And here's me thinking you follow my posts religiously!
I was highly critical of the Athletic's coverage of the CAS case in general and specifically of Sam and Matt Slater and their lazy attitude towards what constituted an expert on the matter. Specifically in their case because they had been burned by their 'sources' first time round on the initial UEFA investigation verdict, I found it depressing they then doubled down on 'guilty until proven innocent' rather than looking at the facts.
The whole thing definitely put a strain on our friendship, but ultimately he's a good guy, and whilst it may not be what you want to hear, I don't believe his integrity can be questioned. From top to bottom the only 'experts' around were ones who were absolutely convinced that City were guilty and were bang to rights. In our City bubble we would absolutely be seeking out different voices, but I understand why Sam ended up in the position he ended up in. He was surrounded by people who were queuing up to say the same thing and everyone around him was lapping it up.
Stefan said to me around the time of the verdict that he couldn't believe how many otherwise intelligent, highly successful people he'd encountered, who were completely blinkered when it came to the CAS case because of their tribal loyalties. Barristers, doctors, the lot.
Ultimately though we won. The Athletic and all their experts were wrong. Forgive a moment of hubris but I think the best and most accurate coverage of the whole thing came from Stefan on our podcast. You can't buy that sort of satisfaction after everything that had been written before it rugby and
I'm sorry if it sounded like I was being a dick when I said you spend too much time on here. You do, but since you have managed to do that and also become a yacht owning sweater round the neck wearing lord of the manor, who am I to judge.
What are you drinking? I'm going to start on the mezcal now...Mezcal Mondays has a nice ring to it.