Marked for Vasco Espejo
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market30 Oct 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Fjolnir is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Armend Kabashi 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.
Squad30 Oct 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fiodor Cernych, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match2 Sep 2028
No end in sight to Fjolnir's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Fjolnir has to find a result from somewhere.
Boardroom4 Sep 2028
Vidar Bjarnason has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Fjolnir can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market4 Sep 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Haukur Óli Jónsson will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Fjolnir the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad4 Sep 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Armend Kabashi and Fjolnir agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad4 Sep 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 Fjolnir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Sep 2028
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Vasco Espejo knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match2 Sep 2028
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad4 Sep 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Patryk Hryniewicki, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom28 Aug 2028
Pressure builds in the Fjolnir boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Match26 Aug 2028
The wait goes on for Fjolnir
8 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.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad28 Aug 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 Fjolnir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Aug 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.
Squad28 Aug 2028
The team sheet said everything about Alikhan Fazylov
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Alikhan Fazylov.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match26 Aug 2028
It needed Árni Steinn Sigursteinsson to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against FH, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
Shots: 4. 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Aug 2028
Vasco Espejo decides it from twelve yards
2 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Match16 Aug 2028
Cup progress for Fjolnir
A 1‑1 win over Breidablik, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Match19 Aug 2028
The wait goes on for Fjolnir
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.
Squad21 Aug 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 Fjolnir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
A performance of 8.60 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad21 Aug 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.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
It was his to settle and he did not settle it. A long walk back to the halfway line, and a considerably longer week.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market21 Aug 2028
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 Nov 2027
Fjolnir are in real trouble now
Position 12, 13 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.
Market1 Nov 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.
Squad1 Nov 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 Fjolnir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market1 Nov 2027
The clock runs on Nasser Juma's contract
10 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
Squad1 Nov 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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Fjolnir has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match21 Aug 2027
The wait goes on for Fjolnir
9 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.
Market23 Aug 2027
Vasco Espejo 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 Fjolnir can pretend not to have heard.
Squad23 Aug 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.
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 Fjolnir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
A performance of 8.16 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad23 Aug 2027
No place for Vasco Espejo on the big day
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Fjolnir pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Match21 Aug 2027
Fjolnir and FH take a point apiece
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad23 Aug 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.
Market23 Aug 2027
Fjolnir bring in an old head
Nasser Juma is 33 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market16 Aug 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.
Match14 Aug 2027
No end in sight to Fjolnir's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Fjolnir has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad16 Aug 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.
The terraces16 Aug 2027
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 6 of the 29 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Thanasis Papadoudis 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.
Match14 Aug 2027
Keflavik left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad16 Aug 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.
Market16 Aug 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Dawid Polkowski may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Market16 Aug 2027
At 33, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Jul 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 Jul 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match24 Jul 2027
No end in sight to Fjolnir's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Fjolnir has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad26 Jul 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.
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 Fjolnir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Jul 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ruslan Sadygov and Fjolnir agree another 3 years.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.60 on the card, and the Fjolnir support went home talking about one name.
Market26 Jul 2027
Excel Okam is 20, and Fjolnir have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Jul 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 Fjolnir, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match17 Jul 2027
No end in sight to Fjolnir's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Fjolnir has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Thanasis Papadoudis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad19 Jul 2027
The manager makes an example of Vasco Espejo
“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.
Market19 Jul 2027
He is 20, and nobody at Fjolnir signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Vasco Espejo has had enough of the bench
“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 Fjolnir will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Squad19 Jul 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Tomáš Kubica commits to Fjolnir for another 3 years.
Match17 Jul 2027
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Breidablik will be the happier side with the point.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 11. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 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 Fjolnir, and it is not being withdrawn.
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 Fjolnir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Jun 2027
The medical room confirms 16 days on the sidelines for Orri Þórhallsson, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Player ratings28 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad28 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Erald Maksuti, and the manager let it.
Player ratings28 Jun 2027
Defensive actions: 17. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 Jun 2027
18 matches without a win for Fjolnir
The run now stands at 18, and the questions being asked around Fjolnir are no longer polite ones.
Match14 Jun 2027
Every point is an argument now for Fjolnir
Position 12 and 3 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.
Market14 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 Fjolnir, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad14 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 Fjolnir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match12 Jun 2027
Leiknir left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match29 May 2027
15 matches without a win for Fjolnir
The run now stands at 15, and the questions being asked around Fjolnir are no longer polite ones.
Market31 May 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 Fjolnir, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad31 May 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.
Squad31 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 Fjolnir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match15 May 2027
13 matches without a win for Fjolnir
The run now stands at 13, and the questions being asked around Fjolnir are no longer polite ones.
Market17 May 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 Fjolnir can pretend not to have heard.
Squad17 May 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Fjolnir have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad17 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 Fjolnir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match15 May 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad17 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vasco Espejo, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match8 May 2027
The wait goes on for Fjolnir
12 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.
Squad10 May 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad10 May 2027
Brynjar Gauti Guðjónsson 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
Marked 8.91 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Marked 8.05 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad10 May 2027
The medical room confirms 55 days on the sidelines for Runar Ingason, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
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.
Squad10 May 2027
Vasco Espejo 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 Fjolnir, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market10 May 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Viktor Andri Hafþórsson’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Apr 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 Fjolnir, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Thanasis Papadoudis 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vasco Espejo, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Brynjar Gauti Guðjónsson and Fjolnir agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Thanasis Papadoudis 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match1 Mar 2027
Fjolnir sink to position 12
2 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market1 Mar 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 Fjolnir can pretend not to have heard.
Squad1 Mar 2027
“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; Fjolnir are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 Feb 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 Fjolnir, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Thanasis Papadoudis 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vasco Espejo, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match1 Feb 2027
Fjolnir are in real trouble now
Position 12, 2 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.
Market1 Feb 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 Fjolnir, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Fjolnir may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad25 Jan 2027
Thanasis Papadoudis 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Vasco Espejo 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.
Squad25 Jan 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
Squad18 Jan 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 Fjolnir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Vasco Espejo 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 Fjolnir, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Dec 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 Fjolnir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vasco Espejo, and the manager let it.
Squad28 Dec 2026
“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
Match7 Dec 2026
Every point is an argument now for Fjolnir
Position 12 and 2 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.
Squad7 Dec 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 Fjolnir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Martín Contreras commits to Fjolnir for another 3 years.