Football is Back! Well....sort of....
Waking up this morning, it feels a bit like Cup Final Day or the start of a major summer tournament. I've decided to take the day off work and am starting the day with the 606 podcast from yesterday previewing the day's action. Yes, Premier League football is back today, albeit with no fans in the stadium. In order to accommodate fans will be desperate to see their favorite teams from the comforts of their quarantined homes, every match will be shown live on terrestrial television in the UK for the first time. In the States, we'll reap the benefits starting this afternoon with all of those matches on NBC Sports or the NBC network. Bring on the football!
posted by The Blue Devil @ 7:58 AM
383 Comments:
Good Morning....You beat me to the punch for putting up post!
Well done taking the day off!
Of course, today is my last day "with kids"!
I will be around for both matches of course but a teacher is dropping by a retirement gift to my house today at some point
Good morning, chaps. Great to see the return of Prem footie, albeit under difficult circumstances. Well done on taking off from work, Bob. Congratulations to Dave on retirement. We are now the two retired Daves.
The two matches today are being made up due to the League Cup Final that was played a while ago. It starts with two newly promoted teams as the Aston Vanilla hosts the Evil Blades with kickoff at 1 PM. That's followed by Citeh vs the Gunners with kickoff at 3:15 and a return to the EM for Arteta , who was Pep's assistant until a few months ago.
COME ON YOU VILLIANS!!!! Today and Sunday!
Royal Ascot on NBCSN before the footer
Hiya, boys - can't wait for the footer to start. Great timing with the retirement celebration, UWS. Well done - congratulations!
Her Majesty's horse just won the first race I watched
Google Meeting with students at 11:30 for a few minutes
The NBC Sports coverage is a bit weird today - I don't really get it. It starts at noon EST with "Premier League Mornings (?)," which is listed in the info as a "fan fest." What? Surely that's not going on during the pandemic, is it? Even the yahoos in Florida wouldn't allow that! So, is it a repeat of one of their previous fan fests or new programming. In any case, the first match starts at 1pm and is followed by the biggie at 2:45. I'll likely be in and out for the first one but will be around full-time for the biggie.
I've been chatting on Facebook with Ouda Allason and Doug Fusella and have invited them to join us. Who knows?
Thanks Mate
I thought you were home? Your picture indicates your at work
Wonder if NBC will have studio stuff?
Rebecca lives in California and flies to the studio every week
I am sure that is not happening
The English studio guys are probably in the UK
The coverage of jockeys sitting their ascots on the horses has ended. Now time for Premier League mornings. I'm guessing everyone is live streaming from their houses.
There shouldn't be a fan fest at this time, but Texas is just as bad as Florida.
The coverage has begun with villa and Blades players coming of their buses. Becky seems to be in the studio. The Etihad has been used to treat ill patients to ease the burden on hospitals.
Becky and the two Robbies in the studio spaced apart due to social distancing guidelines. The pandemic and Black Lives Movement will be discussed. Both Robbies feel it is the right time to resume matches.
Black Lives Matter will be on players jerseys the remainder of the season instead of their names.
The Premier League using basically the same rules as the Bundelsliga with five substitutions , but no more than three intervals. Similar rules for entrance to the stadium. The main discussion is the fact that many players contracts expire on June 30th.
Still the dreaded VAR
Just got off my last Google Chat with kids!
Just some faculty meetings tomorrow!
Enjoying some leftover stuffed peppers for lunch!
DELICIOUS!
Congratulations, Dave. A great way to start retirement. I will be eating lunch during halftime of the first match
COME ON CITY BAN!!!
That would be fantastic.
Becky just stated that the EL and CL resume in August.
An orange steward's jacket RS 79 in memory of Dean Smith's father , who passed away from COVID 19. He was a steward at Villa Park.
FA CUP up and running in the last weekend of the month
Hi again - I'm settling in for the match now, at least for the time being. I'm at home; I was using Kate's desktop, which I've been using for work as it's more reliable than my ancient laptop. For some reason, the other icon comes up there. I don't know why.
I believe that's the weekend after this coming weekend. The final is on August 1st.
Did you see the news about the Champions League?
Better to zoom in on the match than those zoom meetings.
Becky mentioned it resuming in August
Water breaks every thirty minutes. Is it really that hot in England? Do they really need them during the evening matches. They didn't have them in Germany, which has warmer Summers than England.
Yeah - a mini tournament in Lisbon. We're certainly going to have plenty of footer to watch, gentlemen.
Here's the team news for the undercard match this afternoon:
Aston Villa: Nyland, Konsa, Hause, Mings, Targett, Hourihane, Douglas Luiz, McGinn, El Ghazi, Davis, Grealish. Subs: Taylor, Nakamba, Trezeguet, Borja Baston, Samatta, Jota, Elmohamady, Reina, Vassilev.
Sheff Utd: Henderson, Basham, Egan, Stevens, Baldock, Berge, Lundstram, Norwood, Robinson, McBurnie, Sharp. Subs: Luke Freeman, Jagielka, McGoldrick, Kieron Freeman, Mousset, Osborn, Clarke, Moore, Rodwell.
Referee: Michael Oliver.
Thing that gets me with water breaks....the clock still keeps running and then supposedly add time to the end of the half... well they don't really.....it is the normal added time
JUST STOP THE CLOCK
It is not up to the referee.... He blows up for the break....the clock stops in the stadium and TV.... he blows to start and the clock starts.... all the other stuff is up to the ref
Totally agree, UWS. Stop the clock for the breaks.
Don't know why they don't say anything about it
I agree too. Stop the clock for water breaks.
Plenty of footie , especially between now and July 26th then just once or twice a week, or will the min i tournament in Lisbon be played daily like World Cup matches?
There will be canned noise at Villa Park as the players come out of the tunnel.
Sheffield United out on the pitch first.
Black Lives Matter banner and on the shirts for the rest of the season.
Villa taking to the pitch now amidst some tannoy action.
So eerie with no fans...what's with all the drums!
I never liked the players coming out together like in tournaments. I preferred them coming out of the tunnel separately like the old days
No mascots, no handshakes before the match. It's all a bit odd. I'm not sure why they've even continued with the line-up. Why not just revert to the way that teams ran out in the good old days?
Absolutely, UWS - do it the old way.
A moment of silence fr the people , who have lost their lives during COVID 19, including Dean Smith's father.
We are off!!
They're off from Villa Park. First ever league match in England in June.
Football is back!
Players took a knee in memory of George Floyd.
Looks like some of these players have had plenty of time during quarantining to work on their hair styles.
Villa will want to do better than the last Prem match that was played when they were thrashed by the Foxes.
hey could be like Yours Truly , who have avoided the barber shops and let their hair grow out
I appreciate the sentiment but having "Black Lives Matter" on the backs of shirts doesn't really help me to identify the left back for Sheff Utd, does it?
Nicely done, mate. Of course, you could visit my barber! ;-)
Keenan Davis wins an early Villa corner off a pass from Jack Grealish
Great save from Dean Henderson after the corner was headed away
Thanks, Bob. I will keep that in mind.
Keenan Davis offside off a nice long ball as he was through on goal.
I'm going to use FOTMOB to try to identify the players.
Who is this Davis?
Bob will be interested to note that Jack Robinson is the Evil Blades left back.
I think Davis graduated from the Villa academy and was a regular in the Championship, but not so much this season
El Gazi wins a Villa corner
OH! Keenan Davis with a free header at the far post and heads over from a yard out as the corner was headed on.
Would that header of counted?
I like the zoom shot of fans
The stakes for this one. The Blades would leapfrog United into fifth with a win. A draw would keep them a point behind in sixth.
Villa would jump out of the drop zone and into 16th above West Ham and Watford with a win, dropping Watford into the relegation zone. A draw would keep them in 19th.
Dave would have put Villa in the lead.and must not be "snickering" about that poor finishing
This is definitely a high stakes match.
Again... we don't want a Blades win here... for BOTH our Uniteds sakes
There are fans? Are they cardboard cut outs like they have in the Bundesliga? They could be board members
That fellow teacher is dropping by a gift at 1:30...better not miss the first goal of the return
Agreed 100%, Dave. We want Aston Vanilla ice cream to cut through the blades like a knife through butter or a spoon through ice cream
Yeah - I'm totally a Villa fan today. Sadly, the Blades aren't relegation threatened, but I'd still like to see them drop to at least mid-table obscurity.
Definitely. We haven't seen a Prem goal in months!
Decent header from McGinn....saved by "United's #1"
Niall McGinn wide open on a Villa free kick and heads straight to Dean Hendo.
Decent ball in from Grealish and McGinn nodded toward goal. Gobbled up by Henderson. Villa have definitely started more brightly.
Villa also need to beat Chelsea at the Weekend
The Evil Blades win their first corner
That's a huge ask against the club where JT played many years.
I never understand how teams that run away with the Championship struggle in the Premier League and teams that are runners up or playoff winners seem to be fine
How are Sh U so much better than Norwich
Another Villa corner. It goes over Courtney Hause and A Blades break comes to naught
Dreaded drinks.... stupid in my book AND the clock is running
Now it's the dreaded water break.
That's a "cooling" break, MUR. ;-)
Agreed, Dave. I could see it somewhere like Spain. Germany never had them.
Play resumes after the one minute break.
And we're back on with the match. Whatever it takes to see the good stuff.
Agreed, Bob. It's a "cooling off " break in Texas.
Doug Lewis booked for pulling down Ollie McBurnie. That's someone who needs a cooling off break.
I'll bet it's bleeding hot today in Harlingen.
It's hot today, but not as hot as it was earlier this month. It will be worse next month to the point where I may need afternoon naps during the afternoon matches.
Who knocked that ball out for a corner? Yep - "Black Lives Matter." ;-)
Definitely hotter in Harlingen than the West Midlands
That was my guess, Bob.
The announcer mentioned that both managers and both captains representing the clubs they supported during childhood. That's rare these days
Villa win another corner. They need to start making these count. Courtney Hause heads wide for the third corner in a row.
No missed goals while getting presents. Is that just in the bog?
Jack Grealish brought down by Sandy Berger. That doesn't sound too appetizing.
John Lundstram goes into Mike Oliver's book.
No Nocito Curse for you today, MUR.
One thing is clear from this afternoon's action. The top goalscorer in Premiership this season will be...."Black Lives Matter." (Step aside Jamie Vardy!)
LOL! No points in the PPP for that.
I am back... didn't miss a thing!
DIdn't UWS have "Black Lives Matter" as the Golden Boot?
Lovely - Michael Oliver has ruled out the goal for the Blades.
Was that in??? Goal line technology.... says no
Weird goalkeeping
Courtney Hause not too Sharp with Villa foul. Off the free kick it appeared that Villa Keeper, Nyland carried the ball over the line. He may have just prevented that. Did Villa get away with one? Where's goal line technology
IT is MILES OVER THE LINE!!
Surely that's a goal
VAR? Too late for that now
HOW DID Goal Line technology not work.... that was one thing that did work!
Maybe someone forgot to turn it on
Shades of Roy Carroll for United vs the Spuds?
He pinched the ball to the back of the post!
That was definitely over the line. He was pushed over by teammate, Keenan Davis
Controversy!
A pair of stoppage time minutes
So....there was no other stoppage time.....they took drinks forever
Half time....why couldn't these teams come out all guns a blazing
Michael Oliver blows for halftime fifteen seconds early and it's 0-0 at the half. The Evil Blades should be a goal up.
That's that for the first half, then. The Blades were definitely robbed there - but I'm loving it. In an ideal world, they would have at least 1 goal in 3 ruled out just because they're from poxy Sheffield.
The drinks break last ed a minute. It seemed like the right amount of stoppage time.
Yorkshire unity in show from Our Bob
Goal line tech assistant still on Furlough??
Not sure what they are doing with sound. Is it just for the TV viewers. It is not in the stadium itself?
Apparently it's not working as well as it should
The second half is underway from Villa Park
Chris Wilder, like the rest of us, amazed that it's still 0-0
That's what I've heard - just for the broadcast audience. It's fairly low, though. I can still hear the players yelling at each other and the thwack of boot on ball from time to time.
Dave will be saying Very Awful refereeing and Bob will say Very Amazing refereeing.
The Non Goal decision has been explained....in the world of Social Distancing... the ball has to be SIX feet over to count
Grealish was caught by Billy Sharp (aka "Black Lives Matter") should have been booked.
Jack Grealish down due to a Sharp kick to the calf muscle.
Let's hope we see some more of that officiating from Mr. Oliver. Well done, mate!
LOL! . That's a great explanation, Dave.
The announcer said a top flight match was played in June in 1947 with the Blades winning. I wasn't aware of that
A cross from Stevens Enda up in thew side netting. Bob would like to see more of that
Great save
Oh - Henderson with a great stop from Keenan-Davis. Nearly an opening goal for Villa.
Dean Henderson turns around a near post shot from Keenan David off a nice long ball that found the Targett of Davis
I'd prefer to see the goal that Sheffield Utd are attacking bricked up. Isn't that fair?
The corner comes off of Hause and into the side netting. Hause has been off Targett from Villa corners.
Of course this is going to be a nil niller..... ENTERTAIN!!
That sounds like a quarantine , Bob.
Works for me, David.
El Gazi wins a corner off a pass from Grealish. The corner is headed straight to Dean Hendo
I predict that "Black Lives Matter" will score the winner!
Baldock wins an Evil Blades corner
The corner is cleared away by the first man
Sandy Berger with a cross halfway to Sheffield.
Oh - Villa inches away from taking the lead there. It only needed a touch.
Villa with a chance.... just off his toe
the sound is ahead of the pic!
OH! Villa should have taken the lead. Nice ruin and pass from Grealish for El Gazi and his pass across the box is to far for David to tap in at the far post.
NO AGUERO
NO OZIL
Oh - another superb save from Henderson there. He's keeping his side in it.
MAN CITY TEAM NEWS
Team to face Arsenal: Ederson, Walker, Garcia, Laporte, Mendy, Gundogan, D Silva, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Sterling, Jesus.
Subs: Carson, Aguero, Zinchenko, Rodrigo, B Silva, Fernandinho, Otamendi, Foden.
ARSENAL TEAM NEWS
Team to face Man City: Leno, Bellerin, Mustafi, Mari, Tierney, Guendouzi, Xhaka, Willock, Saka, Aubameyang, Nketiah.
Subs: Martinez, Ceballos, Lacazette, Maitland-Niles, Pepe, Luiz, Nelson, Kolasinac, Martinelli.
Dean Hendo does well to turn a round a long range effort from McGinn
The corner is headed out for another
Another short corner....you have a FREE kick to get into the box.... just pass it short and then they can tackle and block the cross....MADNESS
Aguero is much bigger loss than the Beaker.
Ozil not on the bench...an extended bench!
Aguero is
So it is Precious Pep's fault
I hate him
At least there won't be more subbing than normal. Could you imagine managers wasting time FIVE times
That would really disrupt the match. Three is more than enough
Rubbish game... why can't they just go out and entertain
Phil Foden - always the bridesmaid, never the bride. D'ya think that if he put on a "Black Lives Matter" shirt, he could just sneak on without the ref noticing?
The first substitutions of the match as the second half water break begins
Well, it is Sheffield Utd who are playing, Dave. I can't believe that they're in 6th!
I might need a snack break before long.
Play resumes as the changes were made.
Welcome back Bob...you buggered off
Blades go close twice
Trezeguet for El Gazi and Samatta for Keenan Davis for Villa. David McGoldrick Sharply on for the Evil Blades.
Tyrone Mings heads well wide from the corner
Luke Freeman on for Sandy Berger. for the Evil Blades.
A Villa Player down. They have three substitutions at two intervals remaining
I've been helping out Kate with some chores. We've been working on redoing our front porch over the past week.
This Villa keeper is dodgy.....where's Reina?
Well ....you didn't miss anything
Another Villa double change. El Mohammedy on for Ezra Konsa and Marvellous Nkamba on for McGinn.
Reina was dropped for some errors made before the break. He is the last keeper to have conceded a Prem goal that counted.
Chris Basham , under pressure from Trezeguet , heads out for a Villa corner
I saw Pepe on the sidelines looking really arsed off about life earlier in the match.
Tyrone Mings heads straight to Dean Hendo off the Villa corner.
Lyss Mousset on for Olly McBurnie , who can now "cool off."
Not a good decision made by United Wannabe
Will Bruno and Pogba start in the United's midfield on Friday?
Not sure. I heard Pogba is fit. I wouldn't start Pogba, but OGS probably will.
Villa really need a win and not a draw
This one smells like a 0-0er right now and of course The Blades and their wretched fans will bellyache about it. I'm loving it.
Both sides really need wins. 6th place does Sheff Utd no good at all. They're harboring delusions of European grandeur.
Villa's last clean sheet was on Boxing Day. Chris Wilder would love to box Mike Oliver and Co.
Samatta down off a collision with John Eagan
Michael Oliver for OBE!
Blades currently in an EL position. One place above may be good enough for the CL if Citeh is banned.
I'd like to see Pogba and Bruno play together....one will be pushed up
Definitely so and well deserved.
David McGoldrick down for the Evil Blades.
Into a Barber Shop Quartet of stoppage time minutes with Bob singing about the disallowed goal.
MOTM? "Black Lives Matter," of course. What a player!
One Michael Oliver! There's only one Michael Oliver! One Miiiichael Oliver!
This is a terrific result for Uinted - The Blades' run-in is really tough from here on out.
Villa lead the league in stoppage time goals?Wasn't aware of that.
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