Thom Harris

Some personal news this morning… I’m incredibly excited to announce that I’m joining @TheAthleticFC as a full-time writer, focusing on football data in the Premier League and beyond. Here are a few things that you can expect from me 🇪🇸👨‍💻 theathletic.com/4153380

Inigo Perez would be working alongside Andoni Iraola as his assistant at Bournemouth were it not for a work permit issue. But since his appeal was rejected, the 38-year-old has returned to Rayo Vallecano — where Iraola made his name — and built on the foundations he left behind. He has channeled the energy of a fiercely local and loyal fanbase, encouraging an adventurous style of play that gets adrenaline pumping and helps Rayo to continue punching above their weight. @ThomHarris_ analyses why Perez is a manager on the rise. 🔗 nytimes.com/athletic/71345…

City are attacking at speed more than ever under Guardiola. Semenyo's arrival should make them more clinical on the break, while his ability to get powerful shots away on both feet can smash through deeper defences. More detail for @TheAthleticFC ⬇️ nytimes.com/athletic/69316…

FT: City take all three points after a brilliant late strike from Rayan Cherki, and sit — albeit temporarily — at the top of the table for the first time since the opening weekend.

Rayan Cherki gets his seventh Premier League assist after a lovely spin and reverse pass for Tijjani Reijnders to finish. Hadn't been City's most fluent performance but Cherki had always threatened with those smart passes through the lines and little changes of tempo. 1-0 City.

I’m in Nottingham today covering Manchester City for @TheAthleticFC. Pep Guardiola names an unchanged Premier League XI for the sixth time in 2025-26, that’s as many as the previous four seasons combined! Updates to follow ⬇️

You may have seen Dominic Calvert-Lewin's oddly symmetrical goal map over the weekend, but just how unusual is it? Of players with 5+ non-penalty goals this season, his goalscoring area is six times smaller than anyone else. More on @TheAthleticFC ⬇️ nytimes.com/athletic/69114…

England now know their group opponents at the 2026 World Cup but there's still time for those on the fringes of the squad to make their case to be in Thomas Tuchel's final selection. One of those is Bournemouth's Alex Scott — a player equally adept with and without the ball, and someone who has been a shining light in Andoni Iraola's side this season. 📝 @ThomHarris_ nytimes.com/athletic/68448…

🔺 The importance of Johan Cruyff 🔺 How it encourages short, quick midfield passing 🔺 An undeniable Serie A heritage 🔺 How the Premier League has adopted it, from Antonio Conte to Oliver Glasner In the fourth part of the Tactics Board series, presented by @footballmanager, @ThomHarris_ looks at the history of the 3-4-3 formation ⤵️ 🔗 nytimes.com/athletic/67835…

Bournemouth are second in the Premier League. They were talked down after a mini-exodus in the summer. Andoni Iraola was written off after a poor start. But when should we really start to take them seriously? 📝 @ThomHarris_ 🔗 nytimes.com/athletic/67594…

🇺🇸 A U.S. starlet who played with Messi 🇲🇽 A 17-year-old with the world at his feet 🇦🇷 An Argentinian player of the tournament 🇲🇦 The dynamic forward that decided the final @ThomHarris_ picks out five potential stars of the future that shone at the Under-20 World Cup ⬇️

Are Bayern the best team in the world? @AyoAkinwo, @Jon_Mackenzie and a super debut from @ThomHarris_ take a look 👀 (With special insight on Kane from @SebSB) youtu.be/6Gw1tmvo0ls?si…

Was great to be joined on our Week in Football show by @ThomHarris_ (and a cameo from @SebSB) to talk about where Vincent Kompany's Bayern Munich fit into the wider hierarchy of Europe's elite sides. Out, as always, on Saturday morning.

@ch_albers Thank you, Christoph! This is a great observation and a really nice example. Will be fascinating to see how other teams take inspiration from that Sevilla performance — there are so many ways to attack the high line once you pass the first line of pressure.

This reminds me a little bit of the Spurs v. Chelsea game back in Nov. '23, when Spurs had 2 players sent off, but where still holding a very high line until the end. Chelsea took a very long to figure this out, but it proofed to be very effective. Nice little case study that.

@ThomHarris_ Really enjoyed your piece on "Opponents 'ignoring' Barcelona's offsite trap"! Just to add to the strategies to overcome Barça's offsite trap, I would like to point towards the "second runs" as I would call them: 1st run:

@TheAthleticFC Just like at Brentford earlier this month, Chelsea struggled to build up against Lincoln last night when their deepest midfielder was man-marked by an opposition forward. A look to why it causes them issues, and how they can fix it, for @TheAthleticFC ⬇️ nytimes.com/athletic/66562…

He also points to a tactical change that helped Chelsea to improve in the second half: “Jorrel was playing in a different position and the shape of the team was different” More on that to come in my match piece for @TheAthleticFC tomorrow morning!

A lovely evening here in Lincoln ahead of Chelsea’s third-round tie in the Carabao Cup. Eight changes, but still pretty strong as Andrey Santos starts and Tyrique George leads the line. Updates and analysis to come for @TheAthleticFC ⬇️