International Break - 10 15 24

Eagles, USMNT Energy & Energy Drinks

The Eagles formed in 1971, and this weekend CS saw them in concert for the first time with 2 original members - Don Henley and Joe Walsh, 1 member who replaced Don Felder in 1977 - Tim Schmit, and 2 who have replaced Glenn Frey when he passed away in 2016 - Vince Gill and Deacon Frey (Glenn Frey’s Son).

The Eagles - Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Randy Meisner, Glenn Frey, Don Felder

Current Eagles - 50 Years Later at the Sphere - Vince Gill, Tim Schmit, Don Henley, Deacon Frey, Joe Walsh

The Eagles have 5 number 1 songs, 6 number 1 albums and have sold 200M records worldwide, 100M in the US alone. But more than that, their music brings a “Peaceful Easy Feeling”. So regardless of whether you’re living “Life in the Fast Lane” or waking up to another “Tequilla Sunrise” make sure to add them to your playlist when you’re looking for great harmony and storytelling with music.

The Eagles Greatest Hits 1971-1975 remains the biggest-selling greatest-hits album in rock n’ roll history.

That led to their next album “Hotel California”, released in 1976 the title track is their number one downloaded song on Spotify - over 1.5B-B-Billion since Spotify started in 2011.

If you enjoy concerts - make sure to add a venue to your list - the Sphere in Vegas. Aside from the amazing tech and video the sound system is unbelievable. Fun Fact - there are over 167,000 speakers. Wherever you are in the Sphere the sound is crystal clear. UNBELIEVABLE.

Picture does not do it justice -

Eagles at the Sphere Performing “Hotel California”

In Today’s CleanSheet:

  • Observations 🔭 

  • International Comps 🥅

Observations 🔭 

  • Gareth Southgate resigned in July as the manager of the English National Team. Southgate had quite a bit of success with the side, but another Euro’s final loss led to more pressure and expectations from fans. Southgate managed 102 matches over 8 years, and aside from 1966 World Cup winner Sir Alf Ramsey, Southgate is the only England manager to lead the team to a major tournament final.

    • So - let’s take a quick look at how England did in the UEFA League of Nations played over the International Break. Yikes - a loss to Greece 1-2. Interim manager Lee Carsley may wish he were back to managing the U21 team.

    • It’s England’s first ever loss to Greece.

    • First ever competitive defeat at Wembly in 4 years.

    • They had 2 shots on goal.

  • Viewership Data. CS really likes looking at data trends in soccer viewership but that is getting more difficult.

    • Per @HelltownBeer HERE - “Sources for daily TV viewership data has dried up…Tracking down numbers from PR accounts is time-consuming and paints an incomplete picture of viewership. It is no secret that networks and other stakeholders are not comfortable with all the data being available, let alone someone tracking it closely. Requests for data have not been answered.”

    • Since 2001 - the average viewership on USA Network. (Does not include Peacock) So, the trend is up on one network, but Peacock has been televising more big matches so until we get that data, is hard to tell what it all means.

      • 354k -- 2021

      • 433k -- 2022

      • 409k -- 2023

      • 426k -- 2024

    • Here’s an interesting look at one specific day, September 20, 2024. Quite a wide range of matches and leagues and gives an idea of how much more the PL is watched in the US.

@HelltownBeer

  • Klopp. The former Liverpool manager surprised some when he announced he will be the Global Head of Soccer for Red Bull starting January 1. Red Bull is a “conglomerate” that includes energy drinks, racing, extreme sports, symphony, television AND soccer.

    • Red Bull Bragantino - Sao Paulo, Brazil

    • RB Leipzig - Germany

    • Red Bull New York - MLS

    • Red Bull Salzberg - Germany

    • Borussia Dortmund fans were not happy, as Klopp’s former German club is rivals with the Red Bull clubs and many traditional soccer clubs are not happy with the model Red Bull employs by owing multiple clubs in different countries.

  • Rides. Wonder what a ‘footballer” drives? Here’s a 2 min video on X of Man City players arriving to a training session. Looks like Mercedes SUV is the popular choice. Did not have Haaland as a VW station wagon owner.

International Comps🥅

EUFA Nation League

Too many matches and groups to explain - but the simple way to say it is there are a bunch of 4 team groups playing to advance in the competition, they have played 4 of 6 matches so far and you can see the tables here Groups | UEFA Nations League | UEFA.com.

Of Note…..

  • England lost, to Greece. As Brady Hoke would say - “Not. Good.”

  • Italy, France and Belgium are all in the same group and looks like Belgium may be the third best team.

  • Germany just keeps winning.

  • Spain sits top of their group but not safe to advance.

  • Norway, Austria and Slovenia are battling it out, all tied at the top of their group.

  • Wales is looking good,

USMNT Friendlies

It’s early, but the vibe of the USMNT is already different. Now if new manager Pochettino can ignore the US Soccer Federation and focus on turning this team into World Cup contenders.

US 2-0 Panama.

Pulisic and Poch

Next Up - US at Mexico in a Friedly in Guadalajara Tuesday night 930 CST on TNT.

Pochettino released 5 players back to their clubs after the match and will be playing a different line-up. This includes Pulisic who will get some “load management”, Weston McKennie, Pepi, Steffan and Fossey are all dealing with minor injuries.

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