Marked for Andre Pinto
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom18 Aug 2031
Pressure builds in the Ermis boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad18 Aug 2031
27 days out for Joao Pacheco after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Ermis will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Transfer targets18 Aug 2031
$1.1M settles it between the clubs for Pedro Ataíde
APOEL have accepted the money. What Ermis do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Squad18 Aug 2031
Tempers go at Ermis
Dimitris Dimitriou 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 Aug 2031
A row about effort at Ermis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sander Coopman was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad18 Aug 2031
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Andreas Zachariou and Ermis agree another 3 years.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Jul 2031
Diego Martínez damages knee ligaments — 21 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 21 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.
Market28 Jul 2031
“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.
Transfer targets28 Jul 2031
The deal with APOEL is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad28 Jul 2031
Words exchanged at Ermis
Ivaylo Naydenov 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 Jul 2031
A row about effort at Ermis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sander Coopman was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad28 Jul 2031
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nicholas Artymatas and Ermis agree another 4 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Jul 2031
A knee injury of the worst kind for Diego Martínez
42 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ermis lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom7 Jul 2031
Interim Coach has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Ermis can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Boardroom7 Jul 2031
Emergency meeting at Ermis
The whole football department in one room on a weekday morning. Nothing was announced afterwards, which is what a board announces when it has run out of patience.
Market7 Jul 2031
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ermis can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets7 Jul 2031
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. APOEL have kept their man, and Ermis go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad7 Jul 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ermis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Jul 2031
Words at Ermis training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sander Coopman 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.
Boardroom7 Jul 2031
5 new boys at the Ermis academy
Signed today, seen by nobody for years, and one of them may one day be the reason the club exists. That is the whole of the argument for an academy, and it is a good one.
The dugout7 Jul 2031
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Jun 2031
A knee injury of the worst kind for Diego Martínez
63 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ermis lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Transfer targets16 Jun 2031
Everything agreed with APOEL, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad16 Jun 2031
A falling-out at Ermis
Dimitris Dimitriou and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Jun 2031
Sander Coopman 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.
Squad16 Jun 2031
The medical room confirms 36 days on the sidelines for Ioannis Ioannou, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Market16 Jun 2031
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Ermis have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
The dugout16 Jun 2031
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Andreas Zachariou, and the manager let it.
The dugout16 Jun 2031
Marios Demetriou has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Ermis 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 dugout16 Jun 2031
The manager makes Andre Pinto a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Ermis. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
In brief
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Boardroom
The Ermis academy earns its keep
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The dugout
The manager plants his flag on Leontios Kalaitzis
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Match
Nothing left to play for but pride at Ermis
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 May 2031
84 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Ermis lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The terraces26 May 2031
The mood at Ermis 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.
Boardroom26 May 2031
The scrutiny sharpens at Ermis
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Ermis is running low.
Squad26 May 2031
Words exchanged at Ermis
Ivaylo Naydenov 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.
Squad26 May 2031
Sander Coopman 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 dugout26 May 2031
Giannis Saregos 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 May 2031
Diego Martínez damages knee ligaments — 105 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 105 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.
Boardroom5 May 2031
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Interim Coach has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Squad5 May 2031
“The easiest signature of my career.” Alexandros Parras and Ermis agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad5 May 2031
Tempers go at Ermis
Dimitris Dimitriou 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.
Squad5 May 2031
Words at Ermis training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sander Coopman 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 dugout5 May 2031
“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
Crisis
Match14 Sep 2030
The wait goes on for Ermis
14 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The terraces16 Sep 2030
Anger at Ermis spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Squad16 Sep 2030
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad16 Sep 2030
A falling-out at Ermis
Ivaylo Naydenov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Sep 2030
Andre Pinto 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.
Squad16 Sep 2030
A row about effort at Ermis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sander Coopman was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match14 Sep 2030
Ermis cannot find the net
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Match14 Sep 2030
Paralimni left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout16 Sep 2030
“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
Crisis
The terraces19 Aug 2030
Anger at Ermis spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Boardroom19 Aug 2030
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Ermis
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad19 Aug 2030
A falling-out at Ermis
Ivaylo Naydenov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Aug 2030
Andre Pinto 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.
The dugout19 Aug 2030
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad19 Aug 2030
Words at Ermis training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandros Parras 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 dugout19 Aug 2030
“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.
Squad19 Aug 2030
“The easiest signature of my career.” David Ben-Lulu and Ermis agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout19 Aug 2030
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ermis, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Transfer targets15 Jul 2030
The clubs have shaken hands with Ethnikos Achnas; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
The dugout15 Jul 2030
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Transfer targets15 Jul 2030
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: AE Kition keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad15 Jul 2030
Words exchanged at Ermis
Ivaylo Naydenov 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.
Squad15 Jul 2030
Words at Ermis training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sander Coopman 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.
Squad15 Jul 2030
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Andre Pinto commits to Ermis for another 4 years.
Market15 Jul 2030
Still no signature from Bruno Silva
2 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Ermis could get for him.
Squad15 Jul 2030
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Ermis has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Market15 Jul 2030
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Dimitris Dimitriou’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.