FULL WEEKEND OF PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALL 🍺⚽️

Hail GFOP!

I write with fingers still quivering after the quite magical news that Tracy Chapman is going to return from self-imposed exile and perform live on stage for the first time in years, during the Grammys on Sunday night. What is this, apart from a reminder of how unpredictable life can be? It was just a week ago I began writing this newsletter in shock, minutes after Jurgen Klopp announced he will leave the Premier League, creating a Disturbance in the Force. Seven days later, we are blessed with the news that the One True Queen I consider royalty is back. Proof nature is healing. At a time when the world often feels overwhelmed by darkness, there will always be bolts of light to savor. 

Anyone who has read my memoir knows just how central Tracy Chapman was to me during my adolescent years back in Liverpool. Indeed, the working title of the book was “Tracy Chapman Saved My Life.” I have often said there are three bucket list guests I long to book for our show — Philip Larkin, Primo Levi, and Tracy Chapman, and two of them are dead. Until now, I have had to settle for Tracy’s debut album sitting above me in our studio, looking down upon me like a Guardian angel. It is always the last thing I look at before I begin an interview. A reminder of the humanity and honesty, love and compassion I hope we can tap into during our tapings.

To watch TC take the stage alongside Luke Combs on Sunday will be deeply emotional for me, and millions of Tracy aficionados around the world. While it can never match up to the courageous power of this Wembley performance, I know that for so many of us, to watch Tracy perform once again will unlock profoundly powerful memories, transporting listeners to some very raw places. Savor every second. Thanks also to GFOP @askellyphd who was one of hundreds to reach out to me in the last 24 hours. He tweeted. “Everton might be going down, Rog, but at least there’s this. Tracy is back.” Even the lovely things in my life are made to turn to ashes in my mouth thanks to football.

More: Listen to my appearance on the “Talkin’ About Tracy Chapman” podcast. 

b. This has been a magical week at the MiB Media Network. We spent time with Matthew McConaughey for a forthcoming banger. Sergiño Dest came on to talk about the art of the nutmeg for an interview that will drop next Tuesday. 

c. I have rarely enjoyed a guest more than I did Joel Embiid. Gent adores his football, truly, madly, deeply. After we finished, he said, “Ask me more questions.” And honestly I could have gone on and on and on all night. I wish him a speedy return to full health.

d. My conversation with Virgil Van Dijk made headlines around the world as he talked about his commitment to Liverpool in the post-Jurgen Klopp era. It is really hard to make a connection with an elite footballer via Zoom in the time we have with them, but I love interviewing Virg. As he has assumed the captain’s armband at Liverpool he has leaned into interviews in a more open way. I really loved his first answer about his personal relationship with Jurgen and his last one, on what a Klopp hug really feels like: “Brotherhood.” ❤️

2. To the Football

i. Arsenal vs. Liverpool (Sunday, 11.30 a.m. EST, Peacock)

League leading Liverpool descend upon the Emirates for one final time under Jurgen Klopp, a week into his delirious Last Dance. Darwin Nunez may be injured, but they are Conor Bradley’s team now. Arsenal have resummoned winning ways, ripping off two straight wins after that discombobulating Christmas four-game flail in all-comps. Gabriel Jesus has declared “I have changed my mindset at Arsenal to focus on scoring goals” which is exactly what you want to hear from your striker. GFOP @TJ_Thurman asked a great question about Liverpool’s next coach: “If Xabi Alonso takes the LFC job, will the blow of no longer being the Premier League’s best looking manager shatter Arteta’s confidence and send him packing?

Good read: It’s impossible to replace Klopp. So here is what Liverpool must do.

ii. Everton vs. Tottenham (Saturday, 7.30 a.m. EST, USA)

An exhausted Everton marked Sean Dyche’s year in charge in the most memorable of ways: by slipping into the relegation zone. Winless in five, they must face Big Ange’s Berserker Spurs, a top four side once again, then Manchester City back-to-back. An experience which may leave us as footballing roadkill. The club’s most important win may or may not come in their appeal against a 10-point deduction for a breach of financial rules which closes today. Not. In. The. Face.

More: Immense Ange Press Conference Gag.

iii. Manchester United vs. West Ham (Sunday, 9 a.m. EST, Peacock)

Manchester United welcome Ghost of Christmas Past, David Moyes. Holy, Holy Crap. Watching Ten Hag’s team is becoming a uniquely sinister thrill, akin to experiencing the Russian Roulette scene in Deer Hunter. Desperation, compassion, relief at survival. Isn’t that why we watch football? Last night against Wolves, twice letting a 2-0 lead slip, conceding in the 95th minute. An agony. But cometh the hour, cometh the Man Boy. Eighteen-year-old Kobbie Mainoo danced through the Wolves rearguard like some kind of Stockport Billy Elliott. Rubberneckers go home. And with Rashford finding the back of the net, United’s new training regimen should be tequila shots and wind sprints. 

iv. Bournemouth vs. Nottingham Forest (Sunday, 9 a.m. EST, Peacock)

Pray for Matt Turner. A man who is a huge friend of this show for the way he ground his way into the big time, after only seriously picking up a football at the age of 16. It has been hard to watch him this season – finally earn a starting spot at Forest, only to falter. Last week’s goal conceded against old team Arsenal felt like a public humiliation. Goalkeeping is akin to Field Goal kicking or coming in to pitch as closer. A position which is barely understood by most managers and seen as disposable. The moniker “Dodgy Keeper” is hard to shake. Forest brought in Belgian veteran Matz Sels yesterday to compete with Matt Turner and Odysseas Vlachodimos. Sels is best known for scattering a handful of flawed appearances across two seasons at Newcastle. Matt has shown a well of tenacity throughout his career. May he dig in deep again.

Good read: Will a move to Forest save Gio Reyna’s “stalled career?” I am thrilled to see Gio in the Premier League – but Forest’s relegation fight will be an unforgiving setting. May he gain his confidence and soar. 🇺🇸🦅 

📰 For weekly updates on all our US men and women abroad, make sure to subscribe to American States United, our newsletter that flies every Wednesday covering Gio and all our other American players who ply their trade overseas.

v. Brentford vs. Manchester City (Monday, 3 p.m. EST, USA)

City are fresh off beating down Burnley to reel off an ominous 10th win in 11 unbeaten games across all competitions. Everyone is fit again with KDB returning to the starting lineup and Haaland back on the bench to watch Wednesday’s defenestration of Burnley. Ominous. Expect Neal Maupay to deflect a shot in early, do Haaland’s signature Zen celly, then have City pour in nine merciless goals in response. It is known.

LOOK: Full Premier League broadcast schedule Here.

MORE OR LESS, PRESENTED BY PRIZEPICKS 😜

Charlie writes: One of the things we love about PrizePicks is the way it makes enhancing the football experience so simple. All you have to do is pick MORE than or LESS than two to six player stat projections. If you want a basic, straightforward way to add excitement to your football watching habit - take MORE on a player to score a goal. Goals. Ho Hum. What’s so great about those?

If, however, you want to change the way you consume football forever - join me in dabbling in the World of PASSES ATTEMPTED, baby. That’s right - our PrizePicks More or Less pick of the week is none other than Media, PA’s Auston Trusty MORE than 24.5 passes attempted. Sheffield United may be in the mud this season, but the 25-year-old from Delco has started in the last three games for the Blades, and in his 16 appearances for the club this season - has been on the pitch for the full 90’ in all-but-one of them. Ride with us and experience the thrill of cheering wildly when Sheffield pass the ball around the back for 40 seconds, with no regard to the score or circumstance (which will be against Aston Villa this Saturday at 12.30 p.m. on Peacock). 

Trust the Process. Take the MORE than 24.5 on this jawn. 

If you haven’t joined PrizePicks, go to prizepicks.com/MIB and use code MiB for a first deposit match up to $100.

3. The Tumbleweed Transfer Window has now shut. “Here We Don’t Go”

The January Transfer window shut – not with a slam, more with a muted click. Rarely has there been a less suspenseful final hour. Austerity has kicked in. Or rather, FFP fear caused by watching the savage treatment doled out to scapegoat Everton. $127.7m total changed hands in stark comparison to last year, when a frenzied $1.04B was splurged. No new striker for Arsenal. No pile of cash burned for a shockingly restrained Chelsea. Armando Broja’s loan to Fulham was the significant move. Spurs were perhaps the most strategic. Teams’ medical departments keeping exhausted squads fit will be this season’s MVPs. Here are the moves every Premier League team made – or did not make.

4. This Week at Men in Blazers World Headquarters 🍻🍻🍻

Another surreal week at Men in Blazers World HQ where we released a series of conversations designed to bring you joy. 

👀 And the first of those convos will be the dopamine hit for the ages for Liverpool fans. It is none other than Virgil Van Dijk squashing rumors about his future at the club. “Don’t get it twisted, I am fully committed to the club,” he told Rog in THIS INTERVIEW. 

🏀 Virg wasn’t the only Man Mountain we interviewed this week. None other than Philadelphia 76ers Big Man Joel Embiid joined us to talk about his love for Arsenal and Real Madrid. Arsenal fans, TRUST THE PROCESS. We released the convo on both our YouTube and as a Podcast. And look for it on a special episode of the Men in Blazers on Peacock Feb. 10. And we wish Joel - who could not have been more brilliant, joyous in this interview - courage as he recovers from his knee injury. 

💪 Sam Mewis and the team at MiB Network’s The Women’s Game Pod has dropped yet another incredible episode in which a disarmingly honest Mal Swanson spoke about the devastating injury that caused her to miss the World Cup, revealing for the first time anywhere, how bad it truly was. Listen Here and Watch Here. Follow The Women’s Game on Insta, Twitter, TikTok. To get everything The Women’s Game to your inbox every Monday, make sure to subscribe to The Women’s Game Newsletter. And as always, share with your football curious friends, as Men in Blazers has always been about community and word of mouth.

❤️ Other Content We’re Proud Of: 

• VAMOS with Herc Gomez - A sitdown with the Booth Brothers - Taylor and Zach - who will face each other this weekend in the top flight. Two siblings from Utah, doing battle in the Eredivisie. What a time to be alive. LISTEN HERE. And a reminder, if you are a VAMOS listener, it has switched podcast feeds to the Men in Blazers Early Kickoff feed. So make sure you’re subscribed to THIS FEED to continue to get your weekly fix o’ CONCACAF. 

• Early Kickoff - Our favorite way to start the morning. Football's biggest headlines in 10 minutes. Every. Single. Morning. The James Milner of Men in Blazers. If Jimmy Mills could also dribble like Messi, pass like Gerrard and tackle like Van Dijk. We continue to be blown away by our production team in London’s creativity. SUBSCRIBE.

• Next Week… the latest installment of our series “PSV USA” in which we ask Sergiño Dest who actually edits his IG highlight reels and if Vin Diesel is the greatest actor of all-time. Spoiler: Sergiño says yes. Drop Tuesday on EKO Pod Feed. 

5. This Week in Wrexham 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿☕️

Now without that pesky FA Cup to worry about, Wrexham travel to west Manchester for a tie that pits Beckham and Neville(s) against Reynolds and McElhenney (Saturday, 10 a.m. EST iFollow). Nineteenth placed Salford are unbeaten since the arrival of new manager Karl Robinson, whose debut back on January 6th saw him impressively get sent off within 14 minutes after interfering with a throw-in. Wrexham are within five points of leaders Stockport with a game in hand on The Hatters, and may give a debut to Manchester City Academy grad (and Stockport player until Thursday) Luke Bolton, who joined the Red Dragons on a two and a half year deal. The 24-year-old winger arrives in North Wales having scored 13 league goals in 46 league matches in the 22/23 season, and has grabbed five assists in his 20 appearances thus far this season. Hope incarnate.

More: This Week in Wrexham - Welsh Correspondent Tomi “Cheese” Lewis travels to Blackburn for the FA Cup and asks the important question: what’s the collective noun for a group of sheep shaggers? WATCH HERE. 

6. PSV face Ajax in the Rivalry known as “De Topper” 🇳🇱🧀

Following their brief, human dip in form against Utrecht, PSV returned to winning ways last Saturday seeing off Almere 2-0 courtesy of a Luuk de Jong brace. Saturday (2 p.m. EST, ESPN +) they travel to Amsterdam to take on perpetual Eredivisie winners Ajax, the only Dutch side with more titles than they have (36 to 24). Ajax sit four places and 21 POINTS below Eindhoven in fifth, but are on a winning run of form, with seven wins and two draws in their last nine. USMNT star Sergiño Dest is expected to be in the starting lineup following reports Eindhoven may shell out $11 million to make his loan deal permanent.

🇺🇸🚨 Sergiño Dest joins me next Tuesday to talk through the highs and lows of his career, and reveal who exactly edits the person highlight reels he posts, win or lose.

More: Inside PSV’s academy: Goldilocks pitches, brain training and a pathway to success.

7. More Football, Did Ya Say?

i. Harry Kane is loving life in Germany. “The kids will be speaking German before I am.”

ii. Eerie interview with UEFA President Ceferin as he tries to change rules to stay in power and talks about “dictators.”

iii. The decision that changed everything: Barcelona selecting Pep over Mourinho in 2008 and its Sliding Doors Effect.

8. Meanwhile… in Italy…🤌🇮🇹

After settling for a draw against Bologna, AC Milan will look to summon more consistent form away to midtable Frosinone at the weekend (Saturday, 12 p.m. EST, Paramount +). Good news for manager Stefano Pioli, as his side may be able to summon the talents of midfielder Ismaël Bennacer, who returns to Italy after representing Algeria at AFCON. Back at the San Siro, 70,000 fans will watch league leaders Inter host second placed Juve in a battle to decide who will end this weekend top of Serie A (Sunday, 2.45 p.m. EST, Paramount +). USMNT fans are likely to see Weston McKennie feature for the Old Lady, but reports suggest teammate Timothy Weah may miss Sunday’s Derby d’Italia due to an “unspecified illness” (probably heartbreak and regret over his rejection of a loan move Everton).

More: Lovely interview with Yunus Musah who is fast-becoming one of the leaders of the young USMNT. 🇺🇸🦅

9. Our AFCON/Asian Cup continues to Overfloweth 🏆🏆

Eight teams remain in contention for the Africa Cup of Nations and Asian Cup respectively, after a week that saw hosts Ivory Coast improbably progress after beating holders Senegal on penalties and Saudi Arabian coach Roberto Mancini being forced to apologize for walking off after his side was eliminated. Asian Cup throws up some geopolitical challenges for neutrals: Whom do you support when Syria play Iran? 

Both sets of quarterfinals begin today, with Nigeria taking on Angola (12 p.m. EST, BeIn Sports) and DR Congo facing Guinea (3 p.m. EST, BeIn Sports). In Qatar, the action starts with 106th ranked Tajikistan v. 87th ranked Jordan (6.30 a.m. EST, Paramount +) followed by the “Ange Postecoglou Derby” (10.30am EST, Paramount +) as the Socceroos take on Son Heung-min’s South Korea. 

💙 London is Blue Podcast Joins MiB Media Network 💙

In one of the very few Deadline Day coups, the London is Blue podcast has officially joined the Men in Blazers Media Network. Passionate Chelsea FC fans will be familiar with this podcast since its inception in 2014. The show, hosted and produced right here in the US, has been a sounding board and communal hub for Chelsea fans both here and around the world for years. 

🎧 For a full preview of this weekend’s Chelsea match and How Chelsea Can Bounce Back Against Wolves, listen to their latest podcast released this morning wherever you get your podcasts.

We are elated to bring the team on board as a part of the Men in Blazers Media Network and will help ensure that Chelsea supporters have a front-row seat to the latest insights and stories from Stamford Bridge. You can follow them on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok as well as their newsletter, the London is Blue Dispatch, which brings the same energy and insight from the podcast to your inbox every single week.

10. Not Football, and all the Better for It

i. Shock of the old: nine monstrous mascots to suck out your soul. Gunnarsaurus could take every one of these. 

ii. Rog's Japanese counterpart: Owner of Tokyo’s viral Philly cheesesteak joint dishes on what he loves most about the city. 

iii. John Malkovich on (Really) Being John Malkovich. "The world has a people-of-Walmart factor. I’m one of them."

iv. What can Americans agree on? Wolves. Wolverhampton Wanderers, I have a marketing pitch for you. 

v. As good an argument for music criticism as any I've read in the past couple weeks: A Notorious Pitchfork Reviewer Was My Biggest Musical Influence. Also loved hearing from Anne Powers on last week's On The Media. 

vi. Saving this link for my future life in wealth and books: The Best Custom Bookshelf Makers in New York. 

vii. Elmo’s big question: how an adorable puppet asked how everyone was doing – and opened the gates of hell. It could've been worse, he could've asked how Chelsea's midfield did yesterday.

viii. Beautiful excerpt from Crystal Wilkinson's upcoming book: Tasting Indian Creek.

ix. The 50 Worst Decisions in the Past 50 Years of American Politics. Trump advising people to drink bleach is only number 8. You'll never sing that.

x. The men who practice against Caitlin Clark can’t stop her either. But I'm sure all the 14-year-olds in her Instagram comments could 🫠.

xi. We're about to enter 'burrito season.' Seriously. Every season is burrito season if you’re living in the light.

xii. Like you, I went to watch American Fiction and can’t stop listening to Sonya Spence’s Let Love Flow On either. Life feels better when you spend time with this song.

That is it for today. I want to leave you with part of a letter sent to me by GFOP Christian Stilp who wrote to [email protected]: “I want to write with a special thank you for the class and respect you provided when leading your pod off with Jurgen Klopp. It was a magnificent tribute to one of the best people in world football, full stop. I became a Red because of your show - well, because Laura Linney appeared on your tv show, to be more specific. NBC's coverage of the Premier League had exploded, leaving many of us stateside newbies wondering whom to support since we lacked the geographic and/or familial ties that often make the decision for you. When you posed this question to Laura, her answer reverberated in my mind: you don't pick your team, your team picks you… Within days of each other, my first child was born and Jurgen Klopp gave his first press conference as Liverpool manager; how I did not yet realize that more than one seismic event happened in my life that week. I continued to observe the Premier League from afar until my team chose me - April 14, 2016, the dramatic Europa League comeback at Anfield against Borussia Dortmund. By the end of the game, I was on my feet cheering wildly, just like the other Liverpool fans - and that's when I realized I was one of them. There would be no more watching afar for me; Liverpool had me hook, line, and sinker. 

You don't have to live in Liverpool to have felt a great sense of loss at Friday morning's announcement; I was devastated. At the same time, I felt gratified that he was in a position to choose when he walked away, which is rare in sport, and that he held off doing it until the team had overcome the struggles of last season and was set up well for the future. He will obviously never be forgotten, not by me nor my kids who will hear stories of him for ages. I close by sharing that I told my daughter this morning that Liverpool will be playing her teacher’s team Arsenal this weekend. She responded by wearing her Liverpool shirt to school today. What is that if not legacy?'“

To you Christian. And your daughter. May you, and all our readers savor every moment of joy and make memories together through football. 

Big Love.

Courage,

ROG