Marked for Miracle Adewole
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match27 Aug 2033
No clean sheets in sight for Grodig
27 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Match27 Aug 2033
21 matches without a win for Grodig
The run now stands at 21, and the questions being asked around Grodig are no longer polite ones.
The terraces29 Aug 2033
The mood at Grodig has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad29 Aug 2033
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Grodig will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Boardroom29 Aug 2033
Grodig interviewed the field and appointed the corridor: Interim Coach keeps the job he had been doing in all but title. Sometimes the safest pair of hands is the one already holding the wheel.
Match24 Aug 2033
Grodig through in the cup
A 2‑2 win over Mattersburg, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Match27 Aug 2033
0‑3 to Sturm Graz, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Market29 Aug 2033
“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 The request is on a desk at Grodig, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad29 Aug 2033
1 kept out from twelve yards, and a stadium that will describe each of them for twenty years. A goalkeeper needs one night like this in a career, and this was it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad11 Jul 2033
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Grodig will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match11 Jul 2033
Grodig sink to position 10
1 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Transfer targets11 Jul 2033
The deal with Red Bull Salzburg 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.
Transfer targets11 Jul 2033
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Austria Wien keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad11 Jul 2033
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Grodig this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Jul 2033
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.
Squad11 Jul 2033
A row about effort at Grodig
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lukas Gütlbauer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout11 Jul 2033
Lovro Mikulčić 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.
The dugout11 Jul 2033
When it matters, Nino Lesjak plays
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces4 Jul 2033
The mood at Grodig has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad4 Jul 2033
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Grodig will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Transfer targets4 Jul 2033
Grodig and Admira Wacker have settled on $52.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Transfer targets4 Jul 2033
Everything agreed with Austria Wien, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad4 Jul 2033
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kristijan Živković and Grodig agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad4 Jul 2033
A row about effort at Grodig
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kristijan Živković was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets4 Jul 2033
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.
Squad4 Jul 2033
Words exchanged at Grodig
Miracle Adewole 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.
Market4 Jul 2033
Add another name to the list: SV Ried have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Julian Dragovic. The answer from Grodig has not changed — yet.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad13 Jun 2033
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Grodig will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match13 Jun 2033
Grodig are in real trouble now
Position 10, 1 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market13 Jun 2033
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and SV Ried waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Grodig is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market13 Jun 2033
The bid was some way short and Grodig did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Transfer targets13 Jun 2033
The deal with Austria Wien 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.
Squad13 Jun 2033
Tempers go at Grodig
Tin Plavotić 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 Jun 2033
Kristijan Živković 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 dugout13 Jun 2033
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Miracle Adewole, and the manager let it.
Transfer targets13 Jun 2033
Red Bull Salzburg 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces6 Jun 2033
Supporters organise against the Grodig board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Squad6 Jun 2033
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 123 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Transfer targets6 Jun 2033
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Grodig have done the hard part with Austria Wien, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad6 Jun 2033
Words exchanged at Grodig
Tin Plavotić 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 Jun 2033
Words at Grodig training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lukas Gütlbauer 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.
Transfer targets6 Jun 2033
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Altach have kept their man, and Grodig go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market6 Jun 2033
The phone has started ringing about Karol Jozwiak again, and this time the name on the line is Maritzburg United. Grodig are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad6 Jun 2033
Jahmi Kellyman slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Jahmi Kellyman is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The dugout6 Jun 2033
Miracle Adewole is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad23 May 2033
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Grodig will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market23 May 2033
“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.
Squad23 May 2033
A falling-out at Grodig
Joaquín Escobar and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad23 May 2033
A row about effort at Grodig
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kristijan Živković was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 May 2033
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.
The dugout23 May 2033
Martim Dias 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 Grodig, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces9 May 2033
Supporters organise against the Grodig board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Market9 May 2033
“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.
Squad9 May 2033
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Grodig will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad9 May 2033
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Lukas Gütlbauer and Grodig agree another 2 years.
Squad9 May 2033
Words exchanged at Grodig
Tin Plavotić 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.
Squad9 May 2033
“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 Grodig know it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces11 Apr 2033
Supporters organise against the Grodig board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Squad11 Apr 2033
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Grodig will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market11 Apr 2033
“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 Grodig, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad11 Apr 2033
A falling-out at Grodig
Justin Möbius and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad11 Apr 2033
Words at Grodig training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kristijan Živković 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 dugout11 Apr 2033
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Martim Dias, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match21 Mar 2033
Grodig sink to position 10
1 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad21 Mar 2033
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 66 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market21 Mar 2033
“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.
Squad21 Mar 2033
Tempers go at Grodig
Tin Plavotić 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.
Squad21 Mar 2033
A row about effort at Grodig
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kristijan Živković was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad21 Mar 2033
“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; Grodig are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout21 Mar 2033
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Miracle Adewole, and the manager let it.
The dugout21 Mar 2033
Nino Lesjak gets picked when it counts
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 Nino Lesjak is on it.
Market21 Mar 2033
4 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Grodig could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces14 Mar 2033
Anger at Grodig spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Squad14 Mar 2033
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 73 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market14 Mar 2033
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Grodig can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout14 Mar 2033
“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.
Squad14 Mar 2033
Words exchanged at Grodig
Tin Plavotić 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.
Squad14 Mar 2033
A row about effort at Grodig
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lukas Gütlbauer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces14 Feb 2033
Anger at Grodig spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Squad14 Feb 2033
Justin Möbius damages knee ligaments — 21 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 21 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.
Squad14 Feb 2033
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 101 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market14 Feb 2033
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Grodig can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 Feb 2033
A falling-out at Grodig
Kristijan Živković and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Feb 2033
A row about effort at Grodig
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lukas Gütlbauer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets14 Feb 2033
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.
Transfer targets14 Feb 2033
The window shuts on the German Onugkha deal
Grodig ran out of time with Rapid Wien. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
The dugout14 Feb 2033
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joe Brayson, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Jan 2033
56 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Grodig lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad10 Jan 2033
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Grodig will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market10 Jan 2033
Léon Pöhls has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Grodig they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad10 Jan 2033
The medical room confirms 30 days on the sidelines for Konrad Grillitsch, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Boardroom10 Jan 2033
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Léon Pöhls has agreed terms with Mattersburg for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad10 Jan 2033
A falling-out at Grodig
Tin Plavotić and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market10 Jan 2033
The phone has started ringing about Julian Dragovic again, and this time the name on the line is SV Ried. Grodig are listening politely and promising nothing.
Market10 Jan 2033
The Martim Dias conversation is coming
Everyone has stopped pretending: SV Ried will make the call about Martim Dias this week. Grodig have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Market10 Jan 2033
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces20 Dec 2032
The mood at Grodig has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Market20 Dec 2032
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Grodig can pretend not to have heard.
Squad20 Dec 2032
Tempers go at Grodig
Joaquín Escobar 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.
Squad20 Dec 2032
Words at Grodig training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lukas Gütlbauer 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 dugout20 Dec 2032
The manager makes an example of Raphael Lazaro
“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 dugout20 Dec 2032
Woody Burgess gets picked when it counts
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 Woody Burgess is on it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market13 Dec 2032
“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 Grodig, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad13 Dec 2032
A falling-out at Grodig
Tin Plavotić and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad13 Dec 2032
Lukas Gütlbauer 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 dugout13 Dec 2032
Miracle Adewole is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The dugout13 Dec 2032
Martim Dias gets picked when it counts
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 Martim Dias is on it.
The dugout13 Dec 2032
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Thomas Niedermüller trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match13 Nov 2032
Grodig leaking at the back
18 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Match13 Nov 2032
No end in sight to Grodig's wait for a win
12 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Grodig has to find a result from somewhere.
Match13 Nov 2032
Nowhere to hide for Grodig
0‑5 against Admira Wacker, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Market15 Nov 2032
“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 Grodig, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad15 Nov 2032
Tempers go at Grodig
Justin Möbius 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.
Squad15 Nov 2032
David Nieland 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 Nov 2032
An own goal to forget for Nicolò Baldo
The one goal a footballer does not get to celebrate and does not get to forget either. His name is in the wrong column and nothing about it was meant.
The dugout15 Nov 2032
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Miracle Adewole, and the manager let it.
Boardroom15 Nov 2032
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad11 Oct 2032
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 14 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match9 Oct 2032
No clean sheets in sight for Grodig
13 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Market11 Oct 2032
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Grodig can pretend not to have heard.
Match9 Oct 2032
7 matches without a win for Grodig
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Grodig are no longer polite ones.
Squad11 Oct 2032
A falling-out at Grodig
Tin Plavotić and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad11 Oct 2032
A row about effort at Grodig
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lukas Gütlbauer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match9 Oct 2032
Austria Wien left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout11 Oct 2032
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 0‑2 Interim Coach left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout11 Oct 2032
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 Lukas Gütlbauer is on it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match11 Sep 2032
A hiding for Grodig
Beaten 0‑3 by Admira Wacker, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market13 Sep 2032
“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.
Match11 Sep 2032
Grodig leaking at the back
9 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Squad13 Sep 2032
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Grodig this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Sep 2032
David Nieland 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.
Transfer targets13 Sep 2032
The window shuts on the Jacob Hanson deal
Grodig ran out of time with SV Ried. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Squad13 Sep 2032
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
The dugout13 Sep 2032
The manager makes an example of Pedro Andrade
“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.
Boardroom13 Sep 2032
Nobody left the Grodig dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad9 Aug 2032
26 days out for Lukas Gütlbauer after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Grodig will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match7 Aug 2032
Chastening afternoon for Grodig
A 0‑3 beating by Austria Wien was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match7 Aug 2032
8 matches without a win for Grodig
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Grodig are no longer polite ones.
Match7 Aug 2032
The goals have deserted Grodig
7 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Grodig can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad9 Aug 2032
“The easiest signature of my career.” David Nieland and Grodig agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad9 Aug 2032
A falling-out at Grodig
Justin Möbius and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2032
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.
Squad9 Aug 2032
Words at Grodig training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucien Littbarski 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.
Boardroom9 Aug 2032
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market28 Jun 2032
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” SV Ried had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Squad28 Jun 2032
Tin Plavotić 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 Grodig this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Jun 2032
Lucien Littbarski 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 dugout28 Jun 2032
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nicolò Baldo, and the manager let it.
The dugout28 Jun 2032
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 dugout28 Jun 2032
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Grodig, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces7 Jun 2032
Supporters organise against the Grodig board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Market7 Jun 2032
“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 Grodig, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market7 Jun 2032
Al Dhafra come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Grodig did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad7 Jun 2032
Words exchanged at Grodig
Joaquín Escobar 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.
Market7 Jun 2032
Add another name to the list: Mattersburg have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Martim Dias. The answer from Grodig has not changed — yet.
Squad7 Jun 2032
Words at Grodig training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucien Littbarski 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 2032
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Miracle Adewole, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Jun 2032
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
Squad7 Jun 2032
“The easiest signature of my career.” Raphael Laimer and Grodig agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad31 May 2032
A muscle injury sidelines Lukas Gütlbauer for 14 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Grodig will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad31 May 2032
18 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad31 May 2032
Tin Plavotić 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 Grodig this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 May 2032
Federico Marrone 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 dugout31 May 2032
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joe Brayson, and the manager let it.
The dugout31 May 2032
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom3 May 2032
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Interim Coach has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Squad3 May 2032
The medical room confirms 46 days on the sidelines for David Nieland, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad3 May 2032
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Kristijan Živković commits to Grodig for another 2 years.
Squad3 May 2032
Tempers go at Grodig
Justin Möbius 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 May 2032
Words at Grodig training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Nieland 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 dugout3 May 2032
Miracle Adewole is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Apr 2032
Tin Plavotić 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 Grodig this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Apr 2032
A row about effort at Grodig
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and David Nieland was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout5 Apr 2032
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joe Brayson, and the manager let it.
The dugout5 Apr 2032
Miracle Adewole is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Squad5 Apr 2032
The captaincy has been taken off Lucien Littbarski. Grodig will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
The dugout5 Apr 2032
Nino Lesjak has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Grodig 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout8 Mar 2032
Jelke Huisman: 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.” Grodig have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad8 Mar 2032
“The easiest signature of my career.” Lucien Littbarski and Grodig agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Mar 2032
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Grodig this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Mar 2032
15 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad8 Mar 2032
Federico Marrone 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.
Market8 Mar 2032
“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
Uneasy
Market9 Feb 2032
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Inhulets waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Grodig is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Squad9 Feb 2032
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Justin Möbius and Grodig agree another 2 years.
Squad9 Feb 2032
Tempers go at Grodig
Tin Plavotić 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.
Squad9 Feb 2032
David Nieland 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 dugout9 Feb 2032
Nicolò Baldo 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 dugout9 Feb 2032
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 dugout9 Feb 2032
Nino Lesjak has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Grodig 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.
Squad9 Feb 2032
Federico Marrone has seen what the next man earns
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Grodig that is a harder question to answer.
Market9 Feb 2032
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Léon Pöhls may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Transfer targets26 Jan 2032
Grodig and Admira Wacker have settled on $42.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Squad26 Jan 2032
Words exchanged at Grodig
Justin Möbius 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.
Transfer targets26 Jan 2032
Grodig asked and Red Bull Salzburg said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market26 Jan 2032
The phone has started ringing about Karol Jozwiak again, and this time the name on the line is Bourg-Peronnas. Grodig are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad26 Jan 2032
Miracle Adewole 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 dugout26 Jan 2032
Lukas Gütlbauer has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Grodig 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.
The dugout26 Jan 2032
Léon Pöhls 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 dugout26 Jan 2032
Stephen Nenè 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 Stephen Nenè trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Boardroom26 Jan 2032
The Grodig production line keeps running
48 graduates out of an academy now rated 7 out of 20. Clubs this size survive on exactly that, and the town knows every name.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Jan 2032
David Ulmer 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 Grodig can pretend not to have heard.
Market12 Jan 2032
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Al Dhafra waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Grodig is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Transfer targets12 Jan 2032
The offer went to Admira Wacker this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad12 Jan 2032
Words exchanged at Grodig
Joaquín Escobar 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.
Squad12 Jan 2032
Words at Grodig training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Nieland 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 dugout12 Jan 2032
Nicolò Baldo 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.
Squad12 Jan 2032
15 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout12 Jan 2032
Miracle Adewole is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The dugout12 Jan 2032
David Ulmer 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 Grodig, and both men came out saying it was fine.