Marked for Daniel Kikiowo
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings7 Aug 2028
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.56, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market7 Aug 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Vihren can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom7 Aug 2028
An order from above at Vihren: somebody has to go
Balance sheets do not care about form or about who the manager was planning to build around. The board have decided a sale is required, and the only question left is which name ends up carrying it.
The dugout7 Aug 2028
This is not rotation. Aleksandar Marinov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Vihren is pretending otherwise.
Squad7 Aug 2028
A falling-out at Vihren
Petko Ganev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets7 Aug 2028
Vihren asked and Botev Plovdiv said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Words at Vihren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Léo Pimenta 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 terraces7 Aug 2028
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Valeri Bozhinov has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The dugout7 Aug 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market21 Jun 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.
Market21 Jun 2027
Vihren say no — this time
The offer from Arda for Léo Pimenta 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.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Tempers go at Vihren
Ventsislav Bengyuzov 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.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Levski have kept their man, and Vihren go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Words at Vihren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Léo Pimenta 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 dugout21 Jun 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 Vihren, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad21 Jun 2027
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Vihren are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
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.
Market21 Jun 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Nikolay Minkov signs something — a contract at Vihren or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 May 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 Vihren can pretend not to have heard.
Squad31 May 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 Vihren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 May 2027
A row about effort at Vihren
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Léo Pimenta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market31 May 2027
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Vihren has been clear about where Aleksandar Marinov stands, which is more than many ever get.
Boardroom31 May 2027
Vihren counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Vihren now.
The dugout31 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Daniel Kikiowo
“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.
The dugout31 May 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 Vihren, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market31 May 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Vihren know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout31 May 2027
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 May 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 Vihren, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad17 May 2027
Words exchanged at Vihren
Petko Ganev 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.
Squad17 May 2027
Ventsislav Bengyuzov 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.
Squad17 May 2027
“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 Vihren know it.
Boardroom17 May 2027
Wages swallow 105% of the Vihren income
Every club 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 it has been tried.
The dugout17 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Georgi Staykov, and the manager let it.
The dugout17 May 2027
Georgi Ivanov gets picked when it counts
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 Georgi Ivanov is on it.
Squad17 May 2027
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Vihren will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
The dugout17 May 2027
Dimitar Ivanov 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 Vihren, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Apr 2027
Tempers go at Vihren
Petko Ganev 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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Vihren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ventsislav Bengyuzov 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.
Boardroom19 Apr 2027
121% of the income goes out in wages at Vihren
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.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
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 dugout19 Apr 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.
Market19 Apr 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Vihren know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Apr 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.
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.
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 Vihren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Bandaró
“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.
The dugout12 Apr 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 dugout12 Apr 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Vihren
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rodrigo Freitas was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market12 Apr 2027
The Léo Pimenta talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Vihren know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad12 Apr 2027
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad8 Mar 2027
A falling-out at Vihren
Petko Ganev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Vihren
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ventsislav Bengyuzov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
Pavel Zhabov 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.
Market8 Mar 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Vihren, another week without a signature from Yanko Angelov.
Market8 Mar 2027
He is 19, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Vihren are still strangers to each other
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
Belts tighten at Vihren
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
Squad8 Mar 2027
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Looking ahead8 Mar 2027
CSKA Sofia II next, and one man in the Vihren dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad25 Jan 2027
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
The dugout25 Jan 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.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Everything agreed with Ikorodu City, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Vihren
Ventsislav Bengyuzov 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.
Match23 Jan 2027
Vitinho scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to Dunav Ruse, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. GKS Tychy have kept their man, and Vihren go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Vihren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Léo Pimenta 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 dugout25 Jan 2027
Petko Ganev 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.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.