It is arithmetic now, and the arithmetic is done. A summer of hard questions starts early at Valladolid, and next season's fixture list reads very differently.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Valladolid will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The fee is $5.4M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Celta drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Valladolid offered $6.7M; Barcelona 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.
“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 The request is on a desk at Valladolid, and it is not being withdrawn.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Granada have kept their man, and Valladolid go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Valladolid will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Valladolid have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Valladolid can pretend not to have heard.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $7.2M — a club that wants Dani Raba enough to be asked twice.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Valladolid this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Valladolid asked and Barcelona said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The name of Alvin has come up in conversations Valladolid were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad18 Jun 2029
Words at Valladolid training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Trilli 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.
7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
“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 GKS Katowice, and it is not being withdrawn.
Garri 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 Jesse Bosch 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ilya Shkurin signs something — a contract at GKS Katowice or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jesse Bosch was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at GKS Katowice, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at GKS Katowice, another week without a signature from Karol Noiszewski.
Nobody at GKS Katowice 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.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one GKS Katowice will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what GKS Katowice can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jesse Bosch was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Marius Olsen signs something — a contract at GKS Katowice or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Dawid Kudła is 37, with 309 appearances behind him, and GKS Katowice will have to plan for whichever answer comes.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Grzegorz Rogala trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at GKS Katowice 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 Jesse Bosch was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Everybody at GKS Katowice saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 36 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at GKS Katowice, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Valladolid have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Words at Valladolid training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juanmi Latasa 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.
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.
Álex Martín 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.
“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.
Nobody at Valladolid is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Garri 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.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Jesse Bosch falls out with a teammate over standards
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at GKS Katowice, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ilya Shkurin signs something — a contract at GKS Katowice or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Garri 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.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Words at GKS Katowice training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jesse Bosch 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.
Nobody at GKS Katowice 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.
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Marcel Wędrychowski may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Nobody writes a headline about a tutor. Nobody has to be told, either, what happens to a signing who spends two years being the man nobody can talk to at lunch.
In brief
BoardroomThe GKS Katowice production line keeps running
Position 13 on 39 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
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.
7 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at GKS Katowice can tell you which week it ends in.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jesse Bosch was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout9 Apr 2029
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Dawid Kaminski was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the GKS Katowice dressing room was either.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at GKS Katowice 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 Jesse Bosch was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at GKS Katowice has been clear about where Ivan Lima stands, which is more than many ever get.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. GKS Katowice told Konrad Gruszkowski something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
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.
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Ivan Lima has moved up it.
6 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.
6 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at GKS Katowice can tell you which week it ends in.
Garri 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.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Words at GKS Katowice training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jesse Bosch 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.
ŁKS Łódź left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Dawid Kaminski to a room that had heard them before.
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.
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.
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at GKS Katowice can tell you which week it ends in.
Garri 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.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Words at GKS Katowice training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jesse Bosch 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.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Marius Olsen will call it something else in private.
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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Modou Keita
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Alvin will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Valladolid the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Words at Valladolid training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juanmi Latasa 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.
“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; Valladolid are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout19 Mar 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 0‑1 Jaime Suárez left the room before anybody could ask which.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Lucas Sanseviero is on it.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Atlético Madrid in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Garri and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Jesse Bosch falls out with a teammate over standards
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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Dawid Kaminski after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mateusz Kowalczyk trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
0‑3 to Wisła Płock, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at GKS Katowice this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
This is not rotation. Mateusz Wdowiak has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at GKS Katowice is pretending otherwise.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Words at GKS Katowice training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jesse Bosch 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.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at GKS Katowice can tell you which week it ends in.
Something was said to Eman Marković and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what GKS Katowice can pretend not to have heard.
Garri 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 Ilya Shkurin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
0‑2 to Pogon, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout26 Feb 2029
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Dawid Kaminski to a room that had heard them before.
“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 GKS Katowice, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. GKS Katowice will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilya Shkurin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Dawid Kaminski after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Alvin will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Valladolid the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Words at Valladolid training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juanmi Latasa 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.
Valladolid asked and Athletic Bilbao said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Álex Martín and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Jaime Suárez to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
The manager has not finished forgetting Pablo Lara'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.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Paolo Fernandes provided it, and the 8.72 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Amarildo Gjoni reports back to GKS Katowice with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jesse Bosch was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
GKS Katowice asked and Motor Lublin said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 10 actions, 7.85, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what GKS Katowice can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom5 Feb 2029
Deadline passes with 2 signed and 2 gone
That is the business done at GKS Katowice until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at GKS Katowice 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 Ilya Shkurin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 GKS Katowice, and 5 appearances in 30 say he has earned the hearing.
The phone has started ringing about Modou Keita again, and this time the name on the line is Sportist Svoge. GKS Katowice are listening politely and promising nothing.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Paolo Fernandes provided it, and the 8.86 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The offer from ENPPI for Amarildo Gjoni 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” GKS Katowice have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
The fee is $550.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Odra Opole drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Garri 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.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Tomás Müller has, at GKS Katowice, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
In brief
SquadIlya Shkurin falls out with a teammate over standards
“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 GKS Katowice, and it is not being withdrawn.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. GKS Katowice have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The offer went to Puszcza Niepołomice 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.
Add another name to the list: Chrobry Głogów have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Piotr Starzyński. The answer from GKS Katowice has not changed — yet.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Jesse Bosch falls out with a teammate over standards
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.
A brace, and Ilya Shkurin takes the afternoon — 8.60
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ilya Shkurin provided it, and the 8.60 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what GKS Katowice can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” GKS Katowice have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The offer from Kenya Police for Modou Keita 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.
The deal with Sparta Prague 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.
Garri and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Words at GKS Katowice training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilya Shkurin 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.
1‑4 against Stal Mielec, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what GKS Katowice can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Piotr Starzyński will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around GKS Katowice the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The deal with AEK 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at GKS Katowice 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 Jesse Bosch was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sparta Prague have kept their man, and GKS Katowice go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Garri 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.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Ilya Shkurin falls out with a teammate over standards
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.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
“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 GKS Katowice, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilya Shkurin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout18 Dec 2028
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.” Dawid Kaminski chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Konrad Gruszkowski’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and GKS Katowice needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around GKS Katowice they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at GKS Katowice this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Words at GKS Katowice training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jesse Bosch 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.
“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 GKS Katowice, and 4 appearances in 22 say he has earned the hearing.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Slask in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at GKS Katowice is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Garri 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.
Squad4 Dec 2028
Words at GKS Katowice training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilya Shkurin 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.
Position 11, 20 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
“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.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.86 for the rest of it.
Garri 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.
Squad27 Nov 2028
Words at GKS Katowice training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilya Shkurin 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Dawid Kaminski on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jesse Bosch was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
ŁKS Łódź next, and one man in the GKS Katowice dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Nobody at GKS Katowice 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.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and GKS Katowice will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at GKS Katowice is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at GKS Katowice this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Words at GKS Katowice training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilya Shkurin 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. GKS Katowice told Konrad Gruszkowski something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around GKS Katowice they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ilya Shkurin and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Jesse Bosch falls out with a teammate over standards
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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what GKS Katowice can pretend not to have heard.
Garri 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.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Jesse Bosch falls out with a teammate over standards
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.
8 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Dawid Kaminski could afford to be generous.
The words a physio says slowly. 20 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Garri and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Words at GKS Katowice training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilya Shkurin 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.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. GKS Katowice told Dmytro Sydorenko something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The words a physio says slowly. 28 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” GKS Katowice have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at GKS Katowice is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at GKS Katowice this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Ilya Shkurin falls out with a teammate over standards
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.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Pogon in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Eman Marković signs something — a contract at GKS Katowice or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Words at Valladolid training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juanmi Latasa 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.
Álex Martín 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Valladolid has been clear about where Abdoul Kialy Koné stands, which is more than many ever get.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Valladolid know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
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.
Ibrahima Koné has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Lucas Sanseviero trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“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 GKS Katowice, and it is not being withdrawn.
Marius Olsen and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Ilya Shkurin falls out with a teammate over standards
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.
“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.
Korona next, and one man in the GKS Katowice dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. GKS Katowice know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at GKS Katowice has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Jesse Bosch reports back to GKS Katowice with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around GKS Katowice they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
GKS Katowice had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Shakhtar, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
The interest is real enough to have reached print. GKS Katowice have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Words at GKS Katowice training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilya Shkurin 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.
GKS Katowice asked and Heidenheim said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Michał Feliks and GKS Katowice agree another 3 years.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what GKS Katowice 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 GKS Katowice this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Motor Lublin wanted more than $75.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Jesse Bosch falls out with a teammate over standards
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.
Pogoń Grodzisk Mazowiecki have accepted the money. What GKS Katowice do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around GKS Katowice they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The offer went to Motor Lublin 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilya Shkurin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Stal Mielec have kept their man, and GKS Katowice go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ilya Shkurin. 1‑0 against Stal Mielec, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Promotion, confirmed and mathematical, and a town that will not sleep much tonight. Whatever else this season had in it, it ends a division higher than it began.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Valladolid have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Valladolid can pretend not to have heard.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Emi has just signed for Valladolid, and for once the answer mattered.
Valladolid asked and Levante 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 Carles Soria was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
24 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Albacete lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Albacete can pretend not to have heard.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Albacete this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
41 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Albacete lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Albacete this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Words at Albacete training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Víctor Valverde 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.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Albacete can tell you which week it ends in.
5 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mario Soberón trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
0‑1 to Granada, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Valladolid training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Guille Bueno 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.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. David Torres wants continental football; whether Valladolid can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Valladolid told Pablo Tomeo something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“I watch every Valladolid game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Albacete runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
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 Jaime Suárez left the room before anybody could ask which.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Miguel Rubio signs something — a contract at Valladolid or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.48, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Robin van Duiven, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.62
A mark of 7.62 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Words at Valladolid training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Carles Soria 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.
“I did not go to Albacete to sit and watch. I want to come back to Valladolid and fight for my place.” 5 appearances in 18 matches say the rest.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
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.” Jaime Suárez kept it short after the 3‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Successful dribbles: 13. 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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager has not finished forgetting David Torres's mistake
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Albacete have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
200 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Albacete this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Something was said to José Corpas and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Albacete this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 board was up, the win was priced in, and then Burgos scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 2‑2, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
“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.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words at Valladolid training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Guille Bueno 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.
Something was said to Julien Ponceau and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
7 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.
“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 Valladolid, and 4 appearances in 14 say he has earned the hearing.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Jaime Suárez after 0‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
4 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.
Pepe Sánchez 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.
“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.
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.
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Valladolid can tell you which week it ends in.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Zwolle is saying, and nobody at Valladolid is enjoying the guessing.
$130.0K on the table at Osasuna. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Guille Bueno falls out with a teammate over standards
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Albacete can pretend not to have heard.
The offer went to Rosenborg 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.
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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Pepe Sánchez is on it.