Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Tarxien Rainbows will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Wesley 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Omari Patrick and Tarxien Rainbows agree another 2 years.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Nhayson has come out of that comparison in the side, and Tarxien Rainbows have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aleksey Sysoev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Anthony Lokosa will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tarxien Rainbows the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Yilson Mosquera 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Aleksey Sysoev has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
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.
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.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Sigve Ølmheim 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.
5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
“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 The request is on a desk at Tarxien Rainbows, and it is not being withdrawn.
“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; Tarxien Rainbows are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Yilson Mosquera 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sigve Ølmheim was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout26 Feb 2029
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.” Pierre Busuttil chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tarxien Rainbows is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Érico Júnior 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.
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 14 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.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Patrick Schmidt scored in the 87th minute, Mtarfa had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Tarxien Rainbows took the lot.
“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 Tarxien Rainbows, and it is not being withdrawn.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Tarxien Rainbows have lost him in all but the paperwork.
This is not rotation. Marko Musulin has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Tarxien Rainbows is pretending otherwise.
Boardroom5 Feb 2029
Tarxien Rainbows close the window on a squad of their own making
2 in and 4 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Every paper's favourite story and every manager's least. What happened is being dealt with internally, which is the phrase clubs use when they would rather nobody asked again.
“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 Tarxien Rainbows know it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tarxien Rainbows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Érico Júnior was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Marked 7.81 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Tarxien Rainbows had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout1 Jan 2029
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Pierre Busuttil, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tarxien Rainbows they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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 Tarxien Rainbows know it.
Position 7, 22 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
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.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Sigve Ølmheim 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.
Nobody at Tarxien Rainbows 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 123 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tarxien Rainbows they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tarxien Rainbows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Tarxien Rainbows and Pieta Hotspurs in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Melita waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Tarxien Rainbows is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Sbonelo Ngcobo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tarxien Rainbows the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tarxien Rainbows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Tarxien Rainbows asked and Hibernians said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cassius was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Tarxien Rainbows have made the call to Hibernians. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Tarxien Rainbows have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The deal with Mosta is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Wesley 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.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Érico Júnior 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.
“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; Tarxien Rainbows are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Tarxien Rainbows have made the call to Hibernians. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
In brief
The dugoutYilson Mosquera has become a man the manager trusts
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Santa Lucia waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Tarxien Rainbows is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Position 3, 57 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tarxien Rainbows is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Everything agreed with Hibernians, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Wesley 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cassius 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.
Position 3, 57 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tarxien Rainbows is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” João Guilherme and Tarxien Rainbows agree another 2 years.
Wesley 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.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Tarxien Rainbows can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Marko Musulin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Tarxien Rainbows have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tarxien Rainbows is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Tarxien Rainbows can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Yilson Mosquera 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cassius 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tarxien Rainbows is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cassius was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
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 Pierre Busuttil to a room that had heard them before.
Nobody at Tarxien Rainbows 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.
21 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Tarxien Rainbows lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
15 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Tarxien Rainbows have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tarxien Rainbows they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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; Tarxien Rainbows are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The words a physio says slowly. 28 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tarxien Rainbows is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“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 Tarxien Rainbows know it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tarxien Rainbows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every long career reaches the week the last one is thought about. He would like it to be where he started, and Tarxien Rainbows know now that the thought has arrived.
Nobody at Tarxien Rainbows 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.
“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.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Tarxien Rainbows scored in the 90th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Tarxien Rainbows have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Marko Musulin 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Érico Júnior and Tarxien Rainbows agree another 1 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yilson Mosquera was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
The words a physio says slowly. 32 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.
“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 Tarxien Rainbows, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cassius 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.
“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; Tarxien Rainbows are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Andreas Vella has his answer from Tarxien Rainbows; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
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.
In brief
The dugoutAndreas Vella knocks on the manager’s door
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tarxien Rainbows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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; Tarxien Rainbows are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
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.
Successful dribbles: 14. 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.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Cassius