Dominic Fifield

Kim Hellberg: Behind the scenes with the coach driving Middlesbrough towards the Premier League Boro's Swedish coach talks rollercoaster football, overcoming a fear of public speaking and how Hellball could restore the club to the elite

Kim Hellberg's impact on Middlesbrough has been fast and impressive, as have a growing number of Boro's performances. Top of the Championship, tonight they go to Coventry in second. Hellberg's favourite player as a boy was Frank Lampard. Spent a few hours observing. www.nytimes.com/athletic/703...

Football’s sleeping pills problem: ‘My usage was ridiculous – I was in La La Land’ The Athletic spoke to people involved in football about the problems with sleeping pills

'I was in a constant state of sedation'

Football has a hidden problem with sleeping pills

I spoke to a number of players who developed an addiction to them - and explored why footballers may be especially vulnerable

www.nytimes.com/athletic/698...

Any going spare?

Heart of Midlothian, Scottish football’s unlikely disrupters Some cannot get their heads around Hearts being Scottish champions come May. But it can happen.

Another frantic, compelling afternoon at Tynecastle. Hearts' lead is down to four points, as the doubters will note. But they go into February top of the Scottish Premiership and can still do it. Even if they don't, Hearts have made us look again. www.nytimes.com/athletic/699...

Derby Days: Hamburg.

Ahead of tonight’s Stadtderby at the Millerntor, a piece on the rivalry between St.Pauli and HSV from a few years ago.

@theathleticfc.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/athletic/443...

Straight Outta Cobham: A show about Chelsea: Chelsea into UCL top eight after Pafos toil with trip to crisis club Palace up next In the race for eighth place...Matt Davies-Adams has got The Athletic's Liam Twomey and Cerys Jones alongside him for a recap of the extremely dull but extremely necessary 1-0 victory over Pafos on...

𝗧𝗛𝗨𝗥𝗦𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗣𝗢𝗗! 🚨

@mattdaviesadams.bsky.social, @reallycerys.bsky.social & @liamtwomey.bsky.social discussing...

🇨🇾 Pafos (only just) dealt with
🦅 Palace's plight w/ @domfifield.bsky.social
🏆 #CFCW bloody love a cup final
🔟 Shocking 'top 10' recall

#CFC

pod.fo/e/37e6a0

West Ham and Tottenham have lost their Way The two clubs have huge histories but a modern malaise - unhappy fans, owner issues, unpopular managers, and recruitment failings

Tottenham and West Ham are not what they were, nor, in terms of potential, what they could be. The Way the clubs played seems like a relic of history, yet a sense of it is still entwined in the current fanbase disaffection and disconnection. www.nytimes.com/athletic/692...

Nathan Lyon.

“Eventually, they will get you.

“Sustained excellence, repeated over and over again. Pat Cummins is a freak and Nathan Lyon is a genius. You can swap those around as well if you really want.”

Cameron Ponsonby, Paul Newman & Tim Spiers dissect the talking points from Adelaide Oval ⤵️

bit.ly/4akZGqu

The second day at the Gabba saw Brydon Carse carted to all parts.

By the time England hobbled off for tea with Australia 228-3 and only 108 runs adrift, Carse had conceded the third fastest half century by an England bowler in Test history.

It was a bruising second session.

Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Sunderland’s five-year rise: ‘The challenge for us is to break the cycle’ The Athletic speaks with three key decision-makers at the club, including chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, to chart their journey on Wearside

Sunderland's December 2025 is daunting, but it's not December 2020. Spoke to three key decision-makers – Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, Kristjaan Speakman & Florent Ghisolfi – about where the club has been, is today and hopes to be next season and beyond. www.nytimes.com/athletic/685...

Watching Florian Wirtz and thinking of Robert Pires Wirtz will need to be effective in sterner tests than the one provided by West Ham. Like Pires, Wirtz will need time and space and faith

Not an exact comparison, but there is some stylistically and Robert Pires' career at Arsenal showed the benefit of patience, spectacularly so. Florian Wirtz deserves the same at Liverpool. www.nytimes.com/athletic/684...

Thank you Colin! Will have a listen

Christantus Uche: What is going on with Crystal Palace’s summer signing? The €20million summer signing can barely get on the pitch and his manager seems less than impressed

It hasn't gone to plan for Christantus Uche at Palace since joining in the summer.

Oliver Glasner clearly unimpressed with the No 10 and had a long pause before deflecting on whether he was at the level expected in training

An uncertain future now looms #CPFC

www.nytimes.com/athletic/683...

George Best, Manchester United and a mystique that endures It is 20 years since the Manchester United great passed away, yet the man known as the Fifth Beatle remains a presence even now

George Best died 20 years ago. His presence endures. He represented Manchester United in a way last night's team did not. www.nytimes.com/athletic/683...

It turns out Bazball is infectious. Even in Australia.

The opening day of the Ashes in Perth was riddled with it.

🔗 theathletic.com/6819497/?sou...

The Soccer 100: A celebration of the greatest players in the sport’s history The Athletic is delighted to announce the release of The Soccer 100, profiling players from Pele to Puskas, Maradona to Messi

It was a privilege to be involved in the production of this book and to have written one of the entries:

www.nytimes.com/athletic/678...

Steve Smith, Monty Panesar and a weird pre-Ashes Mastermind jibe The stand-in Australia captain gave a remarkably well-prepared answer to an ostensibly random question on the eve of the Ashes series

Steve Smith, Monty Panesar, Mastermind. Weird

✍️ @nickmiller79.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/athletic/682...

Preparing Perth Stadium for Ashes cricket: A drop-in wicket, a 40-tonne transporter and sleepless nights The ground is hosting its first Ashes Test but will replicate the pace and bounce that made the WACA, across the Swan River, so feared

Came up with this idea while still in England. So much fun digging into how you go from rugby & AFL, to a cricket oval at a glorious new stadium — all while trying to recreate an iconic pitch from the opposite bank of the Swan River... #Ashes @theathletic.com

www.nytimes.com/athletic/680...

Will Vaulks wins FIFPRO award for work around mental health in football “It gives me an even louder voice, so that’s my main delight with winning it," Vaulks told The Athletic.

‘It gives me an even louder voice, so that’s my main delight with winning it’

I spoke to Will Vaulks, who won the FIFPRO Player Voice Award for his work in suicide prevention

The cause is close to Vaulks’ heart - he lost both of his grandfathers to suicide

www.nytimes.com/athletic/680...

Tales from the Ashes: A rivalry between England and Australia that has endured since 1882 The Athletic revisits some of the most memorable Ashes series to chart the history of one of the deepest sporting rivalries on the planet

𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙨

Our writers have picked out the most memorable series from down the years to chart the history of one of sport's deepest rivalries.

▪️ The death of English cricket
▪️ Bodyline & The Don, the best the world has ever seen
▪️ Botham's Ashes & how Allan Border wrestled back control

Thierno Barry, the art of adaptation and a wake-up call in Zanzibar: ‘It renewed my joy for the game’ The France Under-21 striker has had an itinerant career to date but, after a slow start, is determined to make his mark at Everton

EXCL - Thierno Barry on his tough start, overcoming adversity & that ovation from Everton fans

"I’ve not had the career of the average player. Everything has happened really quickly & I've learnt from that adversity. It does inspire me"

@theathleticfc.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/athletic/680...

Nasser Hussain interview: ‘The Ashes defines England captains and coaches’ The former England captain is joining The Athletic's Ashes coverage - he can't wait for the talking to stop and the cricket to start

Nasser Hussain has joined The Athletic as a columnist as part of our coverage of the Ashes, which begin on Friday in Perth.

“This series usually defines England captains and coaches, and this one will.”

Hussain will return to provide analysis for The Athletic after each Test.

Josh Hazlewood ruled out of first Ashes Test, Mark Wood hamstring scan clear Hazlewood joins Pat Cummins and Sean Abbott on the sidelines, with Michael Neser called up and uncapped Brendan Doggett in line for debut

A huge blow for Australia with less than a week to go before the Ashes.

Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the first Test in Perth with a hamstring injury.

Meanwhile, England have received a positive update on Mark Wood.

More from @michaeljbailey.bsky.social ⤵️

Remembering Shane Warne: ‘The biggest cricketing superstar of the lot’ Shane Keith Warne transcended his sport like few other cricketers – he will be mourned during the first Ashes Down Under since his passing

“He was the greatest player I ever saw. It was not just his skill — he was a magician.”

Ahead of a home Ashes without him, @paulfnewman66.bsky.social talks to Mark Waugh, Mike Hussey, Jason Gillespie, Rob Key and others about the brilliance of Shane Warne

www.nytimes.com/athletic/678...

David Ornstein meets Adam Wharton: England and the World Cup, self-criticism and finding space Crystal Palace's Adam Wharton speaks to David Ornstein about his England call-up, being told to keep quiet by Oliver Glasner and much more

EXCL: @david-ornstein.bsky.social meets Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton to discuss England and the World Cup, how he's so self-critical and why Oliver Glasner has told him to stop asking questions...

Jake Weatherald: The Ashes rookie who went from an English village to Australia’s Test squad Australia's rookie opening batsman was playing amateur cricket two years ago, but is now ready to shine on cricket's biggest stage

Norfolk cricket hits @theathletic.com! (Not something I imagined writing a few yrs ago.)

Lovely stuff from @nickmiller79.bsky.social on Jake Weatherald — and a pocket of yellow & green in England hoping for at least a slither of Australian magic during the Ashes ...

www.nytimes.com/athletic/678...

🔺 The positivity being stoked at Sunderland
🔺 The afternoon he was booed from the field at the Emirates
🔺 The chaos Mikel Arteta confronted at Arsenal

Ahead of the visit of his former club Arsenal, Granit Xhaka talks exclusively to @mwalkerfoot.bsky.social.

🔗 www.nytimes.com/athletic/677...

Sunderland. Arsenal. Xhaka. ‘It was the worst day of my life. It was the best day of my life’ The Sunderland captain talks leadership, Arteta, Arsenal, the day he was booed off at the Emirates and his new side's aspirations

Sunderland. Arsenal. Xhaka.
An interview as they all come together. www.nytimes.com/athletic/677...