The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Aston Villa had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Aston Villa 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 Lucas Ocampos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
36 games, 2 goals, and a squad option that has arrived without a fee attached. The interesting question at Aston Villa now is not whether he plays but who he displaces.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Aston Villa, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Leon Goretzka signs something — a contract at Aston Villa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Aston Villa will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Gillingham is running low.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Gillingham can pretend not to have heard.
Ibrahim Mbaye 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.
“I have supported clubs like this one. I know what a bad Saturday feels like here.” The new man starts with nothing behind him and everything in front of him.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Brian Madjo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Aston Villa the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boubacar Kamara 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.
15 appearances at Gillingham and the goals keep coming. Aston Villa are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Aston Villa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amadou Onana 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 dugout17 May 2027
Boubacar Kamara is playing like a man with something to prove
The oldest phenomenon in the sport: a new voice in the dressing room and suddenly everybody is available for everything. Boubacar Kamara is training as though the last team sheet never existed, because as far as he is concerned it does not.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Two goals and a mark of 8.34 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Ibrahim Mbaye did not need any: 8.41, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Ibrahim Mbaye 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Kelly Saravanan 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.
The 85th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Ronan Hale decided nobody was going anywhere. Crawley Town had no time left to answer.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
“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 Gillingham know it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kelly Saravanan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Raphael Borges Rodrigues 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.47 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Aston Villa is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Lucas Ocampos and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Words at Aston Villa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amadou Onana 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. August Priske 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.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of August Priske at his very best
Two goals and a mark of 8.60 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Gillingham can pretend not to have heard.
Ben Wilson 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 Kelly Saravanan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Brian Madjo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Aston Villa the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Zion Suzuki 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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Lucas Ocampos 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 hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Ibrahim Mbaye did not need any: 8.35, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
7.92, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Ibrahim Mbaye 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 easiest signature of my career.” Eli King and Gillingham agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Gillingham training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Danny Imray 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Gillingham can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Abdoul Ouattara, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.06
A mark of 8.06 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Sam Vokes will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Gillingham the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Ibrahim Mbaye and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Gillingham training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Danny Imray 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Gillingham this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
At 23 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.
At 19 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Gillingham will try not to make too much of it.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Gillingham, another week without a signature from Mitch Clark.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Gillingham told Ibrahim Mbaye something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Ibrahim Mbaye, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.11
A mark of 8.11 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
“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 Gillingham, and it is not being withdrawn.
Ibrahim Mbaye 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Gillingham and Accrington Stanley, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Alejandro Garnacho provided it, and the 8.90 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Brian Madjo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Aston Villa the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boubacar Kamara 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Lucas Ocampos 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Alejandro Garnacho. 3‑1 against Newcastle United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Amadou Onana was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.16. 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.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; August Priske will call it something else in private.
4‑1, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Ibrahim Mbaye, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 10.00
A mark of 10.00 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Gillingham can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Gillingham have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Abdoul Ouattara 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Gael Delgado has just signed for Gillingham, and for once the answer mattered.
He is 21 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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Rodrigo Soria
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Ibrahim Mbaye, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.33
A mark of 8.33 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Gillingham this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Rodrigo Soria commits to Gillingham for another 4 years.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Danny Imray 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.
At 19 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Ibrahim Mbaye is the division's best young player this month
At 19 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Gillingham will try very hard not to make too much of it.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Gillingham scored in the 90th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Ibrahim Mbaye 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.
15 goals and a season average of 7.25 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Gillingham training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Danny Imray 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 Gillingham know it.
It finished 1‑0, and it was Ronan Hale’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Gillingham.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Ronan Hale was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.16. 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.
Successful dribbles: 37. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Ibrahim Mbaye, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.42
A mark of 8.42 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Ibrahim Mbaye 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.
14 goals and a season average of 7.22. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Gillingham training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kelly Saravanan 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.
Three points for Gillingham, 1‑0 the final word against Cheltenham Town in a contest settled by the finer margins.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
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.” Adam Edwards kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Raphael Borges Rodrigues trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Gillingham they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Danny Imray was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Gillingham will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
Squad15 Feb 2027
6 new faces, and Gillingham are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Successful dribbles: 28. 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.
7.70, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Gillingham this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
8 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Gillingham and Crewe Alexandra in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
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 paperwork is done long before the player is. Rocco Friel has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Gillingham have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Gillingham is running low.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Gillingham close the window on a squad of their own making
3 in and 0 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.
Ibrahim Mbaye 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Gillingham training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kelly Saravanan 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Crewe Alexandra have kept their man, and Gillingham go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Gillingham know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and John McGinn was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Harry James after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.73 for the rest of it.
Zion Suzuki 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.
7 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Brentford were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
At 18 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.
With 6 players away on international duty the sessions are small and the manager can actually hear himself. It is the one break in the season, and it never quite feels like one.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Harry James, on a 3‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.