It's Arne Slot's World, We're All Just Living In It 🔴; Is the Sky Falling for Pep and Arteta?

Hail GFOP! 🍺

I type with fingers wearied by the real world. I want to begin by sending my love out to everyone. MiB is a community of voices born of shared passion for the game of football wherever it is played – and a sense of the wonders of the human experience that it conveys. It is also a diverse place with a lot of different opinions. This moment we are living together is overwhelming and filled with almost too much reality to process. All I can say right now is this: One of the reasons I most adore football is that it is overflowing with hope. Endless supplies. And that is what I pray we at MiB can embody today more than ever: undented love and hope. We are here for you now and always. You are not alone. As they sing in my hometown of Liverpool:

“When you walk through a storm

Hold your head up high

And don't be afraid of the dark

At the end of a storm

There's a golden sky

And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind

Walk on through the rain

For your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on, walk on

With hope in your heart

And you'll never walk alone.”

ii. I am in New Orleans this weekend to watch Tulane smash Temple, drink a few at The Boot, and eat all the Adam's Street Grocery Po’ Boys. I love this city so much. The singularity. The history seeping through every crack in the street. The people. I am so very grateful for its energy right now. If you are at the game, come and raise a beer with me. Roll Wave.

🦅 The Raven is our weekly newsletter telling you all you need to know about the weekend of football to come. Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe for free here.

This Week at MiB World HQ 🌎

I had the genuine delight of spending time with two of the Premier League’s most in-form strikers: Dominic Solanke of Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool’s Cody Gapko. Dominic talked with real joy about the way anime fires up his sense of self on the field. Cody — who is a truly humble, lovely bloke — discussed whether it is possible to be a nice guy and an elite striker, whose mentalites tend towards the selfish and arrogant. The Gakpo interview debuts on our YouTube on Saturday.  

👉 You can watch my conversation with Dominic Solanke here.     

• MiB is hiring! We have been thrilled with the response to Vamos and are planning on turning it into a full-throated platform with multiple shows helmed by a number of new talents who will be joining us. We are looking for a Director who can oversee the whole shebang. Job description is here.

• Follow us on LinkedIn to track new opportunities as they become available. We are trying to do good things with great people who share a passion for the game we love and our team is growing.  

• 🚨Kansas City: WE ARE COMING FOR YOU NWSL FINAL WEEKEND: In what I hope will become the start of an annual tradition, Sam Mewis and I will be live on stage at the “The Women's Game NWSL Championship Live Show: Night of 1,000 Stars Presented By Ally” – a showcase celebrating the championship game, the incredible growth of the league in this moment, and reveling in the singular, surging soccer culture that thrives in Kansas City. We have a ton of friends, leading players, and a celebrity surprise guest or two, joining us on stage. My plan is to revel with you, and eat all of the burnt ends. The show is at the Madrid Theater. TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW and if you are coming to the final, or live in Kansas City, I would love it if you would come and join us…. Let’s raise a glass… celebrate this incredible moment together. 🐄🚨

• Our Noah Kahan Television Show debuts on Peacock this Sunday. I wanted to try and bring some joy to the world. Noah Kahan’s Chelsea fandom story and passion for the game we love is healing. It will be available, along with the last four seasons of the Men in Blazers TV Show, HERE.

And… save the date: This Thursday night, Brendan Hunt of Ted Lasso fame and I will go live with you and take your questions the second the USMNT finish their game in Jamaica. Come and join us by subscribing to our YouTube and turning notifications on!

To the Football 🍻

Liverpool vs. Aston Villa (Saturday, 3 p.m. ET, Peacock)

It is good to be Arne Slot. His top of the table Liverpool have given him the best record by any new Liverpool manager. They swagger into this one after the joy of dismantling Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen 4-0 to smother any talk of alternate futures and maintain the only perfect record in the Champions League. The second straight game in which they came alive after Arne Slot’s half-time team talk. Unai Emery will pray his team, suddenly losers of three straight, remember the lessons from their own second half capitulation at Spurs last week.

More: If you did not see the quite remarkable penalty Aston Villa conceded in the Champions League – worth taking a look.

Brighton vs. Manchester City (Saturday, 12.30 p.m. ET, USA)

The Sky is falling! Manchester City have lost three-straight matches for the first time since April 2018. Yes, one was with a B-team in the Carabao. One was in the Big Gulp Champions League format in which defeat means so little. How City rebound from last week’s Bournemouth-inflicted whiplash may be definitive. Remember: They often wobble early in the season and then “He who laughs last” themselves to the title by becoming immortal and invincible after the holidays. Brighton and Baby Boss Fabian Hurzeler will fancy their chances at gleaning only their second ever win against the Perpetual Champions.

Incredible: City have conceded the opening goal in five of their 10 Premier league games so far this season.

Chelsea vs. Arsenal (Sunday, 11.30 a.m. ET, USA)

Are Arsenal at their Waterloo? Mikel Arteta’s team have appeared sparkless and blunt. Winless in their last three Premier League games. Wounded by Sporting Director Edu’s sudden defection to Nottingham Forest. The confident fluency which has been the recent hallmark of their game has been lost. Replaced by the sense of breath being held. And existential self doubt. Can Captain and leader of the press, Martin Odegaard return as a one man cavalry to the rescue?  

Enzo Maresca will fancy his chances, even though his side have beaten the Gunners just once in their last nine Premier League clashes. One worry: Cole Palmer’s fitness is unclear after picking up a knock last weekend. He was absent for the game at Arsenal last April, and the Gunners ran rampant 5-0. The dark side of “Cole Palmer FC”.

More: Arsenal. A team at a crossroads. Unclear if true “crisis“ or just transition.

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

The end of the Ruud Van Nistelrooy tenure. Rúben Amorim coming. Gent already tempering expectations about what he can do at United after slaying City.  

Nottingham Forest vs. Newcastle (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, Peacock)

Chris Wood Revenge Game. Can Forest’s dizzying start to the season last?

West Ham vs. Everton (Saturday, 10 a.m ET, Peacock)

When your day is long

And the night, the night is yours alone

When you're sure you've had enough

Of this life, well hang on

This Stat: According to Opta Everton have had the easiest 10 games of the season. We’ve won twice, conceded 17 times and are too close to the relegation zone for comfort. 

More: This might be the best Christmas sweater of the season.

AND: 📺 Full Broadcast Schedule here.

THE WOMEN’S GAME LIVE: NIGHT OF A THOUSAND STARS PRESENTED BY ALLY in Kansas City ahead of NWSL Championship ⭐️

KANSAS CITY – we are coming to you for a massive LIVE SHOW ahead of the NWSL Final in your incredible city!

This show is the First Annual WOMEN’S GAME NIGHT OF A THOUSAND STARS PRESENTED BY ALLY - Sam is coming into town with Rog plus a ton of our closest friends who will join us live on stage Thursday, Nov. 21 at 8 p.m. at the Madrid Theatre.

We want to create a night that will be a celebration of the NWSL season and will be joined by the star players in town for the Championship game as well as a host of massive personalities from the football and entertainment worlds. We’ll look back on the season that was, preview the NWSL Championship match, and celebrate the incredible growth of the game we love and just raise a glass to being together after an incredible year, highlighted by our USWNT bringing home Olympic Gold. TICKETS ON SALE NOW.

We can’t wait to see everyone there 💙

More Football, Did Ya Say?

• Fascinating: Ruben Amorim and Hugo Viana – the duo who rebuilt Sporting – will now split their success across the two sides of Manchester.

• An economist explains why the new Champions League – with its excess supply – is crap.

• Premier League Sports psychologist who works with a dog. World needs more dogs.

Wrexham, Don’t Wrexham it Up 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Winless in three across all competitions, Wrexham return to league play this weekend after a shock 1-0 defeat to League Two’s Harrogate in the FA Cup. Saturday’s opponents Mansfield Town sit a point below the Red Dragons in 4th, anything bar a win at the Racecourse could see Wrexham slip further away from league leaders Wycombe and Birmingham (Saturday, 7.30 a.m. ET, Paramount +).  

More: Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson joins me this week. Let me know what questions you have for him.

The Women’s Game 🏆

The NWSL playoffs are upon us. A brand-new postseason format too, eight teams (as compared to last year's six) advance to a quarterfinal round that begins TONIGHT with NWSL Shield Winners Orlando Pride hosting the Chicago Red Stars (Friday, 8 p.m. ET, Prime Video). Three more games follow this weekend, with the KC Current taking on North Carolina (Saturday, 12 p.m. ET, CBS), the Washington Spirit up against Bay FC (Sunday, 12.30 p.m. ET, ABC), and a rematch of one of last year’s semifinals: Gotham v. Portland (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, ABC).

📺 Orlando Pride vs. Chicaco Red Stars will be shown exclusively on Prime Video and will kick off tonight, Friday November 8th at 8pm ET. What a way to open the NWSL Playoff weekend. Remember: Its on Prime.

b. In England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Chelsea and Man City remain neck and neck atop the WSL going into week seven. Just a point separates the two unbeaten sides, with leaders City having a game in hand. The Sky Blues start their weekend early, hosting Tottenham this afternoon (Friday, 2.30 p.m. ET, ESPN/WSL Youtube), while Chelsea must wait until Sunday to respond, they travel to Liverpool for the midday game (Sunday, 7.30 a.m. ET, ESPN +/WSL Youtube).

📬 Want even more women’s game newsletter content? We have a dedicated The Women’s Game newsletter that flies every Monday. SUBSCRIBE HERE and send it to anyone who you think may enjoy it.

PrizePicks. Best PP since Phil Parkinson

Charlie Kipp Writes: Sports, like life, is often dictated by trends. How often does a home underdog outperform expectations? How many oversized sweatshirts have I worn since the weather started to turn? PrizePicks is the best place to cash in on all these trends, as you recognize them - and turn your hunches into winners. One trend I’ve been noticing? Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo and goal-scoring. For those not tracking, it’s now four goals in three matches for the Dutchman. That’s why this week, we have our eyes on Cody Gakpo MORE in the shots-on-target department.

Okay, I realize that the ‘bolder’ play here is to go for ‘more’ in the goals department for the 25-year old Gakpo, but let me tell you - PrizePricks is not about shooting for the moon, it’s about banking winners. I expect Gakpo’s total to be in the 0.5 or 1.5 range for shots-on-target when his Liverpool play Aston Villa this Saturday at 3 p.m. on Peacock, and we have good reason to feel bullish about both of those options, given recent form. Rog sat down with Cody this week, in an interview you can see in the near future on the Men in Blazers YouTube channel - and before you start suggesting that the MiB Curse is a real thing: we have an interview with Dominic Solanke coming later today and all he did was put one in for Spurs on Thursday… so we like our chances with Gakpo. Go grab Cody Gakpo MORE for Shots on Target! 

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

Not Football, and All the Better For It

• E.B. White’s beautiful letter to someone who lost faith in humanity. The Charlotte's Web writer drops the wisdom we all need.

• Via The Atavist: The Crash of the Hammer: How concerned citizens ran a neo-Nazi out of rural Maine.

• The last major airline's in-flight magazine has now gone digital. Can't wait until we have to download an air sickness bag too. 

• If needed: Don't Delete Your X Account (Do This Instead).

• Tony Hawk wanted to track down a mysterious skateboarder from 1979. We found her. Need him to direct his powers to ID all those Loch Ness monster photos. 

• Important and hunger-inducing: Haitian Chefs Introduce Americans to Haitian Culture Through Their Food.

• Jesse Eisenberg Swears He’s Less Famous Than You’d Think. Includes the Abraham update we've all been waiting for.

• After over two decades (!!!) the "most mysterious song on the internet" has finally been IDed. THANKS FOR NOTHING, SHAZAM. 

• A Rock-Star Researcher Spun a Web of Lies—and Nearly Got Away with It. If it wasn't for you meddling kids (*assistant professors)!

• Into the Bowels of Steve Ballmer's Toiletopia. 10/10 headline, no notes. 

• These women are incredible: The Alchemists.

• I have been reading this book this week: Alexander at the End of the World: The Forgotten Final Years of Alexander the Great by Rachel Kousser. An incredible time to read about the end of empires and how great leaders fall. Read more on this here.

• This Song has Helped me Through the Week: Lost Cause by Willie Nelson. Devastating in the best of ways.

Dear Rog... GFOPs Write ✍️

A new section in the newsletter! An idea that was given to me by my friend Kendall Baker who has a black belt in Newsletter and whose own daily sports newsletter I swear by. I always want to end this newsletter with a note from one of you – an email (write to me at [email protected]) or hit us on social and it could be you we feature.  

This week, I was incredibly moved by an email from GFOP Christoper, who responded to my tribute last week to the late great Warren Zevon and his life lesson, when battling terminal cancer that you should “Enjoy every sandwich!”  

Chris wrote to me:

“Chris from here. Big Arsenal fan, fan of the Pod and all of your work over the last decade-plus. A quick note to thank you for your recent Pod reference to Mr. Warren Zevon's sage advice. As it happened, I was listening while sitting in a park near my house on a beautiful fall afternoon, actually eating a sandwich, about 24 hours after receiving a diagnosis of a cancerous mass in my leg. As you might imagine, your Pod intro referencing the Zevon interview hit home. Like everyone else back when Letterman was Letterman, I'd seen that broadcast live, and I've thought of it occasionally over the years, including in connection with the lovely Zevon tribute album titled after the sandwich remark. But, your reminder of Zevon's advice was serendipitous, notwithstanding my somewhat melancholy mood at the same time. So I thank you for that. Cheers, courage, and come on you Gunners!”

Rog writes: Chris. Your email moved me more than I can say. I cannot imagine how you and your family are experiencing this moment and am blown away you took the moment to write to me. I send you wishes for strength and love and hope football can give you a sense of diversion and meaning at this time. There are a couple of books I read on an annual basis and have done for years. They both give me courage when I need it. One is Primo Levi’s “The Drowned and The Saved”. Particularly, the essay entitled “The Gray Zone.” The other is “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl. Here is a quote from that which I will leave with you,

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” So much love Chris. Stay in touch and let me know what I can do for you and your family at any time.

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