Jozy Altidore drew a penalty and.. “Signs and Wonders”- may play a decisive role in the Premier League title.
Guy Bailey
Editor’s Note: Guy Bailey will write columns for The Yanks Are Coming throughout the Barclay’s Premier League season where he discusses the happenings overseas in the world’s most popular sports league. Guy offers a unique perspective on the league as a Brit who lived for a long while in the United States before moving back to Teeside in the past year. He can be reached at guyrbailey@gmail.com and you can follow him on Twitter all EPL season at @guyrbailey.
Zelig is a great film mainly because of its premise. That one innocuous, unassuming person could take part in some of the most pivotal moments in history just as a bystander and not being an active participant. I can’t think of a better way to explain the notion that this columns favorite USMNT player – Jozy Altidore – soon to be Jozy Outthedoorey according to my Sunderland supporting friend – might have decided the destination of the EPL title.
Rewind.
There had already been some eye-catching results on Saturday with Swansea winning 2-1 at Newcastle, with the only saving grace being their winner from a PK being the last kick of the match so allowing St James’ Park to empty quickly and spare the increasingly hapless Alan Pardew a mutiny, and mid-table Crystal Palace winning away at West Ham and now breathing down 9th placed Newcastle’s necks, but nobody was prepared for what happened later.
Least of all Sunderland fans when Chelsea strolled into an early lead as Eto’o put Chelsea ahead. Even when Mark Schwarzer, standing in for an ill Petr Cech, an incident which may now gather as much internet infamy as the Gordon Banks affair in the 1970s World Cup Finals, spilled a harmless shot into the path of suddenly red hot Connor Wickham to equalize. Chelsea spent the rest of the match pummeling Sunderland as much as a cat would a new toy until the unthinkable and unimaginable happened. Altidore gets the ball on the edge of the area and ambles along in his familiar manner, away from goal and toward goal line. Cesar Azpilicueta, who obviously hadn’t seen Jozy’s act before panics and dives in, removing his standing leg and sending him to the ground, which is something we’ve all seen before. Time stand to lag because it was a clear penalty but was at Chelsea, late in the game and the ramifications of a first league defeat in 78 home games under Jose Mourinho were obvious to all. The referee points to the spot and Chelsea goalkeeping coach Rui Faria reacts like a man who has his daughter up for collateral on a cast-iron bet that now looks rusty. Fabio Borinni, a Liverpool asset, stroked home the kick and the most unexpected, devastating, incredible result of the season is in the books.
Sunderland took 4 points from Man City and Chelsea in a week and now are a tantalizing three points from safety with a better goal difference than Norwich, while Chelsea are five points behind Liverpool with the pivotal trip to Anfield awaiting them on Sunday. Further spice, if any were needed, was added to this encounter after Chelsea’s goalless draw with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi final on Wednesday when Mourinho declared that he was going to field a scratch team to preserve his players fitness.
The End of an Error, where it began, ironically.
Liverpool themselves edged a spirited but sinking Norwich to keep the destination of the title in their own hands while Everton secured their first league double over the team formally known as Manchester United since The Beatles actually lived in Liverpool. This humiliation was too much for the Glazers, who suffer as a family with male pattern baldness and what hair they have remaining is ginger so have a wide tolerance for humiliation, and promptly removed David Moyes from his post, 10 months into a six year contract. More on this next week.
Before the epic Pacific Rim style battle at Anfield on Sunday, we have Fulham taking on a Hull City side already wrapping themselves in cotton wool before the FA Cup Final, Norwich being the first team to be afraid of visiting Old Trafford this season in the managerial debut of Sir Ryan Giggs, and Swansea hoping to make the last few games as ‘interesting’ as possible for Aston Villa and their fans while Sunderland and Cardiff have a win or bust clash of their own as the aperitif for Surgical Strike Sunday – Armageddon out of here – as Sky Sports will be billing it whereas for once, Super Sunday would actually fit the bill.
As noted, Guy Bailey writes on the Barclay’s Premier League for The Yanks Are Coming. Want more Guy Bailey? We highly recommend his new book, Blessay From America, a collection of writings made while living in America, where he married a southern belle and saw his son born, which you can purchase here.