From our football correspondent
Steady
Match27 Feb 2027
4‑1, and Roberto Ranieri took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Novara tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Squad1 Mar 2027
The match ball belongs to Roberto Ranieri, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad1 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Novara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Mar 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Novara are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The terraces1 Mar 2027
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.35, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch1 Mar 2027
“I watch every Novara game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Spezia runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Match20 Feb 2027
At last: Novara win one
7 matches without a win, and then this, against Arzignano. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Novara
Omar Khailoti and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The terraces22 Feb 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Andrea Valdesi 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.
Market22 Feb 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Elia Boseggia has his answer from Novara; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Match20 Feb 2027
A 1‑0 win over Arzignano, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.09, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
The team sheet said everything about Eric Lanini
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Eric Lanini.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Tiziano Villa on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market15 Feb 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Novara can pretend not to have heard.
Match13 Feb 2027
The wait goes on for Novara
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Transfer targets15 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Genoa have kept their man, and Novara go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Novara
Omar Khailoti and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Eric Lanini
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Marco Da Graca falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
The afternoon belonged to Mirko Miceli
A mark of 7.19, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
Elia Boseggia knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Novara, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 Feb 2027
The deal that would have taken Christian Donadio to Pisa has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Novara with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Match6 Feb 2027
The wait goes on for Novara
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.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Everything agreed with Avellino, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Novara asked and Arzignano said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Novara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marco Da Graca was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Novara
Adrian Cannavaro and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Marco Nichetti did the work nobody counts — 7.01
9 combined actions and 7.01. 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.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
7.33, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Novara had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
In brief
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The dugout
Eric Lanini knocks on the manager’s door
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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Looking ahead
The leaders are next for Novara
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market1 Feb 2027
Omar Khailoti hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Novara can pretend not to have heard.
Match30 Jan 2027
5 matches without a win for Novara
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Novara are no longer polite ones.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 0 gone
That is the business done at Novara until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Market1 Feb 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Novara will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Avellino have kept their man, and Novara go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Marked 8.35 — 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Novara
Adrian Cannavaro and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match30 Jan 2027
It needed Diego Zuppel to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Cittadella, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market25 Jan 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Match23 Jan 2027
4 matches without a win for Novara
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Novara are no longer polite ones.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Novara asked and Lecce said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Elia Boseggia
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match23 Jan 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Novara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marco Da Graca was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Market25 Jan 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Elia Boseggia may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market18 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Novara can pretend not to have heard.
Market18 Jan 2027
Novara say no — this time
The offer from Vicenza for Christian Donadio 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.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Novara have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
The deal with Udinese is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
Novara asked and Venezia said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match16 Jan 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Novara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marco Da Graca was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Nicolò Ledonne
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Tiziano Villa left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
$270.0K settles it between the clubs for Alessandro Arioli
Cosenza have accepted the money. What Novara do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Novara may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market11 Jan 2027
Add another name to the list: Vicenza have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Christian Donadio. The answer from Novara has not changed — yet.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Novara have done the hard part with Potenza, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad11 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Novara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Eric Lanini, and the manager let it.
Squad11 Jan 2027
200 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
A performance of 8.00 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
Everything agreed with Virtus Entella, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Adrian Cannavaro is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Novara
Omar Khailoti 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 dugout4 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Andrea Valdesi
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad4 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Novara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marco Da Graca was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match2 Jan 2027
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Marco Da Graca had Novara level again within 3 minutes, and Pergolettese never got to play with a lead at all.
Market4 Jan 2027
Roberto Ranieri is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Novara has been clear about where Roberto Ranieri stands, which is more than many ever get.
Loan watch4 Jan 2027
“I watch every Novara game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Spezia runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.67 on the card, and the Novara support went home talking about one name.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Novara have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Novara
Omar Khailoti and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Ninety minutes of Marco Nichetti at his very best
Marked 8.19. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Novara.
Match28 Dec 2026
Halfway: Novara sit in position 5
22 points at the turn. The first half of a season is a promise; the second is a bill, and the town is about to find out which of the two this one was.
Squad28 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Novara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Riccardo Arboscello was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market28 Dec 2026
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Filippo Lorenzini has his answer from Novara; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market21 Dec 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Novara can pretend not to have heard.
Squad21 Dec 2026
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match19 Dec 2026
The wait goes on for Novara
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.
Match19 Dec 2026
0‑2 to AlbinoLeffe, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad21 Dec 2026
35 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nicolò Ledonne, and the manager let it.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Novara
Adrian Cannavaro 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 dugout21 Dec 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Tiziano Villa to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
A promise honoured at Novara
Something was said to Alessandro Citi and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Dec 2026
A falling-out at Novara
Roberto Ranieri and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Alessandro Citi
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
A mark of 7.81, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Match12 Dec 2026
Novara share the spoils with Carpi
A 1‑1 draw with Carpi leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
Half-satisfied: Tiziano Villa on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
Looking ahead14 Dec 2026
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Marco Nichetti’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Novara needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 9. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Edoardo Nicolello commits to Novara for another 3 years.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rahul Sharma, and the manager let it.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
Match5 Dec 2026
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Lecco defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Market7 Dec 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Andrea Valdesi signs something — a contract at Novara or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Chances created: 7. The column nobody reads carried the whole story of the match, and his name was at the top of it.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
Eric Lanini is not enjoying his job description
Played out of position, hooked on the hour, asked to be somebody he is not — the details vary and the mood does not. Novara have a player doing his work under protest.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Nov 2026
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match28 Nov 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad30 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Novara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marco Da Graca was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Roberto Ranieri
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Market30 Nov 2026
Gianmarco Basso is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Novara has been clear about where Gianmarco Basso stands, which is more than many ever get.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
85% of the income goes out in wages at Novara
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Looking ahead30 Nov 2026
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Lecco in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad23 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Novara
Omar Khailoti and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match21 Nov 2026
Three points for Novara, 2‑0 the final word against Renate in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad23 Nov 2026
200 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Marked 8.04 — 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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Novara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Riccardo Arboscello was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Tiziano Villa, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Defensive actions: 15, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Defensive actions: 13. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Novara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market16 Nov 2026
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Marco Da Graca has his answer from Novara; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Eyob Zambataro is on it.
Looking ahead16 Nov 2026
Renate next, and one man in the Novara dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Marco Da Graca knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Marco Da Graca trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Novara. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Market16 Nov 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Federico Brancolini’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Looking ahead16 Nov 2026
Next up at home: Renate, who go into it in position 11. The kind of fixture a season is quietly built on or quietly loses its shape in.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match4 Nov 2026
The cup run ends for Novara
0‑3 against Atalanta, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Squad9 Nov 2026
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
The terraces9 Nov 2026
Novara are taken apart by Atalanta — and the town wants answers
It finished 0-3. A cup exit is a disappointment; this was a public dismantling, and the difference between the two is the number of people who will still be talking about it in August.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Novara
Omar Khailoti 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 terraces9 Nov 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Andrea Valdesi 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.
Match7 Nov 2026
A 1‑0 win over Alcione Milano, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Boardroom9 Nov 2026
Nobody left the Novara dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Marked 7.72. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
In brief
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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The dugout
Elia Boseggia knocks on the manager's door
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The dugout
The manager makes an example of Matteo Raffaelli
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match31 Oct 2026
A 1‑0 win over Arzignano, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Ninety minutes of Christian Donadio at his very best
Marked 8.27. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Novara.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Riccardo Arboscello and Novara agree another 3 years.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alessandro Citi, and the manager let it.
Squad2 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Novara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Loan watch2 Nov 2026
“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 Novara, and 6 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
85% of the income goes out in wages at Novara
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Tiziano Villa, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
The chances came and went for Diego Zuppel
5 shots, and a count that reads like a good afternoon until you check the other column. Strikers survive weeks like this on the understanding that the chances keep arriving; the day they stop is the day it becomes a problem.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match24 Oct 2026
1‑4 to Union Brescia, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad26 Oct 2026
The medical room confirms 42 days on the sidelines for Mirko Miceli, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad26 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Novara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.01, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad26 Oct 2026
100 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Boardroom26 Oct 2026
Doors closed at Novara
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Oct 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Sylvester Lartey is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Match17 Oct 2026
Lumezzane left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Looking ahead19 Oct 2026
Union Brescia next, and one man in the Novara dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 11. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Oct 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Adrian Cannavaro is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad12 Oct 2026
38 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Elia Boseggia, and the manager let it.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Federico Brancolini and Novara agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Novara
Adrian Cannavaro and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Roberto Ranieri asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Novara
Omar Khailoti and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match3 Oct 2026
Cittadella left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Alessandro Citi
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages eat 110% of everything Novara earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Tiziano Villa left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The captaincy has been taken off Roberto Ranieri. Novara will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Roberto Ranieri asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A decision that decides nothing on the pitch and everything in the room. The manager has said, without saying it, whose voice he wants heard when his own is not there.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match23 Sep 2026
Novara through in the cup
A 1‑0 win over Sorrento, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.58, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Marco Romano, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.72
A mark of 7.72 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Squad28 Sep 2026
100 goals for this club, and somewhere in the stand there is a person who can still tell you where they were for most of them.
Match26 Sep 2026
It finished 3‑1, and it was Eric Lanini’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Novara.
Squad28 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Novara
Omar Khailoti and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces28 Sep 2026
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.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Marked 8.45 — 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 dugout28 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Davide Bertoncini, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Novara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces21 Sep 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Alessandro Citi has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Marked 7.31. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Tiziano Villa was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Novara dressing room was either.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 13. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Match19 Sep 2026
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Trento will be the happier side with the point.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“If we are going to be beaten, let it not be because somebody in here could not be bothered.” He stood up and said it in front of everybody, which is a thing a squad remembers about a man for years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Sep 2026
“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 Novara, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Novara asked and Juventus said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Elia Boseggia, and the manager let it.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Elia Boseggia has had enough of the bench
“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 Novara will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Match12 Sep 2026
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Tiziano Villa chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alessandro Citi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market7 Sep 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 13 signed and 2 gone
That is the business done at Novara until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Cremonese have kept their man, and Novara go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Novara
Roberto Ranieri was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Eyob Zambataro slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Eyob Zambataro is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Andrea Valdesi has moved up it.
Looking ahead7 Sep 2026
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Marco Nichetti’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Novara needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Novara, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market7 Sep 2026
The window shut and Christian Donadio is still in the building
Novara spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market31 Aug 2026
Mamadou Ndoye hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Novara can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Novara asked and Hellas Verona said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match29 Aug 2026
Pergolettese made Novara work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Marked 8.29 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Andrea Valdesi
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Feyenoord have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
A loan move for Jeremy Monga is in the works
Novara have made the call to Leicester City. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Squad31 Aug 2026
5 new faces, and Novara are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Tiziano Villa, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Novara can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Novara asked and AZ said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Boardroom24 Aug 2026
Novara say no to the training-ground money
The plan went upstairs and came back down. Nothing about that will make a headline anywhere else, and everybody who works at the training ground will remember it for years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: LOSC Lille keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad17 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Novara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Everything agreed with LOSC Lille, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Andrea Valdesi and Novara agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Novara asked and Spezia said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Novara
Marco Da Graca and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Teodoro Damico 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Elia Pellegrini 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Armando Ceccarelli has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Ciro Caputo 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.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
Andrea Valdesi asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mirko Miceli commits to Novara for another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Novara
Marco Da Graca and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market3 Aug 2026
Nobody at Novara has picked up the phone to Eric Lanini
24 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to LOSC Lille: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Novara are still strangers to each other
6 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Market3 Aug 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Novara, another week without a signature from Marco Nichetti.