The Pieta Hotspurs Herald
The terraces21 May 2029
The mood at Pieta Hotspurs 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.
Boardroom21 May 2029
Pressure builds in the Pieta Hotspurs boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Match21 May 2029
Pieta Hotspurs are in real trouble now
Position 16, 13 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market21 May 2029
Ivin Gatt 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 Pieta Hotspurs can pretend not to have heard.
Squad21 May 2029
Words exchanged at Pieta Hotspurs
Andrew Borg 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.
Squad21 May 2029
Words at Pieta Hotspurs training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Augusto Cáseres 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.
Boardroom21 May 2029
Pieta Hotspurs cannot sign anybody
The embargo bars a fee being paid for a player, whatever the manager thinks the squad needs. Every rumour printed about this club between now and its lifting is a rumour about a deal that cannot happen.
The dugout21 May 2029
Merab Nemsadze is still paying for one afternoon at Pieta Hotspurs
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.
The dugout21 May 2029
The manager makes an example of Anton Borg
“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.
In brief
- Market The Cleiton Thiesen question follows Pieta Hotspurs around
- The dugout Kevin Grech knocks on the manager's door
- Squad Brian Muscat is not doing himself any favours