Goodbye Goodison 💙

Plus, the Championship's chaotic final weekend.

May 01, 2025

Hail GFOP! 

I type with fingers poised for an emotional return to Liverpool for a weekend of goodbyes. My Dad’s gravestone is being unveiled on Sunday. A moment of reconnection, that I hope, for my mum’s sake, will also be one of closure. I am on the flight back as I write, trying to wrap my mind around what I will say at his graveside. Something I have thought a lot about since his passing is the stunning number of his friends I have heard from, reaching out to tell stories about my old man. The one common denominator they all reflect upon is the amount of hard work he poured into his friendships, turning up not only in good times, but always in bad. Those are the stories I am thinking about as I brace up for all that is to come. They serve to underline the human truth: the real measure of a person is how we behave in difficult, hard, terrible times. That is what defines us.  

It is funny to type all this in a newsletter, because my Dad used to read every word of this thing. He would call me, without fail, within an hour of us hitting publish, armed with a barrage of questions about some random point. I was inevitably working when he phoned me, but I always took the call. I will admit, sometimes I was preoccupied, and just indulged him a little while still typing away in the background. Now, I recognize just how much I miss those conversations. If you are reading this – don’t take a second of even the most mundane call from a loved one for granted. 

ii. Returning to Liverpool gives me the chance to say goodbye to Goodison Park one more time. I cannot wait to watch Saturday’s game against Ipswich, even though I am sure most of the city will still be cloaked in red, churning with the adrenalin and catharsis of winning a title without a pandemic. I am proud to say, the plane flight I am on is pockmarked with Americans wearing Everton shirts. I cannot wait to complete this trans-Atlantic pilgrimage with these fans tomorrow. To return once again to that sacred place of memory, Goodison Park. After 133 years of history, there are just two more games to go. I cannot say it any better than the Beatles once did:

“All these places had their moments, with lovers and friends I still can recall; Some are dead and some are living, in my life I've loved them all.”

PS. I really loved this song which fits the moment. Thanks to Billy McKelvie, the singer himself, for sending it in to me.

iii. I filmed with Mikel Arteta yesterday. He was on fiery form. We talked about how he feels at the end of this season compared to the one that came before it, the single thing he believes scuppered the title challenge, and what he thinks about when he walks Win, the Dog. Our chat drops Tuesday on our YouTube. 

iv. Tell me Your Premier League Rituals 🍻

Finally, as the Premier League season winds down, I have begun to think about the rituals that bind us. Ones that are grounded in the singular act of being a Premier League fan in the United States. I would love to know how it has changed your lives. Many of you have written to us to say that you wake up earlier on a weekend than you do for the work week (especially you West Coasters AKA the true GOATS). The fact you now think nothing of sitting on your couch in your pajamas for five straight hours screaming for teams thousands of miles away. The belief we share that yelling at that aforementioned television has magical powers and can influence the actions of footballers playing their games in a different time zone to us. The different foods we eat only on Saturdays and Sunday: ritual breakfasts. Full English. Coffee and beer. The knowledge that every Premier League day can, and should, be Pie Day. I actually use a different coffee mug and bowl on a Saturday to the rest of the week. All of this is a reflection of the awareness that what we feel as we watch these teams makes us feel so ecstatically connected to the world, and wondrously alive. Drop me a line, and let me know the specifics of how you mark the Premier League experience, and the rituals and superstitions it has brought into your life.

PS: If you are feeling sad. Please take a moment to watch English television host Jeremy Vine read mean tweets. It is unintentionally uplifting.

News from MiB World HQ 📡

i. I am so happy that our conversation with the inimitable Brené Brown is out in the world. The response has been emphatically joyous. I knew Brené was a Liverpool fan. I had no idea of the depth of her connection. The ability to articulate the profound connection we feel as we watch football – using sociologist Émile Durkheim's concept of “collective effervescence” – is what made this so special. If you have not watched, then please, make some time to engage with her ideas. I would love to hear what they made you think and feel. 

ii. We are honored that Jamie Vardy is joining us for a farewell interview on Tuesday. We will ask him as many smart questions from fans as possible. Send us your best ones here.

iii. What better way to supplement your weekend than with a healthy dose of The Women’s Game? Angel City defender Sarah Gorden joins Sam for a candid chat on how motherhood and an ACL injury have given her true perspective on life and football. We’ve also got Good Vibes FC, the best place for all things NWSL & UWCL, and of course, the only place to find Sam Mewis flexing her vocal cords to belt out some checks notes Creed. 

To the Football 🍻

Chelsea vs. Liverpool (Sunday, 11.30 a.m. ET, Peacock)

The Super Sunday game that is not all that super. Come for the guard of honor, stick around to see just how hungover the Liverpool players are after climbing back on to their perch. Chelsea are rallying at the season's end with just one loss in their last eight. With fifth place the goal for Enzo Maresca, the run-in of Newcastle, United and Forest is akin to 100 men having to fight one Gorilla. 

More: I loved this old 1974 short film about Liverpool’s Kop and the quasi-religious relationship between it and its fans.

Rogstradamus 🔮: Cole Palmer is going to score a goal. This is not a drill. 2-1 Chelsea. Yes. I just said that.

Manchester City vs. Wolves (TODAY, 3 p.m. ET, Peacock) 

This is your Premier League Form clash. Two sizzling teams. City are attempting to show the swagger is back, aiming to win four straight League games for the first time since the beginning of September. Wolves are so hot right now. Six straight league wins. Proof that the pints are the greatest motivator for the points. Win here and they will tie a club record that dates back to 1946 and can walk around the field with multiple pairs of sunglasses, Yamine Lamal-style. 

More: I love this piece on Wolves’ brilliant turnaround coach Vitor Pereira. There is a lot of life truth in here.

Rogstradamus 🔮: City are Nico O’Reilly and James McAtee’s team now. They will roll 3-1.  

Aston Villa vs. Fulham (Saturday, 7.30 a.m. ET, USA)

I am old enough to remember when Aston Villa were a great team. Mine eyes hath seen a five-match Premier League winning run. That was before a 94th minute Manchester City winner brought them crashing back to earth, right before an FA Cup semi-final wilt against Crystal Palace. Champions League qualification is now their everything. This is the first of four intriguing rumbles – Bournemouth, Tottenham, and Manchester United lie ahead. Marcus Rahsford’s hamstring knack has given him an early end to his campaign with Villa in seventh, on the outside looking in. 

Rogstradamus 🔮: Villa are unbeaten at home in 16 games. Fulham have just one win in their last 20 league away meetings at Aston Villa. This game will change all of this. Ryan Sessegnon is here to save the day. 1-0 Lillywhites. 

Everton vs. Ipswich (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, USA)

A team who does not know how to function late in a season without a relegation battle welcomes a club who are already relegated. What could possibly go wrong? I am going to be there in person to boot. I fully expect nothing that happens on the field will come close to matching the pageantry of it. Tune in to experience Goodison being so loud at the outset, it can be heard from outer space.

Rogstradamus 🔮: If ever a game had Ipswich 1-0 written all over it. Please Delap, don’t hurt us.

Arsenal vs. Bournemouth (Saturday, 12.30 p.m. ET, NBC)

Paris is now Arsenal’s everything. I ache for the club. Winning any title is so very hard to do. Yet until they accomplish that feat, knee-jerk judgementalism will deride them as bottlers. I admire Mikel Arteta greatly for his obsessive, introspective, occasionally quite wonderfully wonky all-in leadership and am willing them on next week more than I can say. Bournemouth are another team I admire so much and it pains me that their European surge has petered out. The valiant Golden War Cherries have won just one of their last nine Premier League matches. The good news is, Evanilson had last week’s red card overturned. If only the FA could also restore the two points the 10-men agonizingly dropped in the 96th minute. Football, like life, is just not fair.

Rogstradamus 🔮: Arsenal’s draw fetish continues. 1-1.

West Ham vs. Tottenham (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, Peacock)

The Super Bowl of Sadness. Like watching a knife fight to the death between Eeyore and Bing Bong from Inside Out. A game so rank with suffering, English pundits are calling it El Crapico. However, after their Europa League 3-1 defanging of Arctic scrappers Bodø/Glimt, the realization dawns on Tottenham fans, they might finish this season in the agony of 17th place, and yet, end up having a more successful season than Arsenal.

Brentford vs. Manchester United (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, Peacock)

That roar you can hear is Manchester United fans revelling in Europa Cup half full. After a pulsating 3-0 win in the first leg against Athletic Bilbao, Ruben Amorim’s team have one foot and four toes in the final.

Harry Maguire has come close to completing football, transforming himself into a barnstorming right wing shape shifter, who is now surely Yamine Lamal’s only true competitor for the Ballon D’Or. A European night, that although in the Temu trophy, echoes memories of previous European glories, and, in context of the darkest Premier League season, gives a bruised fanbase the opportunity to book tickets for a big final (with a Champions League qualification Willy Wonka Golden ticket for the winner) to come.

Rogstradamus 🔮: A game that will be sadder than the Soggy Bottom Boys singing Man of Constant Sorrow for 90 minutes. United overcome Onana own goal with Høijlund the difference maker 2-1

The Big One To Watch This Weekend: Championship Promotion and Relegation 😃

It is Match Week 46 and we still have no idea who has won the league, which two clubs will face Sheffield United and Sunderland in the playoffs, and who will be relegated alongside Cardiff City. Saturday will be utter carnage and we cannot wait to drink it in.

There are myriad permutations in both the Championship play-off and relegation wars, so let’s start with the top of the table. The Championship play-off final is, “The richest game in football” with the prize of Premier League promotion said to be worth $100 million in TV revenue. Two of Bristol City, Coventry City, Millwall, Blackburn Rovers, and Middlesbrough can make it to the semi-finals. While all are worth tracking, it’s Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough vs. Frank Lampard’s Coventry that stands out (Saturday, 7:30 a.m. ET, Paramount +). The two former England center-midfielders graduated from West Ham’s academy together and were often midfield nemeses in Manchester United and Chelsea sides in the 2000s and 2010s. Two Men Enter, One Man Leaves. Them's the playoff rules.

More: Here’s the breakdown of who plays who in the relegation scramble, but you’ll need every screen you can stick your hands on to keep up with the ensuing chaos.

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

Some Magical Games Worth Your Time Around the World 📺

RB Leipzig vs. Bayern Munich (Saturday, 9.30 a.m. ET, ESPN +) 🇩🇪

If Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich win at RB Leipzig on Saturday, Harry Kane’s Tolkienesque quest for a trophy will be complete. But in true Spursy fashion, the Bundesliga’s top scorer won’t be on the field, because a fifth yellow card last weekend earned him a one-match suspension.

Lecce vs. Napoli (Saturday, 11 a.m. ET, Paramount +) 🇮🇹

The appointment-viewing title race still breathing in Europe’s top divisions is in Italy, where the Mighty Scott McTominay’s Napoli now lead midweek entertainers, Inter Milan, by three points. Napoli travel to Lecce on Saturday, whilst Inter host Verona (Saturday, 2.45 p.m. ET, Paramount +), but will the Nerazzurri be consumed by Lamine Yamal fever dreams as they wait for Barcelona to visit the San Siro next week?

Lincoln City vs. Wrexham (Saturday, 7 a.m. ET, Paramount +) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

On May 3, 2008 a National League-bound Wrexham traveled to Lincoln City knowing it would be their last game in League Two before relegation to the fifth tier of the EFL pyramid. Seventeen years later, TO THE DAY, they return to the East Midlands having secured a record third successive promotion. Proof Football is the ultimate theater. With the English papers already predicting a massive squad overhaul this summer, Saturday’s match (and Sunday’s award ceremony at the STōK Racecourse Ground) may be the last hurrah for a glut of fan favourites like Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer. 

More: This is my favorite THIS WEEK IN WREXHAM our Wrexham Correspondent Tomi “Cheese” Lewis has ever made. Watch this now and feel better about life. The last five minutes are beautiful. 

Seattle Reign vs. KC Current (TONIGHT 7.30 p.m. ET, Paramount +) 🇺🇸

The Current remain top of the league despite picking up their first shock loss of the season last week against the North Carolina Courage. They travel west to face Seattle a week out from a 1-0 victory over old(est) rivals Portland Thorns. Elsewhere in the league, Gotham FC host a Chicago Stars side who fired coach Lorne Donaldson this week after losing five of their six games this season (Sunday, 10 a.m. ET, CBS).

WSL Man Utd vs. Man City (Sunday, 4 a.m. ET, ESPN +/WSL Youtube) ❤️🩵 

With Chelsea crowned champions and Crystal Palace relegated, Champions League qualification remains the only thing to play for in the WSL. Both Manchester sides remain in contention for the league’s third CL spot, a win for United would clinch qualification, a win for City would take the competition to the last day 👀.

The Goal We Enjoyed the Most This Midweek 🤯

Football gave us stunners aplenty over the past five days, but Barcelona vs. Inter Milan in the Champions League semi-final, completely indulged us. In a parallel universe somewhere, Denzel Dumfries or Marcus Thuram are taking this week’s prize, but context is everything. Let history remember, this was the week in which Lamine Yamal hard-launched himself into a new stratosphere via this run and finish that was beautifully embellished by it pinging in off the post as if declaring, “I am the one and I am here to stay”. 

What did we miss? Send us a note to [email protected].

More Football, Did Ya Say? ⚽︎

Prize Picks: Best PP Since Piper Perabo ✅

Charlie Kipp writes: Even if the Premier League football is less narrative-ridden on May 1 than in years prior, you can still make the most out of every match with PrizePicks. Take Arsenal vs. Bournemouth at 12:30pm ET on Saturday. Is a title at stake? No. But so long as Nicolas Jover is running set piece training for the Gunners, my eyes will be peeled for value. In this one: William Saliba MORE than 0.5 shots-on-target. 

Long time readers will know that pragmatism has been our stock and trade with our picks, to occasional effect. Now, though, the season is in its dying embers and we’re taking some swings. Look, I’m not gonna lie: 24-year-old Saliba has six shots on goal this season. But this game is as much about vibes as anything else and something in my soul says that we’re going to have a Saliba flick-on-goal at some point. So, join me and add yet another reason to watch: William Saliba MORE than 0.5 shots-on-target.

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

MiB Mad Libs 📝

This week’s phrase is: 

“Wrexham will be promoted to the Premier League if they sign ____.”

Email us your entries for a chance of winning a coveted MiB patch.

A LOT of you submitted some brilliant entries for last week’s MiB Mad Lib, but Reuben Cohen takes the spoils with a brilliant response:

“Jamie Vardy was to the Premier League what Leeroy Jenkins was to World of Warcraft.”

Big Reuben. I loved your shout. It gave me a surge of joy I needed. Email us and we will zap you a patch for your Blizzard Activision. 

Big Dave, make it so!

Not Football and All the Better for It 📖

Dear Rog... GFOPs Write ✍️

Newcomers might not be familiar with the work of M. Patricia Li. But she, like Liam Neeson, has a very particular set of skills. Identifying and pricing the weird fashion choices of one Pep Guardiola. Take it away, Patricia:

Patricia writes: Hi Rog. Your description of Pep's tracksuit for Everton v. Man City drew my attention - you called it "part fabric, part leather tracksuit that was like the inverted center back of tracksuit design" - and so I did what I had to do: It is the Panelled Fleece-Back Cotton-Jersey and Shell Zip-Up Hoodie by Rick Owens DRKSHDW - a mouthful! - and costs around $1K. I confess that as the owner of a Rick Owens DRKSHDW wrap hoodie with a hood so big that I don't need an eye mask on long flights, the beige color of the hoodie strings gave me a clue right away.

Now, I don't want to put too fine a point on Pep shifting from Herno and C.P. Company - respectable, grown-up brands of quiet luxury - to Rick Owens during City's particularly tumultuous season, but Vogue did describe Rick Owens as "equal parts grunge and glamour," with "practical pieces, draped to angelic standards yet informed by the dark underworld of his imagination," so maybe Pep is sending a message through his sartorial choices after all. The idea that Pep's inner tortured genius is wrestling with his demons by angstily wearing Rick Owens cracks me up.

Please say hi to Rory for me. It was partly his piece that he co wrote with Elian Peltier - "Kylian Mbappé and the Boys From the Banlieues" - that got me into soccer in the first place during that fevered 2018 World Cup.

Courage,

Patricia

Rog writes: Patricia. I always love an email from you. Your eye and your storytelling are unmatched. And they remind us all of two things: 1) The extent to which Pep is so deliciously extra. 2) That while modern football can appear poetic, peak performance, and humanly transcendent, it is also crass, and monied, and inherently silly.

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