The words a physio says slowly. 28 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 24 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Everton this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Jonathan Foster is a Everton player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
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 ratings13 Sep 2038
Tyler Dibling was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.12. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 52 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.19 at 38, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Everton this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 16 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall signs something — a contract at Everton or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Everton will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Iliman N'Diaye 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 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 84 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad19 Jul 2038
Camilo Santos 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall signs something — a contract at Everton or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.82 at 38, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“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 Everton, and it is not being withdrawn.
Iliman N'Diaye 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 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Everton and Arsenal, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
The run now stands at 25, and the questions being asked around Everton are no longer polite ones.
The terraces1 Feb 2038
The mood at Everton 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.
Iliman N'Diaye 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 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of 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 Everton this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Jan 2038
Words at Everton training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrea Colpani 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.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Position 18 and 4 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.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Everton this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
12 goals and a season average of 7.50. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad28 Dec 2037
Words at Everton training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrea Colpani 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall signs something — a contract at Everton or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
Player ratingsThe one thing Tyler Dibling could not do
The words a physio says slowly. 55 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.82 at 37, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Everton this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Oct 2037
Words at Everton training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrea Colpani 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.
Marked 8.53 — 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.
The goal that put Crystal Palace ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Everton equalised, 4 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Iliman N'Diaye provided it, and the 10.00 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Two goals and a mark of 10.00 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Everton can pretend not to have heard.
There is exactly one of these per career and it does not usually go like this. 0 on the scoresheet, 7.27 beside the name, and a crowd that had never seen him before chanting it by the end.
39 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Brentford lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 36 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.27 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Daniel Oyegoke will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Brentford the goodbyes have quietly begun.
A 3‑2 win over Crystal Palace, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings2 Mar 2037
Lewis Orford was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.40. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
In brief
Player ratingsRomelle Donovan was on a different afternoon to everybody else
The words a physio says slowly. 67 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Brentford will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Two goals and a mark of 9.16 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.50 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Brentford they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Brentford hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Chelsea the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Brentford will enjoy reviewing.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Brentford will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.02 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
487 appearances across 13 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Brentford can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Brentford they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Brentford will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.70 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
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.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Brentford hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Brentford they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Brentford and Tottenham, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Lewis Orford obliged against Hull City. 2‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Brentford.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Brentford will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Two goals and a mark of 9.40 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
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.
31 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.95 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Daniel Oyegoke will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Brentford the goodbyes have quietly begun.