From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom8 Nov 2027
95% of the income goes out in wages at Qizilqum
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.
Squad8 Nov 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.
Market8 Nov 2027
The name of Nikola Kumburović keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Qizilqum say nothing, which says plenty.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market25 Oct 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Qizilqum is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad25 Oct 2027
A new face in his position, and Jaba Jighauri suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Qizilqum have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Market25 Oct 2027
The name of Oleksiy Shchebetun keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Qizilqum say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad25 Oct 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market25 Oct 2027
No fee and no drama: Abrorjon Aliyev has signed at Qizilqum, and the wage bill is the only line that moved.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Oct 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Qizilqum have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad18 Oct 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.
Squad18 Oct 2027
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Nikola Kumburović keeps the shirt for now, at Qizilqum's convenience rather than his own.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market4 Oct 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Qizilqum can pretend not to have heard.
Market4 Oct 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Qizilqum they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jaba Jighauri and Qizilqum agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Boardroom4 Oct 2027
Wages eat 87% of everything Qizilqum earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“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.
Market4 Oct 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Qizilqum know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market27 Sep 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Qizilqum is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match25 Sep 2027
Three points for Qizilqum, 1-0 the final word against Mashal in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad27 Sep 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.
Market27 Sep 2027
Qizilqum have made Islom Kenjaboyev available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Market27 Sep 2027
The name of Oleksiy Shchebetun keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Qizilqum say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad27 Sep 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match4 Sep 2027
No end in sight to Qizilqum's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Qizilqum has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad6 Sep 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Qizilqum have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market6 Sep 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Qizilqum they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match4 Sep 2027
Beaten 1-2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad6 Sep 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.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Wages eat 91% of everything Qizilqum earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad6 Sep 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 Qizilqum, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad6 Sep 2027
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Qizilqum have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Market6 Sep 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match28 Aug 2027
No end in sight to Qizilqum's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Qizilqum has to find a result from somewhere.
Market30 Aug 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Qizilqum is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad30 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.
Match28 Aug 2027
1-1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Squad30 Aug 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market30 Aug 2027
Qizilqum have made Islom Kenjaboyev available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market2 Aug 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Qizilqum is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad2 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.
Match31 Jul 2027
Lokomotiv left with the points after a 0-1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad2 Aug 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 Qizilqum, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market2 Aug 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Jaba Jighauri unhappy with how he is being used
Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Jaba Jighauri has let it be known that he does not like the way Qizilqum are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Feb 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Qizilqum can pretend not to have heard.
Market1 Feb 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Qizilqum know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A new face in his position, and Shohruz Norxonov suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Qizilqum have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Jan 2027
The medical room confirms 109 days on the sidelines for Asror G'ofurov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad11 Jan 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.
Market11 Jan 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Diyor Rahmatullayev has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Qizilqum.