19 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 48 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Shaxzod Shaymanov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
In brief
SquadWords at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
26 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 55 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
33 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 62 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Shaxzod Shaymanov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
In brief
SquadWords at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 69 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Metta/LU they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Aleksandrs Gabovs reports back to Metta/LU with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The words a physio says slowly. 27 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 76 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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 words a physio says slowly. 34 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 83 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Position 5 and 11 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
The words a physio says slowly. 41 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 90 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The words a physio says slowly. 48 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 97 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Metta/LU they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The words a physio says slowly. 55 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 104 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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 Metta/LU training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Arseniy Galushko 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Daugavpils will make the call about Aleksandrs Gabovs this week. Metta/LU have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
The words a physio says slowly. 62 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 111 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 Metta/LU, 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 Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The words a physio says slowly. 69 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 76 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Metta/LU they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
The words a physio says slowly. 83 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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 words a physio says slowly. 90 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Sindre Mauritz-Hansen and Metta/LU agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The words a physio says slowly. 97 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Metta/LU is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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 words a physio says slowly. 104 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
He is going to Skonto, the club has $300.0K it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Rūdolfs Kļavinskis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Metta/LU 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 Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The words a physio says slowly. 90 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Two goals and a mark of 8.53 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Jelgava moved on, Alvis Sorokins reports back to Metta/LU, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
Marked 5.71. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
The words a physio says slowly. 97 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Metta/LU have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“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 Metta/LU, and it is not being withdrawn.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Words at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sindre Mauritz-Hansen 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.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
104 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU 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 Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad28 May 2029
Words at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sindre Mauritz-Hansen 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.
111 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Position 6, 7 points, and a crowd that arrives already braced. Relegation seasons are lost in exactly this atmosphere, and everybody who has lived through one recognises it immediately.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Metta/LU is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
118 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU 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 Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
125 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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 crowd waited for a goal that never came. Jelgava defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
In brief
Player ratingsAn afternoon Thomas Lindner will want back
132 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Rūdolfs Kļavinskis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Metta/LU the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
11 combined actions and 6.61. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 20 of the 31 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
6 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
19 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
26 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Rūdolfs Kļavinskis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Metta/LU the goodbyes have quietly begun.
33 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU 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 Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Metta/LU can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Words at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gianluca Scremin 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.
40 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Beaten 0‑3 by Liepaja, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
The terraces12 Mar 2029
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 10 of the 31 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
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. Alvis Fertovs 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. Davis Tarasovs 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mahamud Abdul Karimu and Metta/LU agree another 4 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Metta/LU they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU 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 Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Words at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sindre Mauritz-Hansen 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Position 3, 17 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.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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 words a physio says slowly. 16 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The deal that would have taken Alvis Sorokins to Jelgava has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Metta/LU with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 23 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 18 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
The words a physio says slowly. 30 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The words a physio says slowly. 44 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU 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 Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The words a physio says slowly. 51 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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 Metta/LU have had the benefit of 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU 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 Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The words a physio says slowly. 65 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The words a physio says slowly. 72 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU 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 Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
BoardroomThe Metta/LU production line keeps running
The words a physio says slowly. 79 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Rūdolfs Kļavinskis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Metta/LU the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The words a physio says slowly. 86 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU 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 Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
The words a physio says slowly. 93 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The words a physio says slowly. 100 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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. Metta/LU will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
The words a physio says slowly. 107 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Metta/LU will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Metta/LU is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The words a physio says slowly. 114 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 28 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 Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
The words a physio says slowly. 101 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.
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 108 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.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
BoardroomThe Metta/LU production line keeps running
The words a physio says slowly. 115 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 49 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Metta/LU is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The words a physio says slowly. 122 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
The words a physio says slowly. 17 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, 17 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.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Words at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sindre Mauritz-Hansen 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.
31 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Rūdolfs Kļavinskis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Metta/LU 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 Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadArtur Tishko falls out with a teammate over standards
38 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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 easiest signature of my career.” Daniils Ulimbaševs and Metta/LU agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
45 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
52 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Shaxzod Shaymanov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
In brief
SquadWords at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
59 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Metta/LU they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
66 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
73 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Position 3, 17 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadArtur Tishko falls out with a teammate over standards
80 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Metta/LU have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
87 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Metta/LU they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
94 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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 Jul 2028
Words at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artur Tishko 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.
101 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
108 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Metta/LU, and it is not being withdrawn.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
115 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Metta/LU they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadArtur Tishko falls out with a teammate over standards
122 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.98 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Veljko Bogićević. 3‑1 against Spartaks, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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 goal that put Spartaks ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Metta/LU equalised, 3 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
129 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 18 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Position 3, 14 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Metta/LU have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The phone has started ringing about Vladimir Pavlov again, and this time the name on the line is Ventspils. Metta/LU are listening politely and promising nothing.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 25 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Shaxzod Shaymanov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad29 May 2028
Words at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Arseniy Galushko 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 32 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The terraces22 May 2028
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 10 of the 30 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Metta/LU 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 Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 May 2028
Words at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sindre Mauritz-Hansen 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 39 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 46 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Position 3, 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 15 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 53 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
Marked 5.57. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
In brief
Player ratingsAn afternoon Artur Tishko will want back
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 60 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Metta/LU they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Words at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sindre Mauritz-Hansen 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 67 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.03 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Shaxzod Shaymanov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Words at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Arseniy Galushko 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.
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Giovanni Aronica obliged against Liepaja. 2‑1 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Metta/LU.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 74 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The terraces10 Apr 2028
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 10 of the 30 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Words at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sindre Mauritz-Hansen 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Giovanni Aronica 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 81 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Daugavpils defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 88 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Metta/LU they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 95 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 18 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 102 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 Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Words at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sindre Mauritz-Hansen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Marked 5.63. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
The words a physio says slowly. 16 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 109 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Janis Ciganovs is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The words a physio says slowly. 23 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Metta/LU they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
The words a physio says slowly. 30 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.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 44 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.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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 words a physio says slowly. 51 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. Rūdolfs Kļavinskis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Metta/LU the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Words at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Arseniy Galushko 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 words a physio says slowly. 65 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Words at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sindre Mauritz-Hansen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
In brief
Squad7 new faces, and Metta/LU are still learning each other
The words a physio says slowly. 72 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The offer from Liepaja for Vladimir Pavlov was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
79 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Metta/LU is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Shaxzod Shaymanov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
In brief
SquadWords at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
86 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU 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 Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Words at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sindre Mauritz-Hansen 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.
93 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
In brief
Squad6 new faces, and Metta/LU are still learning each other
100 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Diego Aguilera is living that version at Metta/LU, and it tends to show in the first month.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
107 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metta/LU lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Thomas Lindner is living that version at Metta/LU, and it tends to show in the first month.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Rūdolfs Kļavinskis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Metta/LU the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Words at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sindre Mauritz-Hansen 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.
Shaxzod Shaymanov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Arseniy Galushko is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metta/LU this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Words at Metta/LU training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sindre Mauritz-Hansen 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.
Lukas Klimavicius is 20, and Metta/LU have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Metta/LU they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.