Marked for Aron Elís Þrándarson
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces2 Oct 2028
Anger at Wolverhampton 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.
Match30 Sep 2028
No end in sight to Wolverhampton's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Wolverhampton has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 17 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match30 Sep 2028
7 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
The dugout2 Oct 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Wolverhampton may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market2 Oct 2028
Ladislav Krejčí wants to know where this is going
“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 Wolverhampton hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad2 Oct 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Bertrand Traoré and Wolverhampton agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Ferdi Kadıoğlu 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.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Words at Wolverhampton training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ladislav Krejčí 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market25 Sep 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.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 25 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match23 Sep 2028
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.
Match23 Sep 2028
6 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Wolverhampton can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad25 Sep 2028
André 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 Wolverhampton this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ferdi Kadıoğlu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout25 Sep 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.
Match23 Sep 2028
Fulham left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout25 Sep 2028
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 Sep 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Wolverhampton will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The dugout18 Sep 2028
Josh Maja: 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.” Wolverhampton have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match16 Sep 2028
No end in sight to Wolverhampton's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Wolverhampton has to find a result from somewhere.
Match16 Sep 2028
5 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad18 Sep 2028
André and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ferdi Kadıoğlu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad18 Sep 2028
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Wolverhampton can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The dugout18 Sep 2028
Luther Mothiba 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 Wolverhampton, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Player ratings18 Sep 2028
Marked 7.27 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Wolverhampton had the best player on the pitch.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Aug 2028
117 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Vikingur lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Vikingur will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market21 Aug 2028
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Keflavik waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Vikingur is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Squad21 Aug 2028
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
The dugout21 Aug 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad21 Aug 2028
A season average of 7.38 with 17 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Boardroom21 Aug 2028
Vikingur close the window on a squad of their own making
14 in and 5 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Match19 Aug 2028
Whatever happens, Vikingur do not lose
7 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
Marked 9.47 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Aug 2028
The words a physio says slowly. 124 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.
Squad14 Aug 2028
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.
Market14 Aug 2028
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Vikingur have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Match14 Aug 2028
Vikingur refuse to drop out of the race
Position 2, 32 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Squad14 Aug 2028
A falling-out at Vikingur
Gylfi Sigurðsson and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Aug 2028
A season average of 7.28 with 14 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match12 Aug 2028
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Vikingur did not have in the autumn.
Transfer targets14 Aug 2028
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 dugout14 Aug 2028
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Aug 2028
131 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Vikingur lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market7 Aug 2028
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Vikingur people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Squad7 Aug 2028
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Vikingur will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad7 Aug 2028
323 appearances across 11 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.
Player ratings7 Aug 2028
At 38 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.97 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Market7 Aug 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.
Player ratings7 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad7 Aug 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vikingur this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market7 Aug 2028
The phone has started ringing about Helgi Guðjónsson again, and this time the name on the line is Breidablik. Vikingur are listening politely and promising nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 Jul 2028
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Vikingur will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market31 Jul 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Vikingur can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets31 Jul 2028
The deal with Stjarnan is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Gylfi Sigurðsson 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.
Squad31 Jul 2028
The medical room confirms 44 days on the sidelines for Johann Halldorsson, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad31 Jul 2028
8 goals and a season average of 7.22. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings31 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout31 Jul 2028
Ingvar Jónsson dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
The dugout31 Jul 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
Upbeat
Squad24 Jul 2028
The match ball belongs to Sveinn Aron Guðjohnsen, whose 4 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 74 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market24 Jul 2028
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Keflavik waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Vikingur is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market24 Jul 2028
Vikingur say no — this time
The offer from Fylkir for Sveinn Margeir Hauksson was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Words exchanged at Vikingur
Gylfi Sigurðsson 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.
Player ratings24 Jul 2028
Marked 9.96. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Vikingur.
Squad24 Jul 2028
A season average of 7.27 with 13 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings24 Jul 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.09, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Jul 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 81 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match12 Jul 2028
Vikingur bow out of the cup
IBV go through and Vikingur go home, 3‑3 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Match17 Jul 2028
Vikingur refuse to drop out of the race
Position 2, 24 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Squad17 Jul 2028
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Ólafur Kristófer Helgason: 1 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
The dugout17 Jul 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Vikingur may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings17 Jul 2028
At 35 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 7.81, and nobody on the pitch better.
Squad17 Jul 2028
A falling-out at Vikingur
Gylfi Sigurðsson and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings17 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout17 Jul 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ólafur Kristófer Helgason, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Jul 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Vikingur will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match8 Jul 2028
The run is over for Vikingur
11 matches without defeat, and then Valur. Nobody at the ground pretended it would go on forever; nobody expected it to stop here either.
Market10 Jul 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Vikingur is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad10 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vikingur this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match8 Jul 2028
Valur left with the points after a 3‑4 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings10 Jul 2028
Ninety minutes of Atli Þór Jónasson at his very best
Marked 8.29. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Vikingur.
The dugout10 Jul 2028
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Hordur Eyjolfsson after 3‑4, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad10 Jul 2028
A row about effort at Vikingur
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Haraldur Ágúst Brynjarsson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad3 Jul 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Vikingur will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings3 Jul 2028
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.96 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Match1 Jul 2028
11 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Match1 Jul 2028
Vikingur cannot stop winning
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Boardroom3 Jul 2028
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.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Gylfi Sigurðsson 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.
Match1 Jul 2028
Three points for Vikingur, 2‑0 the final word against Fylkir in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings3 Jul 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.37, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Looking ahead3 Jul 2028
The fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad26 Jun 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 102 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market26 Jun 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Sveinn Margeir Hauksson will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Vikingur the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Match24 Jun 2028
Still nobody has beaten Vikingur
The unbeaten run reaches 10. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad26 Jun 2028
14 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Words exchanged at Vikingur
Gylfi Sigurðsson 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.
Match24 Jun 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Atli Þór Jónasson. 1‑0 against Fjolnir, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad26 Jun 2028
50 goals for this club, and somewhere in the stand there is a person who can still tell you where they were for most of them.
Player ratings26 Jun 2028
Marked 7.94 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Vikingur had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout26 Jun 2028
Somebody else is better right now than Ingvar Jónsson
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad19 Jun 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 109 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match19 Jun 2028
Vikingur are in among the leaders
Position 2 and 17 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Match17 Jun 2028
Still nobody has beaten Vikingur
The unbeaten run reaches 9. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad19 Jun 2028
The medical room confirms 14 days on the sidelines for Gylfi Sigurðsson, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad19 Jun 2028
A falling-out at Vikingur
Gylfi Sigurðsson and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match17 Jun 2028
Vikingur make home a hard place to visit
10 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Squad19 Jun 2028
100 goals for the club, every one of them filed away in the memory of a supporter somewhere.
The dugout19 Jun 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.
Match17 Jun 2028
Three points for Vikingur, 1‑0 the final word against IA in a contest settled by the finer margins.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad12 Jun 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 117 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market12 Jun 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Vikingur is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match10 Jun 2028
Still nobody has beaten Vikingur
The unbeaten run reaches 8. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad12 Jun 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vikingur this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market12 Jun 2028
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Davíð Örn Atlason has his answer from Vikingur; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gunnar Vatnhamar, and the manager let it.
Squad12 Jun 2028
A row about effort at Vikingur
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Haraldur Ágúst Brynjarsson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad5 Jun 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Vikingur will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings5 Jun 2028
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.64, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Match3 Jun 2028
Still nobody has beaten Vikingur
The unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Gylfi Sigurðsson 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.
Squad5 Jun 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Gunnar Vatnhamar commits to Vikingur for another 2 years.
Match3 Jun 2028
9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
The dugout5 Jun 2028
“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.
Match3 Jun 2028
After 5 games, Vikingur finally taste it again
The first defeat in 5 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Stjarnan; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
Market5 Jun 2028
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Vikingur has been clear about where Gunnar Vatnhamar stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market17 Apr 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Vikingur is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad17 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vikingur this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Apr 2028
A row about effort at Vikingur
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Haraldur Ágúst Brynjarsson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout17 Apr 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 dugout17 Apr 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 Róbert Orri Þorkelsson is on it.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Vikingur. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Market17 Apr 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Aron Elís Þrándarson signs something — a contract at Vikingur or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market17 Apr 2028
The clock does Elías Már Ómarsson’s negotiating for him
4 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Vikingur could ask drops and the wages Elías Már Ómarsson can ask rise.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Gylfi Sigurðsson has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad3 Apr 2028
26 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Vikingur lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match3 Apr 2028
Vikingur up to position 2
48 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Market3 Apr 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Sveinn Margeir Hauksson will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Vikingur the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market3 Apr 2028
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Vikingur may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
Window shuts: 9 in, 3 out at Vikingur
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 9 arrived, 3 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words exchanged at Vikingur
Gylfi Sigurðsson 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.
The dugout3 Apr 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 Sveinn Margeir Hauksson is on it.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Mijo Johansson 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad27 Mar 2028
33 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Vikingur lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market27 Mar 2028
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Fylkir waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Vikingur is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Transfer targets27 Mar 2028
The clubs have shaken hands with Stjarnan; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Squad27 Mar 2028
A falling-out at Vikingur
Gylfi Sigurðsson and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market27 Mar 2028
Keflavik are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Vikingur will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad27 Mar 2028
A row about effort at Vikingur
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Haraldur Ágúst Brynjarsson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout27 Mar 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 Valdimar Þór Ingimundarson is on it.
Market27 Mar 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Vikingur know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout27 Mar 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 Gunnar Vatnhamar has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad13 Mar 2028
Gylfi Sigurðsson damages knee ligaments — 47 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 47 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.
Market13 Mar 2028
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Vikingur have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market13 Mar 2028
Breidablik come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Vikingur did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Gylfi Sigurðsson 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.
Market13 Mar 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Vikingur will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ólafur Kristófer Helgason, and the manager let it.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
Nobody at Vikingur 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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Mijo Johansson 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.
Market13 Mar 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Nikolaj Hansen signs something — a contract at Vikingur or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 Feb 2028
Gylfi Sigurðsson damages knee ligaments — 61 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 61 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.
Market28 Feb 2028
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Fylkir waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Vikingur is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market28 Feb 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Vikingur can pretend not to have heard.
Market28 Feb 2028
Keflavik come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Vikingur did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad28 Feb 2028
A falling-out at Vikingur
Gylfi Sigurðsson and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Feb 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jóhannes Kristinn Bjarnason and Vikingur agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
“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 dugout28 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 Valdimar Þór Ingimundarson is on it.
Market28 Feb 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Vikingur know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Feb 2028
Gylfi Sigurðsson damages knee ligaments — 68 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 68 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.
Market21 Feb 2028
“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 Vikingur, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market21 Feb 2028
Vikingur say no — this time
The offer from Valur for Helgi Guðjónsson was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market21 Feb 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Elías Már Ómarsson will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Vikingur the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad21 Feb 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vikingur this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market21 Feb 2028
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Mikael Arnason is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The dugout21 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 dugout21 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 Róbert Orri Þorkelsson is on it.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Elías Már Ómarsson trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 Feb 2028
75 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Vikingur lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market14 Feb 2028
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Keflavik waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Vikingur is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market14 Feb 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Boardroom14 Feb 2028
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.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Gylfi Sigurðsson 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.
Transfer targets14 Feb 2028
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.
Market14 Feb 2028
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Vikingur has been clear about where Aron Elís Þrándarson stands, which is more than many ever get.
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 Sveinn Aron Guðjohnsen is on it.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
Oliver Ekroth 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 Oliver Ekroth trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.