Daily Archives: December 12, 2025

Welcome to the chaotic, warp-speed Premier League season nobody can predict

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Mohamed Salah, Unai Emery and Thomas Frank have already experienced highs and lows
“Do you feel overwhelmed? Like the world is just too fast for you? That life is unmanageable, head-spinning chaos? It could be that you need to make some changes. Clear the diary a bit. Put your phone in a drawer at 9pm every night. No more social media. Drink less coffee and more of those green smoothies that look like a glass of pondwater. Go on a yoga retreat. Or it could be that you’ve been following the 2025-26 Premier League season. Because, oh boy, it feels like this season has been happening at warp speed. The Premier League — most top-level football, really — comes with an inherent sense of rapid change, with narratives lurching violently like an oil tanker caught in a tropical storm. But this campaign has been rocking more dangerously than most. …”
NY Times/The Athletic (Video)

Is Erling Haaland the greatest goalscorer in English football history?

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Jimmy Greaves at Stamford Bridge in 1957
“Erling Haaland is undoubtedly one of English football’s greatest goalscorers, with his feats and achievements since joining Manchester City unparalleled in the Premier League era. In 167 games the Norwegian has scored 145 times in all competitions for City, including 11 hat-tricks (featuring two five-goal hauls) and scoring more than once in a match on 36 occasions. … Of course, the Premier League only began in 1992 when the top flight — which started in 1888 — was rebranded. So how does Haaland compare to the very greatest strikers across the entire history of the game in England? Is he better than inter-war goal machine Dixie Dean? Or how about Jimmy Greaves, a prolific scorer in the 1950s and 1960s? And how many could Haaland end up with if he plays in the country for the rest of his career? The Athletic takes a dive into footballing history to find out. …”
NY Times/The Athletic (Video)

Arsenal, Bayern, PSG and Visit Rwanda sponsorship: ‘We would rather wear anything on our sleeves’

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Rwandan president Paul Kagame and Arsenal fans protesting the Visit Rwanda sponsorship before a match against Paris Saint-Germain.
“Minutes before touching down at Kigali International Airport, a video plays on a RwandAir flight from London. Former Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Jerome Alonzo hits a golf ball that is caught by Keylor Navas, another ex-PSG ‘keeper, who throws it to Lionel Messi. Messi flicks it to Sergio Ramos, who passes to Ander Herrera. It then cuts to the ball flying across Rwanda, showcasing the east African country, before landing on a golf course. The Visit Rwanda promotional video ends with ‘Tee off your next adventure in Rwanda’ alongside the PSG club badge. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Hotel prices in World Cup host cities surge by more than 300% after schedule confirmed

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“Hotels across the United States, Canada and Mexico have hiked prices for rooms by hundreds of dollars per night during the FIFA World Cup in 2026, with an analysis by The Athletic revealing an average increase of more than 300 per cent around opening matches in the 16 host cities. Among the top-line findings is a hotel in Mexico City that costs $157 per night in late May, yet on June 10 and 11, around the World Cup opener between Mexico and South Africa, it is listed at $3,882 on the Marriott Bonvoy app, a 2,373 per cent increase. Following last week’s World Cup draw, The Athletic conducted a study of hotel prices across the host cities and regions where the games will be played. Seventy-five per cent of the World Cup will be played in the United States, with the remaining 25 per cent shared across Canada and Mexico. We analyzed six hotels in or near each city on Monday, Dec. 8. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
NY Times/The Athletic: 2026 World Cup host city winners and losers: Who has the best games?