Marked for Gatis Tarasovs
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Transfer targets25 Aug 2031
Spartaks and Skonto have settled on $970.0K. 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.
Market25 Aug 2031
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartaks is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad25 Aug 2031
Alexey Dunaev 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 targets25 Aug 2031
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Skonto have kept their man, and Spartaks go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad25 Aug 2031
A row about effort at Spartaks
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Davis Bulvitis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets25 Aug 2031
A loan enquiry to Skonto: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout25 Aug 2031
“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.
Market25 Aug 2031
The clock does Hassan Musa’s negotiating for him
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Spartaks could ask drops and the wages Hassan Musa can ask rise.
The dugout25 Aug 2031
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kaspars Tarasovs trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces28 Jul 2031
The mood at Spartaks 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.
Market28 Jul 2031
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Spartaks can pretend not to have heard.
Market28 Jul 2031
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartaks is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Boardroom28 Jul 2031
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Hassan Musa has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad28 Jul 2031
Alexey Dunaev 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 targets28 Jul 2031
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Skonto have kept their man, and Spartaks go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad28 Jul 2031
A row about effort at Spartaks
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Davis Bulvitis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout28 Jul 2031
Alexey Dunaev 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 Alexey Dunaev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market28 Jul 2031
Still no signature from Hassan Musa
4 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Spartaks could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout14 Jul 2031
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Spartaks may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market14 Jul 2031
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Spartaks can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets14 Jul 2031
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Spartaks have done the hard part with Liepaja, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad14 Jul 2031
A falling-out at Spartaks
Alexey Dunaev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Jul 2031
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Spartaks know it.
Transfer targets14 Jul 2031
Spartaks asked and Skonto 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
Steady
The terraces30 Jun 2031
Anger at Spartaks 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.
Market30 Jun 2031
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Spartaks can pretend not to have heard.
Market30 Jun 2031
Gatis Tarasovs has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spartaks they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad30 Jun 2031
Words exchanged at Spartaks
Alexey Dunaev 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 targets30 Jun 2031
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.
Squad30 Jun 2031
Words at Spartaks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kristaps Zjuzins 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.
Market30 Jun 2031
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Nikita Gabovs 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.
Market30 Jun 2031
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Marcis Fertovs 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.
The dugout30 Jun 2031
Raymond Dumas 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 Raymond Dumas trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market23 Jun 2031
“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.
Market23 Jun 2031
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Metta/LU waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Spartaks is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Transfer targets23 Jun 2031
Spartaks and Skonto have settled on $970.0K. 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.
Squad23 Jun 2031
Alexey Dunaev 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 targets23 Jun 2031
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.
Squad23 Jun 2031
A row about effort at Spartaks
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Davis Bulvitis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad23 Jun 2031
58 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout23 Jun 2031
Andrea Orlando has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Spartaks 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.
Market23 Jun 2031
Hassan Musa runs his contract down
5 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Spartaks money.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match9 Jun 2031
Metta/LU are in real trouble now
Position 7, 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.
The dugout9 Jun 2031
“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.
Market9 Jun 2031
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Metta/LU can pretend not to have heard.
Market9 Jun 2031
Nikita Oss has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Metta/LU they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Transfer targets9 Jun 2031
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Skonto keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Match7 Jun 2031
The wait goes on for Metta/LU
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match7 Jun 2031
The goals have deserted Metta/LU
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Metta/LU can tell you which week it ends in.
Transfer targets9 Jun 2031
Metta/LU have gone to Spartaks with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Transfer targets9 Jun 2031
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Skonto have kept their man, and Metta/LU go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets9 Jun 2031
The deal with Skonto 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.
The dugout9 Jun 2031
Gatis Fertovs: 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.” Spartaks have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad9 Jun 2031
A falling-out at Spartaks
Alexey Dunaev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets9 Jun 2031
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.
Squad9 Jun 2031
Kristaps Zjuzins 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.
Market9 Jun 2031
Add another name to the list: Metta/LU have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Gatis Tarasovs. The answer from Spartaks has not changed — yet.
Match7 Jun 2031
Three points for Spartaks, 1‑0 the final word against Metta/LU in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Market9 Jun 2031
Hassan Musa is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Spartaks has been clear about where Hassan Musa stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad9 Jun 2031
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Vladyslav Halii commits to Spartaks for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match26 Apr 2031
No end in sight to Spartaks's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Spartaks has to find a result from somewhere.
Match26 Apr 2031
Spartaks cannot find the net
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad28 Apr 2031
Alexey Dunaev 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.
Squad28 Apr 2031
Kristaps Zjuzins 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.
Match28 Apr 2031
Spartaks at the halfway mark
Half the programme played, position 6, 6 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
Player ratings28 Apr 2031
Marked 7.20. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout28 Apr 2031
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Helmut Maier was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Spartaks dressing room was either.
The dugout28 Apr 2031
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Looking ahead28 Apr 2031
A test against the best for Spartaks
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Skonto.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces10 Feb 2031
The mood at Spartaks 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.
Boardroom10 Feb 2031
The scrutiny sharpens at Spartaks
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Spartaks is running low.
Market10 Feb 2031
“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 Spartaks, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad10 Feb 2031
Words exchanged at Spartaks
Alexey Dunaev 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 dugout10 Feb 2031
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Transfer targets10 Feb 2031
Spartaks asked and Skonto said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad10 Feb 2031
Davis Bulvitis 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 dugout10 Feb 2031
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aleksandrs Jagodinskis trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad10 Feb 2031
The table is being checked before the results are in, which is always the tell. Nobody at Spartaks says the word and every senior player in the building is thinking it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces16 Dec 2030
The mood at Spartaks 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.
Boardroom16 Dec 2030
The scrutiny sharpens at Spartaks
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Spartaks is running low.
Market16 Dec 2030
Kaspars Oss 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 Spartaks can pretend not to have heard.
Squad16 Dec 2030
Words exchanged at Spartaks
Alexey Dunaev 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 dugout16 Dec 2030
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad16 Dec 2030
Kristaps Zjuzins 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
Match30 Sep 2030
Spartaks sink to position 7
8 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
The dugout30 Sep 2030
Davis Bulvitis: 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.” Spartaks have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market30 Sep 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.
Squad30 Sep 2030
A falling-out at Spartaks
Mahamud Abdul Karimu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad30 Sep 2030
Words at Spartaks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Davis Bulvitis 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.
The dugout30 Sep 2030
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match2 Sep 2030
Spartaks sink to position 7
8 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Boardroom2 Sep 2030
Spartaks spell it out for the manager
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. the manager has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Squad2 Sep 2030
A fracture rules Janis Bulvitis out for 16 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Spartaks will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market2 Sep 2030
“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 Spartaks, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom2 Sep 2030
Spartaks close the window on a squad of their own making
17 in and 20 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.
Squad2 Sep 2030
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Olegs Jagodinskis commits to Spartaks for another 1 years.
Transfer targets2 Sep 2030
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.
Squad2 Sep 2030
A row about effort at Spartaks
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Davis Bulvitis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad2 Sep 2030
A falling-out at Spartaks
Andrea Orlando 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 May 2030
A knee injury of the worst kind for Olegs Jagodinskis
63 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Spartaks lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Player ratings20 May 2030
Successful dribbles: 33. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market20 May 2030
“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 Spartaks, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad20 May 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 Spartaks this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 May 2030
Words at Spartaks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Davis Bulvitis 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.
Squad20 May 2030
“The easiest signature of my career.” Gatis Ikaunieks and Spartaks agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout20 May 2030
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Olegs Laizans will call it something else in private.
The dugout20 May 2030
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Spartaks told Gatis Tarasovs something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout20 May 2030
the manager: “We have to be better”
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad25 Mar 2030
128 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Spartaks lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match23 Mar 2030
Nowhere to hide for Spartaks
1‑4 against Liepaja, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
The dugout25 Mar 2030
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Spartaks have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad25 Mar 2030
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match23 Mar 2030
No end in sight to Spartaks's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Spartaks has to find a result from somewhere.
Market25 Mar 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.
Squad25 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 Spartaks this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Mar 2030
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gatis Tarasovs and Spartaks agree another 3 years.
The dugout25 Mar 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Olegs Laizans, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad18 Mar 2030
A knee injury of the worst kind for Olegs Jagodinskis
135 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Spartaks lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad18 Mar 2030
12 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.
Market18 Mar 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.
Match16 Mar 2030
4 matches without a win for Spartaks
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Spartaks are no longer polite ones.
Squad18 Mar 2030
Davis Bulvitis 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 Mar 2030
31 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Boardroom18 Mar 2030
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Alvis Laizans has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Spartaks have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Match16 Mar 2030
A bad afternoon for Spartaks against Skonto
0‑2 to Skonto, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout18 Mar 2030
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by the manager to a room that had heard them before.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom7 Jan 2030
Spartaks spell it out for the manager
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. the manager has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Boardroom7 Jan 2030
Crisis meeting at Spartaks
The official line will be that it was routine. It was not routine, the timing says so, and every person in that room knows what the next bad result costs.
Transfer targets7 Jan 2030
Everything agreed with Skonto, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets7 Jan 2030
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Skonto is saying, and nobody at Spartaks is enjoying the guessing.
Squad7 Jan 2030
A move Gatis Tarasovs would have made for nothing
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Gatis Tarasovs is living that version at Spartaks, and it tends to show in the first month.
Boardroom7 Jan 2030
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Edgars Ivanovs has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Spartaks have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Transfer targets7 Jan 2030
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Skonto have kept their man, and Spartaks go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad7 Jan 2030
Davis Bulvitis 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.
Squad7 Jan 2030
A falling-out at Spartaks
Aleksandrs Jagodinskis and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.