Marked for Ebrima Darboe
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Sep 2029
98 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings17 Sep 2029
A performance of 8.86 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings17 Sep 2029
A performance of 8.73 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad17 Sep 2029
The manager makes an example of Ebrima Darboe
“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.
Squad17 Sep 2029
The medical room confirms 37 days on the sidelines for Tommaso Rizzo, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Match15 Sep 2029
It needed Óscar Aranda to find the net to bring anything home at all: 3‑3 against Frosinone, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Player ratings17 Sep 2029
One lapse, one goal, and ninety minutes of honest work counting for nothing. That is the job at Bari, and it is a cruel one.
The terraces17 Sep 2029
The spotlight tightens on Mehdi Dorval
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match1 Sep 2029
Chastening afternoon for Bari
A 1‑5 beating by Sassuolo was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
The terraces3 Sep 2029
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 9 of the 38 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Market3 Sep 2029
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Bari heard it as anything else.
Squad3 Sep 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Sep 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Hassane Kamara and Bari agree another 2 years.
Squad3 Sep 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Enrico Delprato, and the manager let it.
Player ratings3 Sep 2029
A performance of 8.92 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Boardroom3 Sep 2029
Inquest at Bari
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
Squad3 Sep 2029
Nicola Leali lets one through his hands
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad30 Jul 2029
“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.
Squad30 Jul 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Market30 Jul 2029
Forli are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Bari will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market4 Jun 2029
Enrico Delprato 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 Bari hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad4 Jun 2029
“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.
Boardroom4 Jun 2029
$8.6M on the table at Bari
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Market4 Jun 2029
He is 20, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
Squad4 Jun 2029
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Apr 2029
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bari have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match31 Mar 2029
No end in sight to Bari's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Bari has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings2 Apr 2029
Defensive actions: 26. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad2 Apr 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nicola Leali and Bari agree another 2 years.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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 Apr 2029
A season average of 7.47 with 10 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings2 Apr 2029
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.94 on the card, and the Bari support went home talking about one name.
Player ratings2 Apr 2029
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings2 Apr 2029
Defensive actions: 15, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 36 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match10 Feb 2029
No mercy from Bari
Modena will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Bari were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Squad12 Feb 2029
A one-man rearguard from Nicola Leali
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad12 Feb 2029
11 goals and a season average of 7.66. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
A performance of 9.61 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.19, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.53, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad12 Feb 2029
“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
Steady
Squad15 Jan 2029
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bari have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings15 Jan 2029
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market15 Jan 2029
Foggia come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Bari did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Player ratings15 Jan 2029
Defensive actions: 24, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings15 Jan 2029
Marked 9.33 — 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.
Match13 Jan 2029
Three points for Bari, 1‑0 the final word against Mantova in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings15 Jan 2029
Marked 8.47 — 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.
Squad15 Jan 2029
“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
Steady
Squad20 Nov 2028
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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match18 Nov 2028
Bari come up short against Spezia
Spezia left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad20 Nov 2028
6 goals and a season average of 7.41. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad20 Nov 2028
The manager makes an example of Hassane Kamara
“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.
Player ratings20 Nov 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad13 Nov 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 12 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings13 Nov 2028
A defender's afternoon for Ebrima Darboe
Defensive actions: 32. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Player ratings13 Nov 2028
Defensive actions: 21, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings13 Nov 2028
A performance of 9.16 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match11 Nov 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Izu Onunta. 2‑0 against Frosinone, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings13 Nov 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.26, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad13 Nov 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Nicolò Martire and Bari agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad13 Nov 2028
The manager makes an example of Giulio Maggiore
“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
Squad16 Oct 2028
A one-man rearguard from Nicola Leali
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Player ratings16 Oct 2028
Defensive actions: 26. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Player ratings16 Oct 2028
Marked 9.13 — 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.
Match14 Oct 2028
It finished 2‑0, and it was Óscar Aranda’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bari.
Player ratings16 Oct 2028
Marked 8.13 — 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.
Player ratings16 Oct 2028
Marked 8.12 — 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.
Squad16 Oct 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Valerio Mantovani, and the manager let it.
Squad16 Oct 2028
5 goals and a season average of 7.28. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Sep 2028
A one-man rearguard from Nicola Leali
There were 9 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad18 Sep 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.
Squad18 Sep 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Enrico Delprato and Bari agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Match16 Sep 2028
7 unbeaten for Bari
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Bari did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings18 Sep 2028
A performance of 8.56 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings18 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match16 Sep 2028
It needed Giuseppe Sibilli to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Sampdoria, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Player ratings18 Sep 2028
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Bari lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
From our football correspondent
Steady
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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ebrima Darboe and Bari agree another 4 years.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bari, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market7 Aug 2028
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Filippo Nardi has his answer from Bari; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Market7 Aug 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bari know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market7 Aug 2028
36 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market17 Jul 2028
Filippo Faggi hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bari can pretend not to have heard.
Market17 Jul 2028
Lecco come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Bari did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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 Jul 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Giacomo Manzari and Bari agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad17 Jul 2028
This league is too small for Hassane Kamara
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Bari will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Market17 Jul 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bari know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Jul 2028
Ebrima Darboe: 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.” Bari have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Jul 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Hassane Kamara and Bari agree another 2 years.
Market10 Jul 2028
Bari bring in an old head
Hassane Kamara is 34 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Market10 Jul 2028
Everyone has stopped pretending: Padova will make the call about Marco Pissardo this week. Bari have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Squad10 Jul 2028
The manager makes an example of Riccardo Burgio
“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
Crisis
Match15 Apr 2028
Chastening afternoon for Bari
A 1‑5 beating by Pescara was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match15 Apr 2028
The wait goes on for Bari
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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mehdi Dorval and Bari agree another 4 years.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Apr 2028
10 goals and a season average of 7.41. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Mehdi Dorval gets it from the manager
“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.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Boardroom17 Apr 2028
Doors closed at Bari
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Ten men and a goalkeeper behind him, and it still finished in the net. He knew before anybody told him, and nobody at Bari needed to.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
A defender's afternoon for Andrea Meroni
Defensive actions: 27. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.01, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Defensive actions: 18. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad13 Mar 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.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad13 Mar 2028
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Francesco Vicari will call it something else in private.
The terraces13 Mar 2028
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Match11 Mar 2028
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Virtus Entella will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 24 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Match12 Feb 2028
Bari get the job done against Padova
A 2‑0 win over Padova, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad14 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.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.95 on the card, and the Bari support went home talking about one name.
Squad14 Feb 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Enrico Delprato trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
Shots: 10, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Market14 Feb 2028
The name of Michele Cerofolini keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Bari say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Jan 2028
The cup run ends for Bari
0‑2 against Lazio, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Jan 2028
10 goals and a season average of 7.47. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad24 Jan 2028
The manager makes an example of Nicola Leali
“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.
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.80, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
Marked 8.42 — 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.
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match22 Jan 2028
It needed Matthias Verreth to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Palermo, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The terraces24 Jan 2028
Everybody has an opinion about Nicola Leali
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings10 Jan 2028
Defensive actions: 27, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings10 Jan 2028
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings10 Jan 2028
A performance of 9.11 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match8 Jan 2028
It finished 1‑0, and it was Giuseppe Sibilli’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bari.
Player ratings10 Jan 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.11, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad10 Jan 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.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Idrissa Guèye 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 Idrissa Guèye trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market10 Jan 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Michele Cerofolini signs something — a contract at Bari or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Market27 Dec 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bari they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match25 Dec 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad27 Dec 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.
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.01, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Boardroom27 Dec 2027
Doors closed at Bari
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Squad27 Dec 2027
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Squad27 Dec 2027
One booking too many, and Ebrima Darboe sits out. Bari lose him for the sort of avoidable reason that makes a manager's week longer.