“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Hradec Králové can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Hradec Králové they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Ludogorets is saying, and nobody at Hradec Králové is enjoying the guessing.
The phone has started ringing about Simon Januzaj again, and this time the name on the line is Slavia Kroměříž. Hradec Králové are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad23 Jun 2036
Words at Hradec Králové training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mathéo Lyncee 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Hradec Králové they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hradec Králové this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Apr 2036
Words at Hradec Králové training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cauan Baptistella 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.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Hradec Králové can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Hradec Králové, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Hradec Králové they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Sebastian Boháč 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 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.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Hradec Králové can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
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. 62 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.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Bohemians 1905 people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bohemians 1905 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bohemians 1905, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have shaken hands with Dukla Prague; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
The words a physio says slowly. 69 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.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bohemians 1905, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from Vlašim for Bashar Musa was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bohemians 1905 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bohemians 1905 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 Imran Musa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Moussa Camara
83 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bohemians 1905 lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Bohemians 1905 have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bohemians 1905 can pretend not to have heard.
The deal with Slavia Prague 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bohemians 1905 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
Moussa Camara 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.
12 days since the seat came open, a list of names doing the rounds, and nobody has signed anything. Every week this drags on the shortlist gets shorter.
97 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bohemians 1905 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 Bohemians 1905 can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Borneo waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Bohemians 1905 is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bohemians 1905 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Bohemians 1905 have done the hard part with Chrudim, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bohemians 1905 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Jul 2035
Words at Bohemians 1905 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Imran Musa 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. Slavia Prague have kept their man, and Bohemians 1905 go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
104 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bohemians 1905 lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The clubs have shaken hands with Dukla Prague; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bohemians 1905 is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Moussa Camara 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.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Shon Refaelov has, at Bohemians 1905, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Bohemians 1905 asked and Slovan Bratislava said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
In brief
SquadWords at Bohemians 1905 training over how hard people work
111 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bohemians 1905 lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Bohemians 1905 people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bohemians 1905 can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bohemians 1905 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: DAC Dunajska Streda keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Moussa Camara 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 Imran Musa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Bohemians 1905 asked and Krasnodar said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Bohemians 1905 people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bohemians 1905 can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Tom Bosc will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bohemians 1905 the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Everything agreed with Zbrojovka Brno, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bohemians 1905 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Bohemians 1905 know it.
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.
A loan enquiry to Slovan Bratislava: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bohemians 1905 can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bohemians 1905 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $27.0K — a club that wants Petr Vydra enough to be asked twice.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Tom Bosc has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Moussa Camara 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.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Squad11 Jun 2035
Imran Musa 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.
23 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bohemians 1905 lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bohemians 1905, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Šimon Vlna will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bohemians 1905 the goodbyes have quietly begun.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vitaly Letechin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mahmoud Labib will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bohemians 1905 the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bohemians 1905, and it is not being withdrawn.
Moussa Camara 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.
Squad14 May 2035
Words at Bohemians 1905 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dominik Kocsis 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.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Bohemians 1905 are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bohemians 1905 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bohemians 1905 is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bohemians 1905, and it is not being withdrawn.
Moussa Camara 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 Dominik Kocsis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Bohemians 1905, another week without a signature from Apostolos Apostolopoulos.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bohemians 1905, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bohemians 1905 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Mar 2035
Words at Bohemians 1905 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vitaly Letechin 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 will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until John Dembe signs something — a contract at Bohemians 1905 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Bohemians 1905, another week without a signature from Tom Bosc.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mahmoud Labib will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bohemians 1905 the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Moussa Camara 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 Imran Musa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bohemians 1905 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nobody at Bohemians 1905 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.
36 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bohemians 1905 lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bohemians 1905 will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bohemians 1905 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
1 for Šimon Vlna, marked 7.78, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Moussa Camara 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.
Squad19 Feb 2035
Imran Musa 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 words a physio says slowly. 57 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bohemians 1905 will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bohemians 1905 can pretend not to have heard.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Mahmoud Labib has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bohemians 1905 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Jan 2035
Imran Musa 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.
Bohemians 1905 asked and Zbrojovka Brno said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
85 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bohemians 1905 lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bohemians 1905 will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bohemians 1905, and it is not being withdrawn.
Moussa Camara 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 Aboubakary Koita was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Bohemians 1905 has been clear about where Dominik Pleštil stands, which is more than many ever get.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Bohemians 1905, another week without a signature from Mahmoud Labib.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager’s verdict
The dugoutMahmoud Labib knocks on the manager’s door
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bohemians 1905 can pretend not to have heard.
Mahmoud Labib 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.
Squad16 Oct 2034
Words at Bohemians 1905 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lazar Mijović 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.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Slavia Prague in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bohemians 1905 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nobody at Bohemians 1905 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.
Lazar Mijović has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
In brief
The dugoutMalek Adrar knocks on the manager's door