The Tailevu Naitasiri Gazette
The terraces28 May 2035
The mood at Tailevu Naitasiri 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.
Match26 May 2035
9 matches without a win for Tailevu Naitasiri
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Tailevu Naitasiri are no longer polite ones.
Boardroom28 May 2035
Pressure builds in the Tailevu Naitasiri boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market28 May 2035
Nickel Jale puts it in writing
“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 The request is on a desk at Tailevu Naitasiri, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings28 May 2035
No sign of nerves from Christopher Nabenia at 17 — 7.70
The hardest thing about being 17 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Christopher Nabenia did not need any: 7.70, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad28 May 2035
Usaia Tamaniqio 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 Tailevu Naitasiri this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces28 May 2035
The crowd has taken to Christopher Nabenia
At 17 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Squad28 May 2035
Words at Tailevu Naitasiri training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ravikash Krishna 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.
Squad28 May 2035
Patrick Singh out for 37 days
The medical room confirms 37 days on the sidelines for Patrick Singh, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
In brief
- Match Tailevu Naitasiri and Nadi take a point apiece
- Squad Filipe Verevou gets it from the manager
- Player ratings Nobody could get near Josaia Kaumaitotoya