Marked for Deividas Lasickas
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces19 Aug 2030
Anger at Utenis spills outside the ground
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.
Match19 Aug 2030
Every point is an argument now for Utenis
Position 8 and 7 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.
Squad19 Aug 2030
Justas Vaitkunas damages knee ligaments — 39 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 39 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 dugout19 Aug 2030
“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.
Market19 Aug 2030
“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 targets19 Aug 2030
Everything agreed with Zalgiris, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad19 Aug 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Utenis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets19 Aug 2030
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Zalgiris have kept their man, and Utenis go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad19 Aug 2030
A row about effort at Utenis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Darius Dapkus was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad8 Jul 2030
The words a physio says slowly. 15 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.
Transfer targets8 Jul 2030
Utenis and Zalgiris have settled on $320.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Squad8 Jul 2030
“The easiest signature of my career.” Deividas Lasickas and Utenis agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Transfer targets8 Jul 2030
Utenis asked and Kauno Zalgiris said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad8 Jul 2030
Words at Utenis training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Darius Dapkus 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.
Squad8 Jul 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Utenis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets8 Jul 2030
A loan enquiry to Zalgiris: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Boardroom8 Jul 2030
Intake day at the Utenis academy
4 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.
The dugout8 Jul 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Edgaras Novikovas, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Jul 2030
22 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Utenis lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Transfer targets1 Jul 2030
The deal with Zalgiris 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.
Market1 Jul 2030
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Utenis is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad1 Jul 2030
A falling-out at Utenis
Deividas Lasickas and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets1 Jul 2030
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Zalgiris have kept their man, and Utenis go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad1 Jul 2030
A row about effort at Utenis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Darius Dapkus was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad1 Jul 2030
The table has started to be checked before the results are in, and that is always the tell. Nobody at Utenis says the word out loud, and everybody in the building is thinking it.
Market1 Jul 2030
“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.
The dugout1 Jul 2030
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Utenis, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match11 May 2030
The wait goes on for Utenis
11 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.
Squad13 May 2030
4 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Match11 May 2030
Utenis throw away a 3-goal lead
3 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Stumbras the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Utenis will enjoy reviewing.
Squad13 May 2030
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Market13 May 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Utenis can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout13 May 2030
Etebo Okocha: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Utenis have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings13 May 2030
Linas Dapkus, 33, rolls back the years — 7.99
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.99 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Player ratings13 May 2030
Marked 10.00 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad13 May 2030
Words exchanged at Utenis
Deividas Lasickas 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad6 May 2030
15 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.
Match4 May 2030
10 matches without a win for Utenis
The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Utenis are no longer polite ones.
Match4 May 2030
A hiding for Utenis
Beaten 0‑7 by Suduva, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market6 May 2030
Justas Simkus hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Utenis can pretend not to have heard.
Match4 May 2030
Nobody could stop scoring
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Utenis and Suduva in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad6 May 2030
Tempers go at Utenis
Zoran Markovic 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 dugout6 May 2030
“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.
Looking ahead6 May 2030
A six-pointer for Utenis
Stumbras next, and both sides can do the sum. Win and the table looks different; lose and it looks the way everybody has been fearing.
Boardroom6 May 2030
Nobody left the Utenis dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom25 Mar 2030
Utenis interviewed the field and appointed the corridor: Vikintas Klimavicius keeps the job he had been doing in all but title. Sometimes the safest pair of hands is the one already holding the wheel.
Squad25 Mar 2030
Tempers go at Utenis
Deividas Lasickas 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.
Match23 Mar 2030
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings25 Mar 2030
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout25 Mar 2030
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout25 Mar 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ignas Dapkus, and the manager let it.
Squad25 Mar 2030
A first senior shirt for Tadas Dapkus
Every debut is a small story about the future: Tadas Dapkus, 21 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
Squad25 Mar 2030
A call-up flatters the player and the club that produced him in the same breath. Utenis would like him back in one piece and know they will not be consulted.
Squad25 Mar 2030
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Utenis that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match16 Mar 2030
Chastening afternoon for Utenis
A 2‑5 beating by Suduva was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad18 Mar 2030
8 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.
Player ratings18 Mar 2030
A brace, and Paulius Jankauskas takes the afternoon — 8.99
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Paulius Jankauskas provided it, and the 8.99 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market18 Mar 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Utenis can pretend not to have heard.
Match16 Mar 2030
7 goals as Utenis and Suduva go for it
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Utenis and Suduva, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad18 Mar 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Utenis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout18 Mar 2030
“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.
Boardroom18 Mar 2030
Doors closed at Utenis
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout18 Mar 2030
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 2‑5 Vikintas Klimavicius left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad25 Feb 2030
A falling-out at Utenis
Zoran Markovic and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout25 Feb 2030
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 Paulius Jankauskas is on it.
The dugout25 Feb 2030
Zoran Markovic 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 Zoran Markovic trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom21 Jan 2030
Pressure builds in the Utenis boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market21 Jan 2030
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Utenis have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Squad21 Jan 2030
Tempers go at Utenis
Paulius Jankauskas 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.
Transfer targets21 Jan 2030
Utenis asked and Zalgiris said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market21 Jan 2030
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Roman Mikheev has his answer from Utenis; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Market21 Jan 2030
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Vykintas Klimavicius leaves Utenis the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad31 Dec 2029
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Utenis will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad31 Dec 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Utenis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout31 Dec 2029
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Dec 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 28 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Boardroom24 Dec 2029
Pressure builds in the Utenis boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad24 Dec 2029
Tempers go at Utenis
Paulius Jankauskas 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Dec 2029
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Utenis will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad17 Dec 2029
19 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Utenis lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market17 Dec 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Utenis can pretend not to have heard.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces10 Dec 2029
Supporters organise against the Utenis board
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.
Squad10 Dec 2029
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Utenis will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match10 Dec 2029
Utenis are in real trouble now
Position 8, 4 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Squad10 Dec 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Edgaras Novikovas
27 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Utenis lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The dugout10 Dec 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad10 Dec 2029
Tempers go at Utenis
Zoran Markovic 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.
Market10 Dec 2029
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Utenis, another week without a signature from Paulius Girdvainis.
The dugout10 Dec 2029
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Squad10 Dec 2029
The table is being checked before the results are in, which is always the tell. Nobody at Utenis says the word and every senior player in the building is thinking it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 Dec 2029
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Utenis will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad3 Dec 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Edgaras Novikovas
34 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Utenis lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad3 Dec 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Deividas Lasickas commits to Utenis for another 2 years.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad26 Nov 2029
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Utenis will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad26 Nov 2029
41 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Utenis lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom26 Nov 2029
Pressure builds in the Utenis boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Nov 2029
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Utenis will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market19 Nov 2029
“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.
Squad19 Nov 2029
Words exchanged at Utenis
Zoran Markovic 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces12 Nov 2029
The mood at Utenis has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad12 Nov 2029
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Utenis will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match12 Nov 2029
Every point is an argument now for Utenis
Position 8 and 4 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.
The dugout12 Nov 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad12 Nov 2029
Tempers go at Utenis
Zoran Markovic 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 Nov 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Vikintas Simkus and Utenis agree another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad5 Nov 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 81 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad5 Nov 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Utenis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout5 Nov 2029
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad29 Oct 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 88 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Boardroom29 Oct 2029
Pressure builds in the Utenis boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad29 Oct 2029
A falling-out at Utenis
Zoran Markovic and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad22 Oct 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 95 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market22 Oct 2029
“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.
Squad22 Oct 2029
Words exchanged at Utenis
Zoran Markovic 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces15 Oct 2029
Supporters organise against the Utenis board
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.
Squad15 Oct 2029
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Utenis will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match15 Oct 2029
Utenis sink to position 8
4 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
The dugout15 Oct 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad15 Oct 2029
A falling-out at Utenis
Paulius Jankauskas and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Oct 2029
21 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 Oct 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 109 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Boardroom8 Oct 2029
Tadas Dapkus has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Utenis can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Squad8 Oct 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Utenis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Oct 2029
23 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
The dugout8 Oct 2029
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 Paulius Jankauskas is on it.
The dugout8 Oct 2029
The manager's exit leaves Vykintas Simkus exposed
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Vykintas Simkus is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
Boardroom8 Oct 2029
Utenis pull $708.7K back off the table
The money that was there in the summer is not there now. Nobody upstairs calls this a change of ambition, and everybody downstairs reads it as one.
Squad8 Oct 2029
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Utenis would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Boardroom8 Oct 2029
A squad written off a fortnight ago has closed ranks. Whatever was said behind that door, it has held so far.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad1 Oct 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 116 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad1 Oct 2029
Justas Vaitkunas damages knee ligaments — 19 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 19 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.
Boardroom1 Oct 2029
The scrutiny sharpens at Utenis
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Utenis is running low.
Squad1 Oct 2029
A falling-out at Utenis
Zoran Markovic and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Oct 2029
The medical room confirms 62 days on the sidelines for Vikintas Mikoliunas, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
The dugout1 Oct 2029
Vykintas Simkus loses the manager who believed in him
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Vykintas Simkus's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 Sep 2029
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Utenis will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad24 Sep 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Justas Vaitkunas
26 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Utenis lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Words exchanged at Utenis
Zoran Markovic 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Sep 2029
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Utenis will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The terraces17 Sep 2029
Supporters organise against the Utenis board
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.
Match17 Sep 2029
Every point is an argument now for Utenis
Position 8 and 4 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.
Squad17 Sep 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Justas Vaitkunas
33 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Utenis lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The dugout17 Sep 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad17 Sep 2029
Tempers go at Utenis
Zoran Markovic 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Sep 2029
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Utenis will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad10 Sep 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Justas Vaitkunas
40 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Utenis lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Transfer targets10 Sep 2029
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad10 Sep 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Utenis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout10 Sep 2029
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 Paulius Jankauskas is on it.
Squad10 Sep 2029
Tadas Dapkus 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad6 Aug 2029
26 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Utenis lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market6 Aug 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Utenis can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets6 Aug 2029
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad6 Aug 2029
A falling-out at Utenis
Zoran Markovic and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market6 Aug 2029
“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.
Transfer targets6 Aug 2029
A loan enquiry to Zalgiris: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad4 Jun 2029
A one-man rearguard from Istvan Fiola
There were 16 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match2 Jun 2029
Chastening afternoon for Utenis
A 0‑11 beating by Zalgiris was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad4 Jun 2029
77 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Utenis lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match4 Jun 2029
The season ends: position 8 for Utenis
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 4 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Market4 Jun 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Utenis can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets4 Jun 2029
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Utenis have done the hard part with Zalgiris, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Match2 Jun 2029
Nobody could stop scoring
11 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Utenis and Zalgiris in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
The dugout4 Jun 2029
“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.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Words exchanged at Utenis
Zoran Markovic 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match4 Apr 2029
Utenis bow out of the cup
Zalgiris go through and Utenis go home, 0‑3 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Match7 Apr 2029
8 matches without a win for Utenis
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Utenis are no longer polite ones.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
The terraces9 Apr 2029
A cup hiding at Zalgiris leaves Utenis explaining themselves
0-3, and long before the end the away end had switched from encouragement to something considerably more pointed. Nobody rings a phone-in about losing narrowly.
Match7 Apr 2029
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout9 Apr 2029
“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.
Squad9 Apr 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Karolis Girdvainis and Utenis agree another 3 years.
Squad9 Apr 2029
A falling-out at Utenis
Zoran Markovic and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom9 Apr 2029
Doors closed at Utenis
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 Mar 2029
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Utenis will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad12 Mar 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Nikola Ilic
32 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Utenis lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match10 Mar 2029
Nowhere to hide for Utenis
1‑4 against Siauliai, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Market12 Mar 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Utenis can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings12 Mar 2029
Vykintas Simkus was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.28. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Squad12 Mar 2029
18 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Boardroom12 Mar 2029
Doors closed at Utenis
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout12 Mar 2029
news_b_old_wounds_reopened
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad5 Mar 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 26 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Nikola Ilic damages knee ligaments — 40 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 40 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.
Market5 Mar 2029
“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.
Boardroom5 Mar 2029
5 academy graduates step up at Utenis
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Market5 Mar 2029
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Linas Klimavicius has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market5 Mar 2029
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Lukas Dapkus has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market5 Mar 2029
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Linas Girdvainis has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Match3 Mar 2029
0‑1 to Kauno Zalgiris, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Boardroom5 Mar 2029
Utenis let a promise lapse
A date was given and it came and went. Nobody upstairs will call it a broken promise, and nobody downstairs will call it anything else for a long time.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad26 Feb 2029
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Utenis will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad26 Feb 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Nikola Ilic
47 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Utenis lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The terraces26 Feb 2029
Supporters organise against the Utenis board
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.
Boardroom26 Feb 2029
Pressure builds in the Utenis boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Words exchanged at Utenis
Arnas Valskis 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 dugout26 Feb 2029
news_b_old_wounds_reopened
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Feb 2029
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Utenis will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad19 Feb 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Nikola Ilic
54 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Utenis lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market19 Feb 2029
“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 Utenis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets19 Feb 2029
Utenis offered $87.0K; Stumbras said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
news_b_old_wounds_reopened
Squad19 Feb 2029
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Utenis would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 Feb 2029
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Utenis will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Nikola Ilic damages knee ligaments — 62 days out
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.
Market12 Feb 2029
“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 Utenis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Tempers go at Utenis
Paulius Jankauskas 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.
Transfer targets12 Feb 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Zalgiris have kept their man, and Utenis go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad12 Feb 2029
The medical room confirms 46 days on the sidelines for Justas Kazlauskas, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad5 Feb 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 54 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad5 Feb 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Nikola Ilic
69 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Utenis lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match5 Feb 2029
Utenis sink to position 7
11 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market5 Feb 2029
“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.
Boardroom5 Feb 2029
Deadline passes with 2 signed and 7 gone
That is the business done at Utenis until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Market5 Feb 2029
The shirt still fits. Paulius Dapkus is back at Utenis, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Transfer targets5 Feb 2029
$230.0K was the most the club would pay and Kauno Zalgiris were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Transfer targets5 Feb 2029
Utenis asked and Zalgiris said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad5 Feb 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Karolis Girdvainis commits to Utenis for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad29 Jan 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 61 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad29 Jan 2029
The knee: Nikola Ilic out for 76 days
76 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Utenis lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The terraces29 Jan 2029
Anger at Utenis spills outside the ground
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.
Boardroom29 Jan 2029
Pressure builds in the Utenis boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market29 Jan 2029
“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 Utenis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets29 Jan 2029
Utenis asked and Zalgiris said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Tempers go at Utenis
Zoran Markovic 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.
Transfer targets29 Jan 2029
A loan enquiry to Zalgiris: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout29 Jan 2029
Nobody at Utenis 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad22 Jan 2029
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Utenis will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad22 Jan 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Nikola Ilic
83 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Utenis lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market22 Jan 2029
Roman Mikheev hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Utenis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad22 Jan 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Utenis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets22 Jan 2029
Stumbras wanted more than $87.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Transfer targets22 Jan 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Kauno Zalgiris have kept their man, and Utenis go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad22 Jan 2029
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Utenis can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The dugout22 Jan 2029
Roman Mikheev 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 Utenis, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market22 Jan 2029
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Istvan Fiola may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad15 Jan 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 75 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad15 Jan 2029
The knee: Nikola Ilic out for 91 days
91 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Utenis lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market15 Jan 2029
“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 targets15 Jan 2029
The deal with Kauno Zalgiris 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.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Words exchanged at Utenis
Žygimantas Baltrūnas 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.
Transfer targets15 Jan 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Zalgiris have kept their man, and Utenis go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad15 Jan 2029
A row about effort at Utenis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kajus Bička was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets15 Jan 2029
Utenis have made the call to Zalgiris. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout15 Jan 2029
Roman Mikheev 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 Roman Mikheev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 Jan 2029
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Utenis will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match8 Jan 2029
Every point is an argument now for Utenis
Position 7 and 11 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.
Boardroom8 Jan 2029
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Tadas Dapkus has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Market8 Jan 2029
“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 targets8 Jan 2029
The deal with Zalgiris 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.
Squad8 Jan 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Deividas Lasickas and Utenis agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Words exchanged at Utenis
Paulius Jankauskas 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.
Transfer targets8 Jan 2029
Kauno Zalgiris wanted more than $230.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Transfer targets8 Jan 2029
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
In brief
-
Squad
Words at Utenis training over how hard people work
-
Market
A stepping stone, not a home, for Ignas Dapkus
-
The dugout
Vykintas Simkus loses the manager who believed in him
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad1 Jan 2029
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Utenis will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The terraces1 Jan 2029
The mood at Utenis has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Market1 Jan 2029
Kajus Bička hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Utenis can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom1 Jan 2029
Pressure builds in the Utenis boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad1 Jan 2029
A falling-out at Utenis
Paulius Jankauskas and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout1 Jan 2029
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 dugout1 Jan 2029
Vykintas Simkus loses the manager who believed in him
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Vykintas Simkus's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
Market1 Jan 2029
Tadas Lasickas is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Utenis has been clear about where Tadas Lasickas stands, which is more than many ever get.
Market1 Jan 2029
Kajus Bička runs his contract down
1 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Utenis money.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad25 Dec 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Utenis will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market25 Dec 2028
“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 Utenis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad25 Dec 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 Utenis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 Dec 2028
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Utenis will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Words at Utenis training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kajus Bička 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.
Squad18 Dec 2028
A falling-out at Utenis
Zoran Markovic and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout18 Dec 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vikintas Simkus, and the manager let it.
Market18 Dec 2028
Utenis have let the market know Pierluigi Saurini can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Squad18 Dec 2028
“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 Utenis will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Dec 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Utenis will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match11 Dec 2028
Utenis are in real trouble now
Position 7, 11 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market11 Dec 2028
Arnas Valskis hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Utenis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Tempers go at Utenis
Kajus Bička 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.
Market11 Dec 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Vykintas Klimavicius may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The dugout11 Dec 2028
Kajus Bička keeps his manager's vote
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Kajus Bička plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad4 Dec 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 122 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market4 Dec 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.
Squad4 Dec 2028
A falling-out at Utenis
Paulius Jankauskas and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad4 Dec 2028
Kajus Bička 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 dugout4 Dec 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 dugout4 Dec 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad27 Nov 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Utenis will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market27 Nov 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.
Squad27 Nov 2028
A falling-out at Utenis
Žygimantas Baltrūnas and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad20 Nov 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 136 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Tempers go at Utenis
Paulius Jankauskas 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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Utenis can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad13 Nov 2028
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Utenis will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match13 Nov 2028
Every point is an argument now for Utenis
Position 7 and 11 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.
Market13 Nov 2028
“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 Utenis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Tempers go at Utenis
Žygimantas Baltrūnas 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.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Kajus Bička 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 dugout13 Nov 2028
The manager makes an example of Tadas Slavickas
“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
Uneasy
Market23 Oct 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Utenis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Tempers go at Utenis
Deividas Lasickas 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.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Kajus Bička 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.