The Utenis Chronicle
Match11 Sep 2028
Every point is an argument now for Utenis
Position 8 and 10 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Market11 Sep 2028
Donatas Kazlauskas 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 Utenis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Tempers go at Utenis
Paulius Dapkus 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.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Words at Utenis training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Coby Ebere 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 dugout11 Sep 2028
No hiding place for Breno Nolasco
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Breno Nolasco, and the manager let it.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Home is on André Eriksson's mind
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Utenis are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Market11 Sep 2028
Nikita Semenenko already looking beyond Utenis
He signed expecting a bigger stage than the one he found. It has not taken long, and it has not taken the dressing room long to notice either.
Market11 Sep 2028
Utenis sign Marko Orsic, one for the future
Marko Orsic is 18, and Utenis 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.
Market11 Sep 2028
Utenis sign Andrei Dragusin, one for the future
Andrei Dragusin is 18, and Utenis 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.
In brief
- Squad Utenis are still strangers to each other
- The dugout Tadas Jankauskas knocks on the manager's door
- Boardroom The Utenis academy earns its keep