Rory Smith

It was not, but that sounds good. The book in question is Evil Genius, by Kurt Andersen, which isn't about PE and football but is (in part) about PE more generally. Sorry if that wasn't made clear. It's worth reading, though.

OK, yeah, that makes sense. But as things stand now surely the only team even vaguely economically capable of competing with Celtic long-term is Rangers. As good as Aberdeen, Hibs and Dundee Utd were at times last year

Libero: Libero 033: Can We Not Just Be More Like Wimbledon? On today’s episode Jack Pitt-Brooke, James Horncastle and Rory Smith discuss the Club World Cup, where James saw the start of the tournament, with Rory now in New York to see its climax. They as...

And the second is about what that means for all of the other sports, and for football itself. I wouldn’t normally say this about something I’m involved with but I think they’re really interesting conversations. pod.fo/e/2f80e6

We’ve now done two @liberopodcast.bsky.social episodes on whether football has grown too big for its own good. The first is mainly about why it is that one sport grew so much, so fast, in the 1990s. pod.fo/e/2f5917

“At best a middling journalist” is, in all fairness, a great line

You didn’t say an article from me. I didn’t cover that game for work, but a quick google of my name and Newcastle will give you a fair idea. I have no idea why you think my view is shaped by who I support and your view is not. This is now a pointless conversation, though, so have a good day.

Newcastle’s Carabao Cup win: part feelgood story, part PR triumph for dictator state ambition | Barney Ronay Newcastle United’s historic trophy is euphoric for fans and a significant victory for Saudi Arabia. Both things can be true

Not wanting countries to own clubs is a Liverpool fan trope? And here you go: www.theguardian.com/football/202...

The last one just isn’t true. There’s been loads of coverage of Newcastle’s ownership. I’d say that comparing sponsorship and ownership is stretching it to make your argument work better. No ownership is pure, I agree with you. But that doesn’t make them all the same.

They had a clear plan early on, and executed it. PSG have kind of bounced around trying to figure out what works. But to be fair they have also won the CL quicker than City did.

That’s a very blanket description, and seems to me a really reductive approach.

Paris St-Germain complete their long journey to supreme prize | The Observer Inter Milan swept away as French champions run up record-breaking score in Munich

PSG have won the Champions League, at long last, and all it took was eight managers, 14 years, £2bn in transfer fees, more in wages, one hyperinflationary spiral and the complete restricting of European football. Easy to love the team. Less so the project. observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...

The Champions League Final Is Here 🏆 Rory Smith on the disrespect of Lautaro Martínez, Inter Milan and PSG's first-ever meeting, and the best brezels in Munich.

Absolutely delighted to be writing, as well as talking, for @meninblazers.bsky.social. Newsletter will go out every Thursday, and you can read the first one — about Lautaro Martinez, and how we judge players — and sign up here: mibcourage.co/4kDA7CG

Libero: Libero 021: Champions League Final, Premface Edition Today on Libero Jack Pitt-Brooke, Rory Smith and James Horncastle look forward to Saturday’s Champions League final between Paris Saint Germain and Inter Milan.First up is the question of what ac...

Talking Saturday's Champions League final with two of the biggest Premfaces out there, @jameshorncastle.bsky.social and @rorysmith.bsky.social. On today's @liberopodcast.bsky.social

podfollow.com/libero/episo...

Libero: Libero 019: The James Horncastle Origin Story Dispatches from the Libero's Bilbao Bureau bring word of an all-English European final that was not the greatest advert for the 'Best League in the World™', so instead James Horncastle, John Brew...

Dispatches from Libero's Bilbao Bureau bring word of an all-English final that was not the greatest advert for the 'Best League in the World™', so instead @jameshorncastle.bsky.social, @brewin.bsky.social and @rorysmith.bsky.social discuss the Italian perspective on football in 2025

Inside the world of Superbikes: ‘It is not a job or a hobby. It is a life’ | The Observer Two deaths a fortnight ago have failed to dispel the turbocharged allure of the motorsport for riders

The only time most of us engage with motorbike racing is when someone dies. I’d always wondered how they managed to race on when they’d lost a friend and a colleague. But I didn’t understand how being so conscious of death changes the way you interact with it. observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...

Ah that’s very kind of you

Libero: Libero 016: Don Carlo On today’s episode of Libero, Rory Smith, John Brewin and James Horncastle wonder whether anyone not named Carlo Ancelotti can make sense of the modern Real Madrid, and assess the prospects for X...

Carlo and Caipirinhas. An Italian in Brazil. The cultural moment. And what he has left for Xabi in Madrid with @rorysmith.bsky.social and @brewin.bsky.social

pod.fo/e/2d51b2

It’s not on the Guardian — they’re separate entities now. Which one was it? (And was he nice about it?)

Libero: Libero 012: Marathon Wolf Hall Sessions Today’s episode starts with a look to the Arctic circle, where Bodo/Glimt have become one of the best stories in European football this decade. The small club from northern Norway have won four o...

New Libero.

What are the secrets of Bodo/Glimt and can their success be easily emulated?

And a look at Liverpool’s title celebration at Anfield. What does it mean for the fans, Arne Slot and FSG?

@rorysmith.bsky.social @brewin.bsky.social @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social

pod.fo/e/2ce9a4

I meant me!

It's relevant for me, I suppose, whenever it looks like it might end. Don't get me wrong - I knew they'd never won the title. But my knowledge of previous league cup winners is not as comprehensive as it might be, so I thought I'd better hedge...

It was a perfectly valid piece of criticism, to be honest. I don't agree with it and I think it's OK to put your point of view, but no point getting upset about it.

Hahaha - it wasn't meant to come across *quite* that badly.

Should also point out: when it became relevant, I found out. Which is basically what journalism is. We’re not supposed to be clairvoyant or all-knowing, and I find it weird that a lot of journalists seem to act like they are. Just…curious and open-minded.

That’s a perfectly valid thing to think, so I won’t try and persuade you to change your mind, but: why? I have an idea (an accurate one, I think) of where Palace sit in the general picture. It isn’t changed by whether they won a league cup in 1967 or whatever.

PSG v Manchester City: who has the better strategy?

@rorysmith.bsky.social and @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social on the new episode of Libero.

I see your point on Textor, but then BOLT also have a network of other clubs. So, yes, Palace are not themselves part of a network. But the vast majority of the club is owned by people who have networks. Which makes it a very, very fine distinction, to me.

I think that’s not entirely fair, and probably not really borne out by the stuff I write about, to be honest, but I do appreciate how well-constructed the criticism is. I was surprised Palace had never won anything, because being a journalist doesn’t involve knowing every team’s potted history.

Libero This is another podcast about football. But it is also not really, when you think about it, about football. It is about the football industry, about that gauzy web of characters who determine how the ...

New Libero.

Talking Paris Saint-Germain and Crystal Palace. How do football clubs represent their local area in an era of homogeneity?

@rorysmith.bsky.social @brewin.bsky.social and @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social discuss

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Libero 006 out now

youtu.be/Re46voPYfco