Hail GFOP!

Rog writes: What a weekend of football. Not going to lie, I needed it so badly. To experience real ecstasy. To witness human transcendence, connect to thousands of you during the games, and be freed by human feeling. And that was just the Wrexham game!

The derby was a hard way to open things. An Everton defeat I could not feel sad about. Liverpool’s goals were both Pulitzer Prize-worthy poems. We were shellshocked, yet tenacious enough to force our way back in. The noise in my house when Everton scored was audible in Liverpool. There was the joy of the finish, but also the feeling of laying a blow and making a mark; of being part of a derby as a true competitor as opposed to mere patsy. My friend John Green, that massive Red, said, “Not sure if this is much consolation, but of all the Evertons we’ve ever beaten, this is one of the better Evertons,” and it moved me. An Everton derby loss I can’t be sad about is perhaps the most painful Everton derby loss of all. 💙

ii. The Arsenal game was a surreal experience. Pep Guardiola parking the bus in a massive match. The manager who defined controlled possession playing with five defenders and two holding midfielders. I remember when Pep arrived in England and in his first season said dismissively, “I don’t teach the tackles. What are tackles?” The question now is this: Did Pep transform English football or did English football, at last, transform Pep? 🤔

iii. Relief for Mikel Arteta. Had his team – with this enormous squad and sense of tactical opportunity – floundered so soon in the season, we would have seen some intense gloom. Undeserved this early in the campaign, but the pile-on would have been incandescent. His concept of rugby’s “starters and finishers” is going to define him: his starters could not finish and his finishers felt like they should have started. That conversation will now rumble on, but above all, I am so happy for Gab Martinelli. That gent has been through a darkness, and to witness him experience the light is so redemptively beautiful. As Declan Rice said post-game, “A lot of players can sulk on the bench, but every time he comes on, he shows his heart and desire.” A lesson for life in there. ❤️

iv. I am headed to London this week briefly to film with one of my favorite Premier League players in a Nando’s. Life is quite magical as we charge towards the World Cup. I loved seeing so many of you New Yorkers at our show with Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart last week (it will air on YouTube on Thursday morning). Next week, we will fly to Seattle – one of my favorite cities in the world – to revel with so many of you and celebrate that magical Leagues Cup win. 🗻

v. Speaking of Seattle, you sold us out fast! But we’ve been able to add a few more seats for you to come raise a glass. Join us at Showbox SoDo on Oct. 1 at 7:30 p.m. PT for a celebration of your city: a story born of passion, rivalry, and glory. Along with some Seattle icons and your Leagues Cup champions, we’ll toast to one of America’s truly beautiful soccer cities and one of its most historic rivalries. Get there early to snag your spot and join Walmart and MLS before the show for skills contests and giveaways. TICKETS ARE HERE. 🎟️

vi. Today is also a massive day in the Men in Blazers world, as we announce the launch of VAMOS – a content network delivering authentic storytelling to the beautiful U.S. Hispanic soccer community. A platform we began with a single podcast, VAMOS with Herc Gomez, now includes the super talented Give N Go boys with their incredibly passionate audience, and will together create five-day-a-week coverage of El Tri, the USMNT, MLS, Liga MX and football around the world from their remarkable POV. As we head into that ever-looming World Cup year, these voices, these stories and this community are so incredible to support and build. VAMOS! 🍻

vii. The joy of the weekend was speaking to my kids around the nation after the derby loss. My eldest got up at 6:30 a.m. in New Orleans to watch the game. Tulane then were smashed too. The Bears, however, won handedly, which triggered a strange emotion all on its own. As I said to them, as they agonized in defeat, if your sports teams are the thing in your life that are causing you the most pain, then your life is pretty amazing. 🐻

Let’s not waste a second of the time we have to share these experiences together. 

Courage,
ROG

MiB HQ Bulletin Board 📣

The Men in Blazers Breakfast Club Collection

A merch collection for when we get up early and commune together.

Hand-decorated ceramics and an assortment of apparel, headwear, and accessories for the most important meal of the day.

Pep Parks the Bus at the Emirates 🛑🩵

By Tommy Stewart

Arsenal 1-1 Manchester City

Erling Haaland feels inevitable right now. In the ninth minute at the Emirates yesterday, he masterfully finished off a Tijjani Reijnders pass following a terrifying 100-meter sprint through Arsenal’s spine. It was his 13th of the season for club and country, figures his opposite number, Viktor Gyökeres, was used to achieving at Sporting and would kill for right now, but Arteta’s reluctance to fully gamble in these pivotal fixtures may deem those ambitions fruitless. City were happy to sit off and generally looked comfortable without the ball; their 33% possession was a statistical anomaly because it’s the lowest a Pep Guardiola team has EVER had in a single game, and they nearly pulled off an old school smash-and-grab until they blinked in the 93rd minute. It was wand-footed Eze who spotted the smart run of another substitute, Gabriel Martinelli, who cutely lobbed a stranded Donnarumma to retain Arsenal’s spot in second while leaving Gunners fans wondering what might have happened had those magical players started the match.

Master vs. Apprentice: A Tactical Stalemate ⚖️

Arteta vs. Pep is the Premier League’s Rocky vs. Apollo Creed: an intense, passive aggressive, love/hate relationship that was personified by their weird post-match hug after their teams’ Sunday draw at the Emirates. They spent years together at City, but in recent seasons, the apprentice, Arteta, has had his master’s number, drawing and winning twice each before yesterday, which meant an alien change of game plan from Pep. We didn’t think footballing conservatism was in his dictionary, because until yesterday, no one predicted Pep employing the backs to the wall, 11 men behind the ball methodology of his old foe, José Mourinho. Even Haaland serving as the game’s Ivan Drago joined the backline to combat Arsenal’s relentless pressing, where he stood alongside center-backs and cleared crosses as he did against United last week. He came off in the 76th minute, and his height and presence were missed as Arsenal equalized in injury time, while Pep in his pragmatism, now feels human.

Arteta’s Second-Place Default ✌️

With each passing week and Liverpool win, the gap between Arsenal and Arne Slot’s men grows wider, as Salah, Ekitike and Big Virg become tiny silhouettes in the distance, and Arteta, like a prisoner stuck in second place, scrawls another line on his wall. The thing is Arteta has left no stone unturned in his quest to win the Premier League at the Emirates, spending well in the transfer market and utilizing set pieces and physicality, as well as the slick attacking football he learned under Pep at City, to forge a side superior to most teams in Europe. Unfortunately for him, there’s always someone who’s just a bit better. Whether that’s treble-winning City or Slot’s ruthless Liverpool, Arteta’s side seem stuck in runner’s up purgatory, which for most sides is an enviable spot to be in, but given the money he’s spent, this is a season Arsenal’s fans and board will expect them to get over the line.

📬 Enjoying The Raven? Check out our other Men in Blazers newsletters:

☀️ The Women’s Game: Everything you need to know about women’s football, sent straight to your inbox each week.

🔍 The Correspondent: Rory Smith’s thoughts on the world of soccer, culture, food, and how they all connect – every Thursday.

🇺🇸 USMNT Only: Your weekly update on the most important topics in the U.S. men’s game, all leading up to next year’s World Cup.

A Chaotic, Wet Night in Manchester 🌊 

Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea

Mancunians are accustomed to rain; to paraphrase Tom Hardy’s Bane, they were pretty much born in it, but Saturday’s downpour at Old Trafford was more monsoon than the usual tepid drizzle. It made the evening match look like a water color painting and impacted the way the game was played from the off, but the delayed bounce of the ball cannot be blamed for Chelsea goalkeeper, Robert Sánchez’s red card, a chaotic misjudgment where he took out Bryan Mbeumo in the fifth minute. That completely changed the rest of the contest as Enzo Maresca acted quickly by taking off Neto and later checks notes Cole Palmer. It also allowed Bruno Fernandes to slide past a sleeping Chelsea defense and put United ahead, but a slippery surface + a raucous crowd + Casemiro was bound to end in disaster. Possibly full of adrenaline after his header doubled his side’s lead, the Brazilian was already on a yellow card when he took down Andrey Santos. At 10 vs. 10, it was squeaky bum time for the home side when the Blues pulled one back in the 80th minute, but Ruben Amorim’s side used the rain as their ally, while the Londoners merely adopted it.

Brighton 2-2 Tottenham

Brighton’s AmEx Stadium has been a banana skin for a lot of top sides in recent seasons, and that appeared to be the case for Thomas Frank’s Spurs through much of this game. Yankuba Minteh’s early goal could be a cover letter for Fabian Hürzeler’s side as they constructed a deadly counter attack out of seemingly nothing. They added a second via Yasin Ayari’s long distance pile-driver, but Richarlison pulled one back for Tottenham just before half time. Frank’s side were then unleashed by the introduction of Xavi Simons in the second half, who persistently perforated the Seagulls’ backline, and Spurs were eventually rewarded for their dominance of possession with an unfortunate Brighton own goal from a deadly Kudus cross in the twilight of the game. It might have only been a point for the visitors, who remain third, but previous regimes may not have shown Frank’s side’s character to claw back into this one.

Elsewhere in the Premier League: Liverpool 2-1 Everton, Bournemouth 0-0 Newcastle, Burnley 1-1 Nottingham Forest, Wolves 1-3 Leeds, West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace, Fulham 3-1 Brentford, Sunderland 1-1 Aston Villa

Some Absolute Weekend Worldies, Presented by New Balance 🚀 🥅

There were a lot of great goals this weekend, but these three get top marks:

On the Continent 🇪🇺

🇮🇹 Serie A: After getting too close for comfort with the Rossoneri’s bench under Massimiliano Allegri, Christian Pulisic said, “Remember me?” before scoring a brace and bagging an assist to put AC Milan third in Serie A while surely securing himself a starting place for the near future. Napoli can regain the top spot if their Manchester Globetrotters beat Pisa tonight after Juventus finally found some chill in their 1-1 draw at Verona. Gian Gasperini’s Roma are fourth after a 1-0 win against Lazio in the Derby della Capitale, meaning that while it’s early, there is the very real prospect of a proper title race for the Scudetto this season!

🇪🇸 La Liga: Another week, another Real Madrid win and another Kylian Mbappé goal to keep him at the top of the La Liga scoring charts and his side at the summit of the league with a 100% win rate. Xabi Alonso’s still smiling after his side beat Espanyol 2-0, but Hansi Flick’s Barcelona said, “Hold my cerveza,” and went one better with a 3-0 win against Getafe in a quiet Johan Cruyff Stadium. This big news here, though, was mid-week hero Marcus Rashford, who was demoted to the bench until the second half as punishment for being late to training, proving that even in his Barca glow up, some bad habits die hard.

🇩🇪 Bundesliga: After once again haunting Chelsea midweek as their semi-regular sleep paralysis demon, a Harry Kane hat-trick against Hoffenheim means he’s now got 13 goals in seven games across all competitions for Bayern so far this season, who are four in four at the top of Bundesliga. Elsewhere, the USMNT’s Malik Tillman netted his second of the season for Leverkusen in their 1-1 draw with Gladbach and fellow Americans, Joe Scally and Gio Reyna.

Mid-Week Matches Worth Faking a Meeting for 📺

AC Milan vs. Lecce (Tuesday, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+) 🇮🇹

We’re only a few games into the season, but with veteran recruits Luka Modrić and Adrien Rabiot in to bolster the midfield, and Pulisic regaining his scoring form, Milan look like a functioning and fluid football team again. They’re holding residency at the opposite end of the table from a winless Lecce who are dead bottom, so a Tuesday night trip from one end of the country to the other for a Coppa Italia second-round match, is probably the last thing the Salentini need. 

Liverpool vs. Southampton (Tuesday, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Coming up against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup right now is bad news for Will Still’s Southampton side, who are without a win in six and currently lay bruised at 19th at the Championship. Anfield may be quieter than usual for this clash tomorrow night, and while Arne Slot will likely pick a heavily rotated side, Liverpool’s second XI is probably better than most’s starting lineup. It could also be an opportunity to start Alexander Isak and give him the platform to open his Liverpool goalscoring account in a less pressurized situation. 

Real Betis vs. Nottm Forest (Wednesday, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+) 🇪🇸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

A big part of Ange Postecoglou’s move to Nottingham Forest, you’d assume, would be the opportunity to defend his Europa League title belt, an alluring prospect for both him and owner, Evangelos Marinakis. Big Ange probably spends a lot of time watching old Brian Clough interviews on YouTube, and the legendary Forest manager’s two Champions League wins are the sole reason for their place in the European pantheon, so the weight of history is heavy on their return to the European stage. What better way to start, then, than a trip to what will be a sold-out, 60,000-seat Villamarín Stadium against Manuel Pellegrini’s Real Betis, a second-chance saloon side of off-cut players like Hector Bellerin and Antony.

Aston Villa vs. Bologna (Thursday, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇮🇹

No one wanted to see Unai Emery storm down the tunnel early and call his players “lazy” after Villa drew 1-1 at Sunderland on Saturday. Something clearly isn’t right for him this season, but the Europa League is the Spaniard’s carne and patatas–he’s won it four times as a manager, and he’ll be hoping he can harness the energy of his own history and the magic of European nights at Villa Park to use this competition as a springboard for his side’s season. Coppa Italia winners, Bologna, are so far a bit mediocre in Serie A, but their 2-1 win at the weekend against Genoa will spark confidence against a Villa side who are currently begging for goals from anywhere.

Some Non-Football to Start the Week Off 📖

• Beware the name drops: They Reminisce Over You: A Night Out in ’90s New York With Mark Ronson. 

• Has the Jell-O Salad Been Redeemed? Cannot get on our high horse about English food when these are still being eaten across America. 

• How to see the Moon, Venus and Regulus, like now!

• A Tiny Texas High School Football Team Hasn’t Won a Game in Years. They’re Not Giving Up. Fort Hancock 'Til I Die!

It’s MiB Trivia Time 🤔

This week’s question: What won “Best Picture” at the Oscars a week after Nottingham Forest last played in Europe?

Email us with your answer for a chance to win a much-coveted MiB patch!

Last week’s winner: Congratulations to Max Edelstein, who was the first to correctly identify that Didier Drogba scored the winning penalty in Chelsea’s Champions League final against Bayern Munich in 2012. Your patch is in the post, Max! 🚚

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