Changed my mind 10x before deciding on my vote for The Football Writers' Association Men’s Footballer of the Year. A couple of months ago, I would have said Rodri or Van Dijk, but ended up considering Saliba, Gabriel, Odegaard, Bernardo, Rice, Watkins and Palmer before settling on … Phil Foden

EXCL: Declan Rice interview - My game in my words

🔥 Igniting Arsenal fans
👊 “He got crunched”
❌ Diagonals out
🔗 “Short relationships” in
🔁 Playing “same side”
🎱 Occupy zones
⬆️ Arteta’s pitch “height”
🤫 6 PL goals & 7 assists

Via The Athletic | Football: theathletic.com/5439408/2024/0…

For the last eight days, a London trial has exposed football’s transfer murkiness.

It involves a furious letter, mysterious former #CFC director Marina Granovskaia, and an incident involving Kia Joorabchian’s watch.

Eventually, Saif Rubie was cleared.

theathletic.com/5458437/2024/0…

'It was often pointed out internally that the team had won two promotions on a vegan diet. As an excuse for Forest Green’s results over the past two seasons, it is a red herring. Or at least a plant-based red herring substitute.'

🎩 Oliver Kay

theathletic.com/5449168/2024/0…

Charismatic, innovative but no experience at a club of Liverpool's size.

Adam Crafton was provided with a window into Arne Slot’s Feyenoord kingdom and was as impressed as the Anfield hierarchy are... #LFC

▪️ Will this be a sad, messy end to Jurgen Klopp’s time at Liverpool?
▪️ Is Erik ten Hag talking himself out of a job?
▪️ Has Bukayo Saka returned to form at the perfect time?

Nick Miller brings you the big talking points from the weekend.

Sam Wilson is a non-league footballer who was convicted of rape in 2015.

His past was an open secret yet he still had an active post-jail playing and managerial career.

How did that happen? And did his use of three names since 2012 play a part?

Report by Simon Hughes

Forest Green, football’s greenest club, have dropped out of the Football League.

Almost everything at the club is sustainable, but their ambitions, it seems, were not.

Oliver Kay visited the Cotswolds club that tried to do things “Another Way”

Analysis of Spurs 2 Arsenal 3 - with Art de Roché and Michael Cox

theathletic.com/5449194/2024/0…

After Jurgen Klopp had sought to douse the flames, Mohamed Salah poured petrol on them.

Having elevated Salah to a global icon at Anfield, the departing #LFC manager deserved better than this.

James Pearce on a unseemly spat that told of the pressure on Liverpool

Derby are a club on the rise again and back in Championship thanks to:

🐏 David Clowes — fan who became a reluctant owner
🐏 Paul Warne — who never really wanted to be a manager. Now has four League One promotions on CV
🐏 Rebuild about modesty and humility

⬇️ Nancy Froston

Glad to see AVB manifest his lifetime ambition and become president of Porto. Local boy, fan, coach now in charge of the club. Extraordinary theathletic.com/2666307/2021/0…

Darwin Nunez on Liverpool bench for 3rd time in 4 games. Also subbed in the 3 games prior to that with #LFC needing a goal.
Klopp hasn’t been able to get consistency from him. Will Slot? Or time to accept those rough edges just aren’t going to be smoothed? theathletic.com/5448430/2024/0…

💰 Big-money recruits
🧠 Maresca's 'idea' and quit threat
📈 (Mostly) imperious form
💷 PSR scrutiny ramps up the jeopardy

#LCFC are heading back to the Premier League.

Rob Tanner tells the story of how they held their nerve to secure an instant return to the #PL

A detailed look at Darwin Nunez and whether it’s still realistic to expect him to “click” in a serious, enduring way under a new coach.

Darwin vs xG, Darwin vs the offside trap, Darwin vs the ghost of the brilliant Roberto Firmino. It’s all here #LFC

theathletic.com/5448430/2024/0…

▪️ Wedded to an attacking 4-2-3-1
▪️ Flying full-backs = Trent into midfield?
▪️ Cut-backs a key weapon
▪️ Which #LFC player is best suited to be the No 10?

Mark Carey examines how Arne Slot's Liverpool might look.

🔗 theathletic.com/5442297/?utm_m…

Liverpool and Feyenoord have agreed a compensation package that will allow Arne Slot to become Jurgen Klopp’s successor at Anfield.

More from Adam Crafton

#LFC | #PL

Breaking: Agreement reached tonight between Liverpool and Feyenoord for Arne Slot to replace Jurgen Klopp. Story The Athletic | Football theathletic.com/5446341/2024/0…