Stuart James

“You’ll never come across anyone that good again.” Yann Gueho was an outrageously talented French wonderkid, “better than Mbappe”, signed by Chelsea & destined for the top. Sadly, the last hat-trick he scored was in prison. This is his remarkable story. theathletic.com/3975061/2022/1…

"Dig in." "Keep pushing." Gone are the days of the straightforward bleep test. But football players are still put through their paces — and some — at the start of pre-season. With influences from Sweden, France and New Zealand's All Blacks, @stujames75 analyses six different…

Fancy a pre-season running test like the pros? 6️⃣ Arne Slot’s 6MRT 🥇Thomas Frank 10x100m 🐴 Bristol City Bronco 💨 Swans/Snoop 18-min SDS ⏱️ Pochettino’s Gacon 🎽 30-15 & the Aussie “beasts” @Gareth_Sandford has a calculator at hand for your results 🏃‍♂️ nytimes.com/athletic/64919…

Eat. Sleep. Football. Repeat. The 2024-25 season hasn’t finished… but the 2025-26 season has already started. On July 8 there was a Club World Cup semi-final taking place in New York at the same time as Champions League qualifiers in Europe. Then last night, Real Madrid…

Eat. Sleep. Football. Repeat. Federico Valverde has played 6,674 mins of football since August - the equivalent of 74 90-minute games. How a never-ending cycle of matches at the highest level has created a “nonsensical” calendar… nytimes.com/athletic/64827…

Being here, among the queuing locals waiting to pay tribute at the Matriz de Gondomar church, it was impossible not to think about roots: those that ground us, that keep us connected to where we come from, if we allow them to. It is obvious that Diogo Jota nourished his.…

Hugely encouraging summer for the Swans 🦢 So positive that business has been done early, & really good business too 👏 Need a striker (expect 1/2 to go in that department) but all in good time. Just wish that he’d stop asking me every bloody day when the new kit comes out 🤦🏼‍♂️

“If you're of working age & you’re capable, go & work & contribute. So that’s what I’m doing.” Interview with Luke Williams (a top guy) on his shifts at Bristol Airport, the message he’s sending to his sons, & why the world of football doesn’t define him. nytimes.com/athletic/64561…

Bloody hell, there’s me cheering on Sid Lowe’s Real Oviedo, worrying about pens and the commentator throws a total curve ball… “We will be going to two 15-minute spells in extra time. But there will be no penalties. Oviedo would win courtesy of their superior league position.”

Luke Williams, the former Swansea City head coach, is working at Bristol Airport. Personal take: fair play to him. No financial need to do the job. But he’s said before “motivation is everything in life”. (Story surfaced via photo posted by @MEK230402) nytimes.com/athletic/64420…

Rabonas, rainbow flicks, the Brazilian seal dribbler, a shoulder roll (made in Swansea), nutmegs, keepie-uppies & no-look passes… showboating: taking the p*** & winding up opponents or ‘expressing yourself’ & entertaining us all? ✍🏻 with @jacklang nytimes.com/athletic/64349…

For fans, it is a moment of joy. For players, it can be something else entirely. The art of showboating, from @stujames75 and @jacklang ⬇️ 🔗 nytimes.com/athletic/64349…

This is Adrian Doherty, who would have turned 50 today, described by Sir Alex Ferguson as “the boy with the most amazing football skill, but happiest with his books, poems and guitar.” And by one of his ex #MUFC youth-team-mates as “Bob Dylan in a No 7 shirt” #adriandoherty

“Imagine getting like that about football?” Some will never understand the emotional investment of football fans, and the way that a game that means nothing and everything plays with our feelings. A piece on football’s capacity to make us cry: nytimes.com/athletic/63831….

Anyone else slightly lost for words as Rayan Cherki almost dragged France back into it from 5-1 down last night? During his first international appearance? In just 30 minutes from the bench? Come and relive the best bits with me on @TheAthleticFC here 🪄 nytimes.com/athletic/64076…

First 5-4 I’ve watched live since this beautiful Spaniard was strutting his stuff…

What a match in Stuttgart last night. Cherki’s sensational volley almost lost in the mayhem. Crazy thing is that it wasn’t a 5-4 game. More of a 7-6. Yamal MoM… astonishing on so many levels. More than 100 games for Barca already & last night his 20th cap. He’s still 17.