Marked for John Kennedy
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad16 Oct 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 114 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market16 Oct 2028
Only the photograph left for Dario Pavković
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Dario Pavković will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spartak Subotica the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The dugout16 Oct 2028
This is not rotation. Léo Antônio has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Spartak Subotica is pretending otherwise.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Ezequiel in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Subotica this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout16 Oct 2028
The manager makes an example of John Kennedy
“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 dugout16 Oct 2028
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.
Market16 Oct 2028
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Squad16 Oct 2028
One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Stefan Tomović has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.
The dugout16 Oct 2028
Uroš Čejić knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Spartak Subotica, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad9 Oct 2028
Stefan Grujic breaks a bone — 46 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 46 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings9 Oct 2028
Two goals and a mark of 8.51 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The dugout9 Oct 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Spartak Subotica may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match8 Oct 2028
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Caju signs a new deal
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Caju commits to Spartak Subotica for another 2 years.
The dugout9 Oct 2028
This is not rotation. Stefan Stojanović has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Spartak Subotica is pretending otherwise.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Words at Spartak Subotica training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Caju 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.
Match8 Oct 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Stefan Tomović. 2‑1 against Radnik Surdulica, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad9 Oct 2028
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Marius Adamonis knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
In brief
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Loan watch
Ian Timmerman wants to come home
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The dugout
The manager has not finished forgetting Marius Adamonis's mistake
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad18 Sep 2028
Stefan Grujic breaks a bone — 71 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 71 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market18 Sep 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.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The dugout18 Sep 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.
Market18 Sep 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartak Subotica is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The dugout18 Sep 2028
This is not rotation. Léo Antônio has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Spartak Subotica is pretending otherwise.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Caju 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.
Squad18 Sep 2028
John Kennedy in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Subotica this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match16 Sep 2028
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings31 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 27. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market31 Jul 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.
Transfer targets31 Jul 2028
Everything was agreed with Fiorentina and then the doctor spoke. Spartak Subotica have walked away from a signing on the advice of somebody who never saw him play, which is how it is supposed to work.
The dugout31 Jul 2028
This is not rotation. Brian Ramírez has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Spartak Subotica is pretending otherwise.
Match29 Jul 2028
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Spartak Subotica are no longer polite ones.
Match29 Jul 2028
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Market31 Jul 2028
The name of Veljko Jocić has come up in conversations Spartak Subotica were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Transfer targets31 Jul 2028
Spartak Subotica asked and Besiktas said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad31 Jul 2028
John Kennedy in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Subotica this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Transfer targets12 Jun 2028
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Olympiacos is saying, and nobody at Spartak Subotica is enjoying the guessing.
Transfer targets12 Jun 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Olympiacos have kept their man, and Spartak Subotica go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad12 Jun 2028
John Kennedy 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.
Squad12 Jun 2028
A muscle injury and 14 days out for Sergej Babic
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Spartak Subotica will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Market12 Jun 2028
Cukaricki are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Spartak Subotica will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
The manager makes an example of Dario Pavković
“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 dugout12 Jun 2028
Kwaku Osei Bonsu has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Spartak Subotica 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.
Market12 Jun 2028
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout24 Apr 2028
This is not rotation. Stefan Stojanović has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Spartak Subotica is pretending otherwise.
Squad24 Apr 2028
John Kennedy 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 dugout24 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.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kauan Stabelini was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market13 Mar 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartak Subotica is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Ilija Babić 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.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
This is not rotation. Brian Ramírez has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Spartak Subotica is pretending otherwise.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
“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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
The formation has left Isandu Danjuma behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Spartak Subotica will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
Ilija Babić has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Spartak Subotica 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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kauan Stabelini was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market13 Mar 2028
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Spartak Subotica, another week without a signature from Isandu Danjuma.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
Uroš Čejić knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Uroš Čejić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match6 Mar 2028
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 42 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Squad6 Mar 2028
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Spartak Subotica may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Caju signs a new deal
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Caju commits to Spartak Subotica for another 2 years.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
This is not rotation. Léo Antônio has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Spartak Subotica is pretending otherwise.
Squad6 Mar 2028
John Kennedy and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match4 Mar 2028
0‑2 to Partizan, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nikola Kuveljić, and the manager let it.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad29 Nov 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Enyimba this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
This is not rotation. Mohammed Hussaini has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Enyimba is pretending otherwise.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Words at Enyimba training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kingsley Maduforo 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.
Squad29 Nov 2027
At 37, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
Emeka Onyema asks for a word with the manager
“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.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
The manager makes an example of John Kennedy
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match14 Jun 2027
42 points and nobody above them. The word is not being said around the ground yet, and it is being thought in every seat.
Market14 Jun 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Enyimba can pretend not to have heard.
Market14 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market14 Jun 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Enyimba is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad14 Jun 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Enyimba this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Mamelodi Sundowns have kept their man, and Enyimba go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market14 Jun 2027
The phone has started ringing about Godwin Dede again, and this time the name on the line is Warri Wolves. Enyimba are listening politely and promising nothing.
Match12 Jun 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Kingsley Maduforo. 1‑0 against Nasarawa United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad14 Jun 2027
16 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.