“Why Vince? I’ve waited all my life to talk about this…” 🎶Billy Corkhill, Vince Hilaire Freddie Flintstone and Fred Astaire🎵 An interview with Jon Marsh (@deepoking) of The Beloved on Hello, #CPFC and how a Palace icon ended up in a cult hit song theathletic.com/2708716/2021…

Pierre Sage’s journey to the Premier League with #CPFC: ‘Crystal Palace is getting an absolute savant’ By @MattWoosie nytimes.com/athletic/7326837…

Farewell Kane Williamson, one of the greatest ✍️ @Paul_Newman66 nytimes.com/athletic/7353871…

Rob Key left angry and disappointed by Ben Stokes and claims England players ‘cannot be trusted’ nytimes.com/athletic/7350640…

Welcome to Stars of Soccer, The Athletic’s World Cup player guide. Lionel Messi is here, and there’s room for Cristiano Ronaldo too. There are legends of the game, the current elite, rising stars and others who really make their teams tick. They are old and young, some at their first World Cup, some at their sixth. They are players you should enjoy this summer, and we are here to tell you all about them (and how to pronounce their names). 🔗 nytimes.com/athletic/7279880…

Can England really contemplate replacing Ben Stokes with Harry Brook? nytimes.com/athletic/7344169…

And my chapter on Lionel Messi #soccer100 nytimes.com/athletic/7199072…

And here's my chapter on Bobby Charlton #soccer100 nytimes.com/athletic/7198844…

You can read the introduction here. The book was written by @TheAthleticFC writers and brilliantly edited by @domfifield #soccer100 📗 nytimes.com/athletic/6578432…

To get you in the World Cup mood, a discussion of the 20 greatest footballers of all time, as ranked in @TheAthletic Soccer 100 book Enjoyed discussing the legends of the game with @amylawrence71 @Ankaman616 @NickMiller79 and @JM_Devine #soccer100 youtube.com/watch?v=We9kLgtW…

To go along with the book me, @Ankaman616, @amylawrence71, @OliverKay & @JM_Devine discussed the top 20. It was filmed a while ago, hence the thick jumper. youtube.com/watch?v=We9kLgtW…

You don't have to watch the cricket when you go to the cricket. nytimes.com/athletic/7335160…

Does Lord's really merit three England Test matches this summer? @Paul_Newman66 🔓 nytimes.com/athletic/7335264…

There cannot have been many better comebacks in Test history. It had been 28 months since Ollie Robinson last played for England. And yet a figure who appeared consigned to the past, amid issues with his fitness and attitude on a tour of India in 2024, returned with one of the great opening overs to turn the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s on its head. Even Lord's, on the 150th Test at the most famous cricket ground in the world, has rarely seen anything quite like Robinson’s opening over. 📝 @Paul_Newman66 Free to read here ⬇️ 🔗 nyti.ms/4fWvMeU

It had been 28 months since Ollie Robinson last appeared for England As if making up for lost time, a man who had appeared consigned to the past returned with one of the great opening overs on day one at Lord’s 🔓@Paul_Newman66 nytimes.com/athletic/7330100…

Emilio Gay has played for Italy and might have represented West Indies — but will debut for England at Lord’s nytimes.com/athletic/7326596…

The extraordinary level of detail in Southampton’s orchestrated spying operations have been revealed, including deleting a LinkedIn account and obtaining CCTV training footage from a non-league ground. It was proposed that Southampton’s media team delete a photo from their site of Eckert winning a Manager of the Month prize with Southampton’s analyst William Salt, the person tasked with spying on Middlesbrough, among those in the background. “𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗖𝗖𝗧𝗩 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 (𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗻) 𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗲’𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲. 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿,” one message read. @PJBuckingham has the details — free to read ⬇️ bit.ly/4vdLM0k

We're running extracts from The Soccer 100, the book put together by @domfifield and written by a bunch of us. Among others, I wrote the profile for Ronaldo Nazario, about his season at Barcelona and how we classify greatness. Free to read nytimes.com/athletic/7198984…

Forty-eight nations, each with a distinct football culture. The fans who believe their team is cursed. The country where early adopters were ridiculed and abused. The supporters who will bring 'the whip' with them. The nation where football has united the people when all else has failed. Over recent months, The Athletic has been speaking to supporters of every team that will compete at this summer's World Cup to explore each one's rich and diverse football culture. From Algeria to Argentina, Canada to Curacao, the Netherlands to New Zealand and all other corners of the globe, this new series takes in traditions, psychology, food, history and much more. Welcome to The Language of Soccer. 🔗 bit.ly/433qJBV

On today’s @TheAthleticFC we chatted about #CPFC’s Conference league win and what it means for the future of @CPFC With @MattWoosie and @domfifield Meanwhile, we’re live with today’s show… Audio: pod.fo/e/421299

Crystal Palace European Champions As a Palace fan it feels like I'm losing my grip on reality Get 10% off until midnight with the discount code: THE-EAGLES-EUROPEAN-CHAMPIONS 🛒: Link in comments below 🔽 #CPFC #Eagles @HLTCO @FYPFanzine @ThePalaceWay @TCPalacePod @CEO4TAG @domfifield @BobbyManzi