"Weekly" Football Post #83.

Headline #1: Newcastle gives up another stoppage time point killer.

How does this happen? For the second straight week, the Magpies allowed a game tying goal to the bad guys beyond the 90 minute mark. How does such a horrible mistake happen again? Coach Alan Pardew said post-match that he was screaming to get the guys to stop going for more goals by throwing players forward because it left us open for the return attack. Okay, but why weren't you heard? And even more importantly, why don't the players already know this? Sure, the likes of Leon Best and company make for a young team, but even an Orange County AYSO squad knows they need to fall back to hold a small lead late in the game. That's four points in the last two weeks that we should have had. 

The positive side of the game was the second half goal from Fabricio Coloccini. In a game that has been characterized as a "basketball match," as if they even know what that means, because of the end to end action, Newcastle's Italian Stud cashed in first with a huge goal to celebrate his 29th birthday. Colo took a pass from Danny Guthrie off of his chest and blasted it into the net. Very good stuff. Newcastle had multiple chances, with Ameobi, Best, Løvenkrands, and Barton all just missing the chance to make good. And in the end, well beyond the end actually, Stevie Harper couldn't stop a low blast into the corner. One point would have to do.

At 8-9-6, the Magpies are somehow still hanging at #9 in the EPL. 30 points in 23 games and a goal differential of just +3 doesn't look too hot, but I guess it's working...for now. Next weekend, we're away to #15 Fulham (5-8-11), and hopefully we won't give up a game tying goal in extra time to a bottom feeding BS squad.

Headline #2: Celtic stomp Heart mid-week to crush their dreams.

After topping Aberdeen over the weekend, Celtic smashed Heart 4-0 yesterday as they continue to have to just dream about being elite. All of the pre game talk was focused on how Heart was slowly making waves in the SPL and possibly ready to strike at the Old Firm and break up the Celtic/Rangers "bi-opoly." Not so fast, however, as a James Forrest goal in the 7th for the Hoops started off a solid thrashing for Heart that made all their fans shut their mouths.

Anthony Stokes added a double in the second half, and Paddy McCourt joined the Irish attack with his subbie goal that sealed the deal for the Bhoys. Heart was unbeaten in their last 11 SPL clashes, but it all came to a hault when they faced the class of the league. The SPL will always be a Celtic and (to a lesser extent) Rangers dominated league. That is, of course, until they move the SPL giants to the EPL some day.

At 14-2-4, Celtic lead the SPL over Rangers by 5 points, but the Protties have 2 games in hand. Heart are a distant 3rd, -10 on Celtic. Next up is back to back away games with Aberdeen over the weekend and on Tuesday. Following those two wins, Celtic goes toe to toe with hated Rangers on February 6. That's a big, big game.

Headline #3: Chivas making changes in SLO.

Just briefly, the Goats continue to make big changes in their training camp up in San Luis, and hopefully it'll pay off. Less a rebuilding, and more a complete restart, Coach Robin Fraser is out to change the dynamic for the Red & White.

Dario Delgado, Rodolfo Espinoza, and my boy Maykel Galindo have all been released. The goalkeeping savior, Sergio Arias, may come over from Guada. Panchito Mendoza, Joaquín Beltran, Jimmy Conrad, Tristan Bowen, Zarek Valentin, Victor Estupinan, and Alejandro Moreno are just some of the other new names coming aboard. 

Fraser is trying to make one thing clear: the best players on the team will be playing the games no matter who they are. It's an open tryout, basically, for the current players and the pre-season invites. Fraser is ready to mix things up at Chivas, and we're all excited to see that mindset pays off.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē