Not A Point to Be Had

As it is now Thursday, I can now finally write about this past Saturday’s action. My worst fears for a weekend of football action materialized this past weekend. Following three teams, each of which can win, draw, or lose, there are twenty-seven possible total outcomes for my football weekend. Of course I have a one in twenty-seven chance of all three teams winning, but as it was this past weekend the one and twenty-seven from the other end of the spectrum was the one to show its ugly head.

Besides all my teams losing, all of the losses were by two goals or more. I will admit that because of this, I didn’t follow the games that closely after awhile. In fact I actually left my station in front of my laptop early to go do some holiday shopping with my wife.

I’ll do my best for match reports, but these won’t be much. Let’s go from worst to best loss (if one can really say that):

Nurnberg vs. Schalke – Although Der Club were playing against a Schalke side that is currently playing in the Europa league competition, I was hoping for a bit of a better showing. Chances were good that Nurnberg would lose the match but I was hoping for, well, something.

Starting the game, Nurnberg had two long-time injuries back in the lineup. Raphael Schaefer was back in goal and Daniel Didavi , on loan from Stuttgart, was up front as a striker. This gave me a little bit more hope for the game.

Alas though, all those hopes I had for the game were quickly dashed. By halftime, Schalke was beating Nurnberg 2-0. With that lead, Schalke sat back for the second half but still managed to increase their lead against a meager Nurnberg side. When the final whistle blew, Schalke beat Schalke by a resounding 4-0. It was the Bayern Munich match from a few weeks ago all over again, just not against as strong of a side.

With the loss, Nurnberg is now sits in the relegation zone in 16^th place. With a season goal differential tally of -11, I maybe shouldn’t be surprised of their position. However, just like with the start of the Schalke game, I continue to have hope.

Oxford United vs. Crawley Town – This was a test for the Yellows to see how fit they are to make a true run for promotion. They lost 2-1 to league leaders Southend a few weeks ago and with Crawley sitting in second position there were thoughts that something could come out of this game. Oxford also had Robert Hall returning on loan to help the scoring up front.

Unfortunately, Crawley Town started their scoring in the game right from the opening kick. Crawley’s striker Tyrone Barnett got a goal in the 4^th minute and then had his second just ten minutes later in the 14^th. It was not a good day for the Oxford’s defense to have an opposition striker working on a hat trick that soon into the game.

The Yellows looked to be coming back when James Constable scored in the 30^th minute. That looked to be a good note to head into the locker room on for halftime, but Crawley Town had other plans. In the third minute of the half’s stoppage time, they scored another goal to go up 3-1.

I think the Oxford side had to be pretty down on themselves during halftime and that maybe showed going into the second half. Just seven minutes in, Crawley added another to go up 4-1 in the 52^nd minute. Sadly that’s how the game would end.

The game’s conclusion would put Oxford United into 9^th place in the standings, two spots out of the promotion zone. Their goals against tally on the season is no longer leading the league, but it still isn’t bad. They do however need to find something up front to get more goals through. Continuing to have striker Robbie Hall on load does help, but as it is just a short term loan it definitely isn’t the full answer.

Newcastle United vs. Manchester City – My big game of the day was Newcastle’s match against league leaders Manchester City. Man City’s offense is blowing everyone away and their defense is one of the best this year too. That combination has given them a pre-match season goal differential of a whopping 29. This Man City side also thrashed Manchester United 6-1 a few weeks ago. Newcastle would have to be in top form to get something out of the match.

Well, that top form just didn’t come out on this Saturday. Manchester City played as they do with an impressive, sometimes oppressive, offense. Credit to them for that, but the Magpies lost the game more than Man City won it. It really all came down to penalties.

It looked as though the first half would finish goalless, but in the 40^th Newcastle defender Ryan Taylor committed a handball in the 18-yard box giving Man City a penalty. Their Mario Balotelli would finish it off to take his team ahead 1-0. Four minutes later, Ryan Taylor would again factor into another goal for Man City. This time Taylor would defend poorly against an attacking Man City Samri Nasri which led to an easy goal for City’s Micah Richards.

The second half would begin better than the first ended for Newcastle, but ultimately they would shoot themselves in the foot again. Remember I did say that it came down to penalties, plural. In the 71^st minute, Newcastle’s Ben Arfa would give up a foul in the box giving City another penalty. This time their Sergio Aguero would finish the job and put them up 3-0 against Newcastle. Showing something from their day, Newcastle would pull one back in the 89^th minute when substitute midfielder Dan Gosling struck one home. The game would end with Newcastle losing to Manchester City 3-1.

It could have been far worse of a day for the Toon, but still I wonder what could have been without giving up the penalties. Still, you also can’t help to think of Manchester United’s embarrassing loss to them earlier in the season. A loss is still a loss, so I’m still disappointed. What makes the loss harder to stomach is that on Monday Tottenham moved into third position in the league table with their win over Aston Villa. Newcastle fall down to fourth.

I guess things could be worse. It’s not like they renamed historic St. James’ Park or anything. Oh right…

Newcastle United

This weekend starts off a tough testing stretch of matches for Newcastle United. The next three weekends, the Magpies play Manchester City, Manchester United, and Chelsea – the first, second, and fourth placed teams in the table. These games will be a litmus test to see if Newcastle is deserving of their current third place standing. This Saturday’s match should also simply be a great game, penning Newcastle’s top rated defense against Man City’s top rated offense.

In the few years I’ve followed Newcastle now, this has been their most promising season. Of course one of the recent years they were relegated and the year following they were in the Championship league. As I am still following them, I’ve obviously stuck with them during those down years. I’m an ardent supporter now – that’s not a question – but it’s worth wondering, how did I become a Newcastle United Fan in the first place?

The truth is I can’t remember what led me to become a Newcastle fan. I began following them my senior year of college so I’m sure that it helped that they were from the same town as Newcastle Brown Ale. I’m pretty sure the beer was the jersey sponsor then as well. I’m sure that the fetching black and white stripes of their home jersey were appealing too, as there are not many jerseys that are that simple in the color scheme. I would like to say that it was from seeing Newcastle great Alan Shearer play in some of his final matches. Sadly, that wasn’t the case since I had never seen Newcastle play on television or streaming online until the last few years.

What I do know, (and I did mention this a few posts ago) is that I admired the historic St. James Park where Newcastle have played since the turn of the last century. I admire that football has been played there since 1892, with until just recently no change in the stadium’s name. I also always enjoyed upper façade of the older East Stand. Until recently it was void of any advertisements and just simply read “NEWCASTLE UNITED.” Everything just seemed to be football at its purest. (Unfortunately things have changed recently with advertisements and the money behind it leaking into the historic purity of the stadium. You can read more about my thoughts on that from my post from earlier this month found here.)

Although it wasn’t part of why I started following Newcastle United in the first place, I’ve become more enamored with Newcastle the town and the people. Newcastle is in the far northeast of England, far away from the other larger more known cities of England. It’s also a more working class town, historically with a background in manufacturing and coal mining. Newcastle has a more blue collar type base, unlike what you see with the big city clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea, or the Manchester teams.

The people Newcastle and the northeast also have another thing that sets them apart from the rest of England – language. People of the northeast are known as Geordies with their unique accent referred to by the same name. It’s still English that they write and speak, but many English from other parts of the country would say the latter is a stretch. When stating that my wife and I would like to visit Newcastle, a family friend who is natively English stated, “They’re all Geordie up there. They don’t even speak English!” Geordie is very much like a deep Scottish accent, which makes sense since they are so close to the border. It has that rich deep accent that American ears or English ears used to milder accents have to really concentrate on to understand. As an example of this, try to follow this YouTube video on the Geordie dialect. I incredibly can follow what the speaker is saying now, but the first time I heard it I was completely lost. There’s something to be said for such a good solid accent.

The Geordie dialect is also the reason for a nickname of Newcastle’s supporters. Because of the way Geordies say the word “town” as “toon,” the supporters are often called the Toon Army. The team itself is also often called the Toon, as well as their other nickname of the Magpies which refers to their black and white home uniforms.

My explanation of being a Newcastle United fan would not be complete without voicing my hate of current owner Mike Ashley. Ashley of all things is a Cockney from north of London, much different than the Geordies. He’s a billionaire owner of a sporting goods retail chain. I and the rest of the Toon Army would tell you that he has done more the club more harm than good. I’ll give him credit (as much as it pains me to) for getting the club financially out of the red. However, in my opinion, it has come at the cost of the club, the history, and the fans. His selfish control of the club can be to blame for the club’s relegation in 2009. Ashley has put the club up for sale a few times, always to retract the offer. Until Ashley sells the club, Newcastle will have a hard time moving forward. An owner that irks the fans as much as Ashley does is not good for an organization’s future. The Toon Army does not have to agree with everything an owner does, but agreeing with them even sometimes would be nice.

With all that said of my distaste of owner Mike Ashley, it does not sour my support of the Magpies and the people of Newcastle. They’re where the identity of Newcastle United truly lies. In support of that thought, and in support of the team in the upcoming matches, I end this post with a simple but enthusiastic –

Howay the lads!

Now That the Cups Are Out of the Way...

Yesterday my wife and I started out early for a Saturday morning so we could have a weekend getaway for the night. We drove a couple hours just to do some reminiscing in the small town we went to college. Still, leaving our apartment at 9 am posed a challenge. How could I follow Oxford United’s FA Cup match against Sheffield United which also started at 9? With my handy new iPhone of course! (Luckily we each purchased one just a few weeks ago.) I mean really, how did I function without one? While we were driving through the middle of nowhere rural Wisconsin, I was following not only the live match tracker but also following an Oxford United forum about the match. While we zoomed past cows, “blink and you miss it” towns, and Amish buggies (there were apparently Amish communities nearby), I was following a soccer match that was happening halfway around the world. I thank thee Apple and the late Steve Jobs for enabling my football addiction.

Oh oh, yes yes. I also thank my wife for agreeing to drive so I could follow the match. Not that I don’t already tell her thanks for enabling my football addiction… but I’m sure she appreciates the gratitude anyhow.

Now, onto the match. Well, it really wasn’t much of one. Oxford United were still struggling through some injuries so the team that started the match really was part of the first squad and part of the second. Unfortunately too, the biggest injuries were on the back defensive line – probably the last place you want injuries when playing a team that’s a whole league above you. To add to that, Manager Chris Wilder oddly did not start James Constable who is the team’s leading striker. Whether all the aforementioned mattered or if Sheffield United just came out to win, Sheffield was winning 2-0 by the 19^th minute. Their striker Ched Evans scored the brace and probably was hoping for a hat trick. (Oh and yes, his name is not Chad nor Chet, but strangely Ched. Who knows?) With Oxford down that bad so early, I really was just following the game and at the least hoping for a goal. I just wanted the Yellows to save face. Sure, I wouldn’t have minded one of the best comebacks in FA Cup history but just a goal would have satisfactory.

Sadly, neither a simple goal nor a spectacular comeback was meant to be. Constable would be brought on for Oxford in the second half which would provide a spark, but it just wasn’t enough. Sheffield United actually piled another goal on in the 71^st minute to make things worse as well. At that point for me the comeback was completely out the window, and not only was I hoping for a goal but even an own goal from Sheffield. Really I just wanted something to remove the big fat zero from Oxford’s side of the scoreboard. Again, it wasn’t to be. The game ended in a 3-0 loss for Oxford United.

Of course, I wanted the Yellows to win and it least go to the next round of the FA Cup, but there is a small blessing in disguise. With being out of the FA and JPT cups, Oxford now only has league matches to play. This means they can fully concentrate on their fight to be promoted at the end of the season. As it stands, they are right on the cusp of being in the promotion zone. They just need that little extra push and whether it comes from only having league games left to play or from a new signing in the January transfer period, anything will help.

Please Tell Me Thursday Won't Bring Something Even Worse

This has not been a good last two days for this football fan. It didn’t go from bad to worse, but horrible to awful. I’m continually going back and forth from feeling depressed to genuinely pissed (in the American, not British sense).

As I mentioned at the end of my last post, Oxford played Southend United in a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy match. Well, things did not go well at all. Just twelve minutes into the game, Oxford’s backup goalkeeper found himself outside the 18 yard box but still deliberately used his hands to block the ball. Of course, not only did this give Southend a freekick, but more notably the keeper was sent off with a red card. Normally, the manager would put in another goalie from the bench and take out an outfield player. The trouble is the JPT cup limits teams to only have five substitutions on the bench – and a goalkeeper wasn’t part of Oxford’s five. Asa Hall (normally a midfielder) had to take up the gloves and play in goal. That still meant however that Oxford was not only playing a man down, but also didn’t have a true goalkeeper in goal.

Southend basically capitalized immediately with a goal just three minutes later in the 15^th minute. It seemed as though that would open the flood gates, but miraculously Asa Hall would be a decent emergency goalkeeper during the game and made some great saves.

The game did start to get a bit scrappy however and in the 56^th minute a fight broke out and a player from each side were shown red cards. Unfortunately for Oxford the red carded player was one of the strikers, Tom Craddock. Sure it was his first game back from a long injury, but still that meant the Yellows had one less goal scorer on the pitch. The game was now 10 men versus 9 men (one of which was an outfielder in goal). It was really just a slow painful death for Oxford though in the match and Southend would go to win 1-0.

Looking forward, Oxford United have an opening round FA Cup match on Saturday against Sheffield United who are from League 1, the league above Oxford’s. It was looking to possibly be a nice match, but the Yellows have injuries that are piling up, as well as a backup goalkeeper and a striker neither of which can play due to red card suspension. With the FA Cup, anything can happen and it would be nice to be playing with a full deck. Still, with all that said and although I will be in the car Saturday morning during the match, you better believe I will be glued to my iPhone.

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If Oxford’s crash in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy wasn’t bad enough, I try to have a nice relaxing night after work and go to the latest soccer news to see the most ludicrous news ever. Newcastle United’s ownership decided to change the stadium’s name from St. James’ Park to Sports Direct Arena, Sports Direct being the company owned by the main owner. The name was changed to try to encourage other companies to move in and buy sponsorship rights for the stadium. However, the grounds have been in existence since 1892. Does 119 years of history mean nothing? Is money everything these days? Even here in America where it is all money all the time for big sports teams, history takes precedence. Could you imagine Fenway Park or Wrigley Field being renamed? Those aren’t even as old as St. James’ either.

The tradition and history of St. James’ Park is a large part of why I became a Newcastle United fan in the first place. I grew up following the Chicago Cubs and St. James had that same appeal as Wrigley. At St. James’ Park one of the four stands is just simply known as the East Stand. It’s older, noticeably shorter, and holds far fewer people. Until just recently it also just simply said “Newcastle United” on its upper façade. (It now also of course has Sports Direct ads.) To me, again growing up following the Cubs, it was the equivalent of the ivy filled brick outfield wall at Wrigley. Just like the Cubs and Wrigley, I knew that no matter how bad Newcastle United were doing one could look at St. James’ Park and admire the history and the tradition that has never changed.

Whatever the park is named, or will be named, it will forever be St. James Park to me, to all the Geordies in the northeast of England, and to every member of the Toon Army. Newcastle United and St. James’ Park forever.

Well At Least Someone Picked Up Points

Newcastle United vs. Everton – I was treated to a Saturday ESPN fixture of Newcastle United playing against Everton. Everton of course has American goalkeeper Tim Howard between the posts, so for me you could have basically called this Newcastle versus Tim Howard.

With that said, the match began wonderfully well for Newcastle and was a disaster for Howard. In the 12^th minute, one of Everton’s defenders tried to block and clear the ball from the goal but instead deflected the ball straight into the net for an own goal. To make it worse, Tim Howard was positioned perfectly to get it, but the defender went right in front of him. I felt bad for Howard, but more importantly my Newcastle were up 1-0.

Seventeen minutes later, Newcastle would find goal by themselves with Ryan Taylor hitting a screamer past Howard and into the net. He found a clearance from Everton outside the 18 yard box, chested it down, and then struck a curling strike past Howard. His shot had nice pace and curled from right to left, into the bottom left corner. Even up 2-0, the Magpies kept the pressure on and kept getting free kicks in the attacking third. Sadly however, Everton would end up getting the next goal, a nice header in the second minute of the first half’s stoppage time to make it 2-1.

As far as goals were concerned, that’s where it ended though. Newcastle just held firm and kept things level in the second half. There were only substitutions and yellow cards. There were two subs for both teams and three yellows for Everton, two for Newcastle.

Both teams would end up using their three substitutions, some of those due to injuries however. In the first half, Everton had to substitute their team veteran Phil Neville and Newcastle had to take out Cabaye for Gosling. Unfortunately, Newcastle had to make a second injury substitution in the second half with Sammy Ameobi coming on for Sylvain Marveaux. From what I saw, they didn’t appear to be anything major but still it is a concern. From other reports, striker Leon Best seems to have an injury as well. Of course, it is nice to get a win but it would better without the injuries. Luckily though they have two weeks off for international break, so hopefully they can heal before November 19^th’s match league leaders Manchester City.

Nurnberg vs. Freiburg – Playing against Freiburg, a team that is below Nurnberg in the standings, I was really hoping they would be able to bounce back from last weekend’s pounding by Bayern Munich. I also got my hopes up for the match some of Der Club’s injured players were returning. Defender Pinola was back in central defense and first string goalkeeper Rafael Schaefer was back protecting the goal.

Nurnberg would start things off well, finding the goal first in the 32^nd minute. Thomas Pekhart took a shot on goal that midfielder Mike Frantz then deflected into the net. Sadly though, the 1-0 lead wouldn’t last. Just two minutes later, Freiburg would level. As we had weekend company, I was just following this on a match tracker so I couldn’t see or hear any commentary. Because of this, I really wonder if the quick goal was at least partially due to Schaefer and Pinola both returning from injury at the same time. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to have a shaky center back in front of a shaky goalie.

Returning from halftime, the match was basically where it began with all things level. The one change however is that Schaefer was taken out of the game and replaced with Alexander Stephan. This was probably a good move to hold on defensively and try to win the game, but unfortunately it was not done for tactical reasons. Apparently, (according to all reports that I can find) Schaefer had to be taken out for an injury. Hopefully he didn’t injure himself further and he was just taken out to be cautious. I guess we’ll see.

Much like Newcastle’s match, this second half was also just substitutions and yellow cards. However, there was a goal at the very end. Remember how I said that replacing Schaefer with Stephan would be good tactically? Well, maybe not so much. In the third minute of stoppage time, Stephan committed a foul in the penalty area on Freiburg’s Jan Rosenthal. This gave Freiburg a penalty kick, which they converted and won the game. That probably was the worst way to lose a match, ever. With the disheartening 2-1 loss, Nurnberg now sits just two points above the relegation zone. Sadly though that’s maybe what one should expect when you look at the sickening fact that they haven’t won a game since September 11^th.

Oxford United vs. Southend United – The Yellows were up for a tough match against league leaders Southend. It would indeed prove to be that. For much of the first half, the match was goalless. However, Southend would go up 1-0 before the first half. In the second minute of the half’s stoppage time, Southend crossed a freekick into the box and headed a goal past Oxford’s Ryan Clarke.

It would take a bit of time in the second half, but Oxford would level. In the 62^nd minute, Damian Batt would score with a header into the top corner from the center penalty area. However, despite having one of the lowest goals against tallies on the season, Southend would score their second goal just five minutes later. Their Ryan Hall hit a nice goal from outside the 18 yard box, a goal that would prove to be the winner.

Luckily though, Oxford gets a chance for revenge this Tuesday against Southend with a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy match. This time the game is in Oxford so hopefully the outcome will be different.