Marked for Rustam Zhankhaev
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Feb 2028
Artem Litosh breaks a bone — 78 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 78 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market28 Feb 2028
“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.
Boardroom28 Feb 2028
Shakhter close the window on a squad of their own making
4 in and 3 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Transfer targets28 Feb 2028
Everything agreed with Aktobe, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Luís Fernando 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.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bohdan Savkiv 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 dugout28 Feb 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
Artem Litosh 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 Artem Litosh trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad28 Feb 2028
A season on the outside for Matías Gómez
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Shakhter has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Feb 2028
Artem Litosh breaks a bone — 86 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 86 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market21 Feb 2028
“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 Shakhter, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market21 Feb 2028
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Irtysh waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Shakhter is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market21 Feb 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Stanislav Samoilov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Shakhter the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad21 Feb 2028
A falling-out at Shakhter
Igor' Shatskii and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Feb 2028
A row about effort at Shakhter
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bohdan Savkiv was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
Maksim Galkin asks for a word with the manager
“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
Steady
Squad3 Jan 2028
Igor' Shatskii 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 dugout3 Jan 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Maksim Galkin, and the manager let it.
The dugout3 Jan 2028
Damir Qasabūlat has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Shakhter 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.
Market3 Jan 2028
“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.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Uälikhan Mūkhametzhanov 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 dugout3 Jan 2028
Aslan Akhmedov 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 Shakhter, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Sep 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 95 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market27 Sep 2027
Only the photograph left for Arman Nusip
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Arman Nusip will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Shakhter the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The dugout27 Sep 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.
Squad27 Sep 2027
A falling-out at Shakhter
Igor' Shatskii and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Lucas Rocha 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 dugout27 Sep 2027
Igor' Shatskii has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Shakhter 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market13 Sep 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Zhetysu waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Shakhter is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Match8 Sep 2027
Shakhter march on in the cup
Aktobe are out and Shakhter go through, 2‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Squad13 Sep 2027
17 days out for Alexandr Gagloev after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Shakhter will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Shakhter may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market13 Sep 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.
Boardroom13 Sep 2027
Shakhter close the window on a squad of their own making
14 in and 8 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Market13 Sep 2027
The Atyrau deal is off
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Stanislav Samoilov reports back to Shakhter with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Igor' Shatskii 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Oleg Suvorov gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Oleg Suvorov has just signed for Shakhter, and for once the answer mattered.