From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Jul 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ventspils can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Vitalijs Jurkovskis 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.
Market5 Jul 2027
Skonto are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Ventspils will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match28 Jun 2027
Ventspils sink to position 6
11 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market28 Jun 2027
Alvis Laizans hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ventspils can pretend not to have heard.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Jahir Scott 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.
Market28 Jun 2027
The phone has started ringing about Raivis Vanins again, and this time the name on the line is Metta/LU. Ventspils are listening politely and promising nothing.
Loan watch28 Jun 2027
“I did not go to Metta/LU to sit and watch. I want to come back to Ventspils and fight for my place.” 4 appearances in 21 matches say the rest.
Squad28 Jun 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market21 Jun 2027
“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 The request is on a desk at Ventspils, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad21 Jun 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market21 Jun 2027
Add another name to the list: Jelgava have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Alvis Laizans. The answer from Ventspils has not changed — yet.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Jahir Scott 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 Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Loan watch21 Jun 2027
“I watch every Ventspils game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Metta/LU runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad21 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alvis Zjuzins, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Jun 2027
Ventspils say no — this time
The offer from Metta/LU for Raivis Vanins 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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Jahir Scott 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 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Aleksandrs Laizans, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Jun 2027
Jelgava come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Ventspils did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“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 Ventspils know it.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Alvis Laizans 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.
Player ratings7 Jun 2027
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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“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 ratings7 Jun 2027
A mark of 7.40, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match31 May 2027
Every point is an argument now for Ventspils
Position 6 and 10 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.
Squad31 May 2027
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Squad31 May 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market31 May 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad31 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings31 May 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.74, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match29 May 2027
Three points for Ventspils, 3‑1 the final word against Metta/LU in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings31 May 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.63, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings31 May 2027
A performance of 8.04 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match22 May 2027
The wait goes on for Ventspils
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.
Market24 May 2027
Alvis Laizans hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ventspils can pretend not to have heard.
Squad24 May 2027
Alvis Zjuzins: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ventspils have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings24 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad24 May 2027
Alvis Laizans 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
37 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad24 May 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch24 May 2027
“I watch every Ventspils game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Metta/LU runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Match22 May 2027
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 May 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad17 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 May 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match8 May 2027
No end in sight to Ventspils's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Ventspils has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad10 May 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Defensive actions: 24, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad10 May 2027
Jahir Scott 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 Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad10 May 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Shots: 11. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Match8 May 2027
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Jelgava came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 12 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match3 May 2027
Every point is an argument now for Ventspils
Position 6 and 5 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.
Match1 May 2027
8 matches without a win for Ventspils
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Ventspils are no longer polite ones.
Market3 May 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad3 May 2027
Jahir Scott 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.
Squad3 May 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Vladimirs Jagodinskis and Ventspils agree another 3 years.
Loan watch3 May 2027
“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 Ventspils, and 3 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
Match1 May 2027
0‑1 to Liepaja, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad3 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Alvis Laizans
“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 ratings3 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market26 Apr 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Match24 Apr 2027
7 matches without a win for Ventspils
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Ventspils are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Jahir Scott 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 Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match24 Apr 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Loan watch26 Apr 2027
“I did not go to Metta/LU to sit and watch. I want to come back to Ventspils and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 14 matches say the rest.
Squad26 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Alvis Zjuzins
“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 ratings26 Apr 2027
Shots: 7, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
A mark of 5.64 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market19 Apr 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Match17 Apr 2027
The wait goes on for Ventspils
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad19 Apr 2027
17 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Alvis Laizans 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.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match17 Apr 2027
0‑1 to Skonto, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad19 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vyacheslav Vasin, and the manager let it.
Squad19 Apr 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
A mark of 5.45 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match10 Apr 2027
The small margins put Ventspils out
Out, 0‑0 to Metta/LU, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Squad12 Apr 2027
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Alvis Laizans: 1 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match10 Apr 2027
The wait goes on for Ventspils
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.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 24 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad12 Apr 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Apr 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
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.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
It was his to settle and he did not settle it. A long walk back to the halfway line, and a considerably longer week.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match5 Apr 2027
Every point is an argument now for Ventspils
Position 5 and 4 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Ventspils may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market5 Apr 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ventspils can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“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 Ventspils know it.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Alvis Laizans 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.
Match3 Apr 2027
Daugavpils left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“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.
Loan watch5 Apr 2027
“I watch every Ventspils game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Metta/LU runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad29 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Mar 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Raivis Vanins commits to Ventspils for another 4 years.
Loan watch29 Mar 2027
“I did not go to Metta/LU to sit and watch. I want to come back to Ventspils and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 10 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 36. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market22 Mar 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ventspils can pretend not to have heard.
The terraces22 Mar 2027
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 6 of the 30 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Squad22 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Alvis Laizans and Ventspils agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Harald Martin Hauso 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.
Match20 Mar 2027
Vladlen Babaev scored, and precious little else went right: 2‑3 to Jelgava, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad22 Mar 2027
“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 ratings22 Mar 2027
Marked 8.63 — 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.
Loan watch22 Mar 2027
“I watch every Ventspils game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Metta/LU runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Mar 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad15 Mar 2027
17 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad15 Mar 2027
53 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
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.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market8 Mar 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ventspils can pretend not to have heard.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Harald Martin Hauso and Ventspils agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Harald Martin Hauso 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.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Marked 9.03 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match6 Mar 2027
Three points for Ventspils, 2‑0 the final word against Spartaks in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 19 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Marked 8.02 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fellipe Vieira Cardoso, and the manager let it.
Loan watch8 Mar 2027
“I watch every Ventspils game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Metta/LU runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Alvis Laizans
“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.
Loan watch1 Mar 2027
“I watch every Ventspils game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Metta/LU runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market22 Feb 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ventspils can pretend not to have heard.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Harald Martin Hauso 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Kristaps Dubra commits to Ventspils for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Feb 2027
The medical room confirms 86 days on the sidelines for Raivis Fertovs, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad15 Feb 2027
14 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad8 Feb 2027
Harald Martin Hauso 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Alvis Oss still has not settled
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Ventspils would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Market8 Feb 2027
The window shut and Vitalijs Rugins is still in the building
Ventspils spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market1 Feb 2027
“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 Ventspils, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“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 Ventspils know it.
Squad1 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market1 Feb 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Ventspils have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad1 Feb 2027
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Ventspils will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Squad1 Feb 2027
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Vladlen Babaev keeps the shirt for now, at Ventspils's convenience rather than his own.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market25 Jan 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market25 Jan 2027
Jelgava come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Ventspils did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Harald Martin Hauso 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.
Market25 Jan 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Marcis Fertovs’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Marcis Bulvitis asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad25 Jan 2027
The manager plants his flag on Vladlen Babaev
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Vladlen Babaev’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market18 Jan 2027
Ventspils say no — this time
The offer from Daugavpils for Raivis Vanins 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market18 Jan 2027
Eduards Bulvitis has left for Metta/LU in a $11.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad18 Jan 2027
114 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Market18 Jan 2027
Everyone has stopped pretending: Metta/LU will make the call about Marcis Tarasovs this week. Ventspils have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Market18 Jan 2027
The name of Alvis Laizans keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Ventspils say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market11 Jan 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market11 Jan 2027
“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 Ventspils, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Harald Martin Hauso 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market4 Jan 2027
Metta/LU come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Ventspils did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market4 Jan 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad4 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market4 Jan 2027
The phone has started ringing about Kaspars Jagodinskis again, and this time the name on the line is Liepaja. Ventspils are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Marcis Kamess asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market4 Jan 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Pavels Ikaunieks has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Ventspils.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Dec 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad28 Dec 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alvis Laizans and Ventspils agree another 4 years.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Harald Martin Hauso 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market21 Dec 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad21 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 2026
The medical room confirms 17 days on the sidelines for Alvis Zjuzins, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Dec 2026
Harald Martin Hauso 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.
Market14 Dec 2026
Ventspils have made Marcis Kamess available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Squad14 Dec 2026
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Alexandros Malis plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Dec 2026
The medical room confirms 29 days on the sidelines for Igors Dubra, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Aleksandrs Laizans commits to Ventspils for another 1 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market30 Nov 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“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; Ventspils are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Harald Martin Hauso 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market23 Nov 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad23 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Nov 2026
24 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
Harald Martin Hauso 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Marcis Kamess 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 Marcis Kamess trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad16 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Vitalijs Rugins
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Nov 2026
60 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Kaspars Stolcers and Ventspils agree another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market2 Nov 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad2 Nov 2026
The medical room confirms 15 days on the sidelines for Jahir Scott, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Harald Martin Hauso 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Oct 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Ventspils, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad26 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Oct 2026
22 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Oct 2026
“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; Ventspils are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Harald Martin Hauso 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Jahir Scott knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ventspils, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Oct 2026
The medical room confirms 89 days on the sidelines for Igors Dubra, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Marcis Bulvitis trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Oct 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ventspils can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“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; Ventspils are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Harald Martin Hauso 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Sep 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad28 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Sep 2026
The medical room confirms 23 days on the sidelines for Aleksandrs Fertovs, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Sep 2026
Harald Martin Hauso 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 Sep 2026
Marcis Kamess knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ventspils, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market21 Sep 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Marcis Kamess may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Sep 2026
123 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jahir Scott, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Sep 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ventspils can pretend not to have heard.
Market7 Sep 2026
Ventspils say no — this time
The offer from Metta/LU for Raivis Vanins 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Harald Martin Hauso was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Raivis Fertovs
“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.
Market7 Sep 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Marcis Fertovs’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ventspils, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market31 Aug 2026
Ventspils say no — this time
The offer from Jelgava for Kaspars Jagodinskis 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Jahir Scott has outgrown this division
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Ventspils know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
Squad31 Aug 2026
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Ventspils would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Squad31 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gatis Cauna, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 Aug 2026
Ventspils say no — this time
The offer from Liepaja for Marcis Tarasovs 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.
Market24 Aug 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Ventspils, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Harald Martin Hauso 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.
Market24 Aug 2026
The name of Raivis Vanins has come up in conversations Ventspils were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad24 Aug 2026
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Ventspils will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Olegs Bulvitis commits to Ventspils for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 Aug 2026
Daugavpils ended it 0‑2. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market17 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Marcis Tarasovs again, and this time the name on the line is Liepaja. Ventspils are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Vladlen Babaev 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.
Market17 Aug 2026
Eduards Jagodinskis has left for Skonto in a $4.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alvis Laizans, and the manager let it.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Gatis Cauna commits to Ventspils for another 3 years.
Market17 Aug 2026
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Raivis Laizans has his answer from Ventspils; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Squad17 Aug 2026
At 20 years old, Alvis Laizans became the latest name off the academy production line to be handed a senior shirt.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Alvis Laizans commits to Ventspils for another 4 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ventspils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market10 Aug 2026
The name of Eduards Jagodinskis has come up in conversations Ventspils were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vladimirs Jagodinskis, and the manager let it.
Squad10 Aug 2026
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Ventspils know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
Market10 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Alvis Laizans 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.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad3 Aug 2026
This league is too small for Vladlen Babaev
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Ventspils will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Market3 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Market3 Aug 2026
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Vitalijs Rugins has his answer from Ventspils; what he does with it is the next window’s story.