“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 The request is on a desk at Clermont Foot, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Mateus Amaral 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 easiest signature of my career.” Théo Ramousse and Clermont Foot agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“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 Clermont Foot, and 0 appearances in 6 say he has earned the hearing.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Clermont Foot, another week without a signature from Adam Webster.
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Angers SCO.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Clermont Foot will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Le Puy Foot 43 had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
“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 The request is on a desk at Clermont Foot, and it is not being withdrawn.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Words at Clermont Foot training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andy Pelmard 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 easiest signature of my career.” Mateus Amaral and Clermont Foot agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Clermont Foot have lost him in all but the paperwork.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Clermont Foot will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“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 Clermont Foot, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Words at Clermont Foot training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andy Pelmard is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. AS Saint-Etienne have kept their man, and Clermont Foot go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The name of Maxence Soulet has come up in conversations Clermont Foot were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“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; Clermont Foot are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Facundo Paredes 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 last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Clermont Foot have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Clermont Foot will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Théo Ramousse had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Clermont Foot can pretend not to have heard.
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Adrien Hunou 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Clermont Foot this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Mohamed-Amine Bouchenna had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Clermont Foot will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Clermont Foot can pretend not to have heard.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Kenji-Van Boto commits to Clermont Foot for another 2 years.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Andy Pelmard 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Clermont Foot this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
None of them will be seen by anybody outside the training ground for three years, most of them will never play a senior match, and one of them might change the club. That is the whole proposition, and it is why academies exist.
Words at Clermont Foot training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andy Pelmard 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.
Clermont Foot asked and AS Saint-Etienne said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Cedric Hatenboer 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.
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Clermont Foot know which stage they are at.
Squad26 Jun 2028
5 new faces, and Clermont Foot are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Clermont Foot people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Everything was agreed with Paris FC and then the doctor spoke. Clermont Foot have walked away from a signing on the advice of somebody who never saw him play, which is how it is supposed to work.
Everything agreed with Olympique de Marseille, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
The chase for Gustavo Pereira ended with $490.0K changing hands and SC Aubagne Air Bel out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Adrien Hunou was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Clermont Foot asked and Olympique Lyonnais said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mohamed-Amine Bouchenna trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Clermont Foot will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Clermont Foot will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Théo Ramousse will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Clermont Foot the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Ranjan Neelakandan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad8 May 2028
Words at Clermont Foot training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gautier Lloris 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.
Rémy Riou is 40 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Henri Saivet trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
“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 Clermont Foot, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Clermont Foot have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Ranjan Neelakandan 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.
Squad1 May 2028
Words at Clermont Foot training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gautier Lloris 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 watch1 May 2028
Amine Saïd is tired of being somebody else's player
“Another season, another badge, another dressing room to win over. I would like one pre-season at Clermont Foot where somebody actually looks at me.” He belongs to USM Khenchela until the spell ends; the argument is with the club that owns him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mohamed-Amine Bouchenna trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
31 appearances at Paris 13 Atletico and the goals have stopped going in. Clermont Foot lent out a goalkeeper and are watching somebody else’s season get better every week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Clermont Foot this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andy Pelmard was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
6 new faces, and Clermont Foot are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
7 clean sheets from 30 appearances at Paris 13 Atletico. 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Maïdine Douane signs something — a contract at Clermont Foot or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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.
Nobody at Clermont Foot will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Clermont Foot. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
In brief
Loan watchThe goals keep arriving from Amine Saïd’s exile
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Théo Ramousse will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Clermont Foot the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Ranjan Neelakandan 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.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Words at Clermont Foot training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gautier Lloris is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 12 combined actions and a mark of 7.03, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Clermont Foot has been clear about where Thomas Delaine stands, which is more than many ever get.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Clermont Foot, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Henri Saivet
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Clermont Foot they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Gautier Lloris 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.
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Words at Clermont Foot training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mateus Amaral is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have 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 Clermont Foot know it.
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 Mohamed-Amine Bouchenna.
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
Somebody else is better right now than Henri Saivet
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager’s verdict
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Maxence Soulet
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Clermont Foot this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mateus Amaral was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Julien Fleury was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Clermont Foot dressing room was either.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 4 arrived, 2 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Gabriel Moscardo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gautier Lloris was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I watch every Clermont Foot game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Elche runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“Every summer it is another club, another set of team-mates, another manager to convince. I have done all that. Now I want a pre-season at Clermont Foot and a proper look at me.” He remains USM Khenchela’s player until the spell runs out — but the argument is with the club that owns him.
At 19 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Clermont Foot will try not to make too much of it.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Clermont Foot have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Stade Brestois have kept their man, and Clermont Foot go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Clermont Foot this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
0‑1 to SM Caen, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Words at Clermont Foot training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mateus Amaral is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Julien Fleury after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
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.
Clermont Foot have gone to Stade Brestois 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.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Théo Ramousse had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
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 7.97 for the rest of it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gautier Lloris was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Clermont Foot this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Théo Ramousse and Clermont Foot agree another 4 years.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Oleksandriya will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Ahrobiznes wanted more than $61.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Yvan Dibango 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.
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.
Eriki 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.
Successful dribbles: 16. 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.
In brief
SquadOleksandriya are still strangers to each other
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Oleksandriya will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Oleksandriya have done the hard part with Livyi Bereh, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
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.
Yurii Kopyna 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.
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.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Oleksandriya will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Oleksandriya have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Oleksandriya is running low.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Oleksandriya is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The shirt still fits. Oleksandr Vivdych is back at Oleksandriya, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
The deal with Livyi Bereh is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
“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; Oleksandriya are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
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.
Oleksandriya asked and Shakhtar said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Oleksandriya they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Oleksandriya training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fernando Henrique is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Oleksandriya has been clear about where Mateus Amaral stands, which is more than many ever get.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Papa Ndiaga Yade trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
In brief
Loan watchThe goals keep arriving from Bryan Castillo’s exile
SquadThe training reports on Anton Bol are not good
24 games and 7 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.
Squad31 May 2027
Yurii Kopyna 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Oleksandriya this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Oleksandriya, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout31 May 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Dmytro Myshniov'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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Oleksandriya know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ostap Prytula will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Oleksandriya the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Victory Beniangba was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ümit Akdağ was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Oleksandriya 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.
The dugout17 May 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Andrii Klishchuk'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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahima Dabo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have 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 Oleksandriya know it.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Oleksandriya training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ümit Akdağ 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.
Paulius Dapkus 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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahima Dabo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Oleksandriya they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Victory Beniangba and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yurii Kopyna was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Oleksandriya 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.
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.
The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
“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 Oleksandriya know it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Oleksandriya this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ümit Akdağ is on it.
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.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Oleksandriya than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Stanislav Oksenenko and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samuel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Metalurh Zaporizhzhia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Denys Smetana did not need any: 7.93, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Metalurh Zaporizhzhia may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahima Dabo 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Andrii Savitskyi. 2‑1 against Chernihiv, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Mykhailo Rudavskyi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
He is 22 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.
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Metalurh Zaporizhzhia will try again when the window opens; Dynamo Kyiv may not be selling by then.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Oleksandriya people have started saying his name in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Oleksandriya this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yurii Kopyna was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jewison Bennette, and the manager let it.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Viktor Bezus left the room before anybody could ask which.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Jota Pereira is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
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.
“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 Metalurh Zaporizhzhia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Denys Smetana, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 8.04
A mark of 8.04 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahima Dabo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metalurh Zaporizhzhia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑2, Vitaliy Sobol could afford to be generous.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Oleksandr Domoleha is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Andrii Savitskyi and Metalurh Zaporizhzhia agree another 3 years.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Ibrahima Dabo 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.
Ivan Mamrosenko and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Mateus Amaral 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Vitaliy Sobol on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Ahrobiznes the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Metalurh Zaporizhzhia will enjoy reviewing.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Metalurh Zaporizhzhia may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Yaroslav Dziubko is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahima Dabo 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.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Mateus Amaral is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 2‑2, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Two goals and a mark of 8.23 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 9 matches without defeat is a foundation Metalurh Zaporizhzhia did not have in the autumn.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Ibrahima Dabo 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metalurh Zaporizhzhia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Ivan Mamrosenko’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Metalurh Zaporizhzhia needing him to play as if none of it matters.
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.
In brief
The dugoutIhor Yurechko asks for a word with the manager
141 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Oleksandriya lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Artur Andreychyk is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Ümit Akdağ 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Viktor Bezus after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
Nobody at Oleksandriya 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.
149 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Oleksandriya lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Oleksandriya this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Papa Ndiaga Yade scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Metalist, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Oleksandriya training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yurii Kopyna is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There were 8 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.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
A brace, and Denys Smetana takes the afternoon — 8.25
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Denys Smetana provided it, and the 8.25 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Ibrahima Dabo, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.94
A mark of 7.94 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Two of the goals had his name somewhere on them, which is the afternoon a manager wants from anybody asked to both create and finish. 7.92, and 2 involvements.
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.
Ivan Mamrosenko and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Denys Chervinskyi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Danylo Kirichenko signs something — a contract at Metalurh Zaporizhzhia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at Metalurh Zaporizhzhia the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Oleksandriya this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Oleksandriya training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ümit Akdağ 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Fernando Henrique trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Looking ahead16 Nov 2026
Oleksandriya take on the side everybody is chasing
Shakhtar 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.
Something was said to Taras Dmytruk and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Viktor Dolhyi 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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Anton Drozd’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Oleksandriya needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Ibrahima Dabo 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.
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 9 actions, 6.87, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Metalurh Zaporizhzhia told Mateus Amaral something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Vitaliy Sobol could afford to be generous.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Mykyta Kuralekh'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.
Successful dribbles: 11. 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.
In brief
The dugoutAnton Riabokon has become a man the manager trusts
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahima Dabo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He is 22 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.
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 10 combined actions and a mark of 7.33, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 9 combined actions and a mark of 6.78, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
Stanislav Oksenenko 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Vitaliy Sobol on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.