Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Paksi waiting with a shirt. Nobody at NK Varazdin is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Club Brugge keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at NK Varazdin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
NK Varazdin had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Dinamo Zagreb, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Matej Vuk 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Soldo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Manchester United have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Position 8 and 17 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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. NK Varazdin have done the hard part with Dinamo Zagreb, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Matej Vuk 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.
The phone has started ringing about Layton Campbell again, and this time the name on the line is Pandurii. NK Varazdin are listening politely and promising nothing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Frane Maglica was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Dinamo Zagreb is saying, and nobody at NK Varazdin is enjoying the guessing.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Matej Vuk and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Jul 2032
Nikola Soldo 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Zbrojovka Brno have kept their man, and NK Varazdin go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
At 26 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
16 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Varazdin lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. NK Varazdin have lost him in all but the paperwork.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at NK Varazdin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
7 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
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 words a physio says slowly. 37 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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Petrolul waiting with a shirt. Nobody at NK Varazdin is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Dinamo Zagreb keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Éric Chardey was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Luka Škaričić is on it.
The words a physio says slowly. 44 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at NK Varazdin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
NK Varazdin have gone to Sesvete with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gregor Sikošek and NK Varazdin agree another 2 years.
Add another name to the list: Rudes have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Fran Ivan Marić. The answer from NK Varazdin has not changed — yet.
Squad7 Jun 2032
Frane Maglica 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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
The words a physio says slowly. 58 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.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at NK Varazdin is running low.
Matej Vuk 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Soldo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Domagoj Begonja is on it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. NK Varazdin know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
72 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Varazdin lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at NK Varazdin 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 Nikola Soldo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
86 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. NK Varazdin lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
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.
Matej Vuk 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.
Squad26 Apr 2032
Words at NK Varazdin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Frane Maglica 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.
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 Domagoj Begonja is on it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. NK Varazdin know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at NK Varazdin, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The words a physio says slowly. 93 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.
Matej Vuk and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Apr 2032
Words at NK Varazdin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Soldo 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.
Nobody at NK Varazdin 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Matej Vuk signs something — a contract at NK Varazdin or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
114 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Varazdin lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 25 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Matej Vuk 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Soldo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at NK Varazdin 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.
135 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Varazdin lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. NK Varazdin will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about 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 NK Varazdin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Mar 2032
Words at NK Varazdin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Soldo 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.
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.
142 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. NK Varazdin lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 53 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Matej Vuk and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Mar 2032
Words at NK Varazdin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Soldo 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.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 67 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Matej Vuk 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 Nikola Soldo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Nikola Soldo is on it.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Jakov Dedić has written the date down.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. NK Varazdin will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Lech keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Matej Vuk 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.
Squad26 Jan 2032
Words at NK Varazdin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Soldo 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Vojvodina have kept their man, and NK Varazdin go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The name of Rino Grubišić has come up in conversations NK Varazdin were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
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.
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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. NK Varazdin have done the hard part with Petrolul, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Matej Vuk and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Jan 2032
Words at NK Varazdin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Soldo 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.
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 Aleksa Latković is on it.
“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 NK Varazdin will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at NK Varazdin, and both men came out saying it was fine.
16 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Varazdin lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Matej Vuk 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.
Squad22 Dec 2031
Frane Maglica 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.
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 words a physio says slowly. 37 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.
Matej Vuk 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.
Squad1 Dec 2031
Frane Maglica 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. NK Varazdin told Jakov Dedić something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
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 Domagoj Begonja is on it.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
A 3‑2 win over Zadar, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Match29 Oct 2031
Bartol Kunert wins it after the whistle should have gone
107 minutes played. Bartol Kunert found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Zadar went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Matej Vuk 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Soldo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Paizinho 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.
Position 8 and 13 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Soldo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout13 Oct 2031
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 Dejan Vlasic to a room that had heard them before.
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.
4 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at NK Varazdin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at NK Varazdin can tell you which week it ends in.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Soldo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Position 8, 9 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.
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.
Boardroom1 Sep 2031
NK Varazdin close the window on a squad of their own making
12 in and 10 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.
NK Varazdin had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Crvena Zvezda, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Matej Vuk 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.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Ilja Molteninov reports back to NK Varazdin with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Frane Maglica was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Dejan Vlasic after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Nobody at NK Varazdin 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.
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 85th, and HNK Vukovar 1991 spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
The deal with Banik Ostrava 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at NK Varazdin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Aug 2031
Words at NK Varazdin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Soldo 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.
Crvena Zvezda have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Matej Vuk 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 Frane Maglica was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Everyone has stopped pretending: HNK Vukovar 1991 will make the call about Rok Gorenc this week. NK Varazdin have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Nobody at NK Varazdin 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. NK Varazdin know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at NK Varazdin that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one NK Varazdin will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Soldo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Crvena Zvezda have kept their man, and NK Varazdin go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Jakov Dedić is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Nobody at NK Varazdin 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.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Gregor Sikošek commits to NK Varazdin for another 2 years.
Squad7 Apr 2031
Words at NK Varazdin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Soldo 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.
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.
25 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. NK Varazdin lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Position 8 and 13 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.
NK Varazdin had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at NK Osijek, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Petrolul have kept their man, and NK Varazdin go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad10 Feb 2031
Frane Maglica 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Raul Bezeljak trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
39 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. NK Varazdin lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what NK Varazdin can pretend not to have heard.
The offer went to Hajduk Split this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Matej Vuk 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.
Squad27 Jan 2031
Nikola Soldo 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 NK Varazdin 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.
Matej Vuk 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 Aleksa Latković was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad2 Dec 2030
A place in the month's best eleven for Jakov Dedić
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Jakov Dedić has come out of that comparison in the side, and NK Varazdin have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
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.
6 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.
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.
Matej Vuk 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.
Squad28 Oct 2030
Words at NK Varazdin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Soldo 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.
A point taken on 86 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
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 dugout28 Oct 2030
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.” Dejan Vlasic chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
Successful dribbles: 13. 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.