Marked for Michael Merenstein
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Aug 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 Hapoel Acre this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market23 Aug 2027
Hapoel Acre have let the market know Ya'acov Abeba can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Omri Zoarets 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 Omri Zoarets trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market23 Aug 2027
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Michael Merenstein leaves Hapoel Acre the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
Market23 Aug 2027
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Gilad Litman leaves Hapoel Acre the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
Squad23 Aug 2027
The manager comes out for Ofek Antman
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Ofek Antman has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Jul 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 Hapoel Acre this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Osama Khalaila 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 Osama Khalaila trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market26 Jul 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Dor Kochav may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Jun 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 Hapoel Acre this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market28 Jun 2027
Hapoel Kfar Saba paid $100.0K and Hapoel Acre took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad28 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Saleh Hussein, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market21 Jun 2027
“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 Hapoel Acre, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Antonee Burke-Gilroy 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 Jun 2027
The medical room confirms 15 days on the sidelines for Shalev Ovnish, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad21 Jun 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.
Market21 Jun 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Hapoel Acre will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Michael Ohana 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 Michael Ohana trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 May 2027
Liad Levi keeps the receipts
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Hapoel Acre may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad3 May 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 Hapoel Acre this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Michael Merenstein, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Apr 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Antonee Burke-Gilroy 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
The manager makes an example of Mohammed Khatib
“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
Uneasy
Market29 Mar 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.
Squad29 Mar 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 Hapoel Acre this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Mar 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match15 Mar 2027
Every point is an argument now for Hapoel Acre
Position 14 and 11 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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Hapoel Acre may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad15 Mar 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 Hapoel Acre this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match6 Feb 2027
23 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Hapoel Acre may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Mohammed Tahiri 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.
Match6 Feb 2027
Maccabi Netanya left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.28, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad8 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Ben Sørensen
“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.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Squad8 Feb 2027
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Hapoel Acre has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Jan 2027
No end in sight to Hapoel Acre's wait for a win
21 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Hapoel Acre has to find a result from somewhere.
Market25 Jan 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Hapoel Acre may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Antonee Burke-Gilroy 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.
Match23 Jan 2027
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
Wages eat 134% of everything Hapoel Acre earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
A performance of 8.14 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad25 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Michael Merenstein, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match12 Dec 2026
15 matches without a win for Hapoel Acre
The run now stands at 15, and the questions being asked around Hapoel Acre are no longer polite ones.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Antonee Burke-Gilroy 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 ratings14 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Defensive actions: 18, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad14 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Ben Sørensen
“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.
Match12 Dec 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Hapoel Kfar Saba came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Antonee Burke-Gilroy 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 ratings21 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.81, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Osama Khalaila, and the manager let it.
Squad21 Sep 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market31 Aug 2026
“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 Hapoel Acre, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad31 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hapoel Acre this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Aug 2026
“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.
Match29 Aug 2026
0‑1 to Bnei Yehuda, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Ange Messi makes his debut at 20
At 20 years old, Ange Messi became the latest name off the academy production line to be handed a senior shirt.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Aug 2026
Tomislav Uskok 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
“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.
Market10 Aug 2026
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Hapoel Acre has been clear about where Michael Merenstein stands, which is more than many ever get.
Market10 Aug 2026
Tomislav Uskok is 35 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Squad10 Aug 2026
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Hapoel Acre has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Squad10 Aug 2026
A new face in his position, and Mohammed Tahiri suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Hapoel Acre have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.