From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad13 Aug 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.
Boardroom13 Aug 2029
Still nobody in the Ceuta dugout
12 days with the chair empty, a list of names that grows and shrinks by the day, and not one signature on anything. Every week that passes takes the best candidates off it.
Squad13 Aug 2029
Benji Wetshi 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.
Joel Lebrón Joel Lebrón says Ceuta went back on their word
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom6 Aug 2029
The statement thanked him for his efforts and wished him well, in that order and in about that many words. The search begins immediately.
Boardroom6 Aug 2029
“Somebody has to pick the team on Saturday, and this week that is me.” An interim appointment with no promises attached, which is how most of them start.
Squad6 Aug 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jordi Escobar and Ceuta agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad6 Aug 2029
The manager makes an example of Ángel Galván
“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.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Ceuta 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.
Boardroom6 Aug 2029
Ceuta pull $2.0M back off the tableThe 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom30 Jul 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Ceuta
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market30 Jul 2029
“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.
Boardroom30 Jul 2029
94% of the income goes out in wages at Ceuta
Every club in football 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 somebody has tried it.
Squad30 Jul 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.
Market30 Jul 2029
The José Matos talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ceuta know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad30 Jul 2029
Juanmi 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Jul 2029
Ceuta sink to position 2135 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad23 Jul 2029
Juanmi : 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.” Ceuta have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad23 Jul 2029
The manager makes an example of Redru
“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.
Juanmi Juanmi: that is not what I was promised
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad16 Jul 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.
Market16 Jul 2029
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ceuta know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Redru 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad9 Jul 2029
The manager makes an example of Ángel Galván
“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.
Squad9 Jul 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ayoub Makhfaoui commits to Ceuta for another 4 years.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Andrea Caleffi 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 Ceuta , and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom2 Jul 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Ceuta
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Boardroom2 Jul 2029
Interim Coach has until the next board meetingWhat was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Ceuta can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market2 Jul 2029
“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.
Squad2 Jul 2029
15 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad2 Jul 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Nemanja Subotić and Ceuta agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad2 Jul 2029
The manager makes an example of Mohamed Bamba
“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.
Boardroom2 Jul 2029
Wages eat 89% of everything Ceuta 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.
Squad2 Jul 2029
The armband comes off José Matos
Ceuta 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.
Market2 Jul 2029
The José Matos talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ceuta know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match25 Jun 2029
Ceuta sink to position 2135 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad25 Jun 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.
Squad25 Jun 2029
The manager makes an example of Clément Michel
“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.
Squad25 Jun 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Steven Lawrence commits to Ceuta for another 4 years.
Market25 Jun 2029
Experience through the door at Ceuta
Nemanja Subotić arrives at 37 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Squad25 Jun 2029
A new face in his position, and Diego González suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Ceuta have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 Jun 2029
Redru 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.
Market18 Jun 2029
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ceuta know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad18 Jun 2029
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Diego González keeps the shirt for now, at Ceuta 's convenience rather than his own.
Redru Redru gets it from the manager
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Jun 2029
The manager makes an example of Ángel Galván
“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.
Squad11 Jun 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Davide Buonpane commits to Ceuta for another 4 years.
Market11 Jun 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.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Jordi Escobar has company in his positionThe competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Jordi Escobar keeps the shirt for now, at Ceuta 's convenience rather than his own.
Market11 Jun 2029
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Fraser Neill arrives at Ceuta with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.
Market11 Jun 2029
No fee and no drama: Matteo Italia has signed at Ceuta , and the wage bill is the only line that moved.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom4 Jun 2029
The caretaker keeps it: Interim Coach confirmed
A month of looking elsewhere ended where it started. He already knows every name in the building; the rest of it he now has to prove in public.
Squad4 Jun 2029
17 goals and a season average of 7.64. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Market4 Jun 2029
“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.
Jastin Jastin is carrying Ceuta
Match2 Jun 2029
No end in sight to Ceuta 's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Ceuta has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad4 Jun 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Clément Michel commits to Ceuta for another 2 years.
Match2 Jun 2029
Ceuta come up short against Cádiz Cádiz left with the points after a 2-3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Manu Sánchez 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.
Squad4 Jun 2029
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Clément Michel will call it something else in private.
Market4 Jun 2029
The José Matos talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ceuta know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match28 May 2029
Ceuta are in real trouble nowPosition 21, 35 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Match26 May 2029
A bad afternoon for Ceuta against Córdoba
1-3 to Córdoba , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad28 May 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.
Squad28 May 2029
Yann Bodiger has company in his positionThe competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Yann Bodiger keeps the shirt for now, at Ceuta 's convenience rather than his own.
Squad28 May 2029
Redru 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.
Market28 May 2029
No fee and no drama: Markus Kasemaa Jarl has signed at Ceuta , and the wage bill is the only line that moved.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 May 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad21 May 2029
Benji Wetshi : 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.” Ceuta have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match19 May 2029
A bad afternoon for Ceuta against Granada
1-2 to Granada , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 May 2029
A hiding for Ceuta
Beaten 0-4 by Racing Santander , and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad14 May 2029
A one-man rearguard from Pedro López
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.
Market14 May 2029
Yiğit Ercan has one foot out of the doorTerms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ceuta they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom14 May 2029
Ceuta still without a manager13 days since the seat came open, a list of names doing the rounds, and nobody has signed anything. Every week this drags on the shortlist gets shorter.
Squad14 May 2029
The manager makes an example of Jofre Torrents
“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.
Squad14 May 2029
7 goals and a season average of 7.42. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
In brief
Boardroom
Nobody left the Ceuta dressing room in a hurry
Squad
Anuar knocks on the manager's door
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom7 May 2029
The statement thanked him for his efforts and wished him well, in that order and in about that many words. The search begins immediately.
Squad7 May 2029
15 goals and a season average of 7.65. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Boardroom7 May 2029
“Somebody has to pick the team on Saturday, and this week that is me.” An interim appointment with no promises attached, which is how most of them start.
Jastin Jastin is carrying Ceuta
Market7 May 2029
Joel Lebrón 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 Ceuta can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 May 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” José Matos commits to Ceuta for another 2 years.
Match5 May 2029
Real Sociedad B made Ceuta work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad7 May 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.
Squad7 May 2029
A booking nobody needed, on a night the game was already won. Ceuta lose a player for the most avoidable reason there is.
Market7 May 2029
José Matos linked with a move awayThe name of José Matos keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Ceuta say nothing, which says plenty.
In brief
Boardroom
Ceuta pull $2.0M back off the table
Boardroom
Ceuta keep producing them
The terraces
The press have found their man in Jastin
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom30 Apr 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Ceuta
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Match30 Apr 2029
Ceuta sink to position 2132 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Match28 Apr 2029
Chastening afternoon for Ceuta
A 1-4 beating by Valladolid was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market30 Apr 2029
“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.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Jastin is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.62 with 14 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad30 Apr 2029
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.
Match28 Apr 2029
5 matches without a win for Ceuta
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Ceuta are no longer polite ones.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Ángel Galván 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.
Boardroom30 Apr 2029
Nobody left the Ceuta 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match21 Apr 2029
4 matches without a win for Ceuta
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Ceuta are no longer polite ones.
Squad23 Apr 2029
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Ceuta pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Squad23 Apr 2029
The manager makes an example of Redru
“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.
Match21 Apr 2029
Ceuta share the spoils with Eibar A 1-1 draw with Eibar leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The terraces23 Apr 2029
Everybody has an opinion about Abou Bassinga
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.
Market23 Apr 2029
The name of Diego González keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Ceuta say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Apr 2029
Yiğit Ercan has one foot out of the doorTerms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ceuta they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad16 Apr 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.
Squad16 Apr 2029
50 goals for the club, every one of them filed away in the memory of a supporter somewhere.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Apr 2029
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.
Squad9 Apr 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.
Squad9 Apr 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Yann Bodiger commits to Ceuta for another 2 years.
Squad9 Apr 2029
7 goals and a season average of 7.43. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match7 Apr 2029
Ceuta and Burgos take a point apieceIt finished 2-2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Market9 Apr 2029
José Matos linked with a move awayThe name of José Matos keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Ceuta say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom2 Apr 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Ceuta
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Match2 Apr 2029
Ceuta sink to position 2029 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad2 Apr 2029
14 goals and a season average of 7.61. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Jastin Jastin is carrying Ceuta
Squad2 Apr 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Yann Bodiger and Ceuta agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match31 Mar 2029
Beaten 3-4, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad2 Apr 2029
The manager makes an example of Salvi Sánchez
“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
Squad26 Mar 2029
A one-man rearguard from Pedro López
There were 10 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.
Market26 Mar 2029
Bryan Padilla 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 Ceuta can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Mar 2029
13 goals and a season average of 7.59. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match24 Mar 2029
Leganés made Ceuta work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad26 Mar 2029
The manager makes an example of Ángel Galván
“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.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Konrad De la Fuente has let it be known that he does not like the way Ceuta are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Mar 2029
12 goals and a season average of 7.55. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Market19 Mar 2029
Yiğit Ercan has one foot out of the doorTerms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ceuta they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match17 Mar 2029
Three points for Ceuta , 3-1 the final word against Castellón in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Jastin Jastin is carrying Ceuta
Squad19 Mar 2029
The manager makes an example of Mohamed Bamba
“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.
Squad19 Mar 2029
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Clément Michel will call it something else in private.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Bryan Padilla 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match10 Mar 2029
8 matches without a win for Ceuta
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Ceuta are no longer polite ones.
Squad12 Mar 2029
15 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Match10 Mar 2029
A bad afternoon for Ceuta against Andorra
1-2 to Andorra , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad12 Mar 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Mirko Elia and Ceuta agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad12 Mar 2029
The manager makes an example of Redru
“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.
Market12 Mar 2029
José Matos linked with a move awayThe name of José Matos keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Ceuta say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom5 Mar 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Ceuta
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Match5 Mar 2029
Ceuta are in real trouble nowPosition 21, 23 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Boardroom5 Mar 2029
Interim Coach has until the next board meetingWhat was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Ceuta can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Squad5 Mar 2029
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.
Match3 Mar 2029
7 matches without a win for Ceuta
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Ceuta are no longer polite ones.
Market5 Mar 2029
The shirt still fits. Matteo Porta is back at Ceuta , and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Squad5 Mar 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.
Squad5 Mar 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Anuar and Ceuta agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad5 Mar 2029
A season average of 7.40 with 6 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match24 Feb 2029
Chastening afternoon for Ceuta
A 1-4 beating by Oviedo was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad26 Feb 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.
Match24 Feb 2029
6 matches without a win for Ceuta
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Ceuta are no longer polite ones.
Squad26 Feb 2029
The manager makes an example of Jordi Escobar
“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.
Squad26 Feb 2029
A season average of 7.36 with 5 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Boardroom26 Feb 2029
Inquest at Ceuta
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Feb 2029
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ceuta have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match17 Feb 2029
5 matches without a win for Ceuta
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Ceuta are no longer polite ones.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Jastin is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.53 with 11 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Market19 Feb 2029
Yiğit Ercan has one foot out of the doorTerms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ceuta they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Pedro López 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.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Salvi Sánchez 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 Ceuta , and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match10 Feb 2029
4 matches without a win for Ceuta
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Ceuta are no longer polite ones.
Squad12 Feb 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Aitor Morcillo and Ceuta agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match10 Feb 2029
A bad afternoon for Ceuta against Zaragoza
1-2 to Zaragoza , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad12 Feb 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad12 Feb 2029
One booking too many, and Jordi Escobar sits out. Ceuta lose him for the sort of avoidable reason that makes a manager's week longer.
Squad12 Feb 2029
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
In brief
Market
José Matos linked with a move away
Boardroom
Ceuta keep producing them
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom5 Feb 2029
The caretaker keeps it: Interim Coach confirmed
A month of looking elsewhere ended where it started. He already knows every name in the building; the rest of it he now has to prove in public.
Match5 Feb 2029
Ceuta sink to position 2021 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market5 Feb 2029
The shirt still fits. Aitor Morcillo is back at Ceuta , and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market5 Feb 2029
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Match3 Feb 2029
Beaten 3-4, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad5 Feb 2029
Manu Sánchez 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.
Squad5 Feb 2029
A season average of 7.32 with 4 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad5 Feb 2029
Clément Michel 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.
Squad5 Feb 2029
Beaten 4 times, with 5 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad29 Jan 2029
A one-man rearguard from Pedro López
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.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Redru : 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.” Ceuta have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match27 Jan 2029
A bad afternoon for Ceuta against Girona
2-4 to Girona , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad29 Jan 2029
The manager makes an example of Ángel Galván
“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.
Squad29 Jan 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Andrea Caleffi and Ceuta agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market29 Jan 2029
He is 20, and nobody at Ceuta signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
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.
Market22 Jan 2029
Levante come back empty-handedThe bid was some way short and Ceuta did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad22 Jan 2029
11 goals and a season average of 7.54. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Ángel Galván Ángel Galván says Ceuta went back on their word
Market22 Jan 2029
Yiğit Ercan has one foot out of the doorTerms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ceuta they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match20 Jan 2029
Beaten 3-4, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad22 Jan 2029
The manager makes an example of Jofre Torrents
“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
Squad15 Jan 2029
A one-man rearguard from Ángel Galván
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.
Squad15 Jan 2029
10 goals and a season average of 7.50. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Market15 Jan 2029
The shirt still fits. Jean-Baptiste Maillard is back at Ceuta , and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market15 Jan 2029
Andrea Pavanello has left for Huesca in a $520.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Boardroom15 Jan 2029
Ceuta still without a manager14 days since the seat came open, a list of names doing the rounds, and nobody has signed anything. Every week this drags on the shortlist gets shorter.
Match13 Jan 2029
A 3-2 win over Albacete , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad15 Jan 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ayoub Makhfaoui commits to Ceuta for another 4 years.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Anuar 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.
Market15 Jan 2029
José Matos linked with a move awayThe name of José Matos keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Ceuta say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom8 Jan 2029
The statement thanked him for his efforts and wished him well, in that order and in about that many words. The search begins immediately.
Match6 Jan 2029
A hiding for Ceuta
Beaten 1-5 by Cádiz , and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Match8 Jan 2029
Ceuta sink to position 2118 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Boardroom8 Jan 2029
“Somebody picks the team on Saturday. This week it is me, and that is as far as I have thought.” No promises were made in either direction, which is how these usually begin.
Market8 Jan 2029
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Squad8 Jan 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Rasheed Owolabi and Ceuta agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Jan 2029
The manager makes an example of José Matos
“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.
Boardroom8 Jan 2029
Nobody left the Ceuta 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.
Squad8 Jan 2029
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Luis Vargas knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 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.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Jastin is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.46 with 9 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match30 Dec 2028
Córdoba made Ceuta work for it, but the scoreboard read 3-2 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad1 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.
Squad1 Jan 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mathis Hannedouche commits to Ceuta for another 4 years.
Market1 Jan 2029
The name of Diego González keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Ceuta say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad25 Dec 2028
Anuar : 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.” Ceuta have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market25 Dec 2028
Yiğit Ercan has one foot out of the doorTerms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ceuta they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match23 Dec 2028
No end in sight to Ceuta 's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Ceuta has to find a result from somewhere.
Anuar Anuar: that is not what I was promised
Match23 Dec 2028
A bad afternoon for Ceuta against Granada
1-3 to Granada , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Jastin is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.40 with 8 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad25 Dec 2028
The manager makes an example of Yann Bodiger
“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.
In brief
Squad
Yann Bodiger has company in his position
The terraces
The press cannot get enough of Jastin
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad18 Dec 2028
Redru : 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.” Ceuta have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market18 Dec 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ceuta is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad18 Dec 2028
19 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Redru Redru: that is not what I was promised
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match9 Dec 2028
Chastening afternoon for Ceuta
A 0-3 beating by Real Sociedad B was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match11 Dec 2028
Ceuta are in real trouble nowPosition 20, 14 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Squad11 Dec 2028
33 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market11 Dec 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ceuta is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Manu Sánchez 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.
Boardroom11 Dec 2028
Nobody left the Ceuta 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom4 Dec 2028
Pressure builds in the Ceuta boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad4 Dec 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Salvi Sánchez commits to Ceuta for another 2 years.
Match2 Dec 2028
0-2 to Valladolid , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad4 Dec 2028
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Pedro López knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Squad4 Dec 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.
Boardroom4 Dec 2028
Ceuta pull $2.0M back off the tableThe 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad27 Nov 2028
A one-man rearguard from Pedro López
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.
Match25 Nov 2028
Eibar made Ceuta work for it, but the scoreboard read 4-3 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad27 Nov 2028
7 goals and a season average of 7.34. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad20 Nov 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad20 Nov 2028
19 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market20 Nov 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ceuta is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match13 Nov 2028
Ceuta sink to position 2011 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad13 Nov 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.
Squad13 Nov 2028
63 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Benji Wetshi Benji Wetshi says Ceuta went back on their word
Market13 Nov 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ceuta is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match11 Nov 2028
Ceuta come up short against Burgos Burgos left with the points after a 3-4 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad13 Nov 2028
14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Jastin is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.26 with 6 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Market13 Nov 2028
Ceuta bring in an old headClément Michel is 35 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.
Market13 Nov 2028
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Aitor Morcillo leaves Ceuta the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
In brief
The terraces
The press have found their man in Jordi Escobar
Boardroom
The Ceuta production line keeps running
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Boardroom6 Nov 2028
Pressure builds in the Ceuta boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Boardroom6 Nov 2028
Carlos Cano has until the next board meetingWhat was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Ceuta can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Match4 Nov 2028
Three points for Ceuta , 2-1 the final word against Huesca in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad6 Nov 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.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Jastin is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.20 with 5 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Boardroom6 Nov 2028
Ceuta pull $2.0M back off the tableThe 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market30 Oct 2028
Aitor Morcillo has one foot out of the doorTerms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ceuta they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match28 Oct 2028
Beaten 2-3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Manu Sánchez 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
Crisis
Match21 Oct 2028
Chastening afternoon for Ceuta
A 0-3 beating by Castellón was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad23 Oct 2028
The medical room confirms 48 days on the sidelines for Yann Bodiger , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Market23 Oct 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ceuta is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad23 Oct 2028
77 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Yann Bodiger 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.
Boardroom23 Oct 2028
Inquest at Ceuta
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Oct 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.
Market16 Oct 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ceuta is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match14 Oct 2028
Ceuta get the job done against Andorra A 4-2 win over Andorra , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Dermot Mee Dermot Mee says Ceuta went back on their word
Squad16 Oct 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Benji Wetshi commits to Ceuta for another 4 years.
Squad16 Oct 2028
The manager makes an example of Anuar
“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.
Squad16 Oct 2028
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Ceuta have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Oct 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” José Matos commits to Ceuta for another 2 years.
Match7 Oct 2028
Honours even between Ceuta and Levante
3-3, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Market9 Oct 2028
The name of Diego González keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Ceuta say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Oct 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.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Redru says Ceuta went back on their word“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.
Market2 Oct 2028
Aitor Morcillo has one foot out of the doorTerms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ceuta they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad2 Oct 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” José Matos and Ceuta agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match30 Sep 2028
Ceuta get the job done against Oviedo A 2-1 win over Oviedo , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad2 Oct 2028
The manager makes an example of Salvi Sánchez
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Sep 2028
No end in sight to Ceuta 's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Ceuta has to find a result from somewhere.
Match20 Sep 2028
Ceuta out of the cupZaragoza ended it 0-1. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
The terraces25 Sep 2028
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 6 of the 30 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Squad25 Sep 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad25 Sep 2028
107 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market25 Sep 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ceuta is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match23 Sep 2028
Gijón take the points off Ceuta Beaten 2-3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad25 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.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Jordi Escobar 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 Ceuta , and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
Market
José Matos linked with a move away
The terraces
The spotlight tightens on Salvi Sánchez
The terraces
The press have found their man in Jastin
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match16 Sep 2028
No end in sight to Ceuta 's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Ceuta has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad18 Sep 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market18 Sep 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ceuta is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Sep 2028
A one-man rearguard from Pedro López
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.
Match9 Sep 2028
No end in sight to Ceuta 's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Ceuta has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad11 Sep 2028
The manager makes an example of Rasheed Owolabi
“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.
Match9 Sep 2028
It finished 2-2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Jastin 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 Ceuta , and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market11 Sep 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ceuta know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad4 Sep 2028
Jastin says Ceuta went back on their word“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.
Squad4 Sep 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.
Match2 Sep 2028
No end in sight to Ceuta 's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Ceuta has to find a result from somewhere.
Jastin Jastin says Ceuta went back on their word
Market4 Sep 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ceuta is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad4 Sep 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Yann Bodiger commits to Ceuta for another 2 years.
Match2 Sep 2028
Ceuta come up short against Girona Girona left with the points after a 2-4 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 Aug 2028
Mohamed Bamba : 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.” Ceuta have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match26 Aug 2028
No end in sight to Ceuta 's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Ceuta has to find a result from somewhere.
Match26 Aug 2028
A bad afternoon for Ceuta against Mirandés
1-3 to Mirandés , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad28 Aug 2028
The manager makes an example of José Matos
“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.
Market28 Aug 2028
Huesca are about to pick up the phoneA conversation is coming this week. Ceuta will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Manu Sánchez 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Aug 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.
Market21 Aug 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market21 Aug 2028
Dermot Mee has one foot out of the doorTerms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ceuta they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market21 Aug 2028
The shirt still fits. José Méndez is back at Ceuta , and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market21 Aug 2028
The shirt still fits. Francisco Ibañez is back at Ceuta , and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Match19 Aug 2028
Beaten 1-3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Aug 2028
Andorra are about to pick up the phoneA conversation is coming this week. Ceuta will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad14 Aug 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Diego González commits to Ceuta for another 5 years.
Squad14 Aug 2028
The manager makes an example of Salvi Sánchez
“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
Boardroom7 Aug 2028
Pressure builds in the Ceuta boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Boardroom7 Aug 2028
Carlos Cano has until the next board meetingWhat was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Ceuta can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market7 Aug 2028
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Ceuta have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Market7 Aug 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ceuta is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad7 Aug 2028
The manager makes an example of Jordi Escobar
“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.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Redru signs a new deal“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Redru commits to Ceuta for another 3 years.
Boardroom7 Aug 2028
Ceuta pull $1.3K back off the tableThe 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.
Market7 Aug 2028
Ceuta and Pedro López are talking past each other“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 Aug 2028
Nobody at Ceuta has picked up the phone to Redru
36 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 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.
Squad31 Jul 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Benji Wetshi commits to Ceuta for another 4 years.
Squad31 Jul 2028
The manager makes an example of Rafael Brito
“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
Market24 Jul 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
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.
Market24 Jul 2028
Dermot Mee has one foot out of the doorTerms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ceuta they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Jul 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ceuta have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market17 Jul 2028
The name of Jordi Escobar has come up in conversations Ceuta were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The terraces17 Jul 2028
Supporters make their feelings known about Jordi Escobar
The speculation has reached the stands, and the stands have answered. Ceuta would like this settled before it becomes the only thing anybody asks about.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom10 Jul 2028
Pressure builds in the Ceuta boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market10 Jul 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ceuta is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad10 Jul 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jarno Janssen commits to Ceuta for another 4 years.
Squad10 Jul 2028
The manager makes an example of Dermot Mee
“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.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Manu Sánchez 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 Ceuta , and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market10 Jul 2028
The name of Diego González keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Ceuta say nothing, which says plenty.
In brief
Squad
Yann Bodiger has started doing his badges
Boardroom
The Ceuta production line keeps running
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom3 Jul 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.
Squad3 Jul 2028
The manager makes an example of Anuar
“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.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Manu Sánchez 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.
Anuar The manager makes an example of Anuar
Market3 Jul 2028
The José Matos talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ceuta know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Boardroom3 Jul 2028
$1.3K taken back off the Ceuta table
What was available in the summer has quietly gone. Upstairs nobody will call it a change of ambition; downstairs nobody will call it anything else.
Squad3 Jul 2028
It is a strip of cloth and it decides nothing on a Saturday. It still tells the dressing room exactly whose opinion the manager values, which is the whole point of it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Jun 2028
Ekaitz Jiménez : 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.” Ceuta have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market26 Jun 2028
Dermot Mee has one foot out of the doorTerms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ceuta they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market26 Jun 2028
Steven Lawrence is 16, and Ceuta 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.
Squad26 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.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Salvi Sánchez 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.
Squad26 Jun 2028
A new face in his position, and Konrad De la Fuente suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Ceuta have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Jun 2028
Almería pay $16.4M, 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.
Market19 Jun 2028
Mirandés pay $1.1M, 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.
Market19 Jun 2028
Lander Olaetxea has left for Almería in a $180.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Market19 Jun 2028
A conversation is coming this week. Ceuta will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad19 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.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Salvi Sánchez 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 Ceuta , and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom12 Jun 2028
Pressure builds in the Ceuta boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market12 Jun 2028
Huesca come back empty-handedThe bid was some way short and Ceuta did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market12 Jun 2028
Mirandés pay $1.7M, 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.
Market12 Jun 2028
Burgos pay $1.6M, 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.
Market12 Jun 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ceuta is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad12 Jun 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Mohamed Bamba and Ceuta agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad12 Jun 2028
The manager makes an example of Jordi Escobar
“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.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Anuar 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.
Squad12 Jun 2028
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Ceuta that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
In brief
The terraces
Supporters make their feelings known about Yann Bodiger
Boardroom
The Ceuta production line keeps running
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom5 Jun 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.
Market5 Jun 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Ignacio Schor is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.25 with 10 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad5 Jun 2028
The manager makes an example of Salvi Sánchez
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match3 Jun 2028
Honours even between Ceuta and Leganés
2-2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Market5 Jun 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Ceuta will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Jordi Escobar 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.
Market5 Jun 2028
The José Matos talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ceuta know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Boardroom5 Jun 2028
$1.3K taken back off the Ceuta table
What was available in the summer has quietly gone. Upstairs nobody will call it a change of ambition; downstairs nobody will call it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match27 May 2028
A hiding for Ceuta
Beaten 0-6 by Castellón , and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
The terraces29 May 2028
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 10 of the 33 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Squad29 May 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.
Squad29 May 2028
José Matos 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.
Boardroom29 May 2028
Inquest at Ceuta
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.
Squad29 May 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ceuta , and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 May 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.
Match20 May 2028
Andorra made Ceuta work for it, but the scoreboard read 3-2 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad22 May 2028
The manager makes an example of Mohamed Bamba
“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.
Manu Sánchez Manu Sánchez says Ceuta went back on their word
Squad22 May 2028
“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.
The terraces22 May 2028
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Squad22 May 2028
At 35 he is in the side on merit and somebody else is watching from the bench. Places at Ceuta are won quietly and lost loudly.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom15 May 2028
Pressure builds in the Ceuta boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad15 May 2028
A one-man rearguard from Pedro López
There were 10 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.
Match13 May 2028
Granada made Ceuta work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad15 May 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.
Squad15 May 2028
Abou Bassinga is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.32 with 2 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad15 May 2028
Manu Sánchez 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 Ceuta , and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
The terraces
The spotlight tightens on Salvi Sánchez
Boardroom
Ceuta answer back
Boardroom
The Ceuta production line keeps running
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 May 2028
Lander Olaetxea : 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.” Ceuta have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match6 May 2028
No end in sight to Ceuta 's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Ceuta has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad8 May 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Salvi Sánchez and Ceuta agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 May 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.
Squad8 May 2028
Ignacio Schor is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.25 with 10 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match6 May 2028
It finished 2-2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
In brief
Market
The José Matos talk will not go away
Boardroom
$1.3K taken back off the Ceuta table
The terraces
The spotlight tightens on Manu Sánchez
The terraces
The press have found their man in Jordi Escobar
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad1 May 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.
Market1 May 2028
Dermot Mee 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 Ceuta can pretend not to have heard.
Squad1 May 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 Apr 2028
Las Palmas left with the points after a 1-2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad24 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of José Matos
“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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Anuar 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 Ceuta , and both men came out saying it was fine.
José Matos The manager makes an example of José Matos
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom17 Apr 2028
Pressure builds in the Ceuta boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Anuar 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.
Match15 Apr 2028
Ceuta share the spoils with Málaga A 2-2 draw with Málaga leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad17 Apr 2028
2 goals and a season average of 7.33. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad17 Apr 2028
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
In brief
The terraces
The press have found their man in José Matos
Boardroom
The Ceuta production line keeps running
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Apr 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.
Match8 Apr 2028
Burgos made Ceuta work for it, but the scoreboard read 3-1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Ignacio Schor is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.25 with 10 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad10 Apr 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Mathis Hannedouche and Ceuta agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad10 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Rafael Brito
“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.
Market10 Apr 2028
The José Matos talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ceuta know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
Carlos Cano has until the next board meetingWhat was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Ceuta can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Squad3 Apr 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.
Match1 Apr 2028
Beaten 0-2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad3 Apr 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.
Squad3 Apr 2028
The captaincy has been taken off José Campaña . Ceuta will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
Ceuta pull $1.3K back off the tableThe 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match25 Mar 2028
Chastening afternoon for Ceuta
A 1-5 beating by Almería was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad27 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Diego 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.
Boardroom27 Mar 2028
Nobody left the Ceuta 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom20 Mar 2028
Pressure builds in the Ceuta boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad20 Mar 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.
Squad20 Mar 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad13 Mar 2028
There were 10 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.
Match11 Mar 2028
Córdoba made Ceuta work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Loan watch13 Mar 2028
“I did not go to Gijón to sit and watch. I want to come back to Ceuta and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 7 matches say the rest.
Squad13 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of José Campaña
“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 Mar 2028
Ignacio Schor is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.27 with 10 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Salvi Sánchez 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 Ceuta , and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
Carlos Cano has until the next board meetingWhat was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Ceuta can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Match4 Mar 2028
6 matches without a win for Ceuta
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Ceuta are no longer polite ones.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” José Campaña commits to Ceuta for another 2 years.
Match4 Mar 2028
Ceuta come up short against Getafe Getafe left with the points after a 1-2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Loan watch6 Mar 2028
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Ceuta , and 1 appearances in 8 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad6 Mar 2028
José Matos 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.
In brief
Squad
Ignacio Schor is in the form of his life
Squad
Anuar asks for a word with the manager
Boardroom
Ceuta pull $1.3K back off the table
Boardroom
Ceuta answer back
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match26 Feb 2028
Ceuta taken apart3-6 to Levante , and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match26 Feb 2028
5 matches without a win for Ceuta
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Ceuta are no longer polite ones.
Squad28 Feb 2028
The manager makes an example of Yann Bodiger
“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.
Boardroom28 Feb 2028
Nobody left the Ceuta 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.
Squad28 Feb 2028
8 goals and a season average of 7.20. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom21 Feb 2028
Pressure builds in the Ceuta boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Match19 Feb 2028
4 matches without a win for Ceuta
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Ceuta are no longer polite ones.
Squad21 Feb 2028
The manager makes an example of Manu Sánchez
“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.
Match19 Feb 2028
Ceuta share the spoils with Gijón A 2-2 draw with Gijón leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Abou Bassinga is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.22 with 0 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Redru 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 Ceuta , and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
Squad
The manager comes out for Yann Bodiger
Boardroom
The Ceuta production line keeps running
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Feb 2028
The manager makes an example of Salvi Sánchez
“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.
Match12 Feb 2028
Ceuta and Eibar take a point apieceIt finished 1-1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Manu Sánchez 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.
Market14 Feb 2028
The José Matos talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ceuta know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Somebody is after Manu Sánchez ’s shirt
A new face in his position, and Manu Sánchez suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Ceuta have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Capa has taken the shirtAt 29 he is in the side on merit and somebody else is watching from the bench. Places at Ceuta are won quietly and lost loudly.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Carlos Cano has until the next board meetingWhat was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Ceuta can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market7 Feb 2028
Castellón come back empty-handedThe bid was some way short and Ceuta did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market7 Feb 2028
Dermot Mee 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 Ceuta can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Feb 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Yann Bodiger commits to Ceuta for another 2 years.
Squad7 Feb 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match5 Feb 2028
It finished 1-1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Manu Sánchez 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 Ceuta , and both men came out saying it was fine.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Ceuta pull $1.3K back off the tableThe 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 Feb 2028
José Campaña unhappy with how he is being usedAsked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — José Campaña has let it be known that he does not like the way Ceuta are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market31 Jan 2028
Rafael Brito 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 Ceuta can pretend not to have heard.
Match29 Jan 2028
Ceuta come up short against Girona Girona left with the points after a 1-3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad31 Jan 2028
The manager makes an example of José Matos
“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.
Squad31 Jan 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Andrea Caleffi commits to Ceuta for another 4 years.
Squad31 Jan 2028
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Guillermo Vallejo knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
The terraces31 Jan 2028
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom24 Jan 2028
Pressure builds in the Ceuta boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market24 Jan 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ceuta can pretend not to have heard.
Match22 Jan 2028
Three points for Ceuta , 1-0 the final word against Mirandés in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad24 Jan 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Salvi Sánchez 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.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Abou Bassinga is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.22 with 0 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match15 Jan 2028
No end in sight to Ceuta 's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Ceuta has to find a result from somewhere.
Market17 Jan 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad17 Jan 2028
The manager makes an example of Anuar
“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.
Capa Ceuta turn down Cultural Leonesa for Capa
Match15 Jan 2028
A 2-2 draw with Albacete leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Market17 Jan 2028
Gijón are about to pick up the phoneA conversation is coming this week. Ceuta will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad17 Jan 2028
José Campaña finally opens his accountHe wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Ceuta have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Market17 Jan 2028
The José Matos talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ceuta know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market17 Jan 2028
Ceuta have made Ekaitz Jiménez available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Squad17 Jan 2028
The wait is over, and the relief was visible from the back of the stand. 1 for the season, and the next one always comes easier.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match8 Jan 2028
No end in sight to Ceuta 's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Ceuta has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad10 Jan 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jordi Escobar commits to Ceuta for another 3 years.
Match8 Jan 2028
A bad afternoon for Ceuta against Leganés
2-4 to Leganés , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad10 Jan 2028
The manager makes an example of Manu Sánchez
“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.
Market10 Jan 2028
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Rafael Brito has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Ceuta .
Squad10 Jan 2028
Whether it was the goalkeeper or the ten in front of him is the argument that will fill every conversation in town this week. 3 saves does not settle it either way.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom3 Jan 2028
Carlos Cano has until the next board meetingWhat was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Ceuta can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market3 Jan 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Match1 Jan 2028
6 matches without a win for Ceuta
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Ceuta are no longer polite ones.
Squad3 Jan 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ignacio Schor and Ceuta agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market3 Jan 2028
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Lander Olaetxea has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Ceuta .
Match1 Jan 2028
A bad afternoon for Ceuta against Castellón
0-2 to Castellón , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad3 Jan 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.
Squad3 Jan 2028
“Ask me in the summer. I will know before anybody else does.” He is 36 with 123 appearances behind him, and Ceuta have to plan for both answers.
Boardroom3 Jan 2028
Ceuta pull $1.3K back off the tableThe 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom27 Dec 2027
Pressure builds in the Ceuta boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market27 Dec 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ceuta they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match25 Dec 2027
5 matches without a win for Ceuta
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Ceuta are no longer polite ones.
Match25 Dec 2027
Ceuta and Andorra take a point apieceIt finished 2-2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The terraces27 Dec 2027
Everybody has an opinion about Salvi Sánchez
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.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Pedro López 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
Crisis
Match18 Dec 2027
4 matches without a win for Ceuta
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Ceuta are no longer polite ones.
Squad20 Dec 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match18 Dec 2027
A 1-1 draw with Granada leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Market20 Dec 2027
José Matos linked with a move awayThe name of José Matos keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Ceuta say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Mohamed Bamba 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.
The terraces20 Dec 2027
The press have found their man in Lander Olaetxea
Column inches are not points, but a footballer whose name keeps appearing for the right reasons is a footballer whose price has just gone up.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad13 Dec 2027
The manager makes an example of José Matos
“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 Dec 2027
Real Sociedad B left with the points after a 0-1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The terraces13 Dec 2027
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
José Matos The manager makes an example of José Matos
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
Carlos Cano has until the next board meetingWhat was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Ceuta can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Match4 Dec 2027
Zaragoza left with the points after a 1-2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad6 Dec 2027
The manager makes an example of Manu Sánchez
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom29 Nov 2027
Pressure builds in the Ceuta boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Match27 Nov 2027
0-1 to Las Palmas , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad29 Nov 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match20 Nov 2027
Málaga made Ceuta work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad22 Nov 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.
Squad22 Nov 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Juanmi and Ceuta agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market22 Nov 2027
José Matos linked with a move awayThe name of José Matos keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Ceuta say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad22 Nov 2027
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Pedro López 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 Ceuta , and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Nov 2027
The manager makes an example of Salvi Sánchez
“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.
Squad15 Nov 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Louis Poland commits to Ceuta for another 4 years.
Match13 Nov 2027
Ceuta and Burgos cancel each other outNil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Burgos came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom8 Nov 2027
Carlos Cano has until the next board meetingWhat was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Ceuta can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Match3 Nov 2027
Ceuta bow out of the cupReal Madrid go through and Ceuta 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.
Squad8 Nov 2027
A one-man rearguard from Pedro López
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.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Yago Cantero : 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.” Ceuta have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Anuar 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.
Match6 Nov 2027
Ceuta get the job done against Huesca A 2-0 win over Huesca , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Boardroom8 Nov 2027
Wages eat 100% of everything Ceuta 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.
Squad8 Nov 2027
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Boardroom8 Nov 2027
Ceuta pull $1.3K back off the tableThe 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom1 Nov 2027
Pressure builds in the Ceuta boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad1 Nov 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.
Squad1 Nov 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.
Match30 Oct 2027
Honours even between Ceuta and Almería
1-1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Yiğit Ercan 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 Ceuta , and both men came out saying it was fine.
Boardroom1 Nov 2027
Ceuta were not finished after allWritten off a fortnight ago, the squad has closed ranks and answered on the pitch. Something was said behind that door, and so far it is holding.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Oct 2027
Ceuta come up short against Cádiz Cádiz left with the points after a 3-4 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad25 Oct 2027
José Matos 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.
Squad25 Oct 2027
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Guillermo Vallejo knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad18 Oct 2027
Yanis Dubois : 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.” Ceuta have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match16 Oct 2027
Córdoba made Ceuta work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Salvi Sánchez 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 Ceuta , and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad11 Oct 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jordi Escobar commits to Ceuta for another 3 years.
Match9 Oct 2027
Ceuta get the job done against Getafe A 2-1 win over Getafe , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad11 Oct 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.
Squad11 Oct 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Lander Olaetxea 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.
The terraces11 Oct 2027
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom4 Oct 2027
Pressure builds in the Ceuta boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Salvi Sánchez and Ceuta agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match2 Oct 2027
Beaten 1-2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad4 Oct 2027
The manager makes an example of Diego 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.
Boardroom4 Oct 2027
Wages eat 89% of everything Ceuta 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.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Anuar 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 Ceuta , and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Sep 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.
Squad27 Sep 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.
Match25 Sep 2027
Ceuta come up short against Gijón Gijón left with the points after a 0-2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match15 Sep 2027
Cup progress for Ceuta
A 1-0 win over Zaragoza , a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Squad20 Sep 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.
Match18 Sep 2027
Eibar take the points off Ceuta Beaten 2-3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad20 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Salvi Sánchez
“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.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Mohamed Bamba 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 Ceuta , and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad20 Sep 2027
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
In brief
Boardroom
Ceuta were not finished after all
The terraces
The press have found their man in Abou Bassinga
The terraces
The stand has a song for Abou Bassinga