Title Race Keeps Title Racing 🏆

Hail GFOP!

I type with fingers braced for this Three-Team Title Race to rattle back into our loving arms. All of us should be braced into the kind of Danger Zone known only to Kenny Loggins. There can be no room for error. We have that blue-chip title race, the relegation bare-knuckle brawl, and the arm-wrestle for fifth place. And Chelsea and Manchester United soiling themselves in public, which might be the most startling spectacle of all. 

b. We have had a magnificent week at MiB, spending time with Martin Ødegaard, Ruben Dias, and that great American Haji Wright for conversations that will come out in the next couple of days. Haji blew me away, btw. What a soulful, humble human being. I asked him what his happiest memory of the 2022 World Cup was. He told me, “When Tim Weah scored against Wales”. Name another striker who would name another forward’s goal. It was magnificent to talk to him at this moment in life when he is delivering delirious, massive goals for his club and nation, when we need them. 

PS. Next week I am spending time with Brighton’s CEO Paul Barber to learn how they think differently than those around them. If you have questions for him, send them to me here.

c. The highlight of my week: 24 hours spent in the Raleigh-Durham area, that magical Kudzu-covered North Carolinian kingdom which smells of DJ Burns Jr.’s cologne and Glory. We went to visit Sports Endeavors, the incredible team behind Soccer.com and WorldSoccerShop.com who, over the last 40 years, have built a sprawling empire of football merch. I was blown away by the whole operation which could honestly call itself the greatest, and most beloved soccer institution in our nation. The fact it has been built in the unlikely surroundings of HIllsborough, N.C., makes it all the more powerful an experience to visit. I met so many staff members who talked about hating football growing up, only to have now fallen truly, madly, deeply, in love with the game – stories which I found very moving. The dual highlights: the brisket at Hillsborough BBQ Co. or the basement at Soccer.Com where some of the National Hall of Fame’s archive exists – thousands of documents and artifacts of America’s football history in storage crying out for sports historians to categorize and organize so we can tell our own proud story to ourselves. 

2. To the Football

i. Manchester United vs. Liverpool 🎺 (Sunday, 10.30 a.m. ET, NBC)

How on earth did league-leading Liverpool lose in the FA Cup to this mob? A self-immolating team born of tactical turmoil who reel in from last night’s 4-3 debacle against Chelsea. In which they lost a game. Won a game. Then lost it again, late, late, late. Conceding in the 111th minute, the latest winning goal in Premier League history. A player who was a United fan as a kid to boot, causing the United fans’ once joyful taunts of "Mason Mount, he left 'cos your shit!" to stick in their throats like a chicken bone. Such a clash in style and fortunes. Liverpool channel chaos. United overwhelm themselves in it. And even though they have lost their last two at Old Trafford, they will arrive as league leaders, surging, with Alexis MacAllister whom Klopp called, “Wonderful player, wonderful boy”, scoring his ruthless fourth goal in five games to dull Sheffield United’s blade. That man will never have to pay for his own Maté on Merseyside again. 

Good Read: Ten Hag looks like a dead man walking. United and Liverpool will both be looking for a new manager at the same time.

ii. Brighton vs. Arsenal (Saturday, 12.30 p.m. ET, USA)

Who has had a better 2024 than Arsenal? Unbeaten. 28 points out of their last 30. Playing delirious football, with a squad depth that is the true difference to this time last year and the season that ended not with a bang but with a whimper. Luton’s Rob Edwards described them with marvel after this week’s clinical one-sided defeat. "They give you nothing. It's really clear how they attack, but difficult to stop. They are maybe the one team at the moment that can play any game - a physical game, a running game." Brighton are a remarkable model club in so many ways. Record profits. On the cusp of Europe again. But they are also limping to the end of the season. For all of De Zerbi’s burnished reputation, he has won just three of his last 11 in the league and scored just three in their last seven all comps. 

More: Humanly incredible to see Emile Smith-Rowe return and make Arsenal surge again. 

iii. Crystal Palace vs. Manchester City (Saturday, 7.30 a.m. ET, USA)

Massive match for third-place Manchester City. Palace have yanked at least a point from Pep’s mob in six of their last 12 games, and will welcome back Michael Olise, their avenging clenched fist who has played just 755 minutes this season scattered over 11 games but scored six times and littered in three assists. City rested KDB and Haaland midweek with an eye on Tuesday’s Champions League visit to Real Madrid. City fans will then end the weekend cheering for Manchester United against Liverpool on Sunday.

More: I talked to Ruben Dias about this season’s title chances. It will be live on our YouTube, so make sure you’re subscribed to make sure you don’t miss it.

iv. Tottenham Hotspur vs. Nottingham Forest (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, USA)

The Brennan Johnson Memorial Derby. Spurs unleash one of Forest’s own against Nuno’s team who have taken four points from their last two games off their post-points deduction bounce. “Play Gio you cowards.”

v. Sheffield United vs. Chelsea (Sunday, 12.30 p.m. ET, Peacock)

A late Sunday kickoff caused by the Sheffield half-marathon. Proof some things are more important than football. Chelsea surge in with all of the adrenaline of last night’s miracle “capitulation-comeback” against Manchester United. Two goals in stoppage time. The winner in the 101st minute. Cole Palmer slapping a speculative drive from the edge of the area which Mctominay attempted to chest away, but could only manage to nipple it past his own goalkeeper. One of the most slapstick drunk games in a week of sloppy wonder. The celebrations when that fourth goal went in, and Pochettino’s Primal Howl mask a chaotic truth: Chelsea have scored at least twice and conceded at least twice in their last six games. A madness. 

vi. Everton vs. Burnley (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, Peacock)

April 7, 2022. It was Sean Dyche who declared of Frank Lampard’s Everton, they "don't know how to win" a game, as his Burnley roared back in the second half of a relegation dogfight to win 3-2. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. We still don’t know how to win. Yet, somehow, Dyche now rides with us. And Everton have not won in 13 games. it has come to this: I fear Burnley. Who have had JJ Watt watching their last four games in person, and not lost a single one of them. Thank God the Watts are now back Stateside. That is the only thing which gives me hope. Which tells you all you need to know about my mental state. The longest winless streak in Everton’s Premier League history would have Dyche on the ropes if we had a workable board. We are a zombie club. The only thing about us that is alive are our fans. And our lot is to suffer. “God's creatures who cried themselves to sleep stirred to cry again.”

More: Full TV Broadcast slate here.

3. USA! USA! USA! It is She Believes Time. Worst Tournament Name Ever. Great Football though… 🇺🇸

The ninth edition of this whacky tournament packed with strong opponents. Japan, Canada, and Brazil join the USWNT this weekend in Atlanta. Four games will take place from Saturday-Tuesday, with the winners of USA v. Japan (Saturday, 12.30 p.m. ET, TNT) and Canada v. Brazil (Saturday, 3.30 p.m. ET, Peacock) meeting in the final, followed by a third place match. The tournament marks the return to international play for Catarina Macario and Mallory Swanson, who have both been out with traumatically long injuries, while 16-year-old Ajax sensation Lily Yohannes and 21-year-old Paris Saint-Germain defender Eva Gaetino are in the squad for their first senior call ups. Make no mistake Japan will be a true challenge for the United States. This game will be a true barometer of our post-World Cup progress.

More: I really liked this piece by Jeff Kassouf who wrote of the new world order in which the United States is no longer perpetually dominant: “When the U.S. faces Japan… winning is on the table. But, perhaps more so than any previous point in the USWNT's history, losing is too.” 

WATCH THIS NOW: Sam Mewis and I taped this full She Believes Preview, running the rule over all four competing teams with Sam Mewis. 🇺🇸🇯🇵🇨🇦🇧🇷

🗣️ ALSO: I will go live on YouTube with Sam Mewis at the final whistle of the US-Japan game SUBSCRIBE TO THE WOMEN’S GAME YOUTUBE CHANNEL TO GET NOTIFIED WHEN WE GO LIVE. 

4. Wrexham: Wrexham’ing it Up? 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Which is the true Wrexham? The one who soared to the heavens after beating Mighty Mansfield last weekend or the duffers who crapped the bed against Doncaster Rovers midweek? We will find out this weekend as the boys trek the length of Wales (plus an additional 40 miles) south east to struggling Essex side Colchester United (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, iFollow). After his brace last Friday took him to 99 in all comps, Super Paul Mullin will be looking to net his 100th goal in Wrexham colors. 

5. Our European Friends: “Send a Salami to your boy in the Army” 

a. AC Milan will shoot for five wins in five league games this Saturday as they host a Lecce side struggling to find consistent form in midtable (9 a.m. ET, Paramount +). With one eye on Thursday’s Europa League quarter final against Roma, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek out due to suspension, Stefano Pioli’s side is likely to look different from the 4-2-3-1 formation whose recent success has taken the team six points above third placed Juventus. Who is really America’s team: AC Milan or US(A) Lecce? By midday Saturday we will have our answer. 🇮🇹

More: How American players are helping fuel a renaissance in Italy’s top soccer league.

b. PSV’s heroic unbeaten streak is no more after a surprise 3-1 defeat last weekend against the mighty NEC Nijmegen. All three of the side’s USMNT stars featured in a midweek bounceback victory against Excelsior and will go again at home against AZ Alkmaar (Saturday, 12.45 p.m. ET, ESPN+). How do you say “New unbeaten streak starts now” in Dutch? 🇳🇱

More or Less, Presented by PrizePicks, Best PP since Parker Posey

Charlie Kipp Writes: From zero to one hundred - we have gone from a place where the football felt absent to a place where we can’t escape it, and thank god for that. A return to club football has brought chaos, title-clashes, mid-week madness (I see you Cole Palmer), but above all else, PrizePicks entries. You know you want to lock in to every match and savor every moment, even if your team isn’t involved, and PrizePicks is the perfect way to do just that - pick More or Less from a selection of statistical categories and and some bonus interest to the board. Speaking of interesting, we look at a Wonderkid-come-good this week - Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard, MORE than 0.5 Shots on Target.

There was a time, not too long ago, where Martin Odegaard was considered the best 14-15 year old in the world (big Cavan Sullivan energy). The player made senior appearances for Stromsgodset in Norway as a youngster, at a time when YouTube highlight mixes were hot in the streets and seemed set for a clear path to superstardom. The move to Real Madrid at age 16 all-but-confirmed this. But then, he vanished. Whether the combination of expectations, environment, or both - Odegaard found himself in the lower half of the Eredivisie table with a couple of teams where he rediscovered himself. Fast forward to a loan move at Real Sociedad and finally to North London where, still only 25 years old, the Norwegian is the unquestioned leader of Mikel Arteta’s title-chasing Arsenal. Odegaard has been the do-everything man in attack for the Gunners - with his impact felt both on (13 goal contributions) and off the stat sheet. This Saturday, Arsenal travel to face Brighton at the AMEX, (12.30 p.m. ET, Peacock) where I expect Odegaard’s influence to be as evident as ever - he will get a shot on goal - and when he does, I will take a page out of Brighton fan Fatboy Slim’s book and “Praise Him Like I Should.” Martin Odegaard, MORE than 0.5 Shots on Target.

If you haven’t joined PrizePicks, CLICK HERE and use code MiB for a first deposit match up to $100.

6. This Week at Men in Blazers World Headquarters

Where we’re only as good as our last envelope… 🤌

🌎 Tomorrow is the final episode of series 2 of World Corrupt, our partnership with Tommy Vietor and the GFOPs at Crooked Media in which we deep dive into why Saudi Arabia is investing billions of dollars in football. The series has been a wide-reaching exploration of everything from Newcastle United to the Saudi Domestic League to the geopolitical ramifications of this shift in global football. It has been a thrill and an honor to produce, and to once again work alongside Tommy, who is unbearably talented. If you missed any of the first three episodes, worry not, THEY ARE ALL AVAILABLE HERE. 

🎧 A double dose of the New York Times’ Rory Smith on Men in Blazers this week. First that gelato hound/word surgeon joined us in the wake of the City vs. Arsenal clash of civilizations last Sunday LISTEN HERE | WATCH HERE. And then Wednesday for a Premier League edition of Do it Live! LISTEN HERE | WATCH HERE.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 A Big Week in Wales as Wrexham have FIVE games left to try and crack automatic promotion to League One. And as they make that final push, we released two pieces of Wrexham content, both powered by the GFOPs at SToK Cold Brew Coffee. Tuesday, Rog caught up with Gambian International Jacob Mendy to discuss his journey from Africa, to Madrid, to working construction and playing in the ninth-tier of English Football. It is a humanly wonderful story. LISTEN HERE | WATCH HERE.

💪 Coming up TOMORROW, Sam Mewis and Rog will Do it Live! after the USWNT’s SheBelieves tilt with Japan. SUBSCRIBE TO THE WOMEN’S GAME YOUTUBE CHANNEL TO GET NOTIFIED WHEN WE GO LIVE. 

🚨 Also, coming up over the course of the next few days… interviews with Martin Ødegaard, Rúben Dias, and Haji Wright. Stay tuned to our Pod Feed and YouTube to find out the minute they go live. 

7. More Football, Did Ya Say?

i. Enjoy this blast from the past: Johan Cryuff ended his career with a ‘spite season’ at Feyenoord whom the 34-year-old joined to troll his original team Ajax who had refused to give him a new contract. They won the league away at Willem II and the scenes are truly delightfully chaotic. 

ii. Germany has banned the number 44 from its new jerseys for fear it looks like the SS Logo.

iii. England are already worried about falling behind the Spanish women. US Soccer take note. 

iv. Africa’s female players are excelling: no Wafcon in 2024 would be a travesty, The Guardian, Osasu Obayiuwana.

8. Not Football, and All the Better for It

i. A Chronicle reporter went undercover in high school. Everyone is still weighing the fallout. Like if Never Been Kissed was a gritty HBO series. 

ii. I Eat Lunch at Dave & Buster's. It's Weirder Than You Think. This behavior should land you on some sort of watchlist. 

iii. Loved this: There Is No Point in My Being Other Than Honest with You: On Toni Morrison’s Rejection Letters.

iv. "He’s always smiling. There is never a doubt that Mr. Met is wise" Mr. Met Is the Most Misunderstood Mascot in Baseball.

v. Why Did This Guy Put a Song About Me on Spotify? The most AI thing that somehow isn't AI.

vi. The world’s weirdest burial requests: from Father Christmas outfits to beloved poodles. God I love Bob Mortimer. 

vii. Witness One Woman’s Margarita-Fueled Discovery of the Meaning of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors—and Maybe Life Itself. I decide I'm done with Twitter...but then it pulls me back in. 

viii. Modern history: The Ballad of Ray Suzuki: The Secret Life of Early Pitchfork and the Most Notorious Review Ever “Written”. 

ix. Dog duty. Improbably not the first link in this list to feature the moniker: "The Poop Guy". 

x. Ladies and Gentlemen, Ian Eagle. (Insert basketball analogy here) of profile writing.

xi. I love this song and it helped me through the week: Jake Xerxes Fussell’s Love Farwell.

That is it for today. Much love to all of you. Thanks for all your messages and letters to [email protected]. They thrill us more than we can say. Congratulations also to the incredible team at our Early Kick Off Podcast who were nominated for an ARIA award in the UK, which honors excellence in the radio and audio industry. Incredible tribute to our London arm who are bringing such joy and intelligent wonder to every morning with that podcast creation. Subscribe here and wake up to your football. 

Let’s not take a second of watching football together for granted,

Big Love,

Courage.

ROG