Pondering where I’d need to finish this season to become a Fantasy EFL influencer*…

A 30 second "spoiler delay" for score alert notifications has apparently been a thing on the MLB app for years. In a world where live sport is increasingly consumed via streaming platforms I hope this is soon a more common feature everywhere.

Golf, but you’re naming Premier League footballers to progress your ball towards the hole. 1 PL goal = 1 yard An exact shot required to make the final putt. It’s Wordle, but for people who’ve watched Premier League years too many times. And I am obsessed.

"The rewards of golf and of life too, I expect, are worth very little if you don't play the game by the etiquette as well as by the rules." - Bobby Jones

Hunkering down ahead of a busy few days. Sat: Oldham Athletic v Barnet (L2) (Sky Sports+) Sun: Southampton v Sunderland (WSL2) (YouTube) Tue: Notts County v Barnsley (EFLT) (Sky Sports+) If anyone needs me, I'll be in a spreadsheet.

Why is there no way to dismiss the list of emails in the Mail app on iPadOS 26? Reading newsletters with a third of screen real estate gobbled up like this is rubbish. (And yes, I have some excellent @sheffieldtribune.bsky.social reporting to catch up on.)

Every once in a while I marvel for a moment at this chart for the ages from The Economist. It further defies credibility with each passing year.

Refereeing is at its highest standard in the history of the game. It only feels like the opposite is true because this week’s controversy is more present in the mind than long forgotten debacles of the past.

A wonderful lament on the state of football team sheet graphics, and why the majority of them are so bad.

Lisa Nandy was asked about Sheffield Wednesday during her DCMS select committee appearance. Said she’s “extremely concerned” by Chansiri’s refusal to invest in club or sell it. Strongly hinted regulator will seize club & force a sale if not resolved. From 11:09… www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/...

An astonishing statistic from @bladespod.bsky.social. Sheffield United Women haven't won a home league game for 534 days. There must be an example, but I'm struggling to think of a worse run than that...

Bluesky finally has a bookmarks feature 🙏

All set for two promotion contenders going head to head from the off in WSL2. You can watch every WSL2 match on YouTube this season. Do join us. Kick-off at 14.00.

In position at Meadow Lane. Notts County and Fleetwood Town have scored in every game so far this season. Find out if I’ve jinxed that on Sky Sports+ from 14.50

Morning - the #WSL2 season starts on Friday with United getting things underway against Sunderland at Bramall Lane. I wrote a season preview here, along with predictions for who's going up, down and everything in between: womenofsteel.substack.com/p/wsl-season... #WSL #Woso #bskyblades

Added together, Sunderland's Premier League points totals in 2002/03 (19) and 2005/06 (15) would not have been enough to save them from relegation in either campaign.

Going to see how I get on in FPL season whilst only allowing myself to pick players who’ve made at least one appearance in the EFL. Currently fretting I’ve missed someone really obvious.

Managed to have some time to think about the #CPFC decision. Three thoughts: 1. The 1 March deadline is rubbish, particularly when considering the prospect of clubs competing in #UEFA competitions for the first time or after a long time. The FA Cup R5 didn’t take place until c. 1 March 2025.

Review of Leicester City's finances and PSR position. Largely based on the latest available financial results from 2023/24, which are obviously now a year out of date, but a good indicator of what awaits them after relegation to the Championship #LCFC

Still hasn’t been bettered.

Beyond excited to introduce my project for the 2025-26 season: On The Road. - 60 long reads - 60 matches - 60 reasons to be there From non-league to Premier League, England and beyond, starting this weekend with Sheffield Wednesday. Launch piece is here ⬇️ inews.co.uk/sport/footba...

It feels like the appropriate time of year to remind anyone concerned about pre-season results that Leicester City drew 1-1 at Mansfield Town the summer before they won the Premier League.

Supporting an England football team that actually wins things is going to take a little getting used to.

Here's Emma Hayes' column for @theguardian.com on the #WEuro2025 final, England's toughest test yet, and whether or not their 'finishers' should start. Plus, Hayes assesses Spain's counter-pressing, their set-pieces and Bonmati's positioning. #Lionesses www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Lucy Bronze on how she decided to blast her penalty down the middle (and score). “Statistically it’s risky for the goal keeper to stand still… so yeah, I love maths”.

Proper England, that.

This could be very enlightening. Well worth taking a few minutes.

I am continuing to refresh the squad retention graphics on a weekly-ish basis: www.experimental361.com/p/squad-rete... Leyton Orient now without 7 of their 8 most-used players from last season.

a scream with no vowels www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/j...

Some players had success against the greats by engaging in the dark arts. Robin Soderling rattled Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2007 by mocking his slow play & habit of fiddling with his underwear. Two years later, he became the first man to beat Nadal at Roland Garros. @cdeccleshare.bsky.social

Following on from the Premier League versions last week, here are fixture difficulty grids for the three EFL divisions: www.experimental361.com/p/analysing-...

Trying out another new template: recalculating the league table after each minute of play to show when teams performed relatively well (and not so well). Each mini-chart highlights an interesting cut-off for a team. Full explanation via the link: www.experimental361.com/p/minute-by-...

“Marge, can you set the oven to cold?”

For those on here who enjoy photos of football and people watching football... From Penmaenmawr to Poprad; a photographic round up of how I watched football, the season just gone. popularstandfanzine.com/2025/06/15/h...

Leicester City have nowhere to hide this summer. The overspend on wages, the poor recruitment, the strategic failings - supporters deserve to learn how recovery will be planned. inews.co.uk/sport/footba...

Check Engine xkcd.com/3096/

Look, it’s not the story, but the way stoppage time has gone from being dogmatically enforced at the start of the season before last to just a vibe in the Champions League final is quite something.

Daniel deserves all the awards he's surely got coming for what has been an incredible season of work.

The year is 1986, and the latest "foodie craze" is brown bread...

NEW with @simonkuper.bsky.social: The prevailing narrative around increased injuries and player workload in elite football is wrong. Players don’t play any more football than in the past. What has changed is a sharp rise in intensity of play. Not more minutes, but each minute exerts more load.

This is an excellent read, though be warned of second-hand anxiety over a £35k restaurant bill near the end.

Having a chuckle to myself at Usain Bolt flogging a laundry detergent that gets rid of “invisible dirt”, a marketing premise which formed the basis of a joke radio ad in 1996 game Sim Copter. “If you can’t see it, how do you know it’s gone?” youtu.be/y-hYTD4pAXU?...

You have to say that’s magnificent.

I wrote about the semi-abusive relationship between Sheffield and the snooker for @sheffieldtribune.bsky.social if anyone knows Barry Hearn... www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/end-the-snoo...

NB: All businesses everywhere. If you didn’t hear from me, it was fine.

A great read this. @rsooty73.bsky.social’s piece on Wrexham’s leap to the Championship is full of brilliant details, including the owners taking out insurance to help cover the cost of promotion bonuses.

An astonishing sentence that stopped me in my tracks this morning. “The Vietnam Veterans Memorial stretches for 400 feet. One built for non-Americans lost with the same density of names would stretch for nearly five miles.”

Happy Easter! (I am a child.)

What are the odds? 5000-1?