Marked for Boubacar Traoré
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad29 Nov 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Wolverhampton may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match27 Nov 2027
The unbeaten run reaches 9. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad29 Nov 2027
16 goals and a season average of 7.31. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad29 Nov 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wolverhampton this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings29 Nov 2027
Marked 8.84 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings29 Nov 2027
A performance of 8.82 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings29 Nov 2027
Marked 8.00 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad29 Nov 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings11 Oct 2027
Defensive actions: 40, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings11 Oct 2027
Successful dribbles: 34. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Ladislav Krejčí was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings11 Oct 2027
One of those days for Fer López
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.28, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match9 Oct 2027
It finished 1‑0, and it was Fer López’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Wolverhampton.
Player ratings11 Oct 2027
A defender's afternoon for André
Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch11 Oct 2027
“I watch every Wolverhampton game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Aston Villa runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The terraces11 Oct 2027
Everybody has an opinion about Raúl Jiménez
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
Defensive actions: 33, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
Nobody could get near Fer López
Successful dribbles: 31. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
A defender's afternoon for André
Defensive actions: 30. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Market6 Sep 2027
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Wolverhampton heard it as anything else.
Market6 Sep 2027
The deal that would have taken Santiago Bueno to Tottenham has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Wolverhampton with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
36 days since the seat came open, a list of names doing the rounds, and nobody has signed anything. Every week this drags on the shortlist gets shorter.
Squad6 Sep 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Sam Johnstone commits to Wolverhampton for another 2 years.
Squad6 Sep 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wolverhampton this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
The approach has gone in and the answer belongs to Nimes. Business like this is done quietly and reported loudly, and rarely in that order.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Jun 2027
Habib Diallo in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rémi Roger, and the manager let it.
Squad21 Jun 2027
A new face in his position, and Boubacar Traoré suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. FC Metz have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Market21 Jun 2027
FC Metz have made Alpha Touré available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Market21 Jun 2027
A season-long look at somebody else’s player: Wataru Endo arrives from Liverpool with something to prove and a return ticket in the drawer. Good loans make everybody richer; this one starts Saturday.
Squad21 Jun 2027
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at FC Metz would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
In brief
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The terraces
The spotlight tightens on Wataru Endo
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Boardroom
The board put their hand in their pocket
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Market
Joseph Mangondo leaves on loan
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Jun 2027
Aston Villa paid $16.9M and Wolverhampton took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad14 Jun 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wolverhampton this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Jun 2027
64 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Fer López knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Wolverhampton, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market14 Jun 2027
The name of Hwang Hee-Chan keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Wolverhampton say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 May 2027
Jessy Deminguet was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad17 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Tristan Muyumba
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad17 May 2027
Jessy Deminguet asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 May 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Wolverhampton can pretend not to have heard.
Squad17 May 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Wolverhampton may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad17 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wolverhampton this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Apr 2027
Boubacar Traoré was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Marked 8.39 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
A performance of 8.00 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad12 Apr 2027
The medical room confirms 16 days on the sidelines for Mathieu Deplagne, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Maxime Colin left out for the big one
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Maxime Colin will call it something else in private.
Squad12 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Giorgi Abuashvili, and the manager let it.
Match10 Apr 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Market12 Apr 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. FC Metz know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match29 Mar 2027
Every point is an argument now for FC Metz
Position 16 and 29 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
A defender's afternoon for Michel Mboula
Defensive actions: 27. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Defensive actions: 25, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Jessy Deminguet was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad29 Mar 2027
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Jessy Deminguet will call it something else in private.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market22 Feb 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what FC Metz can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad22 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
A performance of 8.71 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
A performance of 8.32 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad22 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Michel Mboula
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Gauthier Hein is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.21 with 4 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Mathieu Deplagne asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Feb 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Boubacar Traoré was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
One of those days for Joel Asoro
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.02, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Loan watch15 Feb 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at FC Metz, and 7 appearances in 26 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad15 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jonathan Fischer, and the manager let it.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match13 Feb 2027
3‑3, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Squad15 Feb 2027
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at FC Metz pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. FC Metz lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market8 Feb 2027
Michel Mboula hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what FC Metz can pretend not to have heard.
Market8 Feb 2027
FC Metz say no — this time
The offer from Clermont Foot for Nathan Mbala was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad8 Feb 2027
At 20, Herba Guirassy is already the best thing here
An average of 7.21 in a first team he is several years too young for. FC Metz have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad8 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match6 Feb 2027
Monaco left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.28, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A booking nobody needed, on a night the game was already won. FC Metz lose a player for the most avoidable reason there is.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match1 Feb 2027
FC Metz are in real trouble now
Position 16, 20 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market1 Feb 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at FC Metz, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 29 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Rémi Roger: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” FC Metz have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Habib Diallo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market1 Feb 2027
Add another name to the list: Clermont Foot have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Nathan Mbala. The answer from FC Metz has not changed — yet.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.97, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
A defender's afternoon for Sadibou Sané
Defensive actions: 20. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.75, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match9 Jan 2027
9 matches without a win for FC Metz
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around FC Metz are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 31 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
A defender's afternoon for Sadibou Sané
Defensive actions: 29. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market11 Jan 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market11 Jan 2027
Huesca come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and FC Metz did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A season average of 7.05 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. FC Metz know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Market11 Jan 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. FC Metz have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match12 Dec 2026
The wait goes on for FC Metz
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 25 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad14 Dec 2026
He is 20, he is averaging 7.01, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Market14 Dec 2026
Rémi Roger wants to know where this is going
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at FC Metz hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Defensive actions: 23. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Rémi Roger was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Defensive actions: 17. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Match12 Dec 2026
Point won or two lost for FC Metz?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Stade Brestois? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad16 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Marked 9.33 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Boubacar Traoré, and the manager let it.
Match14 Nov 2026
It finished 1‑0, and it was Herba Guirassy’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to FC Metz.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.52, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
A defender's afternoon for Sadibou Sané
Defensive actions: 15. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad16 Nov 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Defensive actions: 29. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Rémi Roger was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages eat 174% of everything FC Metz earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Bouna Sarr
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Jessy Deminguet was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad28 Sep 2026
18 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mathieu Deplagne, and the manager let it.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.