1. The timing of Daniel Levy’s exit is very, very strange
There have been multiple points where the Lewis family could easily have justified dismissing Daniel Levy. He oversaw a transfer window with no signings. He fired José Mourinho right before a cup final. He got Spurs involved in the failed Super League. It's not like Levy’s tenure as chairman was a complete success without any shortcomings. Ask any Tottenham fan, and they'll tell you where he should have done better. To remove him now – three games into a season with a new manager – is odd.
Changes needed to happen after last season’s 17th-place finish. Someone needed to decide what those changes were. If Levy wasn't part of the plan moving forward, why allow him to oversee the firing and hiring of managers as well as the summer transfer window? There is a reason teams hire new executives before new coaches, not the other way around. Levy departs with Tottenham in the best position since they walked onto the field in the 2019 Champions League final. In a weird way, it's incredibly fitting.
2. There is a reason unhappy players cause such a stink
Three deals involving Liverpool and Newcastle United were hanging in the balance in the final hours of the transfer window. Alexander Isak got his move from the latter to the former, at least partially because Newcastle were able to replace him with Brentford’s Yoane Wissa. The other deal never happened as Crystal Palace wouldn’t let Marc Guehi leave for Liverpool without making a signing of their own. Isak and Wissa went on strike to force their way out. Guehi played and scored for Palace with his future completely up in the air.
While causing the biggest headache possible doesn’t always work, its success rate is rather impressive. It shifts the leverage from the selling club to the buying one. Newcastle’s choices were to get as much as possible for Isak or try to reintegrate a player who had burned every possible bridge. Palace get to keep their captain for their Conference League campaign even if they lose him for nothing next summer. There’s no easy answer when a player decides to force a move, which is what makes it so effective. It will continue to be a common tactic until clubs come up with a solution.
3. The NWSL has a major issue on its hands
Even five years ago, it would have been hard to see why a player like Alyssa Thompson would ever leave a club like Angel City. She could have spent her entire career in her hometown, competing at the highest level alongside her sister. Maybe she would have gone to Europe on loan at some point for the experience, but it would have been a short-term thing. Instead, she is leaving Angel City for Chelsea before her 21st birthday. Why? That's what the best players do now.
The explosion of the Women's Super League combined with the salary cap structure in the U.S. has created an ecosystem that is rapidly looking more and more like it does on the men's side. Players who want to maximize their earning potential, train in the most challenging environment and play against the world's best have to move to Europe. The National Women's Soccer League cannot compete the way it currently operates. It either needs to accept that and embrace its place in the hierarchy or make the salary cap much less prohibitive.
4. Public perception of the USMNT manager has come full circle
At the end of the 2022 World Cup and the 2023 Copa América, the prevailing narrative among U.S. men’s national team supporters was that Gregg Berhalter was holding back a talented group of players. Mauricio Pochettino was hired to get more out of them. When that didn’t happen, the focus shifted to those players. There were complaints about a lack of intensity and effort that only got louder when Christian Pulisic and others passed on the Gold Cup this summer. Diego Luna became the new fan favorite because there is no need to question his dedication and passion.
Another shift has occurred during this September international window. Pochettino lost again Saturday with yet another experimental squad. He is talking about Real Madrid and saying things like “I can’t score the goals” in interviews with “El Chiringuito.” His behavior and comments come across as those of someone resigned to failure and auditioning for his next club job. The fingers are pointed at Pochettino just like they were at Berhalter, and most of it is his own doing.
5. MLS could – and should – have done more
In 2019, Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber suspended Real Salt Lake head coach Mike Petke three regular-season games for his behavior in a Leagues Cup game against Tigres. He didn't have to create a new precedent to suspend Luis Suárez for some or all of Inter Miami’s remaining MLS games. Spitting at someone typically results in a multi-game absence. Suárez might not miss a single game. If he does, they will come in the Leagues Cup.
It is far from certain Suárez and Sergio Busquets will return to Inter Miami next season. Should they leave Concacaf or retire, their eight games worth of suspension will be left unfulfilled. There would be no consequences for their abhorrent behavior. Limiting the suspensions to Leagues Cup is the cheap way to pretend like this is being taken seriously while not hurting the Herons’ chances of winning trophies. Garber knows exactly what he's doing, and the rest of MLS should be livid about it.