“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Atlantas can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Atlantas have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Dominik Dinga and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The 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.
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.
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Atlantas know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
“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 The request is on a desk at Atlantas, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from Stumbras for Justas Dubickas was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Dominik Dinga 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Arnas Mikoliunas is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
The phone has started ringing about Rokas Satkus again, and this time the name on the line is Siauliai. Atlantas are listening politely and promising nothing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mika Peters was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 The request is on a desk at Atlantas, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from Stumbras for Marius Simkus was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 17 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Karolis Kazlauskas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Atlantas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dominik Dinga 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Tibeau van Leerdam and Atlantas agree another 3 years.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Linas Satkus and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Atlantas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dominik Dinga is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlantas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Atlantas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Viktor Petrović 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.
SquadQuestions about Edgaras Sernas on the training pitch
20Edition
The Atlantas Herald
14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondentUneasy
Squad14 Dec 2026
Dominik Dinga falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlantas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Karolis Kazlauskas 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.
At 17 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dominik Dinga was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
SquadA muscle injury and 14 days out for Marius Kuklys
Karolis Kazlauskas 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dominik Dinga was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Rokas Satkus is on it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlantas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Arnas Sernas was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlantas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and David Jablonský was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Abdel Jelil Ahamat was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Dominik Dinga 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 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 medical room confirms 17 days on the sidelines for Donatas Klimavicius, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad26 Oct 2026
8 new faces, and Atlantas are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 18 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlantas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 35 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
In brief
SquadDavid Jablonský falls out with a teammate over standards
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Atlantas will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
David Jablonský was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 17 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
In brief
SquadDominik Dinga falls out with a teammate over standards
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Atlantas will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Karolis Kazlauskas 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.
Baboye Traoré is 36 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Atlantas will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Viktor Petrović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
6 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.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Linas Satkus 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dominik Dinga was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Atlantas would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Atlantas know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Atlantas, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Atlantas can pretend not to have heard.
Abdel Jelil Ahamat 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.
$11.0K was the most the club would pay and Trakai were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
He is doing his job and he is not settling. Atlantas were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Dominik Dinga 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.
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Atlantas will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Paulius Paulauskas had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 16 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 5 signed and 0 gone
That is the business done at Atlantas until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $33.4K — a club that wants Eduardas Jurjonas enough to be asked twice.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Trakai moved on, Edgaras Sernas reports back to Atlantas, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Stumbras have kept their man, and Atlantas go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Viktor Petrović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Atlantas, and it is not being withdrawn.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 23 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $11.1K — a club that wants Arvydas Sernas enough to be asked twice.
Atlantas have gone to Kauno Zalgiris with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
$10.0K on the table at Trakai. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
$11.0K was the most the club would pay and Utenis were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Utenis have kept their man, and Atlantas go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Atlantas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aidas Novikovas 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Atlantas will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $10.3K — a club that wants Andrius Satkus enough to be asked twice.
$340.0K on the table at Kauno Zalgiris. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
$11.0K on the table at Utenis. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlantas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: Trakai have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Edgaras Sernas. The answer from Atlantas has not changed — yet.
Atlantas asked and Utenis said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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 most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Atlantas will quote 16 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Uglješa Radinović scored, was marked 7.53, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Karolis Kazlauskas 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Aidas Novikovas, and the manager let it.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
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 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Arnas Simkus to a room that had heard them before.
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Atlantas know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Dominik Dinga has, at Atlantas, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
The offer went to Suduva this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Linas Satkus was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlantas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The offer from Molodechno for Paulius Paulauskas was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“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 Atlantas, and it is not being withdrawn.
Linas Satkus and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Atlantas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aidas Novikovas 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.
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Atlantas will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Kauno Zalgiris have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Atlantas has been clear about where Arnas Valskis stands, which is more than many ever get.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Atlantas, and both men came out saying it was fine.