Author of the Complete History of the World Cup and Complete History of the European Championship.https://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3mlde57pe5k2mUnderpinning all of my assessments is the importance of context. Today I look at the three broad eras of football history as an introduction to how we appraise achievements at different points in time. robfielder.substack.com/p/the-eras-of-… https://robfielder.substack.com/p/the-eras-of-…08 May 2026 08:53 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlde57pe5k2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3mlauxxjjik2pLatest post looks at the art of creating a "top 100" listing of great players. How do we go about it, what is the process and what sort of balance do we need to consider? open.substack.com/pub/robfielder… https://open.substack.com/pub/robfielder…07 May 2026 09:16 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlauxxjjik2phttps://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3mkpht5hess2qToday's post is about players' peak, prime and longevity. How long do you have to be great for, in order to be counted among the greats? open.substack.com/pub/robfielder… https://open.substack.com/pub/robfielder…30 Apr 2026 11:05 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkpht5hess2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3mkliquggak2lIt’s a 5-4 in a semi-final of a major tournament between probably the two best teams in the world. Of course people are going to think it’s good. [contains quote post or other embedded content]28 Apr 2026 21:11 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkliquggak2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3mkhzny4p6227Today's newsletter is on the subject of trophies and whether they matter in assessing great players robfielder.substack.com/p/do-trophies-… https://robfielder.substack.com/p/do-trophies-…27 Apr 2026 12:03 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkhzny4p6227https://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3mk5xs6wx5k2wToday's newsletter is about the separation between ability and performance in football and the relative importance (or lack of) around completeness and versatility. robfielder.substack.com/p/understandin… https://robfielder.substack.com/p/understandin…23 Apr 2026 12:03 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk5xs6wx5k2whttps://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3mjwpxfxjok2aAfter threatening to do it for a long time, I've finally created a newsletter/blog on Substack. Will be focused on football's greatest players and how we think about greatness in the game. Would be grateful if people subscribe. substack.com/home/post/p-19… https://substack.com/home/post/p-19…20 Apr 2026 14:54 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjwpxfxjok2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3misui7fdpk2iThe earliest “top 100 current players in the world” list that I’m aware of is World Soccer’s November 1991 version. Is anyone aware of an earlier list like this, either ordered or unordered?06 Apr 2026 08:39 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3misui7fdpk2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3mgdoc6xc4c22Putting aside Messi and Ronaldo, what are the best individual seasons of the 21st century?05 Mar 2026 20:48 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgdoc6xc4c22https://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3mdhovilmxc2rDon’t think @alimaxwell.bsky.social is fully taking account of the heat and altitude impacts of playing in a Mexican summer at midday but I do think this is an interesting question. [contains quote post or other embedded content]28 Jan 2026 06:54 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdhovilmxc2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3mbcelrezs22aI’m interested in the type of books that those reading over 50 get through in a year. I try to read as broadly as possible, across subjects and genres. [contains quote post or other embedded content]31 Dec 2025 17:16 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbcelrezs22ahttps://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3mbccjuyqgs2aOne of my New Year’s resolutions was to read more. 2024 was my best for probably 20 years and managed to roughly double that tally this year to average a book a week (combination of books and audiobooks). Hope to maintain that next year.31 Dec 2025 16:39 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbccjuyqgs2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3mbbllk65pc2aAhead of the World Cup, am looking for some related reads. What’s the best World Cup connected book I might not have read?31 Dec 2025 09:49 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbbllk65pc2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3m7nshlgays2rAm currently working on something considering greatness in different eras. One of the problems pre 1954ish is the top players virtually never played against each other which meant we have very little idea of how good they were. Now they hardly stop playing each other. [contains quote post or other embedded content]10 Dec 2025 19:33 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7nshlgays2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3m6ykxkmgas2oQuestion: I think there’s a general consensus now that the Champions League is a higher level of football than the World Cup. Is that due to player quality or the extra time that clubs get to train together?02 Dec 2025 08:53 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6ykxkmgas2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3m4bltjrgvc2xThe points listings remain one of the most interesting bits of these for me. [contains quote post or other embedded content]28 Oct 2025 18:47 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4bltjrgvc2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3m462kz24lk2hWe’ve made it to 1957-58 in our team of the season series. Some of history’s greatest ever figures feature in one of the most competitive editions yet. [contains quote post or other embedded content]27 Oct 2025 09:00 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3m462kz24lk2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3ll56ui4w6c2dAs always, really enjoyed being able to contribute to this. [contains quote post or other embedded content]24 Mar 2025 16:36 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3ll56ui4w6c2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3lihztfnymk25I’m not sure why this thread got so little engagement, whether it’s just not an interesting topic or something about the way Bluesky displays threads. But at long last, I got to the end. [contains quote post or other embedded content]18 Feb 2025 19:50 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3lihztfnymk25https://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3li7q3ck7xs22A couple of observations on my Liverpool selection. One of the hardest to pick a timeframe on and one most disadvantaged by the 3 year timeframe. Over a longer period they would obviously beat a lot of other teams. [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 Feb 2025 12:34 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3li7q3ck7xs22https://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3lfxkxhd4v22wMaybe not the time but I reckon Gordon Banks and Bobby Moore would have had a shot. [contains quote post or other embedded content]17 Jan 2025 19:50 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3lfxkxhd4v22whttps://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3le2tlrkwe22tI struggled with which was Bayern’s best team. This one, the turn of the century team, Pep’s side or the 2013 CL winners. [contains quote post or other embedded content]24 Dec 2024 16:13 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3le2tlrkwe22thttps://bsky.app/profile/robfielder.bsky.social/post/3ldqdfwtnac27This is so linked to the days before Christmas for me. Overall I think it’s an ok list in a tough year. Most of the voters seem to have stuck to the brief and focused on the calendar year. [contains quote post or other embedded content]20 Dec 2024 11:56 +0000at://did:plc:hnd6psk2r6wdix3yo2erj7h7/app.bsky.feed.post/3ldqdfwtnac27