Win, Lose, or Draw

Stylish 1980s sweaters and Burt Reynolds sure make that Win, Lose, or Draw look fun, but in the soccer context it’s not quite so peachy. (On a side note, shouldn’t the game show have been more appropriately named something like “Draw & Win or Draw & Lose”? They ALWAYS had to draw. It wasn’t a choice. There was no “or” about it. I digress…)

Looking at it, maybe it wasn’t the results that weren’t so peachy. In hindsight, having the three teams I follow collectively come out with a win, a loss, and a draw really just makes things come out even. I think what makes the collective result feel so bad is the fact that at halftime of each respective game, each of my teams had not only kept their opposition out of goal but also scored a goal of their own. One of my teams obviously kept their fortunes from halftime, but let’s see how it played out – in the order of win, lose, and draw.

FC Nurnberg vs. Hertha Berlin – For those following, it was finally the return of the Bundesliga from winter break. As all three of my teams’ matches were on Saturday it made for a blitzkrieg of action, with action from all three matches sometimes happening at once.

Nurnberg also had an extra special day as it was their 1000^th Bundesliga league match. It seemed they were really gunning for a win because of the occasion because they were testing Hertha’s defense and goalkeeper early. Very early on, Nurnberg had a few shots hit the woodwork of the goal and also had some shots that required good saves from Hertha’s keeper. In the half, Der Club would have 7 shots (a decent number for them) and finally did get something to show for it right before half. In the 42^nd minute, midfielder Alexander Esswein hit a shot from outside the box that just nicked off a Hertha defender right into goal.

In the second half, Hertha would get some shooting opportunities close to goal but Nurnberg would hold their ground and hold on for the shutout win. Der Club would even double their tally with a Dominik Maroh goal in the 85^th minute to end up taking a 2-0 over Hertha Berlin. Nurnberg moves up from their pre-break position of 15^th to 12^th place, getting more buffer room from the relegation zone. Although 12^th place isn’t that high in the table, it is the highest position Nurnberg has been since after the October 1^st/2^nd weekend.

Newcastle United vs. Fulham – Not only was this the loss of the three matches, but it was downright depressing. I was actually following a live stream of this match online but closed the window far before the match ended. As I mentioned in the opening for this post, all my teams kept the opposition out of goal and had a goal of their own at halftime. For Newcastle, Danny Guthrie scored that first half goal with a hard shot from outside the box in the 43^rd minute. That made things look bright for the match, but this would be a dramatic tale of two very different halves.

In the second half, Fulham was much more cohesive offensively which threatened Newcastle but not anything that I didn’t think the Magpies couldn’t handle. Well the tipping point came in the 51^st minute when Newcastle’s Davide Santon was called for a foul technically just outside the box, but was called inside the box giving Fulham a penalty. Danny Murphy would convert on the penalty kick chance for Fulham which would be the first goal of a 20 minute destructive run. The London side would get a total of four goals in those 20 minutes, two of which were scored by US national team member Clint Dempsey. Newcastle also didn’t help themselves as the last of those four goals was caused by their self-destruction, with Toon keeper Tim Krul committing a foul in the box, giving up the penalty, and then giving up the resulting goal to Fulham. Hatem Ben Arfa would help the Magpies peg one back with a goal in the 85^th minute making it 4-2 but things were finished by then away. It was even more finished in the 89^th when Clint Dempsey completed his hat-trick for Fulham. That sealed it, Newcastle were demolished by Fulham, 5-2.

Yeah, yeah Clint Dempsey got a hat-trick. Hooray! (Note the sarcasm.) I think Dempsey is the second best player for the US (behind keeper Tim Howard, but way ahead of Landon Donovan) and it’s great for him to get a hat-trick, but couldn’t he have done it against someone else? The game went so ugly for Newcastle I just can’t get too happy for Dempsey.

Anyway… Newcastle luckily didn’t really lose any ground in the table with the loss. They were in 6^th position last week and remain in 6^th position this week. Next up is a FA Cup match against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.

Oxford United vs. Hereford – As I mentioned, all my teams scored a goal by halftime, but also kept the opposition out of goal as well. While that was true for Oxford, it’s not the full truth. Hereford did have a goal on the board but it wasn’t their doing but instead was from an own goal by Oxford’s defender Michael Duberry in the 32^nd minute. Luckily Oxford’s Jon-Paul Pittman scored in the 12^th minute of the game, so it was a respectable 1-1 at the half.

It was oddly another twisted plot in the second half. It looked like it might go down as a 1-1 draw, but in the 86^th Duberry made yet another mistake and committed another own-goal. To his credit though, he did save (some) face in the 90^th minute scoring his first goal for his side and ending the game with a 2-2 draw. Duberry is normally great veteran defender Saturday just wasn’t his day apparently. I guess technically (maybe) it was a hat-trick for him, but one that he and all Oxford fans will want to forget.

Oxford actually moved up a spot with the draw, from 8^th to 7^th position putting them back into a promotion playoff spot. As I mentioned last week though, the teams above Oxford and Gillingham (just a position and a point behind) have played one match less match. Hopefully though they can gain some ground upwards into the standings and make their one-game disadvantage meaningless with a win against 9^th place Burton Albion next weekend.

Transfer Update

It was only a matter of time before Oxford United would jump into the transfer market. After much speculation and drama that fan favorite James “Beano” Constable was on his way out to arch rivals Swindon Town for a spectacular sum of money, the striker turned down the offer to stay at Oxford. Oxford were offered a tremendously large transfer fee for him, as well were offering a raise in pay for Constable, and for those reasons did it even get to the point of them allowing Swindon to talk to him.

Once that saga was over (trust me, it turned into a saga on the fan forums), Oxford did manage to make a deal of their own, signing a new striker. According to Oxford United’s website, Oli Johnson comes technically from Premier League side Norwich City, however he was on loan with League 1 side Yeovil Town. Johnson is apparently more of a forward winger than pure central striker, but that should be fine with Oxford’s normal formation of three attacking forwards. It looks to be a good gamble, but games will tell. It should be mentioned that Johnson was most likely brought in as a replacement for striker Deane Smalley who earlier in the week was loaned out to Bradford City for the remainder of the season.

Transfer Update

Newcastle jumped into the January transfer craze today by signing striker Papiss Cisse from Bundesliga side Freiburg. (You can read the story from ESPN Soccernet here.) With the owner of Mike Ashley and company, I’m a bit surprised that the Toon managed such a great signing. Whatever happened in the offices at Newcastle aside, they now have a great two-headed attack up front with Cisse and Ba – who by the way are also teammates on the Senegal national team.

I am a bit surprised though that Freiburg were willing to sell Cisse. They are last place in the Bundesliga table with relegation at the end of the season looking likely. From where they sit and with Cisse having been their leading scorer, you would have expected them to want to hold on to him. I suppose they may be looking to use the money from his sale on two or more new signings to fill out the quality of the club. We shall see I guess. Still with Cisse leaving Freiburg, I feel more comfortable about Nurnberg’s standing in the league as there will be less of a threat from Freiburg below them.

A Tale of Two Uniteds

Collectively Oxford United and Newcastle United had one goal for and one goal against. Where that could of course mean that one team had a 1-1 draw and the other a 0-0 draw, it wouldn’t be that way. Here’s the breakdown of which United won and which United lost.

Oxford United vs. Crewe Alexandra – Oxford was looking to take revenge from a loss to Crewe earlier in the season and they looked to have that push in the first half. The chances were there but the shots were not. It seemed like the ball would be off the mark, be blocked by a defender, or be saved by Crewe’s keeper. The Yellows would outshoot Crewe 8 to 2 in the first half. However, it would be a story of two halves as Crewe would push the ball more in the second. Crewe would outshoot Oxford in this second half, 3 to 2.

A late push by Crewe would finally get Oxford in the end. It did look as though it would end in a scoreless draw, but a sneaky goal from Crewe in the 89^th would give them the last minute 1-0 win. It was a heartbreaking goal that was scored from right in front of the goal. The Yellows would have gone to 6^th place with a draw, but with the loss they disappointingly drop to 8^th – out of promotion contention. Even worse, all the teams ahead of them also have a game in hand, with Oxford playing 26 so far and the others 25. In the short term it won’t harm them, but it definitely will eventually.

Newcastle United vs. Queens Park Rangers – With a 7:30 start time, this was a bit earlier than I would’ve liked for a Sunday morning, but nonetheless I was up and watching a live stream online. As I did set my alarm to go off right at kickoff, I was a bit late in joining the coverage, pulling the live stream up at the 23^rd minute. I know the timing that specifically as in the 23^rd Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye was laying on the pitch with an injury. He would have to be carted off (didn’t actually look to be that bad though) and Hatem Ben Arfa would be his replacement.

From what the commentators were saying, Ben Arfa seemed to provide some lift to the team and they played better for the rest of the game than in the first 20 minutes. Looking at the notes from the match tracker I was also following, QPR did have a few good shots in those in the opening 20 minutes, but after that Newcastle managed to control the game. At the end of the match, Newcastle would manage to have 61% of the possession.

The really wasn’t much in the match. As one commentator on the live stream mentioned, both teams were playing solid but lacked that one good pass into the box to really threaten goal. QPR would end up getting six shots on goal (most in that first 20 minutes) and Newcastle would end up getting one lone shot on goal. However, that one lone shot would be the difference. In the 37^th minute, Leon Best would just be able to shake loose of a defender to receive a pass that really was half a chance at making a threat on goal. Best would make the most of it though by getting the ball, doing a crossover dribble to shake off a defender, and then hammered the ball past QPR’s keeper. That’s all Newcastle would need to beat Queen Park Rangers 1-0.

Liverpool drew to Stoke City on Saturday, so Newcastle jumps ahead of them into 6^th with their win. It was a good start for the Toon who are without Ba and Tiote out until mid-February playing in the African Nations Cup. Through then they have league matches against Fulham, Blackburn, Aston Villa, and Tottenham. They also have a FA Cup match on January 28^th and looking at the gap in the league schedule another FA Cup match on February 18^th (barring they win the match on the 28^th). FA Cup matches can always be tricky, but league-wise Newcastle should be ok. Tottenham, currently sitting in third, is the largest worry. All the other teams are in the bottom half of the table. Still, things can happen, so although I may not be nervously holding my breath, I will be crossing my fingers for good results.

Transfers

I promised that if there was going to be any January transfer news that I would report. Well, luckily there has been some action. While Newcastle and Oxford have been quiet, Nurnberg – the team that needed transfers the most – have been active. As of today, Der Club have picked up three transfers.

Adam Hlousek – Left forward midfielder from FK Jablonec (Czech Republic league)

Omar Gonzalez – Center back defender from Los Angeles Galaxy

Hanno Balitsch – Defensive midfielder from Bayer Leverkusen

Unfortunately, only two of those three transfers are still with the team. Omar Gonzalez, who I should add was 2011 MLS Defender of the Year and part of the US National team, tore the ACL in his left knee in his very first practice with Nurnberg. I’m finding contradicting reports whether he was the tackler or the tackled, but it did nonetheless involve fellow US teammate Timothy Chandler. Of course fate would have to involve the only two US national team members from a team of thirty to be involved in an injury causing incident. Not only is Gonzalez now then gone from Nurnberg (it was going to be a two month long loan) but unfortunately the injury will also cause him to miss many US national team games and most likely the whole 2012 MLS season for the Galaxy. Nurnberg could have really used him in the middle of the defensive line, but all three squads really could use him in 2012.

Balitsch and Hlousek will be very welcome additions to Der Club however. According to what I could find on Wikipedia and other places online, Balitsch is a left winger but will probably play a striker role at Nurnberg. He has also played for the Czech Republic national team alongside one of Nurnberg’s other strikers Tomas Pekhart.

Balitsch is a German player who was bounced around the Bundesliga a bit playing with Cologne, Bayer Leverkusen (twice), Mainz, and Hannover. It looks like he has mostly come off the bench for Leverkusen, but I’ll bet he will get more playing time with Nurnberg. Whether he has a starting role or one as a super substitute, if nothing else his experience will solidify Der Club’s midfield. Minus a few exceptions, Nurnberg is a pretty young team so a veteran like Balitsch can hopefully spread some useful knowledge amongst the squad.

That’s it for transfers so far in this midseason January transfer session, but I’ll report on more if or when they come. I’m sure the transfer market will heat up as month’s end approaches.