Marked for Hernandes
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 Dec 2029
Beaten 0‑4 by Panserraikos, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market3 Dec 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AEL Larisa can pretend not to have heard.
Market3 Dec 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at AEL Larisa is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad3 Dec 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Pione Sisto commits to AEL Larisa for another 2 years.
Squad3 Dec 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AEL Larisa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom3 Dec 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.
Player ratings3 Dec 2029
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad3 Dec 2029
Hernandes gets it from the manager
“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.
Squad3 Dec 2029
Beaten 4 times, with 2 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom18 Jun 2029
Pressure builds in the AEL Larisa boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market18 Jun 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AEL Larisa can pretend not to have heard.
Market18 Jun 2029
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad18 Jun 2029
Yvann Maçon 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.
Market18 Jun 2029
Jonathan Agyekum has left for Asteras in a $480.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Market18 Jun 2029
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market11 Jun 2029
Hiroki Akino 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 AEL Larisa can pretend not to have heard.
Squad11 Jun 2029
14 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Yvann Maçon 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 AEL Larisa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market11 Jun 2029
Panserraikos are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. AEL Larisa will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad11 Jun 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Hernandes and AEL Larisa agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market11 Jun 2029
AEL Larisa have made Felipe Augusto available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market30 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 AEL Larisa, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Yvann Maçon 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.
Squad30 Apr 2029
The medical room confirms 87 days on the sidelines for Rodrigo Marques, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match9 Apr 2029
Every point is an argument now for AEL Larisa
Position 12 and 20 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.
Market9 Apr 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Marios Siabanis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around AEL Larisa the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market9 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 AEL Larisa, and it is not being withdrawn.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 Mar 2029
20 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market12 Mar 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at AEL Larisa is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market12 Mar 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AEL Larisa can pretend not to have heard.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Yvann Maçon 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 AEL Larisa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market12 Mar 2029
James McAvoy is 19, and AEL Larisa have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Squad12 Mar 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” James McAvoy and AEL Larisa agree another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad29 Jan 2029
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market29 Jan 2029
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Boardroom29 Jan 2029
Pressure builds in the AEL Larisa boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market29 Jan 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AEL Larisa can pretend not to have heard.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Hernandes keeps the receipts
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” AEL Larisa may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match27 Jan 2029
No end in sight to AEL Larisa's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at AEL Larisa has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Yvann Maçon 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 AEL Larisa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Yvann Maçon gets it from the manager
“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.
Match27 Jan 2029
A bad afternoon for AEL Larisa against PAOK
0‑2 to PAOK, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.