The Espanyol Sentinel
The dugout10 Sep 2029
Checkina Dzabatou Ecko says Espanyol went back on their word
“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.
Squad10 Sep 2029
Words at Espanyol training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. José Salinas 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 targets10 Sep 2029
Door shut on César Tárrega
Espanyol asked and Celta said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market10 Sep 2029
Espanyol may not be able to give Iván Franco what he wants
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Iván Franco wants continental football; whether Espanyol can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
The dugout10 Sep 2029
The manager makes an example of James Golding
“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.
Squad10 Sep 2029
Tempers go at Espanyol
Pablo López 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.
Squad10 Sep 2029
Too much change too quickly at Espanyol
9 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Squad10 Sep 2029
Jon Gómez stays put
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jon Gómez and Espanyol agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Loan watch10 Sep 2029
Tiziano Perrotta wants to come home
“I did not go to Málaga to sit and watch. I want to come back to Espanyol and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 6 matches say the rest.
In brief
- Market No place for Álex Calatrava in the plan
- Market Espanyol and James Golding are talking past each other
- Market The Javi Puado talk will not go away