Marked for Noah Riskwait
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Jun 2028
Mohamed Dao hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Gloria Bistrița can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets26 Jun 2028
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Gloria Bistrița have done the hard part with Concordia Chiajna, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Nikola Gjorgjev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets26 Jun 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Metaloglobus Bucharest have kept their man, and Gloria Bistrița go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout26 Jun 2028
“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.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Words at Gloria Bistrița training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jay Kuiper 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.
Transfer targets26 Jun 2028
FC Bihor Oradea have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Market26 Jun 2028
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Alexandru Mogoş has his answer from Gloria Bistrița; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout26 Jun 2028
Alexandru Mogoş is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match31 Jan 2028
Botosani are in real trouble now
Position 16, 19 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Squad31 Jan 2028
104 days out for Iustin Popescu after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Botosani will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market31 Jan 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market31 Jan 2028
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Botosani have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match29 Jan 2028
No end in sight to Botosani's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Botosani has to find a result from somewhere.
Match29 Jan 2028
Botosani cannot find the net
5 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.
Squad31 Jan 2028
A falling-out at Botosani
Anrie Chase and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad31 Jan 2028
A row about effort at Botosani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hervin Ongenda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad6 Dec 2027
10 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match6 Dec 2027
Botosani are in real trouble now
Position 15, 15 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
Jakub Hromada: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Botosani have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Hervin Ongenda 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.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Giannis Anestis 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.
Match4 Dec 2027
0‑2 to Universitatea Craiova, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
The manager makes an example of Djibril Diaw
“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.
Market6 Dec 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market30 Aug 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Botosani, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market30 Aug 2027
CSM Slatina come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Botosani did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
Noah Riskwait: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Botosani have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Transfer targets30 Aug 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Botosani have done the hard part with Olympiacos, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Transfer targets30 Aug 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Ludogorets is saying, and nobody at Botosani is enjoying the guessing.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Stelios Andreou 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 dugout30 Aug 2027
This is not rotation. Rijad Sadiku has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Botosani is pretending otherwise.
Squad30 Aug 2027
A row about effort at Botosani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hervin Ongenda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets30 Aug 2027
Botosani asked and Akhmat Grozny said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Jul 2027
Atalanta come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Botosani did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words exchanged at Botosani
Hervin Ongenda 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Botosani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giannis Anestis 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.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Corvinul Hunedoara have kept their man, and Botosani go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad12 Jul 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Botosani can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
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.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
A loan enquiry to Zaglebie: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
Slavia Prague have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Noah Riskwait, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match21 Jun 2027
Botosani are in real trouble now
Position 14, 32 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market21 Jun 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Botosani, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Botosani have done the hard part with Farul Constanța, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Ludogorets is saying, and nobody at Botosani is enjoying the guessing.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
Farul Constanța wanted more than $28.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad21 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Botosani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giannis Anestis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad21 Jun 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Botosani can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
Mihai Bordeianu is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Jun 2027
Lucas De Vega hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Botosani can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
Farul Constanța wanted more than $42.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Giannis Anestis 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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Botosani
Răzvan Oaidă 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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
“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; Botosani are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Giannis Anestis'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.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
Ludogorets have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
Slavia Prague have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Market14 Jun 2027
No place for Miguel Muñoz in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Miguel Muñoz has his answer from Botosani; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match24 May 2027
Botosani sink to position 14
32 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad24 May 2027
Giannis Anestis 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.
Squad24 May 2027
Alexandru Ţigănaşu 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 dugout24 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Lucas De Vega
“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 dugout24 May 2027
Zoran Mitrov asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market24 May 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Botosani know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout24 May 2027
The manager makes Johan Martial a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Botosani. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Squad24 May 2027
The least glamorous thing a foreign signing ever does and the one that decides most of them. A player who can hear the shout behind him is a different footballer from one who cannot.
The dugout24 May 2027
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Andrei Dumiter plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Apr 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Botosani, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Botosani may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad5 Apr 2027
A falling-out at Botosani
Hervin Ongenda and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Mihai Bordeianu 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 36 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
Market5 Apr 2027
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“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; Botosani are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lucas De Vega, and the manager let it.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
Narcis Ilaş gets picked when it counts
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 Narcis Ilaş is on it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.91 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad30 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Botosani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hervin Ongenda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Alexandru Ţigănaşu 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.
Match28 Nov 2026
It finished 1‑0, and it was Mihai Bordeianu’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Botosani.
Squad30 Nov 2026
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.
Match30 Nov 2026
Botosani at the halfway mark
Half the programme played, position 5, 22 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Botosani know it.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
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.” Sergiu Balasa, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
When it matters, Narcis Ilaş plays
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.