Sam's Army

HEADLINES: FA and Premier League agree to scrap FA Cup replays -- much to the chagrin of the EFL which was not even consulted; England looks unlikely to get extra (automatic) Champions League spot after no good very bad week in continental cups and Vitesse's "blast from the past" naughtiness

WHAT IF: the Big 7 decided to leave the Premier League to join a Super Duper League... would a new "Big 4/5/6/7" emerge (if so, who) or would ...

HEADLINES: MLS unveils yet another ultra-conservative update to roster rules and EFL has a "heartwarming" welcome home gift waiting for Sheffield Utd

WHAT IF: you had to vote for the Premier League's POY right now... who's getting your vote?

PREMIER LEAGUE: Mitch and Tyler struggle vociferously to accept the new (but not entirely unexpected) reality after Arsenal and Liverpool both stumble at home putting Pep's Petrostars in the dr...

HEADLINES: why a Premier League (fresh off deducting two more points from not-Man City) "Luxury Tax" is problematic, more incredible Turkish Super Lig drama and Luis Rubiales is back in the news for more (alleged) bad deeds committed as president of Spain's soccer federation

WHAT IF: you were named all-powerful USL commissioners tomorrow... what changes would you implement to better compete with MLS?

PREMIER LEAGUE: big talking poi...

HEADLINES: Fenerbahce voting this week on whether to withdraw from Turkish Super Lig in response to postgame attack by Trabzonspor fans plus Korbin Albert finds herself at the center of USWNT drama after some ill-advised social media-ing

POP QUIZ: MLS undefeateds

PREMIER LEAGUE: blame is assigned for the City vs Arsenal shmershmortion and start missing Klopp before he is even gone; plus wildly different vibes after close saves by T...

HEADLINES: IFAB approves further testing of major change to offside rule championed by Arsene Wenger; FIFA quietly loosens restrictions on multi-club ownership groups participating in European competitions and Biden administration backs Relevant Sports' in bid to host official La Liga matches in the US

WHAT IF: an MLS Best XI competed in the Premier League... where would they finish?

ROUND THE WORLD: reaction to USMNT's rollercoast...

HEADLINES: Nottingham Forest handed 4-point deduction; what to expect from MLS's midseason roster changes and NWSL valuations are skyrocketing

WHAT IF: Man City is found guilty of all/many of the more serious rule violations... how would it affect Pep's legacy (if at all)?

PREMIER LEAGUE: incredible weekend of FA Cup games featuring United's epic comeback against Liverpool (causing Tyler to say some things I did not see coming) and...

HEADLINES: Cameroonian age fraud and Lester's painful reward if/when they return to the Premier League

POP QUIZ: League Cup winners

PREMIER LEAGUE: Liverpool vs City postmortem, Gio Reyna panic button, Power Rankings and preview of some quality FA Cup quarterfinals

ROUND THE WORLD: MLS hit-it-n-quit-it minute, takeaways from USWNT's successful Gold Cup campaign; USMNT weekend stars and preview of this week's Champions League games

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HEADLINES: USSF announced that eight (of 29) MLS clubs will participate in US Open Cup; FIFA pulls U-turn on blue cards; Paul Pogba's legacy in light of 4-year PED suspension and Quincy Promes makes history as Prison FC's dumbest ever acquisition

WHAT IF: Premier League clubs settled things in the streets and back alleys as hooligans rather than on the field... who are the title favorites?

PREMIER LEAGUE: rare three-team title race...

HEADLINES: German fans force Bundesliga owners to backtrack on plans for private equity deal; Everton's unprecedented 5-point weekend and Neymar gets roped into the sad Dani Alves situation

WHAT IF: in honor of Patrick Kane returning to Chicago and beating the Blackhawks with the Detroit Red Wings, what current player on your favorite team would it hurt the most to see play for your archenemy (a la Sol Campbell moving from Tottenha...

HEADLINES: making sense of MLS and US Soccer's high-profile pissing match over US Open Cup plus the best and worst of MLS's 2024 jerseys

WHAT IF: Matt Turner picks up a blue card in the 80th minute up 2-1 against Brazil in the WC26 final at MetLife... which USMNT field player are you putting in net?

PREMIER LEAGUE: thots on Chelsea holding City; what happens when you play AngeBall without AngeBall players; confusion about United co...

HEADLINES: pros/cons of FIFA's plan to test blue cards giving players a 10-minute timeout; Duncan McGuire's star-crossed move from Orlando City to Blackburn; China stays butthurt over Messi and US Soccer's decision to grant USL (Women's) Super League D1 status

WHAT IF: USMNT played in AFCON or Asian Cup... Which would we do better in? What would be the bar for success?

PREMIER LEAGUE: West Ham gets COOKED and other weekend observat...

HEADLINES: FIFA unveils the where's and when's of World Cup 2026; Inter Miami's preseason tour is off to a hot start (not) and Bay FC making some early splashes ahead of first NWSL season

POP QUIZ: Euro 2024

PREMIER LEAGUE: thoughts on Arsenal's convincing win over Liverpool and a rebuke of Jamie Carragher and his fun police; flowers for Wolves and Luton Town; will Chelsea stick with Pochettino and coming around on Gio Reyna to Not...

HEADLINES: the good, bad and ugly of Jurgen Klopp's extended farewell; why Xavi's decision to leave is a harbinger of more problems for Barcelona; Belgium sets a horrible precedent for (mis)use of VAR; and where oh where will Victor Osimhen be playing next season?

WHAT IF: you were in charge of making the next Bond movie... which Premier League manager would you pick as the Bond Villain? (Bonus : who would be the worst Bond villain...

HEADLINES: Sir Radcliffe makes an interesting (perhaps even shrewd) first move with United; Saudi imports having second thoughts; combatting racism in Serie A (and elsewhere); even more bad news for Everton plus why Mitch might go back to ref school

WHAT IF: quick housekeeping announcement

PREMIER LEAGUE: waxing poetic about Sheffield Utd vs West Ham; is Arsenal or Liverpool better placed to disrupt City's dominance and a look at t...

HEADLINES: Premier League is back knocking on Everton (and Nottingham Forest's) door about alleged Financial Fair Play allegations while simultaneously refusing to disclose a timeline for a decision on Man City's 115 charges; Newcastle owner gets hit with some HEAVY accusations; Messi beats out Haaland (and Mbappe) for FIFA POY; trash bag behavior by Reading's owner and level-headed discussion about Miles Robinson's decision to sig...

HEADLINES: thots on January transfer moves including a glut of USMNT-related moves and Timo to Tottenham, along with an under-the-radar but potentially serious concern for Serie A fans

WHAT IF: you had the opportunity to produce a Netflix documentary like the one in the works on Dear Leader Jozay... what player or coach you picking?

PREMIER LEAGUE: what to make of Arsenal's inability to score plus a preview of a weekend slate that ...

HEADLINES: Fuck Soccer Get Money European Super League is back but is anyone actually buying it; is it fair for United fans to get a little excited now that Sir Jim Ratcliffe has finally bought in; pluses and minuses of MLS following Japan's J-League by realigning the schedule with Europe

WHAT IF: Pulisic leads the USMNT to back-to-back World Cup titles in 2026 and 2030 cementing his name in soccer lore... should the USSF retire hi...

HEADLINES: MLS (disappointing) roster rule changes and (frustrating) decision to drop US Open Cup; USMNT/WNT players of the year; debating how big FIFA's Club World Cup could become; Boehly leaves his mark on Premier League and do we care about this winter's Messi vs Ronny matchup?

WHAT IF: college football implements some form of promotion and relegation... would that sneakily be the best/surest way for it to happen for soccer in ...

HEADLINES: US and Mexico confirm joint bid for 2027 Women's World Cup and Bundesliga votes in favor of exploring sale of future broadcast revenues to private equity to better compete with Premier League

WHAT IF: Ted Lasso was flipped on it's head and you had to pick a Premier League coach to come to the US and coach an American sport (eg NFL, NBA or MLB)?

PREMIER LEAGUE: Aston Villa burnishes title contender qualifications by beati...