Scotland’s World Cup ended exactly how too many Scottish tournaments have ended. Not with humiliation. With frustration. One win. Two defeats. One goal scored. Four conceded. Third in Group C behind Brazil and Morocco. The numbers tell the story. The football explains it. The easy argument is money. Brazil’s players are worth more. Morocco’s players…
Hairbond is the best thing I have ever done professionally. Not the easiest thing. Not the smoothest journey. Not the thing that always gave back what I put into it. But the best. Because Hairbond was never built from a spreadsheet. It was built from the salon chair. I came from hair. I stood behind…
Before the police investigate, the internet investigates. Before a jury hears evidence, social media hears rumours. Before a verdict arrives, a sentence has often already been handed down. That is where we are now. One clip. One handshake. One footballer appears to avoid another before kick-off. Within minutes, the public courtroom opens. Some call it…
England have a squad worth more than £1 billion. Against Ghana, they looked like eleven strangers waiting for a bus. That is the problem. Not talent. Not effort. Not even tactics. Chemistry. England had almost 80% possession. They completed hundreds more passes than Ghana. They spent most of the game camped in Ghana’s half. Yet…
Football clubs used to fear bad headlines. Now they fear independent headlines. There is a difference. The most dangerous person in modern football is no longer the angry supporter. It is the journalist who does not need access. Because access is how modern power controls the story. No credential. No interview. No training-ground access. No…
Andrew Tate becoming Prime Minister sounds absurd. But absurd ideas now travel faster than serious ones. And as Britain watches another leadership crisis unfold, the timing matters. When trust collapses, theatre walks in. That is what Tate understands. He is not offering politics. He is offering a wrestling promo dressed up as a movement. The…
Keir Starmer is leaving. The newspapers will call it a leadership crisis. They are wrong. This is a trust crisis. A fairness crisis. A class crisis. A national confidence crisis. Because the real story is not that Keir Starmer failed. The real story is that millions of ordinary people looked at Labour, looked at the…
In 2017, I found myself staring at the history of Stylo Matchmakers and realising I was not just looking at a football boot brand. I was looking at a lost version of football. A version before every club became a content company. Before every player became a brand. Before supporters became customer data. Before football…
Emma Hayes described Cape Verde’s draw with Spain as “a victory for immigration.” That comment has lingered in my mind. Not because it was outrageous. Not because she was not entitled to say it. But because it captured something many football supporters have been feeling for years. A growing gap between football broadcasters and football…
Yesterday I sat down on a WhatsApp video call with Rubén Heras González from RTVE, Spain’s national broadcaster. We discussed the Los Angeles Aztecs, Johan Cruyff, George Best, fan ownership, football culture and the future of the game ahead of the 2026 World Cup. As I ended the call, one thought stayed with me. Why…