
“It was October 15, 2010, when Fenway Sports Group, then known as New England Sports Ventures, completed its £300million takeover of Liverpool. The debt-ridden Premier League giants had been pulled back from the brink of administration after the destructive reign of Tom Hicks and George Gillett. ‘I am proud and humbled,’ principal owner John W Henry told reporters. ‘I can’t tell you how happy I am. We’re here to win.’ Two days later, Henry and chairman Tom Werner took their seats at Goodison Park to watch Roy Hodgson’s Liverpool lose 2-0 against Everton, with only goal difference keeping them off the bottom of the table. A bleak afternoon opened their eyes to the size of the task ahead. …”
NY Times/The Athletic (Video)

Daily Archives: October 16, 2025
Is this the football you want?
If you tune into any Premier League game this season there is only a 54.7 per cent chance the ball is in play
“Xabi Alonso has never forgotten his introduction to the Premier League. It was a Sunday afternoon in late August 2004 but it was unseasonably cold at Bolton Wanderers’ Reebok Stadium. There was a chill in the air, but for Liverpool’s midfielder, newly arrived from Spain, the real culture shock was what happened on the pitch. … That was the Premier League’s image for many years: long balls, high balls, second balls, corner kicks, free kicks, blood and thunder, thud and blunder. As Jose Mourinho put it during his first spell in charge of Chelsea, England was the only place he had been where corner kicks were greeted almost as feverishly as goals. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
Sunny uplands approaching for Inter Milan

“INTER Milan’s name has never diminished, even in their worst moments. A huge club with giant crowds and a glorious heritage, their finances were best described as a ‘basket case’ in recent years, a chronicle of massive losses, debts and ownership issues. There was a time when one wondered if one of European football’s blue (and black) riband clubs would ever regain their place among the very elite, but there are signs Inter are at least moving in the right circles once more. In 2024-25, Inter reached their second UEFA Champions League final in three years, but Paris Saint-Germain, in thrashing them 5-0, highlighted the difference between a top Italian club and one that has limitless resources. Inter may be on an even keel in terms of being able to compete at home, but the modern game has created behemoths that have become cash generating machines. …”
Game of the People
