Marked for Vilhelm Gunnarsson
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces27 Nov 2028
The mood at Leiknir 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.
Market27 Nov 2028
“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 The request is on a desk at Leiknir, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom27 Nov 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Leiknir
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market27 Nov 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Leiknir is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The dugout27 Nov 2028
Hjalte Kropp faces a manager he fell out with
They have worked together before and it did not end well. Nobody at Leiknir expects the new manager to have forgotten, least of all Hjalte Kropp.
Squad27 Nov 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 Leiknir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces7 Aug 2028
The mood at Leiknir 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.
Match5 Aug 2028
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Róbert Quental Árnason scored in the 86th minute, Stjarnan had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Leiknir took the lot.
Market7 Aug 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Leiknir can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings7 Aug 2028
No sign of nerves from Kristijan Gagović at 20 — 7.67
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Kristijan Gagović did not need any: 7.67, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The dugout7 Aug 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Leiknir may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
The dugout7 Aug 2028
This is not rotation. Viktor Andri Pétursson has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Leiknir is pretending otherwise.
Squad7 Aug 2028
A falling-out at Leiknir
Ólafur Íshólm Ólafsson and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Aug 2028
A row about effort at Leiknir
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Đorđe Vladisavljević was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 May 2028
Ólafur Íshólm Ólafsson 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 May 2028
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.
Squad1 May 2028
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Vilhelm Gunnarsson is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The dugout1 May 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Bogdan Bogdanovic trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad1 May 2028
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Leiknir than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
Looking ahead1 May 2028
FH next, and one man in the Leiknir 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
Squad24 Apr 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 Leiknir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Đorđe Vladisavljević 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 dugout24 Apr 2028
Pavle Gusak faces a manager he fell out with
They have worked together before and it did not end well. Nobody at Leiknir expects the new manager to have forgotten, least of all Pavle Gusak.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vilhelm Gunnarsson trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market24 Apr 2028
“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.
Market24 Apr 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Leiknir know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces17 Apr 2028
The mood at Leiknir 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.
Boardroom17 Apr 2028
The scrutiny sharpens at Leiknir
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Leiknir is running low.
Market17 Apr 2028
“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 Leiknir, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Words at Leiknir training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Đorđe Vladisavljević 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 Apr 2028
Pavle Gusak faces a manager he fell out with
They have worked together before and it did not end well. Nobody at Leiknir expects the new manager to have forgotten, least of all Pavle Gusak.
The dugout17 Apr 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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Words exchanged at Leiknir
Hólmar Kári Tryggvason 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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Leiknir know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
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
Uneasy
Squad10 Apr 2028
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Leiknir will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad10 Apr 2028
A row about effort at Leiknir
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bogdan Bogdanovic was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
Pavle Gusak faces a manager he fell out with
They have worked together before and it did not end well. Nobody at Leiknir expects the new manager to have forgotten, least of all Pavle Gusak.
Squad10 Apr 2028
A falling-out at Leiknir
Hólmar Kári Tryggvason and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mamadou Cellou Diallo, and the manager let it.
Market10 Apr 2028
“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.
Squad10 Apr 2028
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
Marin Baturina has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Leiknir 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.
Market10 Apr 2028
The name of Dagur Ingi Hammer keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Leiknir say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces20 Mar 2028
The mood at Leiknir 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.
Boardroom20 Mar 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Leiknir
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Leiknir will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market20 Mar 2028
“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 Leiknir, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad20 Mar 2028
A falling-out at Leiknir
Ólafur Íshólm Ólafsson and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Rúrik Gunnarsson 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.
Squad20 Mar 2028
At 38, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
The dugout20 Mar 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 dugout20 Mar 2028
Pavle Gusak faces a manager he fell out with
They have worked together before and it did not end well. Nobody at Leiknir expects the new manager to have forgotten, least of all Pavle Gusak.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Feb 2028
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Leiknir will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market28 Feb 2028
“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.
Squad28 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 Leiknir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets28 Feb 2028
Leiknir asked and KR said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Rúrik Gunnarsson 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 Feb 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.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
Pavle Gusak faces a manager he fell out with
They have worked together before and it did not end well. Nobody at Leiknir expects the new manager to have forgotten, least of all Pavle Gusak.
Transfer targets28 Feb 2028
A loan enquiry to Valur: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets28 Feb 2028
Leiknir have made the call to Vikingur. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 Jan 2028
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Leiknir will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market31 Jan 2028
“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 Leiknir, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad31 Jan 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 Leiknir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Jan 2028
A row about effort at Leiknir
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Đorđe Vladisavljević was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout31 Jan 2028
Pavle Gusak faces a manager he fell out with
They have worked together before and it did not end well. Nobody at Leiknir expects the new manager to have forgotten, least of all Pavle Gusak.
The dugout31 Jan 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
Uneasy
The terraces24 Jan 2028
The mood at Leiknir 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.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Leiknir will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Boardroom24 Jan 2028
The scrutiny sharpens at Leiknir
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Leiknir is running low.
Market24 Jan 2028
“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.
Squad24 Jan 2028
A falling-out at Leiknir
Ólafur Íshólm Ólafsson and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Jan 2028
A row about effort at Leiknir
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Đorđe Vladisavljević was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
Pavle Gusak faces a manager he fell out with
They have worked together before and it did not end well. Nobody at Leiknir expects the new manager to have forgotten, least of all Pavle Gusak.
The dugout24 Jan 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.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
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 Aron Skúli Brynjarsson is on it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Jan 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 104 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Words exchanged at Leiknir
Đorđe Vladisavljević 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.
Squad17 Jan 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Þorsteinn Emil Jónsson commits to Leiknir for another 4 years.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Words at Leiknir training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rúrik Gunnarsson 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.
Market17 Jan 2028
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Leiknir, another week without a signature from Hjalte Kropp.
The dugout17 Jan 2028
Pavle Gusak faces a manager he fell out with
They have worked together before and it did not end well. Nobody at Leiknir expects the new manager to have forgotten, least of all Pavle Gusak.
The dugout17 Jan 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marin Baturina, and the manager let it.
The dugout17 Jan 2028
Nobody at Leiknir 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 dugout17 Jan 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vilhelm Gunnarsson trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom3 Jan 2028
Runar Bjarnason has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Leiknir can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market3 Jan 2028
“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 Leiknir, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market3 Jan 2028
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Squad3 Jan 2028
A falling-out at Leiknir
Rúrik Gunnarsson and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Đorđe Vladisavljević falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Market3 Jan 2028
He signed expecting a bigger stage than the one he found. It has not taken long, and it has not taken the dressing room long to notice either.
Squad3 Jan 2028
No place for Hjalte Kropp in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Leiknir are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Squad3 Jan 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Pavle Gusak and Leiknir agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout3 Jan 2028
Pavle Gusak faces a manager he fell out with
They have worked together before and it did not end well. Nobody at Leiknir expects the new manager to have forgotten, least of all Pavle Gusak.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces27 Dec 2027
Supporters organise against the Leiknir 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.
Boardroom27 Dec 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Leiknir
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Leiknir is running low.
Market27 Dec 2027
“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.
Market27 Dec 2027
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Words exchanged at Leiknir
Đorđe Vladisavljević 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.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Rúrik Gunnarsson 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 dugout27 Dec 2027
“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 dugout27 Dec 2027
Pavle Gusak faces a manager he fell out with
They have worked together before and it did not end well. Nobody at Leiknir expects the new manager to have forgotten, least of all Pavle Gusak.
Squad27 Dec 2027
No place for Pavle Gusak in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Leiknir are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad25 Oct 2027
78 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Leiknir lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market25 Oct 2027
“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.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad25 Oct 2027
A falling-out at Leiknir
Ólafur Íshólm Ólafsson and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Rúrik Gunnarsson 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 dugout25 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vilhelm Gunnarsson, and the manager let it.
Squad25 Oct 2027
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.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
Nobody at Leiknir 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 dugout25 Oct 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 Oct 2027
Brynjar Hlöðvers damages knee ligaments — 87 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 87 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.
Match18 Oct 2027
Every point is an argument now for Leiknir
Position 11 and 20 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.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Leiknir may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market18 Oct 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Leiknir can pretend not to have heard.
Squad18 Oct 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 Leiknir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Oct 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Edvin Fišić and Leiknir agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad18 Oct 2027
A row about effort at Leiknir
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Đorđe Vladisavljević was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market18 Oct 2027
He is 20, and nobody at Leiknir signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Daði Bærings Halldórsson trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces6 Sep 2027
Supporters organise against the Leiknir 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.
Market6 Sep 2027
“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.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
Hjalte Kropp: 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.” Leiknir have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Leiknir
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Leiknir is running low.
Squad6 Sep 2027
12 seasons and 184 appearances, all of them here. Careers like this are not designed; they happen to a certain kind of man at a certain kind of club, and this town has one.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words exchanged at Leiknir
Ólafur Íshólm Ólafsson and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Đorđe Vladisavljević 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 dugout6 Sep 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad6 Sep 2027
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Đorđe Vladisavljević is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market30 Aug 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Leiknir can pretend not to have heard.
Squad30 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Leiknir
Ólafur Íshólm Ólafsson and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Đorđe Vladisavljević 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 targets30 Aug 2027
Leiknir asked and FH said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 12 combined actions and a mark of 6.85, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
Match28 Aug 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. 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.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Runar Bjarnason to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mamadou Cellou Diallo, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces17 May 2027
Supporters organise against the Leiknir 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.
Match15 May 2027
The wait goes on for Leiknir
7 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.
Squad17 May 2027
Róbert Quental Árnason 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.
Match15 May 2027
0‑1 to Vikingur, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings17 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad17 May 2027
A row about effort at Leiknir
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rúrik Gunnarsson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout17 May 2027
“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 dugout17 May 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Runar Bjarnason after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout17 May 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match8 May 2027
No end in sight to Leiknir's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Leiknir has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad10 May 2027
Gustav Kjeldsen 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.
Squad10 May 2027
Rúrik Gunnarsson 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 ratings10 May 2027
A mark of 7.93, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Match8 May 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout10 May 2027
“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 dugout10 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Runar Bjarnason chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
The dugout10 May 2027
No place in the plan for Hjalte Kropp
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Looking ahead10 May 2027
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Axel Freyr Harðarson’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Leiknir needing him to play as if none of it matters.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom26 Apr 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Leiknir
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Leiknir is running low.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Bogdan Bogdanovic 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Leiknir
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rúrik Gunnarsson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Rúrik Gunnarsson trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad26 Apr 2027
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 Leiknir would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 Apr 2027
A falling-out at Leiknir
Róbert Quental Árnason 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
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Vilhelm Gunnarsson commits to Leiknir for another 3 years.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Leiknir training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gustav Kjeldsen 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
“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 Leiknir know it.
Market12 Apr 2027
A stepping stone, not a home, for Gustav Rörstrand
He is doing his job and he is not settling. Leiknir were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.
Market12 Apr 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.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
“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 dugout12 Apr 2027
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Leiknir. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Market12 Apr 2027
Leiknir spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom5 Apr 2027
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Runar Bjarnason has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Match5 Apr 2027
Every point is an argument now for Leiknir
Position 11 and 4 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Vilhelm Gunnarsson has just signed for Leiknir, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Róbert Quental Árnason is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Boardroom5 Apr 2027
Window shuts: 3 in, 2 out at Leiknir
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 3 arrived, 2 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Squad5 Apr 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 Leiknir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Vilhelm Gunnarsson commits to Leiknir for another 3 years.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bogdan Bogdanovic, and the manager let it.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
Gustav Kjeldsen without the man who signed him
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Gustav Kjeldsen was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.