Marvin Martins 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.
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.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liepaja this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Timi Ogunniyi 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Andriy Korobenko is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Amar Haïdara 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 Liepaja is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Danijel Petković was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vjačeslavs Isajevs trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Andriy Korobenko’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Liepaja can pretend not to have heard.
Marvin Martins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Danijel Petković 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; Liepaja are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Danijel Petković is on it.
The dugout10 Sep 2029
Rodolphe Ekou is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Liepaja told Sani Mubarak something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 15 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The bid was some way short and Liepaja did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Boardroom3 Sep 2029
Deadline passes with 17 signed and 13 gone
That is the business done at Liepaja 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.
Marvin Martins 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 Sep 2029
Timi Ogunniyi falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It 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.
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. Rodolphe Ekou has moved up it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Liepaja will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“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 Liepaja, 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 Liepaja this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“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; Liepaja are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Liepaja will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liepaja 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 Danijel Petković was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Bart Straalman is on it.
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 Amar Haïdara has written the date down.
Marvin Martins 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.
Squad13 Aug 2029
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timi Ogunniyi 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Danijel Petković is on it.
The dugout13 Aug 2029
The manager has not finished forgetting Rodolphe Ekou's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Marvin Martins 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 Aug 2029
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Danijel Petković 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 has re-ordered his thinking and Henry Ezeonye has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Amar Haïdara trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Position 3, 25 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.
Successful dribbles: 26. 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Liepaja can pretend not to have heard.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liepaja this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Liepaja asked and Metta/LU said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Liepaja offered $35.0K; Skonto 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.
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.
21 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Liepaja lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liepaja they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Marvin Martins and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad23 Jul 2029
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timi Ogunniyi 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 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.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
29 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Liepaja lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Marvin Martins 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.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Danijel Petković is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Liepaja are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The words a physio says slowly. 37 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.
Marvin Martins was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Danijel Petković was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Marvin Martins is on it.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Liepaja, another week without a signature from Ingars Pūlis.
45 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Liepaja lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liepaja this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Jul 2029
Timi Ogunniyi 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.
5 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
Nobody at Liepaja 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.
In brief
The dugoutHenry Ezeonye asks for a word with the manager
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Liepaja have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Liepaja 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.
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.
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Liepaja know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
Marvin Martins 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.
Liepaja asked and Skonto said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Riccardo D'Agostino and Liepaja agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Nobody at Liepaja will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout18 Jun 2029
The manager has not finished forgetting Rodolphe Ekou's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
Marvin Martins was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Timi Ogunniyi 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Henry Ezeonye. 2‑0 against Daugavpils, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“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 Liepaja will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Gatis Gabovs could afford to be generous.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Liepaja has been clear about where Afonso Leite stands, which is more than many ever get.
“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 Liepaja, and it is not being withdrawn.
The phone has started ringing about Mario David again, and this time the name on the line is Hrvatski Dragovoljac. Liepaja are listening politely and promising nothing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liepaja 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 Danijel Petković was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Mory Cissé has come out of that comparison in the side, and Liepaja have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Rodolphe Ekou has his answer from Liepaja; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Nobody at Liepaja 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kirils Iļjins will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liepaja the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Marvin Martins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Marked 8.29 — 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Gatis Gabovs on a 4‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Mario David will call it something else in private.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Bruno Melnis
The dugoutTimi Ogunniyi has become a man the manager trusts
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Timi Ogunniyi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Liepaja know it.
8 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Nobody at Liepaja 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.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout21 May 2029
The manager has not finished forgetting Rodolphe Ekou's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.80 for the rest 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 Liepaja this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“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 Liepaja know it.
Two sides from the top of the table, one afternoon, and a month of talk decided in ninety minutes. Liepaja will not use the word title this week and will not stop thinking it.
Marvin Martins 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.
Squad7 May 2029
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Danijel Petković 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 first defeat in 4 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Ventspils; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
Successful dribbles: 17. 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.
The dugout7 May 2029
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 Gatis Gabovs to a room that had heard them before.
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Metta/LU, and it could have been more.
Player ratings30 Apr 2029
A brace, and Amadou Traoré takes the afternoon — 7.97
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Amadou Traoré provided it, and the 7.97 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Liepaja is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Marvin Martins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Timi Ogunniyi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ventspils next, and the two sides the division is watching meet each other. Whoever wins will be told nothing is decided in the same breath as being congratulated.
Position 3, 15 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Danijel Petković was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A 2‑0 win over Daugavpils, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings23 Apr 2029
Timi Ogunniyi was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.11. 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.
17 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Liepaja lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liepaja this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Danijel Petković 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Marvin Martins is on it.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Liepaja has been clear about where Charles Ezeh stands, which is more than many ever get.
Daugavpils next, and one man in the Liepaja dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Liepaja, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The words a physio says slowly. 24 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.
Position 3, 9 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.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Bruno Mišura did not need any: 7.72, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Marvin Martins was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Timi Ogunniyi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Ingars Pūlis at his very best
The words a physio says slowly. 31 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. Kirils Iļjins will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liepaja the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Marvin Martins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Danijel Petković 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.
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout2 Apr 2029
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Gatis Gabovs to a room that had heard them before.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Henry Ezeonye has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Marvin Martins and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Danijel Petković 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Gatis Gabovs on a 3‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liepaja this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
7 matches without defeat, and then Ventspils. Nobody at the ground pretended it would go on forever; nobody expected it to stop here either.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timi Ogunniyi 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 have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Liepaja can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
9 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Gatis Gabovs after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
7 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Liepaja have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Marvin Martins 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Joaquín Rivero is living that version at Liepaja, and it tends to show in the first month.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Danijel Petković was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kirils Iļjins will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liepaja the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Marvin Martins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Timi Ogunniyi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Timi Ogunniyi is on it.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Liepaja, another week without a signature from Ingars Pūlis.
Metta/LU next, and one man in the Liepaja dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
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 Sani Mubarak has written the date down.
Marvin Martins and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Timi Ogunniyi 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Danijel Petković is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Henry Ezeonye trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Liepaja will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liepaja 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 Bart Straalman was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Liepaja 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Liepaja, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes Sani Mubarak a promise
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Irad Mshindi
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Liepaja will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Marvin Martins 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 Feb 2029
Timi Ogunniyi 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Marvin Martins is on it.
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 Sani Mubarak has written the date down.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Liepaja will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Boardroom5 Feb 2029
Liepaja close the window on a squad of their own making
1 in and 8 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liepaja they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Liepaja had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Hajduk Split, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Marvin Martins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Timi Ogunniyi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Liepaja 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Timi Ogunniyi is on it.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Raivis Skrebels has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
30 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 36 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Marvin Martins and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bart Straalman 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.
Hajduk Split have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Danijel Petković is on it.
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 Sani Mubarak has written the date down.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 44 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Liepaja have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The deal with Djoliba is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liepaja this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timi Ogunniyi 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Andriy Korobenko is on it.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
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 Sani Mubarak has written the date down.
Marvin Martins 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Charles Ezeh has just signed for Liepaja, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Timi Ogunniyi 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.
Nobody at Liepaja 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Liepaja, another week without a signature from Bruno Melnis.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Bruno Melnis trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Marvin Martins 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.
$130.0K on the table at Skonto. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bart Straalman was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Liepaja have made the call to Hajduk Split. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Nobody at Liepaja 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.
A new partner, a signature and a photograph nobody will remember. It funds a fortnight of wages, which is more than most headlines on this page can say for themselves.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Liepaja would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
In brief
BoardroomOpen for business: Liepaja enter the window
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Liepaja had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
“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 Liepaja, and it is not being withdrawn.
Andriy Korobenko and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Bruno Mišura 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Danijel Petković is on it.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Suleiman Mojereola has his answer from Liepaja; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liepaja this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timi Ogunniyi 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Andriy Korobenko is on it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Liepaja. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Marvin Martins plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
Two hours a week with a tutor, which is the least glamorous thing at Liepaja and the one that decides whether a foreign signing is still here in two years.
Marvin Martins was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bart Straalman was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Marvin Martins is on it.
Marvin Martins 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.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Timi Ogunniyi 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.
Nobody at Liepaja 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.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
30 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Timi Ogunniyi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Liepaja 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liepaja 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 Bart Straalman was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Liepaja 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.
Marvin Martins 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 Nov 2028
Timi Ogunniyi 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.
Nobody at Liepaja 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.
2 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Liepaja could ask drops and the wages Klinshak Longbak can ask rise.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Nobody writes a headline about a tutor. Nobody has to be told, either, what happens to a signing who spends two years being the man nobody can talk to at lunch.
This is the season the town will measure the next twenty against. The trophy travels home with the squad, and the route through the streets was agreed days ago.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Liepaja scored in the 118th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Not a month, not a run of form — a whole season of being the best 21-year-old anybody in this division could put on a pitch. This is the honour that gets mentioned for the rest of his career.
6 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Liepaja have had the benefit of it.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Liepaja will quote 15 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 14 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bart Straalman was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 21 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liepaja this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bart Straalman 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Andriy Korobenko is on it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Liepaja will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Marvin Martins 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 Oct 2028
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timi Ogunniyi 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 at Liepaja 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 35 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Marvin Martins 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 42 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bart Straalman was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liepaja this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timi Ogunniyi 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 has re-ordered his thinking and Henry Ezeonye has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Nobody at Liepaja 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.
Marvin Martins 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.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bart Straalman 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Marvin Martins is on it.
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 Klinshak Longbak has written the date down.
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.
Marvin Martins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bart Straalman was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Liepaja 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Liepaja told Raivis Skrebels something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
30 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liepaja this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Timi Ogunniyi 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Danijel Petković is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Liepaja, 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 Liepaja is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 18 arrived, 5 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dynamo Kyiv have kept their man, and Liepaja go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
He is doing his job and he is not settling. Liepaja were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.
Liepaja have made the call to Hajduk Split. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
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.
Nobody at Liepaja 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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Liepaja have done the hard part with Slavia Prague, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Marvin Martins 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.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andriy Korobenko 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Leningradets have kept their man, and Liepaja go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Nobody at Liepaja 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.
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 Klinshak Longbak has written the date down.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Liepaja, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Marvin Martins was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sassuolo have kept their man, and Liepaja go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Liepaja have made the call to Slavia Prague. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Timi Ogunniyi is on it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Suleiman Mojereola was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The deal with Lech is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liepaja 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 Andriy Korobenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Liepaja 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.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Timi Ogunniyi
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liepaja they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Marvin Martins and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andriy Korobenko 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.
Add another name to the list: Skonto have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Kirils Iļjins. The answer from Liepaja has not changed — yet.
6 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Liepaja, another week without a signature from Klinshak Longbak.
Marvin Martins 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.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timi Ogunniyi 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 at Liepaja 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.
13 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Skonto is saying, and nobody at Liepaja is enjoying the guessing.
Marvin Martins 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.
Match19 Jul 2028
Another one collected away from home
4 on the bounce on the road for Liepaja. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.
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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Beknaz Almazbekov 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.
30 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liepaja this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Skonto wanted more than $70.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timi Ogunniyi 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Danijel Petković is on it.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liepaja they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Hajduk Split keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Timi Ogunniyi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Liepaja asked and Hajduk Split said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad10 Jul 2028
A muscle injury sidelines Amar Haïdara for 14 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Liepaja will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
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.
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.
Marvin Martins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
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. Liepaja will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Daniils Ulimbaševs and Liepaja agree another 2 years.
Signed today, seen by nobody for years, and one of them may one day be the reason the club exists. That is the whole of the argument for an academy, and it is a good one.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Amadou Traoré is on it.
“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 Liepaja, and it is not being withdrawn.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Liepaja have done the hard part with Hajduk Split, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Marvin Martins 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.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andriy Korobenko 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Baltika have kept their man, and Liepaja go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Nobody at Liepaja 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.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Liepaja will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Liepaja have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liepaja this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Chase Medwynter is living that version at Liepaja, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Timi Ogunniyi falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It 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.
A mark of 7.89 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Liepaja is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, and a scan that said otherwise. He goes back to BATE; Liepaja go back to the market; and both will insist there is no story here.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Jan Chodera is living that version at Liepaja, and it tends to show in the first month.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Jelgava have kept their man, and Liepaja 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.
Marvin Martins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andriy Korobenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Liepaja asked and BATE 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 demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Ingars Pūlis is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Liepaja told Henry Ezeonye something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Marvin Martins 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 23 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 Timi Ogunniyi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Ingars Pūlis.
24 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liepaja 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 Andriy Korobenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.93 on the card, and the Liepaja support went home talking about one name.
The dugout22 May 2028
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Gatis Gabovs, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Two goals and a mark of 8.21 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Liepaja 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 is 22 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.
Marvin Martins 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.
Squad8 May 2028
Timi Ogunniyi 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.
At 20 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.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Beknaz Almazbekov provided it, and the 8.25 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Marvin Martins 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.
Two sides from the top of the table, one afternoon, and a month of talk decided in ninety minutes. Liepaja will not use the word title this week and will not stop thinking it.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Timi Ogunniyi at his very best
Successful dribbles: 27. 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.
11 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Eduards Jurkovskis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liepaja the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liepaja this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andriy Korobenko 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Marvin Martins is on it.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Sani Mubarak
The dugoutThe view from the dugout
The dugoutIngars Pūlis knocks on the manager's door
Position 2, 13 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liepaja they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Irad Mshindi and Liepaja agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Timi Ogunniyi 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.
Nobody at Liepaja 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.
Petr Potměšil is 20, and for one weekend he was the best of everybody his age in the division. Nobody should build a career on it and everybody quietly does.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Bruno Melnis’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Liepaja needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Two goals and a mark of 8.79 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
13 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.
Two goals and a mark of 8.15 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Marvin Martins 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.
10 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 87th, and Skonto spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
Marvin Martins was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andriy Korobenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Ingars Pūlis has his answer from Liepaja; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
At 20 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Liepaja will try not to make too much of it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Liepaja 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 Liepaja 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 Timi Ogunniyi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 17. 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.
A mark of 7.94, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Gatis Gabovs, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
In brief
The dugoutMarvin Martins has become a man the manager trusts
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Liepaja have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mory Cissé will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liepaja the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andriy Korobenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
4 call-ups is a compliment to the squad and a headache for the man running it. He will get them back in a fortnight, tired, in various states of repair.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Gatis Gabovs after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
3‑0, and Petr Potměšil took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Liepaja tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Petr Potměšil, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 8.33
A mark of 8.33 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Marvin Martins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andriy Korobenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Petr Potměšil 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.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Ingars Pūlis was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.08. 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.
Marvin Martins was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timi Ogunniyi 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.
Nothing about this will be in a press release. A plan went upstairs, came back rejected, and the version of the club that would have existed in three years' time just quietly stopped being possible.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Kirils Iļjins is on it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Liepaja is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Petr Potměšil 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.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andriy Korobenko 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 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.
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 Kyvon Leidsman has written the date down.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Beknaz Almazbekov’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Liepaja have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mory Cissé will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liepaja the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Marvin Martins and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andriy Korobenko 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Amadou Traoré is on it.
Marvin Martins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Timi Ogunniyi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Liepaja will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Liepaja people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 11 arrived, 0 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Marvin Martins 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.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Liepaja than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liepaja 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 Timi Ogunniyi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Liepaja, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Marvin Martins plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liepaja they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Klinshak Longbak, and the manager let it.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Suleiman Mojereola 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Amadou Traoré is on it.
Marvin Martins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Danijel Petković is on it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Skonto waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Liepaja is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Marvin Martins 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 Jan 2028
Timi Ogunniyi 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Aleksandrs Jurkovskis 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. Roberts 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Arturs Bulvitis is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
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.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Liepaja will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
“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 Liepaja, and it is not being withdrawn.
Bart Straalman 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 Mory Cissé again, and this time the name on the line is Skonto. Liepaja are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timi Ogunniyi 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.
Squad3 Jan 2028
5 new faces, and Liepaja 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 never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The registration window is open and the phone has started. Between now and the deadline this club will be linked with forty players and sign three, which is the usual ratio.
Marvin Martins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andriy Korobenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Liepaja 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.
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 Klinshak Longbak has written the date down.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Marvin Martins has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
The word out of the training ground is that he has been the sharpest man there all week. It is the quietest story a paper carries and it usually runs the week before somebody's run in the side begins.
The words a physio says slowly. 20 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.
Marvin Martins and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timi Ogunniyi 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Danijel Petković is on it.
28 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Liepaja lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liepaja this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Suleiman Mojereola 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Kirils Iļjins is on it.
35 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Liepaja lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Marvin Martins 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 Dec 2027
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andriy Korobenko 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 at Liepaja will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The words a physio says slowly. 42 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.
Marvin Martins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Timi Ogunniyi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
12 appearances and 4 goals away from here, and a player the manager did not have in August. Loans are sent out hoping for exactly this and most of them do not deliver it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Liepaja, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
The dugoutAmadou Traoré has become a man the manager trusts
49 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Liepaja lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Liepaja training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timi Ogunniyi 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 watch every Liepaja 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Danijel Petković is on it.
The words a physio says slowly. 58 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.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Liepaja have had the benefit 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 Liepaja 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 Andriy Korobenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I watch every Liepaja 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.
66 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Liepaja lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Marvin Martins was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Timi Ogunniyi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Suleiman Mojereola and Liepaja agree another 4 years.
“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 Liepaja, and 9 appearances in 43 say he has earned the hearing.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Marvin Martins is on it.