Marked for Marcus Reed
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 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.
Market14 Feb 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Transfer targets14 Feb 2028
Everything agreed with Mjondalen, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Market14 Feb 2028
So close: Marcus Reed’s move dies late
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Hødd moved on, Marcus Reed reports back to Aalesund, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Market14 Feb 2028
Rosenborg pay $990.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Squad14 Feb 2028
A row about effort at Aalesund
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Endre Osenbroch was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets14 Feb 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sogndal have kept their man, and Aalesund go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Marius Andresen trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Feb 2028
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Aalesund have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market7 Feb 2028
Yuri Laptev 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 Aalesund can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets7 Feb 2028
The deal with Rosenborg 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.
Market7 Feb 2028
The phone has started ringing about Max Nielsen again, and this time the name on the line is Rosenborg. Aalesund are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Words at Aalesund training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Uba Charles 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.
Market7 Feb 2028
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Aalesund has been clear about where Jakob Nyland Ørsahl stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad7 Feb 2028
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Squad7 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 Aalesund this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Feb 2028
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Ulrik Fredriksen is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market6 Sep 2027
Elias Myrlid 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 Aalesund can pretend not to have heard.
The terraces6 Sep 2027
Aalesund sell a favourite for $3.0M
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Paul Ngongo was one of the reasons people came, and $3.0M does not replace that by itself.
Market6 Sep 2027
Paul Ngongo has left for Lyngby in a $3.0M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Aalesund may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words exchanged at Aalesund
Ulrik Fredriksen 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.
Market6 Sep 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Aalesund, another week without a signature from Ulrik Fredriksen.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Max Nielsen
“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 dugout6 Sep 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ulrik Fredriksen trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.