Survival Sunday – Where’s the Drama?

chelsea arsenal tottenham

by American Manc on May 17, 2013

With Arsenal’s 4-1 thrashing of Wigan to officially put the Latics out of their relegation-embattled misery - and Manchester United wrapping up the title race damn near a month ago - I was worried the final-day Premier League drama just wasn’t going to be up to snuff this year.

Sure, we’re unlikely to have as epic of a finale as we did last year anytime soon, but watching three or four teams cling to hope at the bottom of the table – coaches and reserves anxiously checking phones during a match for an update on the latest news from across the league, supporters cheering when the team right above them in the relegation battle gives up a goal that may vault their own squad out of the drop zone – is what makes the final day of the Premier League schedule so magical. Everything is happening simultaneously. Every goal matters.

Take 2004/05, for example, which gave us easily the tightest relegation battle in Premier League history. Going into the final matchday of the campaign, not a single squad had been eliminated. Norwich, Southampton, Crystal Palace, and West Brom all had a chance to stay up. West Brom was stuck at the bottom of the table. A 2-0 win at Portsmouth resulted in a subdued celebration as fans, coaches, and players nervously checked their phones and radios waiting for news from the other matches. Norwich was thumped 6-nil by Fulham, but Southampton looked to be in good shape after taking a 1-0 lead against Manchester United, and Crystal Palace led 2-1 at Charlton Athletic. West Brom was in trouble. But oh how things can change. Manchester United rallied with goals by Darren Fletcher and Ruud van Nistelrooy to relegate Southampton with a 2-1 loss, and Charlton equalized on a Jonathan Fortune header to draw the match at two – meaning Wigan, who started the day in last, vaulted all three squads and out of the drop zone, safe on a measly 34 points. As the news came down, pandamonium ensued:

2010/11 saw a similarly dramatic conclusion, though we may need a timeline to do this final day justice:

Kickoff: West Ham had last place locked up, but five squads had a chance at the remaining relegation spots. Coming into the day, Wigan (39 pts) and Blackpool (39 pts) were in the drop zone on goal differential while Birmingham City (also on 39 pts), Wolves (40 pts) , and Blackburn (40 pts) sat just above them – by no means safe. Drop zone: Wigan, Blackpool

21′: Ji-Sung Park scores for Manchester United - Manchester United 1,  Blackpool 0. Drop zone: Blackpool, Wigan

 23′: Jason Roberts scores for Blackburn - Blackburn 1, Wolves 0. Wolves still sit two places above the DZ, ahead of Birmingham City on goals scored. Drop zone:  Blackpool, Wigan

38′: Brett Emerton scores for Blackburn – Blackburn 2, Wolves 0. Wolves are technically still safe, but they’re living dangerously and are passed by Birmingham City on the table on goal differential. Drop zone: Blackpool, Wigan

40′: Charlie Adam scores to knot things up at Old Trafford - Manchester United 1, Blackpool 1. Blackpool jumps from 19th to 17th and out of the DZ on goals scored. Birmingham City, still tied with Wolves on points, edges them on goal differential and is safe. Wigan drops back to 19th on goal differential and is joined by Wolves in the DZ. Drop zone: Wigan, Wolves

45′: Junior Hoilett scores for Blackburn – Blackburn 3, Wolves 0. This evens Wolves up with Wigan on goal differential, but Wolves stay one place ahead of them on goals scored. Drop zone: Wigan, Wolves

Halftime: This is when things start to get interesting..

49′: Roman Pavlyuchenko scores for Spurs against Birmingham City – Tottenham 1, Birmingham City 0. Birmingham drops from 16th to 19th on total points. Wolves, still even on points and goal differential with Wigan, is vaulted from the DZ on goals scored. Blackpool moves up a spot on goal differential, and Wigan gains a spot on points. Drop zone: Birmingham City, Wigan

57′: Gary Taylor-Fletcher scores to take Blackpool 2-1 up at Manchester United. Nothing changes on the table, but Blackpool is now on 42 points and looking good. Drop zone: Birmingham City, Wigan

62′: Anderson scores to draw United back with Blackpool at 2. No movement on the table, but things get much triciker for Blackpool as they go level on points with Wolves and Wigan. Drop zone: Birmingham City, Wigan

73′: Jamie O’Hara scores to draw one back for Wolves against Blackburn - Blackburn 3, Wolves 1. Although nothing changes on the table, Wolves draws even with Blackpool on goal differential. Drop zone: Birmingham City, Wigan

74′: Blackpool’s Ian Evatt scores an own goal against Manchester United to doom the Tangerines – Manchester United 3, Blackpool 2. All of a sudden, Blackpool drops from 16th to 19th on points while Birmingham City sits just above them on goal differential. Wigan jumps out of the DZ for the first time and Wolves move up into 16th. Drop zone: Blackpool, Birmingham City

78′: Wigan would help their own cause with a Hugo Rodallega goal to take a 1-0 lead over Stoke and give them a little breathing room at the bottom of the table. They jump into 16th on points, but the DZ remains stagnant. Drop zone: Blackpool, Birmingham City

79′: Craig Gardner scores for Birmingham to draw level at 1 against Spurs. Out of nowhere Birmingham gains a point and passes Wolves on the table on goal differential, sending Wolverhampton back into the DZ with only 10 minutes left in the season. Drop zone: Blackpool, Wolves

81′: Michael Owen wraps things up at Old Trafford with a goal to make it 4-2 United. Blackpool put up a good fight, but without at least a point, they are doomed to the Championship. The table stays the same, but Blackpool would need two goals in the final 9 minutes to keep their Premier League hopes alive. Drop zone: Blackpool, Wolves

87′: Stephen Hunt scores for Wolves to make it 3-2 Blackburn. Three minutes from death, Hunt’s goal draws Wolves even with Birmingham City on goal differential, but they edge out the Blues on goals scored. Birmingham replaces them in the DZ. Drop zone: Blackpool, Birmingham City

90′: Roman Pavlyuchenko seals Birmingham’s fate in the final minute of the campaign with a goal to make it 2-1 Spurs, dropping Birmingham to 39 pts, one less than Wolves.

Final Whistle: Blackpool and Birmingham City finish with 39 points and join West Ham in relegation. Wigan, who spent the majority of the day with one foot in the Championship, wind up three points clear with 42 while Wolves escape by the skin of their teeth with 40. Blackburn may have gotten a little nervous with that late Stephen Hunt goal, but they were always in control and finished four points clear with 43.

To fully understand the chaos that day, check out these snippets from the Soccer Saturday panel as the action unfolded:


 

This Weekend 

We’re not going to get that kind of drama this year with the title and relegation races being officially sewn up, but there are still three extremely decent matches with European implications to flip between this Sunday afternoon:

Tottenham v. Sunderland – 11:00am, Fox Soccer

Arsenal v. Newcastle – 11:00am, ESPN2/ESPN3.com

Chelsea v. Everton – 11:00am, Fox Soccer Plus

Tottenham, Arsenal, and Chelsea: two out of three of them are in the Champion’s League, but technically none of them are safe from a 5th place finish (emphasis on the ‘technically’ – save for a 0-8 Chelsea loss and an 8-0 Tottenham win, The Blues will at the very least secure 4th).

Chelsea is the only squad sitting pretty this weekend; we’re unlikely to see a 16 goal swing in differential that would see them drop into 5th (though one can hope..). Still, there’s an incentive to finishing third, and Chelsea need a win at home against Everton to guarantee that. It’s a toss-up between the Blues and the Gunners as to who has the toughest matchup this weekend – Chelsea get the tougher opponent, but they get them at the Bridge.

Arsenal have the most to lose or gain. A loss to Newcastle could leave them on the outside of the Champion’s League picture looking in, but a win could vault them past Chelsea into third place so as to avoid that pesky CL play-in match.

As for Tottenham? Well, you’ll find no bigger Newcastle fans this weekend than at White Hart Lane. An Arsenal loss or draw and a Tottenham win means Spurs will reign supreme in North London. A Champion’s League berth means more to Tottenham this year than usual – it may be the only way they retain the services of Gareth Bale (though that’s still far from guaranteed), without whom they would not even be in the conversation. First thing’s first, though, Spurs have to take care of business against Sunderland. The bad news for Spurs is Newcastle isn’t exactly the world-beater it was last year. The good news, however, is they still have the quality to take a point or three from Arsenal – especially on their home turf.

An Arsenal buddy of mine pointed out that a 2-1 Arsenal win and a 0-0 Chelsea draw would level the two clubs on points, goal differential, and goals scored, thus forcing a playoff for third place. I think we can all agree that’s the only way we’ll be able to replicate the sort of final-day drama we’ve grown accustomed to.

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Champ20ns Victory Tour – Leg One: Arsenal

van persie pk vs arsenal

by The Casual Observer on May 2, 2013

Perhaps the champagne from last Monday took some time to get out of their system. Whatever it was, Manchester United played a very sluggish first half and barely escaped with a draw at the Emirates on Sunday.

Manchester United Starting XI:

De Gea

Rafael – Ferdinand – Evans – Evra

Valencia – Carrick – Jones – Nani

Rooney – van Persie

Arsenal Starting XI:

Szczesny

Sagna – Mertesacker – Koscielny – Gibbs

Arteta – Ramsey

Rosicky – Cazorla – Walcott

Podolski

Perhaps it was the absence of Olivier Giroud, the Arsenal striker who was suspended 3 matches for a straight red card at Craven Cottage, that gave the United players the idea this would be an easy match and they could just show up at halftime. Whatever it was, even the Walcott goal less than two minutes into the match did nothing to get the Red Devils to shake off their collective lethargy.

Turns out that van Persie had a hand in BOTH of the goals for the day, it’s just that the first one went for his old squad. RVP gave the ball away near midfield to Rosicky, much to the home fans’ delight. Rosicky played a brilliant pass through to Walcott who beat Evra and put it past De Gea. RVP followed that up with a yellow card before the match was a ½ hour old, and United looked in real trouble on the road.

Although De Gea couldn’t do much with the goal, he did his part in keeping the Gunners out of the net the remainder of the half with some great saves: he pushed a Cazorla shot over the bar in the 7th minute and a Podolski shot wide in the 32nd minute. In spite of his efforts, it did not look like United were going to be taking any points from the contest and in fact would be lucky to finish with a full squad after picking up four yellow cards in the first 30 minutes of the match. [CONTINUE READING…]

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CHAMP20NS

robin van persie celebrates

by The Casual Observer on April 25, 2013

In the end it didn’t take the whole year to go away. You know, that sting from watching that last minute goal in the final match that gave City the Championship. And in the end, City gave up their claim with not a roar, but a whimper.

Manchester United Starting XI:

De Gea

Rafael – Jones – Evans – Evra

Valencia – Carrick – Giggs

Rooney

Kagawa

van Persie

Aston Villa Starting XI:

Guzan

Lowton – Vlaar – Baker – Westwood

Delph – Weimann

Agbonlahor – Benteke – Bennett

N’Zogbia

Sir Alex said after last year’s disappointment that his club would not lose the championship again to goal differential, and he out bid City for Robin van Persie to help his cause.

As is relatively common knowledge, United have always reclaimed the Championship every time they have finished second in the table, and they have done it again. After City’s stunning defeat to Spurs on Sunday - giving United the opportunity to clinch on Monday - it was apparent United wanted to finish this one off and not wait for that last Sunday again.

That is not to say this was an easy campaign, and not nearly as easy as the table would have you believe. Last year’s player of the year Antonio Valencia has not had anywhere near the success he had last year, and Wayne Rooney has had to adjust his game and, frankly, his attitude to accommodate the addition of Robin van Persie to the squad.  Nani has been basically non-existent, and Ashley Young is having a pretty severe sophomore slump.

It also took a bit of the season to get their defense together. At the halfway mark, they had given up 28 goals.  Second half?  7.

Of course they have done some things well too. Carrick has been [CONTINUE READING…]

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Premier League Mock Draft

premier league

by American Manc on April 22, 2013

…that’s actually nothing like a mock draft!

It’s that time of year again, NFL fans. Draft season! The roughly 137 mock drafts I’ve heard, watched, and read over the past month has gotten me in a mood. So, let’s go mocking!

How, you ask? Good question. Obviously there is no draft in the English Premier League – or anywhere else in European football for that matter – so we’re going to have to tweak the definition a tad. Instead of picking player needs for all 20 clubs in the top flight, we’re going to draft a starting 11 from any team outside the big five (and Liverpool) that could challenge for Manchester United’s Premier League crown in 2014.

Ok, so maybe we’re tweaking the definition a little more than a tad. But let’s do it anyway.

GK: Asmir Begovic, Stoke City

Stoke is fighting for their Premier League lives, currently just two places – three points – from the drop zone. Despite this, they’ve given up the seventh fewest goals in the league, just one more than Liverpool and Tottenham. Stoke is a defensive-minded team, sure, but Robert Huth and Ryan Shawcross aren’t exactly Nemanja Vidic and John Terry. Begovic will be a coveted acquisition for bigger clubs with aging keepers. He has the size (6’5″), the reactions, the ability to get to ground quickly and efficiently, and the stones to run at attackers. He cuts down angles, has great vision, and, frankly, has remarkable judgment and recovery ability. To say he’s the best non-big five keeper does him a disservice; he may be the best keeper in the Premier League.

LB: Leighton Baines, Everton

There’s not much you don’t already know about Leighton Baines. The 28 year-old has been one of the best attacking fullbacks in the premiership since he started picking up significant minutes at Everton in 2008. He has 5 goals, 5 assists, and 92 successful crosses so far on the year. It’s not often a squad’s best set-piece taker is in the back four, but Baines’ command of the dead ball is up there with the all-time Premier League bests. How many teams entrust defenders with penalty responsibilities? Baines is two for two this year from the spot.

CB: Ashley Williams, Swansea City

It’s tough to rattle off impressive, convincing stats for centerbacks. Their contribution, more than any other position, is barely noticeable on paper. Ashley, more than anything else, is steady and constant. He’s not often making goal-saving tackles because he’s so rarely out of position. He’s also mastered the art of kicking Premier League stars in the head with balls, which I imagine would come in handy at some point during a title chase.

CB: Brede Hangeland, Fulham [CONTINUE READING…]

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Manchester United Back on Track

April 17, 2013
rvp celebrates with sir alex

If Manchester United would have been allowed to pick an opponent for their match this week, after the really disappointing result from Monday, Stoke may very well have been the choice of Sir Alex. The Red Devils have not lost to Stoke in the BPL era, going 8-0-1 prior to this match. Manchester United Starting [...]

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City Continues Success at Old Trafford

April 10, 2013
aguero goal vs manchester united

If I weren’t a Manchester United fan, Monday’s match at Old Trafford would have been terrific to watch. Manchester United Starting XI: De Gea Rafael – Ferdinand – Jones – Evra Young – Carrick – Giggs – Welbeck Rooney van Persie Manchester City Starting XI: Hart Zabaleta – Nastasic – Kompany – Clichy Barry – [...]

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More Woes for Sinking Sunderland

April 1, 2013
robin van persie

Somebody really doesn’t like Sunderland. Maybe they should change their nickname…the Black Cats seem to be catching up with them.  Their only striker, Steven Fletcher, was hurt during the international break and is done for the season; he joins their captain Lee Cattermole on the injured list. They are slowly sinking into the relegation zone, [...]

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Streaking United Now 15 Points Clear

March 18, 2013
rio ferdinand

Although United were not at their best on Saturday, they kept several steaks alive while dispatching a Reading squad desperate to dig themselves out of the relegation zone. Manchester United Starting XI: De Gea Smalling – Ferdinand – Vidic – Buttner Welbeck – Giggs – Anderson – Young Rooney – van Persie Reading Starting XI: [...]

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