The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Coventry City people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“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 The request is on a desk at Coventry City, and it is not being withdrawn.
The name of Taiwo Awoniyi has come up in conversations Coventry City were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Coventry City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Kevin Mfuamba has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Coventry City have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Liverpool have kept their man, and Coventry City go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miguel Ángel Brau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Agustín Suárez and Coventry City agree another 2 years.
In brief
The dugoutMatheus França asks for a word with the manager
Successful dribbles: 19. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miguel Ángel Brau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Brandon Thomas-Asante, and the manager let it.
The dugout27 May 2030
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Joseph Simmons left the room before anybody could ask which.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Romelle Donovan wants continental football; whether Coventry City can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Coventry City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Agustín Suárez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout20 May 2030
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Joseph Simmons left the room before anybody could ask which.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Coventry City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
SquadThe division's best last weekend was a Coventry City man
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Taiwo Awoniyi. 2‑0 against Watford, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Successful dribbles: 19. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miguel Ángel Brau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Brandon Thomas-Asante will call it something else in private.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Joseph Simmons on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Coventry City heard it as anything else.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miguel Ángel Brau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 27. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Luke Woolfenden.
Something was said to Kion Etete and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout29 Apr 2030
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Joseph Simmons was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Coventry City dressing room was either.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Coventry City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miguel Ángel Brau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Something was said to Matheus França and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout22 Apr 2030
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Joseph Simmons kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad15 Apr 2030
Words at Coventry City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Miguel Ángel Brau is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“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 Coventry City, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Coventry City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Coventry City can tell you which week it ends in.
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 11 combined actions and a mark of 7.10, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Agustín Suárez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Coventry City can pretend not to have heard.
Sheffield Wednesday will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Joe Gbode has pre-agreed a move to Coventry City, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jahmari Lindsay was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Coventry City would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Kenzie Stretton has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Dylan Duffy has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Coventry City have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miguel Ángel Brau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ethan Pinnock 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.
The training ground goes quiet for a fortnight. 4 men have gone off to be somebody else’s players, and the manager is left with the ones nobody has called.
Marked 7.32 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Coventry City had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout25 Mar 2030
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Joseph Simmons was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Coventry City dressing room was either.
Bruno Guimarães and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Coventry City are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Agustín Suárez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Ethan Pinnock has his answer from Coventry City; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Bruno Guimarães wants continental football; whether Coventry City can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Coventry City heard it as anything else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miguel Ángel Brau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
The dugout4 Mar 2030
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Joseph Simmons chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Coventry City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Tottenham? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Agustín Suárez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout25 Feb 2030
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Joseph Simmons left the room before anybody could ask which.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Coventry City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
Nobody at Coventry City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Aurèle Amenda 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.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Coventry City asked and Exeter City said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miguel Ángel Brau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. AFC Wimbledon moved on, Miguel Ángel Brau reports back to Coventry City, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
There were 6 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.
Boardroom4 Feb 2030
Coventry City close the window on a squad of their own making
5 in and 2 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Coventry City heard it as anything else.
Miguel Ángel Brau and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Liverpool have kept their man, and Coventry City go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Marked 8.18 — 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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Liam Kitching
SquadAgustín Suárez falls out with a teammate over standards
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Coventry City have done the hard part with Crystal Palace, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
“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 Coventry City, and it is not being withdrawn.
Successful dribbles: 22. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Miguel Vegas has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Coventry City have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Aurèle Amenda 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miguel Ángel Brau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 10 combined actions and a mark of 7.34, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
“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.
The dugout31 Dec 2029
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Joseph Simmons chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 13 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Coventry City can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Coventry City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Malick Fofana. 1‑0 against Arsenal, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Agustín Suárez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout24 Dec 2029
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Joseph Simmons, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Loum Tchaouna signs something — a contract at Coventry City or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Agustín Suárez
A brace, and Loum Tchaouna takes the afternoon — 8.48
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Loum Tchaouna provided it, and the 8.48 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
6 goals in one match, Loum Tchaouna on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Coventry City and Everton.
Marked 8.45 — 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.
Squad26 Nov 2029
Words at Coventry City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Miguel Ángel Brau is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Ipswich Town will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Karlan Grant has pre-agreed a move to Coventry City, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miguel Ángel Brau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Coventry City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jari De Busser trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Coventry City will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
7 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.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Coventry City can tell you which week it ends in.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Coventry City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Oct 2029
Words at Coventry City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Miguel Ángel Brau is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Stefan Bajčetić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Successful dribbles: 14. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout29 Oct 2029
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Joseph Simmons chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Coventry City will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Coventry City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Coventry City can tell you which week it ends in.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Luke Woolfenden, and the manager let it.
The dugout22 Oct 2029
The manager has not finished forgetting Stefan Bajčetić's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout22 Oct 2029
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Joseph Simmons left the room before anybody could ask which.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miguel Ángel Brau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
10 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Joseph Simmons after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Coventry City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“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.
Squad1 Oct 2029
Words at Coventry City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Agustín Suárez is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Max Hudson and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout1 Oct 2029
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Joseph Simmons chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
The offer went to Watford this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Agustín Suárez has just signed for Coventry City, and for once the answer mattered.
The offer went to Birmingham this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Coventry City asked and Swansea City said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Aurèle Amenda 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.
Coventry City offered $340.0K; Crystal Palace said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miguel Ángel Brau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.