Cultured Football #247

Incredible Lens. Amazing Motherwell. Cult Chievo. Sporting Directors. The Chelsea Lie.

‘Tout in Haut de Ch’Terril’: The Incredible Half-Season of RC Lens

By Luca Lamanna for The Ligue 1 Story

For once, Paris Saint-Germain aren’t running away with the French league. Instead, Lens sit atop Ligue 1, and it is hard not to fall for underdogs from a small town carried there by a blend of tactical clarity, late-career revivals, and data-smart recruitment. It might not last but, for now, it feels like something truly special is happening in Artois.

---

Motherwell are Amazing... and no one is Talking About it.

By Josh Tarrant Boyce for Full-Time Waffle

While the spotlight stays on the Old Firm and Hearts, a quieter story is unfolding in the Premiership. Motherwell have reshaped themselves with patience and intent, trading chaos for clarity under a new hand. Results, control, and a growing sense of belief have followed, even when few are watching.

---

Chievo Verona: The Donkeys Who Dared to Fly

By Cult Football Stories

In a city ruled by tradition, a parish club from Verona’s industrial edge learned how to defy it. Chievo rose from anonymity to unsettle Serie A, built an identity that outlived collapse, and found a way back after disappearance. Theirs is a story of stubborn belief, modest ambition, and a small club refusing to vanish when the lights went out.

Thinking of someone who might enjoy Cultured Football? Let them know.

Premier League sporting directors: who are they, and how much power do they all have?

By Various for the Guardian

Sporting Directors are everywhere. Or so it seems. Because, whilst most clubs seem to have someone in that role, they don’t all hold an equal say in how things are run.

---

Chelsea, Clearlake, and the Lie We Tell Ourselves

By Michael Broughton for The True Business of Sports

“Even Chelsea — one of the biggest commercial machines in world football — can run a monstrous operating loss. Which tells you something pretty fundamental about the economics of the sport at the top end.” Many Chelsea fans aren’t happy with the the way that the club is being run. This brutally honest piece won’t change those sentiments.

---

Each week on Cultured Football we pick the five great football stories from the previous seven days.

In Case You Missed It Here’s Last Week’s Most Read: Klopp’s Red Bull role has grown much bigger than first anticipated

By Constantin Ecker for ESPN

What was assumed to be a ceremonial Red Bull role for Jurgen Klopp has evolved into deep involvement and hard decisions across a sprawling multi club network. Influence now stretches from transfer calls to sackings, blurring lines between coach, executive, and fixer. Stepping away from the touchline clearly did not mean stepping back.