From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Sep 2028
Vladimirs Cauna damages knee ligaments — 62 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 62 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The terraces11 Sep 2028
The mood at Jelgava has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Arturs Gabovs breaks a bone — 92 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 92 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad4 Sep 2028
Vladimirs Cauna damages knee ligaments — 69 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 69 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Arturs Gabovs breaks a bone — 99 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 99 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market4 Sep 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 Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Aug 2028
Vladimirs Cauna damages knee ligaments — 76 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 76 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Arturs Gabovs breaks a bone — 106 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 106 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market28 Aug 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 Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Aug 2028
Vladimirs Cauna damages knee ligaments — 83 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 83 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Arturs Gabovs breaks a bone — 113 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 113 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match21 Aug 2028
Jelgava sink to position 7
9 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Aug 2028
Vladimirs Cauna damages knee ligaments — 90 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 90 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The terraces14 Aug 2028
The mood at Jelgava has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Arturs Gabovs breaks a bone — 120 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 120 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market14 Aug 2028
Henri Sinani 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 Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Janis Gabovs 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 Aug 2028
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikita Kaplenko is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Aug 2028
Vladimirs Cauna damages knee ligaments — 97 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 97 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Arturs Gabovs breaks a bone — 127 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 127 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market7 Aug 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 Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 Jul 2028
Vladimirs Cauna damages knee ligaments — 104 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 104 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Arturs Gabovs breaks a bone — 134 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 134 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market31 Jul 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Jelgava, and it is not being withdrawn.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Jul 2028
Vladimirs Cauna damages knee ligaments — 111 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 111 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Arturs Gabovs breaks a bone — 141 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 141 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match24 Jul 2028
Jelgava are in real trouble now
Position 7, 9 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.
Match19 Jul 2028
Jelgava out of the cup
Ventspils ended it 2‑3. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Market24 Jul 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Jelgava is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market24 Jul 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 Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Nikita Kaplenko 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 ratings24 Jul 2028
Marked 5.08, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Jul 2028
Vladimirs Cauna damages knee ligaments — 118 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 118 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The terraces17 Jul 2028
The mood at Jelgava has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Arturs Gabovs breaks a bone — 148 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 148 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Jul 2028
Vladimirs Cauna damages knee ligaments — 125 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 125 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market10 Jul 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.
Squad10 Jul 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Jelgava may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 Jul 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 Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Janis Gabovs 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.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikita Kaplenko is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match26 Jun 2028
Every point is an argument now for Jelgava
Position 7 and 9 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Market26 Jun 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Jelgava is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market26 Jun 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces19 Jun 2028
The mood at Jelgava has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Market19 Jun 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Jelgava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad19 Jun 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Davis Jagodinskis and Jelgava agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Janis Gabovs 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 Jun 2028
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikita Kaplenko 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.
Squad19 Jun 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Toya Nakajima, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Jun 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Jelgava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom12 Jun 2028
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Nikita Kaplenko 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.
Squad12 Jun 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.
Squad12 Jun 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” I-Lani Edwards and Jelgava agree another 4 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Jun 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.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Janis Gabovs 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.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Markuss Gomins 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 terraces5 Jun 2028
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Davis Jagodinskis 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.
Squad5 Jun 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nikita Kaplenko, and the manager let it.
Match3 Jun 2028
A 1‑0 win over Skonto, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings5 Jun 2028
Marked 8.49. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Jelgava.
Squad5 Jun 2028
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Toya Nakajima will call it something else in private.
Player ratings5 Jun 2028
A mark of 4.75 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match29 May 2028
Jelgava are in real trouble now
Position 7, 6 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.
Match27 May 2028
The wait goes on for Jelgava
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad29 May 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Jelgava may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market29 May 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.
Squad29 May 2028
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 May 2028
Nikita Kaplenko 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces22 May 2028
The mood at Jelgava has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Market22 May 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.
Match20 May 2028
No end in sight to Jelgava's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Jelgava has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad22 May 2028
Janis Gabovs was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad22 May 2028
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikita Kaplenko 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.
Squad22 May 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.
Match20 May 2028
0‑1 to Spartaks, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Loan watch22 May 2028
“I watch every Jelgava game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Spartaks runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad22 May 2028
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match13 May 2028
The wait goes on for Jelgava
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad15 May 2028
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 May 2028
Markuss Gomins 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.
Match13 May 2028
1‑2 to Ventspils, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad15 May 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.
Player ratings15 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad15 May 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Kristaps Cauna and Jelgava agree another 3 years.
Market15 May 2028
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Jelgava could ask drops and the wages Kristian Hjelvik Halvorsen can ask rise.
Player ratings15 May 2028
5.42 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match6 May 2028
No end in sight to Jelgava's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Jelgava has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad8 May 2028
Janis Gabovs was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad8 May 2028
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikita Kaplenko 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.
Squad8 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vladimirs Cauna, and the manager let it.
Squad8 May 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kristaps Cauna and Jelgava agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 May 2028
Jelgava are in real trouble now
Position 7, 4 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.
Market1 May 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 Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad1 May 2028
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 May 2028
Nikita Kaplenko 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.
Match29 Apr 2028
Daugavpils left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad1 May 2028
Janis Gabovs 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.
Squad1 May 2028
Janis Gabovs has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Jelgava 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.
Player ratings1 May 2028
Marked 5.53, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
Player ratings1 May 2028
An afternoon Arturs Gabovs will want back
Marked 5.59. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The terraces24 Apr 2028
The mood at Jelgava has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Market24 Apr 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Jelgava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad24 Apr 2028
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Jelgava know it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Apr 2028
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Nikita Kaplenko 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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Nikita Kaplenko
“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.
Match15 Apr 2028
Skonto left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad17 Apr 2028
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Jelgava will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Market17 Apr 2028
4 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Jelgava could get for him.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Marked 5.65. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Marked 5.71, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
An afternoon Arturs Gabovs will want back
Marked 5.74. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match5 Apr 2028
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Janis Gabovs obliged against Spartaks. 1‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Jelgava.
Market10 Apr 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 Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
Age has not caught Janis Gabovs yet — 8.35
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.35 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Janis Gabovs was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad10 Apr 2028
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.
Squad10 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gennady Kiselev, and the manager let it.
Match8 Apr 2028
A bad afternoon for Jelgava against Liepaja
0‑1 to Liepaja, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Market10 Apr 2028
Arturs Gabovs is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Jelgava has been clear about where Arturs Gabovs stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad10 Apr 2028
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match3 Apr 2028
Jelgava sink to position 5
4 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Jelgava may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Markuss Gomins 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 terraces3 Apr 2028
At 23 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.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.82, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match1 Apr 2028
A 1‑0 win over Spartaks, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Market3 Apr 2028
Pavels Rugins is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Jelgava has been clear about where Pavels Rugins stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match25 Mar 2028
13 matches without a win for Jelgava
The run now stands at 13, and the questions being asked around Jelgava are no longer polite ones.
The terraces27 Mar 2028
The mood at Jelgava has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Market27 Mar 2028
Henri Sinani 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 Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings27 Mar 2028
A chastening introduction for Vitalijs Tarasovs — 5.79
It is a hard way to meet a crowd. Marked 5.79 on the day he was handed the shirt, and the important thing now is what the next one looks like.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Janis Gabovs 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.
Match25 Mar 2028
Jelgava cannot find the net
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad27 Mar 2028
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Jelgava are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad27 Mar 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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Raivis Gabovs 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match18 Mar 2028
The wait goes on for Jelgava
12 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
It is a hard way to meet a crowd. Marked 5.67 on the day he was handed the shirt, and the important thing now is what the next one looks like.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladimirs Jagodinskis 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.
Squad20 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Nikita Kaplenko
“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.
Match18 Mar 2028
0‑1 to Metta/LU, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match11 Mar 2028
No end in sight to Jelgava's wait for a win
11 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Jelgava has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Janis Gabovs 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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kristian Hjelvik Halvorsen, and the manager let it.
Match11 Mar 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad13 Mar 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Andrea Notarnicola commits to Jelgava for another 3 years.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
4.78 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Marked 5.46, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
A mark of 5.54 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad6 Mar 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Gennady Kiselev commits to Jelgava for another 4 years.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
Graduation day at Jelgava
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Market6 Mar 2028
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Olegs Tarasovs 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.
Market6 Mar 2028
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Arturs Ciganovs is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market6 Mar 2028
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Aleksandrs Tarasovs has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Feb 2028
Raivis Gabovs damages knee ligaments — 18 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 18 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The terraces28 Feb 2028
The mood at Jelgava has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Boardroom28 Feb 2028
Pressure builds in the Jelgava boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Feb 2028
Raivis Gabovs damages knee ligaments — 25 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 25 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match21 Feb 2028
Jelgava are in real trouble now
Position 6, 10 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.
Squad21 Feb 2028
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Jelgava are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
In brief
-
Squad
Janis Gabovs in a row with a teammate
-
Squad
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Feb 2028
Raivis Gabovs damages knee ligaments — 32 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 32 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market14 Feb 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 Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Janis Gabovs was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Feb 2028
Raivis Gabovs damages knee ligaments — 39 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 39 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market7 Feb 2028
Skonto come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Jelgava did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 Jan 2028
Raivis Gabovs damages knee ligaments — 46 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 46 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The terraces31 Jan 2028
The mood at Jelgava has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Boardroom31 Jan 2028
Pressure builds in the Jelgava boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market31 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 Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Janis Gabovs was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 Jan 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Raivis Gabovs
54 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Jelgava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match24 Jan 2028
Every point is an argument now for Jelgava
Position 6 and 10 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Jan 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Raivis Gabovs
61 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Jelgava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Janis Gabovs was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Louis Picard gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Louis Picard has just signed for Jelgava, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad17 Jan 2028
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.
Market17 Jan 2028
Everyone has stopped pretending: Liepaja will make the call about Alvis Bulvitis this week. Jelgava have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Market17 Jan 2028
7 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Jelgava could ask drops and the wages Kristian Hjelvik Halvorsen can ask rise.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Jan 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Raivis Gabovs
68 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Jelgava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market10 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 Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
Market10 Jan 2028
Jelgava say no — this time
The offer from Liepaja for Kristian Hjelvik Halvorsen 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.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Markuss Gomins gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Markuss Gomins has just signed for Jelgava, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladimirs Jagodinskis is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 Jan 2028
Raivis Gabovs damages knee ligaments — 75 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 75 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The terraces3 Jan 2028
Anger at Jelgava spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Boardroom3 Jan 2028
Pressure builds in the Jelgava boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market3 Jan 2028
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Jelgava have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Boardroom3 Jan 2028
Jelgava pull $1.1M back off the table
The money that was there in the summer is not there now. Nobody upstairs calls this a change of ambition, and everybody downstairs reads it as one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad27 Dec 2027
Raivis Gabovs damages knee ligaments — 82 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 82 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match27 Dec 2027
Jelgava sink to position 6
10 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Janis Gabovs was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad20 Dec 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Raivis Gabovs
90 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Jelgava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad20 Dec 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Jelgava know it.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
-
Squad
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad13 Dec 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Raivis Gabovs
97 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Jelgava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market13 Dec 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Janis Gabovs was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad6 Dec 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Raivis Gabovs
104 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Jelgava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladimirs Jagodinskis is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Nov 2027
Davis Savalnieks damages knee ligaments — 95 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 95 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match29 Nov 2027
Jelgava sink to position 6
10 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad29 Nov 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Vladimirs Jagodinskis and Jelgava agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Nov 2027
Davis Savalnieks damages knee ligaments — 102 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 102 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Pavels Savalnieks is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Nov 2027
Davis Savalnieks damages knee ligaments — 109 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 109 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market15 Nov 2027
“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 Jelgava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Janis Gabovs 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.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Raivis Zjuzins gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Raivis Zjuzins has just signed for Jelgava, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad15 Nov 2027
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.
Market15 Nov 2027
He is 20, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad8 Nov 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Davis Savalnieks
117 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Jelgava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad8 Nov 2027
16 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Nov 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Davis Savalnieks
124 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Jelgava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match1 Nov 2027
Jelgava are in real trouble now
Position 6, 10 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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Janis Gabovs was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad25 Oct 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Davis Savalnieks
131 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Jelgava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladimirs Jagodinskis is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market18 Oct 2027
“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 Jelgava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad18 Oct 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Jelgava are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad18 Oct 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Oct 2027
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Pavels Savalnieks 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.
Loan watch11 Oct 2027
“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 Jelgava, and 0 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match4 Oct 2027
Jelgava sink to position 6
10 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Davis Jagodinskis and Jelgava agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Janis Gabovs was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad27 Sep 2027
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladimirs Jagodinskis 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.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Roberts Tarasovs has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Jelgava 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
Uneasy
Squad20 Sep 2027
Janis Gabovs 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.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Olegs Ciganovs has improved at 25, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Roberts Rugins is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad13 Sep 2027
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladimirs Jagodinskis 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Igors Cauna and Jelgava agree another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match6 Sep 2027
Jelgava sink to position 6
10 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Janis Gabovs 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
“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 Sep 2027
Pavels Savalnieks 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Janis Gabovs called up by his country
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Jelgava that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
Market6 Sep 2027
A season-long audition: Skonto still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are Jelgava's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market30 Aug 2027
“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 Aug 2027
A move Gennady Kiselev would have made for nothing
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Gennady Kiselev is living that version at Jelgava, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Vladimirs Jagodinskis 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.
Squad30 Aug 2027
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Jelgava will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Market30 Aug 2027
“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.
Squad30 Aug 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Aug 2027
Janis Gabovs 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.
Squad23 Aug 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Olegs Ciganovs and Jelgava agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad23 Aug 2027
I-Lani Edwards 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Aug 2027
A fracture rules Kaspars Stolcers out for 16 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad16 Aug 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Jelgava know it.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match9 Aug 2027
Jelgava are in real trouble now
Position 6, 10 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
A fracture rules Kaspars Stolcers out for 23 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Janis Gabovs and Jelgava agree another 2 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Aug 2027
A fracture rules Kaspars Stolcers out for 30 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market2 Aug 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Janis Gabovs commits to Jelgava for another 2 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Jul 2027
A fracture rules Kaspars Stolcers out for 37 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market26 Jul 2027
Only the photograph left for Janis Gabovs
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Janis Gabovs will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Jelgava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad26 Jul 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Jelgava may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Jul 2027
A fracture rules Kaspars Stolcers out for 44 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market19 Jul 2027
Skonto come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Jelgava did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad19 Jul 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match12 Jul 2027
Every point is an argument now for Jelgava
Position 6 and 10 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Squad12 Jul 2027
A fracture rules Kaspars Stolcers out for 51 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market12 Jul 2027
Add another name to the list: Skonto have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Kaspars Tarasovs. The answer from Jelgava has not changed — yet.
Squad12 Jul 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Vladimirs Jagodinskis commits to Jelgava for another 4 years.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Janis Gabovs 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Jul 2027
A fracture rules Kaspars Stolcers out for 58 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market5 Jul 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Jelgava may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Jun 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 66 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market28 Jun 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Jelgava is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market28 Jun 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market21 Jun 2027
$56.0K — a new record at Jelgava
No footballer has ever cost this club more, and the number will be read out every time he misplaces a pass for the next two years.
Squad21 Jun 2027
A fracture rules Kaspars Stolcers out for 74 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Davis Jagodinskis is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match14 Jun 2027
Every point is an argument now for Jelgava
Position 6 and 10 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Squad14 Jun 2027
A fracture rules Kaspars Stolcers out for 81 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad14 Jun 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Jun 2027
A fracture rules Kaspars Stolcers out for 88 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market7 Jun 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
Market7 Jun 2027
Metta/LU come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Jelgava did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Jelgava may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market7 Jun 2027
The phone has started ringing about Alvis Bulvitis again, and this time the name on the line is Liepaja. Jelgava are listening politely and promising nothing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match29 May 2027
No end in sight to Jelgava's wait for a win
10 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Jelgava has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad31 May 2027
A fracture rules Kaspars Stolcers out for 95 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market31 May 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad31 May 2027
Janis Gabovs 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.
Match29 May 2027
Skonto left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad31 May 2027
“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 May 2027
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Raivis Gabovs will call it something else in private.
Player ratings31 May 2027
5.30. Every footballer has these and most of them happen away from a full ground; his did not, and he will be aware of that all week.
Player ratings31 May 2027
Marked 5.42. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 May 2027
A fracture rules Kaspars Stolcers out for 102 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match22 May 2027
The wait goes on for Jelgava
9 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad24 May 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Jelgava may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad24 May 2027
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match22 May 2027
3 matches without a goal for Jelgava
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Match22 May 2027
Liepaja left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad24 May 2027
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Jelgava told Raivis Gabovs something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Player ratings24 May 2027
Marked 5.35. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
Player ratings24 May 2027
Marked 5.37, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 May 2027
A fracture rules Kaspars Stolcers out for 109 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match17 May 2027
Jelgava are in real trouble now
Position 5, 10 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.
Match15 May 2027
The wait goes on for Jelgava
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The terraces17 May 2027
5th and falling: the mood at Jelgava has gone
10 points and a position everybody in the ground can do the arithmetic on. The songs have stopped being about the team and started being about surviving, which is a different noise entirely.
Squad17 May 2027
Janis Gabovs 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.
Match15 May 2027
0‑1 to Spartaks, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad17 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Janis Gabovs, and the manager let it.
Squad17 May 2027
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 ratings17 May 2027
A mark of 4.95 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 May 2027
A fracture rules Kaspars Stolcers out for 116 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market10 May 2027
“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.
Match8 May 2027
The wait goes on for Jelgava
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad10 May 2027
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kaspars Tarasovs, and the manager let it.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. I-Lani Edwards is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match1 May 2027
The wait goes on for Jelgava
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Market3 May 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad3 May 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.
Squad3 May 2027
Janis Gabovs 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.
Squad3 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nikita Kaplenko, and the manager let it.
Squad3 May 2027
A place in the month's best eleven for Kaspars Tarasovs
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Kaspars Tarasovs has come out of that comparison in the side, and Jelgava have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
Match1 May 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Player ratings3 May 2027
A mark of 5.64 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
Player ratings3 May 2027
5.75. Every footballer has these and most of them happen away from a full ground; his did not, and he will be aware of that all week.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Apr 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lanciné Keita
19 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Jelgava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.88 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Match24 Apr 2027
No end in sight to Jelgava's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Jelgava has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 12 actions, 6.16, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Squad26 Apr 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
Squad19 Apr 2027
Lanciné Keita damages knee ligaments — 26 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 26 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Roberts Ciganovs, and the manager let it.
In brief
-
Squad
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Apr 2027
Lanciné Keita damages knee ligaments — 33 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 33 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match7 Apr 2027
Jelgava bow out of the cup
Spartaks go through and Jelgava go home, 2‑3 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Match7 Apr 2027
A 2-goal lead gone for Jelgava
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Spartaks kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Jelgava will be asked about the last half hour all week.
Market12 Apr 2027
“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 Jelgava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match12 Apr 2027
Jelgava sink to position 5
7 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
The terraces12 Apr 2027
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 9 of the 30 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
A first appearance Alvis Bulvitis will want to forget — 5.36
Everybody's debut is one of two stories and this was the other one. 5.36, and the only consolation available is that nobody's career has ever been decided by ninety minutes in a shirt he had just been given.
Match10 Apr 2027
The wait goes on for Jelgava
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad12 Apr 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Jelgava are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Apr 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lanciné Keita
41 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Jelgava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market5 Apr 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Olegs Ciganovs has improved at 24, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladimirs Jagodinskis 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.
Market5 Apr 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Jelgava, another week without a signature from Janis Gabovs.
Match3 Apr 2027
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
An afternoon Janis Gabovs will want back
Marked 5.61. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
Marked 5.67, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Mar 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lanciné Keita
48 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Jelgava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match29 Mar 2027
Jelgava are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 5 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Janis Gabovs 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Vladimirs Cauna
“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 Mar 2027
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.
Match27 Mar 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Mar 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lanciné Keita
55 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Jelgava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match20 Mar 2027
Ventspils made Jelgava work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Nikita Kaplenko
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Marked 8.19 — 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. I-Lani Edwards is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Mar 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lanciné Keita
62 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Jelgava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market15 Mar 2027
“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.
Squad15 Mar 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces15 Mar 2027
At 22 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.
Squad15 Mar 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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 Mar 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lanciné Keita
69 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Jelgava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The terraces8 Mar 2027
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 11 of the 30 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Market8 Mar 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nikita Kaplenko and Jelgava agree another 3 years.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Davis Jagodinskis 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.
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
Graduation day at Jelgava
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Market8 Mar 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Davis Jurkovskis has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market8 Mar 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Olegs Fertovs 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.
Market8 Mar 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Gatis Ciganovs has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Mar 2027
Lanciné Keita damages knee ligaments — 77 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 77 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad1 Mar 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Mar 2027
28 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Feb 2027
Lanciné Keita damages knee ligaments — 84 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 84 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladimirs Jagodinskis is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Feb 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lanciné Keita
92 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Jelgava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A fracture rules Marcis Ikaunieks out for 16 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Janis Gabovs was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad8 Feb 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lanciné Keita
99 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Jelgava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A fracture rules Marcis Ikaunieks out for 23 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market8 Feb 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Feb 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lanciné Keita
106 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Jelgava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A fracture rules Marcis Ikaunieks out for 30 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market1 Feb 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad25 Jan 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lanciné Keita
113 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Jelgava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A fracture rules Marcis Ikaunieks out for 37 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market25 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
In brief
-
Squad
Janis Gabovs in a row with a teammate
-
Squad
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 Jan 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 45 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market18 Jan 2027
Skonto come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Jelgava did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Janis Gabovs was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Jan 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 52 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market11 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces11 Jan 2027
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Kaspars Stolcers from Skonto for $17.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladimirs Jagodinskis 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Lanciné Keita and Jelgava agree another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad4 Jan 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 59 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market4 Jan 2027
“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.
Market4 Jan 2027
Spartaks come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Jelgava did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Davis Jagodinskis and Jelgava agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Janis Gabovs was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad4 Jan 2027
At 24 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Dec 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 66 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Janis Gabovs 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 Janis Gabovs trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Dec 2026
A fracture rules Marcis Ikaunieks out for 74 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad21 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market21 Dec 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Kristian Hjelvik Halvorsen may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Dec 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 82 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market14 Dec 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 Dec 2026
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Dec 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 89 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market7 Dec 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Janis Gabovs commits to Jelgava for another 1 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Marcis Ikaunieks out for 97 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market30 Nov 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Jelgava is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Nov 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 105 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Janis Gabovs was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market23 Nov 2026
The clock does Kaspars Tarasovs’s negotiating for him
4 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Jelgava could ask drops and the wages Kaspars Tarasovs can ask rise.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 112 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market16 Nov 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Jelgava they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
-
Squad
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
-
Squad
Janis Gabovs gets it from the manager
-
Market
The clock does Janis Gabovs’s negotiating for him
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 119 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market9 Nov 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Janis Gabovs was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Marcis Ikaunieks out for 127 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market2 Nov 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kaspars Tarasovs will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Jelgava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market2 Nov 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Janis Gabovs 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 Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“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.
Market2 Nov 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Jelgava, another week without a signature from Janis Gabovs.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Marcis Ikaunieks out for 134 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jelgava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market26 Oct 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Janis Gabovs was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Oct 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Jelgava is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market19 Oct 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jelgava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Davis Jagodinskis is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.