Marked for Davis Laizans
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout20 Dec 2027
Karamady Gassama: 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.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Words exchanged at Spartaks
Aleksandrs Zjuzins 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.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Bilal Yakubu 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market18 Oct 2027
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.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Aleksandrs Zjuzins 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 Oct 2027
Words at Spartaks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Irad Mshindi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad18 Oct 2027
The medical room confirms 40 days on the sidelines for Olegs Rugins, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Loan watch18 Oct 2027
“I watch every Spartaks game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Metta/LU runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout18 Oct 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
Steady
Squad11 Oct 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 Spartaks this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Words at Spartaks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Irad Mshindi 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
34 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Brad Leroy 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.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Spartaks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Davis Laizans is not doing himself any favours
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market20 Sep 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Eduards Fertovs will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spartaks the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Irad Mshindi 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 targets20 Sep 2027
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.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Fábio Dias 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 watch20 Sep 2027
“I watch every Spartaks game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Metta/LU runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
Davis Laizans 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.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
João Vale asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad20 Sep 2027
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
Squad20 Sep 2027
The least glamorous thing a foreign signing ever does and the one that decides most of them. A player who can hear the shout behind him is a different footballer from one who cannot.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Jun 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 Spartaks, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Spartaks may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Igors Jurkovskis is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Spartaks
Jeremiah Julius 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.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words at Spartaks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Irad Mshindi 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 targets28 Jun 2027
Spartaks asked and Zalgiris said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad28 Jun 2027
At 24 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.
Loan watch28 Jun 2027
“I watch every Spartaks game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Ventspils runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout28 Jun 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
Steady
Squad31 May 2027
“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.
Squad31 May 2027
Igors Jurkovskis is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad31 May 2027
Fábio Dias arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Fábio Dias has, at Spartaks, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Squad31 May 2027
A row about effort at Spartaks
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Roberts Bulvitis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Loan watch31 May 2027
“I watch every Spartaks game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Ventspils runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout31 May 2027
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.
Match31 May 2027
Spartaks have something to play for
Position 4 on 14 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
Market31 May 2027
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Fábio Dias arrives at Spartaks with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.
Loan watch31 May 2027
10 appearances at Metta/LU and the goals keep coming. Spartaks are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Mar 2027
Vitalijs Stolcers damages knee ligaments — 48 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 48 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Spartaks can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Spartaks
Rrok Toma 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 dugout29 Mar 2027
“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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
At 24 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.
Loan watch29 Mar 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 Spartaks, and 2 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Feb 2027
Vitalijs Stolcers damages knee ligaments — 83 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 83 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Rrok Toma 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 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Spartaks
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Irad Mshindi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Jan 2027
Vitalijs Stolcers damages knee ligaments — 112 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 112 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
23 days out for Marcis Ikaunieks after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Spartaks will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market25 Jan 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Spartaks
Jeremiah Julius and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Salernitana have kept their man, and Spartaks go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Spartaks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bilal Yakubu 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 targets25 Jan 2027
A loan move for Daniel Afful is in the works
Spartaks have made the call to Egnatia Rrogozhinë. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Market25 Jan 2027
Everyone has stopped pretending: Jelgava will make the call about Marcis Ikaunieks this week. Spartaks have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Bilal Yakubu knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Spartaks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Dec 2026
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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Spartaks
Jeremiah Julius 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
At 27 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad23 Nov 2026
87 days out for Marcis Ikaunieks after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Spartaks will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad23 Nov 2026
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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Bilal Yakubu 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
Steady
Squad26 Oct 2026
117 days out for Marcis Ikaunieks after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Spartaks will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Spartaks
Eduards Fertovs and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Davis Laizans 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Spartaks
Eduards Fertovs 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 dugout28 Sep 2026
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.
Market28 Sep 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Eduards Fertovs’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 Aug 2026
Metta/LU come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Spartaks did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Everything agreed with Jelgava, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
No thanks: Henri Perk rejects the move
Spartaks had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Nomme Kalju, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
The offer went to Liepaja this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Spartaks offered $21.0K; Jelgava said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
Davis Laizans 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 Davis Laizans is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Aug 2026
Skonto come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Spartaks did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market10 Aug 2026
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Olegs Gabovs had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Eduards Fertovs and Spartaks agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Aleksandrs Zjuzins 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 targets10 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Liepaja have kept their man, and Spartaks go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Eduards Fertovs 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 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Alvis Fertovs
“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.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Liepaja 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.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
Olegs Dubra asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.