Messages
2/10/2024
2/9/2024
2/2/2024
16 : 44
So, How's the Greatest American Soccer Player of All Time Doing?
I wrote about Christian Pulisic's weird and weirdly under-discussed season with AC Milan: Put simply, Pulisic has been one of the most productive, ever-present attackers in Serie A so far this
1/30/2024
17 : 44
Why Liverpool Should Replace Jurgen Klopp With ...
Sorry I missed last Friday. Busy day, turns out. I wrote about what happened on Friday, today: Outside of Manchester City's Pep Guardiola, [Jurgen] Klopp has no peers among his managerial
1/23/2024
16 : 44
Why Darwin Núñez (Yes, *That* Darwin Núñez) Is a Superstar
I've heard that January 17 is the day that most people drop their New Years resolutions. Gym activity dies down on this date, while pizza places experience a sudden surge in orders. Now, a big
1/16/2024
20 : 24
The Best Young American Soccer Players, Ranked
More than a year on, Net Gains received another nice review. This one, from Aaron Gordon in his great book-review newsletter, Book Time: Despite the obvious temptation, Net Gains cannot be described as
1/12/2024
18 : 44
Who Will Win (the Final 18 or 19) Games of the Premier League?
I'm realizing these emails pretty much always have a question in the subject line. Given how the average person consumes the written word, I'm also probably the only person who realized that —
1/9/2024
19 : 34
Who Needs to Make a Move in January?
On the one hand, the January transfer window is stupid. On the other: VIRGIL. VAN. DIJK. I wrote about the teams who would benefit the most from making a move during the winter transfer window:
1/5/2024
17 : 14
What's Wrong With Arsenal?
Ahead of the Liverpool match, Arsenal looked like they might be the best team in the Premier League. After the Liverpool match, Arsenal looked like they might be the best team in the Premier League.
12/29/2023
17 : 44
Who Won 2023?
We all know the answer: Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who plays Richard “Richie” Jerimovich in the FX television series, The Bear. But I get paid to write about soccer, so what if we focused in on that world for
12/22/2023
17 : 44
The Premier League, Ranked, Vol. 4
The weeketh of ranketh continueth. My buddy Bill Connelly and I came up with our fourth edition of the Premier League power rankings — and there's a new no. 1! And 2! And 4! And 6! And, well, you
12/19/2023
17 : 14
Twenty Possible European Champions, Ranked
Hi! With the first-round knockout draws set, I looked at the likely winners of the Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League. Then — get this — I ranked them, in order of the
12/15/2023
18 : 4
Why Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Manchester City Will (and Won't) Win the League
We have a three-and-maybe-four-team title race in the Premier League. I broke it down: Add all of those seasons together, and the "best" team has won 21 of the past 30 league titles -- or
12/12/2023
17 : 44
Manchester United Stink. Who Should We Blame?
Ahead of their consecutive matches against Bayern Munich and Liverpool, I wrote about the never-ending crisis at Manchester United: After Ferguson left, the Glazers essentially let former banker Ed
12/9/2023
20 : 14
A Question: How Good Is MLS?
MLS Cup kicks off in about an hour, between the two best teams in the league (by xG): Los Angeles FC and the Columbus Crew. One team I played on growing up was called “the Crew”. Great name, so much
12/5/2023
23 : 34
The 20 Most Valuable Player in the Premier League
I have access to a new stat: expected possession value. I would call it “xPV” but then I remembered how my buddy Donnie made fun of me because every stat I cited sounded like an STD. Anyway, I wrote
12/1/2023
17 : 54
The Aston Villa Guide to Crashing the Top Four
Aston Villa, huh? We're more than a third of the way into the Premier League season — and they're tied with Liverpool, one point back of Manchester City, and two points back of Arsenal. What
11/28/2023
17 : 44
Three Columns for the Price of One Email!
Happy Thanksgiving, to those who celebrated. Happy Last Thursday of November, to those who didn't. Anyway, I slacked off on the emails last week. Here's everything I've written recently: -
11/17/2023
17 : 54
What if We Designed Soccer from Scratch?
Soccer is broken. Not the kicking-of-the-ball-can't-use-your-hands part; that's beautiful, always has been. Ok, maybe not always; early versions of soccer were brutal and ugly, an expression of
11/14/2023
18 : 4
Who Are the Most Important Players in the Premier League?
My latest column for ESPN is up. I continued my crusade in support of the idea that “soccer teams win soccer games because of the quality of their soccer players”. In this one, I identified the Premier