Forget the Salford studio and no MOTD-style highlights show, the worst part of the BBC's World Cup coverage is handing the Football Daily podcast over to a pair of muppets sitting in an LA bar giggling at players with "funny" names ๐๐
Happy to announce that in July, with the brilliant support of @CounterPressHQ, I will be launching @the_biscuit_RFC, a new and independent site covering all things #ReadingFC
Pre-launch is already here! Sign up now! ๐ช
๐ชIT'S TIME TO TAKE THE BISCUIT
๐Reading fans, we know subscription services are something of a touchy subject at the moment
๐คBut if you want exclusive, extensive, independent coverage of the Royals from the 26/27 season onwards, sign up to The Biscuit today!
๐Link in bio
Always such an honour to have my work in @WorldSoccerMag, and to experience the mighty @MjallbyAIFs fairy tale first-hand was a true privilege! ๐๐ค
Out now: #WorldSoccer December 2025
Featuring...
๐ญ๐บ Dominik Szoboszlai exclusive interview
๐จ๐ป Cape Verde + other World Cup stories
๐ธ๐ช The miracle of Mjallby
๐ง๐ท Copa Libertadores final preview
Plus plenty more...
Order your copy here: https://t.co/r0PB2camwd
Never thought I would walk into Tirana airport and see my own article for @WorldSoccerMag on the shelves!
Very weird experience but one I'd happily get used to ๐
Dispiriting events at Reading should concern everyone in English football. Fans are lied to, players and an impressive manager are let down, and so are staff. A thoughtless, heartless owner damages a historic club. Itโs another warning to all in football. If we tolerate this, then your club could be next.
Fans at some other clubs fear similar pain or just feel relief to have escaped danger. Many will simply focus on their own form and fortunes. Footballโs tribal. Most headlines revolve around the big names, the big games like Manchester City versus Arsenal. But Reading embody the pyramid, a local beacon and hub for nurturing talent. Neil Webb started there. The windfall from the Michael Olise deal helps sustain the club currently. Ted Drake learned his managerial trade at Reading before guiding Chelsea to their first title.
Football clubs are community assets and have to be protected from individuals like Dai Yongge wreaking such misery at Reading. He has his motives and his methods but none seem aligned to the clubโs future wellbeing. He doesnโt communicate with fans. Reading FC Women withdrew from the Championship because of financial difficulties. Sustained mismanagement of the club has seen a failure to pay menโs players and HMRC lead to points deductions.
A proposed takeover by Rob Couhig, an American businessman welcomed by the fanbase, collapsed, leaving Yongge still in charge and supporters still in torment and again asking questions. Does Yongge really want to sell? If the club goes under is it then all about valuable real estate? Would administration and another points deduction actually be better than this shambles?
And so Reading fans rally again, fighting for their clubโs life. But Yongge doesnโt listen. He doesnโt appear to care about the negativity his ownership brings to the door of the dressing-room. Ruben Selles and his whole-hearted squad give everything they can on the field, and sit a defiant 12th in League One, but they arenโt detached from the mess. It must be dismaying and distracting.
Losing Selles would be a disaster. Heโs doing a good job in trying circumstances. If he left, Selles would be picked up swiftly by a better run club. Reading fans post messages of support to Selles and his squad. They will back them loudly at Bolton Wanderers today. Itโs about finding the balance between demonstrating support for the team while demonstrating against the owner.
Much is right about Reading: committed fanbase, stadium, training ground, the attitude of manager, squad and club staff. Itโs just the owner. Itโs a nightmare that Reading are living through. And itโs a cautionary tale all football needs to heed. #ReadingFC #EFL
๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ธ Today could be an historic day of football for countries located inside other countries!
If San Marino beat Liechtenstein & Lesotho defeat Central African Republic, it will be the first time two enclave nations that are members of FIFA have ever won a match on the same day!
๐ What a mad start to this month's #WorldCupQualifiers! Australia ๐ฆ๐บ beaten at home by Bahrain ๐ง๐ญ, Japan ๐ฏ๐ต thrashing China ๐จ๐ณ 7-0 and South Korea ๐ฐ๐ท being held at home by Palestine ๐ต๐ธ ๐ฑ
It's all too much for a Thursday afternoon ๐
#WCQ
My first 2024/25 #PremierLeague commentary for @Flashscorecom and we already have the winner of Team News of the Season ๐ฆ
#CRYWHU coming up at 14:55 BST on the app ๐
As we kick-off our 100th year at Selhurst Park, we are delighted to reveal that an American Bald Eagle will return to the stadium on matchdays ๐ฆ
#CPFC // @EagleHeightsUK
Always great to get a nice, quiet start just to ease yourself in when doing a match report for
@Flashscorecom๐
But at least I didn't have to do a rewrite in the final minutes... Oh wait... #SevillaFCVillarreal