Hail GFOP! 

I type with fingers filled with Carabao Cup Final Fever, fully aware World Cup 2026 is just 454 days away. Liverpool and Newcastle are ready to rumble at Wembley in a fascinating moment. After this week’s agonizing penalty shoot-out Champions League wilt, the game for Liverpool is about optics as much as glory. To me, this Slot season has been one of the most remarkable acts of transformational leadership we have witnessed in the modern period. Despite that, the English tabloids will delight in piling on if Liverpool were to exit two cups in a week. Howay the Lads.

ii. The highlight of this week was an early morning spent filming with Ed Sheeran, who joined us to talk about the centering role football fandom in general, and Ipswich Town in particular, has played in his life. It was a very reflective conversation. His thoughts on the season of challenge were really uplifting. More on this beauty to come.  

iii. I am in the great spiritual city of New Orleans as I type. I came to speak at the Entertainment and Sports Law Conference at Tulane. Come today if you are near The Boot. I love Tulane and admire what Gabe Feldman is building. Thanks to so many of you for your recommendations for a dinner spot. We ended up at Doris. The lamb shawarma was the best I have had in 2025. Earlier in the week, we were at SXSW – I just want to thank so many of you GFOPs whom we met there. It is such a magical football city. A culture of fandom like none other. I hope to be back and do so much more in the year ahead. As one fan said to me, Texas has two World Cup host cities yet there is zero noise in the state right now. Would love to turn up the energy.  

iv. Next week we head to Los Angeles to watch the USMNT, Canada, Mexico, and Panama in Nations League mano a mano. If any of you are going to SoFi, let us know and we can CONCACAF it up.  

One final note up top: Two highlights from European play this week. The first was the prescient tifos the Atlético fans displayed before their Champions League agony, which summed up the wonder of football: “It kills me. It gives me life.” I admire that poetry so very much. Also this – victories for Manchester United, Spurs, and Chelsea mean it's almost impossible for Spain and Italy to both catch England in the coefficient rankings. A fifth Champions League spot for the Premier League is “near-certain.” That long-tail midtable battle royale will now be the story of the season.

Be in touch with everything and anything via [email protected]

Courage.
ROG

This Week at MiB HQ 📡

We released the third and final episode of our new series: Club Stories, Presented by Konami eFootball. Podcast and YouTube episodes in which we dive deep into the stories of how your favorite clubs became your favorite clubs. This week: AC Milan. Rory and I relive the reign of controversial former owner, Silvio Berlusconi, and discuss how his ownership model paved the way for modern football clubs. We reminisce about Carlos Ancelotti's legacy and influence on both the club and Italian football in general. And finally, we turn our attention to today’s AC Milan and ask if the current "American"-ness of the team can help reclaim some of its former glory. Watch the full episode here. 🔴⚫

ii. On VAMOS, Presented by Michelob ULTRA, Herc sat down with Columbus Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte to discuss his incredible soccer journey from amateur football to winning the MLS Cup with the Crew. Patrick also shared his recent experience of speaking to USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino before signing an extension in Columbus, and Herc chimed in on the recent debate surrounding Antonee Robinson as one of the best left-backs in the world. Listen to the full episode here. 🧤

iii. It was an especially packed week over at The Women’s Game. First, Sam Mewis and Lynn Biyendolo previewed the new NWSL season on Good Vibes FC, and then Sam hosted USWNT legend and Angel City forward Christen Press on a new episode of Friendlies. The pair discussed Christen's unorthodox route to the national team, and the experience of representing her country, while scoring and winning in multiple World Cups. Make sure you don't miss anything from The Women's Game by signing up for our TWG newsletter. ⚽️

iv. Want even more glorious football to start your day? Give our Early Kick Off podcast a try. It’s your 10-minute deep dive into the world of football every weekday morning. Our UK-based team behind the pod – hello Sammy, Betty, and George – is one of the best around, and the short episodes are the perfect thing to enjoy over coffee while browsing your endless inbox, or during a commute to work. Make Early Kick Off part of your morning routine. Subscribe here.

P.S. These are the job postings we have open at here at MiB. We are looking to do good things with great people. Come and join us.

To the Football 🍻

Is Liverpool’s Carabao Cup half full, or half empty? Liverpool vs. Newcastle (Sunday, 12.:30 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

Liverpool lost their dream of a treble this week and wobble in after faltering for the first time under Arne Slot. A Champions League exit which was a pulsating spectacle, peaking with Gianluigi Donnaruma shattering Darwin Núñez’s very soul. What cost did that agony take, both mentally and physically on a Liverpool side who had arrived at this late point in the season, almost drama free? We know Trent Alexander-Arnold is out with injury. Ibrahima Konate is expected to be fit. Can Slot refocus his squad emotionally? If they lose, the tabloid press will delight in “the downfall” of a team running away with the league. 

Those Liverpool challenges exist in the present. Newcastle are battling the past. A 70-year-old curse which has contributed to the failure of this proud, passionate club to collect a major domestic trophy. They lost this very tchotchke two seasons ago. Expect the Toon fans to spend the weekend drinking in any fountain London will offer them to belly up to, then bellowing their team on. We often laugh at the Carabao Cup which feels like an anachronistic afterthought. Bruno Guimarães described it as “our World Cup final.” He knows victory would have this squad woven into generational memory and club lore forever. 

Rogstradamus 🔮: Liverpool win on penalties. Darwin Núñez scores the winner. 

More: A final that is a clash between romance and politics.

Arsenal vs. Chelsea (Sunday, 9:30 a.m. ET, Peacock)

Two London heavyweights for whom every game feels like a referendum on direction and mood. Arsenal are second but 15 points behind Liverpool and caught in a deadwind of striking impotence and stalemates, dropping points in five of their last nine games. The Champions League has been a joyful side quest with Real Madrid now awaiting. Enzo Maresca has Chelsea competing for the Champions League again, but the lack of imagination his teams display and the sense that his attackers do not have a mandate to trust their instincts and attack in transition has the Chelsea fans filled with a gnawing uncertainty. Even in victory, the bald chess king seems to be engaged in a cold war with his own supporters which only ever ends one way.  

Rogstradamus 🔮: Arsenal are unbeaten in six against Chelsea. Expect this to continue. 3-2 win. 

More: 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly just called up by Thomas Tuchel in his first England squad. 

Manchester City vs. Brighton (Saturday, 11:00 a.m. ET, USA)

One team’s disastrous season meets another’s dream journey. Yet both are hoping to end in the same destination: the Champions League places for which this game will be an artful knife fight. Fabian Hürzeler’s Seagull Kings have surged to four straight wins. Pep’s boys appeared heavy-legged and lost in defeat to Forest last weekend. Brace yourself for a tactical collision that will make football seem like speed chess. 

Rogstradamus 🔮: I see a lot of frantic water-bottle chugging and a Brighton comeback victory 2-1. 

Fulham vs. Tottenham (Sunday, 9:30 a.m. ET, USA)

Fulham dream of Europe. Tottenham are still alive in it, coming back from a 1-0 deficit against AZ Alkmaar to surge with relief and wonder. Big Ange’s Cup promise remains alive as his boys show mental fight to overcome repeat moments of self-sabotage and charge into the Europa League quarter-finals, their dreams of a first trophy since 2008 intact.  

Rogstradamus 🔮: Fulham 2-0 in the battle of the lillywhites. 

Leicester City vs. Manchester United (Sunday, 3:00 p.m. ET, USA)

The Bruno Fernandes team wobble in after a Bruno hat trick propelled European respite and allowed the midfielder to snipe back at his team’s controlling owner Jim Ratcliffe’s suggestion that the squad has too many players who are “not good enough or overpaid.” In the same way as Arsenal of old were accused of being a merch store with a football team attached, United are in danger of becoming a soap opera based loosely on Premier League life. Feuding owners. Shattered managers. Impotent strikers. Misery and finger pointing everywhere. More blistered souls and human agony than an entire season of White Lotus. United and Timothy Ratliff – you tell me the difference? 

Rogstradamus 🔮: When Ruud manages, United never lose. He managed United to two wins against the Foxes earlier this season. His presence will once again propel United to victory. This is not a drill: Højlund scores and cups his ear to the crowd. Unconvincing United win 2-1.  

More: The architecture behind United’s high-risk new stadium future.

Everton vs. West Ham (Saturday, 11:00 a.m. ET, Peacock)

Saint David Moyes welcomes his former team like a middle aged man who has reunited with his high school girlfriend via Facebook. I said last week, how odd it is to watch late-season Everton games that have no jeopardy. I misspoke. St. David may have stabilized the team by leading them to a soothing eight-game unbeaten run – a club best since 2016-17. Yet, he will be locked in a mortal battle of a league within a league: Vanquishing the clubs who have rejected him on his Hero's Journey: Manchester United and West Ham United, both of whom he can go clear of this weekend if results break our way. I know a lot of you GFOPs have written in to say you are traveling over to Goodison. Send your photos to [email protected]. 

Rogstradamus 🔮: Everton’s schedule darkens after the international break with Liverpool, Arsenal, Forest, Manchester City, and Chelsea on the horizon. Let’s burst some bubbles Davey. Everton win 1-1.

📺 Full Premier League broadcast schedule – it's funky this weekend – here.

📧 Enjoying The Raven? Check out our other Men in Blazers newsletters.

More Football, Did Ya Say? ⚽︎

• Which Premier League boss makes the most substitutions and who does it best?

• Russia still wields enormous power within UEFA. Shock to no one. Football lifts your spirits. It can also crush your soul.

• I loved this piece and think it is important: Viv Miedema – women’s football is inclusive but that is changing and starting to slip.

MiB Mad Libs 📝

This week’s phrase is: The one life lesson I believe we can take from Darwin Núñez is “_______________”

Email me your entries. Winner gets a coveted MiB Patch.

Last week's winner: Adam Sharp who made me laugh:

If I could advise Ruben Amorim on one thing, I would tell him “Andy crawled to freedom through five hundred yards of shit-smelling foulness I can’t even imagine, or maybe I just don’t want to. Five hundred yards… that’s the length of five football fields.”

Savor the patch, King Ad. I needed the joy that response summoned more than I can say. 😉

PrizePicks: Best PP Since Piper Perabo ✅

Charlie Kipp writes: The Carabao Cup Final is here, a top-five priority for most top-flight English clubs: and it ain’t 1-4. But despite the competition’s diminished shine, a day at Wembley where silverware is on the line should be enough to get the juices flowing for any football fan - and can only be improved by the rush of a PrizePicks entry, giving all fans a rooting interest, even if your team won’t be on the pitch. As for the game itself, let’s keep it simple: Mohamed Salah MORE than 2 Shots.

Tell me you’ve ever heard a more oxymoronic sentence than this: with nine matches left to go, Liverpool are 15 points clear at the top of the Premier League, yet, the vibe around the fanbase after the past week is… mixed? An upset loss to Plymouth earlier in the FA Cup combined with defeat at the hands of PSG means Liverpool are as motivated as possible, meeting a Newcastle team equally driven in their own right. Normally this is where I cite stats, figures, ya know - logic. Not this time. Big time players make big time plays in big time moments. Don’t doubt Mo. Mohamed Salah MORE than 2 Shots.

If you haven’t joined PrizePicks, CLICK HERE and use code MiB for a first deposit match up to $100.

More Football Sweet Football to Revel in 🌍

Wycombe vs. Wrexham (Saturday, 11:00 a.m. ET, Paramount+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Wrexham missed their chance to go above Saturday’s opponents into second after a shock loss against 10-man Reading midweek. With the two sides even on points, Wrexham travel 170 miles southeast to Wycombe, who have a game in hand, hoping they can leapfrog the Chairboys into League One’s second (and last!) automatic promotion spot.

Also: More worrying signs for the great Paul Mullin, Tuesday’s loss was his fourth consecutive game out of Phil Parkinson’s squad. 

AC Milan vs. Como (Saturday, 1:00 p.m. ET, Paramount +) 🇮🇹

Christian Pulisic’s brace against Lecce put an end to Milan’s three-game losing streak as they left it late to win 3-2 on Saturday. They welcome Cesc Fabregas and Dele Ali’s Como to the San Siro with the sides sitting in 9th and 13th respectively. Reports this week suggest Milan are looking to exercise Kyle Walker’s buy-out clause to make the defender’s loan deal permanent. 

NWSL Returns!

After 111 long days, the National Women’s Soccer League is back in our loving arms. Your Shield and Championship double winners Orlando Pride host this year’s opening game against the Chicago Red Stars (Tonight! 8:00 p.m. ET, Prime Video). The eye-catching rumbles this weekend also include the ebullient KC Current v. refashioned Portland Thorns at the teal-filled CPKC Stadium Saturday (12:45 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN+), followed by the SoCal derby between Angel City and San Diego on Sunday (6:50 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

Meanwhile in the WSL…

Manager-sacking season resumes with Man City’s Gareth Taylor the latest casualty. Former manager Nick Cushing returns to the club to take charge for the Women’s League Cup final against Chelsea (Saturday, 8:15 a.m. ET, ESPN+/WSL Youtube). More good news for those in dark blue, as the mighty Sam Kerr has been added to Chelsea’s 25-player squad for the Champions League knockout stage for the first time in 15 months.

Carry a Piece of Goodison Park with You 💙

Goodison Park is more than a stadium - it’s a theater of dreams, triumphs, and unshakable loyalty. As Evertonians prepare to bid farewell to their historic home, our good friends at Christopher Ward invite fans to honor the emotional highs and unforgettable moments etched into Goodison’s hallowed turf with a timepiece as timeless as the memories it holds. The Goodison Park Watch isn’t just a watch; it’s a celebration of emotional times. Every detail captures the essence of Goodison’s greatest games, from legendary victories to the roar of a devoted crowd. Click here to learn more.

Not Football and All the Better for It 📖

• I loved Nick Cave on Desert Island Discs. His quote, “Hope is optimism with a broken heart” describes most football fandoms. 

• Plano Senior High Alum’s Instagram Quest to Find 1,122 Former Classmates. Do NOT do this on LinkedIn, learn from my mistakes.

• Photographers are on a mission to fix Wikipedia's bad celeb portraits. OK, but Scott Baio kind of DESERVES to look terrible.

• “The critics will say ‘Oh, he’s like a cult leader—he’s brainwashing these people.’ I assure you, I am not that charming." Turtleboy Will Not Be Stopped. 

• Five ways to spot a fake masterpiece. If it doesn't have at least two dozen visible abs, it's not Mo Salah. 

• I was unprepared for the horrors of Victorian-era cat food: The Cat’s Meat Man.

• John King loves hockey hair more than anyone, ever. Pain is temporary, but mullets are forever.

• New Haim marks the official end of Winter: Haim Goes Back in Time in ‘Relationships’.

• This Song Helped Me Through The Week: “2 Blades” by Jess Kallen.

• I read this book and liked it a lot: Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton. Like a lot of you, I fell in love with the restorative power of nature during the pandemic. This writer accidentally adopted a baby hare from the wild and this memoir captures the human truths of the experience and the moment. If you need a nourishing read – and let’s be honest, who doesn’t – this taut tome is for you. 

Dear Rog... GFOPs Write ✍️

Jonathan Morse writes: 

Hello Rog and gang,

I wanted to write and let you know that my oldest and best friend, Michael, and I are heading to Goodison Park this Saturday for Everton vs. West Ham—and in large part, we have Men in Blazers to thank.

Michael and I grew up in Davis, CA, and have been friends since our early days at Montessori preschool. These days, he lives in Amsterdam, and I’m in Northern California, so we don’t get to see each other as often as we’d like. We’ve both been football fans for years. About eight or nine years ago, he introduced me to Men in Blazers, and I haven’t stopped listening since. The insight, humor, empathy, and focus on shared memories that you and the team bring are a joy and have only brought Michael and me closer as friends. We’ve talked for years about watching a match together, and with Goodison in its final season, we knew it had to be now.

So later this week, we’ll each pack up from our respective homes, hop on flights, and meet in Liverpool for the first time—ready to take in the whole experience, grab a pint and a pie, and make our way to Goodison to watch Beto score a brace (fingers crossed).

Thrilled for this trip and deeply grateful for the inspiration MiB has given us to make it a reality.

Jonathan

Rog writes: Jonathan. HOLY CRAP. This email was a light in my week. Football. Friendship. Making promises and turning words to action. I wish you and your friend a weekend you remember forever. Make great memories. Get there early. Savor every second. Send photographs.  

Keep sending your stories and questions to [email protected].

To Better Days Ahead for All.

Let’s not take a moment watching football together for granted and make great memories,

Big Love,

Courage.

ROG