Marked for Marcus Grima
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Sep 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Miguel D'Alessandro and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom24 Sep 2029
The borrowing at Pieta Hotspurs reaches $4.1M
Past the limit the bank set, which is the line between a club being financed and a club being in trouble. $4.1M is now the number every conversation about this club will start with.
Player ratings24 Sep 2029
Marked 7.85 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Pieta Hotspurs had the best player on the pitch.
Match22 Sep 2029
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout24 Sep 2029
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Ivan Ellul after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The dugout24 Sep 2029
Carlo Portelli 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.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Off the academy pitches and onto a senior team sheet at 16. The debut is the easy part; the second appearance is the one every young player has to earn.
Market24 Sep 2029
The Erick Rocha story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Erick Rocha signs something — a contract at Pieta Hotspurs or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout17 Sep 2029
This is not rotation. Paulius Slavickas has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Pieta Hotspurs is pretending otherwise.
Squad17 Sep 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Pieta Hotspurs this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match15 Sep 2029
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout17 Sep 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.
Market17 Sep 2029
Signings arrive with a picture of the club in their head, and this one’s picture was bigger than the building. He will play well and he will be gone, in that order, and everybody knows it.
The dugout17 Sep 2029
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Ivan Ellul after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad17 Sep 2029
The formation has left Jack Hooper behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Pieta Hotspurs will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Words at Pieta Hotspurs training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gabriel Mannino 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.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Pieta Hotspurs 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad10 Sep 2029
Miguel D'Alessandro 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.
Squad10 Sep 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jake Engerer and Pieta Hotspurs agree another 2 years.
Market10 Sep 2029
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Roderick Pace has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Sep 2029
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Alan Fenech is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Sep 2029
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ryan Gatt has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Sep 2029
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Gilbert Chetcuti is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Boardroom10 Sep 2029
No fees may be paid for anybody, whatever the squad needs. Every rumour about this club until it lifts is a rumour about a deal that cannot be done.
Squad10 Sep 2029
The improving has stalled for Jack Hooper
He is 23 and he is exactly the player he was at the turn of the year. That is fine at twenty-eight and it is the beginning of a difficult conversation at his age.
Squad10 Sep 2029
The formation has left Marcus Grima behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Pieta Hotspurs will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market6 Aug 2029
Marcus Grima 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 Marsa can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets6 Aug 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, and a scan that said otherwise. He goes back to Valletta; Marsa go back to the market; and both will insist there is no story here.
The dugout6 Aug 2029
This is not rotation. Marcus Grima has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Marsa is pretending otherwise.
Boardroom6 Aug 2029
The owner puts $134.6K into Marsa
This is money that keeps the lights on rather than money that buys a centre-half, and the difference is the whole story. A club funded by its owner rather than by its football has exactly one conversation left ahead of it.
Transfer targets6 Aug 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Hibernians have kept their man, and Marsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Gabriel 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.
Transfer targets6 Aug 2029
Marsa have made the call to Sliema Wanderers. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Market6 Aug 2029
“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.
The dugout6 Aug 2029
Mohamed Awad 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 Mohamed Awad trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market9 Jul 2029
Marcus Grima 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 Marsa can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout9 Jul 2029
This is not rotation. Marcus Grima has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Marsa is pretending otherwise.
Market9 Jul 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Marsa they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad9 Jul 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mohamed Awad and Marsa agree another 2 years.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Tempers go at Marsa
Douglas Lukaku 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 targets9 Jul 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Marsaxlokk have kept their man, and Marsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Gabriel 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.
Market9 Jul 2029
One of our own: Mark Cachia joins the Marsa first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Mark Cachia is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market9 Jul 2029
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Steve Cassar has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market11 Jun 2029
“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 Marsa, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets11 Jun 2029
Everything agreed with Zebbug Rangers, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
The dugout11 Jun 2029
This is not rotation. Marcus Grima has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Marsa is pretending otherwise.
Squad11 Jun 2029
A last season at home is what Mohamed Awad is after
It is sentimental, it is completely genuine, and it is the beginning of a departure nobody has announced. The club can be gracious about it or it can pretend not to have heard.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Tempers go at Marsa
Douglas Lukaku 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 targets11 Jun 2029
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.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Words at Marsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Awad 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.
Market11 Jun 2029
“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.
The dugout11 Jun 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Marsa, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 May 2029
“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 Marsa, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad28 May 2029
Words at Marsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Awad 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.
Boardroom28 May 2029
Marsa cannot sign anybody
The embargo bars a fee being paid for a player, whatever the manager thinks the squad needs. Every rumour printed about this club between now and its lifting is a rumour about a deal that cannot happen.
Squad28 May 2029
23 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad28 May 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Marsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 May 2029
“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; Marsa are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout28 May 2029
Gabriel gets picked when it counts
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 Gabriel is on it.
The dugout28 May 2029
Mohamed Awad 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 Marsa, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market28 May 2029
The name of Elvi Zimuangana keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Marsa say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 May 2029
“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 Marsa, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout14 May 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Marsa may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad14 May 2029
Marsa count the cost of losing Gabriel
14 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout14 May 2029
This is not rotation. Marcus Grima has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Marsa is pretending otherwise.
Squad14 May 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ondřej Drobek and Marsa agree another 4 years.
Squad14 May 2029
Mohamed Awad 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 Marsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 May 2029
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Marsa know it.
The dugout14 May 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Francisco Olguín, and the manager let it.
Market14 May 2029
“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
Market7 May 2029
Thomas Wilson 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 Marsa can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout7 May 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.
Squad7 May 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Elvi Zimuangana and Marsa agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad7 May 2029
Tempers go at Marsa
Douglas Lukaku 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.
Boardroom7 May 2029
The owner puts $132.7K into Marsa
This is money that keeps the lights on rather than money that buys a centre-half, and the difference is the whole story. A club funded by its owner rather than by its football has exactly one conversation left ahead of it.
Squad7 May 2029
A row about effort at Marsa
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mohamed Awad was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market7 May 2029
“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.
Market7 May 2029
Daniel Ferreira is 19, and Marsa have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Market7 May 2029
Pedro Suárez is 19, and Marsa have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match16 Apr 2029
Full time on the season at Marsa
Position 10 on 37 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
Market16 Apr 2029
Marcus Grima 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 Marsa can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings16 Apr 2029
Marked 7.69 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 dugout16 Apr 2029
This is not rotation. Marcus Grima has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Marsa is pretending otherwise.
Squad16 Apr 2029
A row about effort at Marsa
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mohamed Awad was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market16 Apr 2029
No place for Mohamed Awad in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Mohamed Awad has his answer from Marsa; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout16 Apr 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mohamed Awad, and the manager let it.
Match14 Apr 2029
It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Player ratings16 Apr 2029
Successful dribbles: 15. 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
Crisis
Market19 Mar 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Marsa can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
Adrian Semmler: 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.” Marsa have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match17 Mar 2029
The wait goes on for Marsa
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
This is not rotation. Marcus Grima has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Marsa is pretending otherwise.
Squad19 Mar 2029
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Marsa can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad19 Mar 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Marsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match17 Mar 2029
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Words at Marsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gabriel 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Feb 2029
Marcus Grima 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 Marsa can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Gabriel 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.
Boardroom26 Feb 2029
Wages eat 179% of everything Marsa 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 terraces26 Feb 2029
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Prince Afriyie 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.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
A performance of 8.50 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match24 Feb 2029
Marsa hit back inside 4 minutes
Zebbug Rangers held the lead for 4 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. Marsa answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
Boardroom26 Feb 2029
The borrowing at Marsa reaches $4.0M
Past the limit the bank set, which is the line between a club being financed and a club being in trouble. $4.0M is now the number every conversation about this club will start with.
The dugout26 Feb 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Arsen Gasparyan, and the manager let it.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
Successful dribbles: 15. 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
Uneasy
Market29 Jan 2029
“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 Marsa, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets29 Jan 2029
Everything agreed with Gzira United, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad29 Jan 2029
A falling-out at Marsa
Douglas Lukaku and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets29 Jan 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Valletta have kept their man, and Marsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Gabriel 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.
Boardroom29 Jan 2029
Wages eat 164% of everything Marsa 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 terraces29 Jan 2029
He is 23 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.
Boardroom29 Jan 2029
Marsa are $4.0M in the red
The borrowing is past what the bank agreed, which is the line where a debt stops being how football is financed and starts being a problem. Every phone-in in this town will quote the figure for the next five years.
The dugout29 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
Uneasy
Match13 Jan 2029
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Vittoriosa Stars, and it could have been more.
Player ratings15 Jan 2029
Thomas Wilson, 18, steals the show — 8.18
Marked 8.18 at 18, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Match13 Jan 2029
The drought breaks for Marsa
10 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Vittoriosa Stars were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Market15 Jan 2029
The name of Ondřej Drobek has come up in conversations Marsa were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad15 Jan 2029
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Marsa know it.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Tempers go at Marsa
Douglas Lukaku 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 targets15 Jan 2029
Marsa asked and Hamrun Spartans said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Gabriel 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.
The terraces15 Jan 2029
At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Dec 2028
No end in sight to Marsa's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Marsa has to find a result from somewhere.
Market25 Dec 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 Marsa, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad25 Dec 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 Marsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Words at Marsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gabriel 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.
Match23 Dec 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Match25 Dec 2028
Halfway: Marsa sit in position 12
16 points at the turn. The first half of a season is a promise; the second is a bill, and the town is about to find out which of the two this one was.
The dugout25 Dec 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexandru Păun, and the manager let it.
The dugout25 Dec 2028
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Stephen Portelli to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout25 Dec 2028
Ibrahim Halliru back under a manager who knows him
The new man at Marsa has worked with Ibrahim Halliru before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad27 Nov 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Elvi Zimuangana
33 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Marsa lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match22 Nov 2028
Marsa bow out of the cup
Hibernians go through and Marsa go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Market27 Nov 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 Marsa, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match25 Nov 2028
4 matches without a win for Marsa
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Marsa are no longer polite ones.
Squad27 Nov 2028
Mohamed Awad 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 Marsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match25 Nov 2028
Marsa cannot find the net
3 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.
Squad27 Nov 2028
Words at Marsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gabriel 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.
Match25 Nov 2028
0‑2 to Tarxien Rainbows, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout27 Nov 2028
The manager makes an example of Alexandru Păun
“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
Squad20 Nov 2028
Elvi Zimuangana damages knee ligaments — 40 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 40 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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Mohamed Awad is not the player he was
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 34 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Mohamed Awad 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.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
Mohamed Awad 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.
Market20 Nov 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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Marsa know it.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
Ibrahim Halliru back under a manager who knows him
The new man at Marsa has worked with Ibrahim Halliru before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
Gabriel gets picked when it counts
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 Gabriel is on it.
Looking ahead20 Nov 2028
Marsa take on the side everybody is chasing
Tarxien Rainbows arrive as leaders. A side at the top is beaten roughly once a month, and the club that does it gets a week it remembers for a year.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market30 Oct 2028
Marcus Grima 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 Marsa can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
Elvi Zimuangana, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.69
A mark of 7.69 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Match28 Oct 2028
Still nobody has beaten Marsa
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.
Squad30 Oct 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 Marsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Words at Marsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Awad 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 terraces30 Oct 2028
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Prince Afriyie 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.
Match28 Oct 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Elvi Zimuangana. 1‑0 against Sirens, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad30 Oct 2028
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
The dugout30 Oct 2028
Charlie Gill 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings9 Oct 2028
Marked 8.37 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.
Squad9 Oct 2028
A falling-out at Marsa
Douglas Lukaku and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Oct 2028
A row about effort at Marsa
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mohamed Awad was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom9 Oct 2028
Wages swallow 255% of the Marsa 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.
The terraces9 Oct 2028
At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match7 Oct 2028
A 2‑0 win over Pieta Hotspurs, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Boardroom9 Oct 2028
Marsa are $3.7M in the red
The borrowing is past what the bank agreed, which is the line where a debt stops being how football is financed and starts being a problem. Every phone-in in this town will quote the figure for the next five years.
Market9 Oct 2028
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Marcus Grima has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Marsa.
The dugout9 Oct 2028
Marcus Grima 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match27 Sep 2028
Marsa through in the cup
A 2‑1 win over Tarxien Rainbows, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Player ratings2 Oct 2028
A goal and an assist for Charlie Gill — 7.83
Involvement in 2 goals, from a player who spent the ninety minutes doing the thing a manager actually wants: being where the ball was going to end up. 7.83 beside his name.
Boardroom2 Oct 2028
The owner puts $116.8K into Marsa
This is money that keeps the lights on rather than money that buys a centre-half, and the difference is the whole story. A club funded by its owner rather than by its football has exactly one conversation left ahead of it.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Words at Marsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gabriel 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 terraces2 Oct 2028
Marsa supporters have found a favourite in Bogdan Maxim
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 18-year-old it feels ownership of. Bogdan Maxim 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.
Player ratings2 Oct 2028
The game went through Marcus Grima — 6.57
Marked 6.57 on 11 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Squad2 Oct 2028
200 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
Player ratings2 Oct 2028
Gabriel was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.14. 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.
The dugout2 Oct 2028
The manager makes an example of Alexandru Păun
“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
Uneasy
Squad24 Apr 2028
44 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Marsa lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Words at Marsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Awad 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.
Boardroom24 Apr 2028
The Marsa debt reaches $2.9M
Football clubs borrow; that is not the story. Borrowing more than the facility allows is, because from here it is the owner's money or somebody else's decision, and neither of those belongs to the board.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
Gabriel has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Marsa 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 dugout24 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Marcus Grima
“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 dugout24 Apr 2028
Ensell Attard 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 Marsa, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market24 Apr 2028
The Gabriel talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Marsa know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market24 Apr 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Ensell Attard may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Market24 Apr 2028
The clock does Daniel Sant’s negotiating for him
5 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Marsa could ask drops and the wages Daniel Sant can ask rise.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Feb 2028
Alisson Silva 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 Marsa can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
No sign of nerves from Fran Obiagwu at 19 — 7.71
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Fran Obiagwu did not need any: 7.71, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Words exchanged at Marsa
Mohamed Awad 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.
Squad14 Feb 2028
A row about effort at Marsa
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gabriel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match12 Feb 2028
Marsa get the job done against Mtarfa
A 2‑1 win over Mtarfa, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The terraces14 Feb 2028
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.
Squad14 Feb 2028
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Marsa can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Stephen Portelli could afford to be generous.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Feb 2028
Sani Mubarak 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 Marsa can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout7 Feb 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Marsa may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Marsa close the window on a squad of their own making
0 in and 0 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.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Tempers go at Marsa
Douglas Lukaku 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.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
$12.5K from the owner keeps Marsa afloat
The gap in the accounts was filled from upstairs again. Supporters are entitled to be grateful and to ask what happens the month it is not, and both feelings arrive together.
Transfer targets7 Feb 2028
Marsa asked and Marsaxlokk said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Mohamed Awad 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.
The terraces7 Feb 2028
He is 22 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.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
Marked 7.24 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Marsa had the best player on the pitch.