Marked for Sergey Muradyan
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market25 Jan 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 Noah can pretend not to have heard.
Market25 Jan 2027
Noah say no — this time
The offer from Van for Rob Nizet was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Noah
Matheus Aiás 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.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
Wages eat 196% of everything Noah 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Gonçalo Silva
“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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
André Hansen 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 André Hansen trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market18 Jan 2027
The bid was some way short and Noah did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Matheus Aiás 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 Noah this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market18 Jan 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Noah have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad18 Jan 2027
André Hansen 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Dani Figueira
“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.
Market18 Jan 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Gonçalo Gregório signs something — a contract at Noah or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Noah
Matheus Aiás 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.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Wages eat 335% of everything Noah 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Gonçalo Silva
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad30 Nov 2026
The medical room confirms 38 days on the sidelines for Artem Avanesyan, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Yan Eteki 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 Noah this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
452% of the income goes out in wages at Noah
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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad23 Nov 2026
Matheus Aiás 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 Noah this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Gustavo Sangaré 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.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 11. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad2 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Noah
Matheus Aiás 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.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
452% of the income goes out in wages at Noah
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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to André Hansen, and the manager let it.
Squad2 Nov 2026
The captaincy has been taken off Takuto Oshima. Noah will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Takuto Oshima 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 Takuto Oshima trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market2 Nov 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Noah know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad19 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Noah
Hélder Ferreira 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.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Noah that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad12 Oct 2026
Matheus Aiás 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 Noah this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market12 Oct 2026
The name of Hélder Ferreira keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Noah say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Noah that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 Sep 2026
Matheus Aiás 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 Noah this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dani Figueira, and the manager let it.
Market14 Sep 2026
The name of Hélder Ferreira keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Noah say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad7 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Noah
Hélder Ferreira 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
25 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
607% of the income goes out in wages at Noah
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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of André Hansen
“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.
Market7 Sep 2026
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Noah will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Market7 Sep 2026
The Matheus Aiás story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Matheus Aiás signs something — a contract at Noah or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match26 Aug 2026
Noah through in the cup
A 1‑0 win over Ararat-Armenia, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Market31 Aug 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 Noah, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A defender's afternoon for Takuto Oshima
Defensive actions: 30. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Market31 Aug 2026
AZAL come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Noah did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Matheus Aiás 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 Noah this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A performance of 9.07 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad31 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Yan Eteki
“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.
Market31 Aug 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Yan Eteki may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match19 Aug 2026
Noah march on in the cup
Ararat are out and Noah go through, 1‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Defensive actions: 27, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Market24 Aug 2026
Noah say no — this time
The offer from Sharjah for Gonçalo Gregório was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market24 Aug 2026
“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.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Defensive actions: 23, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Noah
Matheus Aiás 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.
Market24 Aug 2026
Ararat pay $190.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“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.