"This is what player power means: having the money to moan about every tiny thing." Read an excerpt from @plenderleithian.bsky.social's latest book of short soccer fiction, "The Last Amateur and Other Stories" paperback. @mikewoitalla.bsky.social www.socceramerica.com/managing-kid...

A novella completes my new collection ‘The Last Amateur’. A multi-billionaire decides to take the small-town club of his youth to the heights of glory, re-building the stadium where he was a free-scoring teen. Buy at @halcyonpublish1.bsky.social or @wsc.co.uk or @stanchionbooks.bsky.social

‘Britain’s Media Has Let Nigel Farage Reshape Political Journalism’. Another spot-on analysis in @bylinetimes.bsky.social - this time from @jamesbloodworth.bsky.social

Almost a decade on and it only takes one attempt to post a small parcel to the UK from Germany to trigger me into shouting at innocent passers-by, "Fuck fucking Brexit and all the fucking fuck-wits that voted for it!" €17 worth of frustration.

In the penultimate tale of The Last Amateur, 'health product company' VitaHerb's newest recruit is charged with telling the fourth-tier club he's followed all his life that the company will no longer be its sponsor. Buy from: @halcyonpublish1.bsky.social, @wsc.co.uk or @stanchionbooks.bsky.social

The ninth story in my new collection 'The Last Amateur' is about a player "in the shop window" after a decent World Cup. It's time for lunch to discuss the no doubt lucrative future with his eager, pushy agent... Available from @halcyonpublish1.bsky.social, @wsc.co.uk or @stanchionbooks.bsky.social

In the title story to my new collection, Scotland's greatest ever player refuses to go pro or to play for his country, opting instead to help his village team, the Thankerton Swifts, rise up the league pyramid. Available from @halcyonpublish1.bsky.social or @wsc.co.uk or @stanchionbooks.bsky.social

The seventh story in my new collection, The Last Amateur, sees some well-paid pros ask their manager for a well-earned rest. They can't be arsed going to Carlisle in the FA Cup, so give the kids a runout... Available from @halcyonpublish1.bsky.social or @wsc.co.uk or @stanchionbooks.bsky.social

The sixth story in my new collection, The Last Amateur, is about a cult-name, old-school commentator who keeps 'forgetting' to mention his station's fast food sponsor while on air. Available from @halcyonpublish1.bsky.social or @wsc.co.uk or @stanchionbooks.bsky.social

The fifth story in my new collection, The Last Amateur, sees an ex-player with Alzheimer’s making a daily call to an old team-mate to discuss the same dramatic FA Trophy game they both played in some 50 years ago. Buy from: @halcyonpublish1.bsky.social or @wsc.co.uk or @stanchionbooks.bsky.social

The fourth story in my new collection, The Last Amateur, is narrated by a Premier League fan who goes viral at half-time for his 'passionate' reaction to a throw-in call. The book is available from @halcyonpublish1.bsky.social or @wsc.co.uk or @stanchionbooks.bsky.social

In the third story of my new collection, The Last Amateur, a disused city pitch is taken over on weekday afternoons by 27 refugees and their battered ball. Elderly Frank and his dog Sadie become regular spectators. Buy now: @halcyonpublish1.bsky.social or @wsc.co.uk or @stanchionbooks.bsky.social

The second story in my new collection, The Last Amateur, sees a downtrodden former international taking £5k to make the draw for the Scottish Cup semi-finals live on TV. What could possibly go wrong? Available from @halcyonpublish1.bsky.social or @wsc.co.uk or @stanchionbooks.bsky.social

The opening story in my collection The Last Amateur revolves around The Foaming Quart‘s Sunday League team and its two lone supporters - bald-headed Billy (a man of few words, but many hard stares) and his lively girlfriend Sally. Available from @halcyonpublish1.bsky.social or @wsc.co.uk

Remember, every day, what fascism will lead to.

Eggtoplasm #failedbreakfast

Another analogue snapshot. Sundown in Burgundy, August 2025.

This summer (old fart alert) I returned to analogue photography and tried to remember why I ever dropped such a simple, rewarding hobby. Here are some French cows ignoring some French clouds.

Brilliant interview with @labourlewis.bsky.social in the September issue of @bylinetimes.bsky.social (I‘m a couple of issues behind…). Whether you’re on the vague left or the sane left, this magazine is a crucial and absorbing read, every issue.

socceramerica.com/a-soccer-lit.... From socceramerica.com 10:27 PM · Sep 29, 2025

🚨SPECIAL OFFER 🚨 We've got 25 beautifully printed, individually numbered & signed short stories from @plenderleithian.bsky.social available as a bundle with The Last Amateur. Just click 'Flash Fiction bundle' on the listing. They're an absolute treat. halcyonpublishing.co.uk/products/the...

Always a thrill to open up that box of 10 comp copies when your new book‘s published. This looks beautiful thanks to @halcyonpublish1.bsky.social and jacket designer Doug Cheeseman.

Book recommendation - We Were There by Lanre Bakare, which made me realise how largely clueless we were about our own country growing up in Lincolnshire during the 70s and 80s. *****

So tough watching Bayern v Leipzig when you desperately want both teams to lose. When will they finally change the rules to make that possible?

I quit refereeing in May after 17 years, and haven't regretted it for a second. Any time I do, though, I'll just go back and read my old blog posts: refereetales.blogspot.com/2024/06/yet-...

This is now available for pre-order: halcyonpublishing.co.uk/products/the...

Unfortunately FIFA - like the dictators it courts to host its bloated tournaments - does not give a shit what anyone thinks. Time for countries and federations to leave it or abolish it.

Football in a Library #19 For Whom the Ball Rolls By Ian Plenderleith @plenderleithian.bsky.social Love this. Short stories, some about football. You can dip into any page and read a couple of sentences that draw you in and make you want to carry on reading.

I have no connection at all to Crystal Palace, but I think this is my favourite football shirt of all time.

Just went to the bakery. Newspaper on the counter leads with: FROM TOMORROW THE WORLD BECOMES TRUMP AGAIN. My order comes to exactly €6.66…

Anyone lost a football near Woodberry Wetlands in north London?

"This rising international elite is creating something very different: a society in which superstition defeats reason and logic, transparency vanishes, and the nefarious actions of political leaders are obscured behind a cloud of nonsense and distraction." www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

I am visiting the noble nation of England, and can report there is not a tap or a toilet (and possibly a shower) that is less than 200 years old. God bless her colonial-era plumbing.

The same wealthiest clubs dominate and win. Compressive tactics are geared towards results born of speed & athleticism, with diminishing room for character, flair & individuality. @plenderleithian.bsky.social bemoans the state of global soccer and offers hope. www.socceramerica.com/can-soccer-s...

Christmas Day walk: Freital - Lübau - Somsdorf - Freital (Saxony). No wind, clear views, precious silence, mulled wine. Can we do this every day?

Just one clip from an excellent analysis by @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social in the December issue of @bylinetimes.bsky.social about how the democratic left must counter far-right populism:

Delighted these legends could contribute towards what for our money is the best pound-for-pound football coffee table book out there. Get your hardback in time for Christmas: admiralsports.com/products/50-... With less bells & whistles, the paperback is available at most good bookshops.

One of those days when you don't turn on the news because it's always so depressing. You leave the house, referee a 90-minute football game, come home, shower, settle down for a quiet Sunday afternoon. And then discover you've missed a revolution...

I‘d love to meet up Friday night, but I have to stay in and wash my vinyl.

This Christmas, treat someone you love (or who needs their perspective on football re-modelling) to a book by the world's undisputed best and funniest football cartoonist:

This week's @socceramerica.bsky.social column - dissecting FIFA's evaluation of the Saudi Arabia bid for the 2034 World Cup, and the body's disingenuous interpretation of its own human rights guidelines: www.socceramerica.com/fifas-saudi-...

A short but poetic guide to good parenting:

Don’t feed the billionaires.

My review of the excellent 'States of Play' by @migueldelaney.bsky.social www.socceramerica.com/soccers-way-...

If you see this, repost a favourite photo of the sky you've taken recently

While tracking down ex-Twitter followers on my Bluesky debut day, I've been listening to this mesmerising composition by Jules Reidy: julesreidy.bandcamp.com/album/instan...