Mauricio Pochettino Era is Upon Us 🇺🇸

Hail GFOP!

I type with fingers ready to live again with the Premier League’s return. The new Champions League format has all the excitement of a lukewarm bath. Beatdowns by Premier League teams. Even when a big club like Real Madrid are shocked, the potential for their ouster is minimal. Football as refracted by the needs of equity investors whose excel spreadsheets crave consistent predictable revenue lines and controllable outcomes. Hence a bloated football format shorn of both jeopardy and competition. Below the surface sheen, just sound and fury, signifying nothing. It is both self-inflicted and sad to witness. Like a 1990s celebrity who has had unfortunate cosmetic surgery and been left with trout pout. There can be no dressing this up. Football bereft of risk and fathomable structure is just empty calories. 

ii. The Premier League slate gives way to an international break. The games may be friendlies, but rarely will a pair of US kickarounds feel more heightened. The Mauricio Pochettino-era is upon us. I can hardly wait. I will break down the first squad in this newsletter. Fascinating to hear Poch explain he has spoken to exactly one USMNT player since taking the job — and that only because he coincidentally bumped into Antonee Robinson at a restaurant. Watching Mauricio set his early tone will be everything. 

iii. My dog, Martin Scorsese, was sprayed by a skunk for the first time yesterday. What a trauma. Thank you Google for recommending an emergency bath of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. An ordeal you don’t know exists until it hits you. IYKYK. 

iv. Thank you for your lovely response to my interview with Ipswich CEO Mark Ashton this week. I admire his act of transformational leadership so much, and from your emails, it seems like so many of you who listened have taken lessons about life from Mark’s story which you can apply to your own reality, which means the world to me. I hope to do more “Business of Football” Stories on the regs in 2025. And just minutes ago, we dropped an interview with Liverpool’s midfield force, Dominik Szoboszlai, who was smolderingly intense. Subscribe to our YouTube so you do not miss every interview to come. Sam Mewis’s interview with England and Bayern Munich star Georgia Stanway is very, very good indeed.

v. I will be speaking at Advertising Week on Wednesday afternoon at 1:40 p.m. ET. All GFOPs who will be at that conference, please make sure you come and say hello. 👋

🚨 Help us Crown America’s Best Soccer Bar 🏆🍻🇺🇸

The true magic of my week was your response to our request for nominations to find America’s Best Soccer Bar sponsored by Michelob Ultra. We were deluged by your entries and insights. I believe we have had suggestions from 47 States which is just immense. Wyoming, let’s be Having You! In all sincerity, I believe that Football Bars are such crucial institutions in terms of growing a love of the game in our nation and it is a joy to have this search sponsored by Michelob Ultra. To help us build a definitive national list and then award the best Soccer Bar in our nation. Submit your nominations here.

2. To the Football 🍻

i. Crystal Palace vs. Liverpool (Saturday, 7.30 a.m. ET, USA)

How good are Liverpool? They top the table but we do not know. After Champions League victory against Bologna midweek, Arne Slot became the first Liverpool manager or head coach in history to record eight wins from his first nine matches. Yet the fixture list has been kind. Slot, self-admittedly, is yet to meet heavy weight opponents. “Everybody tells me that a top league table team is harder to beat than a bottom league table team… and we have not faced one of them yet,” he said this week. Crystal Palace are yet to win a Premier League game this season, and the Reds have not lost at Selhurst Park since November 2014. After the international break they face Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton, Aston Villa, Southampton, Manchester City, Newcastle, and Everton, with Leipzig, Leverkusen, and Real Madrid scattered in. Let us reserve judgment until Dec. 8. 

ii. Aston Villa vs. Manchester United (Sunday, 11.30 a.m. ET, USA)

Is this Erik ten Hag’s last stand? At Unai Emery’s gloriously hard-charging Villa. A team whose cultural transformation in less than two seasons puts United’s lack of progress to complete and utter shame. Tom Hanks’ mob just enjoyed shocking Bayern Munich in their first top flight European home game in 41 years, courtesy of this delicious Duran strike. United coughed up a 2-0 lead and barely survived a second straight Bruno red card, needing Harry Maguire to bail them out with a 91st minute equalizer to hold on to a Europa League draw at Porto. Less a football match. More a clash between Strategy and Systems Failure.

More: Shapeless, demotivated, petulant … Ten Hag’s ghost ship drifts on

And WATCH this week’s episode of our European Nights Podcast: A backup keeper and a scout as a manager, how the hell did Aston Villa win the 1982 European Title?

iii. Arsenal vs. Southampton (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, P’Cock)

Pray for Aaron Ramsdale AKA Arsenal Joe Hart. He returns with his new side in freefall, fresh off leaking three goals inside 40 minutes at Bournemouth. Arsenal swagger in after smothering Perma-French Champions PSG which is a marker of all that is to come. Kai Havertz aims to score for the seventh straight home game. Poor Ben Brereton Diaz will most probably continue his sad record: Gent has played 20 Premier League games and has as many wins as you do.

Watch this: Magnificent to watch the emotions on Myles Lewis-Skelly’s mother’s face as Arsenal’s 18-year-old subbed on for a Champions League debut. This is what football is all about

iv. Manchester City vs. Fulham (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, P’Cock)

The Premier League’s most intriguing Reality Show: Who will be “Pep’s Next Rodri” continues to offer Golden Bachelor level wonder. Pep has tried 19-year-old Nico O’Reilly in the Carabao Cup, the double acts of Rico Lewis and Mateo Kovacic in last week’s clash against Newcastle, and Ilkay Gündogan and Matheus Nunes in the Champions League romp versus Slovan Bratislava. John Stones has thrown his hat into the Rodri ring saying about the role, “I love it – it’s a ­different [way of looking] on the game.” City remain unbeaten but, uncharacteristically, bounce in after two straight Premier League draws. 

v. Chelsea vs. Nottingham Forest (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, P’Cock)

Enzo Maresca has turned Cole Palmer, flanked by Jadon Sancho and Noni Madueke, into a must-watch razzle-dazzle 4th placed magic. Does Todd Boehly now own the Premier League’s version of the Lakeshow? 

vi. Tottenham vs. Brighton (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, P’Cock)

Mutually assured self-destruction. High line vs High line. Both teams will essentially attempt to crash their opponent’s box. How will injury-challenged Brighton respond to their first loss of the season last weekend? Spurs are suddenly unbeaten in five games with Brennan Johnson scoring instead of tweeting. All Killer, No Filler.

vii. Everton vs. Newcastle (Saturday, 12.30 PM ET, NBC Proper)

The Anthony Gordon Memorial Derby played out in Prime Time. Watching that Ginger Littlefinger run at the Everton rearguard cruelly shorn of Jarrad Branthwaite, who has pulled a quad just days after returning from surgery means I will not sleep tonight. Newcastle are fresh off a draw that felt like a win against Manchester City. Everton might discover clipping Palace last week was our only win of the season. We are “Alright” McNeil’s team now. His statistics this season are actually incredible, but give me zero solace. 

More: Everton Stats when Michael Keane plays versus when Michael Keane cannot maim us are startling.

📺 Full Broadcast Schedule here 

3. Pochettino is a Great American: USA! USA! USA! 🇺🇸

The first Pochettino squad has been announced. The big surprise was that there was none. Those predicting a signal to be sent – a big name dropped or a young star like Luca Koleosho brought in for the first time – saw few signs of a shake-up. Poch was straight forward and honest in his press conference. This is not going to be an era of words. Of bold proclamations. Of side quests to “change the way the world “views American soccer” or “change soccer in America forever.” This is going to be a period that will be evaluated solely by progress on the field. The tactical flexibility of the squad. The idea at the heart of the football team, which Pochettino assures us will be, “very simple in the ideas and the concept… when they have the ball they play really well but when they dont they work like a team to recover it.” There is little to be discussed until that first whistle blows. Bring on Oct. 12. Bring on Panama then Mexico at the Estadio Akron in Guadalajara three days later.

More: Pochettino’s first squad points to central tension of USMNT project

PS. I am taping a preview with my friend Herc Gomez. Email us your best questions ahead of this momentous first Poch game.

4. More Football, Did Ya Say?

🚨 Enormous breaking news: European Union Court decided Football’s contract system is illegal removing power and leverage of clubs in transfer market.

i. Why the new Champions League format lacks competitive edge and any sense of jeopardy. Arsenal’s 2-0 trot over PSG shows teams know they need just enough to crack nine points and progress 

ii. Beautiful piece on the pride returning to Aston Villa as Champions League football returned to Villa Park

iii. This Tariq Panja Tweet was illuminating about the Premier League’s legal predicament: “Thought on PL’s legal bills. They were about £50m, which represents about 1.5% of the annual broadcast income, £2.5m per club. Each place in table = £3.1m; Cost of relegation £85-£100m; Losing UCL spot, £40m+ Cost to integrity of league of not challenging alleged rule breakers?”

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

Wrexham cling on to second place in League One despite a frustrating, heavy legged 1-0 midweek defeat at Stevenage. Expect squad rotation ahead of Saturday 10 a.m. ET’s home game against 19th place Northampton Town, the mighty Cobblers. I am filming with Wrexham’s sensational young goalkeeper, Arsenal academy graduate, Arthur Okonkwo for an interview which will drop on our Pod feed and YouTube channel next Wednesday.

6. More or Less: Presented by PrizePicks

Charlie Kipp Writes: 6-1 on the season with our PrizePicks selections is, admittedly, not too shabby! It’s also a reminder that if I can do it, you can definitely do it - jump in and sign up for PrizePicks to enhance your football-watching experience. It’s the best way to create that extra interest for the matches where your team is not playing. This week, it’s back to basics, stop me if you’ve heard this before: Erling Haaland MORE than 2.0 Shots on Target.

Manchester City have only taken two points from a possible six in their last couple matches, now, context matters and home vs. Arsenal and at St. James’ Park are admittedly tough matches, but this Saturday rolling into fortress Etihad is plucky-little Fulham. My team, Fulham, riding their best PL start to a season in over 20 years has a bit of… confidence, if that is the word? Look, mark my words: it will not last. Simply put, Haaland has met-or-exceeded two shots-on-target in every Premier League game he has played this season. That will not change Saturday at 10 a.m. ET on Peacock. Erling Haaland MORE than 2.0 Shots on Target.

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

6. Other big games to watch this weekend 🏆

i. AC Milan face Fiorentina on Sunday at 2:45 p.m. ET on Paramount+. Hopefully in one of their new kits.

ii. Mighty Como, fresh off their second big win of the season, travel to Napoli today at 12:30 p.m. ET also on P+.

iii. Undefeated sensation Orlando Pride welcome second placed Washington Spirit Sunday at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

7. Not Football, and All the Better for It

i. Is this the single worst TV idea ever? They trying to make a British version of Cheers? Finally a show worse than Men In Blazers?

ii. The strange glory of watching the White Sox lose on repeat. And of meeting a man named BEEFLOAF. In a way, aren’t we all Beefloaf?

Iii. Thirty-five years of Spike Lee and Public Enemy. An immense living legacy. The slow death of the minivan. But panel vans with wizards airbrushed on the side will LIVE FOREVER. 

iv. How Chicken Tenders Conquered America: The tenders’ 50th birthday is this year. Fire. The Wheel. The Chicken Tender in that order right?

v. Pygmy seahorses have what may be nature's most interesting love lives. The next Bachelor should absolutely be a pygmy seahorse. 

vi. Incredible interview: five hours of pints with iconic Housemartins lead singer Paul Heaton. This is how to live life to the full.

vii. A brilliant mind: Adam Curtis: The Map No Longer Matches the Terrain.

viii. Listen, on the one hand cooking with an open kerosene flame will kill you. On the other hand, it makes food taste real good. Who is to say which is better? 

ix. GFOP Carrie Buckner sent me this article: Listening to which kind of music when you work makes you most productive? Carrie said she hopes Erik ten Hag reads it. 

x. I love this Song: Nobody’s Gonna Go for That by Joe Plowman featuring Brittany Anne Tranbaugh.

xi. I am reading this book and love it: “A Twist in the Tail: How the Humble Anchovy Flavoured Western Cuisine” by Christopher Beckman. A delightful tribute to the Anchovy, the most divisive fish. I love them so much and found the history so compelling – articulating the notion that anchovies are exploding with umami, that moreish, flavourful “fifth taste” that transcends the basic four of sweet, sour, salty, bitter. If you love these little guys, this is a must-read. 

That is it for today. I end with a beautiful essay written by Grace Malko, a Yale freshman, entitled What my dad taught me through watching Arsenal: the case for disappointment. It was sent in by Grace’s proud Dad, Simon, who wrote to me, “I have heard you speak many times of the connections football has fostered in your family, so I thought you might love it.” I do Simon, I do. I love this paragraph:

“In large part thanks to this weekly ritual, I have become a person who easily gets her hopes up. It is still terrifying and devastating; at times I still question if the disappointment is worth it. I love the advice that the father in the movie ‘Call Me By Your Name’ gives to his son after he gets his heart broken: ‘Right now, there’s sorrow, pain; don’t kill it, and with it the joy you’ve felt.’ My dad’s advice is wise in its own way. After a game loss, he would probably say something like, ‘Oh well, there’s always next year. Time for a sad nap.’”

Simon, an MIB patch is on its way to you. Readers keep sending me your letters at [email protected]. They sustain us. Channel Grace’s advice this matchday, and every weekend. 

To more, 

Let’s not take a second of watching football, and making memories together, for granted.

To better days ahead for all,

Big Love,

Courage

ROG

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