Marked for Rasmus Brodersen
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Jun 2028
29 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. HB Køge lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market5 Jun 2028
“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.
Squad5 Jun 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nicolai Boilesen and HB Køge agree another 2 years.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Words exchanged at HB Køge
Joël Kabongo 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.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Tomas Totland 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.
Market5 Jun 2028
Sulayman Bojang is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at HB Køge has been clear about where Sulayman Bojang stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout5 Jun 2028
Niklas Jakobsen has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at HB Køge will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout5 Jun 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gustav Nøhr, and the manager let it.
Boardroom5 Jun 2028
The window opens at HB Køge
A month in which every rumour is possible and most of them are nonsense. The manager has a list, the board has a number, and neither is telling the other the whole of it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 May 2028
A falling-out at HB Køge
Joël Kabongo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 May 2028
A row about effort at HB Køge
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomas Totland was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad15 May 2028
Too much change too quickly at HB Køge
14 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.
Boardroom15 May 2028
88% of the income goes out in wages at HB Køge
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 dugout15 May 2028
Linus Thieler 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 HB Køge, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout15 May 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Apr 2028
Cassander Dreyer 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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Tomas Totland 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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Too much change too quickly at HB Køge
15 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.
Loan watch17 Apr 2028
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at HB Køge, and 0 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
Boardroom17 Apr 2028
Wages eat 92% of everything HB Køge earn
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.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniel Pequeno Harbo, and the manager let it.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
Odilon Kouassi has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at HB Køge will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Market17 Apr 2028
“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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
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 HB Køge would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad20 Mar 2028
A falling-out at HB Køge
Joël Kabongo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom20 Mar 2028
Wages swallow 104% of the HB Køge income
Every club 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 it has been tried.
Squad20 Mar 2028
HB Køge are still strangers to each other
10 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.
Loan watch20 Mar 2028
“I did not go to Hvidovre to sit and watch. I want to come back to HB Køge and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Odilon Kouassi 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.
Squad20 Mar 2028
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
The dugout20 Mar 2028
Odilon Kouassi has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at HB Køge will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout20 Mar 2028
Odilon Kouassi 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.
Market20 Mar 2028
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Feb 2028
Words exchanged at HB Køge
Joël Kabongo 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.
Transfer targets14 Feb 2028
HB Køge asked and Hillerød said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad14 Feb 2028
A row about effort at HB Køge
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marcel Rømer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad14 Feb 2028
HB Køge are still strangers to each other
5 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 dugout14 Feb 2028
“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 dugout14 Feb 2028
Filip Đukić 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 dugout14 Feb 2028
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Niklas Jakobsen is on it.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Filip Đukić has seen what the next man earns
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at HB Køge that is a harder question to answer.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
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 Viktor Sørensen has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Transfer targets15 Nov 2027
Everything agreed with another club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Frederik Heiselberg 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.
Squad15 Nov 2027
A row about effort at Hillerød
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ludvig Henriksen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ludvig Henriksen, and the manager let it.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
Jonathan Witt back under a manager who knows him
The new man at Hillerød has worked with Jonathan Witt before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
Looking ahead15 Nov 2027
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Saman Jalaei’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Hillerød needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Market15 Nov 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Rezan Çorlu’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad15 Nov 2027
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Hillerød has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
Solomon Opoku 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
Match27 Oct 2027
HB Køge out of the cup
FC Midtjylland ended it 0‑2. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Match1 Nov 2027
HB Køge up to position 3
25 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Player ratings1 Nov 2027
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 18 actions, 7.48, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Words exchanged at HB Køge
Joël Kabongo 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.
Match30 Oct 2027
At last: HB Køge win one
6 matches without a win, and then this, against Aarhus Fremad. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
Loan watch1 Nov 2027
“I did not go to Hillerød to sit and watch. I want to come back to HB Køge and fight for my place.” 4 appearances in 21 matches say the rest.
The terraces1 Nov 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Edgar Navassardian has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Match30 Oct 2027
Three points for HB Køge, 1‑0 the final word against Aarhus Fremad in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad1 Nov 2027
A row about effort at HB Køge
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marcel Rømer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Oct 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at HB Køge this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Words at HB Køge training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marcel Rømer 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 Oct 2027
Nobody at HB Køge will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Ole-Monrad Alme 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 dugout11 Oct 2027
“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 dugout11 Oct 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Berkant Bayrak's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Match11 Oct 2027
HB Køge have something to play for
Position 4 on 20 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one HB Køge will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Looking ahead11 Oct 2027
Next up at home: B.93, who go into it in position 7. The kind of fixture a season is quietly built on or quietly loses its shape in.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Oct 2027
Words exchanged at Hillerød
Magnus Jensen 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.
Loan watch11 Oct 2027
“I did not go to Vejle to sit and watch. I want to come back to Hillerød and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 7 matches say the rest.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Michalis Voriazidis, and the manager let it.
Boardroom11 Oct 2027
Hillerød counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Hillerød now.
Market11 Oct 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Hillerød, another week without a signature from Pasquale Iaccarino.
Looking ahead11 Oct 2027
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Magnus Jensen’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Hillerød needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Market11 Oct 2027
The Rezan Çorlu story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Rezan Çorlu signs something — a contract at Hillerød or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Hillerød, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Hillerød will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market6 Sep 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Window shuts: 15 in, 16 out at HB Køge
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 15 arrived, 16 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words exchanged at HB Køge
Joël Kabongo 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.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Cotonsport Garoua have kept their man, and HB Køge go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Loan watch6 Sep 2027
“I watch every HB Køge game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Hillerød runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ole-Monrad Alme, and the manager let it.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words at HB Køge training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marcel Rømer 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at HB Køge can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Four weeks in which nobody in the division did his job better. The award goes on a shelf and the player goes back into the side, which is the order HB Køge prefer.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad1 Mar 2027
19 days out for Eirik Brekke after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. HB Køge will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad1 Mar 2027
He is 19, he is averaging 7.04, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at HB Køge
Joël Kabongo 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
A row about effort at HB Køge
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jack Armer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market1 Mar 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at HB Køge, another week without a signature from Sulayman Bojang.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Marked 7.86 at 19, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Match26 Dec 2026
8 unbeaten for HB Køge
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation HB Køge did not have in the autumn.
Squad28 Dec 2026
A falling-out at HB Køge
Alfred Gøthler and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces28 Dec 2026
He is 19 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Match26 Dec 2026
Three points for HB Køge, 1‑0 the final word against Hillerød in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad28 Dec 2026
A row about effort at HB Køge
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jack Armer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
123% of the income goes out in wages at HB Køge
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 dugout28 Dec 2026
“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.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match28 Oct 2026
The small margins put HB Køge out
Out, 1‑3 to FC Midtjylland, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Match31 Oct 2026
The wait goes on for HB Køge
7 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.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Marked 7.87 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
The terraces2 Nov 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Bismark Edjeodji has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at HB Køge can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
117% of the income goes out in wages at HB Køge
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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Odilon Kouassi 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.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.23 on the card, and the HB Køge support went home talking about one name.
Market2 Nov 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Sep 2026
Joël Kabongo in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at HB Køge this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Sep 2026
A row about effort at HB Køge
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jack Armer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“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; HB Køge are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.85 on the card, and the HB Køge support went home talking about one name.
Match26 Sep 2026
A 1‑1 draw with Hillerød leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
Half-satisfied: Jakob Dolberg on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Christian Tue's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Looking ahead28 Sep 2026
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against B.93 in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.