Marked for Noel Jönsson
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces14 Aug 2028
Supporters organise against the Panargiakos 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.
Squad14 Aug 2028
25 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Panargiakos lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom14 Aug 2028
Pressure builds in the Panargiakos boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Transfer targets14 Aug 2028
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Panargiakos have done the hard part with Atromitos, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Kostas Panagiotou 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 Aug 2028
Words at Panargiakos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Javi Díaz 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 targets14 Aug 2028
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 Aug 2028
A loan enquiry to Olympiacos: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout14 Aug 2028
The manager makes an example of Giulio Simi
“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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Jul 2028
Giorgos Kotsoglou damages knee ligaments — 47 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 47 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.
Match24 Jul 2028
Every point is an argument now for Panargiakos
Position 8 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.
Market24 Jul 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Panargiakos they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Transfer targets24 Jul 2028
Everything agreed with Panserraikos, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets24 Jul 2028
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Panetolikos keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Kostas Panagiotou and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Javi Díaz 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.
Loan watch24 Jul 2028
“I did not go to Asteras to sit and watch. I want to come back to Panargiakos and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
The dugout24 Jul 2028
The manager makes an example of Noel Jönsson
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces19 Jun 2028
The mood at Panargiakos 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.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Giorgos Kotsoglou damages knee ligaments — 85 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 85 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.
Boardroom19 Jun 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Panargiakos
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Kostas Panagiotou 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 targets19 Jun 2028
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 targets19 Jun 2028
Aris Thessaloniki 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.
Transfer targets19 Jun 2028
A loan enquiry to Panserraikos: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout19 Jun 2028
“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.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Noel Jönsson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces24 Apr 2028
The mood at Panargiakos 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.
Boardroom24 Apr 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Panargiakos
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Javi Díaz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Giorgos Nalitzis and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
“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 dugout24 Apr 2028
Jose Ntamack has been promised minutes
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Jose Ntamack has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Apr 2028
Kostas Panagiotou 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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Noel Jönsson 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 dugout17 Apr 2028
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces27 Mar 2028
Anger at Panargiakos 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.
Boardroom27 Mar 2028
Pressure builds in the Panargiakos boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Kostas Panagiotou 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 dugout27 Mar 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Giorgos Kotsoglou, and the manager let it.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Pavlos Chatzidimitriou trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Noel Jönsson 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Kostas Tsimikas has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Match6 Mar 2028
Panargiakos are in real trouble now
Position 8, 14 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.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Armir Koxha commits to Panargiakos for another 4 years.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Panargiakos can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Giorgos Nalitzis 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 dugout6 Mar 2028
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Panagiotis Symelidis is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Feb 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panargiakos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets14 Feb 2028
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.
Boardroom14 Feb 2028
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.
Squad14 Feb 2028
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Noel Jönsson 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 dugout14 Feb 2028
“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 Feb 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Panargiakos, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad14 Feb 2028
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Panargiakos will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Panargiakos. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad13 Dec 2027
9 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match13 Dec 2027
Every point is an argument now for Panargiakos
Position 8 and 10 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.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Kostas Panagiotou 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.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 36 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Panargiakos is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
Match11 Dec 2027
0‑2 to AEL Larisa, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
Jose Ntamack 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 dugout13 Dec 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Kostas Tsimikas after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Boardroom13 Dec 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.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Siddick Aboubakar trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Nov 2027
Kostas Panagiotou 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.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 18 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Giorgos Nalitzis, and the manager let it.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Noel Jönsson 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.
Match20 Nov 2027
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Egaleo came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Panargiakos, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
The plan did not have a place for Jose Ntamack
Nobody at Panargiakos 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
Uneasy
The terraces11 Oct 2027
The mood at Panargiakos 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.
Boardroom11 Oct 2027
Wages swallow 116% of the Panargiakos 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Jesper Haugland 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 dugout11 Oct 2027
Something was said to Kyriakos Zisoulis and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Boardroom11 Oct 2027
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Panargiakos now.
Looking ahead11 Oct 2027
The leaders are next for Panargiakos
Panionios top the table and they are coming into view. Nothing to lose, which is what every manager says before losing.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Noel Jönsson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Wassim Kamga 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.
Looking ahead11 Oct 2027
Panionios next, and one man in the Panargiakos dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Window shuts: 13 in, 13 out at Panargiakos
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 13 arrived, 13 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Squad6 Sep 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panargiakos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
$110.0K was the most the club would pay and Iraklis were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Isaque Ferreira arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Isaque Ferreira has, at Panargiakos, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Squad6 Sep 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Andreas Vasilogiannis and Panargiakos agree another 1 years.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Javi Díaz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Radnicki 1923 have kept their man, and Panargiakos go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market6 Sep 2027
He is 19, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
Market6 Sep 2027
He is 19, and nobody at Panargiakos signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.