Hail GFOP!

I type with fingers ready to welcome back the FA Cup into our loving arms. After a week chugging nothing but Carabao, it feels so good to uptick the quality of the trophy that lies ahead of us. North London Football fans, you know exactly what I mean. 

I am headed back to Goodison Park on Wednesday night. That Grand Old Home will host its final league Merseyside Derby under the floodlights. A game so seismic, I feel compelled to fly home, pay witness, and be part of the spectacle.  Goodison Park is a remarkable place. A triumph of footballing history – the first ever purpose-built football stadium in England, but it is more than that. It is a connection to Everton’s glorious footballing past, and above all, a vessel of shared collective memory.  

I'm almost embarrassed to admit this, but some of the most profound memories in my life (this tells you what my priorities are!) have taken place there. Both happy ones, and some of my most painful, but, Lord, I have felt alive experiencing them all, alongside my Dad, whom, as you know, passed away in July. So when the game kicks off, everyone there will think about what's going on on the field, which matters for both teams for different reasons, but there'll be layers, levels of synapsing memories snapping away the whole time. That, for me, is the best of football. Memories shared with those who are there, and those who no longer can be. You know me. I'm dead inside, I don't feel anything in life anymore. Football allows me to feel all of these emotions, and Goodison Park, I think, for so many Blues is the greatest vessel of collective memory that we all share and that connects us. In this day and age, that is a rare bloody thing isn't it?

I wish I could be there with my Dad, but instead, I will go to the match with my best friend Jamie. We have been friends and Blues together from the day we were born. His Dad also passed away. All four of us will be there in spirit, as we say goodbye to Goodison. A goodbye that will be part funeral, part Irish wake.  

PS. LOS ANGELES. Save the date: February 21st we will be in your city for a LIVE SHOW. It is a special, really intimate show, but will be a quite special slice of magic. More details coming Monday. But if you want to know more, 100000% email us here and we will reach out. 📽️ I can’t wait to see you and raise a pint with you.

This Week at MiB HQ 🍻

Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla joined me on Wednesday to talk about his passion for football which runs so deep he now counts Pep Guardiola amongst his friends. I have long been blown away by Joe – the way he turns his press conferences into glimpses of life truths. But to listen to him talk football was next level. I can’t wait for you to hear this gent discuss his relationship with Guardiola and what it has brought to his life, the concept of the False 9 in basketball, and dissect Arsenal’s corner kick playbook from an NBA perspective. It drops next Friday on the pod and YouTube and Sunday on Peacock in the TV cut. 🍀🍀🍀

ii. Wrexham have a STōK Super Bowl commercial with Channing Tatum who wanders into the locker room at the SToK Cae Ras to teach the players how to uptick their celebrations. It is incredible to me, that in many ways it has become borderline normal for a Hollywood superstar to appear alongside the gents and beam them into 250 million American homes on the greatest sporting night in our nation. I chatted with free-scoring sensation Max Cleworth about what the experience was like from the players’ perspective. His last words are really poignant. (The full interview drops Saturday and enjoy the commercial during the Big Game.) 🐲 

iii. Really proud to launch Season Two of Good Vibes FC on our The Women’s Game Channel. Sam Mewis, Becky Sauerbrunn, and Lynn Biyendolo have such incredible chemistry. I defy you to watch the first 10 minutes of this show and not feel better about life – which is the point to everything we do. Growing this platform is one of our key goals in 2025 and I am so bloody lucky to learn from Sam every single day. Stick around for their breakdown of the historic Naomi Girma transfer to Chelsea and what the NWSL needs to do to retain talent. And to make sure you don't miss anything from The Women's Game, sign up for the TWG newsletter too. ⚽️

To the Football: FA CUP 4th Round, Baby! 🏆🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Manchester United v. Leicester City (Today, 3:00 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

The Super Bowl of Sadness. Ruud Van Nistelrooy limps back to Old Trafford with a squad he has already thumped twice this season, 8-2 on aggregate back when he was Manchester United interim manager. How times have changed. His Leicester are sinking in the league, and Ruben Amorim is floundering, tasting defeat in seven of his first 13 games, losing Lisandro Martínez to a cruciate ligament injury, and receiving little in the way of the upgrades he needed in the transfer window.  The bearded wonder who arrived with a charm offensive three months ago is now having to brief the press he does not fear the sack. One note: Leicester City will name a 15-year-old, Jeremy Monga, in their squad for tonight’s game. Big Justice is older. 

More: Beleaguered Ruud vs. Lost Boy Ruben. A sad-off.

Rogstradamus 🔮: United feel-bad victory. Højlund will score and overcelebrate.

Leyton Orient v. Manchester City (Saturday, 7:15 a.m. ET, ESPN+)

They couldn’t could they? Manchester City and their $214 million in new players stumble down to London and third-tier Orient’s Brisbane Road 9,271 seater stadium, still stung by the memory of bleeding out 5-1 against Arsenal. Real Madrid await on Tuesday. The O’s have counter-attacked their way into sixth place in League One… Rubberneckers assemble!

More: Oasis and Manchester City release their Definitely Maybe collection

Rogstradamus 🔮: Nothing to see here. Foden finger guns on repeat. KDB sublime goal with no celebration. 3 or 4-nil City win which will teach you to get up early just to schadenfreude. 

Everton v. Bournemouth (Saturday, 10:00 a.m. ET, ESPN+)

Google taught me this morning that “kerasiphobia” is the fear of cherries. Every Everton fan suffers from it after that 3-2 87th minute onwards comeback win in August. The FA Cup has been such a journey of wonder for so many Everton fans – this could be the last ever FA Cup game at Goodison, but we are a different entity though now under David Moyes who has delivered three-straight joyous wins of wonder. So, I don’t know how to feel ahead of this one – “Optimism, is that you my friend? It has been so long.” This lovely Raven from GFOP Chris Hammond sums up my sense of emotional turmoil: “Dear Rog, First of all, as a proud Evertonian, I don't believe what I'm seeing! Who took our players and replaced them with people who can actually play football? It is a very weird and unsettling feeling to not be filled with anxiety about being relegated. I'm not sure how to deal with it.” I don’t know either, Big Chris. 

Rogstradamus 🔮: Bournemouth do us 1-0. Worst Cherries since UB40’s 

Birmingham v. Newcastle (Saturday, 12:45 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

Newcastle are on the piss again. Wembley now beckons for delirious Toon fans who just watched their team somehow control that untamable Carabao ball better than Arsenal once again to lead the Magpies to Wembley. They are now 90 minutes away from their first major domestic trophy in 70 agonizing years.  League One Big Dogs Birmingham City will hope Eddie Howe’s boys are still hungover and can extend their run of 18 games unbeaten in all competitions.  

More: Really good analysis of what Guimaraes does on a football field and how Arsenal were well and truly “Bruno’d”.

Rogstradamus 🔮: 2-1 Birmingham and Toon fans won’t care a bit

Plymouth Argyle v. Liverpool (Sunday, 10:00 a.m. ET, ESPN+)

Worst team in the Championship against the best team in the Champions League Big Gulp Table. Liverpool are fresh off shattering Big Ange’s Wembley dreams and Big Virg’s Big Moment of Shithousery. A dominant Carabao Cup second leg in which they tore Spurs 1-0 lead asunder and remained in the hunt for every single tournament they entered. Arne Alchemy. Plymouth have won just one in their last 16, but on the other hand, if they could survive Wayne Rooney, they can survive anything  

Rogstradamus 🔮: Liverpool romp again. The extent of their invincibility this season makes no sense. That they are this good is just a fairytale, but don’t try and understand it. Just savor the 5-0 romp, even Endo and Chiesa score, and on to the Derby. Gulp. 

Aston Villa. v. Tottenham (Sunday, 12:35 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

Was it Ovid who said, “Perfer et obdura, dolor hic tibi proderit olim”? "Be patient and persevere through your current pain, because one day it will teach you something valuable and be useful to you in the future." That could and should be Spurs’ new club motto. I ache for Spurs and Big Ange. For a manager who “always wins something in his second season mate,” the FA Cup now feels enormous. For Villa, who have been easier to score on in the absence of Pau Torres, could Marcus Rashford make his debut and play his first football in over two months? 

More: No Hometown Superstar myth will help Marcus Rashford at Villa. Excellent from Barney Ronay.

Rogstradamus 🔮: I pray for Spurs. They do have a fantastic ability to win games when all feels so very lost. Let’s manifest a 2-1 come from behind victory. I cannot take more Sonny tears.

📺 HERE: The Full FA Cup broadcast schedule.

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

More Football, Did Ya Say? ⚽︎

• Transfer window in which almost no short term decisions were made and almost all the big clubs bar Manchester City kept their powder dry. Here is why.

• Extremely rare interview with Premier League CEO Richard Masters.

• This is incredible: What happens to diehard football fans who stop going to the game and drift away from football. 

• Marshall Islands’ stunning “Vanishing Kit,” a symbol of islands’ own fight for survival. 🇲🇭

• Jon Stewart makes a CONCACAF joke on television, then laughs at making a CONCACAF joke. Soccer. America’s Sport of the Future no more. 

• This Brentford story is lovely. The best of football.

MEN IN BLAZERS MUGS (Not Just for Your Coffee) ☕️

🚨 Our friends at WorldSoccerShop have let us in on their Friends & Family Sale. There’s a whole range of MiB clobber - mugs, hats & t-shirts, many of them celebrating (or poking fun at) your favorite team.

❗️ Just use code "FNFSALE" prior to checkout for 20% off at shop.meninblazers.com

PrizePicks: Best PP Since Parker Posey ✅

Charlie Kipp Writes: Break out the wings and chips, the Big Game is here! While in this column, you may have reason to believe I’m referring to the “Most Hated Fans” derby of Leeds vs. Millwall in the FA Cup, I am referring to the clash between the Eagles and Chiefs in New Orleans this Sunday. PrizePicks has - and I’ve counted - hundreds of picks on offer for you to choose from, but I would direct you to the one that is the biggest guarantee in the history of this column: Patrick Mahomes MORE than 0.5 Passing Yards.

Your eyes do not deceive you, in the spirit of winning, you can get halfway to a victory without even turning your brain on by starting your weekend entry with a no-doubter. The link to grab this freebie will be on the Men in Blazers socials over the course of this weekend, so while we’ve said it before - this time we can say objectively there has never been a better time to jump in to PrizePicks and start your journey with a win. It’s free. Don’t think, just act: Patrick Mahomes MORE than 0.5 Passing Yards.

If you haven’t joined PrizePicks, CLICK HERE and play $5 and get $50 instantly when you use code MiB.

More Football, Sweet Football You Will Want to Watch 🌍

Empoli vs. AC Milan (Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ET, Paramount +) 🇮🇹

A 1-1 draw in last week’s Derby della Madonnina left “Kyle Walker’s AC Milan” five points shy of Serie A’s European spots as we barrel toward the last third of the season. A midweek victory against Friedkin-owned Roma (despite Rog's lucky hat) featured both Yunus Musah and Christian Pulisic alongside new signings Walker and João Félix, the latter scoring 12 minutes into his club debut. A win Saturday in Tuscany against a struggling Empoli side would curb the club’s poor away form of late. Back-to-back losses on the road against Juventus and Dinamo Zagreb leave Sérgio Conceição’s men at risk of three straight away defeats for the first time since 2015.

ii. It’s the Women’s FA Cup Fifth Round in England! Here is a preview of the games, all of which you can watch via the Adobe Women’s FA Cup YouTube Channel. 🏆

iii. Wrexham are off this weekend as they were due to play Leyton Orient who are in FA Cup action. The team did unveil plans for a new side of their stadium and they are truly, truly stunning. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

MiB Mad Libs 📝

This week’s phrase is: “The one thing that will prevent Liverpool from winning the Quadruple is ______________ ” 

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

Last Week’s Winner: Brent Jablonski

“Manchester City will win this year’s Champions League because everyone loves a Cinderella story where the winning team has been found guilty of committing 115 financial sins.”

Savor the patch Big Brent. Enjoy the City fairytale we are about to experience which starts next week. 😉

Not Football, and All the Better for It 🔗

• The Leaning Tower of New York. Dark day for the Pisa tourism board. 

• ZOMBIE ZOMBIE ZOM BIE BIE BIE: Newly discovered fungal species makes zombies of cave spiders on island of Ireland.

• Will break your heart: My Final Days on the Maine Coast.

• Love love love Priya Krishna's food stories: Inside a Rikers Island Kitchen: Dull Knives and Critical Jobs.

• Wallop Your Norms! Steves hive RISE! (PS. I love my comfort zone)

• 82,150 Gallons of Paint Later, a Blue Man Group Farewell. Fred Armisen was in the Blue Man Group house band????

• You Should Be Eating Welsh Rarebit. Vegetarian friendly, despite the name. 

• AI-Generated Slop Is Already In Your Public Library. OK, but who will be writing the Cliff’s notes versions of the AI slop for me?

• This Song Made My Week: Chelsea’s Noah Kahan singing about his feelings after not winning a Grammy is proper genius.

Dear Rog... GFOPs Write ✍️

I loved this email from GFOP Matt Curtis:

“My wife ordered a Spurs sticker for her laptop. On Saturday the following message was sent to us by Amazon…

Have a great day,

Matt”

Rog writes: Matt. Thanks for sharing your laughter. How can an entire movie’s worth of emotion be expressed in nine short words? The “Tottenhum” spelling might just be the chef’s kiss. To better days ahead for you, starting this weekend. Thank God, refillable hope is free. It is it’s cousin, shattered hope, that is so costly.   

Keep sending your stories and questions to meninblazers@gmail.com.

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