Marked for Rokas Vaitkunas
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Sep 2029
82 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Utenis lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market10 Sep 2029
“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 The request is on a desk at Utenis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad10 Sep 2029
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Vykintas Kazlauskas has, at Utenis, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Squad10 Sep 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mantas Dubickas and Utenis agree another 3 years.
Squad10 Sep 2029
A falling-out at Utenis
Paulius Dapkus and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets10 Sep 2029
Zalgiris wanted more than $40.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Transfer targets10 Sep 2029
The window shuts on the Jakub Vlček deal
Utenis ran out of time with Trakai. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Market10 Sep 2029
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Loan watch10 Sep 2029
“I watch every Utenis game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Siauliai runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market29 Jan 2029
“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 The request is on a desk at Stumbras, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets29 Jan 2029
Stumbras have gone to Siauliai 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.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Edgaras Barauskas 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 Jan 2029
Words at Stumbras training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marko Capan 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 dugout29 Jan 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Edgaras Barauskas trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market29 Jan 2029
Stumbras have made Edgaras Sernas available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match25 Sep 2028
Stumbras sink to position 7
11 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market25 Sep 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 Stumbras, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Words exchanged at Stumbras
Alexandre Klopp 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.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Words at Stumbras training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Radek Křivánek 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 dugout25 Sep 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alexandre Klopp trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market25 Sep 2028
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Saba Tartarashvili has his answer from Stumbras; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Squad25 Sep 2028
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Stumbras are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
The dugout25 Sep 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.
Squad25 Sep 2028
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Stumbras will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Aug 2028
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Stumbras have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market14 Aug 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 Stumbras can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Words at Stumbras training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Radek Křivánek 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.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Every long career reaches the week the last one is thought about. He would like it to be where he started, and Stumbras know now that the thought has arrived.
Squad14 Aug 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 Stumbras this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Aug 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Edgaras Valskis commits to Stumbras for another 2 years.
Transfer targets14 Aug 2028
A loan move for Marko Capan is in the works
Stumbras have made the call to Zalgiris. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets14 Aug 2028
A loan enquiry to Zalgiris: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout14 Aug 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alexandre Klopp trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces7 Aug 2028
The mood at Stumbras 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.
Market7 Aug 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 Stumbras, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets7 Aug 2028
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Stumbras have done the hard part with Utenis, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
The dugout7 Aug 2028
This is not rotation. Hubert Muszyński has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Stumbras is pretending otherwise.
Squad7 Aug 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 Stumbras this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Stumbras are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad7 Aug 2028
A row about effort at Stumbras
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordan Konango Mbon was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Edgaras Valskis commits to Stumbras for another 2 years.
Market7 Aug 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Stumbras will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Jul 2028
27 days out for Radek Křivánek after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Stumbras will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market17 Jul 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 Stumbras, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market17 Jul 2028
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Utenis waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Stumbras is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Transfer targets17 Jul 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.
Squad17 Jul 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Klaudijus Upstas and Stumbras agree another 2 years.
Transfer targets17 Jul 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.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Radek Křivánek 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 Jul 2028
A row about effort at Stumbras
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordan Konango Mbon was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout17 Jul 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Stumbras, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market27 Mar 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 Stumbras, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad27 Mar 2028
A falling-out at Stumbras
Alexandre Klopp and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Rokas Vaitkunas trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match18 Mar 2028
19 matches without a win for Stumbras
The run now stands at 19, and the questions being asked around Stumbras are no longer polite ones.
The terraces20 Mar 2028
Supporters organise against the Stumbras board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Market20 Mar 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.
Market20 Mar 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Stumbras is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Words at Stumbras training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Radek Křivánek 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.
Match18 Mar 2028
1‑2 to Atlantas, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout20 Mar 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.
Squad20 Mar 2028
A falling-out at Stumbras
Darius Novikovas and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Loan watch20 Mar 2028
“I watch every Stumbras game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Suduva runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match20 Dec 2027
Stumbras sink to position 8
1 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market20 Dec 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 Stumbras, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad20 Dec 2027
69 days out for Akim Kabanov after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Stumbras will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad20 Dec 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 Stumbras this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Dec 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Modestas Jankauskas and Stumbras agree another 3 years.
Squad20 Dec 2027
A row about effort at Stumbras
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordan Konango Mbon was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad8 Nov 2027
112 days out for Akim Kabanov after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Stumbras will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market8 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 Stumbras, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words exchanged at Stumbras
Alexandre Klopp 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.
Squad8 Nov 2027
A row about effort at Stumbras
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordan Konango Mbon was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad8 Nov 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 Stumbras know it.
The dugout8 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.