The Naxxar Lions Post
Squad23 Aug 2027
The knee: Sekala Guehi out for 100 days
100 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Naxxar Lions lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad23 Aug 2027
44 days out for Gustavo Campos after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Naxxar Lions will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market23 Aug 2027
Vinicius Baiano has said yes to Marsaxlokk
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Naxxar Lions have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market23 Aug 2027
Sekala Guehi 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 Naxxar Lions can pretend not to have heard.
Market23 Aug 2027
Farias turns Mosta down
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Market23 Aug 2027
Naxxar Lions say no — this time
The offer from Tarxien Rainbows for Sekala Guehi was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Juan Hernández is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 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.
Squad23 Aug 2027
A late step up for Kleandro Kleandro
At 27 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
Door shut on Sbonelo Ngcobo
Naxxar Lions asked and Sliema Wanderers said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
In brief
- The dugout The manager makes an example of Jamie Azzopardi
- The dugout Gabriel Barbara knocks on the manager's door
- The dugout Théo Kruger keeps his manager's vote