Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Ricardo Fernandes scored in the 88th minute, Chania had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Panetolikos took the lot.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Panetolikos they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Panagiotis Avgerinos and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Glišić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
At 21 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.
18 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
In brief
Player ratingsNobody on the pitch touched Nikola Glišić
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Panagiotis Santis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Panetolikos the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Panagiotis Avgerinos was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Nikola Glišić 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.
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Panetolikos will try again when the window opens; Panserraikos may not be selling by then.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Panagiotis Kalyvas and Panetolikos agree another 3 years.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Christos Mitsis has, at Panetolikos, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
The phone has started ringing about Panagiotis Santis again, and this time the name on the line is Ilioupoli. Panetolikos are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad10 Sep 2029
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Miki Muñoz is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Giulio Parodi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Panagiotis Kalyvas and Panetolikos agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
He arrived for a fee and leaves for a fraction of it. $141.8K of what Panetolikos paid for Christos Voutsas is money the club will not see again, and the boardroom will be asked about it for two seasons.
“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.
Boardroom3 Sep 2029
Deadline passes with 6 signed and 13 gone
That is the business done at Panetolikos 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.
Everything agreed with Panionios, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
$1.2M was the most the club would pay and Atromitos were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Squad3 Sep 2029
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Glišić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Themis Tselios 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.
62 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Panetolikos lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Panetolikos offered $8.6M; Panathinaikos said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
The terraces27 Aug 2029
Supporters turn on the $350.0K sale of Dejvid Hoxha
He is going to Volos NPS, the club has $350.0K it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Panetolikos have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
$1.2M on the table at Atromitos. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
The offer went to Panserraikos this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Volos NPS pay $350.0K, 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.
Boardroom27 Aug 2029
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Panetolikos
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
The words a physio says slowly. 69 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
$8.6M on the table at Panathinaikos. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: AEL Larisa keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Aris Thessaloniki will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Kieren Flavell has pre-agreed a move to Panetolikos, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Niki Volos have kept their man, and Panetolikos go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad20 Aug 2029
Miki Muñoz 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 77 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Panetolikos have lost him in all but the paperwork.
He is going to AEK, the club has $700.0K it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, and a scan that said otherwise. He goes back to Kavala; Panetolikos go back to the market; and both will insist there is no story here.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Asteras wanted more than $160.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad13 Aug 2029
Nikola Glišić 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.
84 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Panetolikos lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Volos NPS waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Panetolikos is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panetolikos can pretend not to have heard.
$140.0K on the table at Panserraikos. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Glišić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Panathinaikos have kept their man, and Panetolikos go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The phone has started ringing about Panagiotis Santis again, and this time the name on the line is Chania. Panetolikos are listening politely and promising nothing.
The words a physio says slowly. 91 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The deal with Kavala is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Squad30 Jul 2029
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giulio Parodi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Panetolikos have made the call to Niki Volos. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
In brief
The dugoutDejvid Hoxha knocks on the manager's door
99 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Panetolikos lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Panetolikos people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The offer went to Asteras this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Glišić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Panetolikos asked and PAOK said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
106 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Panetolikos lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Panetolikos have done the hard part with Niki Volos, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Yuri Martirosyan 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. PAOK have kept their man, and Panetolikos go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giulio Parodi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Panetolikos, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Diallo Sanoussi 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.
114 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Panetolikos lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panetolikos can pretend not to have heard.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Panagiotis Avgerinos and Panetolikos agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Yuri Martirosyan 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.
Panetolikos asked and Asteras said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giulio Parodi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Panagiotis Avgerinos and Panetolikos agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Panagiotis Avgerinos and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad2 Jul 2029
Nikola Glišić 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.
Panetolikos asked and Panathinaikos 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 name of Panagiotis Santis has come up in conversations Panetolikos were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“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; Panetolikos are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
7 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panetolikos can pretend not to have heard.
$170.0K on the table at Asteras. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Panagiotis Avgerinos was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Nikola Glišić 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.
Panetolikos asked and OFI said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
In brief
The dugoutGiorgos Sokos asks for a word with the manager
Panetolikos and Kavala have settled on $15.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
“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 Panetolikos, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Panetolikos asked and Atromitos said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panetolikos can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Hellas Syros waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Panetolikos is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
$170.0K on the table at Asteras. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Yuri Martirosyan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Glišić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panetolikos 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 Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Glišić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Panetolikos asked and PAOK 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 name of Panagiotis Santis has come up in conversations Panetolikos were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Panetolikos have made the call to Olympiacos. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Yuri Martirosyan and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad28 May 2029
Giulio Parodi 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.
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 Panetolikos have had the benefit of it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rida Zouhir was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Panagiotis Avgerinos 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.
Squad14 May 2029
Nikola Glišić falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alexandru Măţan signs something — a contract at Panetolikos or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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 Panetolikos that is a harder question to answer.
Position 5, 28 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
“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 Panetolikos will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Stefanos Stroungis has written the date down.
Nikola Glišić was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vangelis Noikokyrakis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Panagiotis Santis signs something — a contract at Panetolikos or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The captaincy has been taken off Marvelous Nakamba. Panetolikos will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Glišić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Panetolikos are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Emmanouil Donis and Panetolikos agree another 3 years.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Dejvid Hoxha trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Glišić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Stefanos Stroungis has written the date down.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Diallo Sanoussi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alexandru Măţan signs something — a contract at Panetolikos or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
28 points from position 5. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
Yuri Martirosyan 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.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Nikola Glišić falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Panagiotis Santis signs something — a contract at Panetolikos 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 Panetolikos, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Panetolikos would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Yuri Martirosyan and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Nikola Glišić falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Panetolikos, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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. Panagiotis Avgerinos has moved up it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vangelis Noikokyrakis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Panetolikos. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Glišić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panetolikos 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 Alexandru Măţan signs something — a contract at Panetolikos or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Position 5, 28 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
Nikola Glišić 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.
Themis Tselios was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Panagiotis Santis and Panetolikos agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Panagiotis Santis signs something — a contract at Panetolikos or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Yuri Martirosyan 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Themis Tselios and Panetolikos agree another 3 years.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vangelis Noikokyrakis is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He went out to keep goal every week and came back with 0 games and 0 of them shut out. Somebody at Panetolikos argued for this move last summer; nobody is arguing for it now.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Unai Garcia trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Panetolikos would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Panetolikos they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Yuri Martirosyan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Nikola Glišić 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.
“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; Panetolikos are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
7 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Panetolikos could ask drops and the wages Miki Muñoz can ask rise.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
16 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Panetolikos lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Panagiotis Santis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Panetolikos 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 Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Glišić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I watch every Panetolikos game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Ponferradina runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Diallo Sanoussi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
24 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Panetolikos lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Panetolikos have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Yuri Martirosyan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Panetolikos, another week without a signature from Miki Muñoz.
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Panetolikos could ask drops and the wages Jack Sanders can ask rise.
In brief
The dugoutGiulio Parodi knocks on the manager's door
31 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Panetolikos lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Panetolikos have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panetolikos can pretend not to have heard.
The phone has started ringing about Diallo Sanoussi again, and this time the name on the line is Marko. Panetolikos are listening politely and promising nothing.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 0 arrived, 0 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Kifisia keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
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.
Squad5 Feb 2029
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Glišić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Themis Tselios 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 words a physio says slowly. 40 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panetolikos can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jack Sanders will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Panetolikos the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The bid was some way short and Panetolikos did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Glišić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Panetolikos asked and AEK said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Panetolikos will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
47 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Panetolikos lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Niki Volos had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panetolikos can pretend not to have heard.
Panetolikos asked and OFI said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vangelis Noikokyrakis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 28 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Successful dribbles: 21. 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.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Nikola Glišić 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.
Themis Tselios 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 particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Panagiotis Santis 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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Kifisia waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Panetolikos is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Panetolikos have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Kifisia keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Yuri Martirosyan 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Levadiakos have kept their man, and Panetolikos go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Christos Belevonis and Panetolikos agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Glišić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Panetolikos they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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. Panetolikos will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Panetolikos, another week without a signature from Marvelous Nakamba.
The 2-goal deficit was real and so was the recovery. Alexandru Măţan was at the centre of it, Egaleo were at the end of it, and everybody who left early will hear about this one for years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings25 Dec 2028
Alexandru Măţan was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.66. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
A 3‑2 win over Egaleo, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Glišić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Ricardo Fernandes 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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Panetolikos know it.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Panetolikos may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Glišić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Themis Tselios 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 Panetolikos, and 5 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Panetolikos told Vangelis Noikokyrakis something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Successful dribbles: 14. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout18 Dec 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Leonidas Papagiannopoulos was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Panetolikos dressing room was either.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Panetolikos is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Themis Tselios and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Giulio Parodi falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Panetolikos told Yuri Martirosyan something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Panetolikos, another week without a signature from Jack Sanders.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Two goals and a mark of 8.28 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Panetolikos is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad4 Dec 2028
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Glišić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Panetolikos, and 0 appearances in 14 say he has earned the hearing.
At 18 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Nov 2028
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Glišić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Hellas Syros next, and one man in the Panetolikos dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Yuri Martirosyan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vangelis Noikokyrakis is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Panetolikos, and 2 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
Panionios next, and one man in the Panetolikos dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Panetolikos could ask drops and the wages Jack Sanders can ask rise.
Position 6, 14 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Diallo Sanoussi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Panetolikos the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Yuri Martirosyan and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Glišić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panetolikos can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Panetolikos is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Position 4, 14 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
Four weeks in which nobody in the division did his job better. The award goes on a shelf and the player goes back into the side, which is the order Panetolikos prefer.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Vangelis Noikokyrakis is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Successful dribbles: 14. 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.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Alexandru Măţan provided it, and the 9.05 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Panetolikos have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
Marked 8.39 — 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.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vangelis Noikokyrakis is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout30 Oct 2028
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Leonidas Papagiannopoulos, on a 3‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
“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 Panetolikos, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Panetolikos have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Glišić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Unai Garcia 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 mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Panetolikos are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“I watch every Panetolikos game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Ponferradina runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
15 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Leonidas Papagiannopoulos was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Panetolikos dressing room was either.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Panetolikos they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Panetolikos may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Glišić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Unai Garcia and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Panetolikos know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Panetolikos. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
4 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Panetolikos could ask drops and the wages Jack Sanders can ask rise.
The mood at Panetolikos has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panetolikos can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Panetolikos is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vangelis Noikokyrakis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
0-4, and long before the end the away end had switched from encouragement to something considerably more pointed. Nobody rings a phone-in about losing narrowly.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Nikola Glišić 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.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Panetolikos interviewed the field and appointed the corridor: Leonidas Papagiannopoulos keeps the job he had been doing in all but title. Sometimes the safest pair of hands is the one already holding the wheel.
1 for Yuri Martirosyan, marked 7.99, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
A 3‑1 win over Panargiakos, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Glišić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Marvelous Nakamba 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Diallo Sanoussi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Panetolikos the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Nikola Glišić 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Diallo Sanoussi 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.
It had gone 5 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.
Player ratings18 Sep 2028
Diallo Sanoussi was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.00. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vangelis Noikokyrakis is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Apostolos Stafylidis and Panetolikos agree another 3 years.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Efthymios Bakasetas could afford to be generous.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
“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.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Nikola Glišić 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. PAOK have kept their man, and Panetolikos go back to a list with one name crossed off 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 Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Panetolikos has been clear about where Johann Kõre stands, which is more than many ever get.
Hellas Syros next, and one man in the Panetolikos dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
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.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 29 arrived, 14 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
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.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Glišić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
11 days since the seat came open, a list of names doing the rounds, and nobody has signed anything. Every week this drags on the shortlist gets shorter.
“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 Panetolikos, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Somebody picks the team on Saturday. This week it is me, and that is as far as I have thought.” No promises were made in either direction, which is how these usually begin.
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.
Unai Garcia 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.
3 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Panetolikos they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Unai Garcia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Glišić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The name of Themis Tselios has come up in conversations Panetolikos were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Panetolikos know it.
Squad21 Aug 2028
7 new faces, and Panetolikos 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.
Panetolikos have made the call to Ilioupoli. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
In brief
The dugoutAdriano Bregu has become a man the manager trusts
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
“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 Panetolikos, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Glišić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. AEK have kept their man, and Panetolikos go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Ponferradina will make the call about Dejvid Hoxha this week. Panetolikos have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
A loan enquiry to Zeleznicar Pancevo: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Panetolikos can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panetolikos can pretend not to have heard.
The whole football department in one room on a weekday morning. Nothing was announced afterwards, which is what a board announces when it has run out of patience.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Panathinaikos have kept their man, and Panetolikos go back to a list with one name crossed off 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 Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Panetolikos have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vangelis Noikokyrakis is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Panetolikos have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The offer from Panargiakos for Diallo Sanoussi 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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Panetolikos have done the hard part with Athens Kallithea, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Unai Garcia and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Glišić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Panetolikos asked and PAOK said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Christian Manrique trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Paralimni waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Panetolikos is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Diallo Sanoussi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Panetolikos the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The offer from Marko for Panagiotis Avgerinos 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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Panetolikos have done the hard part with Asteras, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Glišić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Panetolikos asked and Asteras said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Cédric Makutungu 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.
7 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.
The mood at Panetolikos has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panetolikos 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 Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Panetolikos asked and AEK 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 phone has started ringing about Panagiotis Santis again, and this time the name on the line is Makedonikos. Panetolikos are listening politely and promising nothing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giulio Parodi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Panetolikos, and it is not being withdrawn.
Panetolikos asked and Kalamata said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Glišić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The name of Giorgos Sokos has come up in conversations Panetolikos were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Panetolikos have made the call to Olympiacos. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Panetolikos have made the call to Olympiacos. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Vasileios Bakasetas has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Unai Garcia 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.
Panetolikos asked and Olympiacos said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Panetolikos can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giulio Parodi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“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 Panetolikos, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Panetolikos they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Christos Esketzis has agreed terms with Panargiakos for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Unai Garcia 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 tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Panetolikos can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The mood at Panetolikos has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
21 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Panetolikos lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom19 Jun 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Panetolikos
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
“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; Panetolikos are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Panetolikos asked and Nestos Chrysoupoli said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
He is doing his job and he is not settling. Panetolikos were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.
28 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Panetolikos lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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.
$54.0K on the table at Nestos Chrysoupoli. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Sotirios Vrousai is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Christos Donis 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.
It is arithmetic now, and the arithmetic is done. A summer of hard questions starts early at Panetolikos, and next season's fixture list reads very differently.
35 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Panetolikos lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Panetolikos can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Panetolikos and Anagennisi Karditsa have settled on $65.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
“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 Panetolikos hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Anagennisi Karditsa have kept their man, and Panetolikos go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Giorgos Sokos 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.
44 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Panetolikos lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Diallo Sanoussi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Panetolikos the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Unai Garcia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
5 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.
The mood at Panetolikos has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
52 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Panetolikos lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
17 appearances at Panathinaikos and the goals have stopped going in. Panetolikos lent out a goalkeeper and are watching somebody else’s season get better every week.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Panetolikos know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nobody at Panetolikos will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Miki Muñoz trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Panetolikos would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Unai Garcia and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sotiris Kontouris was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Panetolikos are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Jack Sanders is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
In brief
The dugoutMiki Muñoz asks for a word with the manager
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Diallo Sanoussi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Panetolikos the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Panetolikos have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Unai Garcia 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.
Squad1 May 2028
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ognjen Ugrešić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Jack Sanders was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Panetolikos has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
The mood at Panetolikos has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Boardroom24 Apr 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Panetolikos
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Panetolikos, and both men came out saying it was fine.
8 clean sheets from 17 appearances at Panathinaikos. That is the whole of a goalkeeper’s job done properly, and it is being done a long way from the club that owns him.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Panetolikos know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Unai Garcia and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Javi Manquillo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Panetolikos know it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Panetolikos, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
Unai Garcia and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Panetolikos, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The table has started to be checked before the results are in, and that is always the tell. Nobody at Panetolikos says the word out loud, and everybody in the building is thinking it.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Panagiotis Avgerinos has written the date down.
In brief
SquadUnai Garcia looks at the other side of the line
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Panetolikos is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Unai Garcia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Something was said to Novak Petrušić and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Adriano Bregu is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Javi Manquillo is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Panetolikos 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 Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
11 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.
8 shut-outs in 17 games. A goalkeeper’s loan is judged on the afternoons when nothing happened at all, and Michalis Pardalos has been having a lot of them.
Position 13 and 20 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Panetolikos have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Unai Garcia and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ognjen Ugrešić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Nobody at Panetolikos will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Panetolikos, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Unai Garcia and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
200 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Panetolikos pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Javi Manquillo
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Vasileios Bakasetas has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Panetolikos they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Cédric Makutungu is living that version at Panetolikos, and it tends to show in the first month.
Unai Garcia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Cédric Makutungu and Panetolikos agree another 3 years.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
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 1‑3 Vasileios Bakasetas left the room before anybody could ask which.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Javi Manquillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Kalamata left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad28 Feb 2028
10 new faces, and Panetolikos are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Vasileios Bakasetas after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Stefanos Stroungis and Panetolikos agree another 3 years.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Unai Garcia and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ognjen Ugrešić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
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 Javi Manquillo.
Unai Garcia 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.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Javi Manquillo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Panetolikos asked and Excelsior said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Both clubs in the mire, one fixture between them, and a ground that will be louder and more frightened than at any point in the season. Panetolikos know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Panetolikos know it.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Panetolikos told Živko Živković something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
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 1‑3 Vasileios Bakasetas left the room before anybody could ask which.
11 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Panetolikos have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Panetolikos they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Panetolikos close the window on a squad of their own making
6 in and 4 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Unai Garcia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. AEL Larisa have kept their man, and Panetolikos go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
10 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.
Boardroom31 Jan 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Panetolikos
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
“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 Panetolikos, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The name of Labros Smyrlis has come up in conversations Panetolikos were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ognjen Ugrešić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Panetolikos asked and Atromitos 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 words a physio says slowly. 17 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panetolikos can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Panetolikos have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
24 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Panetolikos lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Panetolikos people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Labros Smyrlis had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
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 ratings17 Jan 2028
Ognjen Ugrešić, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.09
A mark of 8.09 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panetolikos can pretend not to have heard.
32 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Panetolikos lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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 Panetolikos, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Labros Smyrlis has agreed terms with Iraklis for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Unai Garcia 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.
$54.0K on the table at Nestos Chrysoupoli. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
The phone has started ringing about Diallo Sanoussi again, and this time the name on the line is Panargiakos. Panetolikos are listening politely and promising nothing.
39 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Panetolikos lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Boardroom3 Jan 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Panetolikos
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
“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 Panetolikos, and it is not being withdrawn.
Unai Garcia 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 Labros Smyrlis has come up in conversations Panetolikos were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
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.
46 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Panetolikos lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Ognjen Ugrešić did not need any: 7.82, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Unai Garcia 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.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ognjen Ugrešić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Panetolikos are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Something was said to Benny and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
54 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Panetolikos lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
0‑3 to Olympiacos, 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Panetolikos will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the 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.
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.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Panetolikos can tell you which week it ends in.
62 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Panetolikos lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Panetolikos will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panetolikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
“I watch every Panetolikos game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Panathinaikos runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Position 9, 15 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
The words a physio says slowly. 69 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 37 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Unai Garcia 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 are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Atromitos? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
77 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Panetolikos lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Unai Garcia 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.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Words at Panetolikos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ognjen Ugrešić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Vasileios Bakasetas after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Something was said to Uroš Stević and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Atromitos in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
84 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Panetolikos lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.79 on the card, and the Panetolikos support went home talking about one name.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Vasileios Bakasetas kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Panagiotis Avgerinos 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.
91 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Panetolikos lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ognjen Ugrešić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every club 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 it has been tried.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panetolikos 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 Panetolikos, and 0 appearances in 18 say he has earned the hearing.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Panagiotis Santis’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Panetolikos needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The words a physio says slowly. 100 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The terraces8 Nov 2027
The mood at Panetolikos has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Vasileios Bakasetas has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Iraklis kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Panetolikos will be asked about the last half hour all week.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Two goals and a mark of 8.24 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Unai Garcia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ognjen Ugrešić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The words a physio says slowly. 108 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panetolikos can pretend not to have heard.
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.
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.
Unai Garcia and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sotiris Kontouris was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
1‑2 to OFI, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Alexandru Măţan's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.