Chris Lloyd

Attacking Midfielder (R) - Navua
4 Jan 2031
Saturday
Process
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Marked for Chris Lloyd

231 Edition

The Navua Chronicle

30 Dec 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad30 Dec 2030

A knee injury of the worst kind for Chris Lloyd

31 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Navua lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad30 Dec 2030

A falling-out at Navua

Abhishek Ram and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Boardroom30 Dec 2030

Embargo at Navua

No fees may be paid for anybody, whatever the squad needs. Every rumour about this club until it lifts is a rumour about a deal that cannot be done.

Squad30 Dec 2030

Christopher Sorovi stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Christopher Sorovi and Navua agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad30 Dec 2030

Words at Navua training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tommy Payne 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 dugout30 Dec 2030

No hiding place for Christopher Sorovi

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Christopher Sorovi, and the manager let it.

In brief

Back issues
230 Edition

The Navua Chronicle

23 Dec 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The terraces23 Dec 2030

Supporters organise against the Navua 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.

Squad23 Dec 2030

Chris Lloyd damages knee ligaments — 38 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 38 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.

Squad23 Dec 2030

Abhishek Ram 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 Navua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Boardroom23 Dec 2030

Navua are $4.4M in the red

The borrowing is past what the bank agreed, which is the line where a debt stops being how football is financed and starts being a problem. Every phone-in in this town will quote the figure for the next five years.

Squad23 Dec 2030

Tommy Payne 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.

Market23 Dec 2030

The Tommy Rufer story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Tommy Rufer signs something — a contract at Navua or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

In brief

229 Edition

The Navua Chronicle

16 Dec 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom16 Dec 2030

The scrutiny sharpens at Navua

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Navua is running low.

Squad16 Dec 2030

A knee injury of the worst kind for Chris Lloyd

45 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Navua lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad16 Dec 2030

Tempers go at Navua

Jack Wale 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.

Market16 Dec 2030

Amani Waqa steps up from the Navua academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Amani Waqa has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Market16 Dec 2030

Navua promote Tuimasi Waqa from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Tuimasi Waqa has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Market16 Dec 2030

Navua promote Sakaraia Jale from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Sakaraia Jale has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

In brief

173 Edition

The Navua Chronicle

19 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom19 Nov 2029

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Navua

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Squad19 Nov 2029

A falling-out at Navua

Jack Wale and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Market19 Nov 2029

Navua sign Chris Lloyd, one for the future

Chris Lloyd is 18, and Navua have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.

Squad19 Nov 2029

Chris Lloyd signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Chris Lloyd and Navua agree another 3 years.

Squad19 Nov 2029

The formation has left Chris Lloyd behind

Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Navua will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.

The dugout19 Nov 2029

Andre Kudus 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.

In brief