Marked for Patrick Berge
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 Mar 2036
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Tromso have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market31 Mar 2036
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tromso can pretend not to have heard.
Market31 Mar 2036
Only the photograph left for Patrick Berge
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Patrick Berge will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tromso the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The dugout31 Mar 2036
This is not rotation. Fredrik Ajer has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Tromso is pretending otherwise.
Market31 Mar 2036
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Tromso will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad31 Mar 2036
A row about effort at Tromso
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giovanni Giunti was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market25 Feb 2036
“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.
Market25 Feb 2036
Raufoss come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Tromso did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market25 Feb 2036
Patrick Berge has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tromso they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market25 Feb 2036
The name of Fredrik Ajer has come up in conversations Tromso were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad25 Feb 2036
Tempers go at Tromso
Giovanni Giunti 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.
Squad25 Feb 2036
Words at Tromso training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Adam Andersen 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.
Transfer targets25 Feb 2036
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.
Transfer targets25 Feb 2036
A loan enquiry to KFUM Oslo: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Boardroom25 Feb 2036
Nobody arrives at Tromso until somebody leaves
The club is not barred from spending; it simply has nothing to spend that it has not first raised. Every name linked with Tromso this window arrives with a name leaving in the same sentence.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Jan 2036
“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 Tromso, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market28 Jan 2036
Patrick Berge has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tromso they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad28 Jan 2036
Giovanni Giunti 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.
Squad28 Jan 2036
Tempers go at Tromso
Mathias Johansen 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.
Boardroom28 Jan 2036
Tromso have to sell first
The manager has a list and the board has a condition attached to it. That is not a crisis — half of football works this way — but it decides which of the two of them gets his way in August.
The dugout28 Jan 2036
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Tromso, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market28 Jan 2036
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Hakon Odegaard signs something — a contract at Tromso or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market28 Jan 2036
Tromso have made Hakon Odegaard available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Squad28 Jan 2036
Adam Andersen is not doing himself any favours
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom21 Jan 2036
The scrutiny sharpens at Tromso
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Tromso is running low.
Market21 Jan 2036
“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 Tromso, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market21 Jan 2036
Only the photograph left for Bjorn Daehli
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bjorn Daehli will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tromso the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad21 Jan 2036
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tromso this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Jan 2036
Adam Andersen 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 dugout21 Jan 2036
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Tromso, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout21 Jan 2036
The manager makes an example of Patrick Berge
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout21 Jan 2036
Bjorn Daehli is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Market21 Jan 2036
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Tromso know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 Dec 2035
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tromso can pretend not to have heard.
Market31 Dec 2035
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tromso is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad31 Dec 2035
Giovanni Giunti 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.
Boardroom31 Dec 2035
Tromso have to sell first
The manager has a list and the board has a condition attached to it. That is not a crisis — half of football works this way — but it decides which of the two of them gets his way in August.
The dugout31 Dec 2035
Patrick Ryerson 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.
Market31 Dec 2035
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Hakon Odegaard signs something — a contract at Tromso or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom3 Dec 2035
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 Tromso can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market3 Dec 2035
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tromso can pretend not to have heard.
Market3 Dec 2035
Only the photograph left for Patrick Berge
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Patrick Berge will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tromso the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad3 Dec 2035
A falling-out at Tromso
Henrik Riise and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 Dec 2035
A row about effort at Tromso
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giovanni Giunti was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad3 Dec 2035
A month that belonged to Fredrik Ajer
The young player of the month award goes to a 20-year-old at Tromso who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.
Squad3 Dec 2035
No place for Henrik Riise in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Tromso are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Market3 Dec 2035
“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.
Boardroom3 Dec 2035
Tromso have to sell first
The manager has a list and the board has a condition attached to it. That is not a crisis — half of football works this way — but it decides which of the two of them gets his way in August.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom5 Nov 2035
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.
Market5 Nov 2035
“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 Tromso, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market5 Nov 2035
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tromso is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Boardroom5 Nov 2035
Tromso counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Tromso now.
Squad5 Nov 2035
Giovanni Giunti 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.
Squad5 Nov 2035
Tempers go at Tromso
Martin Strandberg 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.
The terraces5 Nov 2035
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Kristian Linnes has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Player ratings5 Nov 2035
A performance of 8.03 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad5 Nov 2035
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom8 Oct 2035
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 Tromso can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Match6 Oct 2035
Nowhere to hide for Tromso
0‑3 against Åsane, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Market8 Oct 2035
“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 Tromso, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match6 Oct 2035
5 matches without a win for Tromso
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Tromso are no longer polite ones.
Market8 Oct 2035
Patrick Berge has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tromso they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad8 Oct 2035
Appearance number 500 for Mads Sande
500 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Boardroom8 Oct 2035
Belts tighten at Tromso
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
Squad8 Oct 2035
Words at Tromso training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giovanni Giunti 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.
Squad8 Oct 2035
Tempers go at Tromso
Mads Sande 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.
In brief
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The dugout
No hiding place for Oscar Pedersen
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Boardroom
Nobody left the Tromso dressing room in a hurry
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market10 Sep 2035
“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 Tromso, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad10 Sep 2035
26 days out for Einar Jølle after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Tromso will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market10 Sep 2035
Only the photograph left for Patrick Berge
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Patrick Berge will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tromso the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom10 Sep 2035
Belts tighten at Tromso
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
Squad10 Sep 2035
A row about effort at Tromso
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giovanni Giunti was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad10 Sep 2035
A falling-out at Tromso
Bjorn Daehli and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout10 Sep 2035
Fredrik Ajer gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Fredrik Ajer is on it.
The dugout10 Sep 2035
The manager makes an example of Lars Linnes
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout10 Sep 2035
Bjorn Daehli is still paying for one afternoon at Tromso
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market13 Aug 2035
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Tromso have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market13 Aug 2035
“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.
Squad13 Aug 2035
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Market13 Aug 2035
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tromso is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Boardroom13 Aug 2035
Belts tighten at Tromso
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
Squad13 Aug 2035
A row about effort at Tromso
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giovanni Giunti was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match11 Aug 2035
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout13 Aug 2035
Fredrik Ajer gets it from the manager
“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.
The dugout13 Aug 2035
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market23 Jul 2035
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Haugesund waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Tromso is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market23 Jul 2035
Aalesund come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Tromso did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market23 Jul 2035
Patrick Berge hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tromso can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets23 Jul 2035
Everything agreed with Brann, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad23 Jul 2035
A row about effort at Tromso
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giovanni Giunti was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad23 Jul 2035
At 37, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
Transfer targets23 Jul 2035
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Molde have kept their man, and Tromso go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The terraces23 Jul 2035
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Patrick Ryerson has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The dugout23 Jul 2035
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Hakon Odegaard, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Jul 2035
“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.
The dugout16 Jul 2035
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market16 Jul 2035
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tromso is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match14 Jul 2035
The drought breaks for Tromso
7 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Mjondalen were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Boardroom16 Jul 2035
The numbers do not look good at Tromso
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Squad16 Jul 2035
Words at Tromso training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giovanni Giunti 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 terraces16 Jul 2035
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Kristian Linnes has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Match14 Jul 2035
Three points for Tromso, 2‑0 the final word against Mjondalen in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings16 Jul 2035
Ninety minutes of Giovanni Giunti at his very best
Marked 8.07. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Tromso.
In brief
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Player ratings
Kristian Linnes was on a different afternoon to everybody else
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Match
Tromso at the halfway mark
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Squad
Words exchanged at Tromso
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad18 Jun 2035
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market18 Jun 2035
Only the photograph left for Patrick Berge
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Patrick Berge will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tromso the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Match16 Jun 2035
4 matches without a win for Tromso
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Tromso are no longer polite ones.
Boardroom18 Jun 2035
The numbers do not look good at Tromso
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Squad18 Jun 2035
Words at Tromso training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giovanni Giunti 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.
Match16 Jun 2035
Tromso come up short against Åsane
Åsane left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout18 Jun 2035
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Hakon Odegaard, and the manager let it.
The dugout18 Jun 2035
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Player ratings18 Jun 2035
Ten men and a goalkeeper behind him, and it still finished in the net. He knew before anybody told him, and nobody at Tromso needed to.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match19 May 2035
Tromso strike at the death to beat Moss
There were 89 minutes on the clock and Moss had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Tromso did not stop to explain themselves.
Player ratings21 May 2035
Lars Sorloth, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.13
A mark of 8.13 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Market21 May 2035
Patrick Berge has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tromso they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom21 May 2035
The numbers do not look good at Tromso
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Match19 May 2035
It finished 3‑2, and it was Kristian Linnes’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Tromso.
Squad21 May 2035
Giovanni Giunti 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.
Squad21 May 2035
A falling-out at Tromso
Lars Sorloth and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces21 May 2035
At 22 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.
Player ratings21 May 2035
A performance of 8.26 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market23 Apr 2035
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tromso is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Boardroom23 Apr 2035
The approach has been made to Rodina and the answer is somebody else's to give. These things are settled in private and reported in public, usually in that order.
Boardroom23 Apr 2035
The numbers do not look good at Tromso
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Squad23 Apr 2035
A row about effort at Tromso
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giovanni Giunti was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Apr 2035
“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.
Match21 Apr 2035
A bad afternoon for Tromso against HamKam
0‑1 to HamKam, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad23 Apr 2035
A falling-out at Tromso
Kristian Pedersen and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout23 Apr 2035
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad23 Apr 2035
Alexander Bohinen, 20, is the weekend’s best young player
Measured against every other kid in the division and first among them. The senior award is where Tromso would like this to lead.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom2 Apr 2035
Tromso spell it out for the manager
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. the manager has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Boardroom2 Apr 2035
Emergency meeting at Tromso
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.
Boardroom2 Apr 2035
Tromso close the window on a squad of their own making
0 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Market2 Apr 2035
Egersund come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Tromso did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Transfer targets2 Apr 2035
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Tromso have done the hard part with Lyn, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad2 Apr 2035
Lars Sorloth 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 Tromso this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Apr 2035
Words at Tromso training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giovanni Giunti 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.
Squad2 Apr 2035
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Martin Strandberg and Tromso agree another 4 years.
Boardroom2 Apr 2035
89% of the income goes out in wages at Tromso
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad26 Mar 2035
Alexander Pedersen damages knee ligaments — 15 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 15 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.
Market26 Mar 2035
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Tromso have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market26 Mar 2035
Fredrik Berge hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tromso can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Mar 2035
At 20, Lars Sorloth is already the best thing here
An average of 7.06 in a first team he is several years too young for. Tromso have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Market26 Mar 2035
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tromso is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Transfer targets26 Mar 2035
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Tromso have done the hard part with Åsane, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad26 Mar 2035
Words at Tromso training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giovanni Giunti 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.
Squad26 Mar 2035
Words exchanged at Tromso
Mads Sande 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.
Boardroom26 Mar 2035
The numbers do not look good at Tromso
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad26 Feb 2035
49 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Tromso lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market26 Feb 2035
“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.
Squad26 Feb 2035
At 20, Lars Sorloth is already the best thing here
An average of 7.06 in a first team he is several years too young for. Tromso have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Market26 Feb 2035
Patrick Berge has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tromso they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Transfer targets26 Feb 2035
No thanks: Mark Dömötör rejects the move
Tromso had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Stabaek, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad26 Feb 2035
Giovanni Giunti 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.
Transfer targets26 Feb 2035
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Brann have kept their man, and Tromso go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad26 Feb 2035
A falling-out at Tromso
Bjorn Daehli and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets26 Feb 2035
Sogndal have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 Feb 2035
64 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Tromso lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market12 Feb 2035
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Egersund waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Tromso is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market12 Feb 2035
Noah Berger hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tromso can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets12 Feb 2035
Everything agreed with Sogndal, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad12 Feb 2035
Tempers go at Tromso
Lars Sorloth 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.
Squad12 Feb 2035
Words at Tromso training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giovanni Giunti 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.
Transfer targets12 Feb 2035
Tromso asked and KFUM Oslo said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout12 Feb 2035
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kristian Linnes trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout12 Feb 2035
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
Crisis
Squad5 Feb 2035
Alexander Pedersen damages knee ligaments — 72 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 72 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 Feb 2035
the manager has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Tromso can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market5 Feb 2035
Lars Sorloth hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tromso can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout5 Feb 2035
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Tromso may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad5 Feb 2035
A row about effort at Tromso
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giovanni Giunti was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad5 Feb 2035
Tempers go at Tromso
Mads Sande 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.
Transfer targets5 Feb 2035
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Molde have kept their man, and Tromso go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Boardroom5 Feb 2035
Wages swallow 95% of the Tromso income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
Transfer targets5 Feb 2035
A loan enquiry to KFUM Oslo: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad25 Dec 2034
Patrick Berge damages knee ligaments — 88 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 88 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.
Boardroom25 Dec 2034
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Tromso
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market25 Dec 2034
“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.
Squad25 Dec 2034
A row about effort at Tromso
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giovanni Giunti was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout25 Dec 2034
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Tromso, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout25 Dec 2034
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Patrick Ryerson is on it.
Market25 Dec 2034
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Adam Andersen signs something — a contract at Tromso or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Boardroom25 Dec 2034
The Tromso production line keeps running
107 graduates out of an academy now rated 11 out of 20. Clubs this size survive on exactly that, and the town knows every name.
Match25 Dec 2034
Mid-table, and Tromso know it
Position 9 on 40 points, with the season drifting toward the summer. It is the safest place in football and the hardest one to sell a season ticket from.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad4 Dec 2034
Aleksander Sulland damages knee ligaments — 17 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 17 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.
Boardroom4 Dec 2034
the manager has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Tromso can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market4 Dec 2034
“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 Tromso, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad4 Dec 2034
He is 20, he is averaging 7.06, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Squad4 Dec 2034
“The easiest signature of my career.” Mads Sande and Tromso agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad4 Dec 2034
Words at Tromso training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giovanni Giunti 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 dugout4 Dec 2034
A promise honoured at Tromso
Something was said to Lars Sorloth and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Boardroom4 Dec 2034
Tromso counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Tromso now.
The dugout4 Dec 2034
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Patrick Berge, and the manager let it.