From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Jan 2027
Miles Robinson was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Samuel Gidi and FC Cincinnati agree another 4 years.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at FC Cincinnati training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Schaefer is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
Ender Echenique has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at FC Cincinnati will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Market11 Jan 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. FC Cincinnati know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
Samuel Gidi knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Samuel Gidi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad4 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Cincinnati this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market4 Jan 2027
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Bryan Ramírez wants continental football; whether FC Cincinnati can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at FC Cincinnati training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bryan Ramírez is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
Ayoub Jabbari gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ayoub Jabbari is on it.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
Samuel Gidi 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 FC Cincinnati, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market4 Jan 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Kévin Denkey’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Dec 2026
Miles Robinson and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Brian Anunga falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“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.
Market28 Dec 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Bryan Ramírez’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Felipé Hernández has written the date down.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
The manager comes out for Brian Anunga
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Brian Anunga has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Dec 2026
Bryan Ramírez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Anunga was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market21 Dec 2026
The Pavel Bucha story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Pavel Bucha signs something — a contract at FC Cincinnati or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Dec 2026
Pavel Bucha in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Cincinnati this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Carlos Abeldaño was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Loan watch14 Dec 2026
“I did not go to Columbus Crew to sit and watch. I want to come back to FC Cincinnati and fight for my place.” 6 appearances in 18 matches say the rest.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
Ender Echenique has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at FC Cincinnati will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Market14 Dec 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. FC Cincinnati know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one FC Cincinnati will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Cincinnati this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Brian Anunga falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad7 Dec 2026
The medical room confirms 20 days on the sidelines for Noah Franke, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Tom Barlow is no longer first choice
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Tom Barlow has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Evan Louro, and the manager let it.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
Ayoub Jabbari gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ayoub Jabbari is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Nov 2026
Miles Robinson and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at FC Cincinnati training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tom Barlow is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“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.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Brian Anunga knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Brian Anunga trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market30 Nov 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Bryan Ramírez’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The manager makes Kyle Smith a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at FC Cincinnati. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” FC Cincinnati have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Miles Robinson and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Carlos Abeldaño was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Kyle Smith 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.
Market23 Nov 2026
The Pavel Bucha story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Pavel Bucha signs something — a contract at FC Cincinnati or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Nick DePuy has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at FC Cincinnati will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” FC Cincinnati may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Miles Robinson was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at FC Cincinnati training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Anunga is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Ender Echenique has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at FC Cincinnati will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Market16 Nov 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. FC Cincinnati know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at FC Cincinnati that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Cincinnati this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at FC Cincinnati training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Anunga is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad9 Nov 2026
49 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market9 Nov 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Kévin Denkey’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Michael Creek 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 FC Cincinnati, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” FC Cincinnati may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Bryan Ramírez and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Carlos Abeldaño was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Loan watch2 Nov 2026
“I watch every FC Cincinnati game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Columbus Crew runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad2 Nov 2026
The captaincy has been taken off Nick Hagglund. FC Cincinnati will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
Market2 Nov 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Bryan Ramírez’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Oct 2026
Pavel Bucha and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at FC Cincinnati training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Anunga is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad26 Oct 2026
FC Cincinnati are still strangers to each other
14 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Market26 Oct 2026
The Pavel Bucha story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Pavel Bucha signs something — a contract at FC Cincinnati or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Nick DePuy has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at FC Cincinnati will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Felipé Hernández has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Oct 2026
Miles Robinson was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad19 Oct 2026
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gerardo Valenzuela and FC Cincinnati agree another 4 years.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Brian Anunga 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 Oct 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tom Barlow was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Carlos Abeldaño: 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.” FC Cincinnati have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad12 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Cincinnati this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at FC Cincinnati training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Carlos Abeldaño is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kyle Smith, and the manager let it.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market12 Oct 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Kévin Denkey’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Oct 2026
Miles Robinson and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Anunga was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Bryan Ramírez named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Bryan Ramírez is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Squad5 Oct 2026
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
Market5 Oct 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Bryan Ramírez’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Sep 2026
Miles Robinson and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
David Douděra did the work nobody counts — 7.10
12 combined actions and 7.10. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Tom Barlow falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad28 Sep 2026
FC Cincinnati are still strangers to each other
13 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
Squad28 Sep 2026
One booking too many, and a game watched from the stand. FC Cincinnati lose him for the most avoidable reason in the sport.
Match26 Sep 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Atlanta United FC came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Market28 Sep 2026
The Pavel Bucha story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Pavel Bucha signs something — a contract at FC Cincinnati or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Sep 2026
Miles Robinson was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Carlos Abeldaño falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Marked 8.12 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by James Robinson to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Gerardo Valenzuela
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Sep 2026
“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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Bryan Ramírez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad14 Sep 2026
200 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at FC Cincinnati training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Anunga is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” James Robinson after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
Felipé Hernández dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market7 Sep 2026
“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.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
A brace, and Kévin Denkey takes the afternoon — 9.22
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Kévin Denkey provided it, and the 9.22 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market7 Sep 2026
The offer from KV Oostende for Obinna Nwobodo was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Pavel Bucha and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match5 Sep 2026
A 2‑1 win over CF Montreal, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Tom Barlow falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Tom Barlow slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Tom Barlow is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A place in the month's best eleven for Gerardo Valenzuela
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Gerardo Valenzuela has come out of that comparison in the side, and FC Cincinnati have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 Aug 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at FC Cincinnati, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.84, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market31 Aug 2026
Add another name to the list: KV Oostende have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Obinna Nwobodo. The answer from FC Cincinnati has not changed — yet.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Miles Robinson and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match29 Aug 2026
A 2‑0 win over Columbus Crew, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tom Barlow was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Marked 8.17 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Too much change too quickly at FC Cincinnati
12 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” James Robinson kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Aug 2026
Sporting Kansas City ended it 1‑1. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Evan Louro is the hero from the spot
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Evan Louro: 1 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Miles Robinson was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The terraces24 Aug 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Ender Echenique has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Match22 Aug 2026
New York Red Bulls left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.17, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
From twelve yards, and Ayoub Jabbari misses
A penalty is the one moment in football with nowhere to hide, and he did not score it. The walk back was long and the week will be longer.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at FC Cincinnati training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Anunga is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market17 Aug 2026
KAA Gent come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and FC Cincinnati did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market17 Aug 2026
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Kévin Denkey reports back to FC Cincinnati with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
Supporters turn on the $4.5M sale of Evander
He is going to Racing Genk, the club has $4.5M it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
Market17 Aug 2026
Racing Genk pay $4.5M, 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Cincinnati this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
At 19 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tom Barlow was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad17 Aug 2026
100 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market10 Aug 2026
The name of Kévin Denkey has come up in conversations FC Cincinnati were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Boardroom10 Aug 2026
FC Cincinnati close the window on a squad of their own making
18 in and 1 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Market10 Aug 2026
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Pavel Bucha and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market10 Aug 2026
Racing Genk are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. FC Cincinnati will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” David Douděra commits to FC Cincinnati for another 4 years.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
The clock did what San Jose Earthquakes would not, and ended it. Supporters who watched the countdown will spend the next window doing it again.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Brandon McKennie has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 Aug 2026
The offer from Lech for Pavel Bucha was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
FC Cincinnati asked and Toronto FC said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market3 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. FC Cincinnati have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Market3 Aug 2026
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Evander signs a new deal
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Evander commits to FC Cincinnati for another 4 years.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
The offer went to San Jose Earthquakes this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Pavel Bucha and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bryan Ramírez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.