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August 5, 2019updated 30 Sep 2022 8:10am

The Athletic UK: Full list of staff poached from national and regional press

By Freddy Mayhew

The Athletic has targeted some of the top sports journalists in the UK for its coverage of the football Premier League, which launched today.

Press Gazette spoke with Athletic UK managing director Ed Malyon (pictured), ex-sports editor at the Independent, about the launch.

Scroll down for full editorial staff list

The US-based sports news subscription service has hired more than 50 UK editorial staff, all of whom are offered equity in the company.

“For me that was quite a big thing because when you work for a newspaper, you never had a stake in what you’re doing,” Malyon told Press Gazette.

“You still work your arse off, but you never have any tangible upside on what happens to it, so that was certainly an attractive thing for me and several people that we’ve hired have mentioned it too.”

Former Times sports editor Alex Kay-Jelski will lead editorial coverage.

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Freelances will be used to fill in gaps in reporting, or “where brilliant opportunities arise” that staff cannot cover, an Athletic UK spokesperson said.

They added that for staff covering a football team that is relegated from the Premier League “the assumption would be that the writer in question would continue to cover them”.

“There is a chance they’d be reassigned to another club but it would seem a waste of The Athletic’s efforts in establishing coverage of that club.”

The full list of 57 staff, some of whom have yet to see out their notice periods at their former publications, includes six women.

The Athletic UK’s editorial staff (and the football clubs they cover) comprises:

Staff writers:

  1. Adam Leventhal – Watford
  2. Amy Lawrence – Arsenal
  3. Andy Naylor – Brighton and Hove Albion
  4. Andy Jones – Burnley
  5. Andy Mitten – Manchester United
  6. Carl Anka – Southampton
  7. Charlie Eccleshare – Tottenham Hotspur
  8. Chris Waugh – Newcastle United
  9. Gregg Evans – Aston Villa
  10. Greg O’Keeffe – Everton
  11. James McNicholas – Arsenal
  12. James Pearce – Liverpool
  13. Jordan Campbell – Rangers
  14. Kieran Devlin – Celtic
  15. Laurie Whitwell – Manchester United
  16. Liam Twomey – Chelsea
  17. Matt Woosnam – Crystal Palace
  18. Michael Bailey – Norwich City
  19. Nancy Frostick – Sheffield Wednesday
  20. Patrick Boyland – Everton
  21. Paul Taylor – Nottingham Forest
  22. Peter Rutzler – AFC Bournemouth
  23. Phil Hay – Leeds United
  24. Richard Sutcliffe – Sheffield United
  25. Rob Tanner – Leicester City
  26. Roshane Thomas – West Ham United
  27. Ryan Conway – Derby County
  28. Sam Lee – Manchester City
  29. Simon Hughes – Liverpool
  30. Steve Madeley – West Bromwich Albion
  31. Tim Spiers – Wolverhampton Wanderers
  32. Rafa Honigstein – German Bundesliga
  33. Kieran Theivam – Women’s football
  34. David Ornstein – News/video/transfers
  35. Danny Taylor – League-wide reporter
  36. Jack Pitt Brooke – League-wide reporter
  37. Oliver Kay -League-wide reporter
  38. Michael Cox – Tactical analysis
  39. Jack Lang – Features
  40. Michael Walker – Features
  41. Adam Crafton – Features
  42. George Caulkin – Staff writer (North East)
  43. Dom Fifield – Staff writer
  44. Stuart James – Staff writer

Editors and staff

  1. Adam Hurrey
  2. Alex Kay-Jelski – Editor
  3. Charlie Scott – Staff editor
  4. David Jordan
  5. Ed Malyon – UK managing director
  6. Hannah Widdis
  7. Harriet Drudge – Social media manager
  8. James Maw – Staff editor
  9. Kevin Coulson – Staff editor
  10. Laura Williamson – Senior editor
  11. Neil Rowlands
  12. Sarah Shephard
  13. Daniel Barnes

Picture: The Athletic

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