230208 ASU Newsletter

🎵🎵“Ain’t nobody like McKennie … Plays with (Tyler) Adams … Plays with Adams for the USA”🎵🎵

-Leeds fans’ chant for new arrival Weston McKennie

Chaka Khan at her finest.

Now, we newsletter.

Red, Lilywhite, and Blue:

Where to start with Leeds? At the top, probably. Or the erstwhile top, as manager Jesse Marsch was sacked by the Yorkshire club on Monday, after less than 12 months, on the heels of their 1-0 loss at Nottingham Forest.

On Jesse Marsch. A terrific human being. An incredibly honest man. A gent that lives to communicate. Jesse could never really overcome the shadow of Marcelo Bielsa, nor could he tweak his all-out tactical approach to safeguard an oft’ feeble backline. He leaves Leeds having staved off relegation, an incredible moment last season. And to some degree his sacking is an agony, in that he finally has the players, in Wöber, Rutter and Weston McKennie 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (24; Little Elm, TX), that he wanted. Those are his kind of players, to play his kind of football. And he’ll never get to use them.

Jesse has been thrilling to watch in the Premier League, especially from an American perspective. To better days ahead. We would love to know what emotions Jesse’s departure conjures for you. Email us [email protected]

Even with Marsch’s disappointing departure, however, the future in Leeds is sure to see a convocation of Baby Eagles. The aforementioned McKennie is now fully a Lilywhite. He spent his first week with the club dropping hilarious Ronaldo stories, being interviewed by his best mate (also hilarious), getting excellent wand graphics, receiving his own original fan chant, and then making his Leeds debut on Sunday. One has to wonder what all three are thinking now they are suddenly Marsch-less.

As for the other Americans at Elland Road, Tyler Adams 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (23; Wappingers Falls, NY) was solid once again in midfield at Forest. Brenden Aaronson 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (22; Medford, NJ), meanwhile, didn’t get off the bench against Nottingham, but this was apparently because he was hospitalized during the week prior with appendicitis. Which was also why he didn’t play a part in The Weston McKennie Welcome Tour.

Next for Leeds? Tough, back-to-back matches against third-place Manchester United, where newly-hired American assistant Chris Armas will be on the Yorkshire side’s bench, facing the legendary club he once helped coach. Eagles all over the Premier League these days. Even if one of the finer ones was sent packing. 🙏

Cottagers Industrious:

Where Leeds are struggling, Fulham are thriving. An audacious collective. After two humiliating Premier League campaigns in ‘18-19 and ‘20-21, this season they are coherent and resilient, led by two Americans — Tim Ream 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (35; St. Louis, MO) and Antonee Robinson 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (25; Liverpool, ENG) — at the heart of a backline that fears no one.

Mound City Maldini had an impressive goal-line clearance to preserve Fulham’s shutout draw with Chelsea (WATCH), and was arguably the best player on the pitch for either team. Robinson was also excellent at left-back in the draw, which came the day after a Guardian feature on Jedi dropped, in which the Great Scouse American talks about being recruited by the real Maldini.

Four points from Chelsea this season. Eighth in the table overall; one spot ahead of the Blues. Dreamland by the river. 💪

Schadenscoring:

Spite scoring is off the charts in the Bundesliga. After Gio Reyna 🇩🇪 (20; Bedford, NY) and Jordan Pefok 🇩🇪 (26; Washington, DC) were underutilized at best, done dirty at worst, by Gregg Berhalter at the World Cup, both scored within minutes of each other in Germany on Saturday. For Reyna — or GR7, if you will — it was his third-straight substitute appearance with a goal (WATCH), while Pefok’s goal was his first since Sept. 18 (WATCH). That said, Siebatcheu’s hit was a vital match-winner that allowed Union Berlin to keep pace with Bayern at the top of the Bundesliga table. The drought-ender seemed to mean a lot to his teammates, fans, and Jordan himself either way.

Ultimately, never let it be said that Gregg Berhalter is not an incredible man manager. Negging his boys into scoring boatloads months after the fact.

News and Notes:

• Quite a week for Malik Tillman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (20; Nürnberg, GER). Gets a goal Wednesday at Hearts (WATCH), then again Saturday against Ross County (WATCH). And then his own chant, based on a hit by a ’70s Scottish rock band. Never believe it’s not so, Malik.

• Seems as though Luca de la Torre 🇪🇸 (24; San Diego, CA) has adapted to life on the Iberian Peninsula. LDLT got his third straight start for Celta Vigo in Saturday’s win over Real Betis, which saw him notch his second-straight assist. And it was a beauty (WATCH). Even got the wand treatment from the club for it. Then after the match, more octopus. Keep feasting, El Pulpo. 🐙

• Auston Trusty 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (24; Media, PA) is low-key having one of the seasons of the year in terms of Americans Abroad. The Birmingham City CB scored the stoppage-time match-winner at Swansea Saturday, and then heard USA chants from the away fans (WATCH). It was the fourth goal of the season for the Arsenal loanee, who has yet to miss a minute of league action for the Blues.

• Chris Richards 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (22; Birmingham, AL) made his third-straight start for Crystal Palace, but not before taking part in an excellent video feature where he discusses his tattoos of iconic Black figures as part of Black History Month.

• Sergiño Dest 🇮🇹 (22; Almere, NED) received some not-so-great news, as he was left off of AC Milan’s Champions League roster. The USMNT right-back last played for the Rossoneri on Jan. 24.

• Caden Clark 🇩🇪 (19; Medina, MN) has arrived in Germany, but Red Bull Leipzig manager Marco Rose thinks it might be a bit before the ex-New York Red Bulls midfielder sees the pitch. “I think he'll need some time,” said Rose. “He was injured for a long time. He's a young and talented player who we want to develop.”

• Bryan Reynolds 🇧🇪 (21; Fort Worth, TX) may also be on the move soon. English clubs Watford and Swansea City are reportedly interested in the Roma right-back, who’s on loan at Belgian club Westerlo. The Belgians also apparently want to make Reynolds a permanent player. Good to be in demand.

Parting Shots:

The secret to USMNT success in 2026 might just be found in the Grand Est region of France, with Ligue 1 side Stade de Reims.

First, you’ve got Folarin Balogun 🇫🇷, a 21-year-old striker born in NYC who cannot stop scoring. The Arsenal loanee had a hat-trick against Lorient last Wednesday (WATCH), making him the top Ligue 1 goal-scorer, ahead of Mbappe, Neymar, Messi, etc. Balogun can play for one of three nations — Nigeria, England, and the U.S. — but has yet to decide his international future. Knowing the prolific forward’s club-produced highlight reel used a Lil Wayne track, maybe Lil Tunechi can help with recruiting efforts.

Then you’ve got Balogun’s highly successful manager at Stade de Reims, Will Still, a 30-year-old Englishman who got into coaching via the video game Football Manager. Assuming Mou doesn’t commit to coach the U.S., it might be time to enlist the help of the United States Treasury to back up a bank truck filled with cash and close the deal for the both of them.

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