26 Sep 2026
Saturday
Process
8 Edition

The Skonto Gazette

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Raivis Tarasovs in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Skonto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Skonto training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alvis Ciganovs 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 dugout

Olegs Bulvitis gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Olegs Bulvitis is on it.

In brief

Back issues
7 Edition

The Skonto Gazette

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at Skonto

Raivis Tarasovs 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.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Kristaps Savalnieks

Skonto asked and Spartaks said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad

A row about effort at Skonto

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladimirs Cauna was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

In brief

6 Edition

The Skonto Gazette

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

Skonto close the window on a squad of their own making

0 in and 2 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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Skonto

Raivis Tarasovs 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.

Transfer targets

Skonto baulk at the price for Raivis Gabovs

Spartaks wanted more than $36.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.

In brief

5 Edition

The Skonto Gazette

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Jelgava come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Skonto did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Transfer targets

Trofim Melnichenko will not be coming to Skonto

Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Porto is saying, and nobody at Skonto is enjoying the guessing.

Squad

A falling-out at Skonto

Raivis Tarasovs and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Transfer targets

Skonto baulk at the price for Afonso Leite

Liepaja wanted more than $40.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Pavels Laizans

Skonto asked and Jelgava said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad

A row about effort at Skonto

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alvis Ciganovs was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

In brief

4 Edition

The Skonto Gazette

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The cup run ends for Skonto

1‑2 against Spartaks, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.

Market

Skonto say no — this time

The offer from Jelgava for Gatis Savalnieks 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.

Transfer targets

Arjan Malić will not be coming to Skonto

Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Red Bull Salzburg is saying, and nobody at Skonto is enjoying the guessing.

Squad

Raivis Tarasovs in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Skonto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

Skonto make their move for Afonso Leite

$11.0K on the table at Liepaja. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.

Transfer targets

An offer of $11.0K for Raivis Gabovs

Skonto have gone to Spartaks with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.

Transfer targets

Skonto rebuffed over Moctar Diop

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. KAA Gent have kept their man, and Skonto go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

The dugout

No hiding place for Alvis Ciganovs

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alvis Ciganovs, and the manager let it.

Squad

A row about effort at Skonto

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladimirs Cauna was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

In brief

3 Edition

The Skonto Gazette

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Skonto say no — this time

The offer from Liepaja for Olegs Laizans 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Skonto

Raivis Tarasovs 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.

Market

Jelgava join the queue for Vladimirs Gabovs

Add another name to the list: Jelgava have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Vladimirs Gabovs. The answer from Skonto has not changed — yet.

Transfer targets

Skonto rebuffed over Yoël van den Ban

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. AZ have kept their man, and Skonto go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Transfer targets

Skonto ask about Arjan Malić

A loan enquiry to Red Bull Salzburg: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Trofim Melnichenko is in the works

Skonto have made the call to Porto. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

Squad

Roberts Dubra signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Roberts Dubra commits to Skonto for another 3 years.

Squad

Words at Skonto training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vitalijs Ikaunieks 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 dugout

No hiding place for Gatis Ikaunieks

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gatis Ikaunieks, and the manager let it.

In brief

2 Edition

The Skonto Gazette

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Transfer targets

Danila Godyaev will not be coming to Skonto

Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Lokomotiv Moscow is saying, and nobody at Skonto is enjoying the guessing.

Squad

Raivis Tarasovs signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Raivis Tarasovs and Skonto agree another 1 years.

Squad

A falling-out at Skonto

Raivis Tarasovs and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Yannick Agnero

Skonto asked and Lech said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad

Alvis Ciganovs 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 dugout

No hiding place for Gatis Savalnieks

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gatis Savalnieks, and the manager let it.

Market

Ventspils watching Kristaps Gabovs

The interest is real enough to have reached print. Skonto have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Transfer targets

Skonto ask about Alexis Kalogeropoulos

A loan enquiry to Olympiacos: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.

The dugout

Raivis Tarasovs knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Raivis Tarasovs trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

1 Edition

The Skonto Gazette

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Words exchanged at Skonto

Raivis Tarasovs 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.

Transfer targets

Skonto rebuffed over Shahzod Azmiddinov

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Pakhtakor have kept their man, and Skonto go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad

A row about effort at Skonto

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladimirs Cauna was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Market

Davis Dubra attracts admirers

The name of Davis Dubra has come up in conversations Skonto were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Transfer targets

Skonto try to borrow Yoël van den Ban

AZ have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.

Transfer targets

Skonto try to borrow Danila Godyaev

Lokomotiv Moscow have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.

In brief