The words a physio says slowly. 105 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Suleiman Badaru will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Jelgava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Jelgava ran out of time with Spartaks. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
In brief
SquadWords at Jelgava training over how hard people work
The words a physio says slowly. 112 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 offer from Metta/LU for Davis Laizans 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Alvis Jurkovskis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Jelgava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“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 The request is on a desk at Jelgava, and it is not being withdrawn.
This is not rotation. Olegs Dubra has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Jelgava is pretending otherwise.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 3 gone
That is the business done at Jelgava until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Jelgava have done the hard part with Spartaks, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Roberts Zjuzins was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
120 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Davis Laizans will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Jelgava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“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.
Aleksandrs Vanins was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I 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.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilyes Panchout 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Jelgava has been clear about where Ilyes Panchout stands, which is more than many ever get.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Roberts Zjuzins has written the date down.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Jelgava have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Aleksandrs Vanins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilyes Panchout 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 list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Chinedu Amaefula may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Jelgava people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Aleksandrs Vanins and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chinanu Victor 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.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ivo Minkevičs commits to Jelgava for another 3 years.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilyes Panchout is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jelgava, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
“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 Jan 2028
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilyes Panchout is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Dakup Tongshinen is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Position 5 and 16 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Chinanu Victor was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
16 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.
Aleksandrs Vanins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilyes Panchout 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.
23 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Jelgava lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Aleksandrs Vanins 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.
31 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 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.
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.
“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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilyes Panchout was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Bartosz Brol and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
This is not rotation. Olegs Dubra has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Jelgava is pretending otherwise.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chinanu Victor 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.
Antón Álvarez 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.
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.
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.
Position 5 and 16 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.
Aleksandrs Vanins and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilyes Panchout 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.
Aleksandrs Vanins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chinanu Victor is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jelgava, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Aleksandrs Vanins 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.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilyes Panchout 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.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Davis Laizans trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
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.
“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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilyes Panchout 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 manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Suleiman Badaru has his answer from Jelgava; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“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.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chinanu Victor is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Jelgava know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Jelgava can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
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.
Chinedu Amaefula was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Aleksandrs Vanins 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Jelgava training over how hard people work
The deal that would have taken Davis Laizans to Metta/LU has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Jelgava with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
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.
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. Chinanu Victor 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Jelgava has been clear about where Chinanu Victor stands, which is more than many ever get.
Position 5 and 16 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.
“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.
Add another name to the list: Metta/LU have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Davis Laizans. The answer from Jelgava has not changed — yet.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Deadline passes with 19 signed and 12 gone
That is the business done at Jelgava until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
The shirt still fits. Ivo Minkevičs is back at Jelgava, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Bartosz Brol has, at Jelgava, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Chinanu Victor and Jelgava agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Janis 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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Chinanu Victor
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Janis 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.
Aleksandrs Vanins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Jelgava will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Maxime Galere
Aleksandrs Vanins 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Emmanuel Chidubem Ogbu trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Alvis Jurkovskis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Jelgava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Janis Savalnieks was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Suleiman Badaru, and the manager let it.
Market16 Aug 2027
Roberts Rugins returns from a loan that gave him nothing
0 appearances and 0 goals is not a season, it is a year somebody has lost. Whether that is his fault, the borrowing club's or the people who arranged it is the argument the next few weeks will have.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jelgava, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“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.
“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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Emmanuel Chidubem Ogbu and Jelgava agree another 4 years.
“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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Janis Savalnieks was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Metta/LU waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Jelgava is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Aleksandrs Vanins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“Another season, another badge, another dressing room to win over. I would like one pre-season at Jelgava where somebody actually looks at me.” He belongs to Mačva Šabac until the spell ends; the argument is with the club that owns him.
“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.
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Emmanuel Chidubem Ogbu has moved up it.
In brief
SquadThe training reports on Chinanu Victor are not good
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Jelgava can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Janis 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.
“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.
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.
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Jelgava have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Janis 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.
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.
“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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Jelgava have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jelgava, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Maxime Galere has written the date down.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Jelgava have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Jelgava have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Janis Savalnieks was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Aleksandrs Vanins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Jelgava will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Jelgava has been clear about where Davis Laizans stands, which is more than many ever get.
“I watch every Jelgava game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Mačva Šabac runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
This is not rotation. Olegs Dubra has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Jelgava is pretending otherwise.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Janis 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.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Jelgava will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Chinedu Amaefula and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Emmanuel Chidubem Ogbu trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Jelgava will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
A few words of the language, a friend at the next peg, and a training ground that has stopped feeling foreign. Nothing measurable, and everything visible on Saturdays.
Position 5 and 16 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.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Marcis Zjuzins had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
“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.
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Janis 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Jelgava has been clear about where Olegs Dubra stands, which is more than many ever get.
Position 3, 16 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
A mark of 7.83 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
“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.
“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.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Emmanuel Chidubem Ogbu 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Marcis Zjuzins 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.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilyes Panchout is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings31 May 2027
Olegs Bulvitis was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.02. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Igors Ciganovs 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Alvis Jurkovskis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Jelgava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Janis Savalnieks was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Jelgava pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
In brief
Looking aheadJelgava take on the side everybody is chasing
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Janis 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.
Marked 7.02 on 12 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 91. Ventspils had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
A 1‑1 draw with Ventspils leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout17 May 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Marcis Laizans was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Jelgava dressing room was either.
Position 5 and 8 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Olegs Dubra. 2‑1 against Metta/LU, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilyes Panchout was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Chinedu Amaefula was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 90th minute. Daugavpils will replay every second of the added time for a week.
8 matches without a win, and then this, against Daugavpils. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Janis 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Manès Vasse. 1‑0 against Daugavpils, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Half the programme played, position 6, 5 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
Chinedu Amaefula and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Manès Vasse is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Marcis Laizans could afford to be generous.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Janis Savalnieks was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 20 he is being measured against the rest of the division's kids and coming out in front. The senior version of this award is where the club would like this to lead.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Maxime Galere has written the date down.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilyes Panchout was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A point taken on 85 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
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.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad19 Apr 2027
5 new faces, and Jelgava are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
2‑5 to Liepaja, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Position 6 and 1 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.
Everybody's debut is one of two stories and this was the other one. 5.58, 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Jelgava and Liepaja, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Janis Savalnieks was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Olegs Bulvitis at his very best
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.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
“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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Janis 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.
Suleiman Badaru and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“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.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Marcis Laizans left the room before anybody could ask which.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Alvis Jurkovskis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Jelgava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Jelgava can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Janis Savalnieks was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Janis Savalnieks trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Janis Savalnieks was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
10 new faces, and Jelgava are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Marcis Laizans after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
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.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Marcis Laizans to a room that had heard them before.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
The words a physio says slowly. 16 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.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Olegs Dubra 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Igors Oss is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Igors Dubra 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Arturs Jurkovskis 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Aleksandrs Cauna 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.
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. 11 actions, 6.73, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilyes Panchout 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.
23 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Jelgava lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
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.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Jelgava has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jelgava, and both men came out saying it was fine.
30 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 oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
37 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 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.
Suleiman Badaru 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.
44 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Jelgava lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: another club keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
The deal that would have taken Davis Laizans to Metta/LU has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Jelgava with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
“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.
Jelgava asked and Volgar said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“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 Maxime Galere.
In brief
MarketThe window shut and Igors Ciganovs is still in the building
The words a physio says slowly. 52 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.
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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Chinanu Victor is living that version at Jelgava, and it tends to show in the first month.
“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.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Jelgava close the window on a squad of their own making
10 in and 3 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Jelgava had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Yenisey, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dinamo Vologda have kept their man, and Jelgava go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Janis Savalnieks was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
60 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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Spartaks waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Jelgava is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. SonderjyskE have kept their man, and Jelgava go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marcis Zjuzins was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad25 Jan 2027
8 new faces, and Jelgava are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
$210.0K is a serious amount of money and it does not play centre-forward. Everybody in the dressing room knows who used to be looked at when it went wrong.
67 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Jelgava lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
He is going to Daugavpils, the club has $210.0K it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 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.
Jelgava had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Spartaks, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Igors Ciganovs was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Amkar have kept their man, and Jelgava go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
74 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 clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Jelgava people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The offer from Daugavpils for Davis Laizans 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.
“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.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jelgava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Jelgava will quote 15 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Mayowa Abayomi has, at Jelgava, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Liepaja have kept their man, and Jelgava go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The words a physio says slowly. 81 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Stanley Nnaemeka has just signed for Jelgava, and for once the answer mattered.
Jelgava asked and Dinamo Vologda said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Davis Laizans has his answer from Jelgava; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
88 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Jelgava lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dakup Tongshinen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Jelgava will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
35 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Jelgava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Suleiman Badaru 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.
43 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.
“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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Suleiman Badaru was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Suleiman Badaru was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The 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.
Suleiman Badaru and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“I watch every Jelgava game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Metta/LU runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The words a physio says slowly. 19 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.
“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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Suleiman Badaru has just signed for Jelgava, and for once the answer mattered.
27 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.
“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 2 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Aleksandrs Stolcers plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
“I watch every Jelgava game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Metta/LU runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Davis Laizans trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 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.
Roberts Rugins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Igors Ciganovs was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Olegs Laizans is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Jelgava has been clear about where Aleksandrs Vanins stands, which is more than many ever get.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jelgava, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Igors Ciganovs and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Emmanuel Chidubem Ogbu and Jelgava agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Roberts Rugins was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I watch every Jelgava game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Metta/LU runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Jelgava are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
“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.
Jelgava spent the window trying to move Igors Tarasovs on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Iļja Korotkovs has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
“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.
The offer from Skonto for Aleksandrs Vanins 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.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 1 signed and 3 gone
That is the business done at Jelgava until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Jelgava ran out of time with Skonto. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Jelgava than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
Market7 Sep 2026
The window shut and Igors Ciganovs is still in the building
Jelgava spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
A programme of his own, away from the group, aimed at one thing the staff think is holding him back. Most improvement happens like this and none of it makes the paper.
“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.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $20.0K — a club that wants Bruno Melnis enough to be asked twice.
Jelgava offered $20.0K; Liepaja said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Jelgava asked and Paide said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
“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.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Alvis Jurkovskis had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
The offer went to Liepaja this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
$14.0K was the most the club would pay and Skonto were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $15.0K — a club that wants Eduards Gabovs enough to be asked twice.
Jelgava had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Atlantas, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Jelgava have gone to Skonto with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
The offer went to Spartaks this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Marcis Laizans to a room that had heard them before.
Igors Ciganovs was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The phone has started ringing about Roberts Rugins again, and this time the name on the line is Ventspils. Jelgava are listening politely and promising nothing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marcis Zjuzins was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Jelgava, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Olimpija Ljubljana have kept their man, and Jelgava go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jelgava, and both men came out saying it was fine.