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Tom Burrows

@tburrows16.bsky.social

1.7K followers 330 following 71 posts

Football writer for The Athletic My articles: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/author/tom-burrows/

www.nytimes.com

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Tom Burrows @tburrows16.bsky.social · Jan 6

Ended a busy 2024 writing about Wayne Rooney's exit at #PAFC

Here's a piece from each month last year that I particularly enjoyed writing/found especially rewarding for
@TheAthleticFC

Onwards into 2025 💪

Reposted by Tom Burrows

The Athletic | Football @theathleticfc.bsky.social · 4d

Chelsea and England playmaker Cole Palmer has successfully trademarked the term ‘Cold Palmer’.

Palmer’s application, submitted to the UK government’s Intellectual Property Office in November, was approved on Friday.

More from @tburrows16.bsky.social ⬇️

www.nytimes.com/athletic/669...

Reposted by Tom Burrows

The Athletic | Football @theathleticfc.bsky.social · 4d

▪️ Why has UEFA approved European league games going overseas?
▪️ Who will benefit?
▪️ Will the Premier League go abroad?
▪️ How do other European leagues see it?

We explain yesterday’s UEFA’s landmark decision and what the implications could be.

UEFA has approved European league games being staged abroad. So what now?

Explaining UEFA's decision yesterday and how the world game views the prospect of playing league games overseas

www.nytimes.com

Tom Burrows @tburrows16.bsky.social · 4d

EXCL - Cole Palmer has now successfully trademarked his nickname 'Cold Palmer'

His application dropped any reference to wine following a challenge from historic French winery Chateau Palmer

A piece on what this all means for Palmer and #CFC

www.nytimes.com/athletic/669...

Cole Palmer has trademarked ‘Cold Palmer’. What does it mean for him (and Chelsea)?

The Athletic can reveal Cole Palmer has successfully trademarked 'Cold Palmer' and is trying to register other marks

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Tom Burrows

The Athletic | Football @theathleticfc.bsky.social · 9d

A former Football League assistant referee has been sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison after he pleaded guilty to 16 sexual offences against three 15-year-old girls.

Ex-EFL match official sentenced to 13.5 years over 16 sexual offences against three underage girls

In her sentencing remarks in court today, Judge Caroline English told Viccars his behaviour was “persistent, manipulative and predatory”.

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Tom Burrows

David Ornstein @david-ornstein.bsky.social · 22d

🚨 EXCL: Tim Lewis leaves Arsenal in shock boardroom revamp. 62yo integral to #AFC rise but new-look hierarchy sees Richard Garlick become CEO, Josh Kroenke increasingly prominent, Ben Winston join & 3 more appointments including 2 from KSE 🚨
@theathleticfc.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/athletic/661...

Tim Lewis to leave position as Arsenal executive vice-chair

Managing director Richard Garlick is set to become CEO in a significant shake-up of the club's board

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Tom Burrows

The Athletic | Football @theathleticfc.bsky.social · Sep 4

Daniel Levy has stepped down as the chairman of Tottenham Hotspur after nearly 25 years in charge.

More from @jaydmharris.bsky.social ⤵️

🔗 www.nytimes.com/athletic/659...

Daniel Levy

Tom Burrows @tburrows16.bsky.social · Aug 6

'Everyone finds him interesting because of what he's done, he's a football icon.

'And to be around someone like that and to have had that experience, not many people can say that'

The story of Gazza's 39 days at Kettering Town, told by those who were there

www.nytimes.com/athletic/630...

Gazza’s chaotic 39 days at Kettering: Mid-training pizza, a fully clothed shower and a Ferrari promise

Paul Gascoigne arrived at the sixth-tier club 20 years ago as a footballing legend. Those who were there at the time relive a crazy period

www.nytimes.com

Tom Burrows @tburrows16.bsky.social · Aug 6

🔈 Emotional team talks
🦷 A recreation of dentist chair celebration
🍕 Takeaway pizzas at training
🚿 Gazza in the showers fully clothed
👋 A bitter exit

Twenty years since Paul Gascoigne's only managerial job, a big read on his remarkable 39 days at Kettering Town

www.nytimes.com/athletic/630...

Gazza’s chaotic 39 days at Kettering: Mid-training pizza, a fully clothed shower and a Ferrari promise

Paul Gascoigne arrived at the sixth-tier club 20 years ago as a footballing legend. Those who were there at the time relive a crazy period

www.nytimes.com

Tom Burrows @tburrows16.bsky.social · Jul 21

Bryan Mbeumo is (finally) now a #MUFC player

I wrote this with @jaydmharris.bsky.social last season on the forward’s footballing journey, his steady rise at Brentford + hard work to improve his finishing, his love of chess and teaching himself how to play the piano

www.nytimes.com/athletic/604...

How Bryan Mbeumo became one of the Premier League’s hottest properties

The forward has become a pivotal figure for Brentford and is likely to attract interest in the summer transfer window

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Tom Burrows

Gunnerblog @gunnerblog.bsky.social · Jul 11

“It’s Arsenal. They won’t just ignore it.”

Thomas Partey, the allegations and what the club knew

For @theathleticfc.bsky.social ⬇️

www.nytimes.com/athletic/648...

‘It’s Arsenal. They won’t just ignore it’ – Thomas Partey, the allegations and what the club knew

Arsenal have been aware of complaints about Partey, all of which he denies, for more than three years. Questions are now being asked

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Tom Burrows

The Athletic | Football @theathleticfc.bsky.social · Jul 4

Diogo Jota won the Premier League and Nations League earlier this summer. Then on June 22 he married the mother of his three children.

In the early hours of Thursday, the Liverpool forward died in a car accident.

The Athletic reports from Zamora on what happened, and what has happened since.

The heartbreaking death of Diogo Jota

The Liverpool player died in a car accident 11 days after his wedding. The Athletic reports from Spain on a tragedy that stunned football

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Tom Burrows

The Athletic | Football @theathleticfc.bsky.social · Jul 3

Diogo Jota was a superb striker and a serial winner for Liverpool, Wolves and Portugal.

But he was far more than that.

He was a husband, a father and a cherished friend to the colleagues he leaves behind.

This is his story.

Diogo Jota: Liverpool’s supreme goalscorer who was far more than just a footballer

The Portuguese, who has died aged 28, was a force of nature on the pitch and cherished by his team-mates off it

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Tom Burrows

The Athletic | Football @theathleticfc.bsky.social · Jul 3

Premier League footballer Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, a professional player for Portuguese side Penafiel, have died after being involved in a car accident in Spain.

Tom Burrows @tburrows16.bsky.social · Jun 13

After a fantastic spell at Brentford, Thomas Frank is the new #THFC head coach

I wrote this last season on what makes him special - his attention to detail, willingness to take risks + his personal touch

Piece with @oliverkay.bsky.social + @jaydmharris.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/athletic/598...

What makes Thomas Frank special: ‘Secret sauce’, training for stoppage time and games of Risk

What makes the Dane stand out on and off the field - according to those who know him best

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Tom Burrows

The Athletic | Football @theathleticfc.bsky.social · Jun 6

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas was once a brilliant prospect for Arsenal and became an accomplished centre-forward for other clubs in England and Scotland.

Now he is in prison as an international drug smuggler.

@dtathletic.bsky.social & Stuart James tell the story of his downfall.

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas – from Arsenal youth captain to shame and prison for drug smuggling

The story is one of a lower-league footballer who fell to temptation, with his lies and deceit bringing shame and now a prison sentence

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Tom Burrows

The Athletic | Football @theathleticfc.bsky.social · May 28

Luis Enrique's daughter Xana died in 2019 at the age of nine from a rare form of bone cancer.

On Saturday, when his PSG side take on Inter in this year's Champions League final, she will be with him once again, this time in spirit.

@jacklang.bsky.social

🔗 www.nytimes.com/athletic/638...

Luis Enrique and his daughter Xana.

Tom Burrows @tburrows16.bsky.social · May 24

The sad tale of Brandon Williams - who was handed a suspended prison sentence on Friday - and a sorry case that highlights football’s issue with laughing gas

My piece with @gregok.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/athletic/630...

Brandon Williams and a case that highlights football’s laughing gas issue

Nitrous oxide - or laughing gas - has been used by some footballers in recent years but it is now a banned substance in the UK

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Tom Burrows

The Athletic | Football @theathleticfc.bsky.social · May 18

Crystal Palace’s fanbase are the antidote to the sanitisation of English football fandom — and on a glorious, historic day for their club in winning the FA Cup final, they put on a show.

They produced something unfiltered. Something real.

Have Crystal Palace brought modern fandom to the Premier League?

Palace's fanbase are the antidote to the sanitisation of English football fandom - they bring something real and unfiltered

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Tom Burrows

The Athletic | Football @theathleticfc.bsky.social · May 12

Carlo Ancelotti has been appointed as head coach of the Brazil national team and will start work on May 26.

The 65-year-old Italian will leave Real Madrid after their final game of the La Liga season against Real Sociedad.

More from @david-ornstein.bsky.social ⬇️

🔗 www.nytimes.com/athletic/633...

Reposted by Tom Burrows

The Athletic | Football @theathleticfc.bsky.social · May 7

The crazy is deep in this club. It can’t be straitjacketed or sedated. In the end, it gets out — and on nights like Tuesday, after everything, the fans are mad for it.

Next stop, Munich. Inter’s old limitations are beginning to look like new frontiers.

📝 @jameshorncastle.bsky.social

Inter’s old limitations are beginning to look like new frontiers – next stop, Munich

Joy and despair were in plentiful supply as Inter claimed victory against Barcelona in a Champions League semi-final for the ages

www.nytimes.com

Tom Burrows @tburrows16.bsky.social · May 3

▪️#SaintsFC searching for one point to avoid equalling #DCFC record
▪️KDB farewell at #MCFC
▪️Crunch games in fight for a #UCL spot, incl #NFFC v #CFC on final day

With the title and relegation places wrapped up, a look at what's left to play for in the Premier League

www.nytimes.com/athletic/632...

Think the Premier League season is over? These are the games you still need to watch

With a fight for Champions League places, fond farewells and a scrap for a precious point, here are the Premier League games you have to see

www.nytimes.com

Tom Burrows @tburrows16.bsky.social · Apr 28

Fantastic scenes at Anfield yesterday, where there were plenty of renditions of 'A Liverbird upon my chest'

I told the story here of the song's origins and how it became the soundtrack to this triumphant #LFC title-winning season

www.nytimes.com/athletic/618...

Liverbird Upon My Chest: The unlikely origin story of Liverpool’s ‘new’ fan anthem

A song originally written in 1984 has become the soundtrack to Arne Slot's latest title charge - its creators explain how

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Tom Burrows

The Athletic | Football @theathleticfc.bsky.social · Apr 28

👀 Director of football's 'moles' claim
🗣️ Players accused of 'mental failings'
❌ Cancelled days off and 'mutiny' talk
⚽️ Record campaign for goals at both ends

Welcome to Roberto De Zerbi’s Marseille.

✍️ @tomwfootball.bsky.social

🔗 www.nytimes.com/athletic/631...

Reposted by Tom Burrows

The Athletic | Football @theathleticfc.bsky.social · Apr 27

🎵 Unlikely squad anthem: Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits
☕️ Coffee bar masterstroke
🗣️ Slot's outburst at half time against Southampton in March

This is how Arne Slot's Liverpool won the title.

✍️ @jamespearcelfc.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/athletic/623...

How Liverpool won the Premier League – featuring Dire Straits, coffee club and one big outburst

How Dire Straits, coffee club and one volcanic outburst from Arne Slot helped secure an historic triumph

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Tom Burrows

The Athletic | Football @theathleticfc.bsky.social · Apr 21

Nabil Bentaleb suffered a cardiac arrest on the evening of Tuesday June 18, 2024. The Algeria international had been playing an 8-a-side game of football with friends.

He was in a coma for two days.

After 243 days, he was a footballer again.

This is how he did it.

Inside Nabil Bentaleb’s incredible comeback after cardiac arrest: ‘It’s not about how you fall, but how you get up’

Bentaleb suffered a cardiac arrest while playing football last June. The Athletic spoke to those close to him about his remarkable return

www.nytimes.com