Marked for Aurel Marku
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market23 Aug 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bylis, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
This is not rotation. Aurel Marku has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Bylis is pretending otherwise.
Squad23 Aug 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bylis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Aug 2027
A row about effort at Bylis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pedro Vieira was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
Dime Dimov is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
Dinamo City have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Market23 Aug 2027
The name of Gjorgi Stoilov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Bylis say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
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 Aboubacar Camara is on it.
Squad23 Aug 2027
The least glamorous thing a foreign signing ever does and the one that decides most of them. A player who can hear the shout behind him is a different footballer from one who cannot.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market9 Aug 2027
Aurel Marku 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 Bylis can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
Everything agreed with Dinamo City, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Partizani Tirana is saying, and nobody at Bylis is enjoying the guessing.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Bylis can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ousmane Kane and Bylis agree another 4 years.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words exchanged at Bylis
Gjorgi Stoilov 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.
Market9 Aug 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Bylis have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
Bylis have made the call to Partizani Tirana. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Jul 2027
27 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bylis lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
This is not rotation. Aurel Marku has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Bylis is pretending otherwise.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Dime Dimov 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 Bylis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Dime Dimov'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.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Paolo Kampula 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 targets26 Jul 2027
A loan move for Eljon Sota is in the works
Bylis have made the call to Egnatia Rrogozhinë. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Market26 Jul 2027
The name of Ousmane Kane keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Bylis say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
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 Aboubacar Camara is on it.
Market26 Jul 2027
Bylis have made Paolo Kampula available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Jul 2027
Gjorgi Stoilov damages knee ligaments — 41 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 41 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.
Market12 Jul 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bylis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
Everything agreed with Dinamo City, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad12 Jul 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Olamilekan Adeduro and Bylis agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Bylis
Olávio Olávio was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
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.
Market12 Jul 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Bylis have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fabjan Përndreca, and the manager let it.
Squad12 Jul 2027
The medical room confirms 23 days on the sidelines for Henri Bega, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Jul 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Gjorgi Stoilov
48 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bylis lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match5 Jul 2027
Every point is an argument now for Bylis
Position 8 and 22 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.
Market5 Jul 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bylis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market5 Jul 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bylis is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad5 Jul 2027
A falling-out at Bylis
Gjorgi Stoilov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rabiu Abdullahi, and the manager let it.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Paolo Kampula 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 targets5 Jul 2027
A loan enquiry to Dinamo City: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Maulud Riruwai and Bylis agree another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Jun 2027
55 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bylis lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market28 Jun 2027
Ionuţ Gurău 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 Bylis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad28 Jun 2027
The medical room confirms 14 days on the sidelines for Olávio Olávio, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
This is not rotation. Aurel Marku has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Bylis is pretending otherwise.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Gjorgi Stoilov 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.
Squad28 Jun 2027
A falling-out at Bylis
Henri Sulovari and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
Dime Dimov is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Market28 Jun 2027
The name of Ousmane Kane keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Bylis say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Jun 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Bylis have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market21 Jun 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
This is not rotation. Gjorgi Stoilov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Bylis is pretending otherwise.
Market21 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Gjorgi Stoilov 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.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Tempers go at Bylis
Faisal Charwetey was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 May 2027
Not a month, not a run of form — a whole season of being the best 20-year-old anybody in this division could put on a pitch. This is the honour that gets mentioned for the rest of his career.
Market31 May 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bylis, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout31 May 2027
This is not rotation. Aurel Marku has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Bylis is pretending otherwise.
Squad31 May 2027
Dime Dimov 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 Bylis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 May 2027
10 clean sheets and the golden glove for Roberts Ozols
The one award on the pitch nobody else can win. 10 games in a season in which nobody scored past him, and a career that will be measured against this one.
Squad31 May 2027
A row about effort at Bylis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gjorgi Stoilov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout31 May 2027
Pedro Vieira 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.
Market31 May 2027
22 games and 2 goals away from here, and a man the manager did not have last summer. The loan did what loans are supposed to do and almost never do.
The dugout31 May 2027
Dime Dimov is still paying for one afternoon at Bylis
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 May 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bylis, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout3 May 2027
This is not rotation. Aurel Marku has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Bylis is pretending otherwise.
Squad3 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bylis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Bylis can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The dugout3 May 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Dime Dimov'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.
Squad3 May 2027
A row about effort at Bylis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Paolo Kampula was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout3 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Henri Sulovari
“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 watch3 May 2027
Ionuţ Gurău’s loan is measured in nothing happening
8 clean sheets from 28 appearances at Sevlievo. That is the whole of a goalkeeper’s job done properly, and it is being done a long way from the club that owns him.
Squad3 May 2027
“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 Bylis will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout26 Apr 2027
This is not rotation. Gjorgi Stoilov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Bylis is pretending otherwise.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Tempers go at Bylis
Dime Dimov 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Bylis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gjorgi Stoilov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
Jamie Noreci 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.
Market26 Apr 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bylis know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
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 Ofori McCarthy is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market5 Apr 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
This is not rotation. Aurel Marku has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Bylis is pretending otherwise.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“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; Bylis are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad5 Apr 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bylis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Bylis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gjorgi Stoilov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Dime Dimov'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.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Henri Sulovari
“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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
The captaincy has been taken off Dime Dimov. Bylis will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
Loan watch5 Apr 2027
8 shut-outs in 28 games. A goalkeeper’s loan is judged on the afternoons when nothing happened at all, and Ionuţ Gurău has been having a lot of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout29 Mar 2027
This is not rotation. Gjorgi Stoilov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Bylis is pretending otherwise.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Bylis
Gjorgi Stoilov 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 dugout29 Mar 2027
Pedro Vieira 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Bylis training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ofori McCarthy 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 dugout29 Mar 2027
Aurel Marku knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aurel Marku trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market29 Mar 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Gjorgi Stoilov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Mar 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Gjorgi Stoilov
21 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bylis lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market8 Mar 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bylis, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
This is not rotation. Aurel Marku has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Bylis is pretending otherwise.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Olávio Olávio and Bylis agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Mar 2027
A falling-out at Bylis
Dime Dimov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Pedro Vieira 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 dugout8 Mar 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Dime Dimov'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.
Market8 Mar 2027
Henri Bega returns from a loan that taught him nothing
0 appearances and 0 clean sheets. A goalkeeper learns his job by playing it, and a season that gave him neither the games nor the shut-outs is a year taken off the front of a career.
Market8 Mar 2027
2 appearances and 0 goals is not a season away, it is a year lost. He is back at Bylis no further forward, and everybody involved will explain why it was not their fault.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Feb 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Gjorgi Stoilov
35 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bylis lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Bylis
Dime Dimov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Ofori McCarthy 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 watch22 Feb 2027
Ionuţ Gurău’s loan is measured in nothing happening
7 clean sheets from 23 appearances at Sevlievo. That is the whole of a goalkeeper’s job done properly, and it is being done a long way from the club that owns him.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
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 Faisal Charwetey is on it.
Market22 Feb 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Roberts Ozols signs something — a contract at Bylis or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Feb 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Gjorgi Stoilov
42 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bylis lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match15 Feb 2027
Bylis sink to position 8
22 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market15 Feb 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bylis is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Olávio Olávio wants one last season at home
Every long career reaches the week the last one is thought about. He would like it to be where he started, and Bylis know now that the thought has arrived.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Bylis
Olávio Olávio and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Henri Sulovari
“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 dugout15 Feb 2027
Aurel Marku 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 Bylis, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
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 Aleksandro Skënderaj is on it.
Squad15 Feb 2027
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 Bylis would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Feb 2027
Gjorgi Stoilov damages knee ligaments — 49 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 49 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Gjorgi Stoilov 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 watch8 Feb 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Bylis, and 0 appearances in 25 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rabiu Abdullahi, and the manager let it.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“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; Bylis are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
Dime Dimov is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Olamilekan Adeduro is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
Aurel Marku knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aurel Marku trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market8 Feb 2027
The Ousmane Kane story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ousmane Kane signs something — a contract at Bylis or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Bylis
Gjorgi Stoilov 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 dugout25 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gjorgi Stoilov, and the manager let it.
Loan watch25 Jan 2027
7 shut-outs in 19 games. A goalkeeper’s loan is judged on the afternoons when nothing happened at all, and Ionuţ Gurău has been having a lot of them.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
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.
Market25 Jan 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Roberts Ozols signs something — a contract at Bylis or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Henri Sulovari 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 Bylis, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match18 Jan 2027
Bylis sink to position 8
22 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Match16 Jan 2027
Chastening afternoon for Bylis
A 0‑3 beating by Egnatia Rrogozhinë was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match18 Jan 2027
Bylis finish in position 8
22 points, and the season has a number on it. Whatever it felt like from the inside, this is what it will look like in a book.
Market18 Jan 2027
Aurel Marku 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 Bylis can pretend not to have heard.
Market18 Jan 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Bylis have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Squad18 Jan 2027
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.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
Everything agreed with Egnatia Rrogozhinë, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Match16 Jan 2027
3 matches without a goal for Bylis
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Bylis training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gjorgi Stoilov 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
Crisis
Market4 Jan 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad4 Jan 2027
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Bylis had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Bylis
Dime Dimov 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.
Match2 Jan 2027
Flamurtari left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Market4 Jan 2027
Add another name to the list: Lushnja have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Saheed Owolabi. The answer from Bylis has not changed — yet.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ousmane Kane, and the manager let it.
Squad4 Jan 2027
The young player of the month award goes to a 20-year-old at Bylis who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.
Loan watch4 Jan 2027
“I did not go to Iliria Fushë-Krujë to sit and watch. I want to come back to Bylis and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 21 matches say the rest.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Harallamb Sota after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match21 Dec 2026
Bylis are in real trouble now
Position 8, 18 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.
Market21 Dec 2026
Aurel Marku 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 Bylis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad21 Dec 2026
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.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bylis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces21 Dec 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Olamilekan Adeduro 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Bylis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pedro Vieira was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings21 Dec 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.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Pedro Vieira, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Olávio Olávio, 33, rolls back the years — 7.80
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.80 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Ousmane Kane goes up and wins it — 7.91
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.91 for the rest of it.
Squad14 Dec 2026
A falling-out at Bylis
Gjorgi Stoilov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Loan watch14 Dec 2026
“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 Bylis, and 0 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
Match12 Dec 2026
Vora made Bylis work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Walisson Nem beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Harallamb Sota kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Henri Sulovari, and the manager let it.
Market14 Dec 2026
The Ousmane Kane story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ousmane Kane signs something — a contract at Bylis or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match5 Dec 2026
Bylis taken apart
0‑3 to Dinamo City, 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.
Match5 Dec 2026
The goals have deserted Bylis
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Bylis can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Bylis training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gjorgi Stoilov 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 watch7 Dec 2026
“I did not go to Iliria Fushë-Krujë to sit and watch. I want to come back to Bylis and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 17 matches say the rest.
Squad7 Dec 2026
The young player of the month award goes to a 20-year-old at Bylis who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Bylis
Henri Sulovari 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 dugout7 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Aurel Marku
“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.
Boardroom7 Dec 2026
Nobody left the Bylis 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“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 Bylis know it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market23 Nov 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bylis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
At 33 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 7.88, and nobody on the pitch better.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bylis may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Dime Dimov 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 Bylis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces23 Nov 2026
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.
Match21 Nov 2026
A 1‑0 win over Vllaznia Shkodër, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Rabiu Abdullahi
“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 ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Bylis are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Two goals and a mark of 8.33 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Bylis
Olávio Olávio 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Bylis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pedro Vieira was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad9 Nov 2026
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.
Match9 Nov 2026
Halfway: Bylis sit in position 7
10 points at the turn. The first half of a season is a promise; the second is a bill, and the town is about to find out which of the two this one was.
Loan watch9 Nov 2026
“I watch every Bylis game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Iliria Fushë-Krujë runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout9 Nov 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.” Harallamb Sota, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Arli Pergjoni, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Bylis
Gjorgi Stoilov 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 dugout2 Nov 2026
Pedro Vieira 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Cheick Kone named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Cheick Kone is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. 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 dugout2 Nov 2026
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Harallamb Sota after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Looking ahead2 Nov 2026
Bylis take on the side everybody is chasing
Egnatia Rrogozhinë arrive as leaders. A side at the top is beaten roughly once a month, and the club that does it gets a week it remembers for a year.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A Bylis teenager takes the young player award
Olamilekan Adeduro 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.
Match31 Oct 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. AF Elbasani came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad26 Oct 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
A brace, and Olávio Olávio takes the afternoon — 8.37
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Olávio Olávio provided it, and the 8.37 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market26 Oct 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bylis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad26 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Bylis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gjorgi Stoilov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces26 Oct 2026
He is 20 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.
Match24 Oct 2026
Three points for Bylis, 2‑0 the final word against Flamurtari in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Bylis
Adnard Toma 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 dugout26 Oct 2026
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑0, already talking about the next one.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match23 Sep 2026
Cup progress for Bylis
A 3‑0 win over Iliria Fushë-Krujë, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Market28 Sep 2026
Aurel Marku 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 Bylis can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 7.94, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Aleksandro Skënderaj did not need any: 8.07, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
A defender's goal wins it for Bylis — 7.49
1 for Ousmane Kane, marked 7.49, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Dime Dimov 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 Bylis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces28 Sep 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Ofori McCarthy 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.
Match26 Sep 2026
Three points for Bylis, 1‑0 the final word against Vora in a contest settled by the finer margins.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Bylis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gjorgi Stoilov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match12 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Pedro Vieira, and the manager let it.
Loan watch14 Sep 2026
“I watch every Bylis game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Iliria Fushë-Krujë runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market14 Sep 2026
The name of Roberts Ozols keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Bylis say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
No place in the plan for Aurel Marku
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.
Market14 Sep 2026
The window shut and Ofori McCarthy is still in the building
Bylis spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.