Marked for Davide Facchetti
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout1 May 2028
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The dugout1 May 2028
“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.
Squad1 May 2028
Words exchanged at Kudrivka
Robert Ndip Tambe 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 May 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Kiril Popov and Kudrivka agree another 4 years.
Squad1 May 2028
A row about effort at Kudrivka
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kaya Makosso was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout1 May 2028
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Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Apr 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 Kudrivka this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
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The dugout17 Apr 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Robert Ndip Tambe trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Davide Facchetti 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.
Market17 Apr 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Kiril Popov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad17 Apr 2028
The language is coming and there is somebody to talk to in the dressing room. A footballer who feels at home plays like one, and it never shows up in a scouting report.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match10 Apr 2028
Kudrivka up to position 2
63 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
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Squad10 Apr 2028
Robert Ndip Tambe 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.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Kaya Makosso 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.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
news_b_reunited_with_his_manager
Squad10 Apr 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Davide Facchetti and Kudrivka agree another 3 years.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
“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.
Market10 Apr 2028
The name of Kostiantyn Bychek keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Kudrivka say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Kudrivka. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout3 Apr 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words exchanged at Kudrivka
Robert Ndip Tambe 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.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Kaya Makosso 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.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
news_b_reunited_with_his_manager
The dugout3 Apr 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.
Market3 Apr 2028
He is 20, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.