Hail GFOP!  

We write after a weekend of March Madness. And by that, I mean FA Cup “Elite Eight” wonder, which saw Marcus Rashford’s resurrection bring joy to Villa fans, Crystal Palace dance past Fulham like Pedro Pascal in an Apple commercial, Nottingham Forest win on penalties–which has become their trademark–to break Brighton hearts again, and Manchester City come from behind at Bournemouth. Even in their “Worst Season Ever,” they reach Wembley for the seventh straight year, an experience most fans of most teams would bite their arm off for.  

I want to go on the record: the past few seasons, I had secretly begun to savor match days in which Everton did not play so they could not sully my weekend. David Moyes has changed all that, so bring on the derby on Wednesday night, which we cover below. 

Tomorrow, I am interviewing Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly and Declan Rice, then taping with Mr. Rory Smith, before charging to the airport to spend the week at Bournemouth and shoot a film there. I revere Andoni Iraola and Bill Foley and what they have done with that tiny team and look forward to capturing it on camera, while spending some time with Tyler Adams. If you are going to the Bournemouth vs. Ipswich game on Wednesday night, let me know as we would love to film you.

Be in touch with anything and everything. It is the joy of our lives to hear from you all.

Courage,

ROG

City Rise as the Cherries’ Trophy Hopes End 🩵🍒 

- Written by Tommy Stewart

Bournemouth 1-2 Manchester City

There might not be two contenders in the Premier League this year who are having more divergent seasons, with Bournemouth punching miles above their weight, whilst Pep's mob are seemingly trying to “find themselves” in a gap year they want to end as soon as possible. City are a team in transition, and Pep Guardiola wants apprentices, such as FA Cup specialist Nico O’Reilly, to become masters, like this much slower but still brilliant twilight version of Kevin De Bruyne. At 20, O’Reilly is one of the freshest faces off City’s academy assembly line, but with two expert assists and a Man of the Match performance, he has definitely, maybe earned a starting spot for another routine cup semi-final visit to Wembley for City, where they will face Nuno Espírito Santo’s flying Nottingham Forest. The local lad now has three goals and two assists in this competition, so his family and friends will be walking down Wembley Way knowing that, if Pep keeps his word, their boy will have a part to play in his team’s fate as he hopes to live forever in the hearts and minds of City fans. We’ll see you there, Noel Gallagher.

Football Giveth, and Football Taketh Away

Life (and football) comes at you fast, doesn’t it? Just ask Erling Haaland and Kepa Arrizabalaga, who both experienced the extreme emotional duality of this erratic sport on Sunday. Haaland missed his third penalty of the season thanks to a well-held Kepa save in the first half and the Cherries went into the break one up. Minutes after the restart, the Norwegian No. 9 put away a much tougher chance before going off injured not long after. And first half hero, Kepa, really should have done better for Omar Marmoush’s winner, which was well within his range - Andoni Iraola said so himself in a post-match interview.

The Champions League Race Continues for Both Sides

For a while this season, Iraola’s Bournemouth side were going under the radar, thanks to the emergence of Nottingham Forest as genuine top four contenders, a fate they still seem comfortably destined for. Although the South Coast club haven’t won in their last four Premier League matches and are now in 10th instead of the top five, where they seemed to live for so long, that doesn’t paint the picture of their season. If in August you’d told their fans they’d be going into April racing for a Champions League spot, after narrowly losing to City in an FA Cup quarter-final, they probably wouldn’t have believed you. These Davids are only four points behind City’s Goliaths in the league and they will have plenty more bites at the cherry before the season’s over. 

Meanwhile, Pep’s men will be out for revenge against Nottingham Forest at Wembley late in April. Not only do Nuno’s side sit six points above them in the Premier League tree, they also came out on top in a 1-0 victory at the City Ground when these two faced each other a few weeks ago. Guardiola told the press his team “don’t deserve a bonus this season” even if they win the FA Cup and Club World Cup, but pride is on the line for a club and manager who usually settle for nothing less than some sort of silverware.

Away Wins Rule Everything Around Us 💪

Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest (Forest win 4-3 on penalties)

Rafael Nadal once said, “Losing is not my enemy, the fear of losing is my enemy,” and that seemed to be the mentality of both of these high-flying neutrals’ favorites in a tactical style-clash that played like a cautious game of chess for 120 minutes. Forest’s recent history suggests that knock-out penalty shootouts suit them—they’ve now won their last three in this competition—but that will have meant little to Ryan Yates as he stepped up to take the deciding spot kick. He joined Forest at the age of eight, so sending his boyhood club to their first FA Cup semi-final in 34 years, where they will face the might of Manchester City, clarifies that the oldest competition in world football has not lost its magic. Yates’ celebration (below) was an outpouring of emotion that was a microcosm of every ball kicked, every tear shed, every injury, every lift his parents gave him to training, every promotion and relegation his club have been through, and every fan he represents on the pitch. The beautiful game, indeed.

Fulham 0-3 Crystal Palace 

A sun-kissed Craven Cottage for an FA Cup quarter-final is a pertinent reminder that football is wonderful; another reminder of that is Eberechi Eze’s right (and left) foot. Fulham knocked and knocked for 25 minutes, but couldn’t bang down the Palace door and Marco Silva rued his team’s lack of “ruthless” instincts as well as the absence of VAR for what he thought should have been an Adam Wharton red card. Do not let that take anything away from the Eagles, whose clinical finishing and dogged defending takes them back to Wembley for a second Cup semi-final in four years. The only obstacle is quite a tricky one; they’ll face Aston Villa, who are still flying on three fronts this season. But as winners of their last five in a row, Palace are certainly riding high as we enter the final stretch of the season.

Preston 0-3 Aston Villa

And just like that, the floodgates are open for Marcus Rashford, who before yesterday hadn’t yet scored for Aston Villa across nine matches. But it wasn’t just the cool-finishing of his brace that impressed, it was the way he played and carried himself that was a timely reminder that he was considered “World Class” during his peak streak at United just a few seasons ago. Jacob Ramsey cut through Preston’s midfield and defense to put the cherry on top of another lovely Unai Emery cake; no one, in any competition, will fancy facing his team right now. Preston’s Deepdale Park was raucous, and their injury-ravaged side can be proud of their first half performance that, for the first 10 minutes, was a sideshow for a surreal balloon display – a statement that was surely not on our weekend MiB bingo card.

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

Some Weekend Worldies, Just for You 🚀 🥅

There were a lot of great goals this weekend (we see you, Johnny Cardoso), but these are three of our favorites. Got one we should check out? Send it our way.

On the Continent 🇪🇺

🇮🇹 Serie A: Atalanta’s loss at Fiorentina leaves them falling behind Serie A’s top two, Inter Milan and Napoli, who both won on Sunday. The Indian Summer of Marko Arnautović continues, with the 35-year-old scoring for Inter in their 2-1 victory against Udinese, whilst Antonio Conte’s Napoli side will hope to have buried their recent poor form with a 2-1 win against AC Milan in a basketball game that deserved more goals.

🇪🇸 La Liga: Robert Lewandowski netted a double as Barcelona beat Girona 4-1 to keep his team at the top of La Liga, and his name at the summit of its goalscoring chart. Oh, and the man breathing down his neck for the Pichichi trophy, Kylian Mbappé, scored his first-ever free kick as second-placed Real Madrid only just defeated relegation-battlers, Leganés, 3-2. Atlético Madrid’s poor form continued with a draw at Espanyol, which means this title race looks like another Mexican stand off between Big Boys, Barca and Madrid. Three points divides them and three goals separate their respective No 9s.

Elsewhere in Spain, Seville’s “El Gran Derbi” (The Great Derby) between Real Betis and Sevilla ended a seven-year winless league run in this fixture for Betis, who came out 2-1 victors. Spurs-bound USMNT midfielder, Johnny Cardoso, briefly took flight for a volley that will eternally cement his legendary status amongst passionate Béti-cos, who value a win over their neighbors more than most fanbases. 💚🤍

🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen both won, both scored three goals, and are still both competing in their own two-team league within a league. The pilsner is still on ice in Munich, though; Leverkusen are six points behind them, so although not quite hot on their heels, Xabi Alonso’s team are still (technically) in contention for the Meisterschale shield.

Record-Setting Crowd in the UWCL 🏟️

Another week means more big headlines from the world of women’s football. In case you missed any of it, here’s what you need to know, courtesy of our good friends over at The Women’s Game:

• Little more than a month since the U.S. placed second in the 2025 SheBelieves Cup, USWNT manager Emma Hayes named a 24-player roster to play Brazil in two upcoming friendlies.

• NWSL’s Boston team, who originally launched as ‘BOS Nation FC’ to immediate backlash, has unveiled their new name: Boston Legacy FC. They’ll enter the league in 2026 alongside NWSL’s 16th team, based in Denver.

• The records just keep breaking. After multiple attendance milestones were surpassed in England and Germany domestic competitions last weekend, Real Madrid vs. Arsenal set a new record for UWCL quarterfinal attendance in England with 22,517 fans. 

Want to get more women’s football updates sent straight to your inbox each week? Subscribe to The Women’s Game newsletter.

Matches Worth Faking a Meeting for 📺 

Premier League Midweek Madness 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 ⚡️

Liverpool vs. Everton (Wednesday, 3 p.m. ET, USA)

Rog writes: James Tarkowski 2: Electric Boogaloo? I gave up a pair of spectacles in the name of Everton’s victory in the reverse of this fixture. OK, it was a draw, but it felt like the sweetest of wins. That 2-2 last-millisecond Tark thump, which made me want to have a fifth kid and call it Beto, and then spend the next day interviewing/worshiping the unexpected goalscorer. The greatest way to say farewell to Goodison Park and capture its grandeur as a place of generational collective memory. What do I expect from this game? Pain. Yes, when we last saw Liverpool they were enmeshed in their Worst Week Ever™ in which they were unceremoniously knocked out of the Champions League and shocked in the Carabao Cup final. Do I believe that dismal plunge will continue? Not to get too Cher on your asses, but as she once said, “Do you believe in life after love?”

Chelsea vs. Tottenham (Thursday, 3 p.m. ET, Peacock) 

A London derby that’s not as nasty as Tottenham’s North London quarrel with Arsenal, or the aforementioned battle of Liverpool, but has accumulated heat over the last few years, partly thanks to Mauricio Pochettino, who’s managed both clubs with varying degrees of success. Spurs would almost certainly swipe right if they saw him pop up again, whilst Chelsea might think twice and just close the app for a bit. The Blues’ fourth-place standing is deceptive–only five points separate them and Bournemouth in 10th–so a win over Ange Postecoglou’s temperamental Tottenham would have Stamford Bridge dreaming of hearing “The Chaaaaampions” again, because let’s face it, no child dreams of walking out to whatever the UEFA Conference League anthem is. 

Brighton vs. Aston Villa (Wednesday 2:45 p.m. ET, Peacock)

Brighton and Aston Villa are both fillings in that big, tasty, Champions League-chasing 4th-10th spot sandwich that has more moving numbers and permutations than Cold Harbor, so this is a must-win for both teams. Unai Emery loves Europe and so if he doesn’t qualify for its grandest stage via the table, his Aston Villa team might just have to simply win the thing this season.

Manchester City vs. Leicester (Wednesday 2:45 p.m. ET, Peacock)

The Premier League is brilliant because anyone can beat anyone; Leicester proved that with their historic title win in 2016. However, these all-but-relegated Foxes are not in Ruud health, and despite Manchester City’s gap year, the Etihad is hardly a happy hunting ground for a goal-hungry team. City sit in fifth in the moveable feast that is the race for the Champions League spots, and Pep will see this as an opportunity to notch-up some potentially vital numbers on that GD column of the Premier League table.

Coppa Italia Semi-Final 🇮🇹 🏆

AC Milan vs. Inter Milan (Wednesday, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

In a Milan derby cup semi-final, form flies out of the window. The first leg of the beautifully-named Derby della Madonnina will be played at the San Siro, as will the second in three weeks because sharing is caring, and despite Inter leading Serie A with Milan drowning in mid-table mediocrity, Christian Pulisic and his boys in red and black know this match could define their season. Whenever this fixture comes up, it’s always worth sharing this subject of many a phone screensaver and one of the greatest sporting images ever captured.

It’s MiB Trivia Time 🤔

Welcome to our weekly trivia game, a competition fiercer than most of this past weekend’s Elite Eight.

This week’s question: The FA Cup is world football’s oldest trophy, starting in 1871. In the past 153 years, how many players have been sent off in the tournament’s final? 🏆

Respond to this email with your answer and we’ll send one lucky correct responder a coveted MiB patch. As always, no Googling please.

Last week’s answer: Host nations aside, the first men’s national team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup was Japan, which makes this their (checks notes) EIGHTH consecutive World Cup! Congrats to GFOP Ladona Smith on last week’s win. 🇯🇵

Rog’s Record Bin 🎶

Rog writes: I have a massive collection of Football vinyl. I scour eBay in my late-night hours attempting to track down Pelé's lost albums, Cruyff's polka single, and Beckenbauer's love songs with the tenacity of George Smiley. Over the next few weeks, I will share some of my favorites for your listening delight.

This week, it’s New Order (the artists formerly known as Joy Division) with “World In Motion”.

Widely lauded as the greatest soccer song of all time, 1990’s “World in Motion” saw the English squad team up with Manchester electro-dance pioneers, New Order, who proceeded to pack as many nudge-nudge drug double entendres as is humanly possible into a 4:32-long track. Despite being behind the best-selling 12-inch single of all time in 1983’s “Blue Monday”, this remains New Order’s only number-one song to this day. Come for the summery-synth pop optimism, stay for legendary Liverpool winger John Barnes’ bars.