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Paul Hayward

@paulhayward.bsky.social
16K followers 211 following 715 posts

Sportswriter at The Observer. Journalist since 1987. Author of 'England Football - The Biography.'

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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
In today's Observer, my exclusive interview with Sir Alex Ferguson about the games of his life...
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
In tomorrow's Observer and here online, my exclusive interview with Sir Alex Ferguson, on the games of his life... observer.co.uk/culture/inte...
observer.co.uk
Alex Ferguson interview – the former Manchester United manager’ tells his life story in 21 matches
In a rare interview, the former Manchester United manager tells the story of his life in 21 matches
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Poster at Castleford Lock Lane RFL...
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Kevin Sinfield has just watched his son Jack reach the Grand Final with Wakefield. Tomorrow Sinfield snr sets off on his 'Grand Finale' of seven ultra-marathons, finishing at Old Trafford, where he'll carry the trophy in for a game his son will be part of.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This drinking in the stands at football thing.. It's remarkable how enmeshed we are with drinking while watching sport, as if the two are the same thing. I have the odd pint behind the goal at Lewes FC. But Test matches and Twickenham games for example are all-day sessions. An odd relationship.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
The "much-married" Earl. Don't you just love a Buckingham Palace counter-briefing.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
How Saffie Osborne demolished the myth that male jockeys are a safer bet in Flat racing's biggest contests. Commentary for The Observer..
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Torsten Bell @torstenbell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
So much of the right these days have a massive patriotism problem. This guy: - is a tax exile (left long before this govt) - hates his own country while complaining he doesn’t get big enough subsidies from it - laments the manufacturing hit from a Brexit he supported www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Billionaire Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe says he has lost confidence in UK
Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe tells the BBC he thinks the country is "on the slide" and calls for more investment in the North Sea.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Sanity, humanity, from Jurgen Klopp, Germany's manager.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Wise words from Neal, the convenor of our walking football in Lewes (note - it's not really 'walking,' more slowed-down pass and move)...
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Naomi Klein @naomiaklein.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Big thanks to @redemmas.org in Baltimore for giving us the perfect tote bag for the End Times Fascism book tour. Out today! @astra.bsky.social naomiklein.org/end-times-fa...
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Why Kevin Pietersen's return to the England set-up after a bitter 12-year exile is to be applauded. My commentary for The Observer... observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
observer.co.uk
Kevin Pietersen’s latest rescue act – the endangered beas...
Twice expelled from the national team setup, the mercurial ‘KP’ has the opportunity to use his extensive experience to mould England’s white-ball team
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The News Agents @thenewsagents.co.uk · 09/09/2026
"It would be funny if it wasn't actually so f**king sick." Donald Trump made his 9/11 memorial speech all about him, with a "complete fabrication" that he was lifted from rubble in the aftermath of the attack.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Why Kevin Pietersen's return to the England set-up after a bitter 12-year exile is to be applauded. My commentary for The Observer... observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
observer.co.uk
Kevin Pietersen’s latest rescue act – the endangered beas...
Twice expelled from the national team setup, the mercurial ‘KP’ has the opportunity to use his extensive experience to mould England’s white-ball team
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Not for the first time Naomi Klein defines what's developing all around us...(via FT)
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
The great Wendell Berry, remembered in a New York Times obituary...
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
This summer's Premier League price list.... Competent players - £30m Capable players - £60m Influential players - £120m Great players.....er.....
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Heard this announcement yesterday on Brighton seafront: "stay out of the sea." A three-month drought, a bit of rain, then raw sewage is pumped into the seas off Sussex. Criminal. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
‘Tiny bit of rain and the sewage comes’: Brighton swimmers vent fury at sea pollution
Checking for sewage spills has become as normal as checking the weather forecast, say swimmers on East Sussex beaches
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The Observer @theobserveruk.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
If England’s cricketers can’t respect the job they have to face real consequences @paulhayward.bsky.social took a detour to Molly Malone’s in Derby to see why Britain’s post-midnight culture clearly holds more sway than ECB deterrents bit.ly/4qJkgXB
bit.ly
If England’s cricketers can’t respect the job they have t...
Paul Hayward took a detour to Molly Malone’s in Derby to see why Britain’s post-midnight culture clearly holds more sway than ECB deterrents
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Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Dolly Parton's death has detonated a magnificent, universal love bomb.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
FIP is having a Dolly Parton night. Typically appropriate from the world's greatest music station.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
In the age of the £120m midfielder, I explored the legacy of three great English football figures in matters of life and death... Contains interviews with Stephanie Moore and Mark Robson.. observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
observer.co.uk
The extraordinary charitable legacy of the three Bobbys
Bequeathals by Moore, Charlton and Robson outweigh even their many sporting successes
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Just watched Mike Atherton's excellent interview with Joe Root. Hard to argue with Root ditching curfews in favour of this (assuming his players listen)...
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Why Jeff Bezos is in for a shock if he thinks he can Amazon-ise Liverpool. Commentary...
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Very few of the people who used Jason Arday's downfall as a platform for their hatred of academia and all their other prejudices will take responsibility for the pile-on, which was out of proportion to the crime. Instead they'll subject us to their faux sympathy and urgent self-justifications.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Liverpool, Trump, and why Jeff Bezos is in for a shock if he thinks he could Amazon-ise Anfield. My commentary... observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
observer.co.uk
Jeff Bezos is in for a rude awakening if he disregards Li...
The world’s fourth-richest man is part of a consortium to buy a stake in the Reds – but he must keep the club’s traditional values intact
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Uninvited, some AI just turned Kylian Mbappe in a piece I'm writing into 'Chilean Mbappe.' That's the threat to civilisation, right there.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
How British racing is inching towards 'premierisation' - and why the sport's decline in America is a cautionary tale for warring factions here. My commentary... observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
observer.co.uk
British racing could go way of US if it does not find a w...
As other sports have become fan-facing, story-driven spectacles, the decline of American horse racing may provide a cautionary tale for British tracks
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
From the number of senior Fifa figures turning on Infantino it's clear they're hoping to save Fifa by sacrificing its leader. But how can Fifa ever claim credibility again after 1. Blatter-era corruption. 2. Blatter's successor trying to sell the World Cup. 3. Trump/Balogun.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
It's over for Infantino and Fifa, shamed by a mass revolt and impossible to trust. My Observer Sport column. observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
observer.co.uk
With Infantino on the brink, parasitic Fifa must be disma...
Football’s world governing body have shown once again why they cannot be trusted after their embarrassing climbdown
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
The hope we can draw from mass resistance to Infantino's diabolical plot (and especially Uefa's civic-minded promise to boycott a privatised World Cup.) My commentary... observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
observer.co.uk
Uefa’s clear stance offers hope ahead of Fifa’s attempted...
Gianni Infantino has severely overestimated the popularity of his idea to flog the World Cup to private investors
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
As part of Uefa's promise to boycott World Cups unless Fifa's privatisation plan is dropped, a rare admission of what happens when sport sells itself to "external investors."
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Uefa confirm threat of World Cup boycott... "As a result of today’s discussion, no UEFA national teams will participate in any FIFA competition for so long as these proposals remain alive, unless this proposal has been abandoned in its entirety and binding assurances have been given..."
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Remember JP Morgan saying they'd "misjudged" fan reaction to their doomed European Super League project? Well, they've come back for more, helping Fifa to privatise the World Cup.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
On Infantino's plan to sell the World Cup to oligarchs... Surprise, surprise...
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
It's what Kevin Keegan achieved - and what he represented - that mattered, not the times he fell short in a great 40-year career. My commentary on the lessons for us from his life and death. observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
observer.co.uk
Kevin Keegan was deserving of far more appreciation than ...
“King Kev” should have received greater praise for his achievements when he was alive, rather than being derided for his supposed failures
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
The end game..
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
It's what Kevin Keegan achieved - and what he represented - that mattered, not the times he fell short in a great 40-year career. My commentary on the lessons for us from his life and death. observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
observer.co.uk
Kevin Keegan was deserving of far more appreciation than ...
“King Kev” should have received greater praise for his achievements when he was alive, rather than being derided for his supposed failures
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
It might be hard for people who saw only the drama of Kevin Keegan's managerial career to appreciate what a megastar he was in the 1970s and early 80s. A self-made working-class hero and glamorous with it. Very sad to think of English football without him.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Thank you to Wayne Rooney for calling that half-time show '"crap." He could have added unnecessary and objectionable - but "crap" will do.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Lenient refereeing of Argentina challenges in this final is reminiscent of the semi against England. Clear yellow card fouls not punished as such.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
A major shock here at Birkdale. Donald Trump has NOT picked up the phone to interfere in a sporting decision.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Reciting the names of players who should have gone to a World Cup is hypothetical hindsight, but I'm going to pick two who would have been useful against Argentina... Harry Maguire. Morgan Gibbs-White.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Thomas Tuchel is being very cunning here. He's blaming the players for his substitutions (they'll see that, and won't like it.) He's within his rights to say England don't keep the ball as well as other top nations in big knockout games, but he's casting himself as a bystander.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
England's recent tournament record.. 2018 - semi 2020 - final 2022 - quarter-final 2024 - final 2026 - semi A vast improvement - but no longer a consolation when an opportunity is wasted, as it was last night with that fatal second-half siege.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Sad to say, beaten by the first top team they faced. Players deserved better than to be sent into a second-half siege that gave Argentina exactly what they wanted.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
That ferocious second-half response earned Argentina the win. Thomas Tuchel will have to face the music for England trying to defend the lead for so long and camping in their half. Argentina were too dangerous for that to work for such a long period.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Two beacon countries for player development... Spain - delivered on all their strengths and abilities. France - bewilderingly bad for such a talent-rich side.
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Attended the launch today of a commendable initiative by @SussexCCC to boost cricket in state schools in the county. The private-public sector imbalance in English cricket isn't sustainable - or acceptable. It's called 'Breaking Boundaries.'
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Paul Hayward @paulhayward.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
A final to test the fraying modern attention span, until it became what it needed to be - human drama, with Jannik Sinner triumphant. Report from Centre Court observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
observer.co.uk
Unflappable Sinner overpowers Zverev to retain Wimbledon ...
Italian comes from one set down to beat No 2 seed and win consecutive titles on Centre Court
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