Marked for Darius Sernas
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Jul 2028
Darius Sernas breaks a bone — 20 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 20 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad17 Jul 2028
“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.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Paulius Valskis 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Jul 2028
Darius Sernas breaks a bone — 27 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 27 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Fiodor Dubickas 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.
Loan watch10 Jul 2028
“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 Siauliai, and 0 appearances in 25 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 Jul 2028
Darius Sernas breaks a bone — 34 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 34 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Boardroom3 Jul 2028
The scrutiny sharpens at Siauliai
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Siauliai is running low.
Squad3 Jul 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Siauliai have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Paulius Valskis 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.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Fiodor Dubickas 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.
Boardroom3 Jul 2028
Siauliai sign 3 boys into the academy
None of them will be seen by anybody outside the training ground for three years, most of them will never play a senior match, and one of them might change the club. That is the whole proposition, and it is why academies exist.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces26 Jun 2028
Anger at Siauliai 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.
Match26 Jun 2028
Every point is an argument now for Siauliai
Position 8 and 5 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.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Darius Sernas breaks a bone — 41 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 41 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Jun 2028
A fracture rules Darius Sernas out for 49 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Siauliai will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market19 Jun 2028
Siauliai say no — this time
The offer from Zalgiris for Paulius Valskis 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.
Market19 Jun 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 Siauliai can pretend not to have heard.
Squad19 Jun 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 Siauliai this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Words at Siauliai training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paweł Kosmalski 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.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Marko Capan has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Siauliai 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
Uneasy
Squad12 Jun 2028
A fracture rules Darius Sernas out for 56 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Siauliai will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad12 Jun 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 Siauliai this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Guido Weimann gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Guido Weimann has just signed for Siauliai, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Words at Siauliai training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fiodor Dubickas 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 watch12 Jun 2028
“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 Siauliai, and 0 appearances in 21 say he has earned the hearing.
Market12 Jun 2028
He is 19, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match3 Jun 2028
The wait goes on for Siauliai
17 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.
Squad5 Jun 2028
A fracture rules Darius Sernas out for 63 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Siauliai will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings5 Jun 2028
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.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Paulius Valskis 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.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Fiodor Dubickas 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 manager makes an example of Paulius Valskis
“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
Match27 May 2028
16 matches without a win for Siauliai
The run now stands at 16, and the questions being asked around Siauliai are no longer polite ones.
The terraces29 May 2028
Anger at Siauliai 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.
Match29 May 2028
Siauliai 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.
Squad29 May 2028
A fracture rules Darius Sernas out for 70 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Siauliai will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings29 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 31. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings29 May 2028
No sign of nerves from Arnas Jankauskas at 21 — 7.91
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Arnas Jankauskas did not need any: 7.91, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad29 May 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Siauliai have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad29 May 2028
Fiodor Dubickas 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.
Squad29 May 2028
Arnas Paulauskas 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
Crisis
Match20 May 2028
No end in sight to Siauliai's wait for a win
15 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Siauliai has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad22 May 2028
Darius Sernas breaks a bone — 78 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 78 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market22 May 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 Siauliai can pretend not to have heard.
Match20 May 2028
4 matches without a goal for Siauliai
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad22 May 2028
Paulius Valskis 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
Fiodor Dubickas 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
Crisis
Match13 May 2028
No end in sight to Siauliai's wait for a win
14 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Siauliai has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad15 May 2028
Darius Sernas breaks a bone — 85 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 85 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match13 May 2028
Chastening afternoon for Siauliai
A 0‑4 beating by Zalgiris was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market15 May 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 Siauliai, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad15 May 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 Siauliai this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match13 May 2028
The goals have deserted Siauliai
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Siauliai can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad15 May 2028
Words at Siauliai training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fiodor Dubickas 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.
Squad15 May 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.
Boardroom15 May 2028
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
Match6 May 2028
The wait goes on for Siauliai
13 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.
Squad8 May 2028
A fracture rules Darius Sernas out for 93 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Siauliai will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market8 May 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 Siauliai, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad8 May 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Paulius Valskis and Siauliai agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 May 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 Siauliai this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 May 2028
Words at Siauliai training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Arnas 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match29 Apr 2028
The wait goes on for Siauliai
12 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.
The terraces1 May 2028
Anger at Siauliai 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.
Squad1 May 2028
A fracture rules Darius Sernas out for 100 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Siauliai will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match29 Apr 2028
0‑4 to Utenis, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Match1 May 2028
Siauliai sink to position 7
3 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad1 May 2028
There were 7 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 Apr 2028
No end in sight to Siauliai's wait for a win
11 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Siauliai has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad24 Apr 2028
A fracture rules Darius Sernas out for 107 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Siauliai will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market24 Apr 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 Siauliai can pretend not to have heard.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Paulius Valskis 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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Fiodor Dubickas 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.
Match22 Apr 2028
Atlantas left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Apr 2028
A fracture rules Darius Sernas out for 114 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Siauliai will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match15 Apr 2028
The wait goes on for Siauliai
10 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.
Market17 Apr 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 Siauliai can pretend not to have heard.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Fiodor Dubickas 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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Words at Siauliai training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Adi Kurti 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.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
A performance of 8.05 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Loan watch17 Apr 2028
“I watch every Siauliai game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Atlantas runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Match15 Apr 2028
It needed Fiodor Dubickas to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Trakai, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Squad17 Apr 2028
When it matters, Marko Capan plays
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
Squad10 Apr 2028
Darius Sernas breaks a bone — 122 days out
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.
Match8 Apr 2028
9 matches without a win for Siauliai
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Siauliai are no longer polite ones.
Match5 Apr 2028
Zalgiris ended it 0‑2. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Market10 Apr 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 Siauliai can pretend not to have heard.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Paulius Valskis 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
Fiodor Dubickas 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.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Adi Kurti gets it from the manager
“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.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
Marked 7.95. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
Match8 Apr 2028
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces3 Apr 2028
Anger at Siauliai 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.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Darius Sernas breaks a bone — 129 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 129 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match3 Apr 2028
Siauliai are in real trouble now
Position 7, 1 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.
Match1 Apr 2028
7 matches without a win for Siauliai
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Siauliai are no longer polite ones.
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 Siauliai this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words at Siauliai training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fiodor Dubickas 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.
Match1 Apr 2028
Suduva left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Arnas Paulauskas, and the manager let it.
Market3 Apr 2028
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Ignas Novikovas has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Siauliai.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad27 Mar 2028
Darius Sernas breaks a bone — 136 days out
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.
Match25 Mar 2028
Nowhere to hide for Siauliai
0‑4 against Zalgiris, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Match25 Mar 2028
The wait goes on for Siauliai
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad27 Mar 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 Siauliai this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Words at Siauliai training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Arnas 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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joona Hämäläinen, and the manager let it.