Simon L. Read

@GeorgeOnTap Muting the term 'offsides' on here has been the best decision I've made all week. Can't recommend it enough.

You don’t have to like soccer and the World Cup. You don’t have to watch. But man these people lecturing us on why it sucks and what needs to change are insufferable

@retrophisch Americans: "the hydration breaks are for player wellbeing." Also Americans: "no penalty shootouts. Run them into the ground. Grind their bones into dust."

Here's another reason why Americans aren't big into soccer: in a tournament with the magnitude of the World Cup, games should never, ever be decided by penalty kicks. They should just keep playing in 15 minute increments of extra time until there's a winner. War of attrition. These are not some regular season league games.

@rwakie Not sure if you've noticed, but players continue to do this, despite your oddly beloved "Hydration/Commercial breaks".

@SimonLRead Right. And when your team needs a break or wants to stop the flow of the game, one of your players will fall to the ground and ask for treatment while the rest of the team takes and drink and talks to the manager. I think what we’re seeing at this World Cup is a better option. 🤷‍♂️

Unpopular opinion: but the #WorldCup #hydrationbreaks are great for the growth of the game in 🇺🇸! The play is sharper. The energy is higher. Fewer injuries. The final 20 minutes are way more fun. They create tactical chaos too. A team parking the bus suddenly comes out high pressing. Fans get a snack, a drink, a bathroom break, and time to make the game more social. The broadcast gets more valuable. The sport gets more money. Great for growth. Add in the #MLS innovative rules to combat time wasting and flopping, and I’m sorry, but this has been a big win for soccer in America. Boo away. I know change is hard for people as they get old and grumpy, but I hope they're here to stay. America is improving the world's game and we should claim victory. Thoughts? @TaylorTwellman @rogbennett @AlexiLalas

Brazil fans having 'nam flashbacks over this Germany vs. Curaçao scoreline.

@hthieblot Geocities.

Anyone who surfed the early web between 1995-2010. What’s the one website/app you still think about?

@AVFCchats It's not AI, they've just put a retro video filter on it.

the glory days are back 🩵 26/27 Aston Villa Home – absolutely marvelous 😉

@WhatTheForkAVFC I'd lay in the path of a moving lorry if he asked me to. What a guy.

Unai Emery i love you. What a manager we have. 💜💙

@mymarvelouslife @_CM_67_ Millennium Stadium (to us locals), 74k capacity, smack bang in the middle of the city centre, no public car park, often hosts major/televised events (ex: we've hosted the Champions League final, a WWE PPV, and the biggest music acts), never much of an issue arriving or leaving.

@_CM_67_ you need space. Stadiums are used for other things besides sporting events. Trucks and trailers will need space. 50K+ people leaving an event in the heart of Manhattan is a nightmare. There’s a reason why stadiums are never in the *middle* of a city.

Americans not understanding that in this scenario you wouldn’t need a car park the size of Andorra

In completely unrelated news, Premier League 'big six' darlings, Spurs, are on the brink of relegation...

Aston Villa's week - 19/01/2026 ~ 22/01/2026

@TheGennadiy @creepydotorg The impressive thing about Independence Day is how little CGI was used. A lot of it (ex: the city explosions) were done with models & the city-destroyer ships were done by photographing models and layering them into the shots. On the making-of doc, they said it was about 5% CGI.

@creepydotorg This and Independence Day impress to this day!

I can't get over the fact that these visual effects are 29 years old 🤯

The worst thing about PSR is they've tricked lower-table/league clubs into believing it's in-place to protect them against spending beyond their means, so they're unlikely to vote against it, handing the clubs it 'truly' protects the majority vote any time it comes up for review.

•Connor Gallagher•

@TransWorldSport My absolute favourite thing as a kid was watching this on Channel 4 and seeing the weekly top 10 tennis rankings. Then they'd show sumo/kabaddi and Football Italia. Good times.

After 38 years, Trans World Sport signs off for the final time at the end of 2025. Thank you for every story, every athlete, every viewer. It’s been an honour to share the world of sport with you. 🌍❤️ #TransWorldSport #EndOfAnEra

I feel like I've watched this several times an hour, every hour, since about 2:20pm this past Saturday. UTV.

My story, Glass Womb, has been published by the good people at Blood+Honey! Give it a look! It's loosely based on a short poem I once wrote called 'I am a vending machine, pregnant with a human-shaped man'. Make of this information what you will...

Pulp delivering the performance of the weekend at Glastonbury (although Four Tet was incredible last night). They sound incredible and the fact they're not headlining is nothing short of negligent booking.

I wrote some absurdist satire. Robot Butt gave it a home. Stock Market Speedrunning: robotbutt.com/2025/06/05/sto…