Cultured Football #239
Real Owners of Football. Peace With Diego. Truth About xG. A Forgotten Legacy. Forgotten Mainoo
Who does football really belong to?
By for
Tradition struggles to survive when money decides everything. The question of who truly owns a football club becomes tangled once you look beyond the pitch and into the boardroom, where debts rise, owners churn, and fans fight to protect what little influence they still hold. Yet across the UK and Europe, supporters have pushed back, forming trusts, saving clubs, and proving that stewardship can still come from the stands.
Bonus Read: Unpaid and Unthanked
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Football feels different when you stop watching from the outside and start giving something back.
Making my peace with Diego: How I forgave the ‘Hand of God’ and fell in love with Argentina
By for Outside Write
There are moments in childhood that burn deeply. Yet sometimes not even they can shape the way we later fall in love with the game. In this instance, the fury of 1986 slowly gives way to awe, curiosity and a fascination with a country and a player who embodied both genius and chaos. What begins as anger turns into admiration, language learned, journeys taken and murals sought out from Buenos Aires to Naples.
Why xG can’t always tell us how good a team really is
By Dale Johnson & Umir Irfan for the BBC
Some weekends remind us that numbers can feel miles away from what unfolded on the pitch. A round of fixtures where xG seemed useless actually highlights what the metric is and isn’t built to do. The real insight lies in how those patterns emerge across a season but beneath the noise it shows how often a side gets into positions where goals should come.
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The Irishman Who Built Atlético Madrid: The Forgotten Legacy of Patrick O’Connell
By
This is the story of a Dublin street footballer who captained Manchester United, saved Barcelona from collapse, delivered Betis their only league title and helped shape Atlético Madrid in an era defined by chaos. War, exile and anonymity nearly erased him, yet his influence runs through Spanish football’s foundations.
Kobbie Mainoo Proves Football Forgets Fast
By for
Football rarely pauses long enough to remember yesterday’s promise. A year ago Kobbie Mainoo looked like England’s next great midfielder, a teenager shining in big games and earning his place on the Euro 2024 stage. Now he watches from the bench as a new manager prioritises system over talent. His story underlines how quickly the game moves on.
Cultured Football cuts through transfer gossip and noise to share football writing worth your time. Each week, we pick five stories that inform, surprise, and remind you why the game matters.
In Case You Missed It Here’s Last Week’s Most Read: Lamppost Loyal: Football Stickers and the Making of Belonging
By Andrew Groves
Belonging leaves its marks in unexpected places. Football stickers scattered across cities become a quiet archive of identity, rivalry, humour, and resistance, transforming branding and public space into a coded language fans use to claim presence. A small, cheap sticker can show just how much meaning can be carried in a few centimetres of print.
Bonus Read: How Football Stickers Went Ironic
[Andrew Groves]
There’s a new breed of stickers that mimic the old language of loyalty yet hollow it out with self-mockery, hesitation, and layered jokes. Yet it goes way deeper than that.
Paul, thanks so much for featuring the Patrick O’Connell piece. It means a lot to have it included, especially given how many incredible stories are told on here every week.
Thanks so much for the bonus post link! Appreciate it ♥️