Sports Poets Society

Even if City’s owners sell up, England’s top flight has already welcomed Abramovich and PIF with open arms, writes George Simms George Simms 4 Oct 2026 - THE OBSERVER / Sport So, you think nation states shouldn’t be able to own football clubs. An admirable cause. The right one, probably, though a little late, if I’m being harsh. Except, of course, in the Premier League’s eyes, this isn’t actually a problem, because no nation state owns any of its clubs. Manchester City’s appeal, insofar as it extends beyond “I’m not sure you heard us the first time”, hinges on Sheikh Mansour and his Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) for Development and Investment’s separation from the Emirati government. This, as the independent commission already found, is about as distinct a separation as Tyler Durden and The Narrator in Fight Club, but is one that the Premier League maintains exists, as it has for the past 18 years. Mansour is vice-president of the UAE, and the president’s brother. In a non-exhaustive l...

* Did it really happen? Without integrity, without honesty, it’s not a sport at all When, or if, the club recovers from the reputational damage that the independent panel’s judgment brought upon it, the achievements of the past 15 years will remain tainted If a shine survives in the collective memory, so does a stain. The judgment has likely already been made 27 Sep 2026 - THE OBSERVER / Sport Rory Smith It is, as they say, the moments that matter. Outside the Etihad Stadium there is a statue immortalising Manchester City’s ultimate moment: a topless Sergio Agüero, cast in galvanised steel, whirling away after scoring the goal that sealed the first of the club’s eight Premier League titles. Inside, there is a bar named for it, too – 93:20, the timestamp of the goal etched on the club’s soul.AlamyLost in time: The statue of Sergio Agüero outside Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, in tribute to the extra-time goal that gave his team their first Premier League title. A bar at the stadium i...

‘It’s been win-win all the way’ Player, pundit, Pod God… How Gary Lineker reinvented himself (again) If there is an English dream, Gary Lineker has lived it. You can lop his adult life neatly into three slabs, any of which would make him one of Britain’s great success stories: the market trader’s lad from Leicester who captained England and played for Barcelona… ‘I have a lot of female friends who I get on really well with,  so that’s satisfying because I love female company’ Football may be a game of two halves, but Gary Lineker’s remarkable life is a tale of three careers: goal-scoring legend, television host and now podcast god. As the nation’s favourite son starts this third chapter, he opens up about luck, mortality and political provocation 30 Aug 2026 - The Observer Magazine By GEORGE SIMMS The Kaiser of crisps who transitioned relatively seamlessly into a televisual colossus. Now, he’s taken on the role of Pod God as co-owner of Goalhanger, named Britain’s fastest-grow...