The Paris rebel club
The author of a new book on Red Star Paris joins The Football Weekend to explain why it's such a special institution.
New year, new weekend, and we’re off in an unconventional direction. The big match of the coming days for our purposes is in Paris, but it ain’t PSG. RED STAR PARIS travel to face TROYES on Saturday for a meeting of second against first in France’s Ligue 2.
It’s a perfect opportunity to have a look at one of the world’s more storied — if off-beat — football clubs. Red Star was founded way back in 1897 by Jules Rimet, eventual inventor of the FIFA World Cup, and in the time since it’s acquired layer upon layer of identity. It’s the French capital’s rebel club, a vessel of alt-Paris, a different kind of chic from the glitz of the European champions at the Parc des Princes.
Simon Binns is a veteran journalist who wrote a book on Red Star — and fell in love with the club along the way. Red Star Paris: Punks, Politics and Power Struggles in the Fight for the Coolest Club on Earth is a history, a social study, and a love letter, though Binns also made use of his background as a financial journo to tackle the issue of Red Star’s new owners: 777 Partners, most famous for a failed takeover attempt of Everton Football Club.
Simon joins the show this week to talk all of the above and ruminate a bit on the swirling contradictions of modern football:
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A smug Chelsea hater’s interlude
Enzo Maresca’s time in West London was pretty much finished last month when he went public about his “worst 48 hours” as Chelsea manager, but perhaps he was doomed before that.
From what I’ve seen, the club’s supporters have come around to the idea that the people running the institution are more interested in their player-trading model than in winning the biggest trophies. (Though The Guardian reported this week that the Italian’s departure was at least in part linked to a dalliance with Manchester City, his former employer quietly seeking a replacement for Pep Guardiola should he leave this summer.) It does appear that Chelsea’s decision-makers have rejected the notion of adding experienced, physically dominant players to the squad — the kind that won so many trophies during the reign of Roman Abramovich. Add in the refusal to sign a top goalkeeper, a top center back, and a top center forward, and you’ve got a toxic stew.
Some of us were banging this drum when Chelseaworld nearly drowned itself in smugitude after winning the Europa Conference League and the Club World Cup last year. The truth is that Chelsea were poor for much of calendar year 2025 and registered few victories over top sides, that battering of Barcelona this fall notwithstanding. The “Champions of the World” are nowhere close to the best team in the world, and once the league results reverted to the quality of the first half of 2025, Maresca was always likely to get pushed out the door.
Since Abramovich’s departure, the club has moved from competently ruthless to ruthlessly incompetent while achieving a few results — just enough — to allow everybody involved to slide into delusions of grandeur. Now they need a manager.
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A few more matches worth your time this weekend…
ON SATURDAY, you can kick off with ASTON VILLA vs NOTTINGHAM FOREST (7:30am ET, 12:30pm UK) as the Villans attempt to shake off their shellacking by Arsenal in midweek and avoid getting Dyched.
Then it’s SENEGAL vs SUDAN (11am ET, 4pm UK) in the Africa Cup of Nations Round of 16. The Sudanese are into the knockout rounds amid a civil war at home, while Senegal have a whole crew of top players capable of pushing them deep into this tournament.
Finally, you’ve got ESPANYOL vs BARCELONA (3pm ET, 8pm UK) in the Derbi Barceloní, as La Liga leaders Barça travel across town to confront their neighbors.
ON SUNDAY, there’s a rekindling of one of England’s great modern rivalries with LEEDS UNITED vs MANCHESTER UNITED (7:30am ET, 12:30pm UK). These ain’t exactly the days of Eric Cantona or Rio Ferdinand for either one of these sides, but newly promoted Leeds are on pace to stay up while Man United — despite their rankling inconsistency — are in the Top Four chase.
Then it’s TOTTENHAM vs SUNDERLAND (10am ET, 3pm UK) in what’s surely a massive match for Thomas Frank. The Spurs manager will be in massive trouble if they lose again at home, especially considering that Sunderland have slid into some indifferent form after their sparkling start. The Black Cats did grind out that point against Man City on New Year’s Day, though that was at home at the Stadium of Light.
Next up is MANCHESTER CITY vs CHELSEA (12:30pm ET, 5:30pm UK) for another edition of MONEY WARS. Despite that setback against Sunderland, Man City are firmly in the title race that Chelsea fans thought they’d be in. Instead, they’re sliding into a Top Four scrap with just one win in their last seven league matches.
Then it’s SOUTH AFRICA vs CAMEROON (2pm ET, 7pm UK) in another AFCON Round of 16 match as Sunday begins to wind down, and it’s a real beauty. Both these sides are dangerous as we enter the knockout stage, though there’s also a little derby out of the French capital kicking off 45 minutes later with PSG vs PARIS FC (2:45pm ET, 7:45pm UK). Obviously, we’ll be supporting Red Star …