Simon van Duivenbooden and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Joona Somppi 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 done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one VPS will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Nobody at VPS 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.
In brief
The dugoutWill Wilson knocks on the manager’s door
A season average of 6.56 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. VPS know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” VPS have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Simon van Duivenbooden and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anderson Asiedu 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 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.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Paulo Lima's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
31 points from position 5. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
2 goals to the good, and then a slow surrender of everything that had been earned. Wilson Samaké will not be the one blamed for it, but nobody at VPS escapes the conversation that follows a collapse like this.
Position 5 on 31 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
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.
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.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan scored, was marked 7.88, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Simon van Duivenbooden 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.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
In brief
Player ratingsWilson Samaké was on a different afternoon to everybody else
“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 VPS, and it is not being withdrawn.
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 VPS this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anderson Asiedu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Something was said to Anderson Asiedu and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Robin Hradecky chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
A season average of 6.54 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. VPS know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” VPS have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 7 arrived, 2 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VPS this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
VPS asked and Cittadella said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“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 VPS, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Dynamo Kyiv is saying, and nobody at VPS is enjoying the guessing.
Simon van Duivenbooden 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.
VPS asked and Casertana said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. VPS will quote 15 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
The goal that put Inter Turku ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when VPS equalised, 2 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miika Niemi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A loan enquiry to Manchester United: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
14 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. VPS lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Two goals and a mark of 8.94 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Cosenza is saying, and nobody at VPS is enjoying the guessing.
Simon van Duivenbooden 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.
VPS asked and FC Lahti said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The words a physio says slowly. 22 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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Olympiacos is saying, and nobody at VPS is enjoying the guessing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VPS this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: IA have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Jonathan Muzinga. The answer from VPS has not changed — yet.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Cittadella have kept their man, and VPS go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anderson Asiedu 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. 29 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.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Simon van Duivenbooden provided it, and the 9.07 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
7.72, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dynamo Kyiv have kept their man, and VPS go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
36 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. VPS lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Simon van Duivenbooden 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Simon van Duivenbooden. 3‑2 against Ilves, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Simon van Duivenbooden was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anderson Asiedu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
17 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Miika Niemi 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.
Level with 88 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon VPS had all but put away. SJK will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Emmanuel Okereke's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
5 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Robin Hradecky after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Robin Hradecky after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Martti Haukioja’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and VPS needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Simon van Duivenbooden and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anderson Asiedu 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.
Minute 87, against RoPS, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Simon van Duivenbooden scored in the 87th minute, IFK Mariehamn had already begun thinking about the journey home, and VPS took the lot.
Simon van Duivenbooden 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Simon van Duivenbooden. 2‑1 against IFK Mariehamn, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miika Niemi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Marked 8.08 — 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VPS this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anderson Asiedu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
8.09. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
A touch he did not want, a bounce he could not have read, and his name in the wrong column. There is no consoling a man after one of these, and VPS will not try tonight.
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Robin Hradecky, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Martti Haukioja 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.
2 goals before the ground had finished arriving. Inter Turku spent the rest of the afternoon playing a match that had already been decided, and everybody in the stadium knew it.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anderson Asiedu is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Robin Hradecky on a 3‑2 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VPS this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Étienne Camara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Robin Hradecky after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Something was said to Anderson Asiedu and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout24 May 2027
Somebody else is better right now than Miika Niemi
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
Successful dribbles: 24. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Henri Salomaa and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Tijjani Mohammed 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.
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 VPS 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anderson Asiedu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.44 on the card, and the VPS support went home talking about one name.
The dugout10 May 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Robin Hradecky was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the VPS dressing room was either.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Jayden Turfkruier has his answer from VPS; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. VPS will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Martti Haukioja was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Miika Niemi 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.
8.09. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
A point taken on 90 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one VPS will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. VPS will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about 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 VPS 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.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Robin Hradecky, on a 4‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason VPS 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 VPS 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: Jabir Abdihakim Ali. 2‑1 against SJK, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Robin Hradecky on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Étienne Camara trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
Somebody else is better right now than Miika Niemi
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and VPS will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
The words a physio says slowly. 18 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.
Martti Haukioja 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.
2 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Étienne Camara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Riku Pukki is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Mikael Hoskonen 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.
25 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. VPS lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 3 arrived, 1 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Martti Haukioja and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Simon Lindholm has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
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 Josep Nuorela is on it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
32 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. VPS lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Hajduk Split is saying, and nobody at VPS is enjoying the guessing.
Henri Salomaa and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Étienne Camara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
VPS asked and Floriana said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
It 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 39 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.
Simon van Duivenbooden and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Étienne Camara 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.
Martti Haukioja 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.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Nobody at VPS 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.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at VPS would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason VPS will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The deal with IF Elfsborg is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
VPS had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at FH, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Martti Haukioja and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
VPS asked and LOSC Lille said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Oliver Forss 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Nikolai Hakola is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 29 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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; VPS are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Étienne Camara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason VPS will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Porto keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VPS 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.
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 Jayden Turfkruier is on it.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Anderson Asiedu has written the date down.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 44 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Martti Haukioja was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Étienne Camara 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 VPS 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.
In brief
The dugoutMiika Niemi knocks on the manager’s door
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason VPS 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 VPS this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Étienne Camara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Lumezzane have kept their man, and VPS go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Jasse Hoskonen is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason VPS will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” VPS have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Add another name to the list: Aduana Stars have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Anderson Asiedu. The answer from VPS has not changed — yet.
Simon van Duivenbooden was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Étienne Camara 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 VPS 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.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at VPS has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. VPS will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about 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 VPS this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Étienne Camara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Antti-Ville Räisänen trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason VPS will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Martti Haukioja was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Miika Niemi 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 VPS will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Antti-Ville Räisänen trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason VPS will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Martti Haukioja and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Étienne Camara 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 spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Daniel Arajuuri is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason VPS will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Étienne Camara 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.
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Henri Salomaa has moved up it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. VPS will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about 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 VPS this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Miika Niemi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every 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 Jayden Turfkruier is on it.
In brief
The dugoutMiika Niemi knocks on the manager's door
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 104 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Étienne Camara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VPS this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody at VPS 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.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at VPS. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason VPS 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 VPS 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Paulo Lima 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.
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 Josep Nuorela is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Rasmus Nehrman trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Anderson Asiedu trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VPS this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anderson Asiedu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at VPS will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at VPS, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Martti Haukioja was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Étienne Camara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Martti Haukioja and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
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 Josep Nuorela is on it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” VPS have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anderson Asiedu 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 fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Saku Ojala 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.
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 Jonathan Muzinga is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Miika Niemi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. VPS know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Anderson Asiedu and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Étienne Camara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at VPS, another week without a signature from Rasmus Nehrman.
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.
14 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Anderson Asiedu trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” VPS have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Martti Haukioja and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anderson Asiedu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Anderson Asiedu trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nobody at VPS 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around VPS they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Étienne Camara 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 academy exists for exactly this morning. Rasmus Joronen has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
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 Jonathan Muzinga is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Antti-Ville Räisänen trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. VPS know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Kevin Persson has written the date down.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VPS this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Étienne Camara 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 figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Nobody at VPS 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.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Kevin Persson has written the date down.
Martti Haukioja was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Étienne Camara 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.
“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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
14 new faces, and VPS are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
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 Akon Kuek is on it.
Martti Haukioja and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Étienne Camara 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 done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one VPS will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jabir Abdihakim Ali trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Jonathan Muzinga signs something — a contract at VPS or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around VPS they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Anderson Asiedu was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Étienne Camara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Lassi Soiri has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Jasse Joronen has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and VPS will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
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.
Successful dribbles: 38. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VPS this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anderson Asiedu is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He 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. VPS will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Robin Hradecky, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Aduana Stars waiting with a shirt. Nobody at VPS is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Martti Haukioja was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rasmus Nehrman 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
14 new faces, and VPS are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
It needed Simon van Duivenbooden to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against IFK Mariehamn, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Falkenberg had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
The terraces24 Aug 2026
VPS are taken apart by KuPS — and the town wants answers
It finished 0-4. A cup exit is a disappointment; this was a public dismantling, and the difference between the two is the number of people who will still be talking about it in August.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Successful dribbles: 26. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The phone has started ringing about Anderson Asiedu again, and this time the name on the line is Aduana Stars. VPS are listening politely and promising nothing.
Everything agreed with Panathinaikos, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
In brief
BoardroomAkon Kuek has agreed to leave VPS for nothing
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Jonathan Muzinga obliged against FC Lahti. 2‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is VPS.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around VPS they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
Deadline passes with 18 signed and 1 gone
That is the business done at VPS until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Two of the goals had his name somewhere on them, which is the afternoon a manager wants from anybody asked to both create and finish. 7.96, and 3 involvements.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anderson Asiedu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
VPS asked and Breidablik said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
In brief
Player ratingsJonathan Muzinga was on a different afternoon to everybody else
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. FF Jaro kept coming because nothing stopped them, and VPS will be asked about the last half hour all week.
Martti Haukioja 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.
VPS have gone to SJK 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anderson Asiedu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Jayden Turfkruier 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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Riku Pohjanpalo has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Jasse Sparv is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
In brief
MarketOne of our own: Joel Lod joins the VPS first team
MarketOne of our own: Joel Soiri joins the VPS first team
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VPS this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jabir Abdihakim Ali 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.