Rory Smith
@rorysmith.bsky.social
The Observer, Men In Blazers, the Monday Night Club, Libero. Author of "Mister" and "Expected Goals."
This is a story I’ve been wanting to write for ages. It’s about how a generation of fans have brought the ultra movement to Scotland, and what that says about fandom, connection and friendship in a world where so much of life is digital observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
‘It is an identity’: The march of the Scottish ultras | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 29, 2025 at 11:56 AM
This is a story I’ve been wanting to write for ages. It’s about how a generation of fans have brought the ultra movement to Scotland, and what that says about fandom, connection and friendship in a world where so much of life is digital observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
I am terrible at actively promoting my work these days, but I am determined to find a way to be better. So let's start with this, a column for @meninblazers.bsky.social on Jude Bellingham
the-correspondent-rory-smith-newsletter.beehiiv.com/p/jude-belli...
the-correspondent-rory-smith-newsletter.beehiiv.com/p/jude-belli...
The Unknowable Superstar 🏴
Rory Smith Judge Bellingham's contentious England career and the end of PSR.
the-correspondent-rory-smith-newsletter.beehiiv.com
November 28, 2025 at 5:03 PM
I am terrible at actively promoting my work these days, but I am determined to find a way to be better. So let's start with this, a column for @meninblazers.bsky.social on Jude Bellingham
the-correspondent-rory-smith-newsletter.beehiiv.com/p/jude-belli...
the-correspondent-rory-smith-newsletter.beehiiv.com/p/jude-belli...
Because he’s a proper journalist, @shteyngart.bsky.social twice spent a week watching Russian state TV to get a sense of how media constructs our reality.
I did the same, on a budget and various other professional commitments, with Real Madrid TV. It was weird.
observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
I did the same, on a budget and various other professional commitments, with Real Madrid TV. It was weird.
observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
Don’t believe your eyes – inside Real Madrid’s world of a...
Is the club’s TV channel harmless propaganda, or something more sinister?
observer.co.uk
October 26, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Because he’s a proper journalist, @shteyngart.bsky.social twice spent a week watching Russian state TV to get a sense of how media constructs our reality.
I did the same, on a budget and various other professional commitments, with Real Madrid TV. It was weird.
observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
I did the same, on a budget and various other professional commitments, with Real Madrid TV. It was weird.
observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
I know everyone hates the international break, and that qualifiers seem like a procession of pointless games with an obvious conclusion. But that is only the view from the world's major nations. And football isn't just for the major nations. (Even if it feels like it) observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
The joy of qualifying belongs to the few, not the powerful
The Faroe Islands prove that while qualifying may be imperfect, it remains the beating heart of international football
observer.co.uk
October 15, 2025 at 12:27 PM
I know everyone hates the international break, and that qualifiers seem like a procession of pointless games with an obvious conclusion. But that is only the view from the world's major nations. And football isn't just for the major nations. (Even if it feels like it) observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
A test for whether Bluesky is a healthier environment than Twitter: I broke my own self-imposed rule and wrote about football in Glasgow. I think the toxicity of the Old Firm/Glasgow derby is holding BOTH clubs back. I say this with love. observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
Russell Martin caught in ferocity of Old Firm’s unhealthy...
Rangers manager’s methods need time but that is one thing that Glasgow’s derby pressure never allows
observer.co.uk
September 20, 2025 at 7:15 PM
A test for whether Bluesky is a healthier environment than Twitter: I broke my own self-imposed rule and wrote about football in Glasgow. I think the toxicity of the Old Firm/Glasgow derby is holding BOTH clubs back. I say this with love. observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
Reposted by Rory Smith
The Champions League league phase is underway and Matchday 1 concludes tonight. But does is the new format conducive to more exciting games? @jonawils.bsky.social explains:
September 18, 2025 at 12:48 PM
The Champions League league phase is underway and Matchday 1 concludes tonight. But does is the new format conducive to more exciting games? @jonawils.bsky.social explains:
Reposted by Rory Smith
New Libero
Welcome back to the Champions League! Can anyone challenge PSG this year?
@jonawils.bsky.social
@jameshorncastle.bsky.social
@jackpittbrooke.bsky.social
pod.fo/e/32b5f5
Welcome back to the Champions League! Can anyone challenge PSG this year?
@jonawils.bsky.social
@jameshorncastle.bsky.social
@jackpittbrooke.bsky.social
pod.fo/e/32b5f5
Libero: Libero 053: The Things That Matter As The Champions League Returns
The Champions League is back. Or more specifically, the league phase, which starts with matchday one spread over the course of this week.On today’s episode, Jack Pitt-Brooke, James Horncastle and...
pod.fo
September 16, 2025 at 5:38 AM
New Libero
Welcome back to the Champions League! Can anyone challenge PSG this year?
@jonawils.bsky.social
@jameshorncastle.bsky.social
@jackpittbrooke.bsky.social
pod.fo/e/32b5f5
Welcome back to the Champions League! Can anyone challenge PSG this year?
@jonawils.bsky.social
@jameshorncastle.bsky.social
@jackpittbrooke.bsky.social
pod.fo/e/32b5f5
Reposted by Rory Smith
The Correspondent Newsletter has FLOWN 📫
This week, @rorysmith.bsky.social touches on:
🤔 The PL's 20 most interesting players
💙 A Grealish for the Labubu generation
🌳 The English top-flight's wildest owner
🤍 Why Spurs fans might miss Daniel Levy
READ IT HERE: mibcourage.co/4gkf9b3
This week, @rorysmith.bsky.social touches on:
🤔 The PL's 20 most interesting players
💙 A Grealish for the Labubu generation
🌳 The English top-flight's wildest owner
🤍 Why Spurs fans might miss Daniel Levy
READ IT HERE: mibcourage.co/4gkf9b3
September 11, 2025 at 4:37 PM
The Correspondent Newsletter has FLOWN 📫
This week, @rorysmith.bsky.social touches on:
🤔 The PL's 20 most interesting players
💙 A Grealish for the Labubu generation
🌳 The English top-flight's wildest owner
🤍 Why Spurs fans might miss Daniel Levy
READ IT HERE: mibcourage.co/4gkf9b3
This week, @rorysmith.bsky.social touches on:
🤔 The PL's 20 most interesting players
💙 A Grealish for the Labubu generation
🌳 The English top-flight's wildest owner
🤍 Why Spurs fans might miss Daniel Levy
READ IT HERE: mibcourage.co/4gkf9b3
This week's @meninblazers.bsky.social newsletter tries to explore how transfer culture got bigger than actual football, and what that means for how we interact with players, how we watch the game, and who we are as fans.
the-correspondent-rory-smith-newsletter.beehiiv.com/p/transfer-w...
the-correspondent-rory-smith-newsletter.beehiiv.com/p/transfer-w...
The Triumph of Transfer Culture 📊
Rory Smith on the 24/7 game happening off the pitch.
the-correspondent-rory-smith-newsletter.beehiiv.com
September 4, 2025 at 4:15 PM
This week's @meninblazers.bsky.social newsletter tries to explore how transfer culture got bigger than actual football, and what that means for how we interact with players, how we watch the game, and who we are as fans.
the-correspondent-rory-smith-newsletter.beehiiv.com/p/transfer-w...
the-correspondent-rory-smith-newsletter.beehiiv.com/p/transfer-w...
I’d been fascinated by a mystery all summer. It was an itch I had to scratch. A question burning in my brain.
Was…was Indy Kaila now a legitimate news source?
An investigation into the man/men/myth legend who has dominated this transfer (gossip) window. observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
Was…was Indy Kaila now a legitimate news source?
An investigation into the man/men/myth legend who has dominated this transfer (gossip) window. observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
The myth and mystery of Indy Kaila: the X account that ‘w...
For 13 years an anonymous social media account has posted transfer gossip to the delight – and despair – of fans
observer.co.uk
August 22, 2025 at 2:33 PM
I’d been fascinated by a mystery all summer. It was an itch I had to scratch. A question burning in my brain.
Was…was Indy Kaila now a legitimate news source?
An investigation into the man/men/myth legend who has dominated this transfer (gossip) window. observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
Was…was Indy Kaila now a legitimate news source?
An investigation into the man/men/myth legend who has dominated this transfer (gossip) window. observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
As of today, I am back in the newslettering game, thanks to the lovely people at Men In Blazers. If you -- yes, you -- want to read the first one, and get a free map, then you should enter your email and no other personal details here. the-correspondent-rory-smith-newsletter.beehiiv.com/subscribe
The Correspondent w/ Rory Smith
A look at the places, history, humanity, and flavors that make football that most interesting of obsessions.
the-correspondent-rory-smith-newsletter.beehiiv.com
August 14, 2025 at 9:14 AM
As of today, I am back in the newslettering game, thanks to the lovely people at Men In Blazers. If you -- yes, you -- want to read the first one, and get a free map, then you should enter your email and no other personal details here. the-correspondent-rory-smith-newsletter.beehiiv.com/subscribe
We’ve now done two @liberopodcast.bsky.social episodes on whether football has grown too big for its own good. The first is mainly about why it is that one sport grew so much, so fast, in the 1990s. pod.fo/e/2f5917
Libero: Libero 032: Jesus Had a 2,000-Year Headstart On Ronaldo
This episode was recorded before the tragic news about the death of Diogo Jota and his brother.Jack Pitt-Brooke, Rory Smith and, eventually (18:41), James Horncastle try to get their heads around t...
pod.fo
July 9, 2025 at 12:16 PM
We’ve now done two @liberopodcast.bsky.social episodes on whether football has grown too big for its own good. The first is mainly about why it is that one sport grew so much, so fast, in the 1990s. pod.fo/e/2f5917
PSG have won the Champions League, at long last, and all it took was eight managers, 14 years, £2bn in transfer fees, more in wages, one hyperinflationary spiral and the complete restricting of European football. Easy to love the team. Less so the project. observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
Paris St-Germain complete their long journey to supreme prize | The Observer
Inter Milan swept away as French champions run up record-breaking score in Munich
observer.co.uk
June 1, 2025 at 7:13 AM
PSG have won the Champions League, at long last, and all it took was eight managers, 14 years, £2bn in transfer fees, more in wages, one hyperinflationary spiral and the complete restricting of European football. Easy to love the team. Less so the project. observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
Absolutely delighted to be writing, as well as talking, for @meninblazers.bsky.social. Newsletter will go out every Thursday, and you can read the first one — about Lautaro Martinez, and how we judge players — and sign up here: mibcourage.co/4kDA7CG
The Champions League Final Is Here 🏆
Rory Smith on the disrespect of Lautaro Martínez, Inter Milan and PSG's first-ever meeting, and the best brezels in Munich.
mibcourage.co
May 29, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Absolutely delighted to be writing, as well as talking, for @meninblazers.bsky.social. Newsletter will go out every Thursday, and you can read the first one — about Lautaro Martinez, and how we judge players — and sign up here: mibcourage.co/4kDA7CG
Reposted by Rory Smith
Talking Saturday's Champions League final with two of the biggest Premfaces out there, @jameshorncastle.bsky.social and @rorysmith.bsky.social. On today's @liberopodcast.bsky.social
podfollow.com/libero/episo...
podfollow.com/libero/episo...
Libero: Libero 021: Champions League Final, Premface Edition
Today on Libero Jack Pitt-Brooke, Rory Smith and James Horncastle look forward to Saturday’s Champions League final between Paris Saint Germain and Inter Milan.First up is the question of what ac...
podfollow.com
May 29, 2025 at 6:29 AM
Talking Saturday's Champions League final with two of the biggest Premfaces out there, @jameshorncastle.bsky.social and @rorysmith.bsky.social. On today's @liberopodcast.bsky.social
podfollow.com/libero/episo...
podfollow.com/libero/episo...
Reposted by Rory Smith
Dispatches from Libero's Bilbao Bureau bring word of an all-English final that was not the greatest advert for the 'Best League in the World™', so instead @jameshorncastle.bsky.social, @brewin.bsky.social and @rorysmith.bsky.social discuss the Italian perspective on football in 2025
Libero: Libero 019: The James Horncastle Origin Story
Dispatches from the Libero's Bilbao Bureau bring word of an all-English European final that was not the greatest advert for the 'Best League in the World™', so instead James Horncastle, John Brew...
pod.fo
May 23, 2025 at 7:02 AM
Dispatches from Libero's Bilbao Bureau bring word of an all-English final that was not the greatest advert for the 'Best League in the World™', so instead @jameshorncastle.bsky.social, @brewin.bsky.social and @rorysmith.bsky.social discuss the Italian perspective on football in 2025
The only time most of us engage with motorbike racing is when someone dies. I’d always wondered how they managed to race on when they’d lost a friend and a colleague. But I didn’t understand how being so conscious of death changes the way you interact with it. observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
Inside the world of Superbikes: ‘It is not a job or a hobby. It is a life’ | The Observer
Two deaths a fortnight ago have failed to dispel the turbocharged allure of the motorsport for riders
observer.co.uk
May 19, 2025 at 4:37 PM
The only time most of us engage with motorbike racing is when someone dies. I’d always wondered how they managed to race on when they’d lost a friend and a colleague. But I didn’t understand how being so conscious of death changes the way you interact with it. observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
Reposted by Rory Smith
Carlo and Caipirinhas. An Italian in Brazil. The cultural moment. And what he has left for Xabi in Madrid with @rorysmith.bsky.social and @brewin.bsky.social
pod.fo/e/2d51b2
pod.fo/e/2d51b2
Libero: Libero 016: Don Carlo
On today’s episode of Libero, Rory Smith, John Brewin and James Horncastle wonder whether anyone not named Carlo Ancelotti can make sense of the modern Real Madrid, and assess the prospects for X...
pod.fo
May 14, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Carlo and Caipirinhas. An Italian in Brazil. The cultural moment. And what he has left for Xabi in Madrid with @rorysmith.bsky.social and @brewin.bsky.social
pod.fo/e/2d51b2
pod.fo/e/2d51b2
Reposted by Rory Smith
New Libero.
What are the secrets of Bodo/Glimt and can their success be easily emulated?
And a look at Liverpool’s title celebration at Anfield. What does it mean for the fans, Arne Slot and FSG?
@rorysmith.bsky.social @brewin.bsky.social @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social
pod.fo/e/2ce9a4
What are the secrets of Bodo/Glimt and can their success be easily emulated?
And a look at Liverpool’s title celebration at Anfield. What does it mean for the fans, Arne Slot and FSG?
@rorysmith.bsky.social @brewin.bsky.social @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social
pod.fo/e/2ce9a4
Libero: Libero 012: Marathon Wolf Hall Sessions
Today’s episode starts with a look to the Arctic circle, where Bodo/Glimt have become one of the best stories in European football this decade. The small club from northern Norway have won four o...
pod.fo
April 30, 2025 at 8:49 AM
New Libero.
What are the secrets of Bodo/Glimt and can their success be easily emulated?
And a look at Liverpool’s title celebration at Anfield. What does it mean for the fans, Arne Slot and FSG?
@rorysmith.bsky.social @brewin.bsky.social @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social
pod.fo/e/2ce9a4
What are the secrets of Bodo/Glimt and can their success be easily emulated?
And a look at Liverpool’s title celebration at Anfield. What does it mean for the fans, Arne Slot and FSG?
@rorysmith.bsky.social @brewin.bsky.social @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social
pod.fo/e/2ce9a4
Reposted by Rory Smith
PSG v Manchester City: who has the better strategy?
@rorysmith.bsky.social and @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social on the new episode of Libero.
@rorysmith.bsky.social and @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social on the new episode of Libero.
April 25, 2025 at 7:10 PM
PSG v Manchester City: who has the better strategy?
@rorysmith.bsky.social and @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social on the new episode of Libero.
@rorysmith.bsky.social and @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social on the new episode of Libero.
Reposted by Rory Smith
New Libero.
Talking Paris Saint-Germain and Crystal Palace. How do football clubs represent their local area in an era of homogeneity?
@rorysmith.bsky.social @brewin.bsky.social and @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social discuss
podfollow.com/1804708562
Talking Paris Saint-Germain and Crystal Palace. How do football clubs represent their local area in an era of homogeneity?
@rorysmith.bsky.social @brewin.bsky.social and @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social discuss
podfollow.com/1804708562
Libero
This is another podcast about football. But it is also not really, when you think about it, about football. It is about the football industry, about that gauzy web of characters who determine how the ...
podfollow.com
April 25, 2025 at 6:04 AM
New Libero.
Talking Paris Saint-Germain and Crystal Palace. How do football clubs represent their local area in an era of homogeneity?
@rorysmith.bsky.social @brewin.bsky.social and @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social discuss
podfollow.com/1804708562
Talking Paris Saint-Germain and Crystal Palace. How do football clubs represent their local area in an era of homogeneity?
@rorysmith.bsky.social @brewin.bsky.social and @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social discuss
podfollow.com/1804708562
Reposted by Rory Smith
April 4, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Are clubs slowly trying to get rid of season ticket holders? Is the Baller League the future? Is it OK that Chelsea sold their women's team to themselves? Episode five of Libero, with @jonathanliew.bsky.social @migueldelaney.bsky.social and @jonawils.bsky.social)
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/l...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/l...
Libero 005: Andrea Berta Fan Fiction
Podcast Episode · Libero · 02/04/2025 · 52m
podcasts.apple.com
April 2, 2025 at 8:49 AM
Are clubs slowly trying to get rid of season ticket holders? Is the Baller League the future? Is it OK that Chelsea sold their women's team to themselves? Episode five of Libero, with @jonathanliew.bsky.social @migueldelaney.bsky.social and @jonawils.bsky.social)
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/l...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/l...
Two debutants on today's Libero: @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social and @jameshorncastle.bsky.social, who would like you to know he speaks Italian. @jonawils.bsky.social and @brewin.bsky.social, too, talking about Trent and treachery, trophies and transfers. podfollow.com/1804708562
Libero
This is a podcast about football. But also not about football. Mainly it's about the people and the surfaces that collide in the orbit of this strange, obsessional world of bluffers, sharks and genuin...
podfollow.com
March 28, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Two debutants on today's Libero: @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social and @jameshorncastle.bsky.social, who would like you to know he speaks Italian. @jonawils.bsky.social and @brewin.bsky.social, too, talking about Trent and treachery, trophies and transfers. podfollow.com/1804708562
Thanks to the technological expertise of @tariqpanja.bsky.social, hot new podcast Libero (@liberopodcast.bsky.social) is now on the last uncorrupted algorithm in the world podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l...
Libero
Sports Podcast · Updated Biweekly · This is a podcast about football. But also not about football. Mainly it's about the people and the surfaces that collide in the orbit of this strange, obsessional ...
podcasts.apple.com
March 27, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Thanks to the technological expertise of @tariqpanja.bsky.social, hot new podcast Libero (@liberopodcast.bsky.social) is now on the last uncorrupted algorithm in the world podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l...