Marked for Leandro Cabrera
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 May 2029
Tyrhys Dolan 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 Espanyol this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 May 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Javi Hernàndez and Espanyol agree another 4 years.
Squad21 May 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 Espanyol, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Apr 2029
Tyrhys Dolan 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 Espanyol this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Pol Lozano 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 ratings23 Apr 2029
Marked 8.87 — 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 ratings23 Apr 2029
Marked 8.57 — 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.
Squad23 Apr 2029
8 goals and a season average of 7.35. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match21 Apr 2029
It needed Edu Expósito to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Valencia, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom2 Apr 2029
Pol Campos has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Espanyol can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Boardroom2 Apr 2029
The scrutiny sharpens at Espanyol
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Espanyol is running low.
Squad2 Apr 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Espanyol may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Defences have started doubling up on Jofre Carreras
10 goals and a season average of 7.56 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Tyrhys Dolan 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 ratings2 Apr 2029
Marked 9.27 — 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 ratings2 Apr 2029
Marked 9.18 — 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.
Match31 Mar 2029
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Jofre Carreras. 2‑1 against Alavés, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad2 Apr 2029
The manager makes an example of Marko Dmitrović
“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
Match10 Mar 2029
No end in sight to Espanyol's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Espanyol has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad12 Mar 2029
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 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 Espanyol this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Mar 2029
9 goals and a season average of 7.53. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings12 Mar 2029
Marked 8.99 — 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 ratings12 Mar 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.86, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match10 Mar 2029
It needed Leandro Cabrera to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Athletic Bilbao, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Miguel Román 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 ratings12 Mar 2029
Shots: 9, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom5 Mar 2029
Pol Campos has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Espanyol can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Match3 Mar 2029
6 matches without a win for Espanyol
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Espanyol are no longer polite ones.
Market5 Mar 2029
Albert Kotlín 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 Espanyol can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom5 Mar 2029
The scrutiny sharpens at Espanyol
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Espanyol is running low.
Squad5 Mar 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Javi Puado and Espanyol agree another 4 years.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Tyrhys Dolan 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 ratings5 Mar 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.86, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings5 Mar 2029
A performance of 8.68 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Javi Puado is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.22 with 11 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Feb 2029
Tyrhys Dolan 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 Espanyol this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Feb 2029
The manager makes an example of Urko González
“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 ratings12 Feb 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.68, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
One of those days for Javi Puado
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.35, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
A performance of 8.34 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match10 Feb 2029
A 5‑5 draw with Villarreal leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
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.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Tyrhys Dolan is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.39 with 3 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad12 Feb 2029
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
Steady
Squad22 Jan 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 14 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings22 Jan 2029
Defensive actions: 37, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad22 Jan 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.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Jofre Carreras 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 ratings22 Jan 2029
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 21 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings22 Jan 2029
A performance of 8.68 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings22 Jan 2029
A performance of 8.48 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad22 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
Squad25 Dec 2028
Pol Lozano takes the match ball home
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Tyrhys Dolan 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 ratings25 Dec 2028
A performance of 10.00 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match23 Dec 2028
A 4‑3 win over Betis, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings25 Dec 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.92, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings25 Dec 2028
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.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Jofre Carreras
6 goals and a season average of 7.41 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad25 Dec 2028
The manager makes an example of Ángel Fortuño
“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 ratings25 Dec 2028
Marked 4.52, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings18 Dec 2028
A defender's afternoon for Pol Lozano
Defensive actions: 35. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Leandro Cabrera 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 ratings18 Dec 2028
Defensive actions: 22, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad18 Dec 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ángel Fortuño and Espanyol agree another 4 years.
Player ratings18 Dec 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.42, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings18 Dec 2028
Marked 8.85 — 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.
Match16 Dec 2028
A 2‑0 win over Real Sociedad, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad18 Dec 2028
The manager makes an example of Álex Calatrava
“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.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Jofre Carreras
5 goals and a season average of 7.33 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market11 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 Espanyol, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match9 Dec 2028
5 matches without a win for Espanyol
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Espanyol are no longer polite ones.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Jofre Carreras 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 ratings11 Dec 2028
Marked 9.28 — 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 ratings11 Dec 2028
A performance of 8.93 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings11 Dec 2028
Marked 8.41 — 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.
Squad11 Dec 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 Espanyol know it.
Match9 Dec 2028
It finished 3‑3, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad11 Dec 2028
6 goals and a season average of 7.28. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom4 Dec 2028
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Squad4 Dec 2028
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.
Market4 Dec 2028
Leandro Cabrera 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 Espanyol hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad4 Dec 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Leandro Cabrera commits to Espanyol for another 2 years.
Match2 Dec 2028
The wait goes on for Espanyol
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.
Squad4 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 Espanyol this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Dec 2028
The manager makes an example of Omar El Hilali
“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 ratings4 Dec 2028
Marked 9.08 — 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.
Match2 Dec 2028
Tyrhys Dolan scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Málaga, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom6 Nov 2028
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market6 Nov 2028
Albert Kotlín 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 Espanyol can pretend not to have heard.
Match4 Nov 2028
The wait goes on for Espanyol
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.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Tyrhys Dolan 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 Espanyol this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings6 Nov 2028
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad6 Nov 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Pere Milla, and the manager let it.
Player ratings6 Nov 2028
Marked 8.61 — 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.
Match4 Nov 2028
It needed Leandro Cabrera to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Getafe, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match28 Oct 2028
Chastening afternoon for Espanyol
A 1‑4 beating by Athletic Bilbao was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
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 Espanyol this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
Marked 9.14 — 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.
Squad30 Oct 2028
The manager makes an example of Leandro Cabrera
“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.
Boardroom30 Oct 2028
Nobody left the Espanyol dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Ángel Fortuño 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.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
Javi Puado leaves them behind him
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Market30 Oct 2028
The Tyrhys Dolan talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Espanyol know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Sep 2028
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.
Squad11 Sep 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 Espanyol this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings11 Sep 2028
Marked 8.83 — 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 ratings11 Sep 2028
Marked 8.75 — 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 ratings11 Sep 2028
Marked 8.61 — 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.
Squad11 Sep 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marko Dmitrović, and the manager let it.
Player ratings11 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad11 Sep 2028
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match2 Sep 2028
Derby days make names, and Omar Sadik made his against Barcelona. 2‑1, bragging rights secured, and one half of town will be tired of hearing about him by Tuesday.
Squad4 Sep 2028
There were 13 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.
Boardroom4 Sep 2028
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Market4 Sep 2028
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Espanyol heard it as anything else.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
There are goals, and then there are goals against that particular opponent. The Espanyol support have their bragging rights for a year and they know exactly whose name is on them.
Squad4 Sep 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 Espanyol this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 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.
Squad4 Sep 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jon Vidal and Espanyol agree another 5 years.
Market4 Sep 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Tyrhys Dolan’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom7 Aug 2028
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Pol Campos has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Tyrhys Dolan 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 Espanyol this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Leandro Cabrera, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Aug 2028
24 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Market7 Aug 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Tyrhys Dolan’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market7 Aug 2028
Espanyol have made Mihailo Stevanović available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Boardroom7 Aug 2028
Espanyol pull $28.8M back off the table
The money that was there in the summer is not there now. Nobody upstairs calls this a change of ambition, and everybody downstairs reads it as one.
Squad7 Aug 2028
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Leandro Cabrera keeps the shirt for now, at Espanyol's convenience rather than his own.
Market7 Aug 2028
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Sergio Molina arrives at Espanyol with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 Jul 2028
Tyrhys Dolan 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
Leandro Cabrera asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market31 Jul 2028
The Edu Expósito talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Espanyol know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 Jul 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.
Squad24 Jul 2028
16 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Leandro Cabrera 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Jun 2028
The medical room confirms 14 days on the sidelines for Tyrhys Dolan, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Market12 Jun 2028
Oviedo pay $2.1M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Tyrhys Dolan 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 Espanyol this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom5 Jun 2028
Pol Campos has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Espanyol can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Squad5 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 Espanyol this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 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.
Market5 Jun 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Espanyol will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad5 Jun 2028
The armband comes off Javi Puado
Espanyol will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
Market5 Jun 2028
The name of Omar El Hilali keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Espanyol say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom22 May 2028
Pressure builds in the Espanyol boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad22 May 2028
Kike García 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.
Squad22 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Miguel Rubio, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match6 May 2028
Chastening afternoon for Espanyol
A 0‑5 beating by Celta was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Boardroom8 May 2028
Pol Campos has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Espanyol can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Squad8 May 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Leandro Cabrera and Espanyol agree another 2 years.
Squad8 May 2028
Tyrhys Dolan 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.
Squad8 May 2028
The manager makes an example of Omar El Hilali
“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.
Squad8 May 2028
Pol Lozano is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.54 with 5 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Boardroom8 May 2028
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.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Pere Milla runs at them all day
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.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Shots: 10, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 May 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Espanyol may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market1 May 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 Espanyol, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad1 May 2028
12 goals and a season average of 7.59. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad1 May 2028
Tyrhys Dolan 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 Espanyol this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 May 2028
Kike García 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 ratings1 May 2028
A performance of 8.87 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings1 May 2028
A performance of 8.67 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings1 May 2028
Marked 8.64 — 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.
Match29 Apr 2028
3‑3, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
A defender's afternoon for Urko González
Defensive actions: 41. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad17 Apr 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.
Squad17 Apr 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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Carlos Domínguez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad17 Apr 2028
“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.
Match15 Apr 2028
Three points for Espanyol, 1‑0 the final word against Sevilla in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
A performance of 8.05 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market17 Apr 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Tyrhys Dolan’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Player ratings6 Mar 2028
Nobody could get near Pol Lozano
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Edu Expósito commits to Espanyol for another 4 years.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Tyrhys Dolan 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 Espanyol this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match4 Mar 2028
It finished 3‑1, and it was Javi Puado’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Espanyol.
Squad6 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Leandro Cabrera
“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 ratings6 Mar 2028
A performance of 8.69 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings6 Mar 2028
Marked 8.63 — 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 ratings6 Mar 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Feb 2028
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.
Market7 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.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Tyrhys Dolan 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 Espanyol this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Feb 2028
The manager makes an example of Javi Puado
“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 ratings7 Feb 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.94, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
A performance of 8.34 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad7 Feb 2028
8 goals and a season average of 7.22. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match5 Feb 2028
A 1‑1 draw with Las Palmas leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
Javi Puado leaves them behind him
Shots: 6. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 Jan 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.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Tyrhys Dolan 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 Jan 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Leandro Cabrera, and the manager let it.
Player ratings17 Jan 2028
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings17 Jan 2028
Marked 8.49 — 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 ratings17 Jan 2028
Marked 8.44 — 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 ratings17 Jan 2028
Marked 8.37 — 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.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Pol Lozano
3 goals and a season average of 7.42 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Ángel Fortuño 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
Uneasy
Match22 Dec 2027
Cup progress for Espanyol
A 3‑1 win over Athletic Bilbao, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad27 Dec 2027
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Kike García 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 ratings27 Dec 2027
Marked 9.76 — 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.
Match25 Dec 2027
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
Marked 8.36 — 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 ratings27 Dec 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.30, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad27 Dec 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jofre Carreras, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad13 Dec 2027
Tyrhys Dolan 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 Dec 2027
A performance of 9.26 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
A performance of 8.54 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.06, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
Marked 8.00 — 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.
Squad13 Dec 2027
The manager makes an example of Marcos André
“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.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Álex Calatrava 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 Espanyol, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad13 Dec 2027
“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
Squad22 Nov 2027
“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.
Squad22 Nov 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Pol Lozano and Espanyol agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad22 Nov 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.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Pablo Ramón 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 ratings22 Nov 2027
Marked 9.05 — 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 ratings22 Nov 2027
A performance of 8.02 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match20 Nov 2027
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The terraces22 Nov 2027
Everybody has an opinion about Marko Dmitrović
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.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Shots: 6, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad4 Oct 2027
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 ratings4 Oct 2027
A defender's afternoon for Pol Lozano
Defensive actions: 29. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Pere Milla and Espanyol agree another 2 years.
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
Defensive actions: 22, 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 ratings4 Oct 2027
Marked 9.60 — 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 ratings4 Oct 2027
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.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marko Dmitrović, and the manager let it.
Match2 Oct 2027
Three points for Espanyol, 1‑0 the final word against Real Sociedad in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Horaţiu Moldovan 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad13 Sep 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match11 Sep 2027
5 matches without a win for Espanyol
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Espanyol are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Tyrhys Dolan 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 Espanyol this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
A performance of 8.51 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad13 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Omar Sadik
“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.
Match11 Sep 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Market13 Sep 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Javi Puado’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Shots: 6. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
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.
Market6 Sep 2027
Edu Expósito 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 Espanyol hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Match4 Sep 2027
The wait goes on for Espanyol
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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Tyrhys Dolan 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 ratings6 Sep 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.77, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
A performance of 8.59 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad6 Sep 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.
Match4 Sep 2027
It needed Tyrhys Dolan to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Alavés, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Tyrhys Dolan finally opens his account
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Espanyol have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad23 Aug 2027
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.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market23 Aug 2027
Marcos André 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 Espanyol can pretend not to have heard.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Tyrhys Dolan 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.
Market23 Aug 2027
The shirt still fits. Jesús Suárez is back at Espanyol, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market23 Aug 2027
The shirt still fits. Ricardo Sosa is back at Espanyol, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market23 Aug 2027
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Alberto Giménez is a Espanyol player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Squad23 Aug 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jofre Carreras and Espanyol agree another 4 years.
Match21 Aug 2027
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.