Marked for Iskandar Soliyev
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match9 Nov 2030
Beaten 2‑6 by Waitakere United, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market11 Nov 2030
Alex Sutton has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Canterbury United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market11 Nov 2030
“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 ratings11 Nov 2030
A performance of 8.19 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Boardroom11 Nov 2030
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
Squad11 Nov 2030
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Alex Sutton knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Squad11 Nov 2030
Mohammed Rasasa 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 ratings11 Nov 2030
Shots: 8, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Player ratings11 Nov 2030
A mark of 5.29 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market4 Nov 2030
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Canterbury United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad4 Nov 2030
“The easiest signature of my career.” Callum Tuiloma and Canterbury United agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings4 Nov 2030
A performance of 10.00 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match2 Nov 2030
Southern United left with the points after a 3‑4 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad4 Nov 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Canterbury United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Nov 2030
The manager makes an example of Tommy Colvey
“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.
Squad4 Nov 2030
“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 Canterbury United know it.
Player ratings4 Nov 2030
Successful dribbles: 11. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market4 Nov 2030
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Owen Lewis’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Sep 2030
The medical room confirms 26 days on the sidelines for Michael Just, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad30 Sep 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Canterbury United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Sep 2030
Cameron Colvey 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
Match23 Sep 2030
26 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Market23 Sep 2030
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Canterbury United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad23 Sep 2030
Iskandar Soliyev 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market9 Sep 2030
“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.
Market9 Sep 2030
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Dane Van Hattum will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Canterbury United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad9 Sep 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Canterbury United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market9 Sep 2030
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Canterbury United will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad9 Sep 2030
Tommy Colvey 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 Canterbury United, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market9 Sep 2030
The Owen Lewis story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Owen Lewis signs something — a contract at Canterbury United or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market2 Sep 2030
The offer from Hawke's Bay United for Alex Sutton 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.
Squad2 Sep 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Canterbury United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market2 Sep 2030
A conversation is coming this week. Canterbury United will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Boardroom2 Sep 2030
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Squad2 Sep 2030
“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 Canterbury United know it.
Squad2 Sep 2030
James Rufer 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
Market19 Aug 2030
The bid was some way short and Canterbury United did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad19 Aug 2030
“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.
Squad19 Aug 2030
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Alex Garbett commits to Canterbury United for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match29 Jul 2030
Position 1, 26 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Market29 Jul 2030
Only the photograph left for James Rufer
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. James Rufer will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Canterbury United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market29 Jul 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Canterbury United can pretend not to have heard.
Squad29 Jul 2030
Mirsaid Tursunmatov 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 Jul 2030
The manager makes an example of Tommy Colvey
“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
Steady
Market15 Jul 2030
The bid was some way short and Canterbury United did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad15 Jul 2030
Callum Tuiloma 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.
Squad15 Jul 2030
Marco Fenton gets it from the manager
“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.
Squad15 Jul 2030
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Canterbury United, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market15 Jul 2030
The Owen Lewis story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Owen Lewis signs something — a contract at Canterbury United or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad15 Jul 2030
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Canterbury United has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match1 Jul 2030
26 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Market1 Jul 2030
The bid was some way short and Canterbury United did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad1 Jul 2030
Callum Tuiloma 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.
Market1 Jul 2030
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Canterbury United have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad1 Jul 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Cameron Colvey, and the manager let it.
Squad1 Jul 2030
“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; Canterbury United are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 Jun 2030
A conversation is coming this week. Canterbury United will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad24 Jun 2030
“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 Canterbury United know it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match6 May 2030
Position 1 and 26 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market6 May 2030
“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 Canterbury United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market6 May 2030
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Canterbury United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad6 May 2030
Kgwadi Molepo 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.
Boardroom6 May 2030
The board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Squad6 May 2030
“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; Canterbury United are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market25 Feb 2030
Only the photograph left for Islom Anvarov
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Islom Anvarov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Canterbury United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market25 Feb 2030
“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.
Squad25 Feb 2030
Kgwadi Molepo 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.
Squad25 Feb 2030
“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; Canterbury United are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad25 Feb 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Deklan Smith, and the manager let it.
Market25 Feb 2030
The clock does Islom Anvarov’s negotiating for him
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Canterbury United could ask drops and the wages Islom Anvarov can ask rise.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market7 Jan 2030
“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.
Squad7 Jan 2030
James Rufer is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.57 with 14 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Market7 Jan 2030
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Canterbury United have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Match5 Jan 2030
Team Wellington left with the points after a 4‑5 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad7 Jan 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Canterbury United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings7 Jan 2030
A performance of 9.07 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings7 Jan 2030
A performance of 8.67 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings7 Jan 2030
A performance of 8.26 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad7 Jan 2030
Matt Nelson gets it from the manager
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market22 Oct 2029
James Rufer 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 Canterbury United can pretend not to have heard.
Squad22 Oct 2029
128 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Boardroom22 Oct 2029
A new deal for the man in the dugout, and the clearest thing a board can say without calling a press conference about it. Stability is cheap to promise and expensive to deliver.
Market22 Oct 2029
The shirt still fits. Matt Fenton is back at Canterbury United, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market22 Oct 2029
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market22 Oct 2029
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad20 Aug 2029
Kgwadi Molepo 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.
Squad20 Aug 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Michael Pratezina and Canterbury United agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad20 Aug 2029
“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 Canterbury United know it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market18 Jun 2029
“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 Canterbury United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad18 Jun 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Canterbury United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market18 Jun 2029
The name of Dane Van Hattum has come up in conversations Canterbury United were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad18 Jun 2029
“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; Canterbury United are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad18 Jun 2029
The manager makes an example of James Tuiloma
“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
Market16 Apr 2029
“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 Canterbury United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market16 Apr 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Canterbury United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad16 Apr 2029
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Canterbury United have had the benefit of it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market12 Feb 2029
“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 Canterbury United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match12 Feb 2029
Position 2, 25 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Squad12 Feb 2029
At 19, Marco Fenton is already the best thing here
An average of 7.06 in a first team he is several years too young for. Canterbury United have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.