“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 The request is on a desk at Prostějov, and it is not being withdrawn.
Richard Sedláček 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.
Lukáš Havel has left for Mlada Boleslav in a $160.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Words at Prostějov training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emmanuel Godwin 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.
“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 Prostějov know it.
Slovan Liberec 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.
Slovan Liberec 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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Mlada Boleslav waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Prostějov is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Position 3, 52 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Prostějov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Marek Polášek 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.
A loan enquiry to Mlada Boleslav: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
A loan enquiry to Mlada Boleslav: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Prostějov have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Prostějov is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Everything agreed with Sparta Prague, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Jan Záviška has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Lukáš Havel 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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mikuláš Bakaľa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Mlada Boleslav are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Mlada Boleslav, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Daniel Langhamer is on it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Michal Fukala was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Mlada Boleslav know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Ondřej Karafiát 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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Words at Mlada Boleslav training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michal Fukala 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.
Nobody at Mlada Boleslav 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Filip Černý trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Mlada Boleslav know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Vojtěch Hora had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Slavia Prague were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 37 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Mlada Boleslav have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ondřej Karafiát and Mlada Boleslav agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Vojtěch Hora has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
12 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.
9 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Mlada Boleslav can tell you which week it ends in.
Position 14 and 14 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.
Ondřej Karafiát 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Adam Ševínský has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Michal Fukala 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 offer from MFK Michalovce for Matouš Krulich 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.
Mlada Boleslav had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Shakhtar, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mlada Boleslav this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at Mlada Boleslav training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Martin Králik 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.
Mlada Boleslav asked and Slavia Prague said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Mlada Boleslav have made the call to Hajduk Split. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mlada Boleslav can pretend not to have heard.
Martin Králik 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.
The chase for Mikuláš Kubný ended with $140.0K changing hands and Táborsko out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Mikuláš Kubný has, at Mlada Boleslav, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
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.
27 games, 5 goals, and a squad option that has arrived without a fee attached. The interesting question at Mlada Boleslav now is not whether he plays but who he displaces.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Ondřej Karafiát and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Mlada Boleslav training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Martin Králik 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.
Nobody at Mlada Boleslav 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Solomon John trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout31 May 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Filip Špatenka's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until David Pech signs something — a contract at Mlada Boleslav or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Mlada Boleslav would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
The words a physio says slowly. 32 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.
Dantaye Gilbert 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jan Knapík was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Pribram, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Christophe Kabongo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Martin Šubert 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ondřej Karafiát is on it.
The dugout3 May 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Filip Špatenka's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until David Pech signs something — a contract at Mlada Boleslav or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
5 goals in 27 games at Pribram — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Mlada Boleslav updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mlada Boleslav this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Stefan Jovanoski is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Mlada Boleslav training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Christophe Kabongo 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.
“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 Mlada Boleslav know it.
Nobody at Mlada Boleslav 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Martin Králik trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Pribram have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Pribram this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Okechukwu Azubuike was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Martin Melichar signs something — a contract at Pribram or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mlada Boleslav can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Martin Králik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ondřej Karafiát is on it.
0 appearances, 0 clean sheets, and a goalkeeper no further forward than the day he left. Whether that belongs to him, to the club that borrowed him or to the people who arranged it is the argument Mlada Boleslav will have this month.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Filip Špatenka's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Pribram have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Zbrojovka Brno keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Two of the goals had his name somewhere on them, which is the afternoon a manager wants from anybody asked to both create and finish. 7.54, and 2 involvements.
Jakub Řezníček 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Pribram training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jan Knapík 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.
At 22 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Vojtěch Hora. 2‑0 against Sparta Prague B, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Successful dribbles: 19. 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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Jakub Urbanec
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Vojtěch Hora at his very best
“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 Pribram, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Zbrojovka Brno keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Pribram this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Denis Prendi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Jakub Řezníček 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Pribram training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Okechukwu Azubuike 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.
At 22 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.
1‑5 against Zbrojovka Brno, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Pribram this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals in one match, Vojtěch Hora on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Pribram and Zbrojovka Brno.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Pribram training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jan Knapík 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.
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.
Ústí nad Labem will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Pribram were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
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.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sparta Prague have kept their man, and Pribram go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.