“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Septemvri can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Septemvri this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Still no offer on the table, and Marcel Junuzovic’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Septemvri this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Septemvri can pretend not to have heard.
Robin Schouten 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Septemvri this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Septemvri, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Robin Schouten 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.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Yanko Georgiev will call it something else in private.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Septemvri, and 17 appearances in 29 say he has earned the hearing.
Kristiyan Malinov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I watch every Botev Vratsa game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at IMT runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
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.
Robin Schouten was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Septemvri, and 10 appearances in 20 say he has earned the hearing.
Position 15 and 10 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.
“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 Botev Vratsa, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Botev Vratsa is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Kristiyan Malinov 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Botev Vratsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Botev Vratsa has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Septemvri this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Joacim Holtan. 1‑0 against Lokomotiv Plovdiv, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.36 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Septemvri, and 5 appearances in 11 say he has earned the hearing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Botev Vratsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.40 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Tamimou Ouorou trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
8 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.
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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Botev Vratsa they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Kristiyan Malinov 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Martin Smolenski and Botev Vratsa agree another 3 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Botev Vratsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.61 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Đorđe Jovičić and Botev Vratsa agree another 3 years.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Botev Vratsa have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Septemvri have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Robin Schouten 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.
Bertrand Fourrier was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I watch every Septemvri game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Dobrudzha runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“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 Dobrudzha, and it is not being withdrawn.
Richard Martínez 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Septemvri this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Septemvri can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Septemvri this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Septemvri this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The name of Ali Aruna has come up in conversations Septemvri were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Septemvri, and 5 appearances in 22 say he has earned the hearing.
Every debut is a small story about the future: Dimitar Chelebiev, 18 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Nicolas Fontaine signs something — a contract at Septemvri or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
Player ratingsThe one thing Joacim Holtan could not do
Position 16 and 12 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 Dobrudzha can pretend not to have heard.
The deal that would have taken Plamen Pepelyashev to Spartak 1918 has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Dobrudzha with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Eric Omondi 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.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Dobrudzha pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
“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 Septemvri, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from Montana for Bertrand Fourrier 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.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Septemvri this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Septemvri, and 3 appearances in 18 say he has earned the hearing.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 28 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Septemvri, and 3 appearances in 14 say he has earned the hearing.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Nicolas Fontaine signs something — a contract at Septemvri or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Septemvri this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Bertrand Fourrier. 2‑1 against Cherno More, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Eric Omondi 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Septemvri this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Septemvri, and 2 appearances in 6 say he has earned the hearing.
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dobrudzha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Shots: 6. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Dobrudzha has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
“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 Dobrudzha, and it is not being withdrawn.
Matheus Leoni 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.
Marked 8.22 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.