Marked for Joris Aliukonis
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom5 Nov 2029
Linas Eliosius has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Atlantas can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Squad5 Nov 2029
Words exchanged at Atlantas
Tadas Simkus 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.
Squad5 Nov 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Tomas Dapkus and Atlantas agree another 2 years.
Squad5 Nov 2029
A row about effort at Atlantas
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Justas Dubickas was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout5 Nov 2029
Joris Aliukonis loses the manager who believed in him
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Joris Aliukonis's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
The dugout5 Nov 2029
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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 May 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 13 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad21 May 2029
Linas Lasickas damages knee ligaments — 26 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 26 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.
Match19 May 2029
Chastening afternoon for Atlantas
A 0‑4 beating by Zalgiris was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match19 May 2029
6 matches without a win for Atlantas
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Atlantas are no longer polite ones.
Match19 May 2029
No clean sheets in sight for Atlantas
5 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Squad21 May 2029
A falling-out at Atlantas
Tadas Simkus and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 May 2029
Words at Atlantas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Justas Dubickas 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 dugout21 May 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vykintas Klimavicius, and the manager let it.
Looking ahead21 May 2029
A six-pointer for Atlantas
Utenis next, and both sides can do the sum. Win and the table looks different; lose and it looks the way everybody has been fearing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 May 2029
13 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.
Squad7 May 2029
Linas Lasickas damages knee ligaments — 40 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 40 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.
Market7 May 2029
“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 Atlantas, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match5 May 2029
The wait goes on for Atlantas
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.
The dugout7 May 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad7 May 2029
Tadas Simkus 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.
Match5 May 2029
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad7 May 2029
Words at Atlantas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Justas Dubickas 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 dugout7 May 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Uglješa Radinović, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad30 Apr 2029
Linas Lasickas damages knee ligaments — 47 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 47 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.
Match28 Apr 2029
Beaten 1‑4 by Suduva, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad30 Apr 2029
9 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.
Match30 Apr 2029
Atlantas are in real trouble now
Position 6, 10 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.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Words exchanged at Atlantas
Tadas Simkus 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 Apr 2029
Justas Dubickas 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 dugout30 Apr 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joris Aliukonis, and the manager let it.
Looking ahead30 Apr 2029
A six-pointer for Atlantas
Stumbras next, and both sides can do the sum. Win and the table looks different; lose and it looks the way everybody has been fearing.
Boardroom30 Apr 2029
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
In brief
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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The dugout
Nemanja Ilić is still being punished for one mistake
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The dugout
Tadas Simkus has become a man the manager trusts
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market16 Apr 2029
“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 Atlantas, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout16 Apr 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad16 Apr 2029
Tadas Simkus in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlantas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Justas Dubickas 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 dugout16 Apr 2029
“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.
Match16 Apr 2029
Atlantas at the halfway mark
Half the programme played, position 3, 10 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
The dugout16 Apr 2029
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Linas Eliosius after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The dugout16 Apr 2029
Justas Valskis has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Atlantas 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.
Player ratings16 Apr 2029
Tadas Simkus beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 12. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match31 Mar 2029
Beaten 1‑7 by Zalgiris, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad2 Apr 2029
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.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Words exchanged at Atlantas
Tadas Simkus 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.
Match31 Mar 2029
8 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Atlantas and Zalgiris in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
The dugout2 Apr 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jovan Krneta, and the manager let it.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Words at Atlantas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Bethel 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.
Boardroom2 Apr 2029
Nobody left the Atlantas dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout2 Apr 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 1‑7 Linas Eliosius left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout2 Apr 2029
Nemanja Ilić 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
Upbeat
Squad26 Mar 2029
18 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Atlantas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad26 Mar 2029
4 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
Match24 Mar 2029
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 4‑1 against Trakai, and it could have been more.
Player ratings26 Mar 2029
Ninety minutes of Tadas Simkus at his very best
Marked 10.00. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Atlantas.
Squad26 Mar 2029
A falling-out at Atlantas
Tadas Simkus and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Mar 2029
“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 Atlantas know it.
Match24 Mar 2029
Atlantas settle it inside twenty minutes
2 goals before the ground had finished arriving. Trakai spent the rest of the afternoon playing a match that had already been decided, and everybody in the stadium knew it.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
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.” Linas Eliosius kept it short after the 4‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Looking ahead26 Mar 2029
A test against the best for Atlantas
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Zalgiris.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad12 Mar 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Strahinja Tadic
32 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Atlantas lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market12 Mar 2029
“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.
The dugout12 Mar 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad12 Mar 2029
Tadas Simkus 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 Mar 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Rokas Girdvainis commits to Atlantas for another 4 years.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Words at Atlantas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Justas Dubickas 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.
Match10 Mar 2029
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout12 Mar 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joris Aliukonis, and the manager let it.
The dugout12 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 0‑2 Linas Eliosius left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad29 Jan 2029
A falling-out at Atlantas
Tadas Simkus and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets29 Jan 2029
Atlantas asked and Zalgiris said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Words at Atlantas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Justas Dubickas 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.
Squad29 Jan 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Arnas Eliosius and Atlantas agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market29 Jan 2029
Kauno Zalgiris are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Atlantas will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
The dugout29 Jan 2029
Tadas Simkus has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Atlantas 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 dugout29 Jan 2029
David Bethel knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Atlantas, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Match29 Jan 2029
Atlantas in the hunt for Europe
Position 4, 20 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
Market29 Jan 2029
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. David Bethel may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad4 Dec 2028
Joris Aliukonis gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Joris Aliukonis has just signed for Atlantas, and for once the answer mattered.
Market4 Dec 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Atlantas is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad4 Dec 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jovan Krneta and Atlantas agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad4 Dec 2028
A falling-out at Atlantas
Tadas Simkus and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad4 Dec 2028
A row about effort at Atlantas
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and David Bethel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout4 Dec 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout4 Dec 2028
David Bethel knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and David Bethel trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Match4 Dec 2028
Continental football is in reach for Atlantas
20 points from position 4. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
Market4 Dec 2028
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Joris Aliukonis arrives at Atlantas with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.