Simon Hughes

Liverpool

Staff Football Writer at The Athletic

Senior football writer @TheAthleticFC.

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Articles

Virgil van Dijk is Liverpool's defensive GOAT

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Simon Hughes

When Virgil van Dijk is mentioned in the pantheon of great Premier League defenders, it occasionally comes with a caveat. Yes, he has the trophies, the class and the longevity that are the traditional hallmarks of all-time greats. But has he always been confronted by the very best? Football has changed and even before his emergence at Liverpool it was said that the classic No 9 was disappearing from the game.
Inside Mohamed Salah's contract saga: Lawyer's concerns, Saudi interest

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Simon Hughes

In the end, the news that Mohamed Salah will remain at Liverpool was delivered with a humorous tagline. "More in than out," read the message across the club's social media pages at 8am on Friday, around 36 hours after reports in the forward's homeland of Egypt first suggested he had agreed to extend his eight-year stay at Anfield. It was a play on words, nodding to Salah's comments last November when his future on Merseyside felt far more tenuous.
Radical plan counties must use if they (and England) want strong future

2 weeks ago | thetimes.com | Simon Hughes
Liverpool, Everton and the 'conjoined stadium' that never was

3 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Simon Hughes

In the kitchen of Joachim Zadow's Wirral home, the retired architect is reminding himself of the features in the "dual stadium" that may have been hosting Wednesday's Merseyside derby had Everton and Liverpool embraced his ideas in the summer of 2010.
The rise of England's assistant manager, from Accrington to Wembley

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Simon Hughes

When Accrington Stanley travelled to Scotland for a series of pre-season friendlies in the summer of 2005, the first game was against the wonderfully named Dundonald Bluebell, a club from Fife, then competing in the country's eastern junior league.
'He was no f***ing saint'

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Simon Hughes

Following the 2013 release of Red Or Dead, his epic, fictional portrait of Bill Shankly's life story, author David Peace was asked which actor he thought was capable of delivering a performance worthy of the magnetic Liverpool manager if it ever became a movie, TV show or stage play. He did not have to think long to deliver his answer: Peter Mullan.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has become the Glazers' fireguard

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Simon Hughes

There are certain figures who hover into view at key moments of history, defining eras despite having little control over events. You might remember Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, who was dubbed by the UK media as 'Comical Ali' and became famous towards the end of the 2003 invasion of Iraq in his role as the country's minister for information. Al-Sahhaf offered bulletins throughout the conflict and as the Ba'ath Party's position became worse, his messages became more optimistic.
Liverpool endured chaos and fear in Paris in 2022. Many fans are not ready to return

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Simon Hughes |James Pearce

Phil Blundell and some fellow Liverpool-supporting friends were at a cafe by the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris on the day of the 2022 Champions League final. When they set off for the Stade de France, there was no sense of drama.
Preston v Burnley, a bog-standard English fixture or... football's ultimate heritage match?

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Simon Hughes

On the face of it, Preston North End versus Burnley seems like a bog-standard Championship fixture. Since the start of the 21st century, the clubs have met 26 times in the second tier of English football, making it one of the division's most regular encounters. Such a sense of routine was supported by the outcomes in two league fixtures this season, with meetings at Turf Moor in October and Deepdale earlier this month finishing in goalless draws.
Mohamed Salah's Ballon d'Or ambition

2 months ago | nytimes.com | Simon Hughes

Mohamed Salah's representative Ramy Abbas finds complex contracts quite appealing, providing they are lucrative to his client. With that knowledge, maybe Liverpool could try and broker a deal that allows the club to publicise their games around the Great Egyptian like he is an illusionist in the circus, promising open-mouthed viewers a front row seat as he shatters the latest record.