Michael Cox
@zonal-marking.bsky.social
a great pleasure to do a Liverpool-Manchester double this weekend, for the first time since September 2015 (seeing England defeating Australia by 93 runs in a one-day international and Tame Impala playing at the Liverpool Olympia)
November 10, 2025 at 12:16 PM
a great pleasure to do a Liverpool-Manchester double this weekend, for the first time since September 2015 (seeing England defeating Australia by 93 runs in a one-day international and Tame Impala playing at the Liverpool Olympia)
Look sometimes the “word” just doesn’t work very well, and people should accept that.
November 8, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Look sometimes the “word” just doesn’t work very well, and people should accept that.
Touches in the box = down. Dribbling = down. Good passing moves = down. A look at the things that aren't happening now the Premier League is mostly long throws.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/678...
www.nytimes.com/athletic/678...
Long throws and direct attacks are trending up. But what three things are down?
The shift toward old-school football is not necessarily a problem in itself, but does it come at the expense of something important?
www.nytimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Touches in the box = down. Dribbling = down. Good passing moves = down. A look at the things that aren't happening now the Premier League is mostly long throws.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/678...
www.nytimes.com/athletic/678...
just had to type out a mention of (Fulham’s) Kevin for the first time and it just reads weirdly. Can we not call him Kevin Santos?
November 6, 2025 at 4:40 PM
just had to type out a mention of (Fulham’s) Kevin for the first time and it just reads weirdly. Can we not call him Kevin Santos?
stunned to learn that Ashley Barnes has played in the Premier League for Burnley this season, it really is an old-school campaign
November 6, 2025 at 3:14 PM
stunned to learn that Ashley Barnes has played in the Premier League for Burnley this season, it really is an old-school campaign
Reposted by Michael Cox
🔺 The positivity being stoked at Sunderland
🔺 The afternoon he was booed from the field at the Emirates
🔺 The chaos Mikel Arteta confronted at Arsenal
Ahead of the visit of his former club Arsenal, Granit Xhaka talks exclusively to @mwalkerfoot.bsky.social.
🔗 www.nytimes.com/athletic/677...
🔺 The afternoon he was booed from the field at the Emirates
🔺 The chaos Mikel Arteta confronted at Arsenal
Ahead of the visit of his former club Arsenal, Granit Xhaka talks exclusively to @mwalkerfoot.bsky.social.
🔗 www.nytimes.com/athletic/677...
November 6, 2025 at 9:13 AM
🔺 The positivity being stoked at Sunderland
🔺 The afternoon he was booed from the field at the Emirates
🔺 The chaos Mikel Arteta confronted at Arsenal
Ahead of the visit of his former club Arsenal, Granit Xhaka talks exclusively to @mwalkerfoot.bsky.social.
🔗 www.nytimes.com/athletic/677...
🔺 The afternoon he was booed from the field at the Emirates
🔺 The chaos Mikel Arteta confronted at Arsenal
Ahead of the visit of his former club Arsenal, Granit Xhaka talks exclusively to @mwalkerfoot.bsky.social.
🔗 www.nytimes.com/athletic/677...
new CL format is probably good if (a) you follow one participating club, as they play a wider range of teams or (b) if you want to red-zone it as there's so much going on. But for the increasingly rare (c) "just want to sit down and watch a good game where you know what's at stake" it's quite dull
November 4, 2025 at 9:19 PM
new CL format is probably good if (a) you follow one participating club, as they play a wider range of teams or (b) if you want to red-zone it as there's so much going on. But for the increasingly rare (c) "just want to sit down and watch a good game where you know what's at stake" it's quite dull
notwithstanding the fact the Slavia player also had his foot high, for a second I thought the ref was going to punish Ben White for a high foot (but no contact) in the box which is an INDIRECT FREE-KICK and not a penalty, one of the great niche elements of football
November 4, 2025 at 7:36 PM
notwithstanding the fact the Slavia player also had his foot high, for a second I thought the ref was going to punish Ben White for a high foot (but no contact) in the box which is an INDIRECT FREE-KICK and not a penalty, one of the great niche elements of football
Get Welbeck on the plane (in June)
www.nytimes.com/athletic/677...
www.nytimes.com/athletic/677...
Is it time to recall Danny Welbeck to the England squad?
Not only is the Brighton striker scoring plenty of goals, he is the sort of character suited to a tournament squad
www.nytimes.com
November 3, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Get Welbeck on the plane (in June)
www.nytimes.com/athletic/677...
www.nytimes.com/athletic/677...
The use of five substitutes has had no positive impact, and probably some bad impact www.nytimes.com/athletic/676...
Why the five-substitute era has not been good for football
Lawmakers have completely overlooked the impact of introducing extra substitutes: it increases the tempo of the game and increases fatigue
www.nytimes.com
November 2, 2025 at 12:41 PM
The use of five substitutes has had no positive impact, and probably some bad impact www.nytimes.com/athletic/676...
Palace v Brentford for me today. Really sums up the Premier League at the moment. Two goals from set-pieces, almost nothing else. Just no hint of any combination play or individual magic. It’s getting a bit boring to be saying this every week but blimey…
November 1, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Palace v Brentford for me today. Really sums up the Premier League at the moment. Two goals from set-pieces, almost nothing else. Just no hint of any combination play or individual magic. It’s getting a bit boring to be saying this every week but blimey…
Really love these. Meticulously researched and a completely unique idea. Bravo.
The great @robfielder.bsky.social and I have come up with a new blogpost:
footballarguments.wordpress.com/2025/10/26/t...
A few momentous events in football history happened this year: Real & Di Stefano reign surpreme, the rise of Pelé & the Brazilians, and, sadly, the Munich Air Disaster
footballarguments.wordpress.com/2025/10/26/t...
A few momentous events in football history happened this year: Real & Di Stefano reign surpreme, the rise of Pelé & the Brazilians, and, sadly, the Munich Air Disaster
Team of the Season 1957-1958
Manager: Matt Busby Bench: Dominguez, Sarti, Herkenrath; Cervato, Lesmes, Marche; Wright, Juskowiak, C. Maldini; Corradi, Magnini; Atienza; Clamp, Szymaniak, Flowers; Masopust, Hanappi; Rial, Sivor…
footballarguments.wordpress.com
October 28, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Really love these. Meticulously researched and a completely unique idea. Bravo.
An interesting read:
bsky.app/profile/john...
bsky.app/profile/john...
Lionel Messi just had the best season in MLS history. Does anyone really care?
I wrote about it for The Guardian:
I wrote about it for The Guardian:
Lionel Messi just had the best season in MLS history. Does anyone care?
The Argentine has been as excellent as ever in his later years, but his presence and performance has yet to push MLS into the US mainstream
www.theguardian.com
October 28, 2025 at 10:18 AM
An interesting read:
bsky.app/profile/john...
bsky.app/profile/john...
Remember that era when people kept getting wound up about footballers having washbags? Funny time, that.
October 28, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Remember that era when people kept getting wound up about footballers having washbags? Funny time, that.
really enjoyed this
October 24, 2025 at 9:51 PM
really enjoyed this
Unai Emery on why Villa beat Spurs: “We adapted to everything tactically: in duels, set pieces, throw-ins.” He didn't need to mention the more intricate elements of football. Which was a fair analysis, and somewhat sums up the current Premier League style.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/673...
www.nytimes.com/athletic/673...
Tottenham embody this season’s Premier League: Set pieces, long throws, and no cohesion
Tottenham's performance against Aston Villa summed up not only where they are at but also where the league overall finds itself
www.nytimes.com
October 20, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Unai Emery on why Villa beat Spurs: “We adapted to everything tactically: in duels, set pieces, throw-ins.” He didn't need to mention the more intricate elements of football. Which was a fair analysis, and somewhat sums up the current Premier League style.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/673...
www.nytimes.com/athletic/673...
Modric still an extraordinarily good player. The best 40-year-old midfielder I've seen
October 19, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Modric still an extraordinarily good player. The best 40-year-old midfielder I've seen
It's strange enough that Mjällby are about to win the Swedish title considering they come from a fishing village of about 1500 people. It's stranger still that their 'expected goals' numbers are the joint-seventh best in the league. What's happening here?
www.nytimes.com/athletic/672...
www.nytimes.com/athletic/672...
How are a small club from a fishing village about to win the Swedish title?
"If you look at the underlying numbers, Mjallby have been overperforming quite a lot."
www.nytimes.com
October 18, 2025 at 7:31 AM
It's strange enough that Mjällby are about to win the Swedish title considering they come from a fishing village of about 1500 people. It's stranger still that their 'expected goals' numbers are the joint-seventh best in the league. What's happening here?
www.nytimes.com/athletic/672...
www.nytimes.com/athletic/672...
Wasn't convinced Tomasson would work for Sweden. I'm also not convinced that having Isak and Gyokeres in the same side will ever work.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/671...
www.nytimes.com/athletic/671...
Why Sweden fired Jon Dahl Tomasson: Shock results, fan fury and a tactically-awkward Isak/Gyokeres partnership
Tomasson’s reign was so spectacularly unpopular that you wonder if Sweden will ever appoint a foreign coach again
www.nytimes.com
October 14, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Wasn't convinced Tomasson would work for Sweden. I'm also not convinced that having Isak and Gyokeres in the same side will ever work.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/671...
www.nytimes.com/athletic/671...
Football in 2025 doesn’t look how we expected it to in 2000. Here’s a list of eight things I anticipated would happen in that time, that have not happened at all.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/670...
www.nytimes.com/athletic/670...
Eight expectations about football from 25 years ago that have proven misguided
From pay-per-view coverage to the loss of technical midfielders to indoor stadiums – some expectations from 2000 haven't come true
www.nytimes.com
October 11, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Football in 2025 doesn’t look how we expected it to in 2000. Here’s a list of eight things I anticipated would happen in that time, that have not happened at all.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/670...
www.nytimes.com/athletic/670...
Peter Ridsdale praised for financial prudence in terms of player wages, 1999.
October 7, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Peter Ridsdale praised for financial prudence in terms of player wages, 1999.
imagine telling someone 25 years ago that 8 of the 10 Premier League games would be televised - but that the exceptions would be the Man Utd game and the Arsenal game
October 4, 2025 at 1:09 PM
imagine telling someone 25 years ago that 8 of the 10 Premier League games would be televised - but that the exceptions would be the Man Utd game and the Arsenal game
Why do people in television not understand how tinpot it looks to put tweets from random people up on the screen during the punditry? Stop it
September 30, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Why do people in television not understand how tinpot it looks to put tweets from random people up on the screen during the punditry? Stop it
fair play, this is a bad night of CL fixtures isn’t it?
September 30, 2025 at 4:21 PM
fair play, this is a bad night of CL fixtures isn’t it?
Atletico 5-2 Real. Loved this game. That said, none of the goals really came from the interesting things about the tactics, which is a shame if you're writing about the tactics.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/667...
www.nytimes.com/athletic/667...
Atletico dominated the derby by exposing Real Madrid in the channels
Diego Simeone's side thrashed their city rivals by going back to basics — as they often do in the 'derbi'
www.nytimes.com
September 30, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Atletico 5-2 Real. Loved this game. That said, none of the goals really came from the interesting things about the tactics, which is a shame if you're writing about the tactics.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/667...
www.nytimes.com/athletic/667...