Stephen Amos

Defensive Midfielder - Free Agent
26 Apr 2029
Thursday
Process

Marked for Stephen Amos

131 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

29 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Excelsior come back empty-handed

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

Transfer targets

Tommaso Orsini will not be coming to Astra

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

Squad

A falling-out at Astra

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

The dugout

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Squad

A row about effort at Astra

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

Transfer targets

Podbrezova tell Astra: Matej Jurička is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Squad

Lewis Pirie signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Lewis Pirie and Astra agree another 4 years.

Transfer targets

Astra ask about Federico Ragnoli Galli

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

Transfer targets

Astra ask about Ajdin Muminovic

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

In brief

Back issues
127 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

1 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Stephen Amos asks to leave Astra

“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.

Squad

The season belongs to Marius Man

An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Astra have had the benefit of it.

Squad

Tempers go at Astra

Nikita Stoinov 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 dugout

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The dugout

No hiding place for Ciprian Burca

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

Squad

Words at Astra training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sergiu Mitrita 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.

Squad

Home is on Stephen Amos's mind

“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; Astra are dealing with a man who wants a different country.

The dugout

When it matters, Vladimir Screciu plays

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 dugout

Dorin Nita has been promised minutes

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 Dorin Nita has written the date down.

In brief

  • Market Pedro Pinho linked with a move away
  • Market Astra shop where it costs nothing
123 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

4 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A falling-out at Astra

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

Squad

Dorin Nita signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Dorin Nita commits to Astra for another 2 years.

Squad

Words at Astra training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikita Stoinov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The dugout

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The dugout

The manager makes an example of Stefan Ratiu

“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.

Squad

Daniel Dragusin named in the team of the month

A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Daniel Dragusin is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.

In brief

122 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

27 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Andrei Marin stands alone

10 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Match

Astra bow out of the cup

Dinamo Bucharest go through and Astra go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.

Match

Astra come up short in Europe

1‑3 away to the standard of Sporting CP. Nobody will pretend this was a scandal; the gap is real, it is measurable, and closing it is a project rather than a team talk.

The dugout

Stephen Amos: 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.” Astra have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Márcio Braga

Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Márcio Braga 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 Astra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Astra

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

The dugout

Andrei Hagi answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

The dugout

The team sheet said everything about Pedro Pinho

Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Pedro Pinho.

In brief

119 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

6 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

A chastening European night for Astra

0‑4 against Utrecht. The honest reading is not that the players were poor; it is that the distance between this club and that one is currently measured in things money takes years to buy.

Player ratings

Márcio Machado scores twice — 9.21

Two goals and a mark of 9.21 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Squad

Márcio Machado is carrying Astra

19 goals and a season average of 7.38. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Squad

A falling-out at Astra

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

Player ratings

Marius Deac runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Márcio Machado sends Astra past Voluntari

It finished 2‑1, and it was Márcio Machado’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Astra.

The terraces

Astra supporters have found a favourite in Nikita Stoinov

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Nikita Stoinov 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 dugout

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Squad

Márcio Machado reaches 50 goals

50 goals for the club, every one of them filed away in the memory of a supporter somewhere.

In brief

  • Squad A row about effort at Astra
  • The dugout No hiding place for Vlad Nita
  • Boardroom Nobody left the Astra dressing room in a hurry
115 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

9 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Both of them Márcio Machado's — 8.89

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.89, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Squad

Florin Mihaila signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Florin Mihaila commits to Astra for another 2 years.

Squad

A falling-out at Astra

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

Match

The drought breaks for Astra

6 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Viitorul were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.

Match

Astra see off Viitorul

Three points for Astra, 2‑1 the final word against Viitorul in a contest settled by the finer margins.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Nikita Stoinov

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.

The dugout

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Squad

Nikita Stoinov 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.

Squad

6 Astra players away with their countries

The training ground goes quiet for a fortnight. 6 men have gone off to be somebody else’s players, and the manager is left with the ones nobody has called.

In brief

111 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

11 Sep 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Cristian Keseru damages knee ligaments — 26 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 26 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.

Player ratings

Márcio Braga beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Florin Mihaila 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 Astra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

The run is over for Astra

6 matches without defeat, and then Botosani. Nobody at the ground pretended it would go on forever; nobody expected it to stop here either.

Match

A bad afternoon for Astra against Botosani

0‑2 to Botosani, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

The dugout

No hiding place for Andrei Marin

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

The dugout

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Squad

A row about effort at Astra

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

Squad

Late improvement for Cristian Keseru

At 26 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.

In brief

  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
  • The dugout Márcio Braga has become a man the manager trusts
  • Player ratings Márcio Machado leaves them behind him
107 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

14 Aug 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Márcio Machado takes the match ball home

4 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.

Market

George Hagi agrees terms with Petrolul

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Astra people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Squad

7 saves: Andrei Marin was the 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.

Squad

Nikita Stoinov is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Market

Márcio Machado wants European nights

The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.

Match

Astra make it 3 in a row

Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Astra have 3 straight wins of it.

Squad

Márcio Braga 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 Astra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Astra find a way past CFR Cluj

CFR Cluj made Astra work for it, but the scoreboard read 4‑3 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Match

Nobody could stop scoring

7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Astra and CFR Cluj in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.

In brief

103 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

17 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Dragos Hagi has said yes to Pandurii

The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Astra have lost him in all but the paperwork.

The dugout

Pedro Pinho says Astra went back on their word

“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.

Market

Astra turn down Mlada Boleslav for Matei Popa

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Squad

Real improvement from Nikita Stoinov at Astra

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Nikita Stoinov is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad

Marius Man stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Marius Man and Astra agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Márcio Braga 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 Astra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A late step up for Dorin Nita

At 33 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.

The dugout

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The dugout

Andrei Marin gets picked when it counts

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

In brief

100 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

26 Jun 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Marius Man agrees terms with Dinamo Bucharest

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Astra people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Market

Matei Popa turns Slask down

“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.

Squad

Tempers go at Astra

Márcio Braga 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.

Squad

Cosmin Marin signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Cosmin Marin commits to Astra for another 4 years.

Squad

A row about effort at Astra

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

The dugout

When it matters, Sergiu Mitrita plays

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.

Market

The Márcio Braga talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Astra know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Squad

Márcio Machado remains an outsider

A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Astra would admit. It shows on Saturdays.

The dugout

Alexandru Stoian 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 Astra, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

99 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

19 Jun 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Universitatea Craiova come back empty-handed

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

Market

Astra may not be able to give Márcio Machado what he wants

It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Márcio Machado wants continental football; whether Astra can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.

Squad

Vlad Nita stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Vlad Nita and Astra agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Words exchanged at Astra

Cosmin Marin 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 dugout

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Squad

A row about effort at Astra

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

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Astra

5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.

The dugout

Andrei Marin gets picked when it counts

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

The dugout

No hiding place for Dragos Hagi

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

In brief

98 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

12 Jun 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Astra turn down FCSB for Márcio Braga

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Market

Dragos Hagi has said yes to Pandurii

The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Astra have lost him in all but the paperwork.

Squad

A fracture rules Yanis Ouidir out for 19 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Astra will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Market

Stephen Amos asks to leave Astra

“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.

Market

The Voluntari deal is off

Everything was agreed until it was not, and George Hagi reports back to Astra with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.

Squad

A falling-out at Astra

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

Squad

A row about effort at Astra

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

Squad

4 Astra players away with their countries

The training ground goes quiet for a fortnight. 4 men have gone off to be somebody else’s players, and the manager is left with the ones nobody has called.

The dugout

Răzvan Udrea gets it from the manager

“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.

In brief

95 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

22 May 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A fracture rules Ciprian Ratiu out for 28 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Astra will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Market

Dragos Hagi is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Astra is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Márcio Braga 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 Astra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Astra

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

The dugout

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The dugout

Andrei Marin gets picked when it counts

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

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Rodrigo Cunha

“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.

Market

Márcio Braga linked with a move away

The name of Márcio Braga keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Astra say nothing, which says plenty.

The dugout

The manager makes Dorin Nita a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Astra. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

In brief

94 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

15 May 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Ciprian Ratiu breaks a bone — 36 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 36 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Market

Stephen Amos asks to leave Astra

“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.

Squad

A falling-out at Astra

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

Squad

Nikita Stoinov 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.

Loan watch

Matei Popa wants to come home

“I did not go to Torpedo Moscow to sit and watch. I want to come back to Astra and fight for my place.” 10 appearances in 41 matches say the rest.

The dugout

Nikita Stoinov has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Astra 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.

Squad

No place for Noah Duclieu in the new shape

He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Astra are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.

The dugout

Dorin Nita 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 Astra, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Pedro Pinho linked with a move away

The name of Pedro Pinho keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Astra say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

91 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

24 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Dragos Hagi has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Astra they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Márcio Braga 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 Astra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Nikita Stoinov falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

The dugout

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The dugout

No hiding place for Răzvan Udrea

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

The dugout

Andrei Marin gets picked when it counts

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

In brief

90 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

17 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Stephen Amos 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 Astra can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

A falling-out at Astra

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

Squad

Words at Astra training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikita Stoinov 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.

Loan watch

Matei Popa has seen enough of Torpedo Moscow

“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 Astra, and 10 appearances in 37 say he has earned the hearing.

The dugout

When it matters, Nikita Stoinov plays

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 dugout

No hiding place for Cosmin Chiriches

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

The dugout

The manager makes Pedro Pinho a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Astra. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

Market

Pedro Pinho linked with a move away

The name of Pedro Pinho keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Astra say nothing, which says plenty.

Match

Astra have something to play for

Position 6 on 24 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.

In brief

88 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

3 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Loan watch

The goals keep arriving from Márcio Machado’s exile

22 goals in 30 games at Cukaricki — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Astra updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.

Squad

Tempers go at Astra

Márcio Braga 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.

Squad

Words at Astra training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikita Stoinov 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.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Astra

11 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.

Loan watch

George Hagi wants to come home

“I did not go to Petrolul to sit and watch. I want to come back to Astra and fight for my place.” 5 appearances in 35 matches say the rest.

Squad

Astra take the armband off Andrei Marin

It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.

The dugout

Sergiu Mitrita has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Astra 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.

Market

Cristian Keseru told to find a new club

“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Cristian Keseru has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Astra.

The dugout

Răzvan Udrea has been promised minutes

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 Răzvan Udrea has written the date down.

In brief

87 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

27 Mar 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Only the photograph left for Dragos Hagi

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Dragos Hagi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Astra the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Márcio Braga 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 Astra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Astra training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikita Stoinov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The dugout

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The dugout

Alexandru Stoian gets it from the manager

“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 dugout

When it matters, Andrei Marin plays

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.

In brief

85 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

13 Mar 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Stephen Amos 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 Astra can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Words exchanged at Astra

Márcio Braga 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Astra

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

The dugout

Alexandru Balasa gets it from the manager

“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 dugout

Márcio Braga gets picked when it counts

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

Squad

Andrei Marin has seen what the next man earns

Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Astra that is a harder question to answer.

In brief

83 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

28 Feb 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Dragos Hagi has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Astra they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Florin Mihaila 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 Astra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

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Squad

A row about effort at Astra

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

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Dorin Nita

“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 dugout

Andrei Marin has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Astra 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

82 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

21 Feb 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A falling-out at Astra

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

Squad

A row about effort at Astra

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

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Alexandru Gîţ

“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 watch

Matei Popa counts the days

“I watch every Astra game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Torpedo Moscow runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.

Squad

Steeve Delarue stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Steeve Delarue and Astra agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

The dugout

Nikita Stoinov gets picked when it counts

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

Squad

No place for Pedro Vieira in the new shape

He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Astra are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.

Market

Pedro Pinho linked with a move away

The name of Pedro Pinho keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Astra say nothing, which says plenty.

Match

Astra have something to play for

Position 6 on 24 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.

In brief

81 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

14 Feb 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Stephen Amos puts it in writing

“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 Astra, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Words exchanged at Astra

Márcio Braga 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.

Squad

Paul Ferracani gets the move he always wanted

Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Paul Ferracani has just signed for Astra, and for once the answer mattered.

Squad

Nikita Stoinov 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.

Transfer targets

Dinamo Bucharest tell Astra: Akeem Akanni is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Squad

Stephen Amos wants to go home

“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 Astra know it.

The dugout

Pedro Pinho gets it from the manager

“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.

Market

A long bet from Astra on Péter Milicz

He is 19, and nobody at Astra signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.

Market

Astra sign Pedro Vieira, one for the future

Pedro Vieira is 18, and Astra have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.

In brief

79 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

31 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Loan watch

21 goals on loan for Márcio Machado

28 appearances at Cukaricki and the goals keep coming. Astra are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.

Market

Dragos Hagi has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Astra they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Transfer targets

No thanks: Leander Tielemans rejects the move

Astra had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at KAA Gent, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.

Squad

Márcio Braga 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 Astra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

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Squad

Nikita Stoinov 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.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Darius Fălcuşan

Astra asked and Universitatea Craiova 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 dugout

Andrei Marin has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Astra 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.

Squad

The formation has left Costel Avram behind

Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Astra will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.

In brief

77 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

17 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Márcio Braga turns Universitatea Craiova down

“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.

Market

Dragos Hagi agrees terms with Botosani

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Astra people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Market

Stephen Amos puts it in writing

“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 Astra, and it is not being withdrawn.

The dugout

Alexandru Balasa says Astra went back on their word

“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.

Loan watch

Márcio Machado keeps scoring at Cukaricki

26 appearances away from home and 20 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.

Squad

Words exchanged at Astra

Márcio Braga 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.

Market

Astra sell Sergiu Iancu for $790.0K

Sergiu Iancu has left for Dinamo Bucharest in a $790.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.

Squad

Words at Astra training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikita Stoinov 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.

Transfer targets

Botosani tell Astra: Leverton Pierre is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

In brief

75 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

3 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Astra turn down Dinamo Bucharest for Márcio Braga

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Squad

22 days out for Cristian Balasa after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Astra will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Squad

Márcio Braga is named among the best

There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Astra will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.

The dugout

Lewis Pirie says Astra went back on their word

“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.

Market

Rodrigo Cunha puts it in writing

“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 Astra, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

FCSB join the queue for Paul Puscas

Add another name to the list: FCSB have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Paul Puscas. The answer from Astra has not changed — yet.

Loan watch

17 goals on loan for Márcio Machado

24 appearances at Cukaricki and the goals keep coming. Astra are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.

Squad

A falling-out at Astra

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

The dugout

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In brief

74 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

27 Dec 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Words exchanged at Astra

Florin Mihaila 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.

Squad

Words at Astra training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikita Stoinov 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.

Loan watch

Matei Popa has seen enough of Torpedo Moscow

“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 Astra, and 3 appearances in 21 say he has earned the hearing.

The dugout

When it matters, Nikita Stoinov plays

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.

Market

The Márcio Braga question follows Astra around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Márcio Braga’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

The dugout

Dorin Nita has been promised minutes

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 Dorin Nita has written the date down.

Match

Astra have something to play for

Position 6 on 24 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.

Market

Astra put Stephen Amos up for sale

The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Stephen Amos may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.

Squad

Stephen Amos is not doing himself any favours

A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.

In brief

  • The dugout The manager plants his flag on Márcio Braga
  • Squad Yvan Zaddy is training like a man with a point to make
73 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

20 Dec 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Manuel Martins

19 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Astra lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Market

Stephen Amos puts it in writing

“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 Astra, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

A falling-out at Astra

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

Loan watch

Márcio Machado keeps scoring at Cukaricki

22 appearances away from home and 16 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.

Squad

Words at Astra training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikita Stoinov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The dugout

Sergiu Mitrita gets picked when it counts

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

In brief

72 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

13 Dec 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

The knee: Manuel Martins out for 26 days

26 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Astra lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Market

Paul Puscas puts it in writing

“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 Astra, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Márcio Braga 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 Astra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Astra training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marius Man 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.

Loan watch

15 goals on loan for Márcio Machado

21 appearances at Cukaricki and the goals keep coming. Astra are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.

Squad

Stephen Amos wants to go home

“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Astra can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.

Loan watch

George Hagi wants to come home

“I did not go to Petrolul to sit and watch. I want to come back to Astra and fight for my place.” 5 appearances in 19 matches say the rest.

The dugout

Andrei Marin gets picked when it counts

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

The dugout

Dragos Hagi gets it from the manager

“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.

In brief

68 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

15 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Cruel end for Botosani as Astra pounce

There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Astra scored in the 95th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.

Player ratings

A brace, and Márcio Braga takes the afternoon — 9.06

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Márcio Braga provided it, and the 9.06 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Market

Stephen Amos asks to leave Astra

“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.

The dugout

Ciprian Nita: 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.” Astra have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Florin Mihaila 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 Astra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Astra find a way past Botosani

Botosani made Astra work for it, but the scoreboard read 4‑3 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Squad

Words at Astra training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikita Stoinov 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.

Player ratings

One of those days for Daniel Kanu

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.30, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

The terraces

Astra supporters have found a favourite in Lewis Pirie

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Lewis Pirie 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.

In brief

63 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

11 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Márcio Braga runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 34. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Astra strike at the death to beat Viitorul

There were 85 minutes on the clock and Viitorul had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Astra did not stop to explain themselves.

Player ratings

Daniel Kanu scores twice — 8.86

Two goals and a mark of 8.86 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Market

Paul Puscas 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 Astra can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Astra

Márcio Braga 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.

Squad

Marius Man 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.

Match

Daniel Kanu the difference as Astra beat Viitorul

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Daniel Kanu. 2‑1 against Viitorul, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Daniel Kanu

At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

Squad

International break empties Astra

6 call-ups is a compliment to the squad and a headache for the man running it. He will get them back in a fortnight, tired, in various states of repair.

In brief

62 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

4 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Both of them Marius Man's — 8.79

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.79, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Market

Stephen Amos puts it in writing

“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 Astra, and it is not being withdrawn.

The dugout

Dragos Hagi: 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.” Astra have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Match

Astra end the wait against Dinamo Bucharest

It had gone 7 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.

Squad

Words exchanged at Astra

Florin Mihaila 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.

Squad

A move Levente Szondi would have made for nothing

There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Levente Szondi is living that version at Astra, and it tends to show in the first month.

Squad

Words at Astra training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikita Stoinov 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.

Match

Astra find a way past Dinamo Bucharest

Dinamo Bucharest made Astra work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

The terraces

Astra supporters have found a favourite in Sergiu Iancu

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Sergiu Iancu 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.

In brief

59 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

13 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Astra are in real trouble now

Position 8, 7 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Market

Paul Puscas puts it in writing

“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 Astra, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

5 matches without a win for Astra

The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Astra are no longer polite ones.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Márcio Braga

Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Transfer targets

Rento Takaoka will not be coming to Astra

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

Squad

Tempers go at Astra

Márcio Braga 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Astra

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

Transfer targets

Baltika tell Astra: Georgy Gongadze is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Match

Astra come up short against Botosani

Botosani left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

In brief

  • Loan watch George Hagi wants to come home
  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
  • The dugout Stephen Amos gets it from the manager
58 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

6 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Alexandru Balasa runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 38. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Market

Stephen Amos puts it in writing

“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 Astra, and it is not being withdrawn.

Boardroom

Window shuts: 15 in, 17 out at Astra

The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 15 arrived, 17 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.

Match

The wait goes on for Astra

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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Astra

Márcio Braga 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.

Squad

Words at Astra training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikita Stoinov 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.

Transfer targets

Astra rebuffed over Yunusa Muritala

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

Loan watch

Matei Popa wants to come home

“I did not go to Torpedo Moscow to sit and watch. I want to come back to Astra and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.

Squad

International break empties Astra

6 call-ups is a compliment to the squad and a headache for the man running it. He will get them back in a fortnight, tired, in various states of repair.

In brief

55 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

16 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Paul Puscas asks to leave Astra

“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.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Andrei Marin

There were 7 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.

Market

Ittihad join the queue for Cosmin Marin

Add another name to the list: Ittihad have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Cosmin Marin. The answer from Astra has not changed — yet.

Transfer targets

The paperwork begins on Petar Zajc

A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Astra have done the hard part with FK Senica, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.

Transfer targets

Rento Takaoka turns down Astra

The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Southampton keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.

Transfer targets

An offer of $170.0K for Răzvan Udrea

Astra have gone to FCSB 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.

Squad

Nikita Stoinov 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.

Player ratings

Alexandru Balasa runs at them all day

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.

Squad

A falling-out at Astra

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

In brief

54 Edition

The Astra Chronicle

9 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Marius Man takes the match ball home

4 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.

Match

No mercy from Astra

Viitorul will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Astra were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.

The dugout

Sergiu Mitrita: 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.” Astra have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Arsenal Tula come back empty-handed

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

Market

Stephen Amos asks to leave Astra

“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.

Squad

6 saves: Andrei Marin was the team

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.

Player ratings

Alexandru Stoian, 19, steals the show — 7.60

Marked 7.60 at 19, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.

Transfer targets

Alexandr Koksharov will not be coming to Astra

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

Player ratings

One of those days for Marius Man

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.69, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

In brief