Marked for Roberts Bočs
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market12 Jul 2027
Only the photograph left for Joel Halliday
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Joel Halliday will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Feniks the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Feniks have done the hard part with Dynamo Kyiv, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Feniks
Oleksandr Chornomorets was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad12 Jul 2027
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
Feniks asked and Kryvbas said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market12 Jul 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Mykhailo Bondar has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market12 Jul 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Serhiy Rotan has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Feniks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vitalii Zhupanskyi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout12 Jul 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 May 2027
Tempers go at Feniks
Andrii Kukharuk 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.
Squad24 May 2027
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 dugout24 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Roberts Bočs, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 May 2027
A falling-out at Feniks
Yehor Demchenko and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 May 2027
A row about effort at Feniks
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oleksandr Chornomorets was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout17 May 2027
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
The dugout17 May 2027
Roberts Bočs 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 Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad17 May 2027
Nino Cappon starts on the language
Two hours a week with a tutor, which is the least glamorous thing at Feniks and the one that decides whether a foreign signing is still here in two years.
The dugout17 May 2027
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Vitalii Zhupanskyi’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 May 2027
Only the photograph left for Marko Podoliak
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Marko Podoliak will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Feniks the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad10 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 Feniks this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 May 2027
A row about effort at Feniks
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vitalii Zhupanskyi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout10 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marko Podoliak, and the manager let it.
Market10 May 2027
6 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Feniks money.
The dugout10 May 2027
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Oleksandr Chornomorets plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Feniks may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad19 Apr 2027
15 days out for Roberts Bočs after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Feniks will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words exchanged at Feniks
Oleksandr Chornomorets 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Apr 2027
Roberts Bočs breaks a bone — 22 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 22 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market12 Apr 2027
Only the photograph left for Marko Podoliak
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Marko Podoliak will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Feniks the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad12 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 Feniks this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Feniks
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oleksandr Chornomorets was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Yehor Demchenko
“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 dugout12 Apr 2027
Denys Balan 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 Denys Balan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Apr 2027
A fracture rules Roberts Bočs out for 29 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Feniks will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Oleksandr Chornomorets and Feniks agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad5 Apr 2027
A falling-out at Feniks
Andrii Kukharuk and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Apr 2027
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 dugout5 Apr 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad29 Mar 2027
36 days out for Roberts Bočs after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Feniks will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Feniks
Oleksandr Chornomorets 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Vitalii Zhupanskyi falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Mar 2027
Roberts Bočs breaks a bone — 43 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 43 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad22 Mar 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 Feniks this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Feniks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleksandr Chornomorets 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
Steady
Squad15 Mar 2027
A fracture rules Roberts Bočs out for 50 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Feniks will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market15 Mar 2027
Marko Podoliak has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Feniks they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad15 Mar 2027
30 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Mar 2027
57 days out for Roberts Bočs after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Feniks will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad8 Mar 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 Feniks this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Andrii Bohdanov commits to Feniks for another 2 years.
Squad8 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Feniks
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vitalii Zhupanskyi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vitalii Zhupanskyi, and the manager let it.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
Jakub Jurczyga 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 Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market8 Mar 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Feniks know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market8 Mar 2027
The market said no: Joel Halliday stays put
Feniks opened the door and nobody walked through it. So Joel Halliday stays — listed, trained, and available — while both sides mark the days to January on the same calendar.
Market8 Mar 2027
Feniks have made David Ben-Lulu available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Feb 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Feniks have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market1 Feb 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Feniks
Oleksandr Chornomorets 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 targets1 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Podillia have kept their man, and Feniks go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Feniks
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Denys Balan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Feniks counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Feniks now.
The dugout1 Feb 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Roberts Bočs slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Roberts Bočs is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market25 Jan 2027
Joel Halliday 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Feniks may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Feniks
Oleksandr Chornomorets 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.
Match23 Jan 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Serhii Kyslenko. 1‑0 against Ahrobiznes, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
Wages swallow 123% of the Feniks income
Every club 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 it has been tried.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Marked 7.56 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Feniks had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Volodymyr Sudakov could afford to be generous.
Squad25 Jan 2027
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Feniks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleksandr Chornomorets 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.
Match16 Jan 2027
3 matches without a goal for Feniks
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
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Feniks this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Roberts Bočs commits to Feniks for another 3 years.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Too much change too quickly at Feniks
9 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.
Market18 Jan 2027
He is 20, and nobody at Feniks signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Andrii Bohdanov will call it something else in private.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Match16 Jan 2027
Point won or two lost for Feniks?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Metalurh Zaporizhzhia? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad4 Jan 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 12 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: another club keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Feniks
Oleksandr Chornomorets 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.
Match2 Jan 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vitalii Zhupanskyi, and the manager let it.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Volodymyr Sudakov after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Oleh Synytsia'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.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Feniks lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Ten men and a goalkeeper behind him, and it still finished in the net. He knew before anybody told him, and nobody at Feniks needed to.