Sam's Army

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

STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

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 taking shape as City and Liverpool finagle wins while Arsenal puts a hurting on Sheffield Utd; how badly did Nottingham Forest get jobbed and weekend preview featuring the big one on Sunday as City visit Anfield

ROUND THE WORLD: MLS hit-it-n-quit-it minute; fallout from referee decision to blow final whistle just as Real Madrid was scoring a game-winner versus Valencia; Champions League preview plus thots on where the USWNT stands after shock loss to Mexico followed by solid win over Colombia

STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

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 Tottenham to Arsenal)?

PREMIER LEAGUE: takeaways from (and butthurtedness about) Carabao Cup final; Sam's unfortunate Arsenal epiphany; whether it is too soon to call Gio Reyna's move to Forest a bust and preview of Sunday's Manchester Dærby

ROUND THE WORLD: MLS Hit-It-N-Quit-It Minute is BACK plus some 2024 season predictions and hot takes

STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

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 continues and Carabao Cup final preview

ROUND THE WORLD: USMNT striker depth chart; singing Pulisic's praises and LOLing at the downfall of Pulisic hater-in-chief Terrorist Tommy Tuchel

STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

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 observations; definitive midseason Power Rankings and games to watch this weekend f/t City hosting Chelsea

ROUND THE WORLD: Ivory Coast and Qatar earn their flowers and preview of this week's Champions League first leg R16 knockouts

STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

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 Nottingham Forest

ROUND THE WORLD: AFCON and Asian Cup updates

STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

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?)

PREMIER LEAGUE: an unusual amount of craziness on and off the field in last week's FA Cup (where Cinderella lives on!) plus a look ahead to the not one but TWO full slates of league action coming up over the next week, culminating with Arsenal hosting Liverpool on Sunday

ROUND THE WORLD: some of the wildest narratives and storylines emerging from AFCON and Asian Cup

STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

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 this week's FA Cup matchups

ROUND THE WORLD: winners and losers from USMNT's January Camp (and highly forgettable Slovenia game)

STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

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 sign with FC Cincinnati over PSV

WHAT IF: the rumors are true and Gio Reyna leaves Dortmund this month... what is his ideal landing spot?

PREMIER LEAGUE: abbreviated weekly review focusing on United/Tottenham draw and City squeaks past a surprisingly game Newcastle plus an even more abbreviated weekend preview

ROUND THE WORLD: Saudi-Spanish Super Cup beatdown highlights the directions that Real Madrid and Barcelona seem to be headed plus earlier thots on AFCON and Asian Cup

STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

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 is low on quantity but high on quality

ROUND THE WORLD: what clubs will be affected most by Afcon/Asia Cup and reaction to USMNT roster for January camp

STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

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 his #10 jersey?

PREMIER LEAGUE: making sense of a busy holiday period including what to makes of the recent risers (eg West Ham and Wolves) and fallers (eg, Arsenal and Newcastle), plus some FA Cup games to watch this weekend

ROUND THE WORLD: fallout from the last minute cancellation of Turkish Super Cup due to 11th hour demands by Saudi hosts plus some transfer chatter involving Johnny Cardoso to Betis, Hugo Lloris to LAFC (!?) and Antonee Robinson to Liverpool

STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets where the Over Train is cooking with thermonuclear gas again and GOAWs

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 the US?

PREMIER LEAGUE: Tyler is #notmad about United holding Liverpool to 0-0; Everton deserve some flowers; Mikey wakes up with a new most-hated team (apart from Spurs) and we get some shocking predictions for this weekend's massive Arsenal vs Liverpool game

ROUND THE WORLD: Champions League R16 matchups; Girona: La Liga contender or pretender and America's latest strategy for keeping up with the European (women's soccer) Joneses

STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

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 beating City and Arsenal in a matter of days; should Pochettino and/or Ten Hag be on the hot seat; if Newcastle should be hitting the panic button and wtf has gotten into Everton?

ROUND THE WORLD: giving Columbus Crew their deserved flowers and how much (if any) grief does MLS deserve for punishing LAFC supporter's group shenanigans and what to watch in Champions League this week

STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

HEADLINES: UEFA announces changes to women's Champions League, best- and worst-case groups for USMNT from Copa America 2024 draw (on December 7) and high/lowlights from this week's UEFA 2024 group draw

WHAT IF: you could change one rule/thing about soccer?

PREMIER LEAGUE: Spurs walked away winners from 3-3 draw at City, Tyler waxes poetic about Liverpool after beating... Fullham, abbreviated Power Rankings and what to watch from full slates this midweek and weekend (f/t Chelsea vs United and big week for Aston Villa)

ROUND THE WORLD: Preview of Columbus vs LAFC in MLS Cup, what to watch in this week's final Champions League group stage games and shoutouts for Brazil's Serie A title race finale and MASL is back

STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

HEADLINES: FIFA discusses expanding use of VAR, Premier League votes *against* temporary ban on loan deals between "affiliated" clubs and MLS looks to add 4th DP slot

WHAT IF: the Premier League did away with designated home and away sections... net plus or minus?

PREMIER LEAGUE: takeaways from City/Liverpool draw and Spurs "encouraging" loss to Villa, plus Power Rankings and previewing United's chance to shush the haters at Newcastle

ROUND THE WORLD: Tim's opinion on MLS's playoff format plus reactions to VAR-heavy controversies in Cincinnati/Philly and Houston/SKC games, plus a quick look at this week's marquee Champions League matchups

STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets (OverTrain cooking with thermonuclear gas again!) and GOAWs

USMNT: we get balls deep in the "successful" home-and-home with T&T, put the results in context and try to make sense of Sergiño Dest's meltdown (including what an appropriate punishment looks like)

HEADLINES: Everton's 10-point deduction and what it means for City and Chelsea; IFAB contemplates instituting rugby-like rules, insurance company (of all people) issue report that may actually make an impact on schedule congestion and CONMEBOL reveals two Copa America 2024 host cities

WHAT IF: Torsten Frings did not criminally use his hands to block Greggory Berhalter's potential game-winning volley in the 2002 World Cup quarterfinal... would his USMNT coaching experience be any different?

PREMIER LEAGUE: time to hit the ground running with preview of City vs Liverpool and Newcastle vs City plus a painfully honest prediction about Tottenham vs Aston Villa

ROUND THE WORLD: MLS playoffs in full swing (feel the momentum!) and U17 World Cup update

STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

HEADLINES: NWSL and USL sign splashy 4-year media deals, Premier League overdue yet reactionary ban on loan deals between "associated" clubs and Luiz Diaz's dad

WHAT IF: How bad and for how long would Man City need to be to get Pep fired?

PREMIER LEAGUE: what we learned about Chelsea from the thrilling 4-4 draw with City (aka the Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling revenge game), the wheels start falling off Tottenham and perhaps Newcastle, and perhaps United's woes have been slightly exaggerated

ROUND THE WORLD: thoughts (not very nice ones) on MLS's new playoff format, NWSL and USL silverware, USYNT updates and preview of this week's USMNT home and home versus T&T

STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets (where the Over Train is cooking with thermonuclear gas) and GOAWs

HEADLINES: Gianni Infantino reveals poorly kept secret that Saudi Arabia will host World Cup 2034, does Luis Suarez make Inter Miami better / favorites for MLS Cup 2024 and reaction to Timbers hiring Phil Neville

WHAT IF: MLS players called a strike -- is now the perfect time to finally get one over on owners?

PREMIER LEAGUE: instant reaction to Chelsea beating 9-man Spurs and Arsenal falling to Newcastle, including a serious discussion about whether VAR is ruining the sport we love; also some love for Luiz Diaz (and Darwin - sorta) and weekend preview featuring Chelsea at home vs City

ROUND THE WORLD: MLS playoffs (oh no STL!) and Champions League preview

STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

Tyler and I are joined by Keegan Rosenberry of Colorado Rapids and DC United's Alex Bono to discuss...

HEADLINES: Messi wins Ballon d'Or but who is the favorite to win in 2024; Sandro Tonali's suspension and chatter inside MLS locker rooms about gambling; sad situation involving Luis Diaz's parents plus Timothy Weah injury news

WHAT IF: you had to pick one USMNT squad from anytime in history to face the Monstars in a soccer version of Space Jam... who you picking? (Also: we debate -- aka Sam is harassed about -- the cultural resonance of Space Jam)

PREMIER LEAGUE: takeaways from City spanking United; some love for Wolves and Everton; we critique Bono's Power Rankings and Sam makes shocking admission about this weekend's Tottenham vs Chelsea game

ROUND THE WORLD: Keegan and Bono offered their two cents on the new MLS playoff format plus thoughts on some of the most intriguing matchups, plus a brief reaction to USWNT's games versus Colombia

STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

HEADLINES: San Diego FC's uninspired unveiling, troubling Tyler Adams news, re-remembering Michael Bradley and Caleb Williams-inspired discussion about players taking ownership stakes in their club (prediction: it is coming)

WHAT IF: FIFA held a World Crap Cup for the 32 lowest ranked nations in the world - would you watch?

PREMIER LEAGUE: Chelsea's optimism-tinged collapse, LiVARpool's revenge may be Everton's breaking point, Tottenham's good vibrations tour continues, least acrimonious Power Rankings ever plus weekend preview featuring Manchester Daerby and Ten Hag's ass-(potentially)-in-the-jackpot week

ROUND THE WORLD: preliminary MLS Playoff (featuring unexpected guest on YouTube version) and Champions League primers

STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets (can the Five-A-Side Overs Train stay cooking with gas???) and GOAWs