Jørgen Strand Larsen 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Óscar Mingueza was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Simon Clark after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
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 Ismaïla Sarr signs something — a contract at Crystal Palace or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
31 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Crystal Palace lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Crystal Palace have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Jørgen Strand Larsen 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Óscar Mingueza was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Every summer it is another club, another set of team-mates, another manager to convince. I have done all that. Now I want a pre-season at Crystal Palace and a proper look at me.” He remains Brighton’s player until the spell runs out — but the argument is with the club that owns him.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Simon Clark after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
50 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Crystal Palace lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Crystal Palace people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Everything agreed with Huddersfield Town, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Manchester United pay $830.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
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.
At 29 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Crystal Palace know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Everything agreed with Newcastle United, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
The deal that would have taken Dion Charles to Middlesbrough has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Huddersfield Town with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Huddersfield Town is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Anselmo García Mac Nulty 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
The phone has started ringing about Ryan Ledson again, and this time the name on the line is Leicester City. Huddersfield Town are listening politely and promising nothing.
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.
Huddersfield Town asked and Bournemouth said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“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 Huddersfield Town, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Sean Roughan will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Huddersfield Town the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Huddersfield Town had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Excelsior, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marcus McGuane was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Huddersfield Town asked and Bournemouth said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Huddersfield Town 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 Derensili Sanches Fernandes was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
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.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Lincoln City? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Anselmo García Mac Nulty 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Derensili Sanches Fernandes was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Christopher Ellis after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The deal with Fulham is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
5 in and 11 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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Sturm Graz is saying, and nobody at Huddersfield Town is enjoying the guessing.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Ethan Brierley is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Anselmo García Mac Nulty 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alfie May and Huddersfield Town agree another 2 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marcus McGuane 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Anselmo García Mac Nulty 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 easiest signature of my career.” Ethan Brierley and Huddersfield Town agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Radinio Balker has improved at 28, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Palermo have kept their man, and Huddersfield Town go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
The deal with Fulham is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Huddersfield Town had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Cagliari, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Anselmo García Mac Nulty 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Radinio Balker and Huddersfield Town agree another 4 years.
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.
Huddersfield Town asked and Chelsea said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Huddersfield Town have made the call to Palermo. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
15 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Huddersfield Town lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Hull City have accepted the money. What Huddersfield Town do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Huddersfield Town have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“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 Huddersfield Town hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Sporting CP keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Huddersfield Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Derensili Sanches Fernandes 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.