vastly different set of games each country has played.  Looking at the limited set of overlapping matches that we do have offer mixed insights.  Canada beat El Salvador at home while the US only managed a draw.  Mexico drew Panama away while the US lost.  On the other hand, Panama only drew Costa Rica at home compared to the US win - of course we maybe threw away that advantage with the 0-1 loss to Panama.  Another way to look at it is lost points against what you might have expected.  The US is definitely down at least two (home draw with El Salvador) and maybe four (home draw to Canada and road loss against Panama).  Canada certainly dropped two (home draw to Honduras) and maybe two more in the road draw to Jamaica; but we should probably give them +2 for road draws with Mexico and the US.  Panama probably dropped two with home draw to Costa Rica and one (or even three) in the road loss to El Salvador.  

Okay, too early to do that maybe but I think the point is valid.  This thing has a long way to go.

U-9 Moment of the Week

Sharp-eyed Dennis noticed that when Dest fired that rocket past Navas, his left boot (Dest's, not Dennis's) was untied.  Reminds me of a U-12 game I refereed a few weeks ago when, after seeing at least three untied boots, I requested everybody check their laces at the next stoppage of play.

Others noticed as well.  Grant Wahl wrote about it in this article that includes complete video of the goal, which we'll make this week's YouTubeableMoment.  Good discussion of Dest's varied fortunes in the WC qualifiers thus far (Sergino's Destiny?).  Great line from Wahl here:

Bringing a Barcelona starter [Dest] to Estadio Cuscatlán [venue for El Salvador v US] felt like taking a bottle of Mouton Rothschild to a Jägermeister-drenched freshman dorm party. 

The Run of Play Is Overrated

We heard Paxten was better than his brother;
 could it be true? Photo Jeff Dean AP

As we have said on many occasions (if we haven't then we should have), a game in hand is useless if you don't get a result.  For 45 minutes, the Union looked on course to get just one point, or maybe none, against bottom dweller Cincinnati.  The home side had better possession and better scoring chances. Several factors were at play, namely that the Union were missing six or more first teamers to international duty or suspension and to the fact that they came out in a completely unfamiliar 3-4-1-2  formation.  Clearly against the run of play, they stole a goal when shuhBILLkoh calmly settled a ball in the box, took it slightly to his right, and slotted a shot past the keeper in first half stoppage time.

Things got better in the second half as Curtin abandoned the back four, moving Elliott to a defensive mid-fielder.  Elliott is not unfamiliar with the position and his ball skills are solid for a central defentder.  The move paid off as it was Elliott dribbled the ball into the final third to set up the second goal at 56 minutes.  Elliott dished off to Nathan Harriel who sent a beautiful cross to the Aaronson the Younger (Paxten) who rifled a header for a two-goal lead.  You can see the play here.  A late goal from Medunjanin meant the final minutes were nerve-wracking but U held on to grab all three points from their game at hand.

The great run (13 points out of a possible 15) has given the U some breathing room, though with six games to go, nothing is guaranteed.  

European Qualifiers

Only got to see Wales and Scotland.  How many countries are in this country?  The Welsh 2-2 draw with Czech Republic keeps their hopes for a second place finish in the group.  Scotland offered a highly entertaining 3-2 comeback win over Israel to put themselves in good shape for a second place finish.  The process is drawing to a close, with most countries looking at one or two more matches.  Germany and Denmark are in.  Recall that first place in the group automatically moves you to the WC final.  Second gets you into a playoff for additional slots.  There's also a Nations League route.  More details can be had here.

Coach Beard Book Club

If It's Good Enough
 for Coach Beard...

Those paying attention to the season finale of Ted Lasso might have noticed that throughout the episode, Coach Beard was intently working his way through a book; you might have also seen that he had about 50 sticky tabs marking key sections.  Laura stopped the episode to identify the book, then immediately ordered it from Amazon.  It now sits on our dining room table ready for use.  Not saying it will change my Football Manager tactics, though you never know.

A sad thought though - no more new Ted Lasso for several months.  We will probably watch season two in its entirety over again (maybe more than once) before then.

An Ugly Side

My favorite sports (soccer and track) found themselves in the news recently for the wrong reasons - coaching misconduct.  The NWSL story is outlined here.  The developments related to Mary Cain suing Nike and Alberto Salazar is discussed here.  Fitness is a fair issue in athletic competition, appearance is not.  This is awful.

Dead Man Coaching

Speaking of the Sack Race, despite Arsenal's poor start, Mikel Arteta has a host of other gaffers ahead of him now.  Steve Bruce is the epitome of Dead Man Walking now that the transfer of ownership is complete; they won't flinch at the £10 million or so to buy out the rest of his contract.  Many are surprised he'll still be coaching on Sunday but as of Thursday night, he was still in charge.  Next on the list is Brendan Rodgers, he of underperforming Leicester.  The hilarious thing here is that Rodgers is listed as a favorite to take over for Bruce. Nuno Espirito Santo is up there too given Spurs slow start.   

We will confess to having completely missed Watford's sacking of Xisco Munoz after their loss to Leeds a couple of Saturdays ago.  Claudio Ranieri of Leicester fame is his replacement.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Between EPL, MLS, Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference, we have much to do this week.

Many might tune in to see Newcastle host Tottenham on Sunday at 11:30 (NBCSN) because of the new ownership.  Of course, there won't be any change on the field - it will be the same players until January.  The mood in the stands might be different and maybe there's a small chance it translates down to the field.  Color me skeptical.

I recommend Everton vs West Ham Sunday at 9 on NBCSN.  That one looks competitive, though West Ham have stumbled somewhat recently.  

Saturday at 10 am presents some choices.  If you like evenly matched teams perilously close to the drop zone, Southampton - Leeds is your best bet even if it is on Peacock.  Normally, we'd be a little more hyped about Leicester hosting Man United (USA) but the Foxes have mostly disappointed this year.  BFS will be taking in Aston Villa home to Wolves because 1) it's Aston Villa and 2) there's a chance it could be a good match.  

Top of the table stuff starts early with Liverpool at Watford (7:30 but on Peacock - grrr, why can't they just leave the 7:30 match on something you can dvr?).  Man City get to host Burnley (Saturday at 10 on Peacock), which will probably not end well for the Clarets.  And Chelsea get the featured 12:30 Saturday match on NBC, traveling a few miles down the road to face Brentford; the Bees have been full of surprises but getting a result here would probably be the biggest.

Rounding out the schedule there is Norwich vs Brighton (that's 6th place Brighton to you) Saturday at 10 on Peacock and a London derby on Monday at 3 pm on NBCSN featuring Arsenal and Crystal Palace.  

The already crowded Saturday will also include the Union vs Montreal at 1 pm on PHL-17.  This is a tricky fixture for the Union and I'll say now that a draw would be a perfectly acceptable result.  

Tuesday to Thursday will be filled with the European competitions.  Check your local listings for the matches that interest you.  We will note that Tuesday has a cracker of fixture between Liverpool and Atletico Madrid (3 pm).  Unfortunately that one coincides with a big match for the Cinderella side of the Champions League - oddly named Sheriff - against Inter Milan.  Improbably, Sheriff are top of the group after a massive upset of Real Madrid.  A win over Inter Milan would set them up with a solid chance of a second place finish and advancement to the knockout stage.  The odds say that midnight is fast approaching and the coach will be turning into a pumpkin; we'll probably still watch just in case.

Okay, back to work.  Watching soccer I mean.

The Reign of Error Is Over

Alternate title:

Oil to Newcastle

Toon Army celebrates sale in usual muted fashion

The on-again, off-again, mostly off-again sale of Newcastle to the Saudi Public Investment Fund
somehow was actually completed today.  Details can be had here.  Frankly, I hadn't been following developments all that closely, not trusting that anything in the press was little more than rumor and speculation.  It appears that two specific items cleared the way.  First, there was clarity that the Saudi Public Investment Fund is independent thus meant that Saudi Arabia would not have control over the club.  Not sure if this is a distinction without meaning but it was enough for the Premier League.  Some will still question the morality of the league approving ownership for anything related to Saudi Arabia. The second change was the resolution of a dispute between beIN Sports and Saudi Arabia over illegal streaming.  

So what now?  Changes on the field can't really happen until the January transfer window.  Well, more technically, roster changes can't happen until then.  Newcastle are on schedule to reach the end of the year certainly in the bottom five, if not the bottom three.  Expectations for this window will be high; at a minimum we would expect investment sufficient to ward off relegation.

Could Newcastle become one of those "big money" clubs that people love to hate?  I think we can probably hold on that thought until, say, Newcastle win the league a few times.  I do want it on record that I was a fan long before the money came into play.

Sucks To Be Right Sometimes

The Force was not with us last weekend

Looking over last week's edition, I see we were right about Newcastle and Aston Villa.  Newcastle weren't outclassed but the 1-2 loss to Wolves matched what I saw on the field.  The dreaded results elsewhere conspired to drop us to 19th place.

Aston Villa offered us just a little more hope when Watkins leveled things in the 67th minute but hopes were quickly dashed when Tottenham scored minutes later.  The scoresheet says it was an own goal for Matt Targett but that is completely unfair to him; if he hadn't attempted the tackle on Lucas Moura, it's an easy tap-in for the Spur.  Again, 1-2 loss looks about right.

We did suggest Liverpool - Man City would be close and it was.  Sometimes those top-of-table fixtures don't deliver but this was a cracker as they say over there.  Though much of the match was 0-0, there was plenty of activity.  Then, we saw four goals in the final 30+ minutes, with City rallying twice to earn a 2-2 draw.  A match worthy of its hype.  Unfortunately for both, the draw means that Chelsea's 3-1 win over Southampton puts the Blues top of the table.  That one might have been fun to watch too as it was 1-1 until Ward-Prowse got sent off in the 72nd minute; Chelsea got goals at 84 and 89 minutes to make it look like a runaway. 

We offered hope that Rafael Benitez would come up with a game plan to keep Everton close with Man United despite missing Calvert-Lewin and other personnel.  The stats say the Red Devils did dominate but the Toffees snatched a 1-1 draw with a wonderful strike from Andros Townsend.

We suggested that Crystal Palace - Leicester might be more competitive than usual.  That one ended 2-2 as Palace rallied from a two-goal deficit and was probably a better viewing choice than Spurs - Aston Villa.  We did question whether 538 was perhaps off base listing Brighton - Arsenal as the most competitive match of the weekend.  So after a statement win over Spurs last weekend, the Gunners stumbled to a 0-0 draw and the stats say it flatters them.  

We did miss a few.  Burnley did not in fact get a win at home versus Norwich.  The Canaries remain winless but not pointless after a 0-0 draw.  Glad we missed that one.  Leeds did escape the ranks of the winless with a 1-0 home win over Watford and Brentford continued to confound with a 2-1 win over West Ham.   

List of Teams With Fewer Losses Than Brighton and Brentford

Liverpool

U Beat U

The only team that could beat the Union on Sunday versus Columbus was the Union.  And try they did.  The Union that is.  The Union had the run of play without a goal to show for it.  Then Glesnes and Elliott lined up to take a free kick from distance.  As Glesnes peeled away to leave Elliott to take the kick, I muttered under my breath "not my first choice."  So Elliott of course shoots wide of the wall and finds the corner of the net.  I thought it was an error by the keeper, either in how the wall was set up or in his reaction to the shot.  The U doubled the advantage with a quick goal right after the break on a nice hook up from shuhBILLkoh to Bedoya.  We couldn't find a clip of just the goal so we present the highlight video as this week's YouTubeableMoment; the play starts at about 49 seconds.

Flach ran his usual 10k+ and added an insurance goal

Up 2-0 I wondered if the second half might be boring.  No chance as the Union did their best to make it a game.  First, Wagner got his second yellow - for a silly challenge - at 64 minutes.  That's a long time to play a man down but maybe we can keep them off the board for a while.  Then Powell gets whistled for a foul in the box in the 74th minute.  We thought maybe it was 50/50 challenge but certainly not a terrible call.  But Blake saved the PK!  Not a great take but he did have to go the right way.  Columbus continued to press and only an acrobatic save from Blake minutes later kept the margin at two.  Finally, Flach put things to bed with a goal in the 89th minute that arguably should have been saved.  BFS Keeper Consultant Graham R speculated later that if the teams traded keepers, the final would have been 1-2 favor Columbus.

Huge three points that catapulted the U from 7th to 3rd in the crowded MLS Eastern Conference.  They have 10 points from last four games and a game in hand versus most of the league.  Even better, that game in hand is against Cincinnati - this Saturday at 8 pm.  Still, there is work to be done, as the margin over 8th place Atlanta is just three points.

US Get Three

After a first half that included two controversial non-calls for DOGSO against Jamaica, the USMNT did manage two goals and a mostly comfortable win.  This was mostly expected, although the personnel wasn't.  No Pulisic, no Reyna, no Brooks, etc.  The roster was just slightly older than the Union bench.  Speaking of the Union, Jamaica featured Blake in goal and Alvas Powell at right back, while the US started Brenden Aaronson and had Mark McKenzie on the bench.  We digress.

One of the teenagers, Ricardo Pepi, had both goals, one assisted by Aaronson on a pinpoint pass into the box.  Also happy to see good work from Yunus Musah in the midfield.  Maybe not a statement win but an important one anyway.  The proverbial results elsewhere worked in our favor, as Mexico - Canada ended 1-1 while El Salvador knocked off Panama 1-0.  After four matches, US are top of the table on goal differential over Mexico, Canada are two points back and Panama three back.

US are back in action Sunday at 6 pm, then Costa Rica on Wednesday at 7.

Rinse and Repeat

The weekend seemed almost a carbon copy of last.  Frustrating draw for Newcastle, Union eek out a win, Aston Villa roll.  The problem is that cycle only works for two of the three teams.  

Luckiest Unlucky Draw Ever

Or maybe the unluckiest lucky draw.  Whichever, it was frustrating and nerve-wracking.  The Magpies were out early against Watford and Sean Longstaff's goal at 23 minutes was no less than they deserved, even if it really should have been stopped by Watford keeper Ben Foster.  There would be more first-half opportunities, including a wide open chance for Longstaff, that were not converted, leading to the inevitable question as to whether Newcastle would later rue these missed chances.  

If Murphy shots low,
does Foster have a chance?

Of course the answer was yes.  Sarr leveled things at 72 minutes.  Wait, it gets worse.  Josh King looked to have given Watford the game winner at 87 minutes.  Fortunately, VAR intervened to point out, correctly, that King was offside.  Breathing again I reminded myself that going in I fully accepted that a draw would be a good result.  Except, in stoppage time, there goes Jacob Murphy in on goal all alone and three points look possible.  But for some reason Murphy lifts it instead of keeping it on the deck and this time Foster makes the save.  The final is 1-1.

Championship division quality finishing on display here, highlighting how much Newcastle miss Callum Wilson.  Stats are mostly even, except for expected goals.  Certainly feels like a lost two points.  So they are starting to play better even though it's not translating into wins.  They do climb out of the bottom three.    Gonna be another long slog.

Not In My Hause

It wasn't in their house but Aston Villa went to Old Trafford and gave Man United fits.  Both had some legitimate chances but the match went to the 88th minute level at 0-0.  Just when we started thinking that this would be a great draw for Villa, Kortney Hause drilled a header past deGea; we make it this week's YouTubeableMoment; though not a big fan in general, we do like the Andres Cantor call here.  Do we dare think about taking all three points?

We shouldn't, as goalscorer Hause gets whistled for handling in the box in the 92nd minute.  On the soft side for us, even looks like it might have come off his chest first.  However, his arm was well-extended from his body.  Bad thing to do given that Mike Dean never shies away from a chance to make a dramatic call.  I think I saw Ronaldo a bit upset that Fernandes stepped up to take the kick.  Might have been the better choice given that Fernandes skied the shot over the cross bar.  As Ted Lasso says, "ya gotta git it in to get three points" or in this case one point.  

Maybe a draw was the right score.  Sure, United outshot them 28-7, possession was 60/40 and xG favored the Red Devils.  However, the xG advantage is mostly due to the PK and shots on target were only 4-3 favor United.   So Villa clearly played well here and any points were deserved.  

Jesus Saves Scores

I didn't watch Chelsea v Man City - arguably the marquee match of the weekend - because I saw the score while watching Man United - Aston Villa.  Everything I read suggests that the 1-0 final in favor of City actually flatters Chelsea.  City had the possession advantage 60/40, shots were 15-5 and shots on target were 4-0; hard to score without a shot on target.  

The Wrong Kind of  Hat Trick

Jamie Vardy got three goals in Leicester's 2-2 draw with Burnley.  Astute mathematicians may spot a problem there and you would be correct.  The first of the three was an own goal, a misdirected attempt at a clearing header that beat Schmeichel.  Fortunately for Vardy, the next two went in the correct net, both times bringing the Foxes back from one goal deficits.  Even that almost wasn't enough, as Burnley appeared to have snatched a game winner in stoppage time only to see it called back by the VAR, correctly, for offside.  That this is not your father's Leicester is plainly on display now as they struggle to get a draw with Burnley and sit 13th in the table with a goal differential of -3.  Plenty of time to turn things around but there are many sides vying for those spots from 5th to 8th.

Derby in Name Only

If Arsenal v Tottenham was a big test for both sides, our read is that somebody gave the Gunners the answers before the test and/or Tottenham did not bother to study.  The advantage doesn't really show in the final statistics (except of course the 3-1 final in favor of Arsenal) but anybody who watched could tell you this one was over in about 30 minutes.  Most distressing from Spurs' perspective was that aside from being 0-3 down by the 34th minute, they looked lifeless.  The second half was somewhat more even but how much of that was Arsenal playing safe with the big lead?  

Other Things

Raul back on the scoresheet where he belongs

With Chelsea and Man United, going down, only Liverpool remain unbeaten. Of course, the Reds didn't win either but at least they got a 3-3 draw with Brentford, who continue to punch above their weight.  Conversely,  none of the unvictorious five were able to break through.  As we noted, Newcastle and Burnley got draws.  Southampton (0-1 to Wolves on the first goal for Raul Jiminez since his return from a fractured skull), Norwich (0-2 to Everton) and Leeds (1-2 to West Ham) got nothing.  These five, not surprisingly, inhabit the bottom five spots in the table.

After the results of Saturday-Sunday, Brighton entered Monday's clash with Crystal Palace with a chance to go top of the table.  Mostly what happened was they had a chance to drop all three points at Selhurst Park.  Only a cheeky chip from Maupay in the 95th minute allowed them to escape with a 1-1 draw.  Still, they sit 6th in the table with four wins, a draw and a loss; pretty good for a side that usually finds itself in the relegation mess.

I Lost to Sheriff (apologies to Bob Marley)

The Thill is not gone: Sebastien Thill gets
 the game winner in Madrid

Our favorite Moldavan club was at it again, but this one was really audacious, as they took the measure of Real Madrid, at the Bernabeu no less.  Didn't see it while wasting my time watching PSG handle Man City.  The Wasps actually led for much of the match, until RM got a soft PK at 65 minutes.  Not to worry as Sheriff did not lay down and there was Sebastien Thill getting a game winner in the 89th minute.  The stats are ridiculous in favor of RM: possession was 76-24, shots 31-4, shots on target 11-3, corners 13-0 and xG 3.35 - .4.  Must have been the intangibles.  In any case, Sheriff are top of Group C through two matches.  Probably shouldn't "book" them just yet for the knockout stage but they do have a five point lead over third place Inter Milan. Maybe should clear your schedule for that matchup (10/19 at 3 pm).

Barely Enough

The Union slipped past Atlanta 1-0 at home and settled for a 1-1 road draw with the Harrison Pink Cows New York Red Bulls. Despite these results, their playoff berth is hardly secure.

Against Atlanta, the U took the wrong page out of the Newcastle playbook, missing way too many good opportunities; maybe Guzan deserves a little credit there.  Anyway, they had the upper hand all day but had nothing to show for it.  Finally, Jose Martinez did some great work on the endline to get a pass to shuhBILLkoh in the box and he slipped the shot past heretofore unbeatable Guzan.  You can see Martinez handiwork and shuhBILLkoh's shot here.  Atlanta really didn't threaten much all day so it didn't feel all that shaky from there on in.  Yeah, it helped that again that their opponent was missing a key player (Josef Martinez) but everybody has to deal with that.  The win looked right on paper and on the field.  

Santos goal was enough to get a draw
Photo:Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Move to Wednesday night in Harrison NJ.  Santos got them an early lead with a volley off his thigh from a Glesnes flick on.  Unfortunately, Hernandez got it back in the 37th minute.  The Union did have a defensive focus for this one and it showed; neither team really offered much of a threat in the second half.  This one looked like a draw on paper and on the field.

Seven points from three games sounds great, right?  Except they still sit 5th in the table, a mere two points ahead of 8th place Montreal.  Lose at home to Columbus this weekend and the Crew will only be two points back as well.  With eight games remaining, almost everything in the Eastern Conference, except first place, is up for grabs.  Imagine where they'd be without those seven points.  

Cramming Them In

EPL will feature 10 games over Saturday and Sunday so you'll probably have to pick your spots.

The big one is first place Liverpool vs second place Man City on Sunday at 11:30 (NBCSN).  Both teams are in great form (excluding perhaps City's 0-2 midweek Champions League loss to PSG) so this one should be close.

We will definitely tune in for Saturday morning's 7:30 contest (NBCSN) between Man United and Everton.  Both are 4-1-1.  I guess there's a chance United will dominate but I have some hope that Benitez will come up with a good game plan.

With Newcastle at Molyneaux to face Wolves (Saturday 10 am Peacock), I'm not thinking this is the weekend that the Magpies get their first win.  A draw would be a fabulous result here.  Aston Villa have a tall task too, taking on Spurs in London (Sunday 9 am Peacock); I rate their chances only slightly better than Newcastle's.  Still, I would have put this one on NBCSN over the Crystal Palace - Leicester contest at the same time but that's just me.  Actually, it would be my third choice for Sunday at 9, as West Ham v Brentford might be more interesting too.  I guess if you're looking for a competitive match, maybe Palace - Leicester is a good choice, but only because the Foxes have underperformed this year.

The NBC feature match at 12:30 on Saturday is Brighton vs Arsenal.  Strange choice for feature match but what's really weird is that 583 has this one at 37/35 in favor of the Seagulls with a 28% chance of draw.  Sure it's at Amex Stadium but really?    Leeds - Watford on NBCSN Saturday at 10 doesn't really put a tingle down my spine.  Somebody's going to get points at Turf Moor when Burnley host Norwich.  Odds are that the Clarets get their first win and Norwich remain pointless.  Chelsea - Southampton also square off at 10; you can see that one on USA.

I'll be at Subaru Park Sunday afternoon for another critical Union contest as they take on the Columbus Crew.  A win is important, not losing is essential.   Looks like 538 has the U has serious favorites. 

The Octagon Returns

We're heading into another international break and the USMNT will do that three games in seven days thing again.  First up is Jamaica in Austin on Thursday at 7:45.  Sunday they travel to face Panama at 6 pm.  They close out the break hosting Costa Rica on Wednesday (10/13) in Columbus.  In case you forgot, the standings through the first three matches are here.  A good look at some of the relevant topics for these matches is here.  This section of the US fan base agrees that seven points is the right number out of these three fixtures.  Gotta beat Jamaica at home.  Draw with Panama wouldn't be terrible.  Should beat Costa Rica at home.  I suppose five points wouldn't be disaster but dropped points here and there just reduce the room for error near the end.

The break also means European WC qualifiers so if I don't see you next week, don't forget those matches run from Friday 10/8 to Tuesday 10/12. 

Move over 6911, there's a new venue in town

We leave you with a picture of Michael B's new man cave, possibly the besting soccer viewing venue in Northwest Philly.  If only Michael still followed the EPL.  
 

One or Two Steps Up, No Steps Back

 Mostly better results for the BFS sides this weekend plus some thoroughly entertaining stuff.

If It Quacks Like a Duck

Classic early deficit for Newcastle

On paper, the Newcastle - Leeds match looked to be a draw, the match I saw on TV looked like a draw and the stats suggest it was a draw.  This one had a very unsatisfying start, as Raphinha sent a long cross into the box that ended up untouched in the goal.  Darlow was held in place by the run of a Leeds attacker and Lascelles didn't play the ball either.  The cross was superb so Leeds probably deserved a goal out of it but still frustrating to watch.  Fortunately Newcastle did have a viable counterattack going (actually whole first half was frantic back-and-forth attacking) and Saint-Maximin did level things with a fine goal of his own just before half.  We make it this week's runner up YouTubeableMoment.  The second half wasn't as action-packed; there were some chances for both, but neither side could break the deadlock.  On balance, while it was pins and needles for Magpie fans, this one was entertaining for the neutral.

A Noble Gesture?

Speaking of entertaining, the best viewing of the weekend was West Ham versus Man United with something for everyone.  Ronaldo fans got treated to another goal.  Ronaldo haters got treated to seeing him denied at least three penalty shouts, though in truth one of them might actually have been a penalty.  West Ham did have an early lead that was erased with the Ronaldo goal.  Great stuff to watch even though the match entered the late stages still at 1-1. Last week's goat for Man United (but last year's hero for West Ham) broke that deadlock with a sweet strike in the 89th minute.

That looked like the game winner until Luke Shaw was whistled for handling in the box.  Providing fodder for pundits and armchair managers everywhere, David Moyes chose to bring on Mark Noble to take the PK.  No doubt that Noble is good at this.  Stepping onto the pitch, his conversion rate in EPL matches was 90.5% (38 for 42).  Now he is down to 88.4%, as his attempt was mediocre at best and was easily saved by deGea, who had been 0 for his last 21 in stopping PKs dating back to October 2014.  I suppose if I searched harder I might find some support for Moyes here but the criticism looks to be universal - from the BFS text stream to the newspapers to the pundit shows.  You can see the play from the WHU fans' perspective in this video we will label the agony of de feet.

Who Are Those Guys?

Another fun match was Aston Villa - Everton.  This one was close, until it wasn't.  For 60+ minutes the sides traded chances.  Then, in a matter of 10 minutes, it was over.  First there was a great run and even better strike from Matty Cash.  Then an own goal from Luca Digne.  The final nail was this goal from summer acquisition Leon Bailey.  And suddenly, as Arlo White put it, Villa had taken Everton to the cleaners.  Nice to know some expressions work on both sides of the pond.

Another Gentleman's C?

For the second week in a row, Arsenal barely passed what should have been a relatively easy test, shading Burnley 1-0.  Sure, it's hard to play at Turf Moor.  Still, that looked like a draw to me.  The stats suggest a draw; actually xG says Burnley 1.55-1.20.  Claret fans will feel hard done that a foul in the box by Ramsdale (wait, he started over Leno? what's up with that?) was questioned by the VAR and overturned by Anthony Taylor after he went to the monitor - and watched the whole play this time!  For me, this was correct given the EPL's directive that about fouls in the box.

Consecutive 1-0 wins over 19th and 20th in the table is no way to go through life in the EPL - unless you're Newcastle.  This must be unacceptable for Gunners fans.  Big test on Sunday as they face Spurs.

Speaking of Spurs, they did no better with 11 on the field for the whole match, falling to Chelsea 0-3.  First half was actually pretty even, ending at 0-0.  Things, uh, unraveled in the second half.  I'm tempted to say the final score is unfair to Spurs, given that the second goal was a wicked deflection off Dier and the third goal came in stoppage time.  On the other hand, xG says this was Chelsea 2.45-.9, not exactly close.  

In Other Action

I did see Brentford take Wolves 2-0; the Bees are certainly defying the early season predictions of a tough year in the top tier.  Long way to go though.  

Liverpool took their sweet time dispatching Crystal Palace but the 3-0 final looks about right so the Red Devils kept pace with Chelsea and Man United.  Not so for Man City, who apparently huffed and puffed but could not break through against Southampton.  Part of the explanation might be that despite 16 shots, they managed just one on target.  The Saints now have four consecutive draws including ties with Man United, Man City, West Ham and Newcastle.  One of these is not like the others.

Man City's struggle allowed for the winner of the Brighton - Leicester match to slip into 4th place.  That would be Brighton.  The Seagulls have four wins against just one loss.  Most of the wins are not exactly top of the table types but you can only beat who you play.  Must be nice to put up 12 points quickly to keep the early relegation noise to a minimum.  Rounding out the week, Watford kept Norwich pointless with a 3-1 win on the road.

After five matches, Chelsea, Liverpool and Man United have no losses while Southampton, Newcastle, Leeds, Burnley and Norwich still have yet to win.

Which Cazoo are you?

Who Are Cazoo?

Did you notice that Aston Villa - Everton match was the Claret Cazoos versus the White Cazoos?  So what exactly is a Cazoo?  It is a British on-line car retailer based in London apparently making enough money to sponsor two EPL teams and host of lower division sides as well.  More details here.

The U Move in the Right Direction

A mixture of satisfaction and relief at Subaru Park as the Union got a key 3-1 win over Orlando City.  With the early run of play, the Kai Wagner's late first half goal seemed like a just reward.  As I was commenting to Jeff K about the Union going flat in the second half, Ruan's header off a great cross leveled things at 57 minutes.  Maybe the most important moment of the season was the Union response to that goal.  They got right back on attack and shuhBILLkoh put them back on top after some lovely work along the byline by Monteiro and Bedoya.  We make it this week's YouTubeableMoment.  They added a third with a PK after Santos was brought down in the box.

They say speed kills - Santos in full stride

Yes, it was a shorthanded Orlando, playing without Nani and Andres Perea.  The Union have played without key players at times.  Yes, shuhBILLkoh may have indeed fouled Schlegel prior to the Union's first goal.  Though there was confusion, as the AR did raise his flag; the official explanation looks to be that referee Alan Kelly played advantage but Orlando lost the ball (helpful explanation here).  Okay, maybe shuhBILLkoh could have been red carded there but VAR is supposed to look at that.  We heard that the Disciplinary Board might have a second look at it but as of this writing, no word.

Many fine performances here.  Bedoya's work on the left wing in the first half was excellent.  Flach ran his usual 20 miles or so.  Santos was a big help as a sub when speed was needed. Also, very happy to see that Curtin doesn't wait anymore to sub out Bedoya before he runs out of gas.  

Still a ton of work to do but this would be one of those signature wins that define a season.  

If You Still Carabao It Cup

Round of 32 matches were this week.  If you care, results and fixtures are available here.

No World Cup for You?

Selection for the 2026 World Cup venues was a topic this week.  As noted in this article, the committee was in Philly checking out the Linc.  The odds seem stack against the city, an unlucky combination of geography and politics.  Still, I will find it particularly galling if Gillette Stadium is selected over Lincoln Financial Field.  Inconvenient location outside of Boston and they'll have to lay natural grass on top of the artificial turf.  But as Tannenwald notes, FIFA will do whatever it wants.

Momentum?

Important weekend as Newcastle and the Union have chances to build on last week's results.  Plus several big EPL match ups.  

But first a rant.  Are you effing kidding me?  The powers-that-be have scheduled both Chelsea - Man City and Man United - Aston Villa for 7:30 Saturday morning.  And the latter is only available on Peacock.  What are they thinking?  Obviously Chelsea - MCI is the match of the weekend (sorry North London derby fans).  Chelsea have been hot, City less so but this figures to be a good one.  The Man United - Villa match doesn't look as tight on paper but I think it could still be a good watch; remember that the Villans gave Chelsea a hard time a few weeks ago.  Might have something to do with the Ryder Cup, although that only affects NBC, not NBCSN so not clear what's up.  No consideration for the fans here.  I kid, mostly, but this does seem to be poor choice, especially when you look at the 10 am fixtures.

One of those 10 am matches is Watford - Newcastle (on Peacock) that surely can be of interest only to the die-hard fans of those two sides.  Of course, it is a big one for both teams, as both are likely to find themselves in, say, the bottom five or six come later this season.  At 538 they have Watford as a slight favorite (38% to 35% with 26% chance of a draw).  Ideally, we'd like a win here but on the road I will say now I'd be happy with a draw.

The 10 am match that gets TV is the less-than-stellar Leicester hosting winless Burnley.  The other 10 am matches on Peacock are Everton - Norwich (anything less than Toffee win here will be unacceptable) and Leeds - West Ham (probably would be fun to watch if none of the others catch your fancy).

Feature match at 12:30 on NBCSN (not NBC because of Ryder Cup) is Brentford - Liverpool.  The Bees fans are probably thrilled with their start and may feel there's nothing to lose here.  But they will be up against it.

Big London derby on Sunday at 11:30 between Arsenal and Tottenham.  Neither have been impressive lately but there has to be a result here.  I wonder if this is the last test for Arteta; a draw or better and he sticks around but a loss would be the end of the road?  You can warm up for the derby with what looks like a competitive match with Southampton hosting Wolves at 9 am on NBCSN.  Only one point separates them but my sense is that Southampton have had some good luck while the Wolves have not.

On Monday, fourth place Brighton travels to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace at 3 pm on NBCSN.  The Eagles can be tough there so the Seagles Seagulls will have work to do; I smell an entertaining draw.

The Union take on Atlanta at friendly Subaru Park looking to build on the win over Orlando.  This one is at 3:30 but coverage is limited to Univision and TUDN; I wonder if this another English broadcast on the Spanish station.  If it's not in English, a good chance to learn some more Spanish.

Well That Went Well...Not

Eesh, not much good to report for Newcastle, the Union or even Football Manager for that matter.  

Three Goal Losses 

Saturday was particularly galling as I watched three clubs of interest - on delay no less - lose by three goals.  Start off with Tottenham's wretched effort at Selhurst Park.  The Eagles were already outplaying Spurs when Tanganga got himself sent off for two yellows in the space of five minutes.  Took a little while for Crystal Palace to take advantage but take advantage they did and the 3-0 final looks totally representative of what we saw on the pitch.  

Proceed to Old Trafford for the EPL re-debut of Christian Ronaldo.  As expected, the Magpies were set up in their defensive 5-3-2 shape.  They absorbed the pressure well and managed some counter attacks so we were prepared to go in at half happy at 0-0.  Except Ronaldo scored in stoppage time.  We argue this was bad luck as opposed to anything special from CR7.  The ball was deflected off a Newcastle defender, which meant that Woodman didn't handle it as cleanly as he should have and of course the rebound fell at Ronaldo's feet.  Newcastle did level things with a rare goal from Manquillo (ironically in the line up over Jacob Murphy for defensive purposes).  But Ronaldo got a second, more deserved this time, shortly thereafter, STAYING ON HIS FEET for a change and getting off a nice shot that beat Woodman in the five hole.  I was preparing to feel pretty good about a 1-2 loss except MUN added two late goals to make the final 4-1.  This one felt like 2-1 and xG mostly backs me up.  Sure, a loss but not awful.

We closed the day out with Chelsea - Aston Villa.  The final says 3-0 but our eyes tell us that Villa were the better side.  The stats, especially xG, suggest our eyes did not deceive us.  This was at worst a draw.

So we had a big goose egg for Saturday, though we suspect Jeff H was okay with proceedings.

A Little Help Here?

Though my initial reaction to results elsewhere was "thanks a lot guys," closer inspection says overall, Newcastle may have gotten some help.  The Palace win wasn't helpful, nor was Southampton's 0-0 draw with West Ham.  But Arsenal did their job - barely - with a 1-0 win over Norwich; didn't see the match but it reads like the Gunners pushed the Canaries all over the place yet only managed the one goal.  Though the Wolves 2-0 win over Watford pushed them past Newcastle in the table, we are more realistically worried about Watford in the relegation battle so this was fine.  Thoroughly enjoyable match on Monday as Everton rallied from 0-1 to handle Burnley 3-1.  A 90th minute goal got Brighton a 1-0 win over previously unbeaten Brentford; we might have preferred a draw there.

And how sad is it that I'm already closely following results at the bottom of the table?

Meanwhile, In Another Part of Town

Liverpool took care of shorthanded Leeds (more on that below) 3-0. Earlier this year we noted that Leeds can be like a chicken with its head cut off - running around not knowing it's already dead.  A man down, we will suggest they run around like a chicken with its head and one leg cut off; they just don't know any other way.  It does make for entertaining football though.  Man City look to have run Leicester City all over the map but only have a 1-0 win to show for it.

So we have four teams (Man United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton) at 3-1-0; the first three also have a goal differential of +8 but United are top based on goals scored.  

Elliott Down

One of the few pleasures so far this year has been watching my Forest Green Football Manager star, Harvey Elliott, perform live for Liverpool.  Even that has been taken away, as he suffered a dislocated ankle after a tackle in the match with Leeds.  The good news is that he had successful surgery and is expected back this season.  No timeframe was given for his comeback.  I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV; however, checking the web suggests likely a 12-week recovery before sport-specific training can begin.  That would put him back in the line up maybe by the beginning of the year.

Struijk beats Elliott to the ball and does not come
 thru him after the challenge

The Leeds player who made the tackle, Pascal Struijk, received a red card for the challenge.  I argue this was a case of sanctioning to the injury, not the challenge - reminiscent of Son's tackle on Gomez last year.  Craig Pawson was in excellent position to see the play and made no call at the time. Very confusing as to whether or how much  the fourth official or VAR were involved but Pawson ended up showing Struijk a red card, without going to check out the play himself on the monitor.  I have watched the video and while it's not pretty, it's not as gruesome as you might think.  I include a still picture (sorry for the quality) of the first part of the challenge.  As you can clearly see, this was NOT a tackle from behind.  I remind people all the time, getting the ball does not mean there might not be a foul.  But the direction of the tackle is not into Elliott; the collision after the tackle is as much Elliott's momentum as Struijk's.  There is quite a bit of support that this was not a red card.  However, as with the handling case a few week's ago, the authorities do not agree with me; the league rejected an appeal of the red card.  

Fortunately for me, Elliott's injury in real life has no impact on his play for me in Football Manager, as the game separates from reality the moment you start.  Think about that statement for a minute.

A quick note on Forest Green.  After blowing through League One last year, we are finding life in the Championship Division a bit more rigorous.  Through five matches we have two wins, two draws and a loss.  Plus we are already out of the League Cup.  My initial thought is that while we are good enough to stay up promotion at the first time of asking may be beyond our reach.

Mortuary Ball of the Week

We all know about a hospital ball, a pass so weak that it subjects the recipient to heavy contact, possibly requiring hospitalization.  I add a new term this week - a mortuary ball - a pass so bad it leaves your teammate for dead.  We have two excellent examples this week.

First Tyrone Mings ruined 49 minutes of superb play by Aston Villa with this back pass.  Instead of 0-1, Villa were now down 0-2 on the road to Chelsea.  As bad as that was, we're going with this one from Man United's Jesse (oh to be back at West Ham) Lingard.  Maybe only marginally more egregious than Mings', the context elevates it to our winner.  The play cost United a point in Champions League group stage play, with the late goal giving Young Boys all three points.  An ugly day for the Red Devils as a Ronaldo goal had given them a lead but Wan-Bissaka's red card at 35 minutes allowed the Young Boys back into the match.

No CONCACAF Champions League Final for U

We know it was a long shot, coming home 0-2 to Club America.  There was always a chance though if they could get the first goal.  Club America did well to confound, confuse and otherwise annoy the Union for the first 30 minutes.  Then, our guys started to grow into the game and arguably had the run of play the rest of the night.  That advantage on the field was about to show up on the scoreboard when shuhBILLkoh was fouled in the box.  Unfortunately, Ochoa saved Monteiro's take, then saved Burke's rebound attempt.  Monteiro's take was actually pretty good; maybe you fault him for telegraphing the attempt too much but Ochoa was fully extended and the ball was at a difficult height.  This was likely the turning point of the match so we make it this week's YouTubeableMoment.  Club America got a deflected goal (second one of the tie) and a late one in stoppage to make this a 0-2 final (0-4 on aggregate).

A spirited two-leg effort from the Union.  Failure to convert the chances they had and maybe a little bad luck - CA had two deflected goals and a softish PK.  We won't blame referee Said Martinez for the loss but we will fault him on two fronts.  First, have some balls and show yellow cards for persistent delay of game on free kicks.  After one or maybe two warnings to move back, show the damn yellow card.  Finger wagging and arm gestures don't stop that behavior.  Second, the foul on shuhBILLkoh should have been red for DOGSO.  The double jeopardy clause only applies if there was a legitimate attempt to tackle the ball.  In this case, the defender grabbed CatsPurr's shoulder.  

Sucks To Be Right Sometimes

Last week I warned that it was possible that by the time the Union kicked off against Orlando on Sunday afternoon, they could find themselves in 9th place.  The dreaded "results elsewhere" have conspired to make it happen.  Actually, it could get even worse, as Columbus play Saturday and could climb past the Union with a win against New England.

The good news is that the Union have a game or two in hand on several of the teams above them.  The bad news is that only matters if you get results in those matches.  So upcoming home matches with Orlando and Atlanta take on critical importance.

The participation in Champions League was both valuable and cool.  But failure to make the playoffs will take most (all) of the sheen off that accomplishment.

There's A New Sheriff in Town (hat tip Bob K)

Sheriff's name comes from a
company in the region
 but the badge is a more fun image

Making their Champions League group stage debut this week was Fotbal Club Sheriff, often referred to as Sheriff Tiraspol, or even more simply, Sheriff.  Where to begin?  Well, of course their emblem is a badge, though the name derives from a company in the region.  What region is that you might ask?  They are a Moldovan club based in Tiraspol.  Except Tiraspol is a city located in the unrecognized Pridnestovian Moldavian Republic, otherwise known as Transnistria.  For those wishing to continue the geo-political lesson, click here.  The narrow strip of land that constitutes Transnistria looks like a gerrymandered Republican Congressional district.

But we digress.  The club has had some success, qualifying for Europa four times and Champions League twice.  Their group stage debut went swimmingly as they bested Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 and sit atop Group D. Ya done good, guys.  

Try Again

On paper, two best matches of the weekend involve the BFS sides.  Newcastle host Leeds Friday afternoon at 3 pm (NBCSN).  Two sides with more differing philosophies I don't think you'll find.  Leeds are a car with no reverse or even neutral gear while Newcastle are a bus that is frequently parked.  The Magpies figure to be under pressure the whole time.  Some optimism here because they did manage decent counters against Man United and should have more luck with those counters against a weaker side, particularly one missing some key defenders.  

For the second straight week, Aston Villa are the 12:30 Saturday feature match on NBC, this time against Everton.  This should be fun, two evenly matched sides that offer attractive football.  Highly recommended.  

Best action at the top of the table is a London Derby featuring Tottenham - Chelsea at 11:30 on Sunday (curiously only on Peacock).  Both are coming off unimpressive performances.  Chelsea have only allowed one goal so far while Spurs are averaging less than one per game; they'll have to change that trend to get a result. The other topside match of interest is West Ham hosting Man United (Sunday at 9 am on NBCSN).  Though both are undefeated, the Red Devils are in much better form.

Liverpool and Man City have every chance to stay close to the top with home matches against Crystal Palace and Southampton respectively.  Both of those are at 10 am on Saturday.  However, my choice for that time slot is Burnley - Arsenal, which is conveniently available on NBCSN.  Having barely passed one test against Norwich last week, Mikel Arteta and the Gunners face a tougher side, on the road.  

Saturday morning early risers can take in Wolves - Brentford at 7:30 Saturday on NBCSN.  Relegation candidates Norwich and Watford square off at 10 am Saturday on Peacock.  Rounding out the schedule is Brighton - Leicester Sunday at 9 on Peacock.  They are 6th and 9th respectively, though the order is reversed from what you might expect.  This could be a pretty good watch if Brighton continue their early season form.

We'll be at Subaru Park Sunday afternoon at 4 to see the Union take on Orlando City.  Trite to say but this is a critical contest.  ESPN seems to agree, as they will be televising the game.  Three points is practically a must.  

I hear that doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results is the definition of insanity.  But I'll be watching again this weekend.