Elliot Smith

[Elliot Smith @elldorado89]

Farage must be laughing his head off at all of this.

[Elliot Smith @elldorado89]

Have Labour learned absolutely nothing from their Tory predecessors? Absolute farce that Starmer has been forced out. I haven't been overly impressed by him, but he's a far cry from the sleazy, scandalous predecessors.

[Elliot Smith @elldorado89]

Andy Burnham has struck me as nothing but arrogant, presumptuous and entitled in his attempts to get the keys to number 10. I hope that, however this turns out, it was worth it.

[barry @BackseatsmanLFC]

Off you pop Hughes we've got a new sporting director now

[Elliot Smith @elldorado89]

@Cocksy81 @MarkEFCRoma Same here :(

[Elliot Smith @elldorado89]

@MarkEFCRoma Well done to you though!

[Eddie Gibbs @eddiegibbs]

⚫️⚪️ Luke Edwards and the Collapse of Credibility

Text extract from my Isak to #LFC blog on Substack earlier today 👇

No one emerged from this saga with less credibility than Luke Edwards.

As Newcastle’s man at The Telegraph and a regular contributor for BBC Sport, Edwards held a position of influence. That influence was squandered across the summer in spectacular fashion. From the beginning, he positioned himself as the authority on the Isak situation, insisting the player was not for sale and that Liverpool had no realistic path to sign him. At every step, he treated dissent with hostility.

When fans questioned his reporting, he mocked them. When other journalists hinted there was more going on behind the scenes, he dismissed it. When Liverpool’s interest became increasingly difficult to deny, he doubled down. He used his platform to construct a narrative that matched exactly what Newcastle’s ownership wanted in the public domain. In doing so, he didn’t inform the public. He misled them.

This was not reporting. It was posturing. And when the truth finally broke, the biggest transfer in British football history, and to Liverpool no less, Edwards had the gall to present himself as the ultimate authority on the story. Even when he broke the exclusive last night, he couldn’t resist a swipe at rival reporters like Ben Jacobs. He has no shame!

Let’s be clear. Edwards did not break this story because he worked it. He broke it because he was handed the final detail as a reward for parroting a false line from Newcastle’s owners all summer long. He served as their mouthpiece, willingly or otherwise, and in return was given the honour of being the one to leak what they already knew would leak.

This is the consequence of access journalism. Reporters trade scrutiny for exclusives. They get fed lines and become invested in maintaining relationships rather than telling the truth. Edwards took that trade, then played the martyr when fans, observers, and even his peers pointed out the cracks.

He used his social media presence not to investigate or enlighten, but to gloat and belittle. He turned his Twitter account into a one-man performance, casting himself as the misunderstood insider besieged by the angry, unwashed masses. His tweet today was a quote from a supposed “high-ranking Liverpool official” praising him for being the only one worth reading about Newcastle United. The delusion wrote itself.

Meanwhile, at @AnfieldIndex, we were simply doing the work. We received tips from trusted sources in July, tracked private aviation to confirm a summit, and sourced confirmation from both Liverpool and Newcastle-linked agents. Our posts in our Discord community reflected that knowledge throughout the summer. My own tweets faced abuse from Newcastle fans in response. Edwards, by contrast, helped create the conditions for that abuse. He set the tone. He created the ridicule, then stepped away from responsibility when the ridicule turned toxic.

He has not apologised. He has not reflected. He has only demanded credit for a job poorly done. A journalist who fails to tell the truth, helps spread misinformation, and then brags when reality proves him wrong is not a journalist. He’s a brand with a press badge.

In a functioning ecosystem, that would be enough for The Telegraph and BBC Sport to sever ties. But the ecosystem is broken. What matters now is clicks, virality, engagement. And in that sense, Edwards has succeeded. He has become notorious. That’s the currency now. Not trust. Not integrity. Not truth.

And yet, those of us outside the media machine were right. Without credentials, without formal access, we were right. Because we chased the story, not the spotlight. And the people who follow us, Liverpool fans, plugged-in neutrals, even some disillusioned Geordies, will remember that.

Luke Edwards helped lead a fanbase up the garden path. He belittled others while doing it. And when the real story broke, he tried to climb on top of it like it was his creation. That kind of behaviour should be career-ending. It won’t be. But it should.

[Elliot Smith @elldorado89]

@LukeEdwardsTele The audacity of you lad

[Elliot Smith @elldorado89]

@ptgorst 🐝

[Simon’s Spurs Shirt Search 🔍🐓👀 @theshirtsearch]

🚨 𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 🚨

Sorting through bits that are surplus to requirements, so I’ll be adding to this over the coming days.

Everything from deadstock BNWT Tottenham, to J-League classics and England 90s 👌

📦 Prices include postage
🔄 RTs appreciated
📥 DMs open!

[Jon @jonbir90]

Onana is Manchester's most dangerous man in gloves since Richard Hillman.

[John @johnnightlfc]

Cry out for leg breaking challenges all week on Twitter then call the league corrupt when your player gets sent off for one 🙃

[Elliot Smith @elldorado89]

@orlacsm

[Geo 🦅 @CPFC_GEO]

Bloke in the back might have the biggest neck i’ve ever seen

[Football Away Days @FBAwayDays]

Fair play to this Plymouth fan at Bolton today, took some stick from the Bolton fans but decided to embrace it!

Love the applause he got afterward from the home end too, Quality! �

[Penfold @elbow112]

Good shot, sir ! 😆

[Elliot Smith @elldorado89]

Will never forget this season and just how good he was. Incredible all round striker. And that pattern ship with Stevie G… wow. The link up for the goal g Newcastle still one of my favourite ever goals!

[SECTION 128 @BradYNWA6]

Fernando Torres in 2007-8 was an assassin