Shapi Suleymanov 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.
“I watch every Sporting Kansas City game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at FC Dallas runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Sporting Kansas City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting Kansas City can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Sporting Kansas City can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
“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 The request is on a desk at Sporting Kansas City, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Sporting Kansas City game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at FC Dallas runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Shapi Suleymanov 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sporting Kansas City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Position 15 and 24 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting Kansas City can pretend not to have heard.
John Pulskamp 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.
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Sporting Kansas City have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Shapi Suleymanov 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sporting Kansas City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting Kansas City can pretend not to have heard.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 30 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Lasse Berg Johnsen signs something — a contract at Sporting Kansas City or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting Kansas City can pretend not to have heard.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Sporting Kansas City may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
12 days since the seat came open, a list of names doing the rounds, and nobody has signed anything. Every week this drags on the shortlist gets shorter.
“I watch every Sporting Kansas City game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Minnesota United FC runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 38 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Position 15 and 21 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.
“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 Sporting Kansas City, and it is not being withdrawn.
“I am not thinking past Saturday, and I would advise nobody else to.” The caretaker’s first rule is to pretend the job is small; Jordan Pepi recited it perfectly.
Lasse Berg Johnsen 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting Kansas City can pretend not to have heard.
Martín Pérez Guedes 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.
“I watch every Sporting Kansas City game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at FC Dallas runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sporting Kansas City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“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 Sporting Kansas City, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sporting Kansas City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Lasse Berg Johnsen 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Manu García. 2‑1 against LA Galaxy, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Joel Waterman.
“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 Sporting Kansas City, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.79 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
10 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Sporting Kansas City game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Minnesota United FC runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Sporting Kansas City has to find a result from somewhere.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Sean Tillman has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
The chase for Nehuén Benedetti ended with $2.6M changing hands and New York Red Bulls out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
The chase for Yutaro Tsukada ended with $2.3M changing hands and Orlando City out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Sporting Kansas City may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Sporting Kansas City has to find a result from somewhere.
“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 Sporting Kansas City, and it is not being withdrawn.
The fee is $2.2M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. LA Galaxy drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Position 15 and 13 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting Kansas City can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sporting Kansas City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Sporting Kansas City game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Minnesota United FC runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
1‑4 to FC Dallas, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
“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 Sporting Kansas City, and it is not being withdrawn.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Sporting Kansas City may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Sporting Kansas City is running low.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Shapi Suleymanov 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting Kansas City can pretend not to have heard.
Besiktas paid $14.7M and Sporting Kansas City took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sporting Kansas City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Kye Rowles 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.
Shapi Suleymanov 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.
Shots: 12. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Sporting Kansas City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
1‑4 against Minnesota United FC, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting Kansas City can pretend not to have heard.
The phone has started ringing about Dejan Joveljić again, and this time the name on the line is Besiktas. Sporting Kansas City are listening politely and promising nothing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.48 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Sporting Kansas City may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Manu García 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.
“I did not go to Minnesota United FC to sit and watch. I want to come back to Sporting Kansas City and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
Shots: 6. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
10 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Manu García 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.
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Sporting Kansas City has to find a result from somewhere.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I did not go to Minnesota United FC to sit and watch. I want to come back to Sporting Kansas City and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Emir Karić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Shapi Suleymanov 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.
Shots: 6. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Sporting Kansas City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Zorhan Bassong 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 33 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The fee is $740.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Chicago Fire drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Justin Reynolds and Sporting Kansas City agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Marked 7.70 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Sporting Kansas City had the best player on the pitch.
Manu García 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Austin FC defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The chase for Ricky Louis ended with $500.0K changing hands and FC Dallas out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Martín Pérez Guedes and Sporting Kansas City agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The shirt still fits. Brenden Tillman is back at Sporting Kansas City, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Dylan Acosta is a Sporting Kansas City player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Jordan Sargent is a Sporting Kansas City player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Pablo Lara 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.
Calvin Harris 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.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Sporting Kansas City would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Sporting Kansas City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Pablo Lara 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sporting Kansas City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sporting Kansas City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The shirt still fits. Chris Rindov is back at Sporting Kansas City, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
A new face in his position, and Martín Pérez Guedes suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Sporting Kansas City have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Sporting Kansas City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sporting Kansas City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting Kansas City is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and John Pulskamp trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“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 Sporting Kansas City, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sporting Kansas City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
John Pulskamp 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sporting Kansas City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Sporting Kansas City could ask drops and the wages Stephen Afrifa can ask rise.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting Kansas City is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sporting Kansas City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Stephen Afrifa will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting Kansas City the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting Kansas City they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
John Pulskamp 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sporting Kansas City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting Kansas City they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting Kansas City is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Shots: 11. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sporting Kansas City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
Marked 8.56 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sporting Kansas City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting Kansas City can pretend not to have heard.
John Pulskamp 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.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Sporting Kansas City has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Out, 2‑2 to Los Angeles Football Club, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Pablo Lara: 1 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting Kansas City is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting Kansas City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.77 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 8.18 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 38 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Wyatt Meyer will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting Kansas City the goodbyes have quietly begun.
John Pulskamp 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Dejan Joveljić. 1‑0 against Portland Timbers, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.