The Athletic

Just subscribed for the free trial. It looks great at first glance. I’ll read a few articles and feedback my thoughts on it.

It’s pretty good. It is all original content there are about 8 articles about Wednesday (since 5th August), which in my opinion are well above the recent standard of The Star. Topics range from is Bullen the right man, to should Leppings Lane be knocked down and rebuilt (the focus being on modernisation on the recent issue with SAG). 

I’ve also read a very interesting long read article about what happens during the transfer window and one about Spurs consulting with fans about offensive chanting. Articles are quite in depth and speak to a range of stakeholders.

The headlines reflect the content, so there’s no click bait and there are no pop ups. However, if you are looking for football gossip it’s not what they do.

On balance I’m impressed. I’ve got a month trial subscription and if the standard is maintained I’d expect to keep it going for a while once that expires.

Hope that’s useful for anyone considering a subscription.

You get what you pay for these days with journalism.

Also, just in case you miss Tarn Owls link https://theathletic.co.uk/checkout?pc=raf40&plan_id=45&shared_by_name=Matthew&shared_by=2448207

Noticed that Rafa Benitez is writing for them too

Haven't read the article in full, but he talks about his exit at Newcastle.

10 minutes ago, Liam_Baggies said:

Noticed that Rafa Benitez is writing for them too

 

Haven't read the article in full, but he talks about his exit at Newcastle.

Just read it. Sounds like Ashley and Co lied to him time and time again.

Good luck, Steve. 

Just signed up for the free trial.

Looks pretty good. Both the app and website are nice. It’s my first time subscribing to any sort of news/writing outlet so I’ll be curious to see how much I value this over the next month vs some of the other media subscriptions I have such as Apple Music, Netflix etc

Some areas still feel a little barebones. For example the selection of European clubs you can follow is really poor - only Bayern and Dortmund for Germany, Juve for Italy, Real and Barca for Spain. I thought for such a specialist outlet there would be much more coverage of teams beyond our shores. 

1 hour ago, sheffield_dave said:

Just signed up for the free trial.

 

Looks pretty good. Both the app and website are nice. It’s my first time subscribing to any sort of news/writing outlet so I’ll be curious to see how much I value this over the next month vs some of the other media subscriptions I have such as Apple Music, Netflix etc

 

Some areas still feel a little barebones. For example the selection of European clubs you can follow is really poor - only Bayern and Dortmund for Germany, Juve for Italy, Real and Barca for Spain. I thought for such a specialist outlet there would be much more coverage of teams beyond our shores. 

It'll get there.  But it's a North American based English language website.  Soccer is already a niche part of the website.  It'll be a while before there's to much demand from Atlantic subscribers for stories about Real Zaragoza.

Fair points. Incidentally I've just noticed this morning that Raphael Honigstein is on board and has published a Bundesliga article so that settles my interest in Germany a little, and I do trust these things will flesh out over time.

I’ve registered, and it’s really good on first glance. 30 quid for a year seems really reasonable too. 

On 15/08/2019 at 01:52, sheffield_dave said:

Fair points. Incidentally I've just noticed this morning that Raphael Honigstein is on board and has published a Bundesliga article so that settles my interest in Germany a little, and I do trust these things will flesh out over time.

Honigstein?  I remember him from the old Jimbo Richardson Guardian Football Weekly.

If they get some hardcore tactical analysis, like those pieces Michael Cox did for the guardian, I'm sold.

I've had this for a week or so now and I would recommend it 

Yeah had it 2 or 3 weeks and it’s bloody brilliant, loads of interesting stories & articles each day. Found myself looking at less social media too which isn’t a bad thing. Two excellent articles today, one with Stephen Ireland and one about some loans Bournemouth have taken out against future transfer fees. 

You should all cancel your memberships for them somehow allowing this through.

Ironic they mention "lazy punditry"; this is shocking journalism aimed at those for whom life revolves around the "top 4/6/whoever has the money"

7 hours ago, Owl.1867 said:

You should all cancel your memberships for them somehow allowing this through.

 

Ironic they mention "lazy punditry"; this is shocking journalism aimed at those for whom life revolves around the "top 4/6/whoever has the money"

What's wrong with it?