Andrew Butler

Social Head at Tortoise

Head of Social & PR @Tortoise & @leytonorientfc hypeman on @LOFCLive

Articles

Premier League plays second fiddle to a YouTuber football match

1 month ago | tortoisemedia.com | Andrew Butler

The most watched game of football this weekend won’t be Arsenal v Manchester United or Liverpool v Southampton. It will be Sidemen v YouTube Allstars, a sold-out charity match in front of 90,000 people at a packed out Wembley and millions more online. Now in its sixth year, the amateur fixture was set up by a group of British YouTubers and shows boxing isn’t the only sport in which influencers are getting more attention.
Unwanted Premier League record set to be broken

1 month ago | tortoisemedia.com | Andrew Butler

The Premier League’s bottom three clubs are on course to break the record for the combined lowest points tally for relegated clubs in the league’s history. Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton have together gained just 43 points in total after 26 matches. All three clubs were promoted from the Championship last season and have struggled to keep pace in England’s top tier.
Erik ten Hag sacked as Manchester United manager

Oct 28, 2024 | tortoisemedia.com | Andrew Butler

Erik ten Hag has been sacked by Manchester United following the club’s abject start to the 2024/25 season. The Red Devils’ 2-1 defeat to West Ham on Sunday afternoon left them 14th in the Premier League table on 11 points – their second-lowest points tally after nine games of a Premier League season.
Aram-no: women’s footballers call on Fifa to drop Saudi oil sponsorship

Oct 21, 2024 | tortoisemedia.com | Andrew Butler

More than 100 professional women’s footballers have called on the sport’s governing body to drop Saudi oil giant Aramco as a sponsor. Fifa signed a four-year deal in April, thought to be worth £400 million, which gives the company sponsorship rights to the 2026 men’s World Cup and the 2027 women’s World Cup. An open letter, signed by 106 players from 24 countries, said the deal was “worse than an own goal” and that Fifa “might as well pour oil on the pitch and set it alight”.
Joe Root: England cricket’s record-breaking Test run-scorer's career by the numbers

Oct 10, 2024 | tortoisemedia.com | Andrew Butler

Joe Root has become England’s all-time leading Test run-scorer after scoring 262 in the first Test against Pakistan in Multan. His career total of 12,664 runs took him past Sir Alastair Cook’s record, and puts him fifth on the all-time list of Test run-scorers. He needs 714 more runs to reach second place on the list, and 3,257 more to rise to the summit recorded by the Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar. “His currency is runs,” former England batter Nasser Hussain said on Thursday morning.
Out! Wimbledon calls time on tennis judges

Oct 9, 2024 | tortoisemedia.com | Andrew Butler

Wimbledon will replace human line judges with an automated system from next year. For the first time in the tennis tournament’s 147-year history, all 18 courts will be fitted with electronic line calling, meaning the additional match officials roles will be made redundant. The Hawk-Eye Live system has been used since 2007, but its use had been based on players calling for a review of a line judge’s call.
Hampshire usher in new era for English cricket

Sep 30, 2024 | tortoisemedia.com | Andrew Butler

The 161-year-old club said GMR had acquired a majority stake and will complete a full acquisition over the next two years. The purchase will help Hampshire with its debts of £60 million, and bolt it to an influential investor in world cricket. GMR Group has run the Delhi Capitals Indian Premier League team since its launch in 2008 and it owns stakes in teams in South Africa, Dubai and the US. But those waiting for a wholesale revamp of county cricket with foreign cash may be disappointed.
Tortoise scoops prestigious British Podcast Awards prize

Sep 27, 2024 | tortoisemedia.com | Andrew Butler

Culture Our slow newsroom was named Publisher of the Year for our mix of daily, weekly and narrative series Tortoise has been named Publisher of the Year at the British Podcast Awards. Tortoise’s suite of daily and weekly podcasts, and narrative investigative series beat off competition from the likes of the Financial Times, BBC World Service, and Audible.
New women’s football season levels up

Sep 22, 2024 | tortoisemedia.com | Andrew Butler

The Women’s Super League (WSL) kicked off at the weekend for the first time as an independent entity. Since 2011, the Football Association (FA) has run the top two tiers of women’s football in England. But the rights were sold and the Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL) now owns the WSL and Women’s Championship, and is hoping to unlock the potential in the growing interest in women’s football.
Paris Paralympics proves money means medals

Sep 5, 2024 | tortoisemedia.com | Andrew Butler

SENSEMAKER Culture #Sport #Money ParalympicsGB’s quiet success continues – as athletes call for greater support at home On Sunday afternoon the curtain comes down on the 2024 Paris Paralympics. So what? They’ve been a big success for the Paralympic movement and ParalympicsGB, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the UK is good at supporting disabled people back home. Before.