Supporters organise against the Naxxar Lions board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Naxxar Lions they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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; Naxxar Lions are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sean Gatt was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Naxxar Lions 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Naxxar Lions 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 Yeangel Montero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Matthew Debattista is on it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Naxxar Lions know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Naxxar Lions can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Naxxar Lions is running low.
Yeangel Montero 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.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Sean Gatt 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.
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Gustavo Campos was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
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.
Gabriel Costa 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.
“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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Sean Gatt 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 keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Naxxar Lions, another week without a signature from Ivan Berezun.
“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 Naxxar Lions know it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Naxxar Lions this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Sean Gatt 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.
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.
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 Yeangel Montero is on it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Naxxar Lions know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The mood at Naxxar Lions has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Naxxar Lions 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 Naxxar Lions, and it is not being withdrawn.
1‑3 to Hamrun Spartans, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Words at Naxxar Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sean Gatt 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.
Both clubs in the mire, one fixture between them, and a ground that will be louder and more frightened than at any point in the season. Naxxar Lions know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.
Position 11 and 17 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Naxxar Lions can pretend not to have heard.
Josh Tobin 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 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 Naxxar Lions can pretend not to have heard.
The deal with Hamrun Spartans 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.
Yeangel Montero 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.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Sean Gatt commits to Naxxar Lions for another 3 years.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Sean Gatt 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.
Supporters organise against the Naxxar Lions board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Naxxar Lions can pretend not to have heard.
The phone has started ringing about Juan Hernández again, and this time the name on the line is Zebbug Rangers. Naxxar Lions are listening politely and promising nothing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yeangel Montero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Naxxar Lions, and it is not being withdrawn.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Naxxar Lions can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Naxxar Lions this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A 2‑0 win over Hibernians, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Sean Gatt 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.
Supporters organise against the Naxxar Lions board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Gabriel Costa 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.
6 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Mosta were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
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 is 22 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 manager has re-ordered his thinking and Sbonelo Ngcobo has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Successful dribbles: 24. 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.
Josh Tobin 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 Sean Gatt was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Both clubs in the mire, one fixture between them, and a ground that will be louder and more frightened than at any point in the season. Naxxar Lions know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.
Position 12, 5 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.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
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 1‑3 defeat, delivered by Alex Borg 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 Naxxar Lions, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
Gustavo Campos 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.
This is not rotation. Juan Hernández has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Naxxar Lions is pretending otherwise.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Naxxar Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yeangel Montero 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 have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Naxxar Lions can pretend not to have heard.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Josh Tobin is living that version at Naxxar Lions, and it tends to show in the first month.
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.
Yeangel Montero 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 Sean Gatt was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A point taken on 91 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
In brief
Boardroom94% of the income goes out in wages at Naxxar Lions
Yeangel Montero 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 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.
“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 Nov 2027
Words at Naxxar Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sean Gatt 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 dugout1 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 0‑2 Alex Borg left the room before anybody could ask which.
Nobody at Naxxar Lions 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.
Hamrun Spartans next, and one man in the Naxxar Lions dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Naxxar Lions can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
0‑1 to Balzan, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Sean Gatt 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 at Naxxar Lions 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.
Valletta next, and one man in the Naxxar Lions dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
In brief
The dugoutIvan Berezun knocks on the manager’s door
“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 Naxxar Lions, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Naxxar Lions 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 Sean Gatt was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Naxxar Lions, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
Gabriel Costa 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 Yeangel Montero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
10 combined actions and 6.88. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
That is the business done at Naxxar Lions 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.
Yeangel Montero 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.
Naxxar Lions asked and Birkirkara said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Francisco Sosa has just signed for Naxxar Lions, and for once the answer mattered.
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 Yeangel Montero is on it.
0‑3 against Hamrun Spartans, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
“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 Zabbar St. Patrick, and it is not being withdrawn.
The deal that would have taken Sean Gatt to St. Andrews has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Zabbar St. Patrick with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zabbar St. Patrick this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Strahinja Jovančić 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Justin Formosa is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Samuel Farrugia has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The words a physio says slowly. 14 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.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Zabbar St. Patrick have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Lukas De Clerck and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Sean Gatt 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 at Zabbar St. Patrick 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bjarki Arnaldarson signs something — a contract at Zabbar St. Patrick or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 21 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.
Bruno Figueiredo 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.
Zabbar St. Patrick offered $19.0K; Tarxien Rainbows 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 had been thinking. Strahinja Jovančić 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Luís Mota signs something — a contract at Zabbar St. Patrick or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 35 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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Mtarfa waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Zabbar St. Patrick is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“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 Zabbar St. Patrick, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Birkirkara is saying, and nobody at Zabbar St. Patrick is enjoying the guessing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zabbar St. Patrick this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Pedro Cejas and Zabbar St. Patrick agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lukas De Clerck was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Bruno Figueiredo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The words a physio says slowly. 42 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Sean Gatt will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Zabbar St. Patrick the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Strahinja Jovančić 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.
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 Jake Micallef is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bjarki Arnaldarson signs something — a contract at Zabbar St. Patrick or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
49 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Zabbar St. Patrick lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Zabbar St. Patrick can pretend not to have heard.
$19.0K was the most the club would pay and Tarxien Rainbows were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Strahinja Jovančić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Bruno Figueiredo 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Luís Mota signs something — a contract at Zabbar St. Patrick or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
27 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Zabbar St. Patrick 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 Zabbar St. Patrick people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Zabbar St. Patrick have gone to Tarxien Rainbows with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Bruno Figueiredo 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Kaiden Fenech 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 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Shean Garlito signs something — a contract at Zabbar St. Patrick or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
SquadThe training reports on Zean Leonardi are not good
The clubs have shaken hands with Zabbar St. Patrick; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Théo Kruger 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 João Moura was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
5 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.
5 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
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 Rosiel is on it.
34 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Zabbar St. Patrick lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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 Zabbar St. Patrick, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Strahinja Jovančić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zabbar St. Patrick this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
41 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Zabbar St. Patrick lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Strahinja Jovančić 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 words a physio says slowly. 48 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.
“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 Zabbar St. Patrick, and it is not being withdrawn.
Bruno Figueiredo 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 had been thinking. Sean Gatt 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Zabbar St. Patrick, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Luís Mota signs something — a contract at Zabbar St. Patrick or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
62 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Zabbar St. Patrick 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 Zabbar St. Patrick can pretend not to have heard.
The offer from Marsa for Im Young-Won 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.
29 appearances and 5 goals away from here, and a player the manager did not have in August. Loans are sent out hoping for exactly this and most of them do not deliver it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Strahinja Jovančić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Zabbar St. Patrick will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Miguel Azzopardi and Zabbar St. Patrick agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Zabbar St. Patrick has been clear about where Sean Gatt stands, which is more than many ever get.
69 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Zabbar St. Patrick lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
29 games, 5 goals, and a squad option that has arrived without a fee attached. The interesting question at Zabbar St. Patrick now is not whether he plays but who he displaces.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Fernando Machis and Zabbar St. Patrick agree another 3 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kaiden Fenech was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
The dugoutJake Micallef has become a man the manager trusts
83 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Zabbar St. Patrick lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Strahinja Jovančić 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.
Im Young-Won 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 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mario Fontanella trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The words a physio says slowly. 90 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zabbar St. Patrick this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
5 goals in 29 games at Santa Lucia — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Zabbar St. Patrick updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
23 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Santa Lucia lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
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 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Santa Lucia know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Santa Lucia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
“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 Zabbar St. Patrick, and it is not being withdrawn.
Bruno Figueiredo 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 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 at Zabbar St. Patrick 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 words a physio says slowly. 39 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.
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.
Sfundo Nzama 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Noah Katanga, and the manager let it.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Santa Lucia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aidan Friggieri 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 dugout12 Apr 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 1‑2 Juan Buttigieg left the room before anybody could ask which.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Strahinja Jovančić 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Pedro Cejas signs something — a contract at Zabbar St. Patrick or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
The dugoutJake Micallef asks for a word with the manager
53 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Santa Lucia 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 Santa Lucia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Santa Lucia has been clear about where Matthias Vella stands, which is more than many ever get.
Nobody at Santa Lucia 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Santa Lucia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at Santa Lucia the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Zabbar St. Patrick will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Strahinja Jovančić 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.
Bruno Figueiredo 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.
Nobody at Zabbar St. Patrick 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 words a physio says slowly. 90 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.
10 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
He is 21 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 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Zabbar St. Patrick will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Zabbar St. Patrick, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
Bruno Figueiredo 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.
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 Mayron is on it.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Zabbar St. Patrick has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
111 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Santa Lucia lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
1‑4 against Zebbug Rangers, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
“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.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 0 gone
That is the business done at Santa Lucia 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.
Every paper's favourite story and every manager's least. What happened is being dealt with internally, which is the phrase clubs use when they would rather nobody asked again.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Fgura United have kept their man, and Santa Lucia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
118 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Santa Lucia lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Matthias Eiba 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 now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Floriana have kept their man, and Santa Lucia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
Marked 6.65 on 9 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
139 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Santa Lucia lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Santa Lucia has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Sean Gatt, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.96
A mark of 7.96 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.
Everything agreed with Hamrun Spartans, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Santa Lucia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Vittoriosa Stars have kept their man, and Santa Lucia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Sean Gatt has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
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.
In brief
Player ratingsJed Valletta ran the middle of the pitch — 6.67
89 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Santa Lucia lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.
Dealt with internally, which is the phrase a club uses when it would rather nobody asked twice. He will be fined, he will apologise, and he will play on Saturday.
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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Sean Gatt is the division's best young player this month
At 21 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Santa Lucia will try very hard not to make too much of it.
Two goals and a mark of 8.55 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Matthias Eiba 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.
He is 21 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Santa Lucia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gianluca Bugeja 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 2‑2 draw with St. Andrews leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
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.” Juan Buttigieg chose the glass-half-full version of 2‑2; the supporters left with the other one.
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.
Every signing waits for it and every press conference asks about it until it comes. It has come, Santa Lucia have their man off the mark, and the second one is always easier.
Successful dribbles: 30. 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Santa Lucia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Jean Carlos scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Mgarr United, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Santa Lucia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Conor Borg 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.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
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 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Juan Buttigieg to a room that had heard them before.
“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.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Zebbug Rangers in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Words at Santa Lucia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aidan Friggieri 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 year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Santa Lucia would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
A season-long audition: Hamrun Spartans still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are Santa Lucia's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.