Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Vicenza they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The name of Harry Lister has come up in conversations Vicenza were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Vicenza, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
BoardroomThe Vicenza production line keeps running
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Vicenza, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Vicenza know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Vicenza know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Vicenza know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Vicenza is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Riccardo Gagno will call it something else in private.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Vicenza know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
SquadMattia Vitale unhappy with how he is being used
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Vicenza is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Vicenza pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Vicenza know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Ezequiel Ávila has let it be known that he does not like the way Vicenza are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.
Vicenza spent the window trying to move Michele Cavion on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Vicenza they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by 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 Vicenza, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Vicenza know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — Gabriele Bertolini has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. Vicenza know, and have known for weeks.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Vicenza have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Vicenza know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — Gabriele Bertolini has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. Vicenza know, and have known for weeks.
“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.
A new face in his position, and Claudio Morra suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Vicenza have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
A season average of 7.01 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Vicenza know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Vicenza is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Vicenza 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 Vicenza, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Daniel Cappelletti has let it be known that he does not like the way Vicenza are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.