From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Daniel Nnodim: 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.” Young Violets have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Romeo Mörth commits to Young Violets for another 5 years.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Romeo Mörth 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 Young Violets this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Young Violets training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleksa Ilić 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 dugout9 Nov 2026
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout9 Nov 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 Young Violets, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Hasan Deshishku is the weekend's best young player
At 18 he is being measured against the rest of the division's kids and coming out in front. The senior version of this award is where the club would like this to lead.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match2 Nov 2026
Every point is an argument now for Young Violets
Position 14 and 8 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.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 29. 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.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Marked 8.28 at 18, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
The terraces2 Nov 2026
At 20 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.
Match31 Oct 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Murtaza Abrahmi. 2‑0 against FC Liefering, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Aleksa Ilić 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Kenan Jusič named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Kenan Jusič is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Sebastian Lindner on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Daniel Nnodim
“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
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Two goals and a mark of 9.42 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
No sign of nerves from Vasilije Marković at 18 — 8.04
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Vasilije Marković did not need any: 8.04, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Match24 Oct 2026
10 matches without a win, and then this, against St. Pölten. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
Match24 Oct 2026
St. Pölten made Young Violets work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
The terraces26 Oct 2026
At 20 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.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 3‑1, already talking about the next one.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lars Stöckl was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad26 Oct 2026
A Young Violets teenager takes the young player award
Murtaza Abrahmi is 20, and for one weekend he was the best of everybody his age in the division. Nobody should build a career on it and everybody quietly does.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match17 Oct 2026
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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Valentin Toifl is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
The terraces19 Oct 2026
The crowd has taken to Kenan Jusič
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Felix Fischer and Young Violets agree another 4 years.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Romeo Mörth, and the manager let it.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Defensive actions: 17. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Young Violets training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleksa Ilić 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Oct 2026
The step up is real for Kenan Jusič
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad12 Oct 2026
David Ewemade 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Marcel Stöger and Young Violets agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Young Violets training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleksa Ilić 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 dugout12 Oct 2026
“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.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match3 Oct 2026
9 matches without a win for Young Violets
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Young Violets are no longer polite ones.
Match5 Oct 2026
Every point is an argument now for Young Violets
Position 16 and 1 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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
No sign of nerves from Vasilije Marković at 18 — 8.00
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Vasilije Marković did not need any: 8.00, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Daniel Nnodim is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match3 Oct 2026
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Romeo Mörth and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces5 Oct 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 18-year-old it feels ownership of. Vasilije Marković 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 dugout5 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Kenan Jusič
“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.
In brief
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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Squad
Kenan Jusič has had enough of the bench
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The dugout
Nicola Wojnar does not fit this one
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match26 Sep 2026
8 matches without a win for Young Violets
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Young Violets are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 30. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match26 Sep 2026
0‑1 to FAC Wien, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad28 Sep 2026
David Ewemade and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Sebastian Lindner after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksa Ilić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Matteo Schablas trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Squad28 Sep 2026
At 20 he has made the position his own, and the man he took it from has to find something to say about it. Young Violets have a decision that made itself.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 32. 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.
Match19 Sep 2026
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Marked 7.74 at 18, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad21 Sep 2026
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Match19 Sep 2026
1‑3 to Kapfenberg, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad21 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 Young Violets this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Sebastian Lindner after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
A touch he did not mean and a goal that goes in the book with his name against it. Young Violets will not blame him tonight and he will not need them to.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksa Ilić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 Sep 2026
1‑4 to Amstetten, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Match12 Sep 2026
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.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Marked 7.86 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Vasilije Marković and Young Violets agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market14 Sep 2026
The phone has started ringing about Fabian Janković again, and this time the name on the line is Stripfing. Young Violets are listening politely and promising nothing.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑4 defeat, delivered by Sebastian Lindner to a room that had heard them before.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Lars Stöckl 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Sep 2026
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Young Violets people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matteo Schablas, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
Squad7 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 Young Violets this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“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 Young Violets will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksa Ilić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market31 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Vasilije Marković, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 7.63
A mark of 7.63 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Match29 Aug 2026
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.
Match29 Aug 2026
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Julian Roider 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 dugout31 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Fabian Janković
“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 ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Sebastian Lindner after 2‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lars Stöckl was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 29. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match22 Aug 2026
No end in sight to Young Violets's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Young Violets has to find a result from somewhere.
Match22 Aug 2026
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad24 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 Young Violets this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces24 Aug 2026
He is 21 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Young Violets training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vasilije Marković 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 dugout24 Aug 2026
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Sebastian Lindner after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Match22 Aug 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Admira Wacker came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Mikołaj Sawicki 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.
Match15 Aug 2026
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Match15 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Sebastian Lindner left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad17 Aug 2026
David Ewemade falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
The plan did not have a place for Fabian Janković
Nobody at Young Violets is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Squad17 Aug 2026
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Mikołaj Sawicki keeps the shirt for now, at Young Violets's convenience rather than his own.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
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 Young Violets this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Romeo Mörth and Young Violets agree another 4 years.
Match8 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Romeo Mörth, and the manager let it.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Sebastian Lindner after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Young Violets training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Julian Roider 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I want to play”: Kenan Jusič speaks
“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.
Market10 Aug 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Young Violets, another week without a signature from Fabian Janković.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 Aug 2026
A 0‑3 beating by Stripfing was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A one-man rearguard from Kenan Jusič
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market3 Aug 2026
The offer from Kapfenberg for Stefan Blaževič 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kenan Jusič and Young Violets agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mikołaj Sawicki was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Romeo Mörth and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kenan Jusič, and the manager let it.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom3 Aug 2026
Nobody left the Young Violets dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.