The transfer window, explained over one bowl of phở
Who bought whom, who overpaid, and the one signing I think will matter by March.
The archive
Every issue since No. 1, newest first
Notes from the women’s final in Phnom Penh
A packed stand, a late winner and a team that has waited a long time to be watched.
Why the derby is better on the radio
The commentator, the static, and the man selling sunflower seeds behind the goal.
Hàng Đẫy at seventy: a letter to an old ground
Wooden benches, a scoreboard turned by hand, and the best bánh mì cart in the city.
The referee shortage nobody wants to talk about
Forty matches a season are now run by officials with less than two years’ experience.
Five young players to watch this season
Not the obvious ones. None of them has started more than ten league games.
What a new coach changed in six months
Shorter sessions, longer video meetings and a strict rule about phones at lunch.
The season preview, in one long breath
Every club, one paragraph each, and a prediction I will be reminded of in May.
Issue 200: the best letters you’ve sent me
Four years of corrections, arguments and one very kind note from a retired goalkeeper.
How clubs here really pay their bills
Shirt sponsors, property companies and some very generous provincial budgets.
A summer of under-23 football, rated
The good, the forgettable and the goalkeeper who saved three penalties in a row.
Đà Nẵng in July: a week with the youth teams
Heat, sea air and fifty teenagers learning to play out from the back.
Next issue: Sunday 16 November
Get the letter on Sunday morning
One long read on the week’s football, a few short notes and your letters. Free, and it always will be.