#NFFC disciple, apasionado de historia, adopted Sotonian. Keep the faith.https://bsky.app/profile/tomvvardle.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/tomvvardle.bsky.social/post/3mrq44da45c26If this were available in short sleeve, it would be the greatest shirt in the history of the human race. #NFFC28 Jul 2026 19:05 +0000at://did:plc:x7le2lht25m3qppf6d2ils4j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrq44da45c26https://bsky.app/profile/tomvvardle.bsky.social/post/3mqvp4tkagc2t'The footballers who fought Franco' To mark the 90th anniversary of the start of the Spanish Civil War I've written about the Sporting Battalion, made up of amateur and international footballers, who defended Madrid from Franco's advances. https://tomvvardle.substack.com/p/the-footballers-who-fought-franco18 Jul 2026 07:03 +0000at://did:plc:x7le2lht25m3qppf6d2ils4j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqvp4tkagc2thttps://bsky.app/profile/tomvvardle.bsky.social/post/3mqyc4b67n224Ahead of tonight's World Cup final, read about how Spanish international footballers took up arms in 1936 to defend democracy against Franco's forces https://open.substack.com/pub/tomvvardle/p/the-footballers-who-fought-franco?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=8zxrj19 Jul 2026 07:48 +0000at://did:plc:x7le2lht25m3qppf6d2ils4j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqyc4b67n224https://bsky.app/profile/tomvvardle.bsky.social/post/3mqvp4tkagc2t'The footballers who fought Franco' To mark the 90th anniversary of the start of the Spanish Civil War I've written about the Sporting Battalion, made up of amateur and international footballers, who defended Madrid from Franco's advances. https://tomvvardle.substack.com/p/the-footballers-who-fought-franco18 Jul 2026 07:03 +0000at://did:plc:x7le2lht25m3qppf6d2ils4j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqvp4tkagc2thttps://bsky.app/profile/tomvvardle.bsky.social/post/3moe4qnu44s2mhttps://www.diariodeleon.es/sociedad/260614/2088267/fallece-francisco-robles-nino-leones-guerra-inglaterra-punto-cumplir-100-anos.html15 Jun 2026 20:29 +0000at://did:plc:x7le2lht25m3qppf6d2ils4j/app.bsky.feed.post/3moe4qnu44s2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/tomvvardle.bsky.social/post/3moagvbtogs2e🗞 The story of Stewart Imlach, the first-ever Nottingham Forest player to play at a World Cup The jinking left-winger represented Scotland in 1958 in Sweden, winning the FA Cup with Forest a year later https://tomvvardle.substack.com/p/stewart-imlach-nottingham-forests?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=8zxrj&triedRedirect=true&_src_ref=t.co #WorldCup #SCO #TartanArmy #NFFC14 Jun 2026 09:19 +0000at://did:plc:x7le2lht25m3qppf6d2ils4j/app.bsky.feed.post/3moagvbtogs2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/tomvvardle.bsky.social/post/3mlxuq6n7mk2z100 years ago today, Richard Dombi led FC Barcelona to a Copa victory 🏆 He also won titles with Bayern Munich & Feyenoord. Dombi, a Jew, incredibly survived the Holocaust by hiding in plain sight & continuing coaching ✍️ New article today for @footballheritage.bsky.social [contains quote post or other embedded content]16 May 2026 12:43 +0000at://did:plc:x7le2lht25m3qppf6d2ils4j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlxuq6n7mk2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/tomvvardle.bsky.social/post/3mjltwkvmhc2nNew article: 'Jack Burton: The Needle in the Haystack' 🪡 Admittedly niche but a real labour of love, this one, after 2 years tracking down the mysterious football coach over six countries. 100 years on we know the identity of Athletic Club Bilbao's 3rd manager! https://open.substack.com/pub/tomvvardle/p/jack-burton-the-needle-in-the-haystack?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=8zxrj16 Apr 2026 07:06 +0000at://did:plc:x7le2lht25m3qppf6d2ils4j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjltwkvmhc2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/tomvvardle.bsky.social/post/3mhs3x52ypc2gOn this day in 1935: Harry Lowe, Real Sociedad's English coach names himself in the starting 11 At 43, he is still La Liga's oldest ever player Read all about Lowe's fascinating career from Tottenham to La Liga to a worldwide football tour https://open.substack.com/pub/tomvvardle/p/harry-lowe-la-ligas-oldest-player?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=8zxrj24 Mar 2026 07:55 +0000at://did:plc:x7le2lht25m3qppf6d2ils4j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhs3x52ypc2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/tomvvardle.bsky.social/post/3mfpl5lt7qk2lJust another thought on student loans... I took a £10k Postgraduate Loan to do my Master's degree, with 6% compound interest in 2016. I then did a PhD (didn't finish, RIP) so was out of the workforce for a few years, meaning I wasn't repaying anything while the interest was increasing.25 Feb 2026 20:59 +0000at://did:plc:x7le2lht25m3qppf6d2ils4j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfpl5lt7qk2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/tomvvardle.bsky.social/post/3mfoszr77622nSun's come out for the first time in forever. Straight to the corner shop to buy a crisp can of Diet Coke on my lunchtime walk. Unrivalled.25 Feb 2026 13:47 +0000at://did:plc:x7le2lht25m3qppf6d2ils4j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfoszr77622nhttps://bsky.app/profile/tomvvardle.bsky.social/post/3meqvenaoxk2wUna camiseta de fútbol para recordar la acogida de los niños vascos en Gales tras el bombardeo de Gernika https://elpais.com/espana/pais-vasco/2026-02-13/una-camiseta-de-futbol-para-recordar-la-acogida-de-los-ninos-vascos-en-gales-tras-el-bombardeo-de-gernika.html13 Feb 2026 16:09 +0000at://did:plc:x7le2lht25m3qppf6d2ils4j/app.bsky.feed.post/3meqvenaoxk2whttps://bsky.app/profile/tomvvardle.bsky.social/post/3memg7326dc2lReally struggling to see a way out of this #NFFC11 Feb 2026 21:27 +0000at://did:plc:x7le2lht25m3qppf6d2ils4j/app.bsky.feed.post/3memg7326dc2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/tomvvardle.bsky.social/post/3memf2sreb22lThis feels like England vs Slovakia at the Euros #NFFC11 Feb 2026 21:07 +0000at://did:plc:x7le2lht25m3qppf6d2ils4j/app.bsky.feed.post/3memf2sreb22lhttps://bsky.app/profile/tomvvardle.bsky.social/post/3mblwrhn7js2dRe-publishing my @outsidewrite.bsky.social article about Billy Barnes, the 3 time Copa del Rey winning manager with Athletic Club, who gave rise to the term 'Míster' still used in Spanish football today 🔴⚪️ More similar articles in the pipeline so please follow! 📝 https://open.substack.com/pub/tomvvardle/p/billy-barnes-in-bilbao-a-forgotten?r=8zxrj&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true04 Jan 2026 12:35 +0000at://did:plc:x7le2lht25m3qppf6d2ils4j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mblwrhn7js2d