Marked for Nürdäulet Orynbasar
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout3 Apr 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Taraz may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad3 Apr 2028
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.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad3 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Taraz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces3 Apr 2028
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The dugout3 Apr 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.
Squad3 Apr 2028
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Bauyrzhan Baitana is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Nurali Vorogovskiy after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Market3 Apr 2028
Madiiar Nūraly is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Taraz has been clear about where Madiiar Nūraly stands, which is more than many ever get.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 Feb 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 57 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match28 Feb 2028
Taraz sink to position 10
14 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market28 Feb 2028
The deal that would have taken Älisher Süleimen to Tobol has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Taraz with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
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
Window shuts: 4 in, 2 out at Taraz
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 4 arrived, 2 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
This is not rotation. Zhaqyp Qozhamberdi has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Taraz is pretending otherwise.
Squad28 Feb 2028
A falling-out at Taraz
Älisher Sulei and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets28 Feb 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Partizan have kept their man, and Taraz go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad28 Feb 2028
A row about effort at Taraz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Merei Zhambyl was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Jan 2028
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Taraz will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market24 Jan 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 Taraz, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad24 Jan 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Taraz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Zhandos Ömirzaqov 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 dugout24 Jan 2028
Merei Zhambyl 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 Merei Zhambyl trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market24 Jan 2028
Taraz have made Madiiar Nūraly available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad13 Dec 2027
A falling-out at Taraz
Nemanja Kalat and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Words at Taraz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Zhandos Ömirzaqov 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.
Market13 Dec 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.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
Merei Zhambyl 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 Taraz, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Dias Ańdyrmash is on it.
Market13 Dec 2027
Taraz have made Zhaqyp Qozhamberdi available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad29 Nov 2027
Tempers go at Taraz
Älisher Sulei 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 Nov 2027
Nemanja Kalat 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 dugout29 Nov 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces22 Nov 2027
The mood at Taraz has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Boardroom22 Nov 2027
Pressure builds in the Taraz boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad22 Nov 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 Taraz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Taraz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nemanja Kalat 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.
Loan watch22 Nov 2027
“I did not go to Okzhetpes to sit and watch. I want to come back to Taraz and fight for my place.” 7 appearances in 21 matches say the rest.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
Nūraidar Äskerbek has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Taraz 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.
Market22 Nov 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Zhandos Ömirzaqov may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Erkebūlan Toibekov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad22 Nov 2027
The training reports on Merei Zhambyl are not good
A bad Saturday is forgiven; a bad Tuesday is chosen. Standards have slipped and in a building where everybody watches everybody, it has been noticed.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom8 Nov 2027
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Nurali Vorogovskiy has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Match8 Nov 2027
Every point is an argument now for Taraz
Position 10 and 14 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Tempers go at Taraz
Nnamdi Ahanonu 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.
Squad8 Nov 2027
A row about effort at Taraz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nemanja Kalat was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Maqsat Ämirkhanov'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.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
Nemanja Kalat without the man who signed him
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Nemanja Kalat was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
Squad8 Nov 2027
A call-up flatters the player and the club that produced him in the same breath. Taraz would like him back in one piece and know they will not be consulted.
Squad8 Nov 2027
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Taraz that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
Market8 Nov 2027
Taraz have let the market know Älisher Süleimen can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match11 Oct 2027
Taraz are in real trouble now
Position 10, 14 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Words exchanged at Taraz
Nemanja Kalat 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
A row about effort at Taraz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Merei Zhambyl was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Taraz can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Maqsat Ämirkhanov'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.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Madiiar Nūraly 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 Taraz, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market23 Aug 2027
“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 Okzhetpes, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
Ivan Kuznetsov: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Okzhetpes have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Vasiliy Sovpel 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.
Squad23 Aug 2027
A row about effort at Okzhetpes
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ivan Kuzmichev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Aug 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.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Home is on Didi's mind
“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; Okzhetpes are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Market23 Aug 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Okzhetpes will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
Saian Mūqanov 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 Okzhetpes, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match31 Jul 2027
Whatever happens, Okzhetpes do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad2 Aug 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 Okzhetpes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces2 Aug 2027
He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Match31 Jul 2027
Akzhaiyk made Okzhetpes work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad2 Aug 2027
A row about effort at Okzhetpes
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dmitriy Borodin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad2 Aug 2027
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Qobylandy Kamariden is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Marked 7.78 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Okzhetpes had the best player on the pitch.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market12 Jul 2027
“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 Okzhetpes, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match10 Jul 2027
Okzhetpes make it 3 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Okzhetpes have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Vasiliy Sovpel and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Market12 Jul 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Okzhetpes have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Match10 Jul 2027
A 1‑0 win over Irtysh, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings12 Jul 2027
Marked 8.25 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad12 Jul 2027
A row about effort at Okzhetpes
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dmitriy Borodin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad12 Jul 2027
“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; Okzhetpes are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match19 Jun 2027
No end in sight to Okzhetpes's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Okzhetpes has to find a result from somewhere.
Match19 Jun 2027
Okzhetpes cannot find the net
7 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
Everything agreed with Taraz, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Okzhetpes
Alexandre Lopes 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.
Match19 Jun 2027
0‑1 to Astana, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Dmitriy Borodin 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 dugout21 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nūrğaini Böribaev, and the manager let it.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Talgat Taykenov left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match21 Jun 2027
Taraz sink to position 10
9 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market21 Jun 2027
Taraz say no — this time
The offer from Astana for Zhandos Ömirzaqov 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.
Market21 Jun 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Taraz have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market21 Jun 2027
“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 Taraz, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Taraz
Talğat Kusiapov 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.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Madiiar Nūraly 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.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Everybody at Taraz saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 35 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Apr 2027
Azamat Erkinbek damages knee ligaments — 46 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 46 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match7 Apr 2027
Taraz through in the cup
A 2‑1 win over Atyrau, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Match7 Apr 2027
Cruel end for Atyrau as Taraz pounce
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Taraz scored in the 123th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
The dugout12 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.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Nūraidar Äskerbek, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.71
A mark of 7.71 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
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 Taraz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Zhandos Ömirzaqov 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 terraces12 Apr 2027
He is 19 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.