Jake Weatherald played for Great Witchingham in the East Anglian Premier League last year. Now he could open for Australia in the Ashes. Spoke to his captain there about mentality, giving teammates bollockings & taking Monty Panesar clothes shopping. www.nytimes.com/athletic/678...

Ange Postecoglou has been sacked from two Premier League jobs in four months, so it's easy to forget why some people are so enthusiastic about him. This is a piece looking at why he's still loved, and why he represents the 'outsider' in football. www.nytimes.com/athletic/676...

Ange Postecoglou has been sacked from two Premier League jobs in four months, so it's easy to forget why some people are so enthusiastic about him. This is a piece looking at why he's still loved, and why he represents the 'outsider' in football. www.nytimes.com/athletic/676...

THE FOOTBALL CLICHES PODCAST 🔊 Niche references in FA Cup penalty shootouts 🔊 The best-ever use of the Elis James Crowd Noise 🔊 The lineal "Great Entertainers" title! 🔊 Could there ever be a sacking-free Premier League season? 🔊 MORE @davidcameronwalker.bsky.social @nickmiller79.bsky.social

This is just a fantastic story and brilliant piece of writing, by @bfquinn.bsky.social, about how The National's Matt Berninger started writing his lyrics on baseballs www.nytimes.com/athletic/675...

The return of the long throw adds theatre and goals. But it also brings delays and more time when the ball is not in play. Does something need to be done? A countdown clock is one solution that has been discussed by football's lawmakers this week. ✍️ @nickmiller79.bsky.social 📝 bit.ly/4hSBwFH

Long throws are taking a lot of time out of the game. More than ten mins have been lost in some matches as teams limber up. Can anything actually be done? Should there be a ‘throw-in clock’? Is it even really a problem? A piece looking at all of that www.nytimes.com/athletic/675...

The revelation that hundreds of match officials have been placing thousands of bets on football has shocked Turkey. We examine what has been exposed, what the implications could be and why this matters in a country where refereeing was already a hot topic. @nickmiller79.bsky.social bit.ly/4oKuB3x

My god, the sheer relief of reading a piece by someone who knows something about this football match and didn't just learn to spell Maccabi two days ago www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Going to the dentist tomorrow. Need a filling. It’s not going to be pleasant, but it’s necessary after a series of unwise decisions meant something more serious & unfixable could happen without action being taken. Anyway, good luck to Sean Dyche as new Nottingham Forest manager

How did it come to this? Piece from #NFFC, on a brilliant atmosphere pissed away in six weeks, Postecoglou & a drift into apathy. www.nytimes.com/athletic/672...

THE FOOTBALL CLICHES PODCAST 🔊 The Cape Verdean Dan Burn 🔊 FIFA regulations on pitch-invading animals 🔊 Thomas Tuchel & the Torrent of Sarcasm 🔊 If football clichés were films 🔊 The Communication XI 🔊 Richard Keys in Dream Team 🔊 AND MORE @cdeccleshare.bsky.social @nickmiller79.bsky.social

Cape Verde are going to the World Cup. The planning to ensure this happened, the diaspora, the distances people travelled to be there, the celebrations & the life-affirming joy. All of that & more in my piece from an incredible few days in Praia. www.nytimes.com/athletic/671...

Cape Verde are going to the World Cup. The planning to ensure this happened, the diaspora, the distances people travelled to be there, the celebrations & the life-affirming joy. All of that & more in my piece from an incredible few days in Praia. www.nytimes.com/athletic/671...

When England face Wales, each player will walk out accompanied by adult mascots, all of whom have dementia. @nickmiller79.bsky.social speaks to those involved in a campaign to raise awareness about a condition that the Alzheimer's Society says will affect one in three people born in the UK today.

Wondering who those people accompanying the players onto the pitch are? They’re 22 people living with Alzheimer’s/dementia. Here are the stories of three of them, & the work they do with the @alzheimerssoc.bsky.social t.co/6V0NT2RLj8

England & Wales will be led out tonight not by the usual kids as mascots, but by 22 people living with dementia & Alzheimer's. This is the story of three of them. They talked about what it means to them & the brilliant work the @alzheimerssoc.bsky.social do. www.nytimes.com/athletic/669...

Hello! The Guardian is expanding our American soccer coverage. In the US, we're hiring: • Reporters • Asst. editor • Audience editor • Social video producer • Sports biz reporter These are all full-time, permanent, union positions. www.theguardian.com/gnm-press-of...

'Premier League, corrupt as fuck' seems to have become a default reaction for some fans whenever anything goes against them. Some do believe it literally. But many don't: it's more a form of protest at a time when fans are often powerless. Piece here ⬇️ www.nytimes.com/athletic/665...

The Indian Super League season should start next month. But it isn't going to, & nobody currently knows when it will, because of contractual issues between the FA & the league. A court decision tomorrow may clear things up...or make them more complicated. www.nytimes.com/athletic/656...

A while ago, a bloke I know lost a button from a shirt. His reaction was to throw the shirt away. Sewing on the spare button provided simply hadn't occurred to him. Anyway, here's a piece on Enzo Maresca (& other managers) demanding more & more transfers www.nytimes.com/athletic/656...

Was on @TheAthleticFC pod with @aakinwo.bsky.social , @jonmackenzie.bsky.social & @cweatherspoon.bsky.social to talk about the three promoted clubs, whether they will all go down again & who could stop them. pod.fo/e/313870

Any idea who Palace are talking about here?

THE FOOTBALL CLICHES PODCAST 🔊 Welcome to Conor Coady, Wrexham 🔊 Astonishing scenes in the edit history of Jimmy Greaves’ Wikipedia page 🔊 The alphabetical distribution of Europe's pre-embryonic top five league tables 🔊 Textbook Townsend @davidcameronwalker.bsky.social @nickmiller79.bsky.social

Recording FOOTBALL CLICHES with @davidcameronwalker.bsky.social & @nickmiller79.bsky.social on Wednesday... Let's have your niche footballing correspondence, obscure lines of questioning, football-linguistic posers and anything else on your mind for the midweek Adjudication Panel. Cheers!

Recording FOOTBALL CLICHES with @davidcameronwalker.bsky.social & @nickmiller79.bsky.social on Monday... Still wading through a week's worth of DMs, but please do get in touch with your niche questions, obscure observations, footballers' names in things and any other recent curiosities. Cheers!

COMING SOON! I am launching my own YouTube Channel 💥 - Match reaction - Tactical breakdowns - Q&As - Previews - Opinion - BTS content www.youtube.com/@AdrianClark... If you want to subscribe use the link ⬆️

Shock, grief, guilt, eventually thinking about football and admin: this is what happens at a football club when a player passes away. www.nytimes.com/athletic/648...

FIFA not bothering with any anti-discrimination messaging at the World Cup is bleak but completely predictable. If you can’t trust them to promote what they say they believe, then what’s the point? www.nytimes.com/athletic/643...

Gianni Infantino claimed that the Club World Cup, which starts tomorrow, will feature the best teams in the world. But that isn't true, & highlights the inherent flaws in the whole endeavour. This could be a bit of a mess. www.nytimes.com/athletic/640...

Gianni Infantino claimed that the Club World Cup, which starts tomorrow, will feature the best teams in the world. But that isn't true, & highlights the inherent flaws in the whole endeavour. This could be a bit of a mess. www.nytimes.com/athletic/640...

Austria Salzburg, the club that formed from the debris of Red Bull’s first entry into football, got promoted to the second tier today. Here’s a piece from 2023 on them. It’s not been a straight road, but they’re some of the best people I’ve ever covered. www.nytimes.com/athletic/490...

THE FOOTBALL CLICHES PODCAST 🔊 The England/World Cup news cycle BEGINS 🔊 Football 🤝 Classical music, ft. Cristiano Ronaldo & Dan Walker 🔊 At what point can a game be declared as “end-to-end”? 🔊 Lionel Messi eating crisps in the pub 🔊 MORE @cdeccleshare.bsky.social @nickmiller79.bsky.social

Scott McTominay won Serie A last week & has had the time of his life since. Last year he sometimes couldn't get a game ahead of Sofyan Amrabat, now he's meeting the Pope. A piece on his long, boozy, joyous celebrations & why he deserves his moment so much www.nytimes.com/athletic/638...

THE FOOTBALL CLICHES PODCAST 🔊 The art of the double guard of honour 🔊 The most “have it on DVD and never watch it” game of all time 🔊 Rugby-sounding footballers 🔊 The greatest saga in investigative football podcasting history? 🔊 MORE @davidcameronwalker.bsky.social @nickmiller79.bsky.social

Jose Mourinho’s first season at Fenerbahce hasn’t gone to plan. Managers who fail there usually barely get one season, never mind a second. But he’s staying. For now. Probably. A piece on why, feat. apathy, Turkish football politics & South Park-esque cartoons www.nytimes.com/athletic/637...

This is a remarkable piece of writing. Stylishly written but devastating as well. You can infer the theme from the title and standfirst so take that as a content warning and give it time or space if you’re likely to be affected by the subject. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Jose Mourinho’s first season at Fenerbahce hasn’t gone to plan. Managers who fail there usually barely get one season, never mind a second. But he’s staying. For now. Probably. A piece on why, feat. apathy, Turkish football politics & South Park-esque cartoons www.nytimes.com/athletic/637...

UEFA has been accused of “disproportionately excluding” disabled fans from Wednesday’s Europa League final between Manchester United and Tottenham. More from @nickmiller79.bsky.social

These are the early stories of the Nottingham Forest players who now stand on the cusp of history. Told by those who scouted them, or were there at the very start. @dtathletic.bsky.social, @nickmiller79.bsky.social & @nottmtails.bsky.social 🔗 www.nytimes.com/athletic/633...

This is a special Forest team. The best in 30 years, at least. To celebrate that, @nottmtails.bsky.social, @dtathletic.bsky.social & I found the people that found them: the scouts/coaches that first spotted these #NFFC players & gave them their first chances as kids. www.nytimes.com/athletic/633...

▪️ The 2,500-1 bet that should thrill every neutral ▪️ Are #MCFC really in danger of missing out on the Champions League? ▪️ Jamie Vardy signing off in the most Jamie Vardy way imaginable The big weekend football talking points, as dissected by @nickmiller79.bsky.social

Previously Hill Dickinson’s primary claim to fame was defending White Star Line after the Titanic sank. If you’re a fan of omens.

Proper 'finding new bruises in four days time' celebrations at Sunderland. Lovely stuff.

Been mulling over what the new WSL branding reminds me of. Have settled on 'second tier late 90s techno compilation cover art'

An absolutely sensational second mention

In celebration Bodo/Glimt, 1.FC Koln, Colo-Colo, Westward Ho! Athletic (RIP) and the other football teams that have punctuation in their names. www.nytimes.com/athletic/631...

In celebration Bodo/Glimt, 1.FC Koln, Colo-Colo, Westward Ho! Athletic (RIP) and the other football teams that have punctuation in their names. www.nytimes.com/athletic/631...

A lot can change in a season. Just ask Gianluigi Donnarumma. When PSG lost to Arsenal in October, the Italian was a liability. On Tuesday, as he starred in his team's win over Arsenal in London, Donnarumma was labelled 'a titan' by Luis Enrique. ✍️ @nickmiller79.bsky.social 🔗 bit.ly/4325Uq6