Marked for Modestas Novikovas
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market11 Sep 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market11 Sep 2028
Only the photograph left for Edgaras Satkus
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Edgaras Satkus will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Trakai the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Transfer targets11 Sep 2028
Trakai asked and Suduva said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Words at Trakai training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Edvinas Satkus 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.
Transfer targets11 Sep 2028
The clock did what Kauno Zalgiris would not, and ended it. Supporters who watched the countdown will spend the next window doing it again.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Tempers go at Trakai
Edvinas Vaitkunas 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 dugout11 Sep 2028
Justas Sernas gets picked when it counts
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 Justas Sernas is on it.
Squad11 Sep 2028
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Trakai that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
Squad11 Sep 2028
He goes off to be somebody else’s player for a fortnight. Trakai lose him for the window and would like him returned in the condition he left.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces4 Sep 2028
The mood at Trakai 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.
Market4 Sep 2028
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Trakai people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market4 Sep 2028
Only the photograph left for Fiodor Sernas
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Fiodor Sernas will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Trakai the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Transfer targets4 Sep 2028
$56.0K settles it between the clubs for Paul Reulet
Siauliai have accepted the money. What Trakai do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Market4 Sep 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Boardroom4 Sep 2028
Trakai close the window on a squad of their own making
7 in and 9 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Transfer targets4 Sep 2028
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Trakai have done the hard part with Kauno Zalgiris, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad4 Sep 2028
A row about effort at Trakai
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Edvinas Satkus was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad4 Sep 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 Trakai this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market14 Aug 2028
Atlantas come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Trakai did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market14 Aug 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.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Trakai will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Transfer targets14 Aug 2028
Everything agreed with Kauno Zalgiris, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Market14 Aug 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Trakai is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad14 Aug 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Modestas Novikovas and Trakai agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Transfer targets14 Aug 2028
Atlantas wanted more than $390.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad14 Aug 2028
A falling-out at Trakai
Vykintas Satkus and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets14 Aug 2028
Trakai asked and Suduva said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom31 Jul 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Trakai
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Transfer targets31 Jul 2028
Everything agreed with Suduva, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Tempers go at Trakai
Vykintas Satkus 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 targets31 Jul 2028
Trakai asked and Utenis said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Edvinas Satkus 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.
Transfer targets31 Jul 2028
Zalgiris have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Squad31 Jul 2028
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Edvinas Klimavicius keeps the shirt for now, at Trakai's convenience rather than his own.
The dugout31 Jul 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vikintas Slavickas trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market31 Jul 2028
Trakai have let the market know Ryan Benhaddane can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match5 Jun 2028
The season ends: position 7 for Trakai
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 7 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Market5 Jun 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Transfer targets5 Jun 2028
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.
Transfer targets5 Jun 2028
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.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Edvinas Satkus 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.
Squad5 Jun 2028
The medical room confirms 25 days on the sidelines for Linas Lasickas, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Player ratings5 Jun 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market5 Jun 2028
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Trakai has been clear about where Modestas Novikovas stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout5 Jun 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
Squad15 Nov 2027
27 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Trakai lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match15 Nov 2027
Every point is an argument now for Trakai
Position 7 and 6 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.
Market15 Nov 2027
Only the photograph left for Fiodor Sernas
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Fiodor Sernas will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Trakai the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market15 Nov 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 Trakai, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Tempers go at Trakai
Alan Bikoumou 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 dugout15 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Darius Novikovas, and the manager let it.
Squad15 Nov 2027
A row about effort at Trakai
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Karolis Barauskas was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
Fiodor Sernas 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 Fiodor Sernas trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad15 Nov 2027
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Trakai 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
Uneasy
Squad1 Nov 2027
41 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Trakai lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The terraces1 Nov 2027
Anger at Trakai 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.
Market1 Nov 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 Trakai, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom1 Nov 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Trakai
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Trakai is running low.
Market1 Nov 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Trakai is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Tempers go at Trakai
Vykintas Satkus 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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Modestas Novikovas and Trakai agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Edvinas Satkus 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 dugout1 Nov 2027
“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
Crisis
Squad26 Apr 2027
62 days out for Rokas Slavickas after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Trakai will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market26 Apr 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 Trakai, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad26 Apr 2027
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match24 Apr 2027
4 matches without a win for Trakai
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Trakai are no longer polite ones.
Squad26 Apr 2027
A muscle injury sidelines Modestas Novikovas for 14 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Trakai will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Match24 Apr 2027
The goals have deserted Trakai
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Trakai can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Words at Trakai training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Edvinas Satkus 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.
Match24 Apr 2027
Suduva left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vikintas Slavickas, and the manager let it.