Alex Duff
@duffofbrentford.bsky.social
Author of Smart Money (Brentford FC), Le Fric (Tour de France) & Football's Secret Trade (Player transfers).
That's it.
(It's not clear to me whether they can bet on PL games not involving their clubs. We don't know the rules on that because they have not been published.)
(It's not clear to me whether they can bet on PL games not involving their clubs. We don't know the rules on that because they have not been published.)
December 6, 2025 at 3:46 PM
That's it.
(It's not clear to me whether they can bet on PL games not involving their clubs. We don't know the rules on that because they have not been published.)
(It's not clear to me whether they can bet on PL games not involving their clubs. We don't know the rules on that because they have not been published.)
It's uncomfortable because players in England can be banned for betting hundred of pounds on football, but club owners can gamble millions of pounds on football.
As the podcast says there are some extenuating circumstances in that Bloom and Benham are exemplary owners in a sea of dodgy owners.
As the podcast says there are some extenuating circumstances in that Bloom and Benham are exemplary owners in a sea of dodgy owners.
December 6, 2025 at 3:13 PM
It's uncomfortable because players in England can be banned for betting hundred of pounds on football, but club owners can gamble millions of pounds on football.
As the podcast says there are some extenuating circumstances in that Bloom and Benham are exemplary owners in a sea of dodgy owners.
As the podcast says there are some extenuating circumstances in that Bloom and Benham are exemplary owners in a sea of dodgy owners.
One small clarification @michaelcaley.bsky.social their clubs Brighton & Brentford were both in League One, not the Championship, when they bought them.
The story has so much intrigue and depth that it blows the Wrexham 'fairy tale' out of the water.
The story has so much intrigue and depth that it blows the Wrexham 'fairy tale' out of the water.
December 6, 2025 at 2:29 PM
One small clarification @michaelcaley.bsky.social their clubs Brighton & Brentford were both in League One, not the Championship, when they bought them.
The story has so much intrigue and depth that it blows the Wrexham 'fairy tale' out of the water.
The story has so much intrigue and depth that it blows the Wrexham 'fairy tale' out of the water.
He bets on football - just not his own club or league.
Bloom's syndicate has probably the most sophisticated mathematical modelling of football players / teams of any professional gambling operation.
That's part of the reason Brighton is 5th in the Premier League.
Bloom's syndicate has probably the most sophisticated mathematical modelling of football players / teams of any professional gambling operation.
That's part of the reason Brighton is 5th in the Premier League.
December 3, 2025 at 7:38 PM
He bets on football - just not his own club or league.
Bloom's syndicate has probably the most sophisticated mathematical modelling of football players / teams of any professional gambling operation.
That's part of the reason Brighton is 5th in the Premier League.
Bloom's syndicate has probably the most sophisticated mathematical modelling of football players / teams of any professional gambling operation.
That's part of the reason Brighton is 5th in the Premier League.
Bizarrely, those 2014 rules are secretive and unpublished but give the right for English football authorities to audit Bloom's (and Benham's) syndicates
www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/b...
www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/b...
England Bans Betting in Soccer, but Not for ‘The Lizard’ (Published 2017)
www.nytimes.com
December 3, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Bizarrely, those 2014 rules are secretive and unpublished but give the right for English football authorities to audit Bloom's (and Benham's) syndicates
www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/b...
www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/b...
I'm pretty sure Tony Bloom has not broken any rules, far too smart for that.
1. There were no specific rules for owners in English football pre-2014
2. The 2014 rules were agreed to take into account Bloom's (and Matthew Benham's) profession as gamblers
1. There were no specific rules for owners in English football pre-2014
2. The 2014 rules were agreed to take into account Bloom's (and Matthew Benham's) profession as gamblers
December 3, 2025 at 7:22 PM
I'm pretty sure Tony Bloom has not broken any rules, far too smart for that.
1. There were no specific rules for owners in English football pre-2014
2. The 2014 rules were agreed to take into account Bloom's (and Matthew Benham's) profession as gamblers
1. There were no specific rules for owners in English football pre-2014
2. The 2014 rules were agreed to take into account Bloom's (and Matthew Benham's) profession as gamblers
Another option not sold out:
the audio book.
The narrator Simon Shepherd is 🔝
the audio book.
The narrator Simon Shepherd is 🔝
November 7, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Another option not sold out:
the audio book.
The narrator Simon Shepherd is 🔝
the audio book.
The narrator Simon Shepherd is 🔝
Full review here: www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...
Rosalía: Lux review – a demanding, distinctive clash of classical and chaos that couldn’t be by anyone else
The Catalan star’s monumental fourth LP features lyrics in 13 languages, references to female saints, the London Symphony Orchestra – and Björk on ‘divine intervention’
www.theguardian.com
November 4, 2025 at 6:58 AM
Full review here: www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...
In other football / Central Line nostalgia:
Stan Bowles used to take the Central Line to training at Orient when he lived at Lancaster Gate.
Stan also took public transport to his first Brentford match in 1981, carrying his boots in a plastic bag.
Stan Bowles used to take the Central Line to training at Orient when he lived at Lancaster Gate.
Stan also took public transport to his first Brentford match in 1981, carrying his boots in a plastic bag.
October 20, 2025 at 10:20 AM
In other football / Central Line nostalgia:
Stan Bowles used to take the Central Line to training at Orient when he lived at Lancaster Gate.
Stan also took public transport to his first Brentford match in 1981, carrying his boots in a plastic bag.
Stan Bowles used to take the Central Line to training at Orient when he lived at Lancaster Gate.
Stan also took public transport to his first Brentford match in 1981, carrying his boots in a plastic bag.
Greenwood covered the trophy in cloth to avoid attention.
Asked by a passenger what was underneath, he said: Sweet FA.
He captained Brentford before becoming West Ham manager.
🐝⚒️
Asked by a passenger what was underneath, he said: Sweet FA.
He captained Brentford before becoming West Ham manager.
🐝⚒️
October 20, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Greenwood covered the trophy in cloth to avoid attention.
Asked by a passenger what was underneath, he said: Sweet FA.
He captained Brentford before becoming West Ham manager.
🐝⚒️
Asked by a passenger what was underneath, he said: Sweet FA.
He captained Brentford before becoming West Ham manager.
🐝⚒️
