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towells.bsky.social
Alex Towells
@towells.bsky.social
780 followers 280 following 630 posts
Soundsman. Arsenal. Asking all the wrong questions on @potshot.bsky.social

he/him
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Reposted by Alex Towells
sndrnvia.bsky.social
Well @jonmackenzie.bsky.social talking about the old gods being dead while the new ones struggle to be born in the context of Arsenal’s set piece strategy is extremely my shit
October 31, 2025 at 12:42 PM
towells.bsky.social
You might have seen Jon got caught up in A Discourse over on the other site, after daring to suggest that the rise of set pieces as the primary method of attack for some of football's best teams might not be great for the game.

Naturally, we got him on with our set piece nerd to talk about it 👇
October 31, 2025 at 10:08 AM
towells.bsky.social
Just gonna repost this. Yknow. For reasons.
tomoc.bsky.social Tom Curren @tomoc.bsky.social · Oct 20
A story of demons, rhythm, and Riccardo Calafiori the fever dream
Winter arc
We run in void.
redstory.substack.com
October 26, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Reposted by Alex Towells
smolrobots.bsky.social
"I thought, well, what two things are most important to me? And it's my family and this ground I walk on here in the great state of Maine. So, to honour that, I got the words BLOOD and SOI..."

"Graham, no!"
October 22, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Reposted by Alex Towells
kye.bgay.social
17.
May 12, 2025 at 5:21 AM
Reposted by Alex Towells
kye.bgay.social
8.
May 5, 2025 at 5:50 AM
towells.bsky.social
The metaphor at the end of this piece is perfect for how it feels to watch Arsenal right now.

Easy to complain about it not being very fun to watch Arsenal atm, but every dull set piece win is another step towards the goal of a title. It might not be pretty, but if we get there, we won't care
tomoc.bsky.social Tom Curren @tomoc.bsky.social · Oct 20
A story of demons, rhythm, and Riccardo Calafiori the fever dream
Winter arc
We run in void.
redstory.substack.com
October 20, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Reposted by Alex Towells
potshot.bsky.social
💥WE'RE BACK 💥

#133: Taking Stock (feat. NSftbl)

🎙: @towells.bsky.social @watman.bsky.social & Nick (@nsftbl on twitter)

🔴 We're top of the league!
⚪️ Is the handbrake off?
🔵 A changing midfield
🟡 Odegaard's injuries: are we worried?

Listen 👇
pod.fo/e/33e00d
The Pot Shot Podcast: #133: Taking Stock (ft. NSftbl)
Towells & Manas are joined by Nick (@NSftbl on Twitter) to gauge the lay of the land after the first 10 competitive games of the season.For tactical writing from the Pot Shot Crew, check out the Po...
pod.fo
October 19, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Reposted by Alex Towells
poorlydrawnarsenal.com
Also very funny that they had a whole international break to fire him and implement a new manager and instead they thought “I’ll give him one more chance against Chelsea”
October 18, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Reposted by Alex Towells
7amkickoff.com
tl;dr: "debating" right wing ideas amplifies those ideas.

Instead, opposition should offer a different vision and stick to that as their talking point, forcing the right to "debate" them.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
German far right setting agenda as opponents amplify its ideas, study finds
Normalisation of far-right stances likely to affect success of such parties at ballot boxes across Europe, say researchers
www.theguardian.com
October 18, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Reposted by Alex Towells
7amkickoff.com
It's bloody obvious if you just look around
The Berlin-based researchers found that as the far right moved from fringe issues in the late 1990s to topics such as integration and migration, mainstream parties had increasingly reshaped their communications to respond, boosting the spread of these ideas and signalling to voters that these ideas and stances were legitimate. The overarching result had crucial implications for democracy, said Teresa Völker, a political sociologist at Berlin Social Science Center and co-author of the study. “Political communication by mainstream parties plays a central role in the electoral success of the far right,” she said. “This factor has been underestimated.” This impact was evident even when mainstream parties were criticising the far right. “You’re still giving them attention,” said Völker. “Our core argument is that because we live in such a battle for attention, this attention is key. Whoever sets the agenda has an impact on what voters think and who they vote for.” While the research was focused on Germany, this normalisation effect was likely to apply to countries across Europe, said Daniel Saldivia Gonzatti, a political sociologist at the Berlin Social Science Center and co-author of the study. “You see this a lot in German and British media,” he said. “The far right says something and everybody starts talking about it for one week. And everyone is shocked by it, but it is making headlines. Even if you’re countering it, you’re repeating it.” At times, leaders had also hardened their discourse to match that of the far right. In a 2023 interview, Olaf Scholz, the then German chancellor and leader of the Social Democratic party (SPD), said it was time to “deport on a large scale those who have no right to stay in Germany” and called for deportations to happen “more often and faster” across the country. Similar examples can be found across Europe, as the politicians of countries ranging from the UK to France adopt the language of the far right, particularly when it comes to migration, creating an echo chamber that would have been unthinkable to many a decade ago. At the heart of the issue was the question of who was setting the tone and deciding on the topic, said Saldivia Gonzatti. “If you’re a moderate party and you are talking about what we call cultural issues – migration, integration – in a way that is dictated by the rhythm of the far right, that’s the whole idea of agenda setting.” Other political parties have gone one step further, seeking to copy the hardline agenda of the far right, even as research suggests that doing so drives voters to cast their ballot for the far right. The scope of data collected revealed that the influence of far-right parties had been gradual and had increased over time, said Völker. “Public perception doesn’t change from one day to another. But if you hear this negative framing around migration every second week, and it is being spread not only by far-right parties but also, for example, by the Social Democrats, then of course this narrative travels further.” The findings build on previous studies that have shown that the far right has been steadily normalised, whether through the decisions of mainstream parties to join forces with them in coalitions and alliances or the attention showered on them by mass media.
October 18, 2025 at 1:22 PM
towells.bsky.social
I love everything about Redstory and if you follow me you probably will too
tomoc.bsky.social Tom Curren @tomoc.bsky.social · Sep 29
A tale of two managers, two Brazilians, one colosseum, and one sound: hahahahahaha
Last laugh
Hahah. Hahhaa. Hhahaha
redstory.substack.com
September 29, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Reposted by Alex Towells
tomoc.bsky.social
A tale of two managers, two Brazilians, one colosseum, and one sound: hahahahahaha
Last laugh
Hahah. Hahhaa. Hhahaha
redstory.substack.com
September 29, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Reposted by Alex Towells
tomoc.bsky.social
A story about Gabriel Martinelli, and Pep Guardiola the coward
Thunder follows the flash
On Gabriel Martinelli, lucidity, and a controlled anger
redstory.substack.com
September 22, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Reposted by Alex Towells
alexcollings.bsky.social
uhhh is it too late to un-give up on Martinelli?
towells.bsky.social Alex Towells @towells.bsky.social · Sep 17
There's a point in this pod where it is very funny that it was recorded before Bilbao and released after.

I'll let you guess the topic
potshot.bsky.social POT SHOT @potshot.bsky.social · Sep 17
💥TAKING STOCK💥

#182: Trading Takes

🎙: @alexcollings.bsky.social @eulenberg.bsky.social

🔴 Liverpool & Forest reviews
⚪️ Zubi the Superstar
🟡 Hot takes on Rice
🔵 Standout performers so far

Listen here 👇
pod.fo/e/32c31f
September 21, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Reposted by Alex Towells
adam.cannonstats.com
I won’t have any complaints about the creativity in the second half btw, City quite literally played 7 or 8 behind the ball all half.
adam.cannonstats.com Adam Rae Voge @adam.cannonstats.com · Sep 21
Guys we don’t need to make the eval of this half about Arsenal not “creating enough,” there are two teams playing
September 21, 2025 at 5:43 PM
towells.bsky.social
This is what @eulenberg.bsky.social watches instead of football these days and you know what? Fair enough
cwashington.bsky.social Chris Washington @cwashington.bsky.social · Sep 18
Japan has a wrestling camp for kids where at the end they have a show match in front of their parents to show off what they learned.

Thought you'd enjoy this.
September 18, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Reposted by Alex Towells
cwashington.bsky.social
Japan has a wrestling camp for kids where at the end they have a show match in front of their parents to show off what they learned.

Thought you'd enjoy this.
September 18, 2025 at 2:49 PM
towells.bsky.social
There's a point in this pod where it is very funny that it was recorded before Bilbao and released after.

I'll let you guess the topic
September 17, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by Alex Towells
potshot.bsky.social
💥TAKING STOCK💥

#182: Trading Takes

🎙: @alexcollings.bsky.social @eulenberg.bsky.social

🔴 Liverpool & Forest reviews
⚪️ Zubi the Superstar
🟡 Hot takes on Rice
🔵 Standout performers so far

Listen here 👇
pod.fo/e/32c31f
The Pot Shot Podcast: #132: Trading Takes
Alex & Seb chat Liverpool, Forest, and some standout players from the start of the season.For tactical writing from the Pot Shot Crew, check out the Pot Shot Substack: potshotpod.substack.comIf you...
pod.fo
September 17, 2025 at 2:09 PM
towells.bsky.social
Its a funny game
towells.bsky.social Alex Towells @towells.bsky.social · Sep 13
I was not one of the people really hammering on Trossard & Martinelli last season but the difference in on-ball quality between them and Noni & Eze is fucking mental
September 16, 2025 at 6:37 PM
towells.bsky.social
Evergreen Arsenal post:
timi.on.computer Timi @timi.on.computer · Sep 16
that left hand side relationship needs work
September 16, 2025 at 6:17 PM
towells.bsky.social
It is mental to me that Trossard came on for Gyokeres rather than bringing on Nwaneri & pushing Merino to 9
September 16, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Reposted by Alex Towells
olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social
this is, hands down, the best video I've seen on men's influencer content and it's not close either
September 14, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Reposted by Alex Towells
duncanrobinson.bsky.social
Shot, chaser

Young men more likely to vote Green than Reform. Young men second most progressive group of any demographic. Combined right-wing vote barely bigger than Green vote alone for young men
September 14, 2025 at 6:31 AM