I am quite fascinated by the prospect of Barcelona’s 60m euro summer signing being able to walk away for nothing within the next couple of days, while they remain liable to continue to pay the fee.

New on BTLM: Deceased Eleven 2024. Our year-end imagined team featuring the footballing greats we sadly lost this year. wp.me/p1LMjB-6e9

Always enjoy a great musical find and one of the best bands I’ve discord this year is the Canadian krautrockish You Doo Right. Quite the splendid racket they make!

The value of controlling the narrative: breathless reporting of Liverpool not offering a new Salah contract fails to appreciate this is more than likely them not offering a contract on the likely onerous terms demanded by the player’s agent.

This was one of the most admirable things about the late Tommy Docherty. He played in a golden age with greats like Matthews and Finney, yet he was never stuck in time. He was relentlessly fascinated with modern football & thought Messi was greater than any of his esteemed contemporaries.

New on BTLM: Alex Ferguson's International Odyssey, 1967. Craig Stephen returns with the story of Alex Ferguson's brief, but very eventful Scotland career. wp.me/p1LMjB-6dW