Marked for Magnus Odegaard
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 May 2034
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kolding IF this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 May 2034
A row about effort at Kolding IF
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pascal Estrada was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom29 May 2034
129% of the income goes out in wages at Kolding IF
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.
The dugout29 May 2034
The manager makes an example of Jonas Seidel
“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 dugout29 May 2034
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Magnus Odegaard trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout29 May 2034
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom15 May 2034
Pressure builds in the Kolding IF boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
The terraces15 May 2034
The mood at Kolding IF 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.
Squad15 May 2034
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kolding IF this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout15 May 2034
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kevin Haveri, and the manager let it.
Market15 May 2034
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Squad15 May 2034
Ojimade Favour 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.
Squad15 May 2034
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Kolding IF has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Market15 May 2034
1 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Kolding IF could get for him.
The dugout15 May 2034
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Kolding IF. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 Apr 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.
Market24 Apr 2034
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kolding IF they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad24 Apr 2034
Frederik Ellegaard 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.
Squad24 Apr 2034
A row about effort at Kolding IF
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ojimade Favour was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market24 Apr 2034
6 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Kolding IF money.
The dugout24 Apr 2034
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
The dugout24 Apr 2034
Ojimade Favour knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ojimade Favour trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Boardroom24 Apr 2034
78 graduates from an academy now rated 7 out of 20. A club this size does not survive any other way, and every name on that list is known in the town.
Squad24 Apr 2034
Luca Dest 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
The terraces17 Apr 2034
The mood at Kolding IF 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.
Boardroom17 Apr 2034
Pressure builds in the Kolding IF boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad17 Apr 2034
Frederik Ellegaard and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 Apr 2034
A row about effort at Kolding IF
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pascal Estrada was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad17 Apr 2034
“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; Kolding IF are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout17 Apr 2034
The manager makes an example of Magnus Odegaard
“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 dugout17 Apr 2034
A promise honoured at Kolding IF
Something was said to Raphael Amponsah and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Squad17 Apr 2034
“I want to play”: Emil Morgan speaks
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Market17 Apr 2034
The clock does Magnus Odegaard’s negotiating for him
2 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Kolding IF could ask drops and the wages Magnus Odegaard can ask rise.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Apr 2034
A row about effort at Kolding IF
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pascal Estrada was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad10 Apr 2034
Kamal Abdullahi 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.
Squad10 Apr 2034
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Kolding IF know it.
The dugout10 Apr 2034
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Emil Morgan, and the manager let it.
Squad10 Apr 2034
5 new faces, and Kolding IF are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout10 Apr 2034
Magnus Odegaard 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom3 Apr 2034
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.
Boardroom3 Apr 2034
The official line will be that it was routine. It was not routine, the timing says so, and every person in that room knows what the next bad result costs.
Squad3 Apr 2034
Frederik Ellegaard 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.
Squad3 Apr 2034
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Emil Morgan and Kolding IF agree another 4 years.
Boardroom3 Apr 2034
135% of the income goes out in wages at Kolding IF
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.
Squad3 Apr 2034
A row about effort at Kolding IF
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ojimade Favour was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout3 Apr 2034
The manager's exit leaves Victor Halvorsen exposed
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Victor Halvorsen is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
The dugout3 Apr 2034
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mohamad Aliko, and the manager let it.
Market3 Apr 2034
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces20 Mar 2034
The mood at Kolding IF 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.
Boardroom20 Mar 2034
Pressure builds in the Kolding IF boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad20 Mar 2034
Frederik Ellegaard and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad20 Mar 2034
Pascal Estrada 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 dugout20 Mar 2034
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Oscar Skovsbøl, and the manager let it.
The dugout20 Mar 2034
Maksym Kartashev 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.
The dugout20 Mar 2034
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Magnus Odegaard has written the date down.
Market20 Mar 2034
The clock does Magnus Odegaard’s negotiating for him
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Kolding IF could ask drops and the wages Magnus Odegaard can ask rise.
Squad20 Mar 2034
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Kolding IF would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market27 Feb 2034
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Kolding IF is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad27 Feb 2034
Frederik Ellegaard 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.
Squad27 Feb 2034
Pascal Estrada 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 dugout27 Feb 2034
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Magnus Odegaard, and the manager let it.
The dugout27 Feb 2034
Ojimade Favour 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.
Squad27 Feb 2034
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Kolding IF would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces20 Feb 2034
The mood at Kolding IF 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.
Boardroom20 Feb 2034
The scrutiny sharpens at Kolding IF
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Kolding IF is running low.
Squad20 Feb 2034
Kamal Abdullahi 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.
Squad20 Feb 2034
Ojimade Favour 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 dugout20 Feb 2034
Kevin Haveri knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Kolding IF, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad20 Feb 2034
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Kolding IF will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
The dugout20 Feb 2034
“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 dugout20 Feb 2034
Emil Morgan has been promised minutes
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Emil Morgan has written the date down.
Market20 Feb 2034
3 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Kolding IF could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market13 Feb 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 Kolding IF, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad13 Feb 2034
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kolding IF this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Feb 2034
Marcus Olsen gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Marcus Olsen has just signed for Kolding IF, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad13 Feb 2034
Words at Kolding IF training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Pascal Estrada 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 targets13 Feb 2034
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. AGF have kept their man, and Kolding IF go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout13 Feb 2034
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Raphael Amponsah, and the manager let it.
Squad13 Feb 2034
Kolding IF are still strangers to each other
6 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout13 Feb 2034
Kevin Haveri 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.
Market13 Feb 2034
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Kolding IF, another week without a signature from Magnus Odegaard.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces23 Jan 2034
Anger at Kolding IF spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Boardroom23 Jan 2034
Pressure builds in the Kolding IF boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market23 Jan 2034
Henry King 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 Kolding IF can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets23 Jan 2034
Kolding IF have gone to Viborg with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Squad23 Jan 2034
Frederik Ellegaard and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad23 Jan 2034
Words at Kolding IF training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Pascal Estrada 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 targets23 Jan 2034
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. FC Nordsjaelland have kept their man, and Kolding IF go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout23 Jan 2034
The manager makes an example of Pascal Estrada
“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.
Market23 Jan 2034
Kolding IF have made Edvard Bjerkaas available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Jan 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.
Transfer targets16 Jan 2034
Everything agreed with Brondby, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets16 Jan 2034
The offer went to FC Fredericia this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad16 Jan 2034
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kolding IF this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Jan 2034
Pascal Estrada 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 targets16 Jan 2034
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.
The dugout16 Jan 2034
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Magnus Odegaard, and the manager let it.
Transfer targets16 Jan 2034
A loan enquiry to OB: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Market16 Jan 2034
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Nov 2033
A one-man rearguard from Niek Janssen
There were 6 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.
The dugout21 Nov 2033
Ojimade Favour: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Kolding IF have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad21 Nov 2033
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kolding IF this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Nov 2033
A row about effort at Kolding IF
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pascal Estrada was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market21 Nov 2033
Henry King told to find a new club
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Henry King has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Kolding IF.
Match19 Nov 2033
Middelfart made Kolding IF work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings21 Nov 2033
A performance of 8.26 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The dugout21 Nov 2033
“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 dugout21 Nov 2033
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match14 Nov 2033
14 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
The dugout14 Nov 2033
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Kolding IF may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad14 Nov 2033
Henry King and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Nov 2033
A row about effort at Kolding IF
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pascal Estrada was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Looking ahead14 Nov 2033
Both clubs in the mire, one fixture between them, and a ground that will be louder and more frightened than at any point in the season. Kolding IF know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.
The dugout14 Nov 2033
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mohamad Aliko, and the manager let it.
The dugout14 Nov 2033
Henry King 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.
Market14 Nov 2033
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Kolding IF, another week without a signature from Magnus Odegaard.
Looking ahead14 Nov 2033
Middelfart next, and one man in the Kolding IF dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.