“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what FC Metz can pretend not to have heard.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at FC Metz heard it as anything else.
Breel Embolo 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.
Marked 8.82 — 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” FC Metz have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Adonis Frías 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 Oct 2029
At 21, Nathan Mbala is already the best thing here
An average of 7.12 in a first team he is several years too young for. FC Metz have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at FC Metz 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Shots: 5. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Adonis Frías 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.
Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at FC Metz, and it is not being withdrawn.
Breel Embolo 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 needed Nathan Mbala to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Chamois Niortais, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
In brief
Player ratingsThe one thing Habib Diallo could not do
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at FC Metz, and it is not being withdrawn.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at FC Metz hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Oct 2029
At 21, Nathan Mbala is already the best thing here
An average of 7.00 in a first team he is several years too young for. FC Metz have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what FC Metz can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Idrissa Guèye will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around FC Metz the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Breel Embolo 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 23 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” FC Metz have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.62 — 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.
Marked 8.17 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Philipp Köhn knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 FC Metz, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” FC Metz have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Adonis Frías was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around FC Metz 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at FC Metz is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Marked 9.83 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The offer from Bourg-Peronnas for Nathan Mbala 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.
Breel Embolo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at FC Metz, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Habib Diallo signs something — a contract at FC Metz or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at FC Metz is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at FC Metz hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The offer from AC Ajaccio for Bradley Madjo was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Idrissa Guèye will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around FC Metz the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Breel Embolo 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” FC Metz have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad23 Jul 2029
At 21, Nathan Mbala is already the best thing here
An average of 6.90 in a first team he is several years too young for. FC Metz have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around FC Metz they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The chase for Florian Truffert ended with $4.4M changing hands and US Creteil out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Habib Diallo signs something — a contract at FC Metz or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“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 FC Metz will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Álex Petxarromán 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.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at FC Metz that is a harder question to answer.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around FC Metz they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at FC Metz heard it as anything else.
Breel Embolo 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.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at FC Metz, and it is not being withdrawn.
Adonis Frías 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.
Jean-Luc Rolland arrives at 34 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The phone has started ringing about Mathis Holo again, and this time the name on the line is Dijon. FC Metz are listening politely and promising nothing.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Habib Diallo signs something — a contract at FC Metz or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The fee is $4.4M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Monaco drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” FC Metz have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around FC Metz they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Álex Petxarromán 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 level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. FC Metz know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around FC Metz they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at FC Metz heard it as anything 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Mathematically certain, and nobody in this town is going to bed early. Whatever else happened this season, it finishes a division above where it started.
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. FC Metz will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at FC Metz is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Christian Nørgaard was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Romain Jean-Baptiste will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around FC Metz 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Idrissa Guèye will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around FC Metz the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at FC Metz heard it as anything else.
Christian Nørgaard was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Tidiane Devernois trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around FC Metz they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Christian Nørgaard was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around FC Metz 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at FC Metz is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Christian Nørgaard 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.
Position 2, 52 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at FC Metz is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Christian Nørgaard 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” FC Metz have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around FC Metz 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around FC Metz they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Christian Nørgaard was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Paul Delecroix will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around FC Metz the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around FC Metz they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Christian Nørgaard was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Romain Jean-Baptiste will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around FC Metz 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Oussama Lyakoubi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. FC Metz know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Idrissa Guèye will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around FC Metz the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The offer from Dijon for Mathis Holo 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.
Christian Nørgaard 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The name of Idrissa Guèye has come up in conversations FC Metz were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Christian Nørgaard 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 name of Kingsley Olufade has come up in conversations FC Metz were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The offer from AJ Auxerre for Idrissa Guèye was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Romain Jean-Baptiste will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around FC Metz 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every FC Metz game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Famalicao runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Christian Nørgaard 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The name of Idrissa Guèye has come up in conversations FC Metz were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
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 FC Metz have had the benefit of it.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at FC Metz heard it as anything else.
Christian Nørgaard 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.
Marked 9.41 — 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.
Marked 8.32 — 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.41 — 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mathis Holo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around FC Metz the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Christian Nørgaard 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.
Marked 8.51 — 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Romain Jean-Baptiste will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around FC Metz 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at FC Metz heard it as anything else.
Christian Nørgaard 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.
Marked 9.16 — 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.
Marked 8.70 — 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.
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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every FC Metz game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Famalicao runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at FC Metz is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Christian Nørgaard 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 37 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Position 2, 33 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Romain Jean-Baptiste will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around FC Metz the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 24 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.13 — 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Axel Guerra. 1‑0 against Clermont Foot, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Christian Nørgaard 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” FC Metz have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around FC Metz they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Christian Nørgaard was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Romain Jean-Baptiste will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around FC Metz 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.15 — 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.
Christian Nørgaard 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.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Clément Michel is a FC Metz player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at FC Metz heard it as anything 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every FC Metz game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Famalicao runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around FC Metz they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Christian Nørgaard 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.
Marked 9.03 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at FC Metz 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Giorgi Abuashvili. 1‑0 against Stade Lavallois, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“I watch every FC Metz game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at FC Lorient runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Marked 8.77 — 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.
Marked 8.02 — 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.
Shots: 11. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at FC Metz hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Christian Nørgaard 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 name of Kingsley Olufade has come up in conversations FC Metz were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Marked 9.07 — 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.
“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 FC Metz, and 1 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” FC Metz have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Add another name to the list: Nimes have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Gauthier Hein. The answer from FC Metz has not changed — yet.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.40 — 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.
Marked 8.38 — 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” FC Metz have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Christian Nørgaard 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.59 — 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.
Marked 8.44 — 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Christian Nørgaard was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I watch every FC Metz game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Famalicao runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Stade Brestois? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
In brief
Player ratingsThe one thing Habib Diallo could not do
MarketNobody at FC Metz has picked up the phone to Pape Sy
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around FC Metz they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The offer from Clermont Foot for Romain Jean-Baptiste 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.80 — 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.
Add another name to the list: Clermont Foot have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Romain Jean-Baptiste. The answer from FC Metz has not changed — yet.
Christian Nørgaard 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 offer from Nimes for Gauthier Hein 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” FC Metz 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at FC Metz, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what FC Metz can pretend not to have heard.
The chase for Saliou Diop ended with $2.4M changing hands and Stade Brestois out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Christian Nørgaard 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.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at FC Metz, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gauthier Hein will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around FC Metz the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Romain Jean-Baptiste and FC Metz agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The offer from Ipswich Town for Ryan Rodin 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.
Adonis Frías 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 level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. FC Metz know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sadibou Sané trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sadibou Sané trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at FC Metz would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
A new face in his position, and Gauthier Hein suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. FC Metz have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
The name of Alpha Touré has come up in conversations FC Metz were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Adonis Frías was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at FC Metz has been clear about where Thomas Delaine stands, which is more than many ever get.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at FC Metz has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Michel Mboula has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gauthier Hein will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around FC Metz the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at FC Metz hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Jessy Deminguet 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.
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 FC Metz have had the benefit of it.
Michel Mboula 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ross Barkley was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gauthier Hein will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around FC Metz 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ross Barkley 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.
Jessy Deminguet 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.
Ross Barkley 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at FC Metz, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gauthier Hein will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around FC Metz 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” FC Metz have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Ross Barkley was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at FC Metz, and 1 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gauthier Hein will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around FC Metz the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Jessy Deminguet 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.
Ross Barkley 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at FC Metz, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Justin Omoregie was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at FC Metz, and 1 appearances in 29 say he has earned the hearing.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at FC Metz 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Habib Diallo signs something — a contract at FC Metz or anywhere else — this column belongs to 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 FC Metz, and both men came out saying it was fine.
FC Metz opened the door and nobody walked through it. So Alpha Touré stays — listed, trained, and available — while both sides mark the days to January on the same calendar.
Ross Barkley 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.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at FC Metz would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Jessy Deminguet 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.
Out, 2‑4 to Paris Saint-Germain, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows 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 FC Metz can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.75 — 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.
Jessy Deminguet 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Habib Diallo signs something — a contract at FC Metz or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
RC Strasbourg pay $11.1M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 FC Metz 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 FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Jessy Deminguet 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.
Marked 8.52 — 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.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at FC Metz pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
“I watch every FC Metz game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at LOSC Lille runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Jonathan Fischer knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
It needed Giorgi Abuashvili to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Stade Lavallois, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Position 3, 30 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.
Jonathan Fischer 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.