Sunday morning I thought I knew the routine, as the script had been written so many times over the years.
Watching from my couch on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, Newcastle United jumped out to a shock 1-0 lead over Manchester United at Old Trafford, only to snatch an equalizer minutes later.
As time wore on, the draw continued. As each minute ticked away the British announcers kept wondering aloud if the Magpies could hold on or if United would come back. (Have to love the announcers casually noting the 12-to-1 odds on Newcastle to win. Roger Goodell's head would explode if Ian Eagle did that during an NFL affair.)
If you've watch the Premier League you know how these games turn out. The underdogs hold out for 75, 80 minutes only to have their spirits crushed by the ruthless favorites. It happens so often by the presumed 'Big Four' of Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and to a lesser extent in the League Liverpool that you don't even bat an eye. Like the 1996-2000 New York Yankees, comebacks are almost preordained.
That's why Sunday's eventual 1-1 draw was so weird. Every nucleotide of my DNA expected the Red Devils to walk away with a win they didn't exactly deserve. It was going to be a fluke deflection, or a moment of brilliance from Rooney, or more likely a dubious penalty decision by Mike Wiley.
Something was supposed to happen and it didn't.
If this match happens in October, you bat and eye for a second and move on. On opening weekend, the sky is falling even though United won the League last season drawing its first two matches.
That said, it might only be August but not getting the full three points from this match against Newcastle -- a team Manchester United owns harder than Marlo Stanfield on the Westside Corners -- is troubling. Yes, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo were missing from the game, but once Michael Carrick -- yes that Michael Carrick -- left the game the United midfield went in the crapper and the team lost its way.
Sir Alex Fergueson had to ape his rival from North London -- Arsene Wenger -- and revert to playing a pair of teenage Brasilian unknowns to try to steal three points.
Yes, it's only one game out of 38 and it's impossible to jump to conclusions (the 90s Pet Rock) but Manchester United is going to have to work damn hard to make it three straight with the karma gods tilting out of their direction after two years of rainbows and candy bars.
Other stuff
You might have guessed it, but the Man. Utd. game was the only one I had the opportunity to watch in full due to work commitments. (Apologies) So here's what I took away from highlights and match reports this weekend.
* Statements -- Chelsea. A 4-0 shit-stomping of Portsmouth at Stamford Bridge declares the Blues, in Wu-Tang terminology, 'aint nuttin to xxxx with.' I don't want to go overboard, but the Blues aren't screwing up like they did in that one dodgy patch under Avram Grant last season. The contenders better get three points each week, or be very afraid.
* Stars -- Dean Aston nets a brace for West Ham in a win over Wigan, and promptly hurts himself. ... Apparently Deco was fantastic for Chelsea. Good for him. ... Gabby Agbonlahor nets a second-half hat trick to lift the high-scoring swingers from Aston Villa 4-2 over Manchester City. ... Shay Given proved his worth with a couple important first-half saves for Newcastle against Manchester United. ... Hard to single anyone out, but great job by Hull City to get a win in its first crack, even if the opponent was Fulham. Great individual goal by Geovanni to start it, and a nice tap-in by Caleb Folan to win it. Enjoy the fun while it lasts.
* Duds -- Didn't see much, but personal favorite Jolean Lescott looked caught out of place on two of Blackburns goals in the 3-2 win over Everton. ... Stoke City. From a 3-1 dumping by presumed relegation candidate Bolton, to the generically garnish yellow-and-blue away kits, all around a stinker of a Saturday for the Potters. ... Since this is the duds category, something must be said about Adidas' grey/blu/silver disaster of Liverpool's away uniform. It just looks wrong on a soccer field.
* Cult hero of the week -- Newcastle newbie Jonás Gutiérrez is destined for a fun time Tyneside. The Argentine transplant is all over the place on the field and had no problem yapping with the refs. His nickname is Spiderman. I'd put it at about November when we read a tabloid story of him pissing off a balcony at a nightclub. Fun while it lasts, eh? We'll give him credit for stealing Robbie Savage's hair and dying it brown.
* Best goals -- Mikel Arteta's super-cheeky freekick to sneak it by Paul Robinson before the half for Everton. ... Naturally Fernando Torres' winner late vs. Sunderland rates, though its par-for-the-course for him. ... Amr Zaki's volley for Wigan was quality and he almost had two. ... Maybe it was a cross, but Bolton's Grétar Steinsson scored from a sheer angle and maybe Stoke keeper Tomas Sorenson look silly.
* Lookalikes -- Tom Cruise was definitely using a picture of Malcolm Glazer and his clan for his role as Les Grossman in 'Tropic Thunder', right? (Pound-for-pound the Glazers have wiped out an entire forest of ugly trees.) ... Might as well just use this now and get it out of the way, Fabricio Coloccini and Sideshow Bob. (Eh, a layup.)
* Fantasy team of the week -- Riding 20 points from Frank Lampard and 17 from Agbonlahor Kent Darcy's La Academia raced out to first place with 71 points.
* Question of the week -- I'd assume it's for Rugby, but doesn't there seem to be too much grass behind the goal at Hull's KC Stadium? Maybe they're grazing cattle in the offseason to raise funds.
______________
Just wanted to throw a couple MLS positive player notes from the weekend. Colorado added former USMNT defender Corey Gibbs. Toronto picked up former Bolton youngster Johann Smith. This comes on the heels of Brian McBride's debut for the Fire and Seattle's signing of Kasey Keller. MLS needs to walk a fine line between jettisoning and keeping young American talent. There is no perfect solution here.
Also, not to spring this on the loyal readers, but I've been hired to blog for the AOL Fanhouse on soccer. You can read stuff here. Don't know what the format is going to be or what I'll be doing. It'll probably be more 'standard' blog stuff. Find a story, post a link and picture and post it, with occasional analysis brought in.
Whatever it becomes, it'd be nice for you guys to check it out and help drive up the page views.
Rest assured T.O.P. remains my first love and won't be ignored, in fact quite the contrary. (Probably smart not to say much more other than an chance to blog and get paid for it is too good to pass up.)
Watching from my couch on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, Newcastle United jumped out to a shock 1-0 lead over Manchester United at Old Trafford, only to snatch an equalizer minutes later.
As time wore on, the draw continued. As each minute ticked away the British announcers kept wondering aloud if the Magpies could hold on or if United would come back. (Have to love the announcers casually noting the 12-to-1 odds on Newcastle to win. Roger Goodell's head would explode if Ian Eagle did that during an NFL affair.)
If you've watch the Premier League you know how these games turn out. The underdogs hold out for 75, 80 minutes only to have their spirits crushed by the ruthless favorites. It happens so often by the presumed 'Big Four' of Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and to a lesser extent in the League Liverpool that you don't even bat an eye. Like the 1996-2000 New York Yankees, comebacks are almost preordained.
That's why Sunday's eventual 1-1 draw was so weird. Every nucleotide of my DNA expected the Red Devils to walk away with a win they didn't exactly deserve. It was going to be a fluke deflection, or a moment of brilliance from Rooney, or more likely a dubious penalty decision by Mike Wiley.
Something was supposed to happen and it didn't.
If this match happens in October, you bat and eye for a second and move on. On opening weekend, the sky is falling even though United won the League last season drawing its first two matches.
That said, it might only be August but not getting the full three points from this match against Newcastle -- a team Manchester United owns harder than Marlo Stanfield on the Westside Corners -- is troubling. Yes, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo were missing from the game, but once Michael Carrick -- yes that Michael Carrick -- left the game the United midfield went in the crapper and the team lost its way.
Sir Alex Fergueson had to ape his rival from North London -- Arsene Wenger -- and revert to playing a pair of teenage Brasilian unknowns to try to steal three points.
Yes, it's only one game out of 38 and it's impossible to jump to conclusions (the 90s Pet Rock) but Manchester United is going to have to work damn hard to make it three straight with the karma gods tilting out of their direction after two years of rainbows and candy bars.
Other stuff
You might have guessed it, but the Man. Utd. game was the only one I had the opportunity to watch in full due to work commitments. (Apologies) So here's what I took away from highlights and match reports this weekend.
* Statements -- Chelsea. A 4-0 shit-stomping of Portsmouth at Stamford Bridge declares the Blues, in Wu-Tang terminology, 'aint nuttin to xxxx with.' I don't want to go overboard, but the Blues aren't screwing up like they did in that one dodgy patch under Avram Grant last season. The contenders better get three points each week, or be very afraid.
* Stars -- Dean Aston nets a brace for West Ham in a win over Wigan, and promptly hurts himself. ... Apparently Deco was fantastic for Chelsea. Good for him. ... Gabby Agbonlahor nets a second-half hat trick to lift the high-scoring swingers from Aston Villa 4-2 over Manchester City. ... Shay Given proved his worth with a couple important first-half saves for Newcastle against Manchester United. ... Hard to single anyone out, but great job by Hull City to get a win in its first crack, even if the opponent was Fulham. Great individual goal by Geovanni to start it, and a nice tap-in by Caleb Folan to win it. Enjoy the fun while it lasts.
* Duds -- Didn't see much, but personal favorite Jolean Lescott looked caught out of place on two of Blackburns goals in the 3-2 win over Everton. ... Stoke City. From a 3-1 dumping by presumed relegation candidate Bolton, to the generically garnish yellow-and-blue away kits, all around a stinker of a Saturday for the Potters. ... Since this is the duds category, something must be said about Adidas' grey/blu/silver disaster of Liverpool's away uniform. It just looks wrong on a soccer field.
* Cult hero of the week -- Newcastle newbie Jonás Gutiérrez is destined for a fun time Tyneside. The Argentine transplant is all over the place on the field and had no problem yapping with the refs. His nickname is Spiderman. I'd put it at about November when we read a tabloid story of him pissing off a balcony at a nightclub. Fun while it lasts, eh? We'll give him credit for stealing Robbie Savage's hair and dying it brown.
* Best goals -- Mikel Arteta's super-cheeky freekick to sneak it by Paul Robinson before the half for Everton. ... Naturally Fernando Torres' winner late vs. Sunderland rates, though its par-for-the-course for him. ... Amr Zaki's volley for Wigan was quality and he almost had two. ... Maybe it was a cross, but Bolton's Grétar Steinsson scored from a sheer angle and maybe Stoke keeper Tomas Sorenson look silly.
* Lookalikes -- Tom Cruise was definitely using a picture of Malcolm Glazer and his clan for his role as Les Grossman in 'Tropic Thunder', right? (Pound-for-pound the Glazers have wiped out an entire forest of ugly trees.) ... Might as well just use this now and get it out of the way, Fabricio Coloccini and Sideshow Bob. (Eh, a layup.)
* Fantasy team of the week -- Riding 20 points from Frank Lampard and 17 from Agbonlahor Kent Darcy's La Academia raced out to first place with 71 points.
* Question of the week -- I'd assume it's for Rugby, but doesn't there seem to be too much grass behind the goal at Hull's KC Stadium? Maybe they're grazing cattle in the offseason to raise funds.
Just wanted to throw a couple MLS positive player notes from the weekend. Colorado added former USMNT defender Corey Gibbs. Toronto picked up former Bolton youngster Johann Smith. This comes on the heels of Brian McBride's debut for the Fire and Seattle's signing of Kasey Keller. MLS needs to walk a fine line between jettisoning and keeping young American talent. There is no perfect solution here.
Also, not to spring this on the loyal readers, but I've been hired to blog for the AOL Fanhouse on soccer. You can read stuff here. Don't know what the format is going to be or what I'll be doing. It'll probably be more 'standard' blog stuff. Find a story, post a link and picture and post it, with occasional analysis brought in.
Whatever it becomes, it'd be nice for you guys to check it out and help drive up the page views.
Rest assured T.O.P. remains my first love and won't be ignored, in fact quite the contrary. (Probably smart not to say much more other than an chance to blog and get paid for it is too good to pass up.)
Labels: Monday recaps, Premier League, Soccer
So, you think it's safe to say that there isn't a Quintuple in Man U's future? You know, Toyota Cup, Carling Cup, FA Cup, Premier League, and Champions' League? What are the odds of that quinella?
rock fanhouse to its core cardillo!
The even more strange thing was that Man United barely threatened towards the end. Both teams look...well, equal. I think it is great for the league if this continues.
Would you mind a link exchange with my blog please? Cheers.