From Liverpool With Love

HAIL GFOP!

I write with fingers filled with thanks after a holiday period spent in Liverpool, the city where every other person looks eerily like James Garner’s stunt double. I am actually writing amidst the fading photographs and memorabilia littering my parent’s spare room. Images of young Rog with long curly hair. As incredible as it is to be back in this booming city, there has regrettably been no traditional Thanksgiving for us this year. I have spent most of it in hospital with my Dad whose illness overlaps as a personal echo with the dark chaos that fills our world. Right now, Everton’s point deduction is just the cherry on the cake of a life spent staring into the abyss.  

Even in this bleakest of times, I am filled with an immense sense of gratitude. First of all, I would be remiss if I did not thank all the GFOPs who have sent Ravens of love and support at this time of challenge. I am honestly shocked and moved at the influx. The big takeaway for me, after spending the past three days with my Dad, in his waking hours – or waking minutes interspersed with shutdown naps – is that at the end of the day, all that matters in life, is not the size of the house you live in, nor the cost of the car you drive: it is the memories you have made that you can share. I have spent a lot of time with my Dad in his hospital room, reveling in our past experiences, emptying the memory banks of days spent following Everton (apex: playing Liverpool at Wembley in the final of what is now the Carabao Cup in 1984), holidays spent attempting to surf on wooden ironing boards in the waves off a North Welsh beach when I was ten, or listening to the Simon and Garfunkel albums on a radio-cassette player while driving around Normandy.   The most profound memories are often the simplest. The cheapest. Yet, the most sincerely shared and deeply meaningful. 

ii. Also in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to thank you all, dear Raven readers for your passion, dedication and creativity. To being open to each other's ideas and your love of the game as more than a game. But as a source of meaning and connectivity and joy in a world in which all three feel like they are in short supply. This has been a remarkable year at the MiB Media Network in which we have created so many new things together with you. If there are ways we can serve you better, please take a moment to drop me a line [email protected] 

iii. I am thankful… beyond thankful… that the Premier League is back in our loving arms inside 24 hours. Back with the loudest of bangs. Manchester City hosting Liverpool. I am off to Manchester tomorrow to watch Liverpool play. I am taking my brother Nige, a lifelong Red, as a way of thanking him for all he has done for my folks while I have lived out the past few months largely from afar. Football. As ever: a diversion. A joy. A connection. A stitch in our shared narrative. 

2. To the Football

i. Manchester City vs. Liverpool (Saturday, 7.30 AM ET, P’Cock)

A top two clash which feels both epicly crucial to the future of Democracy, and merely the 13th game of the season with plenty more football to play. A match that is being billed as Haaland (13 goals this season) vs. Salah (10 goals, 4 assists) as that Viking Raider of Ragnar Lothbrok-esque stature faces up to the Egyptian King. Erling has grappled with ankle knack picked up in a nothing game for Euros-eliminated Norway against the Faroe Islands, but was back in training Thursday in driving Manchester rain. For all the talk of offensive firepower, defensive organization is what will ultimately determine the outcome AKA how well Trent Alexander sleeps tonight thinking of the prospect of Jeremy Doku running at him early doors. 

ii. Newcastle vs. Chelsea (Saturday, 10 AM ET, P’Cock)

The Lewis Hall Memorial Derby. A game that will be determined by how many players the respective medical staffs are able to pass as match fit. Newcastle have 13 gents on their injury list including Miguel Almiron, Fabian Schar and Alexander Isak battling to return. Chelsea have eight. The good news for Poch is that after his previously-constipated team exploded for eight goals in their last two games, that sudden potency may be reinforced now signature striker-signing Christopher Nkunku is finally back in training.

More: Eight Premier League clubs blocked the proposed ban on “related-party loans,” clearing the way for multi-club network teams to shuffle players between squads and Newcastle to bring in players from Saudi Arabia in January. 

iii. Everton vs. Manchester United (Sunday, 11.30 AM ET, USA)

Goodison Park was built in 1892. It is one of the most emotion-filled old bear pits in modern football. Expect that emotion to be turned up to unprecedented levels in the first game since the club’s surreal point deduction, as the club’s ever-passionate fans vent their sense of anger and injustice against the Premier League. Blues fans have raised over $50,000 for protest banners and flags (which is roughly $50,000 more than 777 appear to have in their take-over coffers). Brace yourself for the 10th minute when there are plans for the entire stadium to chant “Premier League, corrupt as F**K.” Reports suggest the match broadcaster will lower the crowd volume to minimize evidence of the protests world wide.  Will all of this emotion propel Sean Dyche’s squad or overwhelm them? This game has all the makings of Everton 5 Xg to United’s 0.03 Xg but the scoreboard somehow ending Everton 0 Manchester United 3 with a Rasmus Hojlund hattrick.

iv. Tottenham vs. Aston Villa (Sunday, 11.30 AM ET, USA)

The warm, cuddly feelings conjured by Spurs’ darling fairytale 12-game unbeaten run to open the season feel like a lifetime ago as Ange Postecoglou faces up to fellow-culture-transformationalist Unai Emery, knowing he must triage hope after two cold-cock knockout losses, and the long-term absence of creative joy, James Maddison. Asked if he will alter his team’s buccaneering style after the agonizing late, late Wolves reality check, Big Ange told the English media, he will stick to “his way in the religion of football.”

More: Our interview with Sonny will bring true joy to your life. Watch it now. It also made news in England. 🇰🇷

AND: Full weekend broadcast details here 📺

3. USMNT survive the Destocalypse. Barely. What now for 2024? 🇺🇸😡

The United States Men closed the book on a turbulent 2023 – one which began in chaos and ended in startlingly petulant Sergino Dest self-sabotage against 99th in the world Trinidad and Tobago. The year was not without its highs – Flo Balogun deciding to ride with us, joining BJ Callaghan’s Boys of Summer as they buccaneered their way to Nation’s League glory. Gregg Berhalter’s re-appointment was one propelled by the players – a testament to his greatest achievement, which was re-building a nourishing team culture where his squad could savor a buffer from the grind of their club lives in Europe. On the field however, the team has been unconvincing and tactically incohesive. A collective who are less than the sum of their individual parts.  

The perplexingly poor performance against a Trinidad squad packed with USL, Canadian Premier League and domestic T&T-based players, is one which will simmer until the squad Avenger Assembles again in March. An incoherent home leg in Austin, in which the three late goals created a toupee of a win for a team who had struggled to create shots on target against 10-men.  Monday night’s startling self-immolation in Port of Spain unlocked the buried traumas of 2017. The biggest World Cup ever is now within touching distance. A lot to fix. Not a lot of opportunity to fix it. There is not a window to waste to build the profile of this team amongst a wider audience on home turf. The only highlight clips that broke out Tuesday were of Dest’s meltdown and Alvin Jones again treating the US Men like Divock Origi violated Everton. Coach Gregg Berhalter has predicted his team will “Change the way Americans see Soccer.” Admirable, lofty talk. From March 2024 and then into the Copa, there can be no wriggle room for doubt. Indisputable evidence of progress must kick-in for all to see. 

As we look forward to 2024 and the incredible tournament that will grip our shores – think about just how much the profile of the game has been raised since the last time the tournament came in 2016. The Premier League and Champions League have never been more popular. Messi is playing on these shores. Tiny yet delirious Wrexham have sold out stadia as they barnstormed the nation. Our players pack the rosters of clubs like Milan and PSV Eindhoven as our gents continue to test themselves at club level across Europe. The United States Men should be on the crest of this wave. I raise my glass to a 2024 in which we summon a cohesive idea of the football we want to play, revel in a deep Copa America run and ready ourselves for better days to come.

More: Sergino Dest says red card was “Selfish” and “Immature.”

4. Our NEW SERIES: This Week in Wrexham 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Joy of my year to launch this collaborative season-long series of which we are so proud: “This Week in Wrexham” powered by our friends at STōK Cold Brew Coffee. The show builds on a relationship we forged this summer, filming with Rob McElhenney. Many have seen the Wrexham story as a fad at the outset, but I know so many Premier League owners, and most certainly MLS stakeholders, who are staring at the outpouring of world wide passion for this tiny Welsh club, and the mechanics which have propelled its growth into Biggest Tiniest PowerHouse Club in World Football.  

I write from Liverpool, which is less than an hour away from the STōK Cae Ras, and I have adored the singular spotlight shone on our region, by this club–whom every Premier League fan in the world, no matter who their team is, can root for, and feel better about life in the process. That is really an articulation of the goal of our new show in which we hope to connect you deeply, madly, passionately to Wrexham's Homer's Odyssey. Brace yourself for:

I. Weekly Welcome to Wrexham Episodes on YouTube driven by diehard, lifelong Wrexham fan, Thomas Wynne Lewis - AKA “Tommy Cheese,” who is partnering with our MiB Northwest of England production team as our first Wrexham correspondent. Tommy will take you on video travelogs of every game, home and away on our YouTube page. EPISODE ONE LAUNCHED THIS MORNING.

II. Monthly Rog and Wrexham episodes on pod and digital. We kicked off with a genuinely heartwarming conversation with Wrexham’s star striker Super Paul Mullin. A giant of a human being who is so beloved across Britain right now. Next up is Ben Tozer. Send me your questions for that Throw-In King at [email protected]. 

I am thrilled to present this series and so grateful to our friends at STōK for making it possible. Especially as their coffee cold brews have been a staple in my family’s fridge for reals for the longest time. Their team’s spirit is so bloody joyful and I hope that comes across in all we do together with you dear GFOPs. 

5. Is this the beginning of a new USWNT-era? 

The U.S. women's national team closes out 2023 with a pair of games against China, Dec. 2 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Dec. 5 in Frisco, Texas. The headline of the squad announcement: No Alex Morgan, Kelley O’Hara, or Crystal Dunn. Defender Abby Dahlkemper makes her first camp since April 2022 and NWSL rookie of the year, Jenna Nighswonger gains first ever call-up, as does 20-year-old PSG midfielder — and Notre Dame product — Korbin Albert. Is this a one-off or has US Soccer turned a page and made this Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman’s time? 

6. More Football, Did Ya Say? 🥧

i. Football Injuries Cost $767 Million in Qatar World Cup Year study finds as players continue to break down in this relentless footballing calendar. Why are Premier League players breaking down at the rate they are?

ii. Premier League teams seem to be fractured in terms of direction of the future of the league. These are complex times of true identity challenge.

iii. A year on from the Qatar World Cup. A look at its “Legacy.”

iv. A lovely look at when Elton John ran Watford Football Club.

v. The forgotten story of the only Asian-English gent to represent England.

vi. Tournaments are getting bigger and bloatier. But does that mean better?

7. Not Football and All the Better for it

i. This BBC show looks amazing.

ii. I loved this interview with the incredible Mick Herron as Slow Horses Season 3 approaches. My Lord. The single greatest show on television in the last 24-months.

iii. My friend Peter Kafka has unleashed a really well-written and produced multi-episode podcast series on the Musk obliteration of Twitter. I strongly recommend a listen.

iv. In times of darkness, I turn to the music of Angie McMahon. I have listened to Staying Down Low on repeat while I have been in Liverpool.

V. Read this book and if you love Italy in general and the city of Rome in particular. It will turn your understanding of the city inside out. City of the Living by Nicola Lagioia.   

That is it for this week. One final thank you. To my team at Men In Blazers Media network who are so talented and passionate. Thank you for supporting each other with real respect, dignity and empathy as we challenge ourselves to try new ways and new things. To more together, to more. 

Big Love.

To Better Days ahead for all.

Courage.

ROG