Sir Alex’s retirement marks time for journalists to bake him a hairdryer shaped cake.
Via @runofplay
The Battle for Third and Fourth is now officially under way. On Monday, Manchester United and their ragtag ensemble wrapped up their 20th league title in impressive fashion (move over, Don Nelson, the mad scientist officially resides at Old Trafford). Still, few headlines were devoted to Sir Alex & Co.’s accomplishment. Earlier in the weekend, Liverpool’s Luis Suarez once again proved there was still plenty of crazy left in England’s top flight when he gnawed on Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic in the course of a 2-2 draw. In this week’s pod, Michael and Roger review the implications for Liverpool and their American owners as well as what’s in store for Suarez’s 72 pearly whites.
The Men in Blazers revel, as always, in their weekly telegrams from GFOPs across these fine lands, inquiring about footballers’ peculiar sweating habits and how to best consume a midgame pint or five, and end the pod with breaking news about the Men in Blazers National Team. Courage.
Via @AmyLawrence71: Lovely graphic about #Giggs and how old his team-mates were when he made his debut from Italian TV (via @PIERPARDO)
Amare Stoudemire throws his support behind Man United. Single tear. (Via GFOP @Donald_K3)
It was a snowy weekend of mid-season football in the Premier League, with the weather providing a cleansing effect for Clint Dempsey in Tottenham’s home meeting with Manchester United. After close to 93 minutes of disappointing form, Deuceface slotted home the equalizer as America, Andre Villas-Boas, Manchester City, and Under Armour all rejoiced. In this week’s Men in Blazers podcast, Michael Davies and Roger Bennett review the title race that’s back on, only because it was never really off. But it’s not only the glory of the top of the table that’s up for discussion. The Blazers also consider the relegation battle and bid sacked Southampton manager Nigel “Happyface” Adkins farewell.
To add a modicum of intelligent insight, Fox Soccer’s very own Rob Stone drops in to recap the Brek Shea saga and shed light on what life is like these days for a soccer- and cheerleader-lovin’ American at the network that gave us Cleatus the dancing robot.
Normal service has resumed in the English Premier League. The sleeping giants — Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City — have all reclaimed the top three spots in the table. And why shouldn’t they, with the season being 2/11ths over, after all. But as much as the on-field drama is subject for discussion in this week’s pod, Michael and Roger also consider the continued off-field troubles of a certain Russian-owned superclub.
Next, productivity on the pod takes a nosedive after welcoming the creative and strategic genius behind the EA Sports FIFA video game franchise, executive producer (and fellow Brit) David Rutter, for a quick chat. The Blazered Men discuss the newest features of FIFA 13, its impact on America’s sporting interests, the future of video games, and, of course, Duran Duran.
Send your telegrams via raven to the Crap Part of SoHo, reach us @MeninBlazers or drop an email at meninblazers@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the pod in iTunes or via our RSS feed.
From GFOPs @martyn_pape and @ehutt1: Sir Alex yawning watching Man City.
Even after being shut out of the Emmys, the Men in Blazers were still riding high from what was arguably the best weekend yet of Premier League football. Since the week before, anyway. Sure, midfield-less Manchester United triumphed in typically suspect fashion against 10-man Liverpool, and Chelsea and Manchester City continued their uninspired play in a win and a draw, respectively. But somehow, some way, Everton and West Brom find themselves in the Top 4 in the Season of Weird™. In this week’s pod, Michael and Roger recap all the story lines both real (John Terry retiring from international play) and surreal (Mario Balotelli and Carlos Tevez share a cuddle), and answer more hard-hitting telegrams.
In the end, though, it all comes back to #QuarterbackStyle as the Blazered Ones announce the winner of the anonymously signed Stoke City jersey. This is football podcasting at its most suboptimal.
Manchester United at the NYSE: For Whom the Bell Tolls?
What a team we have here. A true offensive power. They may not be the prettiest side, but the goals are sure to come with a fury. The squad looks more than capable of overwhelming previous incarnations the Ginger XI, Middle Earth XI, and LMFAO XI. Lalas makes another surprise inclusion, his third straight such honor.
Defenders: Alexi Lalas, Steve Bould, John Metgod, Jaap Stam
Midfielders: Yordan Letchkov, Peter Noble, Zinedine Zidane, Bobby Charlton
Forward: Grzegorz Lato, Gervinho
Goalkeeper: Brad Fiedel
Manager: Martin Jol
But it’s the depth astounds here, with stalwarts such as Arjen Robben, Alfredo de Stefano, Attilio Lombardo, Wesley Sneijder, Michael Bradley, Esteban Cambiasso, Stephen Ireland and David Armstrong all coming off the bench when the occasion calls.
Obviously, the great Pierluigi Collina will serve as the team’s official referee.
After our Middle Earth XI and LMFAO XI blazed across the interwebs, GFOP Paul King challenged us to come up with an all-gingie team. His wish is our command. We are proud to present the Ginger XI. It’s a team that made a lie of the chant Tottenham fans used to sing to Gary Doherty: “There’s only one Ginger Pele, one Ginger Pele.” And while they may be beaten for pace, this team will never be matched in the melanocortin-1 receptor gene department.
Defenders: Alexi Lalas, Wes Brown, Gary Doherty, John Arne Riise
Midfielders: Paul Scholes, Steve Sidwell, Alan Ball, Gordon Strachan
Forward: David Fairclough, Louis Saha
Goalkeeper: Adam Bogdan
Manager: Gary Megson
