“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Slavia Prague B can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Slavia Prague B know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“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 Slavia Prague B 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 Slavia Prague B, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Jan Lacko signs something — a contract at Slavia Prague B or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
SquadQuestions about Martin Kovář on the training pitch
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 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.
Danijel Šturm 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Samuel Isife trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Slavia Prague B know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Slavia Prague B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 19 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.
The fixture the calendar is arranged around. Form goes out of the window, the table is not consulted, and for ninety minutes Slavia Prague B will be judged on one thing only.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Emmanuel Fully has come out of that comparison in the side, and Slavia Prague B have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 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.
6 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.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Slavia Prague B has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
In brief
The dugoutJakub Šmiga knocks on the manager's door
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Oleksandr Petrenko trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He came through the session, took part in everything and finished it smiling. Slavia Prague B will not rush him, and he will spend the next fortnight trying to rush them.
12 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Slavia Prague B has to find a result from somewhere.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Slavia Prague B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Slavia Prague B, and both men came out saying it was fine.