Oliver Kay

James Pearce@JamesPearceLFC

1

5.8K

Oliver Kay@OliverKay·1h

Good. Football clubs should not be — as Jim Ratcliffe would put it — “colonised” by bigger, richer clubs and their owners. Multi-club ownership is an absolute blight on the sport nytimes.com/athletic/43207…

Exclusive: Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group has shelved plans to buy a second football club. Around 25 clubs analysed in depth over past two years with strong focus on Spain, Portugal and France. But multi-club project now regarded as “dormant”. nytimes.com/athletic/71317…

English

8

6

77

25.2K

Oliver Kay retweetledi

The Athletic | Football@TheAthleticFC·1h

“It’s incompetence of the highest order.” Tottenham Hotspur’s slide into relegation danger has been one of the stories of the season - and has sparked strong opinions. We asked executives, agents and coaches - all with the condition of anonymity - why Spurs have spiralled, who is to blame and what could come next. 📝 @DTathletic 🔗 nytimes.com/athletic/71100…

English

31

14

126

31K

Oliver Kay retweetledi

The Athletic | Football@TheAthleticFC·2h

■ On the title race: "We cannot be scared. We cannot lose something we don’t have" ■ On Pep and Arteta: "They share something in their DNA." ■ "I want to win everything, but if I have to choose, it's the Champions League" The Arsenal and Brazil forward Gabriel Jesus speaks exclusively to The Athletic. 📝 @jacklang and @MarioCortegana 🔗 nytimes.com/athletic/71285…

English

30

124

1K

82.5K

Oliver Kay@OliverKay·18h

I think there's a good argument that the League Cup should be for those clubs who aren't involved in European competition. The difficulty is that, without the biggest clubs, it would generate a lot less in sponsorship/broadcast revenue. But I think it would be incredibly unfair to scrap it for the benefit of six or seven clubs who have a congested schedule when it's an important competition for e.g. Everton (possibly a bad example given their selection at Wolves this season, but the point stands)

English

1

6

Carl_H ⚽️ 🇺🇦@CarlH_THFC77·18h

@AndresStein05 @OliverKay keep the LC, just repeat what they did in early mid nineties & remove 2 teams from PL

English

0

15

Oliver Kay retweetledi

Oliver Kay@OliverKay·1d

In terms of financial resources, competitiveness and depth of quality, the Premier League’s strength is unquestionable. And Arsenal, nine points clear, are a top team. nytimes.com/athletic/71276… But this Champions League knockout stage has brought sobering illustrations of a gulf in attacking/creative quality between Real Madrid (Vinicius Jnr, Valverde etc — with Mbappe, Bellingham, Rodrygo injured), PSG (Kvaratskhelia, Barcola, Dembele, Doué, those midfielders, those full backs), Bayern (Kane, Olise, Musiala, Diaz etc) ... and teams whose main creative/attacking stars have struggled for inspiration in the Premier League this season. There are clearly other factors — intensity of the schedule, intensity of the matches, the return to a more physical/attritional playing style — but the lack of elite-level creative/attacking quality in the Premier League has been a concern all season. It has absolutely been underlined so far in the Champions League knock-out stage, where Manchester City (second best defensive record in the PL this season) and Chelsea (joint third best) respectively conceded five goals to Real Madrid and eight goals to PSG. I wouldn't rule out Arsenal to win the Champions League because, unlike the others, they have an outstanding defence. But right now, with Manchester City and Liverpool in a state of expensive flux and Chelsea fixated on an utterly flawed recruitment strategy, it has hard this season to look at the top end of the Premier League and enjoy or applaud the quality of the football. In the Champions League knock-out stage, a drop in quality, as well as a couple of soft underbellies, has been exposed nytimes.com/athletic/71276…

English

17

16

106

68.5K

Oliver Kay@OliverKay·1d

I massively disagree with you regarding Guardiola. He has done more than any coach to elevate the technical and creative quality of the Premier League. What we’re seeing this season in particular is a backlash against “Pepball”. He might actually have unwittingly helped that along by changing the profile of his full backs and centre forward a few years ago, but the “sideways passing” that people get upset about has always been done with a purpose, as the goals column shows

English

0

1

19

Rich@L33D5WF2·1d

@GravPa @OliverKay You see the ones who move away flourish and become top players when they’re allowed to let their flare and creativity out, Pep has been the catalyst to his the PL is now, Arteta has taken that style even further, they both need to be gone

English

0

1

27

Oliver Kay@OliverKay·1d

@Halpy67 Not me. I've always pointed out the profound unfairness of the financial landscape. English football doesn't have the same excuse x.com/OliverKay/stat…

Oliver Kay@OliverKay

@ewanmo1982 @MCFCPH @TheAthleticUK If you think getting through three qualifying rounds and then getting battered by PSG/Barcelona/Bayern is a failure, I think you're underestimating just how difficult the competitive landscape is now for Scottish clubs. But that's just my opinion.

English

1

130

Halps@Halpy67·1d

@OliverKay I'm old enough to remember when Scottish clubs who have vastly smaller budgets have been on the end of a hiding from these clubs & the English media, pundits etc eviscerated Scottish football. Looking forward to hearing similar for the self-called greatest league in the world

English

0

1

118

Oliver Kay@OliverKay·1d

Kvaratskhelia, Barcola, Vinicius Jnr, Valverde, Raphinha, Fermín López, Yamal … #NUFC gave it a really good go for 3/4 of this tie, but it’s a similar story, coming up against attacking quality that we’re just not seeing in this season’s set-piece-oriented Premier League. The ease with which Premier League defences are being torn apart is alarming. It’s as they’ve forgotten what it’s like to come up against expensive, incisive football nytimes.com/athletic/71276…

English

17

4

38

28.5K

Oliver Kay@OliverKay·1d

I think it can be both! I think it's reasonable to think that e.g. PSG could on one hand be physically and mentally fresher than their opponents and on the other hand be less battle-hardened and less prepared for the step up in the quality when it comes in the knock-out stage. I thought they looked shocked at times in the past when things got serious very quickly on difficult nights in Barcelona and Madrid, whereas last season (despite being on the ropes at times, away to Liverpool and Villa) they really rose to the challenge. As I said, I think both factors exist

English

1

54

Joseph Pierre@JPierreX7·1d

@OliverKay I appreciate you mentioning that, but it can't be both. At the end of the day, those teams are or have been better. If Spurs get eliminated by Atletico, it'll just be because Spurs are a horrific team. Just as PSG are simply better than Chelsea. No overanalyzing needed.

English

0

1

66

Oliver Kay@OliverKay·1d

@FootballCliches Emi Martinez, Cristian Romero, Darwin Nunez, Enzo Fernandez. Mattress makers, the lot of them

English

4

0

49

44.2K

Adam Hurrey@FootballCliches·1d

Enzo Fernandez is Atletico Madrid to his very core, and he's simply, finally, realised it

English

10

14

834

113.9K

Oliver Kay@OliverKay·1d

Chelsea certainly have a soft underbelly, as do Tottenham (to put it mildly), and Liverpool's fragilities — of a slightly different nature — have been glaringly apparent for much of the season. In Chelsea's case, there's a difference between a) losing to one of the best teams in the world over two legs, which would be entirely excusable, and b) losing 8-2 on aggregate, which just underlined all the flaws and fragilities that have been clear for a long time. Manchester City a different case — thought 5-1 on aggregate didn't reflect the balance of play over the two legs — but the reality is that a non-vintage Real Madrid team, with key players missing, could have scored significantly more goals

English

1

132

James@JAlexMurphy·1d

@OliverKay Read the article, think you’re drawing incorrect conclusions from a tiny sample size. If Gala knock out Liverpool tonight, it may be more of a pertinent point then. But “soft underbellies” because you’ve lost to two of the best sides in the world across 2 legs is laughable.

English

0

1

190

James@JAlexMurphy·1d

Hilarious, a couple of sides get knocked out of the CL and all of a sudden the “top of the league is weak”.

Oliver Kay@OliverKay

In terms of financial resources, competitiveness and depth of quality, the Premier League’s strength is unquestionable. And Arsenal, nine points clear, are a top team. nytimes.com/athletic/71276… But this Champions League knockout stage has brought sobering illustrations of a gulf in attacking/creative quality between Real Madrid (Vinicius Jnr, Valverde etc — with Mbappe, Bellingham, Rodrygo injured), PSG (Kvaratskhelia, Barcola, Dembele, Doué, those midfielders, those full backs), Bayern (Kane, Olise, Musiala, Diaz etc) ... and teams whose main creative/attacking stars have struggled for inspiration in the Premier League this season. There are clearly other factors — intensity of the schedule, intensity of the matches, the return to a more physical/attritional playing style — but the lack of elite-level creative/attacking quality in the Premier League has been a concern all season. It has absolutely been underlined so far in the Champions League knock-out stage, where Manchester City (second best defensive record in the PL this season) and Chelsea (joint third best) respectively conceded five goals to Real Madrid and eight goals to PSG. I wouldn't rule out Arsenal to win the Champions League because, unlike the others, they have an outstanding defence. But right now, with Manchester City and Liverpool in a state of expensive flux and Chelsea fixated on an utterly flawed recruitment strategy, it has hard this season to look at the top end of the Premier League and enjoy or applaud the quality of the football. In the Champions League knock-out stage, a drop in quality, as well as a couple of soft underbellies, has been exposed nytimes.com/athletic/71276…

English

0

4

19.2K

Oliver Kay@OliverKay·1d

@JPierreX7 Indeed. I mentioned that here x.com/OliverKay/stat…

Oliver Kay@OliverKay

That is a very popular theory — and I give it some credence . But there are many in France and Germany who have suggested over the years that PSG and Bayern have suffered because of the lack of intensity in L1/Bundesliga and struggled to make the step up when the time comes. I feel there are degrees of truth in both assessments — and they apply increasingly to La Liga, as the Elo ratings reflect. Ultimately, I believe Arsenal are way ahead of the other English teams this season, again as the Elo ratings reflect. Whether they are as far above Bayern and PSG as those ratings suggest, I don't know. But the competitiveness of the PL hasn't stopped English clubs reaching finals (CL/EL/ECL) regularly over recent years

English

0

1

609

Joseph Pierre@JPierreX7·1d

@OliverKay EPL fans have to decide which narrative to push. When PSG didn't win the CL, all I heard about is that the league was too easy. They start being more successful, the narrative is that it's because their league isn't intense. Which one is it? Surely, it can't be both.

English

0

4

585

Oliver Kay@OliverKay·1d

@AndresStein05 Oh, absolutely. It's madness what they're doing. Totally irresponsible

English

0

1

50

Andrés da Silveira Stein | Editor@AndresStein05·1d

@OliverKay (I'll add the caveat that FIFA and UEFA aren't helping in the global scale with the schedules either)

English

0

47

Oliver Kay@OliverKay·1d

I don't think for a moment that the schedule helps, but that same schedule didn't stop three Premier League teams winning the Champions League in recent years — or reaching finals or semi-finals, or winning Europa League or Conference League — and i don't think the schedule will stop Arsenal, with a fantastic squad, going very deep in the Champions League this year. Yes there are issues with the schedule and the intensity of the PL, as I said, but I think ultimately it comes down to quality — which isn't currently as it should be, given the spending power of the clubs

English

0

2

454

Andrés da Silveira Stein | Editor@AndresStein05·1d

@OliverKay And it will keep happening. Every season, until the FA relents and phases out the League Cup. Until the calendar isn't a mad dash across 11 months.

English

0

521

Oliver Kay@OliverKay·1d

That is a very popular theory — and I give it some credence . But there are many in France and Germany who have suggested over the years that PSG and Bayern have suffered because of the lack of intensity in L1/Bundesliga and struggled to make the step up when the time comes. I feel there are degrees of truth in both assessments — and they apply increasingly to La Liga, as the Elo ratings reflect. Ultimately, I believe Arsenal are way ahead of the other English teams this season, again as the Elo ratings reflect. Whether they are as far above Bayern and PSG as those ratings suggest, I don't know. But the competitiveness of the PL hasn't stopped English clubs reaching finals (CL/EL/ECL) regularly over recent years

English

4

0

3

1.5K

Magic hat 🎩@themagic_tophat·1d

@TheAthleticFC @OliverKay Being able to play in first gear for most of their League campaign is what enables that.

English