The words a physio says slowly. 96 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Podbrezova have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Podbrezova, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Samuel Štefánik and Podbrezova agree another 2 years.
Luka Silagadze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I watch every Podbrezova game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Sochi runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
104 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Podbrezova 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 Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rene Rantuša Lampreht is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The words a physio says slowly. 112 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.
Luka Silagadze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The words a physio says slowly. 119 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Viktor Hýsek 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.
127 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Podbrezova lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Luka Silagadze 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.
134 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Podbrezova lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Podbrezova 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 Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rene Rantuša Lampreht is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I watch every Podbrezova game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at DAC Dunajska Streda runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
141 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Podbrezova lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Podbrezova will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Podbrezova, and it is not being withdrawn.
148 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Podbrezova lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Podbrezova 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 Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
155 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Podbrezova lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 39 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Luka Silagadze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Martin Trnovský signs something — a contract at Podbrezova or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
MarketThe window shut and Arda Yılmaztürk is still in the building
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 16 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Viktor Hýsek 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Ventspils will make the call about Matej Jurička this week. Podbrezova have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Luka Silagadze 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 nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Podbrezova 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 Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rene Rantuša Lampreht 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 Podbrezova know it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Podbrezova have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Peter Kováčik was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Viktor Hýsek 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 Podbrezova, and 0 appearances in 0 say he has earned the hearing.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Martin Trnovský signs something — a contract at Podbrezova or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Luka Silagadze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rene Rantuša Lampreht 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.
Luka Silagadze 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 Dec 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Viktor Hýsek 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 Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rene Rantuša Lampreht 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.
Luka Silagadze 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.
22 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 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.
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.
11 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Viktor Hýsek 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Podbrezova can pretend not to have heard.
Peter Kováčik 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.
AS Trencin held the lead for 3 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. Podbrezova answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
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.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rene Rantuša Lampreht 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.
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.
Luka Silagadze 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.
10 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Viktor Hýsek 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 Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rene Rantuša Lampreht 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.
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 needed Patrick Karhan to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Spartak Myjava, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Luka Silagadze 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 goal that put MSK Zilina ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Podbrezova equalised, 4 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
0‑1 to Spartak Trnava, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Filip Mielke 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.82 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Luka Silagadze 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ondřej Šašinka. 2‑0 against MFK Ruzomberok, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Luka Silagadze scored in the 89th minute, Zlate Moravce had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Podbrezova took the lot.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Luka Silagadze. 3‑2 against Zlate Moravce, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rene Rantuša Lampreht 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 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Balša Mrvaljević 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.
A new partner, a signature and a photograph nobody will remember. It funds a fortnight of wages, which is more than most headlines on this page can say for themselves.
In brief
Player ratingsOusman Kujabi changes it off the bench
Luka Silagadze 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.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Filip Mielke 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Podbrezova scored in the 91th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Šimon Faško commits to Podbrezova for another 5 years.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rene Rantuša Lampreht 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.
16 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.
0‑3 against Slovan Bratislava, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Luka Silagadze 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 mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Podbrezova are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ousman Kujabi signs something — a contract at Podbrezova or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Podbrezova opened the door and nobody walked through it. So Vincent Chyla stays — listed, trained, and available — while both sides mark the days to January on the same calendar.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ondřej Šašinka provided it, and the 8.74 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
AS Trencin made Podbrezova work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Filip Mielke 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 was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Podbrezova has been clear about where Jakub Luka stands, which is more than many ever get.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Filip Mielke signs something — a contract at Podbrezova or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Luka Silagadze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. DAC Dunajska Streda defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Podbrezova 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 Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Balša Mrvaljević 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.
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Filip Mielke 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kristofer Käit and Podbrezova agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rene Rantuša Lampreht 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 accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Radek Šiler was one of the reasons people came, and $3.9M does not replace that by itself.
Luka Silagadze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The deal that would have taken Ondřej Šašinka to Kryvbas has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Podbrezova with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
MFK Ruzomberok paid $310.0K and Podbrezova took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Podbrezova can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Filip Mielke 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 Podbrezova will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Luka Silagadze 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.
Boardroom19 Jul 2027
6 academy players handed senior numbers at Podbrezova
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 oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Patrik Valjent has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ivan Duris has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
9 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The chase for Ondřej Šašinka ended with $950.0K changing hands and MFK Ruzomberok out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Ondřej Šašinka from MFK Ruzomberok for $950.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Andriy Havrylenko and Podbrezova agree another 3 years.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rene Rantuša Lampreht 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Podbrezova have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Luka Silagadze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Podbrezova, and it is not being withdrawn.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
The chase for Lukáš Mikulaj ended with $360.0K changing hands and AS Trencin out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Samuel Štefánik was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
In brief
The terracesPodbrezova spend $360.0K on the signing the town wanted
Luka Silagadze 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.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Viktor Hýsek has improved at 24, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Agustín Orofino has just signed for Podbrezova, and for once the answer mattered.
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 fee is $520.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. MFK Skalica drove a hard bargain; time will say who won 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 Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Matej Jurička is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Lukáš Šimko from MFK Skalica for $520.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matúš Marcin 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 Podbrezova will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The terraces14 Jun 2027
Supporters make their feelings known about Radek Šiler
The speculation has reached the stands, and the stands have answered. Podbrezova would like this settled before it becomes the only thing anybody asks about.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Podbrezova can pretend not to have heard.
Luka Silagadze 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.
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 Podbrezova have had the benefit of it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rene Rantuša Lampreht 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.
Position 3, 33 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Luka Silagadze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad24 May 2027
Matúš Marcin 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.
“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 Podbrezova, and 0 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
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.
Samuel Štefánik 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 May 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rene Rantuša Lampreht 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 Podbrezova will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Podbrezova are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matúš Marcin 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 Podbrezova 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.
Position 3, 33 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Luka Silagadze 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.
Luka Silagadze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Everyone has stopped pretending: FF Jaro will make the call about Ousman Kujabi this week. Podbrezova have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
In brief
SquadWords at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Luka Silagadze 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.
5 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.
Samuel Štefánik was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rene Rantuša Lampreht 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Podbrezova 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 Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Matúš Marcin 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rene Rantuša Lampreht 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 Podbrezova know it.
Luka Silagadze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Balša Mrvaljević 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.
Out, 0‑2 to Slovan Bratislava, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Luka Silagadze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Podbrezova 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 Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 19 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Samuel Štefánik 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 Feb 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rene Rantuša Lampreht 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.
6 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 26 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Luka Silagadze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 33 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matúš Marcin is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 40 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The offer from FK Senica for Matúš Marcin 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Kristofer Käit has just signed for Podbrezova, and for once the answer mattered.
Luka Silagadze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 47 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Position 3, 33 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
“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 Podbrezova, and it is not being withdrawn.
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 Podbrezova have had the benefit of it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 56 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Luka Silagadze 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Matúš Marcin 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Podbrezova will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Samuel Štefánik 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matúš Marcin is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Podbrezova 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 Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A 1‑0 win over Zlate Moravce, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Podbrezova pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Podbrezova will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Two goals and a mark of 8.49 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Podbrezova and MFK Michalovce, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matúš Marcin is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Podbrezova will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
0‑1 against IMT. Continental football is unforgiving about the things a domestic league lets a side get away with, and this was a night spent finding out which of those the club still has.
Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Ousman Kujabi, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.85
A mark of 7.85 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.
Luka Silagadze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
At 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 95 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Podbrezova will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Luka Silagadze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
At 23 he is 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.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Viktor Hýsek was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.33. 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Matúš Marcin 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Podbrezova will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
0‑0 against AJ Auxerre, under lights, against people who do not speak the same language as the crowd. These are the evenings a club measures its decade in, and there are never as many of them as anybody expects.
2 goals to the good, and then a slow surrender of everything that had been earned. Ridwan Sanusi will not be the one blamed for it, but nobody at Podbrezova escapes the conversation that follows a collapse like this.
Two goals and a mark of 8.25 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 118 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Viktor Hýsek 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.
0‑1 away to the standard of AJ Auxerre. Nobody will pretend this was a scandal; the gap is real, it is measurable, and closing it is a project rather than a team talk.
Samuel Štefánik 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.
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Viktor Hýsek falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
At 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.
A 1‑0 win over Spartak Myjava, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
In brief
SquadThe team sheet said everything about Viktor Hýsek
Luka Silagadze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Viktor Hýsek 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.
1‑2 against Besiktas. Continental football is unforgiving about the things a domestic league lets a side get away with, and this was a night spent finding out which of those the club still has.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Samuel Štefánik and Podbrezova agree another 1 years.
Luka Silagadze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 18 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Balša Mrvaljević 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 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.
Nobody at Podbrezova 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.
3‑2 against IMT, under lights, against people who do not speak the same language as the crowd. These are the evenings a club measures its decade in, and there are never as many of them as anybody expects.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
A brace, and Ousman Kujabi takes the afternoon — 8.49
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ousman Kujabi provided it, and the 8.49 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Luka Silagadze 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 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Radek Šiler 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.
A 1‑0 win over MFK Michalovce, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Podbrezova pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Position 2, 13 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Samuel Štefánik 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matúš Marcin 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 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Balša Mrvaljević and Podbrezova agree another 4 years.
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 phone has started ringing about Martin Trnovský again, and this time the name on the line is Slovan Bratislava. Podbrezova are listening politely and promising nothing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Nobody at Podbrezova will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The offer from Slovan Bratislava for Martin Trnovský 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.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.98 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Luka Silagadze 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 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Jakub Luka 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.
A 2‑0 win over DAC Dunajska Streda, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.02 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 23 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Samuel Štefánik. 1‑0 against FK Senica, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.10 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The goal that put Spartak Myjava ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Podbrezova equalised, 3 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Radek Šiler scored in the 86th minute, MSK Zilina had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Podbrezova took the lot.
Luka Silagadze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
At 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.
It finished 1‑0, and it was Radek Šiler’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Podbrezova.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Matúš Marcin 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.
49 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.