Marked for Aidas Satkus
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom18 Sep 2028
The scrutiny sharpens at Lida
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Lida is running low.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Tempers go at Lida
Roman Gribovskiy 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.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Diego Pascutini 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.
Boardroom18 Sep 2028
No signings allowed at Lida
The manager may talk to whoever he likes and may pay nobody. A squad survives a window like this by borrowing, by promoting, and by hoping the injuries land somewhere else.
Boardroom18 Sep 2028
The Lida debt reaches $7.1M
Football clubs borrow; that is not the story. Borrowing more than the facility allows is, because from here it is the owner's money or somebody else's decision, and neither of those belongs to the board.
Squad18 Sep 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings22 May 2028
A brace, and Mathieu Cornet takes the afternoon — 8.07
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Mathieu Cornet provided it, and the 8.07 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad22 May 2028
Tempers go at Lida
Roman Gribovskiy 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.
Squad22 May 2028
Diego Pascutini 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.
Squad22 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Diego Pascutini, and the manager let it.
Match20 May 2028
It needed Mathieu Cornet to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Naftan, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Squad22 May 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
Crisis
Match6 May 2028
Nowhere to hide for Lida
0‑3 against Slonim, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad8 May 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Diego Pascutini commits to Lida for another 2 years.
Squad8 May 2028
Tempers go at Lida
Roman Gribovskiy 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.
Boardroom8 May 2028
$55.2K of the owner's money at Lida
The shortfall was covered from upstairs again. Supporters are entitled to be relieved and entitled to ask what happens the month it is not, and both feelings usually arrive together.
Squad8 May 2028
Words at Lida training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrey Alshanik 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 May 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.
Boardroom8 May 2028
Inquest at Lida
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
Market8 May 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.
Player ratings8 May 2028
A mark of 5.28 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match5 Apr 2028
Lida bow out of the cup
Smorgon go through and Lida go home, 0‑0 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Roman Babaev decides it from twelve yards
1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
A chastening introduction for Christian Franco — 5.68
It is a hard way to meet a crowd. Marked 5.68 on the day he was handed the shirt, and the important thing now is what the next one looks like.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Tempers go at Lida
Alexey Chernodarov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Diego Pascutini 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.
Match8 Apr 2028
It finished 1‑0, and it was Mathieu Cornet’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Lida.
Market10 Apr 2028
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Lida has been clear about where Vyacheslav Purak stands, which is more than many ever get.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
It was his to settle and he did not settle it. A long walk back to the halfway line, and a considerably longer week.
Squad10 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match1 Apr 2028
No end in sight to Lida's wait for a win
11 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Lida has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Aidas Satkus: 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.” Lida have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad3 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lida this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Igor Tymonyuk and Lida agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
The owner puts $16.7K into Lida
This is money that keeps the lights on rather than money that buys a centre-half, and the difference is the whole story. A club funded by its owner rather than by its football has exactly one conversation left ahead of it.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words at Lida training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Diego Pascutini 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.
Market3 Apr 2028
Roman Babaev is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Lida has been clear about where Roman Babaev stands, which is more than many ever get.
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
Lida cannot sign anybody
The embargo bars a fee being paid for a player, whatever the manager thinks the squad needs. Every rumour printed about this club between now and its lifting is a rumour about a deal that cannot happen.
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
Lida are $5.2M in the red
The borrowing is past what the bank agreed, which is the line where a debt stops being how football is financed and starts being a problem. Every phone-in in this town will quote the figure for the next five years.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 Feb 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 31 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Boardroom28 Feb 2028
The numbers do not look good at Lida
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Tempers go at Lida
Roman Gribovskiy 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
Squad31 Jan 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 59 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market31 Jan 2028
Aidas Satkus 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 Lida can pretend not to have heard.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Tempers go at Lida
Roman Gribovskiy 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
Squad6 Dec 2027
A fracture rules Vyacheslav Purak out for 48 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lida will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Lida can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Squad6 Dec 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 Lida this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
Lida counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Lida now.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Words at Lida training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Diego Pascutini 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.
Squad6 Dec 2027
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Lida know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
Market6 Dec 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Vyacheslav Purak signs something — a contract at Lida or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market6 Dec 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Aidas Satkus may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Market6 Dec 2027
Lida shop where it costs nothing
Andrey Alshanik signs, and the fee column stays empty. Deals like this look small in July and clever by March — or they are never mentioned again.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad6 Sep 2027
A fracture rules Aidas Jankauskas out for 81 days
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.
Market6 Sep 2027
“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.
Squad6 Sep 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 Utenis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words at Utenis training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulius Paulauskas 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.
Loan watch6 Sep 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Utenis, and 4 appearances in 33 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad6 Sep 2027
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
Upbeat
Match23 Aug 2027
Utenis up to position 1
27 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 96 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market23 Aug 2027
“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.
Squad23 Aug 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 Utenis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Words at Utenis training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eduardo Simo 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.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Vykintas Simkus has become a man the manager trusts
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
Upbeat
Market9 Aug 2027
Eduardo Simo 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.
Market9 Aug 2027
Atlantas come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Utenis did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad9 Aug 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 Utenis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at Utenis training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulius Paulauskas 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Aidas Sernas commits to Utenis for another 3 years.
Loan watch9 Aug 2027
“I watch every Utenis game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Zalgiris runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad2 Aug 2027
A fracture rules Mantas Kuklys out for 15 days
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.
Market2 Aug 2027
“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.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad12 Jul 2027
Arvydas Barauskas damages knee ligaments — 17 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 17 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
A fracture rules Mantas Kuklys out for 38 days
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.
Market12 Jul 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad5 Jul 2027
Arvydas Barauskas damages knee ligaments — 24 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 24 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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Mantas Kuklys 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.
Market5 Jul 2027
“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.
Market5 Jul 2027
Aidas Satkus has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Utenis they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad5 Jul 2027
The medical room confirms 48 days on the sidelines for Eduardo Simo, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Utenis
Josh Robinson 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
Upbeat
Squad21 Jun 2027
A fracture rules Darius Dubickas out for 16 days
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.
Market21 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 Utenis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Tempers go at Utenis
Josh Robinson 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
Squad25 Jan 2027
A fracture rules Aidas Satkus out for 20 days
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 Jan 2027
“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 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Utenis
Josh Robinson 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
Squad18 Jan 2027
14 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A fracture rules Aidas Satkus out for 27 days
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.
Market18 Jan 2027
“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.
Market18 Jan 2027
Utenis say no — this time
The offer from Stumbras for Arnas Girdvainis 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.
Squad18 Jan 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 Utenis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Utenis training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrius Slavickas 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Jan 2027
21 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.
Market11 Jan 2027
Suduva come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Utenis did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A fracture rules Aidas Satkus out for 34 days
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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Bruno Pires gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Bruno Pires has just signed for Utenis, and for once the answer mattered.
Market11 Jan 2027
“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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Utenis
Josh Robinson 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
Squad4 Jan 2027
Paulius Paulauskas damages knee ligaments — 29 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 29 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
A fracture rules Aidas Satkus out for 41 days
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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Josh Robinson and Utenis agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad4 Jan 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 Utenis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market4 Jan 2027
The name of Arvydas Lasickas has come up in conversations Utenis were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Market4 Jan 2027
Still no offer on the table, and Josh Robinson’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Dec 2026
Paulius Paulauskas damages knee ligaments — 36 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 36 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
A fracture rules Aidas Satkus out for 48 days
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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Utenis
Darius 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
Uneasy
Squad21 Dec 2026
A fracture rules Aidas Satkus out for 55 days
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.
Market21 Dec 2026
“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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Utenis training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrius Slavickas 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Utenis
Vykintas Simkus 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Utenis training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aidas Jankauskas 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Aidas Satkus 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 Aidas Satkus trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Nov 2026
“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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Utenis
Vykintas Simkus 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Andrius Slavickas 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.