Liverpool Begins Gauntlet 🔴; Looking Back at Poch's First USMNT Camp 🇺🇸

Hail GFOP!

I type with fingers giddy that the Premier League is back in our loving arms. This international Break has been filled with all the emotions. The giddiness of National Poch Day and “Pochtoberfest,” followed by Top Three Worst Dos A Cero of all-time. I don’t know about you, but I am curled in a corner muttering “Trust the Process” on repeat. More on Poch, as well as England’s brave/desperate selection of Tommy Tuchel, and all you need to know to propel your weekend of viewing pleasure below.

ii. This has been a stacked week at MiB World HQ. We have spent time with tactical innovator extraordinaire Thomas Frank, Liverpool’s new Bald Dutch Dad, Arne Slot (dropped today on our YouTube) and the man I wish was my spirit animal, Jack Grealish. Also: We are filming with Jamie Vardy next week. Send me your Questions for the Shithousing King. 

iii.  One request I have for you is, I have been writing this newsletter since what feels like printing was invented by Caxton. I would love to hear from you, what do you like about this newsletter? What don’t you like? What would you like more of? Less too. Email your thoughts here. I will send the best insight a MIB patch filled with love and thanks. I am grateful for all your insight. We put a ton of work into this and just want to make sure it serves you in ever deeper ways.

PS. Last week I appeared on Chicago Sports Radio to talk about my Chicago Bears story. I revered this station when I lived in the city.  Laurence Holmes is a legend. I loved this conversation so much and am honored by it. 

2. To the Football

i. Liverpool v. Chelsea (Sunday, 11.30 a.m. ET, USA)

Top of the Table Liverpool begin their savage gauntlet of games in which they face Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton, Aston Villa, Southampton, Manchester City, Newcastle, (and then Everton), with Leipzig, Leverkusen, and Real Madrid scattered in. This game promises to be a fascinating chess match of a tactical battle between two new bald managers whose effervescent attacks face up to depleted backlines. Chelsea’s Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella are missing through suspension. Liverpool will be 25% less handsome as Alisson is sidelined with a hamstring knack. Chelsea hope to win their sixth straight away game, which they have not done since the heady, fleetingly happy Antonio Conte Days. Chippy Chips. 

More: Enjoyed this interview with cult hero and character Cucurella.

And: My interview with Liverpool’s New Dutch Dad, Arne Slot

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

Unbeaten but injury ridden Arsenal will have fans holding their breath to see if talismanic winger Bukayo Saka is fit after withdrawing from England duty with a hamstring injury. Arteta said this morning “the injury is not serious” and that Kai Havertz may also be fit. A goal-shy Bournemouth have lost three in four. Tyler Adams is fit to make a return. How immense would it be to see his name back on the squad sheet?  We are legally obliged to say this every time these two teams clash: Andoni Iraola and  Mikel Arteta are childhood friends who grew up in the same Basque region and played together in Antiguoko’s youth team. 

iii. Wolves v Manchester City (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, USA)

Bottom of the table Wolves scrape themselves off the floor after a 5-3 Brentford beatdown which was, according to manager Gary O’Neil the “worst performance” of his tenure. Some mountain to climb, welcoming Manchester City as your rebound game. The Forever-Defending Champions will break their club record for longest league unbeaten run – currently at 30 games stretching back to December last year – with a victory or a draw. They are not perfect but will be relieved they can strike the England job from one possible Pep Guardiola exit plan.  

More: Manchester City and the wealthiest owners could very well Kill Football. 

v. Tottenham v. West Ham (Saturday, 7.30 a.m. ET, USA)

The immovable Postecoglou versus the stoppable force that is Tottenham Hotspur. The second half implosion, conceding a two-goal lead against Brighton has let the bad vibes back in at Spurs – despite the five-game win streak that preceded it. Big Ange admitted that was the “worst defeat since I’ve been here.” Losing to West Ham in this London Derby might feel even worse.

v. Manchester United v. Brentford (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, Peacock)

United’s new controlling owners did let one manager go over the international break. But it was not Ten Hag. So once again, watching the bald dutchman toil on the sideline with Ineos’ overlords watching on grimly from the directors box will be akin to a rubbernecking convention for sadists. Kobbie Mainoo is out with a muscle strain and it has come to this: The loss of Harry Maguire to injury has only added to defensive selection issues. Can Brentford score more than one in the first 60 seconds? 

More: Listen to Brentford’s genius manager Thomas Frank join me to talk about how he identified and then executed the tactical plan of scoring inside the first minute in three consecutive Premier League games.

vi. Ipswich v. Everton. A very, very big game, but only inside MiB… (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, Peacock)

Producer JW and I have worked together at Men In Blazer since 1857, give or take a year or two. We have seen so much. Climbed so many footballing mountains together. Suffered more indignities than I can remember.  But the one thing we have never experienced side-by-side, is my team of woe, facing up to Ipswich. The Rog-JW Clasico. A relegation six-pointer akin to two out-of-shape drunks getting into a boxing ring and letting the sad haymakers fly. So I invited him to tell us, how, with his boys, low in the table, but still high on dreams, he is feeling ahead of this one? 

JW writes: The amount of importance ladled onto this game at MiB HQ will be so disproportionate to anywhere else in the world, it is almost comical. The type of game that, in football bars, will no doubt be relegated to the smallest TV, in the back corner, near the toilets, where the smell says, "This is where the smoking section used to be." 

Ipswich. Seven games into the season, without a win, coming off a Bubbles-fueled 4-1 beatdown at West Ham. Despite that, the optimism and joy I derive from watching them play remains undented. Not necessarily because I believe they'll stay up. But after so long in the wilderness of English football, to watch them play Premier League football week-in, week-out still feels surreal. I hope this is not the game where the new car scent starts to fade. 

Everton. Working at Men in Blazers for a decade, there's a ubiquitous "awareness" of their results. Despite declarations of feeling dead inside, we all know how viscerally you experience every kick of the ball. I know, specifically, because of VIDEOS LIKE THESE, which I have edited. Videos that lead my wife to ask, "What in the hell are you working on?"  But back to this specific game. One that is fascinating in that it has fans of both teams saying, "I like us to scoop all three points here." Delusion that will make the outcome all the more devastating for whichever one of us loses. And one that will make those first moments when we log onto the Pod recording Monday morning all the more awkward. Vaya con Dios, Rog. May the least worst team win!  

More: Full Premier League Broadcast Schedule here 📺

3. Pochettino. You Win Some. You Lose Some (With a C-Team) 🇺🇸🇦🇷

The streak is over. Our historic domination of defanged dread-rival Mexico is no more after Pochettino’s first loss, an insipid Dos A Cero wilt in Guadalajara late, late Tuesday night. Now the smoke is cleared, fans who have staggered through the Copa implosion and Gregg Berhalter firing, are torn between the rational and the emotional. The former, driven by the knowledge that this was the beginning of a process aiming to peak in 2026. A loss experienced by a short-handed squad. Essentially our C-Team. The more emotional approach best captured by hysterical English tabloid headlines such as “USA soccer fans go into meltdown as Mauricio Pochettino is handed ugly first loss against bitter rival Mexico.”  

The truth is, lesser players or not, the nature of the defeat – the woeful inability to possess the ball, being outshot in the first half 12-1, and the alarming lack of fight – are the elements that will linger and that Pochettino will now have to ruminate over. “We are our worst enemy,” he said post-game, “We need to challenge ourselves to be better and better and better,” after cutting a frustrated figure on the sideline – akin to a new Dad who was “not angry, just disappointed.” GFOP @Natesnyder21 said in our post-game Do It Live on YouTube “this is an inherited mentality, and Poch is going to either make changes or run it out of them.”  He knows “inherited mentalities” – especially inferiority complexes – well. As the legendary Chiellini once said about Spurs and their doomed DNA, "It's the history of Tottenham. They always created many chances to score so much, but they always miss something at the end." It is in Poch’s hand to fix, beginning in the November window, when we can only pray that more front-line talent will be available and injury-free. Bring it on. Remember: Trust the Process. Confíar en el proceso.

WIN A TRIP TO WATCH BURNLEY WITH OUR FRIEND JJ WATT 💜💙

Craving a Bene and Hot? Our friend JJ Watt and the good people at Burnley FC are partnering with Visit Detroit to give two lucky fans the English football experience of a lifetime. You can enter here for a chance to win a free trip to the UK and a VIP matchday experience at Turf Moor. Competition closes Friday, Nov. 22. I have been, and let me assure you, it is a trip you will never forget.

4. “Tuchel’s England.” Mad phrase to type. Fascinating reality 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇩🇪

Thomas Tuchel becoming England’s third ever foreign coach makes partial sense. The Three Lions need a manager who can take that final step with this talent-soaked squad and deliver trophies. As he showed with Chelsea, Tuchel is all of that, and is also the first time a foreign manager has actually coached in England and also won the European Cup. However, he is also a prickly character who burns out his welcome, and – a cardinal sin for some tabloids – a German. The Daily Mail with immense chill immediately hailed his signing as “A Dark Day for England” as if Tuchel’s appointment felt like the Battle of Britain had never been won. Fascinating statistic: No foreign manager has ever led his team to victory at the Men’s World Cup. Which ex-Chelsea manager is most likely to change that? Poch with the USA or Tuchel with England? Poch, yeh? 😉

More: Thomas Tuchel is a baggage-heavy, intriguing choice that makes sense.

And enjoy this: Thomas Tuchel as Eminem is one of the finest social clips ever.

PrizePicks. Best PP since Paul Pogba’s return

Charlie Kipp Writes: I’ve long maintained that October is the best month of the year for sports fans. You have football in full swing, the NBA and NHL seasons kicking off, baseball playoffs and a heaping serving of soccer. If there was ever a time to get stuck in on some PrizePicks - trust me, this is it. You can mix and match players, stat categories and sports - with that in mind, we welcome back the Premier League and grab Joshua Zirkzee LESS than three Shots.

Manchester United host Brentford this Saturday at 10 a.m. ET on Peacock, and there are only two things that I feel comfortable guaranteeing: one is that Brentord will score in the first 90 seconds, as they have done in FOUR consecutive matches (listen to Rog’s interview with manager Thomas Frank that dropped today), and also - Joshua Zirkzee will not be attempting more than three shots. What makes me so confident? The numbers never lie. The 23-year old Dutch attacker joined the Red Devils this summer and has yet to attempt more than three shots in a match! While I’m certainly not wishing ill upon the player (his team… maybe) I objectively think you can grab this one and start your PrizePicks entries with a W on the board, and is there anything better than that? Joshua Zirkzee LESS than three Shots.

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

5. More Football, Did Ya Say?

i. Spanish national team being plagued by injuries is the canary in the coal mine that these players are being forced to grind their bodies into pulp by the schedule right now. 

ii. Is it naive for a promoted side to play possession football?

iii. Lionel Messi has missed half of the season. Can he be MLS MVP? 

iv. Winless but not hopeless. What’s up in the Bottom 4?

6. Wrexham. Don’t Wrexham it Up 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳

The “Harlem Globetrotters” of League One travel west to Rotherham (of Fake Tales Of San Francisco fame), who sit 15th with a game in hand (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, Paramount +). A win for the Town in the same week Ollie Palmer signed a new deal with the club could see them return to the top spot, if current leaders Birmingham dip against fifth-placed Lincoln City.

More: Great analysis of this incredible League One Promotion Race.

7. The Women’s Game 🍻

i. In NWSL, we enter the penultimate week of action with the Portland Thorns, Bay FC, Angel City, and San Diego Wave fighting it out West Coast-style for the two remaining playoff spots. The big clash sees the Utah Royals traveling to Angel City Sunday evening (7.30 p.m. ET, Paramount +.) 

ii. In England’s WSL, Chelsea and Manchester City are neck and neck at the top. City host Aston Villa Sunday morning (7.15 a.m. ET, ESPN +/WSL Youtube), while Chelsea welcome Tottenham for a London derby later in the day (1.45 p.m. ET, ESPN +/WSL Youtube). On the east side of London, West Ham play Arsenal (10 a.m. ET, ESPN +/WSL Youtube), who are without a permanent manager after Jonas Eidevall resigned Tuesday. 

More: What next for Arsenal after Eidevall resignation?

P.S. There is still time to gear up for the NWSL playoff push. So much to play for these last few matches. 🏆

8. In Italia 🇮🇹🤌

A loss last time out against Fiorentina means Milan return from the international break sixth in Serie A. They host fifth-placed Udinese at the San Siro (Saturday, 12 p.m. ET, Paramount +). Despite leaving USMNT camp early to keep himself fresh (much to the chagrin of Lalas and Howard), reports suggest Christian Pulisic will have to come off the bench to improve on his five goals and two assists thus far this season. 

ii. Como face fellow newly-promoted Parma at the Sinigaglia Stadium with Cesc Fabregas’ side looking to win back to back Serie A home games for the first time since November 1988 (Saturday, 9 a.m, ET, Paramount +). 

9. Not Football, and All the Better For It

i. Al Pacino tells how he almost was fired during the shooting of The Godfather. I found this really moving and a little inspirational.

ii. "Books can change the world; let the customer decide which ones." Bookselling Out. 

iii. MORE MORE MORE! The joy of clutter. I live this ideology. 

iv. Bougainville’s Bernie Madoff: The Island King: A fugitive monarch dreams of fortune and freedom.

v. Between this: Alfonso Cuaron subverted Sci-Fi and Fantasy... Now he's coming for TV. And this: Have Sesame Street's resident BFFs finally met their match? Y tu mamá también fans stay winning!

vi. All hail Julie Taymor: How the Lion King musical got so massive. 

vii. Scaring Halloween Trick-or-Treaters Is Free. But This Pumpkin? $13.50. That does it, kids, we're carving potatoes this year.

viii. Every Academy Award for Best Actress: A Complete History of the Winners. There will be a quiz come February,

ix. Email was a mistake. (Sent to you, lovingly, via email.)

x. Regular listeners know I LIVE FOR CLARKS WALLABEES.  They have been in my wardrobe since I was a little kid.  This history of the shoe is a joy to read. Buy a pair. You will not regret it.  

xi. This Song Made my week: CLB Armoury by Jenina MacGillivray.

xii. I am reading this Book: In Memory of Memories by Maria Stepanova. Having lost my Dad at this reflective end of year, I am finally reading a book which has been on my nightstand for a couple of years and am all the richer for it. Sometimes a book just hits you at the right time. I would not have appreciated this in the same way as I do now. A profound telling of family history and personal memory. 

One of the saddest parts of my week was learning the news of the passing of Olga Halon at the grand old age of 103. Old School GFOPs will remember Olga as Manchester City’s oldest mascot when she took the field alongside her sister Vera in 2018. We were blessed to shoot this quite incredible piece with her in her family home, documenting the highs and lows of supporting Manchester City since the time of King George V! I feel blessed to have met Olga. Her passion for the game, and dedication to her team are aspirational. Watch the film we shot. The crackle of her laughter is the sound of life itself. I know that when my Dad died, I found such profound solace in the films I had shot with him. I wish her family all of my love in their time of their loss and hope this film gives them strength when they need it too. I also hope they take solace from the fact so many Americans were inspired by Olga’s fandom.  May her memory be a blessing.  

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 

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