20231013 Raven Newsletter

October 20, 2023

Hail GFOP!

I type with fingers filled with dread. Football is meant to be an escape from the darkness of real life. However, this is Merseyside Derby weekend. An experience which only reinforces the sense of chaos and trauma rife in the world which surrounds us. Worse, my brother Nige, an enormous Liverpool fan, is in Manhattan this weekend for the first time in five long years, and will be watching (and no doubt gloating) in front of my kids in my own living room. An experience that will loosen so many achingly traumatic memories of my youth when Liverpool did us, won trophy after trophy, and felt like they were perpetually on a celebratory open-bus tour around the entire city. My poor Dad, Ivor, is sick in hospital right now. An Everton win would do his recovery a power of good. I have an immense imagination, but even armed with that super power, I cannot conjure a mental picture of that happening.

This morning, I listened to this podcast we taped with my Dad in which he addresses why he chose Everton by fate, and his feelings about Nige defecting to the Reds. He also unfurls his philosophy on how to cope with Everton’s recent nose dive. Bless him. My Dad hates to use the word “losing” when Everton are defanged and defeated. He prefers to call us “Not Winners.” I brace myself and raise my beer to us, “Not Winning” again this weekend.

This has been an incredible week of creativity at MiB. We spent time with Mikel Arteta and James Maddison (coming soon), and unleashed our Grealish and Haaland buddy-buddy interview in which the duo come across as a Premier League Abbi and Ilana. We also welcomed back the Serie A and the all-American clash that is AC Milan facing up to Juventus by having James Horncastle return to talk “Puli, Puli Sic Sic.” The Arteta interview is one that I have wanted to do for a long, long time. I admire him so much – not just as a football manager, but as an empathetic leader of cultural transformation, and to be able to delve into that side of his story was really rich and life-affirming. More on everything else below. Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant!

2. To The Football

i. Liverpool vs. Everton (Saturday, 7.30 a.m. ET, USA) 😱😱😱

If you are going to soil the weekend, rip the band-aid right off bright and early doors with the 243rd Merseyside Derby, at which I hurtle towards against a renewed and resurgent Mac Allister and Szoboszlai-powered Liverpool, with a mixture of self-aware-false confidence and total doom.

Everton have not won a game at Anfield with fans since 1999. We needed lockdown fanless Ancelotti-Ball to sneak it in 2021. This fixture is always a Darkness, but this year, Everton enter with so much off-the-field chaos with the 777 bid beginning to be revealed as, essentially, a Ponzi scheme. Everton fans cling onto the slender fact that they are kings of underperforming xG with just nine goals off an xG of 14.92. Which is both heartening and agonizing depending on which way you view it. Not in the face.

Must-Read: Everton Sale Stalls Amid Questions About Buyer’s Financials. The U.S. firm bidding for the Premier League club, 777 Partners, has failed to provide required information to a British regulator.

ii. Chelsea vs. Arsenal (Saturday, 12.30 p.m. ET, NBC Proper)

After back-to-back wins, Chelsea appear to have found their forward gear of progress and will test that assertion by hosting City-Slayers Arsenal, who are the first Big Six team they have faced since the false dawn of that opening day 1-1 draw with Liverpool. Reece James may make a shock return from hamstring injury in a game which is rife with wheels-within-wheels subplots, including the possibility of pity-penalty’s Kai Havertz being unleashed against his old mob, and once-and-not-future Arsenal target Mykhailo Mudryk showing his new found teeth. Dude followed up his first goal for the club by thrashing this beauty for Ukraine midweek. Another Arsenal game, another Arteta-relationship subplot. He has said Poch, with whom he played at PSG, is “like an older brother”.

More: Hard to read. “I am suffering.” Aaron Ramsdale opens up about his current pain.

iii. Brighton vs. Manchester City (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, USA)

Two teams seek to straighten their crowns. Pep’s City are the undoubted heavyweight champions. De Zerbi’s Brighton, widely heralded as the best fighter, pound for pound. Both have struggled uncharacteristically. City will have Rodri back as they seek to stave off a third straight loss… a fate that Pep has not experienced since May 2015, when his Bayern lost three straight, albeit having already locked up the title. Pep was asked what he likes about De Zerbi: “That he is a handsome guy.”

iv. Bournemouth vs. Wolves (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, P’Cock)

The Gary O’Neil Memorial Derby. O’Neil saved the Cherries from relegation last season and was promptly fired as American owner Bill Foley wanted more proactive football. His successor, sweater fancier Andoni Iraola, has failed to win a game since arriving from Rayo Vallecano. With Wolves on a three-match unbeaten run, including that tenacious victory over Manchester City, O’Neil will seek revenge in the style of Marcus Aurelius: “The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.” And by that, the stoic philosopher meant, by playing net-powered winning football.

For Bournemouth and US fans, true heartbreak at the brutal news that Tyler Adams faces a further five months out of the game after undergoing a second hamstring operation that will knock him out until February or March. This follows a six-month lay-off following a first, ineffective surgery. We cannot imagine what Tyler is going through and send him wishes for strength. May he charge right back into the Copa America this Summer.

v. Newcastle vs. Crystal Palace (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, P’Cock)

The handsome Sandro Tonali was hailed as an incredible piece of Newcastle business when the 23-year-old AC Milan captain rolled into St. James’ Park for just $66 million over the summer. As the Romans once warned us “Caveat Emptor… Buyer Beware!” The club are now stunned by news of Tonali’s impending long-term ban after he was revealed to be central in the illegal betting scandal roiling Italian football. The Palace game could be his last for quite some time. The Eagles lack key players of their own; both Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze are out as Roy Hodgson’s mob face a gauntlet of games with Tottenham up next.

vi. Sheffield United vs. Manchester United (Saturday, 3 p.m. ET, P’Cock)

Erik Ten Hag may have found a United even more listing than his own. Sheffield United have gleaned just one point from their first eight games and have long-term injuries to both first-choice center-backs after Chris Basham exited the loss to Fulham in agony. United fans lost Casemiro to an ankle injury on international duty with Brazil, which, with the laggardly way he has played, might not be a bad thing. Next weekend’s derby against Manchester City at Old Trafford looms large as United fans eyes are on the off-field news that local boy turned chemical billionaire Jim Ratcliffe outmaneuvered the Qatari and is poised to spend $1.58 B on a 25% share of the club, plus some form of control. 

More: How Jim Ratcliffe beat off Qatari bid for United and the American role in it all.

vii. Tottenham vs Fulham (Monday, 3 p.m. ET, USA)

I spoke to a buoyant James Maddison this week who told me that he feels he is playing the most consistently strong football of his career. He added that there are games he goes off feeling like he has underperformed yet wins the Man of the Match award, and that there are also games Spurs have won, but Ange Postecoglou has not been pleased, because they did not win in the Ange-style. Both hint at the possibility that though Spurs are top, their best football is still to come.

More: Full Broadcast Schedule HERE.

3. Biggest Bowl Game of the Year? AC Milan v Juventus (Sunday, 2.45 p.m. ET) 🇮🇹🇺🇸🤌🤌🤌

Nearly half of the USMNT side that took the pitch against Ghana will reunite on Sunday for what Italian papers have labeled the "American Derby," as Timothy Weah and Weston McKennie's third-ranked Juve travel to the San Siro to take on Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah's first-placed AC Milan. With all four available, Sunday's match could mark the first Serie A game with Quattro Americans on the pitch at the same time. The home side is unbeaten in five against the Old Lady, and manager Stefano Pioli is favored to become the first coach in AC Milan history to go six consecutive matches without losing against Juventus. Google Translate tells me that Super Bowl in Italian is “ciotola eccellente.”

4. Brace yourself: It NWSL Playoff Time Baby 🏆🏆🏆

Who will win the NWSL championship? By this weekend's close, we'll know two more teams who won't be lifting the league's brand new Tiffany trophy after OL Reign take on Angel City (Friday 10 p.m. ET) and the NC Courage face off against Gotham FC (Sunday 7 p.m. ET). The winners will meet semifinalists Portland Thorns and San Diego Wave on Nov. 5 to decide which two teams will head to the Snapdragon Stadium for the final. Both Megan Rapinoe and Ali Krieger's farewell seasons have been extended at least one match by their respective teams decision day qualification, with Kreiger a likely-candidate for the league's defender award. Rapinoe's OL Reign teammate Rose Lavelle could feature for her side on Friday after multiple injuries kept her largely out of the World Cup and the regular season.

ICYMI. This Week in NWSL DECISION DAY EDITION, PRESENTED BY BUD LIGHT. Come for the Syd Leroux delirious overhead kick. Stay for Ali Krieger refusing to go gentle into that good night. WATCH HERE.

Men in Blazers x Bud Light Sweepstakes - Exclusive Prizes for GFOPs 🍺

You’ve long known about the GFOPs at Bud Light’s support of the game we all love. Now, they’re giving us the chance to give away some exclusive prizes only to those of you reading this newsletter. Entering is easy: just head to budlight.com/MIB to enter for your chance to win signed gear, exclusive Bud Light merch, and more.*

5. This Week at Men in Blazers HQ

i. Men in Blazers World Headquarters, where no two days are alike except the first and 15th, pretty much. And this week was one for the ages. A torrent of content and production that we are really proud of. Wednesday, as we turned the page on the International Break and prepared to welcome the Premier League back into our loving arms, we released a quite magical Podcast, featuring a pair of conversations. One with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. And how do you follow that up? Only with Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish sitting together. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE. Highlights from the interviews:

ii. Other content we’re proud of this week:

Men in Blazers Early Kickoff. Our daily news Podcast that drops at 6 a.m. every Monday through Friday and brings you all of the biggest stories, straight from Europe’s back pages. We are so bloody proud of this Podcast. If you have not given it a chance, do us a favor and listen to today’s episode, which talks the latest on Tyler Adams’ extended injury, reports of Mourinho to Real Madrid and Saudi Arabia as a potential Women’s World Cup host?

Rog and VAMOS/Fútbol Americas on ESPN+ host Herc Gomez Do it Live! on YouTube right at the final whistle of the USMNT’s game with Ghana to break down this rollercoaster of an International Break window. WATCH HERE. And speaking of Herc, a wonderful episode of VAMOS dropped this week with “Love is Blind” star Kwame Appiah, who is a former professional footballer and currently plays for Sharktopus FC, a Seattle-based team making a run in the US Open Cup. For Real. LISTEN HERE.

The American Dream with Tim Ream in which he talks with fellow USMNT center back Chris Richards. LISTEN HERE.

Coming up Next Week… The Return of European Nights with Rory Smith. European Football is BACK. And we are here for it. Literally. We’re right here.

6. More Football Did Ya Say?

i. Wayne Rooney admitted that he became so obsessed with the Wagatha Christie trial that he thought about going to law school. Hence, the concept for the greatest legal procedural TV show since Ally McBeal was born.

ii. Jenni Hermoso called up by Spain for first time since Rubiales scandal.

iii. Interesting read on the transactional nature of the relationship between players and fans and the obligations between one and the other in the “Can I have your shirt?” era.

7. US Men’s National Team. We Continue to Dream. Big Opponent Reality still bites. 🇺🇸

The joyous thrashing of a clearly unmotivated Ghana delivered a healing end to a wobbly window in which the beatdown against Germany is the result which stung. Germany have been eminently beatable this year, but looked levels above as the United States failed to muster an organized idea of football. The first rule of friendlies remains, “Do not read too much into friendlies,” but what to make of a window in which the best half of US football in a long time followed one of the worst halves on Saturday? The good news is, this team has the ability to respond and muster a magical performance. The one big winner of this window? Gio Reyna. Three goals. He is clearly the creative heartbeat of this team and put to bed the notion that the squad is fine without him. Herc Gomez said on the post-match Ghana breakdown, if Gio can stay healthy, “he is the American player with the highest ceiling.” This is the statistic that haunts our team. For all of our undoubted talent, we have an inferiority complex we still must crack. 

More: Congratulations to England who dumped defending Euro champions Italy 3-1, thanks to a swaggering performance by the truly transcendent Jude Bellingham. England are heading to Euro 2024, where they will undoubtedly lose to France in the semi-finals.

8. Wrexham move in silence like Lasagna 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

An ascendant Wrexham look to build on their winning streak Saturday (10 a.m. ET), as they travel to the Valley Parade to take on a Bradford City side themselves on a two-match unbeaten run. Last weekend's epic come-from-behind last gasp 89th minute victory in the Celebs Derby at Salford City bumped the Red Dragons up to fifth in league two, in playoff position. A record-breaking crowd is set to watch Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson return to the club he managed for nearly five years between 2011-2016.

9. Not Football and all the Better for it

i. From ferret electricians to landmine-sniffing rats – meet the extraordinary animals that work for a living. Just showed this to my dog to remind him how lucky he is to be unemployed.

ii. At work with a professional bedbug exterminator. Only slightly less stressful than being Watford manager.

iii. I'll read anything Hanif Abdurraqib writes: We’re More Ghosts Than People. "If there is a place of judgment where I must stand and plead my case for a glorious and abundant afterlife, I hope that whoever hears me out is interested in nuances, but who’s to say. I don’t think about it, until I do."

iv. The Economist looks at Why films have become so ridiculously long. If I'm paying 18 bucks for a movie it BETTER BE three hours long.

v. The Cheapest, Easiest, Freakiest Halloween Decor Is a Bunch of Old Dolls. This article's author seems to come across errant doll parts on a much more regular basis than I do.

vi. Eater Magazine is publishing some of the best essays online right now: Confessions of a Tableside Flambéur. Where else are you going to read about rogue fruit meteors?

vii. Been looking forward to this film since I read David Grann's brilliant book: Inside Scorsese’s Meeting With the Osage That Changed ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’. AND 10 best Martin Scorsese movies ranked. The film director. Not my Dog. 

viii. 40 Coolest Neighborhoods in the World. Includes one in Liverpool.

Xi. This song propelled me through the week: Dragon by The Amazing.

That is it for today. Pray for me. Pray for Everton. Pray for all hopeless causes. Savor every second just the same.

To Better Days Ahead for All

Big Love

Courage

ROG

Early Kick Off: 10/20/23

Tyler Adams sidelined, Mourinho to Madrid, USMNT tussle in Milan - Oct 20, 2023

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