Marked for Thomas Tegwi
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Zebbug Rangers close the window on a squad of their own making
8 in and 10 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
Everything agreed with another club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Fgura United keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Thomas Tegwi 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emin Spahić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
“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.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
Emin Spahić 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 Emin Spahić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market6 Sep 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Zebbug Rangers, another week without a signature from Ruslan Maltsev.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The dugout30 Aug 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Transfer targets30 Aug 2027
The deal with Birkirkara 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.
Match28 Aug 2027
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Zebbug Rangers are no longer polite ones.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Thomas Tegwi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom30 Aug 2027
2 academy graduates step up at Zebbug Rangers
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Match28 Aug 2027
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Emin Spahić 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.
Market30 Aug 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Martin Spiteri is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market30 Aug 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Giovanni Sammut 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Aug 2027
26 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Zebbug Rangers lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Zebbug Rangers have done the hard part with Zurrieq, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Thomas Tegwi 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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
15 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
Zebbug Rangers asked and Vittoriosa Stars said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emin Spahić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Jul 2027
“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 Zebbug Rangers, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Thomas Tegwi 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 Zebbug Rangers this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Fgura United have kept their man, and Zebbug Rangers go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emin Spahić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
A loan enquiry to Hamrun Spartans: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
Zurrieq have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Boardroom26 Jul 2027
The numbers do not look good at Zebbug Rangers
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
“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.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
Daniel Duvnjak asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Jul 2027
Thomas Tegwi 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.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at Zebbug Rangers training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emin Spahić 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.
Boardroom19 Jul 2027
136% of the income goes out in wages at Zebbug Rangers
Every club in football 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 somebody has tried it.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
A loan move for Anse Ngoubi is in the works
Zebbug Rangers have made the call to Mosta. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Zebbug Rangers are still strangers to each other
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
Daniel Duvnjak 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 Zebbug Rangers, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market19 Jul 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Oratile Rantasi’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Jun 2027
A fracture rules Gaetano Gesualdi out for 23 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Zebbug Rangers will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market7 Jun 2027
Luca Gatt puts it in writing
“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 Zebbug Rangers, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets7 Jun 2027
The deal with Mosta 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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Thomas Tegwi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets7 Jun 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Vittoriosa Stars have kept their man, and Zebbug Rangers go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at Zebbug Rangers training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emin Spahić 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 Jun 2027
Daniel Duvnjak 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 Daniel Duvnjak trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market7 Jun 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Seketso Moremi signs something — a contract at Zebbug Rangers or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
Open for business: Zebbug Rangers enter the window
The registration window is open and the phone has started. Between now and the deadline this club will be linked with forty players and sign three, which is the usual ratio.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 May 2027
A fracture rules Gaetano Gesualdi out for 37 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Zebbug Rangers will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad24 May 2027
Thomas Tegwi 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.
Boardroom24 May 2027
Wages swallow 139% of the Zebbug Rangers income
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.
Squad24 May 2027
Words at Zebbug Rangers training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Joseph Willy 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 dugout24 May 2027
“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.
Squad24 May 2027
No place for Lucas Pollizzi in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Zebbug Rangers are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Apr 2027
A fracture rules Gaetano Gesualdi out for 86 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Zebbug Rangers will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Daniel Duvnjak is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Thomas Tegwi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match3 Apr 2027
1‑3 to Sirens, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniel Duvnjak, and the manager let it.
The dugout5 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 1‑3 Steve Cachia left the room before anybody could ask which.
Boardroom5 Apr 2027
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Zebbug Rangers now.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
Gaetano Gesualdi asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad8 Mar 2027
A fracture rules Gaetano Gesualdi out for 114 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Zebbug Rangers will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
Ayrton Mizzi: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Zebbug Rangers have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Thomas Tegwi and Zebbug Rangers agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Emin Spahić and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Daniel Duvnjak
“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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Shaka Zulu makes the team of the month
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Match6 Mar 2027
A 1‑1 draw with Marsa leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad15 Feb 2027
A fracture rules Gaetano Gesualdi out for 135 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Zebbug Rangers will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Thomas Tegwi 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 Zebbug Rangers this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match13 Feb 2027
It finished 3‑1, and it was Shaka Zulu’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Zebbug Rangers.
Transfer targets15 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Valletta have kept their man, and Zebbug Rangers go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Daniel Duvnjak 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.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
A performance of 8.68 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Joseph Willy beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Seketso Moremi was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.03. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Glenn Cachia
“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.
In brief
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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Player ratings
Oratile Rantasi leaves them behind him
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Looking ahead
Luca Gatt faces his old club
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 Feb 2027
A fracture rules Gaetano Gesualdi out for 142 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Zebbug Rangers will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Nobody could get near Shaka Zulu
Successful dribbles: 31. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match6 Feb 2027
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Vittoriosa Stars have kept their man, and Zebbug Rangers go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Duvnjak was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Thomas Tegwi, and the manager let it.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 9 actions, 6.51, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Luca Gatt 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 Zebbug Rangers this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Nobody could get near Shaka Zulu
Successful dribbles: 32. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match26 Dec 2026
No end in sight to Zebbug Rangers's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Zebbug Rangers has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad28 Dec 2026
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Thomas Tegwi 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.
Match28 Dec 2026
Half the programme played, position 11, 15 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 dugout28 Dec 2026
Dylan Agius 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.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad30 Nov 2026
Emin Spahić 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 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Seketso Moremi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match28 Nov 2026
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Glenn Cachia
“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.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Steve Cachia after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Looking ahead30 Nov 2026
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Jean Claude Debattista’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Zebbug Rangers needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
No place in the plan for Dylan Agius
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
He was not in the side at half past three and he had settled it before five. Half an hour, and Zebbug Rangers had a different afternoon.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Nov 2026
Thomas Tegwi 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.
Market9 Nov 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Pierre Debono 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.
Market9 Nov 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Jeremy Schembri 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.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.10, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Steve Cachia could afford to be generous.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Christian Grech, and the manager let it.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Shots: 9. 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Every signing waits for it and every press conference asks about it until it comes. It has come, Zebbug Rangers have their man off the mark, and the second one is always easier.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 33. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Thomas Tegwi 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 Zebbug Rangers this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces28 Sep 2026
At 16 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
17 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Marked 7.42 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Zebbug Rangers had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Steve Cachia after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Jonathan Grech
“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.
Match26 Sep 2026
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Mtarfa defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The plan did not have a place for Ayrton Mizzi
Nobody at Zebbug Rangers is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Sep 2026
Thomas Tegwi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match19 Sep 2026
It finished 1‑0, and it was Joseph Willy’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Zebbug Rangers.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.75 on the card, and the Zebbug Rangers support went home talking about one name.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
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.” Steve Cachia kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Looking ahead21 Sep 2026
Mtarfa top the table and they are coming into view. Nothing to lose, which is what every manager says before losing.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 13. 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
The one goal every signing is asked about until it comes. It has come, and a press-conference question has been retired.
Looking ahead21 Sep 2026
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Mtarfa in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Zebbug Rangers asked and Mosta said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match12 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Joseph Willy
“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.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Steve Cachia after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad14 Sep 2026
At 14 years old, Angelo Scerri became the latest name off the academy production line to be handed a senior shirt.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“I am not asking anybody to be better than they are. I am asking everybody to be as good as they are, every week.” Said out loud, in front of everybody, and the room at Zebbug Rangers was different afterwards.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Withdrawn after 47 minutes with a mark of 6.10. There are changes made to freshen a side, and there are changes that are a sentence, and this one had a full stop on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Thomas Tegwi 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 Zebbug Rangers this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Naxxar Lions have kept their man, and Zebbug Rangers go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Manuel Schembri 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Anton Zammit has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Jonathan Camilleri has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Aug 2026
“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 Zebbug Rangers, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gaetano Gesualdi and Zebbug Rangers agree another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Thomas Tegwi 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Daren Falzon 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
“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.
Market3 Aug 2026
49 months and counting on Joseph Willy
Still no offer on the table, and Joseph Willy’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.