Helen Jerome
helenjerome.bsky.social
Helen Jerome
@helenjerome.bsky.social
writing. football - women’s and men’s. theatre. music. film. telly. books. comedy. food. cider. opera. all with a passion. carpe diem
Couple of headlines from LCL presser:
DvD expected back in January.
They're looking for a backup striker in the winter transfer window.
Still aiming for a top four spot in the WSL...
December 12, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Reposted by Helen Jerome
‘Hating soccer is more American than apple pie’: the World Cup nobody wanted the US to host
‘Hating soccer is more American than apple pie’: the World Cup nobody wanted the US to host
Glitzy draws, OJ-era chaos, grass laid over AstroTurf and a host nation that barely cared – the 1994 World Cup arrived amid suspicion and slapstick. Yet it became a watershed that would alter US sport and global football politics alike “The United States was chosen,” the columnist George Vecsey wrote in the New York Times in 1994, “because of all the money to be made here, not because of any soccer prowess. Our country has been rented as a giant stadium and hotel and television studio.” Nobody could seriously doubt that. The USA had played in only two World Cups since the second world war and hadn’t had a national professional league for a decade. And that meant there was a great deal of skepticism from outsiders, even after Fifa made it clear there would be no wacky law changes to try to appeal to the domestic audience: Would anybody actually turn up to watch? But there was also hostility in the United States. A piece in USA Today on the day of the draw told Americans they were right not to care about the World Cup, what it sneeringly described as the biggest sport in “Cameroon, Uruguay and Madagascar”. “Hating soccer,” wrote the columnist Tom Weir, “is more American than mom’s apple pie, driving a pickup or spending Saturday afternoon channel surfing with the remote control.” Excerpted from The Power And The Glory by Jonathan Wilson, copyright © 2025 by Jonathan Wilson. Used with permission of Bold Type Books, an imprint of Basic Books Group, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. Continue reading...
dlvr.it
December 10, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Vibes pretty good at #Chelsea training, ahead of their #UWCL clash with Roma tomorrow. #LucyBronze, Jojo, Hamano and #NaomiGirma in particularly high spirits, especially when playing tag!
December 9, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Good vibes at #AWFC training session this morning, ahead of #Arsenal's Champions League clash with #Twente tomorrow night. #LeahWilliamson looks eager to get back on the Meadow Park turf.
December 8, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Reposted by Helen Jerome
Courtney Brosnan on her favourite save yesterday “The one on the line in the second half off the deflection is probably the favourite!”

Some nice lines in here from Brosnan after her POTM showing, article by @helenjerome.bsky.social of TNWSM
thenewwomenssportmagazine.com/how-to-beat-...
HOW TO BEAT CHELSEA! By the team who finally did it... - The New Women's Sport Magazine
They thought it couldn’t be done…. And having lost every single one of their last eight WSL away games against Chelsea, the odds were stacked against plucky Everton.So how did they finally end Chelsea...
thenewwomenssportmagazine.com
December 8, 2025 at 11:19 AM
⚽ HOW DO YOU BEAT CHELSEA? Everton's Ruby Mace, Courtney Brosnan - and Brian Sorensen - tell us how they did it! thenewwomenssportmagazine.com/how-to-beat-...
HOW TO BEAT CHELSEA! By the team who finally did it... - The New Women's Sport Magazine
They thought it couldn’t be done…. And having lost every single one of their last eight WSL away games against Chelsea, the odds were stacked against plucky Everton.So how did they finally end Chelsea...
thenewwomenssportmagazine.com
December 8, 2025 at 12:11 AM
💪🏽 Also the Ruby Mace and Courtney Brosnan 🧤 factor. And just immense performances from the entire Everton team.
Chelsea 1-0 Everton match stats | WSL 2025-26

Chelsea took 30 shots
-6 on target
-9 blocked
-3 hit the woodwork

Chelsea had 53 crosses, 9 accurate.
Everton made 87 clearances, yeah.

And that's how an unbeaten run comes to an end.
December 7, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Reposted by Helen Jerome
Made a 2026 World Cup schedule, with both local and UK fixture times on it. If that sort of thing is helpful to people.

docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
World Cup Schedule
docs.google.com
December 7, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Reposted by Helen Jerome
‘What’s my life like away from rugby? Chaos’: Red Rose superstar Ellie Kildunne on confidence, cowboy dances and why it’s cool to be different
‘What’s my life like away from rugby? Chaos’: Red Rose superstar Ellie Kildunne on confidence, cowboy dances and why it’s cool to be different
Kildunne is known for her startling speed and audacious tries, but there’s more to the talented full-back than rugby, from a passion for photography to a sideline in DIY tattooing Ellie Kildunne says it’s not quite sunk in yet. A couple of months on from winning the Rugby Union World Cup with her England teammates, she’s still on a high. I ask if she slept with her winner’s medal by her bed the night they won. “That night?” She gives me a look. “It’s still by my bed. Every day. I wake up and the medal’s next to my bed. And it’s, like, as if!” But Kildunne is not resting on her laurels. She says the medal is also a reminder of what’s left to achieve – for her, and for women’s rugby in general. “Your heart’s telling you that you’ve done it, but I need to refocus. So it’s about how can we win the prem, how can we win another Six Nations, more World Cups? How can we keep fans coming to games? We’ve sold out Twickenham, so how do we do it again?” Continue reading...
dlvr.it
December 7, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Reposted by Helen Jerome
Every new word in this sentence is worse than the last
December 6, 2025 at 11:29 PM
🤦🏽‍♀️
Netflix, which rarely carries a single movie from before 1980, wants you to know how thrilled they are to acquire that classic piece of franchise IP, Casablanca
December 6, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Reposted by Helen Jerome
A new Austrian start-up, which has been working with Borussia Dortmund, has developed a way of biologically monitoring players on a daily basis.

This is the story of that development and what it promises for the future.

@theathleticfc.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/athletic/685...
Soccer and saliva analysis: The new front in the battle for marginal gains
A medicinal chemist from Austria had an idea and clubs, including Dortmund, have taken note. But how is saliva used to analyse players?
www.nytimes.com
December 6, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Reposted by Helen Jerome
What we learnt from the Lionesses about the value of pride without prejudice: my Eastern Eye column this week on cricketing & football dramas, and what they can teach us about identity and patriotism
www.easterneye.biz/lionesses-su...
What the Lionesses’ success reveals about unity and diversity in England
Expert says sport serves as a bridge between communities.
www.easterneye.biz
December 4, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Ronaldo’s White House night was a pre-cursor to the political theatre of the draw and a snapshot of so many issues

But the decision on his suspension is viewed of worst things Fifa have done as it cuts to raison d’etre

It messes with sporting integrity

www.independent.co.uk/sport/footba...
Fifa’s bow to Cristiano Ronaldo marks new low in stained reign of Gianni Infantino
The bizarre but unsurprising decision to lift the suspension that should have ruled Ronaldo out of Portugal’s opening World Cup games damages the sporting integrity Fifa is meant to uphold above all e...
www.independent.co.uk
December 4, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Reposted by Helen Jerome
Spotify doesn't respect artists or music lovers.
📢💥 Spotify unwrapped 📢💥 - Liz Pelly on the self-serving myths Spotify's founders have peddled about the history of the company, how the platform negatively impacts musicians, and how Spotify manipulates the listening habits of users:

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...
Spotify unwrapped w/ Liz Pelly
Podcast Episode · Politics Theory Other · 12/03/2025 · 1h 36m
podcasts.apple.com
December 4, 2025 at 11:43 AM
Reposted by Helen Jerome
I used to steal from my first employer but if anyone noticed I’d distract them by dancing like the guy from The Happy Mondays. I eventually got charged with embezzlement.
December 4, 2025 at 10:08 AM
You know it’s a good list when you find you’re arguing with yourself over every single player in the Top 100. 🤷🏻‍♀️
And the top 10 is in!
Thoughts? Agree? Disagree?
Remember, see my earlier post about how the list is created, via combined votes of many judges and every judges list will likely look different to the final outcome.

www.theguardian.com/football/ng-...
The 100 best female footballers in the world 2025 – Nos 100-11
Chloe Kelly, Barbra Banda and Klara Bühl have made it between places 40 and 11 as we continue our countdown to the year’s best players
www.theguardian.com
December 4, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Reposted by Helen Jerome
Here’s my Spotify Wrapped 🎵✨
December 3, 2025 at 4:51 PM
😳 TOO MANY! An interesting hypothetical from @[email protected] - especially when you recall that China 🇨🇳 are ranked 16th (I think) and Ghana 🇬🇭 far below. Which based on this week’s games is nuts 🥜 (Brazil 🇧🇷 nuts)
Wrote something a little different for @thehalfwayline.bsky.social this week!

As I tried to answer the question: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐀 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐂𝐮𝐩 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝟒𝟖 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬?

Projected outcomes came with no shortage of drama...

thehalfwayline.com/2025/12/03/w...
What would a FIFA Women’s World Cup look like with 48 teams? - The Halfway Line
What if the FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil had matched the expanded format that the men's World Cup in 2026 has utilised?
thehalfwayline.com
December 3, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Reposted by Helen Jerome
Don't. Spotify is the devil's lair, a thieving monster conceived, owned and run by a dreadful man who ploughs artists' money into AI and arms manufacturers. Using Spotify is like posting on X. Plenty of alternatives out there. So says a musician who's tried to get his music off that site for yonks.
December 3, 2025 at 5:05 PM
📚 As it's not *yet* been translated into English, the estimable @shlj74.bsky.social has read Sonia Bompastor's autobiography - and given the lowdown on what's inside for @newwomenssportmag.bsky.social
thenewwomenssportmagazine.com/struggles-an...
STRUGGLES AND SUCCESS – Reading Sonia Bompastor’s autobiography - The New Women's Sport Magazine
Sonia Bompastor’s Une Vie de Foot – co-written with memoirist Farid Haroud – is a fascinating autobiography from someone who has witnessed and helped facilitate many changes in women’s football.From e...
thenewwomenssportmagazine.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:06 PM
If you're about to watch #Lionesses take on #Ghana, read all about the Black Stars and Forest star Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah - who starts in the 10 role - in @tom-maher-tm.bsky.social's excellent interview 1/2
thenewwomenssportmagazine.com/dancing-quee...
DANCING QUEEN - Ghana and Forest star Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah speaks - The New Women's Sport Magazine
Nottingham Forest and Ghana forward Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah has had a year to remember, from securing promotion to the WSL to making her Ghana debut and securing the bronze at WAFCON.Boye-Hlorkah spoke...
thenewwomenssportmagazine.com
December 2, 2025 at 6:35 PM