Greg O'Keeffe

Senior writer for @TheAthleticFC / Co-host @ATNCAST

[Greg O'Keeffe @GregOK]

Those who watched him play for #Everton's first team said Billy Kenny had it all - but by 21 he had retired from football & his life was out of control.

After decades of silence he tells his story

(Boxing Day special - Athletic is £1 a month for a year)

https://t.co/Mdx5ZQaShR

[The Athletic | Football @TheAthleticFC]

🇧🇷 Brazil’s plane ‘baptisms’
🇹🇷 A vast Turkish car convoy
🇸🇳 Senegal’s meal in an empty stadium
🇿🇦 Presidential lookalikes in South Africa

Welcome to the often curious art of World Cup send-offs.

📝 @GregOK

🔗 https://t.co/KG71eNbaOq

[Patrick Boyland @Paddy_Boyland]

Everton targeting a right-back, central midfielder & at least one winger this summer

Early interest in Middlesbrough's Hayden Hackney for CM

Expected to be open to offers for several fringe players

Summer window preview @TheAthleticFC

https://t.co/qJ7gThyV1K

[The Athletic | Football @TheAthleticFC]

Forty-eight nations, each with a distinct football culture.

The fans who believe their team is cursed.
The country where early adopters were ridiculed and abused.
The supporters who will bring 'the whip' with them.
The nation where football has united the people when all else has failed.

Over recent months, The Athletic has been speaking to supporters of every team that will compete at this summer's World Cup to explore each one's rich and diverse football culture.

From Algeria to Argentina, Canada to Curacao, the Netherlands to New Zealand and all other corners of the globe, this new series takes in traditions, psychology, food, history and much more.

Welcome to The Language of Soccer.

🔗 https://t.co/38GZcz6npe

[Greg O'Keeffe @GregOK]

Maria Costello sat down to discuss the risks of the Isle of Man TT and why she keeps coming back

A few hours later she was being airlifted to hospital after a crash

A piece on the world's most dangerous race and why it continues to compel so many
https://t.co/hMEqcDYLtg

[Chris @CWeatherspoon_]

Anthony Gordon has signed for Barcelona. £69m

• Everton due £3.8m + £3m solidarity
• #NUFC £38m profit on sale
• £13m into 26-27 SCR calc
• Under 85% rule, £11m extra spending capacity - before considering wages

All this and more:

@TheAthleticFC

https://t.co/BvIt5OaEE2

[The Athletic | Football @TheAthleticFC]

A New Zealand player is breaking the internet, becoming a social media sensation after being picked by Argentine influencer who ordered his fans to make him the star of the World Cup.

Payne has gained more than a million Instagram followers in a matter of days, a tribute song (in Spanish) has been made and even the All Blacks are on the hype train.

@GregOK explores a very modern football tale about the power of the internet.

🔗 https://t.co/Dhc5s36yf1

[Greg O'Keeffe @GregOK]

Almost a year ago Bill Foley told me about his grand plans for making @fc_auckland a real powerhouse

This month they've become @aleaguemen Champions and like with @afcbournemouth it seems like he's delivered & wants much more 🇳🇿🍒

https://t.co/kwtoJa2lXC

[The Athletic @TheAthletic]

Is this the most dangerous race in the world?

With top speeds of over 200mph on a course that winds along public roads, the Isle of Man TT motorcycle race is supremely exhilarating… and inevitably lethal.

Between this race and the annual August Manx Grand Prix, there have been 271 deaths.

@GregOK went to the Isle of Man to find out what about this race motivates riders to take such great risks.

FREE READ 🔗 https://t.co/J7ZNlopqZz

[Greg O'Keeffe @GregOK]

It's unique, exhilarating and deadly.

With one rider having been killed and more badly injured already this year, I went to Isle of Man to ask TT racers why they do it?

https://t.co/hMEqcDYLtg

[Tom Burrows @TBurrows16]

Éric Di Meco won the European Cup with Marseille in '93

He now plays in an Oasis tribute band

Ahead of this year’s #UCL final, we spoke about that famous OM side, the match-fixing scandal, Euro ’96, meeting Noel Gallagher - and his favourite Oasis songs

https://t.co/q8PvsBUPCS

[The Athletic | Football @TheAthleticFC]

West Ham United have been sleepwalking towards relegation since August. Many might argue the drift began long before then.

This season has been an unmitigated mess on and off the pitch, with leadership voids, managerial turnover, a scattergun approach to recruitment and unrest in the stands.

Nuno fell out with players and coaching staff, at times he did not speak during half-time or after games, and there is uncertainty over his future at the club.

Plenty of players will be on the move, with relegation meaning West Ham need to raise £150m in sales this summer.

@RoshaneSport provides the inside read on their calamitous relegation from the Premier League.

Free to read: https://t.co/QZaLNkEHl6

[Times Sport @TimesSport]

⚽ Michail Antonio lifts lid on loneliness and insecurity of the dressing room, where there are few true friendships, egos run wild… and only therapy gets you through

⬇️ Read the interview with @JNorthcroft

https://t.co/CJ8tK46tcV

[Greg O'Keeffe @GregOK]

Undoubtedly worrying news for the #USMNT concerning Chris Richards 🇺🇸🦅

https://t.co/IO9sWNhDxq

[Greg O'Keeffe @GregOK]

@FootballInT80s a committed life-long contrarian. Icon.

[When Football Was Better @FootballInT80s]

Perhaps the best post-match FA Cup final interview of 1995 — or indeed, any year — was given by Everton goalkeeper Neville Southall.

This is pure gold.

[The Athletic | Football @TheAthleticFC]

It is heartbreak for Hearts, and jubilation for Celtic.

Derek McInnes’ side came so close - but a 87th-minute goal from Daizen Maeda turned the game around, before a strike deep in stoppage time from Callum Osmand earned Celtic a 3-1 win on the day, and a fifth Scottish Premiership title in a row.

The 66-year wait for a title goes on for Hearts, while it remains 41 years since a side other than Rangers or Celtic were crowned champions of Scotland.

[Greg O'Keeffe @GregOK]

Huge day for the #ScottishPremiership & #Celtic as it all goes down to the wire against leaders #Hearts 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Spent a day in Glasgow last week with Celtic’s top centre back Auston Trusty to find out what makes his tick for his club & country #USMNT ☘️🇺🇸

https://t.co/7P6JU87gHU

[The Athletic | Football @TheAthleticFC]

Ahead of today’s dramatic finale to the Scottish title race, Celtic’s Auston Trusty invited The Athletic to spend the day with him in Glasgow. He spoke about:

▪️ Being mocked for playing soccer while growing up in Philadelphia
▪️ His journey to Celtic via Arsenal, Birmingham City and Sheffield United
▪️ Relishing the drama of ‘toxic’ Old Firm clashes
▪️ His World Cup ambitions with the USMNT
▪️ How flow-state analysis headsets have helped his on-pitch focus

✍️ @GregOK

🔗 https://t.co/CKDLf2Lthv

[The Athletic | Football @TheAthleticFC]

Barcelona could win La Liga against Real Madrid today - but it is not the first time a rivalry has proved historically damaging.

■ The chaos and carnage of River Plate’s win over Boca Juniors in Copa Libertadores final
■ Arsenal’s Invincibles clinching the title at White Hart Lane
■ Manchester City inflicting “the worst result in my history” on Sir Alex Ferguson’s United
■ Sheffield United relegating Sheffield Wednesday

📝 @GregOK

🔗 https://t.co/sySuoVEAoa

[Aaron Barton @Aaron__Barton]

With the news of Ricky Van Wolfswinkel retiring, who scored his only Premier League goal against Everton, I decided to dig deeper.

A player has scored their first Premier League goal for their new club 225 times against Everton, the most of any club in the competition.

#EFC