The no-look knighting, always risky
04.11.2025 12:51 โ ๐ 19 ๐ 4 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 0@jdnalton.bsky.social
Freelance sports and football writer for the Morning Star newspaper, Forbes, World Soccer magazine, Guardian US, FotMob, BBC, and the Soccer Times. MLS, USL, US Open Cup, Concacaf and American soccer reverie.
Christ, he is supernaturally good at this.
04.11.2025 12:30 โ ๐ 864 ๐ 178 ๐ฌ 34 ๐ 9Come back to what you know. Liverpool embrace last season's approach in return to winning ways. www.forbes.com/sites/jamesn...
03.11.2025 23:04 โ ๐ 3 ๐ 0 ๐ฌ 3 ๐ 0In the win against Aston Villa, Liverpool went back to last season's title-winning tactics/shape, or as close as they can get with current personnel.
03.11.2025 11:57 โ ๐ 7 ๐ 2 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 0Yeah, I always forget how short the NFL regular season is. Only lasts 4 months!
03.11.2025 17:37 โ ๐ 0 ๐ 0 ๐ฌ 1 ๐ 0Expected assists totals in the 2025/26 Premier League so far (Opta):
1. ๐ง๐ช Jeremy Doku - 3.4
2. ๐ณ๐ฑ Cody Gakpo - 2.9
3. ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Jack Grealish - 2.6
4. ๐ฌ๐ฒ Yankuba Minteh - 2.6
5. ๐จ๐ฒ Bryan Mbeumo - 2.5
In the win against Aston Villa, Liverpool went back to last season's title-winning tactics/shape, or as close as they can get with current personnel.
03.11.2025 11:57 โ ๐ 7 ๐ 2 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 0Yeah, those Pacific Championship games have been really good, even if a bit one-sided in some cases. New Zealand v Samoa next weekend should be a good final. morningstaronline.co.uk/article/paci...
03.11.2025 11:40 โ ๐ 0 ๐ 0 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 0Match report from the rugby league at Everton on Saturday for the Morning Star newspaper, as Australia claimed the Ashes. England don't look like they'll ever score a meaningful try against this Australia team, but have one last chance to give it a go at Headingley next week.
03.11.2025 11:19 โ ๐ 1 ๐ 0 ๐ฌ 1 ๐ 0Expected assists totals in the 2025/26 Premier League so far (Opta):
1. ๐ง๐ช Jeremy Doku - 3.4
2. ๐ณ๐ฑ Cody Gakpo - 2.9
3. ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Jack Grealish - 2.6
4. ๐ฌ๐ฒ Yankuba Minteh - 2.6
5. ๐จ๐ฒ Bryan Mbeumo - 2.5
I'm not claiming it's good, but I wrote this when UEFA threatened to bring salary caps to European soccer morningstaronline.co.uk/article/s/sa...
03.11.2025 10:20 โ ๐ 1 ๐ 0 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 0Mid-season awards already, feels like it only started last week.
02.11.2025 19:54 โ ๐ 3 ๐ 0 ๐ฌ 2 ๐ 0And in that pause between pitch and contact - longer than logic, shorter than hope - we remembered why baseball existed long before we judged a sport's value by viral moments and betting apps. It is the romance of failure. The mortal beauty of trying and missing seven times out of 10 and still being considered great. It is the only sport where patience is a weapon, and panic the surest death. You cannot simply run out the clock in baseball; you must face it, pitch by terrifying pitch, until it finally releases you.
Did not expect one of the best paragraphs Iโd read about baseball would come from an Irish newspaper 
www.irishexaminer.com/sport-column...
Black and white photograph of Husker Du, sat at an outdoors table marked with a chess board. Greg and Grant are wearing hats.
"To watch #Nirvana and The Offspring and Green Day and #Pixies blow up was crazy. I think itโs great they got paid and went on to have amazing careers, butโฆ Itโs like we were professional athletes before all the TV money came in and contracts exploded" 
#HรผskerDรผ Interviewed 
buff.ly/k3f6SEV
As Marx once said
02.11.2025 17:22 โ ๐ 11 ๐ 3 ๐ฌ 1 ๐ 0My misadventures in World Cup ticket-buying. 
This week's column @theguardian.com 
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Hammers United fan group poster promoting a "lock-in" after the Newcastle game in protest against ownership, board, and David Sullivan and Karen Brady in particular.
West Ham fans will stage a sit-in protest against the club's ownership and board following their defeat to Newcastle this afternoon.
02.11.2025 11:21 โ ๐ 11 ๐ 0 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 0MCFC Fans Foodbank Support info poster. The collection takes place ahead of today's game against Bournemouth and is located at the end of Sir Howard Bernstein Way under the white bridge opposite the Asda.
Man City fans are celebrating the 115 this weekend, as MCFC Fans Foodbank Support marks its 115th foodbank collection ahead of the game against Bournemouth to raise awareness for the cause.
02.11.2025 11:03 โ ๐ 5 ๐ 1 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 0Early evening view from the east stand of Hill Dickinson stadium at Bramley-Moore dock for the second rugby league Ashes test between England and Australia.
There will be some good sunsets from the east stand of Everton's new stadium over the years.
02.11.2025 09:44 โ ๐ 39 ๐ 0 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 1great hot mic moment on Chicago Fire radio heading into halftime
01.11.2025 22:45 โ ๐ 218 ๐ 67 ๐ฌ 5 ๐ 22Mohamed Salah had 61 touches in Liverpool's game vs Aston Villa, the most he's had in any game this season.
01.11.2025 22:10 โ ๐ 21 ๐ 3 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 1Gravenberch, Mac Allister, and Szoboszlai pass map vs Aston Villa, from Opta Analyst.
Each of Liverpool's three midfielders, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, and Szoboszlai, had a pass success of over 90% vs Aston Villa.
01.11.2025 22:10 โ ๐ 17 ๐ 3 ๐ฌ 1 ๐ 0Wilfred Zaha converted a penalty to keep Charlotte FC alive in a penalty shootout, in the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffsโฆโฆ
This sport allows sentences like that to exist, amazing.
๐ No more past tense, The Protagonist โZine - Issue One is all packed up and pre-orders will ship out on Monday!
โฝ๏ธ The printer made 10 extra! Which means there are now 10 copies in the shop. These may be the last 10 as we gear up for Issue Two: www.protagonistsoccer.com/shop/rdli1h4...
Spurs' lowest xG in a Premier League game since xG records began in 2012, per @optaanalyst.optajoe.com
01.11.2025 20:30 โ ๐ 3 ๐ 0 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 0Spurs v Chelsea match stats via FotMob
Just 0.05 xG for Spurs v Chelsea
01.11.2025 19:34 โ ๐ 12 ๐ 1 ๐ฌ 2 ๐ 3Caicedo tackling his way to an assist.
01.11.2025 18:05 โ ๐ 2 ๐ 0 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 0It's a shame England didn't have more about them in attack to get the atmosphere going. They're yet to score a meaningful try in two games against Australia.
01.11.2025 16:52 โ ๐ 2 ๐ 0 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 0Everton stadium went down well with the rugby league contingent, media and fans alike. Would be a good grand final venue.
01.11.2025 16:48 โ ๐ 6 ๐ 0 ๐ฌ 1 ๐ 0