Marked for Sam Sutton
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 Apr 2028
Thomas Miller damages knee ligaments — 47 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 47 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.
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Team Wellington
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Alex Singh in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Team Wellington this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Albert Korvah and Team Wellington agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 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.
Market3 Apr 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match3 May 2027
8 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Boardroom3 May 2027
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Squad3 May 2027
Jai McCowatt 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.
Squad3 May 2027
Sam Reid 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 May 2027
Thomas Miller 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.
Squad3 May 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Noah Payne and Team Wellington agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Mar 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 18 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The terraces29 Mar 2027
The mood at Team Wellington 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.
Boardroom29 Mar 2027
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Team Wellington is running low.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Matt Smith in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Team Wellington this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Thomas Miller 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
The medical room confirms 49 days on the sidelines for Dane Lockyer, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Mar 2027
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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Deklan Bell damages knee ligaments — 22 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 22 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.
The terraces1 Mar 2027
The mood at Team Wellington 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.
Boardroom1 Mar 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Team Wellington
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market1 Mar 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 Team Wellington can pretend not to have heard.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Alex Colvey: 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.” Team Wellington have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Aug 2026
Owen Jones 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.
Market17 Aug 2026
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Southern United will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Richard Harris 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kosta Bell and Southern United agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
Supporters make their feelings known about Richard Harris
The speculation has reached the stands, and the stands have answered. Southern United would like this settled before it becomes the only thing anybody asks about.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ben Kirwan and Team Wellington agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Sam Reid 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 Aug 2026
Matt Nelson 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
Market3 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Team Wellington can pretend not to have heard.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Sam Reid in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Team Wellington this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Tommy McCowatt and Team Wellington agree another 2 years.