Marked for Buddy Vogelzang
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Jul 2028
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Pogradeci have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market3 Jul 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.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Henry Ndedi 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.
Squad3 Jul 2028
A row about effort at Pogradeci
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Moses Nyebe was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad3 Jul 2028
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Pogradeci can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Transfer targets3 Jul 2028
A loan move for Robin Hoti is in the works
Pogradeci have made the call to Burreli. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Boardroom3 Jul 2028
Pogradeci sign 6 boys into the academy
None of them will be seen by anybody outside the training ground for three years, most of them will never play a senior match, and one of them might change the club. That is the whole proposition, and it is why academies exist.
Boardroom3 Jul 2028
Nobody arrives at Pogradeci until somebody leaves
The club is not barred from spending; it simply has nothing to spend that it has not first raised. Every name linked with Pogradeci this window arrives with a name leaving in the same sentence.
Market3 Jul 2028
“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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Jun 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.
The dugout26 Jun 2028
This is not rotation. Bruno Puja has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Pogradeci is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets26 Jun 2028
Pogradeci asked and Iliria Fushë-Krujë said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad26 Jun 2028
A row about effort at Pogradeci
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Klevis Shaqe was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad26 Jun 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 Pogradeci this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets26 Jun 2028
A loan enquiry to Burreli: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets26 Jun 2028
A loan enquiry to Besa Kavajë: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout26 Jun 2028
Bruno Puja 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 Pogradeci, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market26 Jun 2028
The Moses Nyebe talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Pogradeci know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market12 Jun 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 Pogradeci, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market12 Jun 2028
The name of Bruno Puja has come up in conversations Pogradeci were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Transfer targets12 Jun 2028
The deal with Besa Kavajë is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Henry Ndedi 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 Pogradeci this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Jun 2028
A row about effort at Pogradeci
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Klevis Shaqe was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market12 Jun 2028
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Buddy Vogelzang has his answer from Pogradeci; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
Klevis Shaqe 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 Klevis Shaqe is on it.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
Klevis Shaqe 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 Klevis Shaqe trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad12 Jun 2028
The formation has left Fabio Deviardi behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Pogradeci will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market15 May 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 Pogradeci can pretend not to have heard.
Squad15 May 2028
Klevis Shaqe and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom15 May 2028
Wages eat 106% of everything Pogradeci 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.
Squad15 May 2028
Yurii Borys 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 dugout15 May 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 dugout15 May 2028
The manager makes an example of Buddy Vogelzang
“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 dugout15 May 2028
Bruno Puja 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 Bruno Puja trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad15 May 2028
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Pogradeci would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Market15 May 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Pogradeci know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout1 May 2028
This is not rotation. Bruno Puja has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Pogradeci is pretending otherwise.
Boardroom1 May 2028
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.
Squad1 May 2028
A row about effort at Pogradeci
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Klevis Shaqe was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout1 May 2028
Henry Ndedi 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.
Squad1 May 2028
Steven Le Cadelec and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout1 May 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Pogradeci, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad1 May 2028
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Pogradeci has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Market1 May 2028
The Moses Nyebe talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Pogradeci know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market1 May 2028
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Apr 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 Pogradeci, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
This is not rotation. Bruno Puja has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Pogradeci is pretending otherwise.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words exchanged at Pogradeci
Henry Ndedi 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.
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
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.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Haris Hasanović 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.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
Stiven Bibo 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.
Market3 Apr 2028
The Moses Nyebe talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Pogradeci know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market3 Apr 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Onome Onotafe may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match27 Mar 2028
Pogradeci are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 40 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market27 Mar 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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Henry Ndedi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Klevis Shaqe 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 Mar 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniel Adjessa, and the manager let it.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
Bruno Puja 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 Pogradeci, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market27 Mar 2028
The name of Klevis Shaqe keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Pogradeci say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
Onome Onotafe 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 Onome Onotafe is on it.
Market27 Mar 2028
Pogradeci have let the market know Victor Uduebo can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market13 Mar 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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Words at Pogradeci training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Haris Hasanović 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.
Squad13 Mar 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 Pogradeci this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Too much change too quickly at Pogradeci
6 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout13 Mar 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 dugout13 Mar 2028
Buddy Vogelzang 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
Market21 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.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Henry Ndedi 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 Pogradeci this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Haris Hasanović 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 Feb 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Segerso Geci, and the manager let it.
Boardroom21 Feb 2028
97% of the income goes out in wages at Pogradeci
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 dugout21 Feb 2028
Klevis Shaqe 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 Klevis Shaqe is on it.
Market21 Feb 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.
Squad21 Feb 2028
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Pogradeci will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
Squad21 Feb 2028
The formation has left Gjergji Kote behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Pogradeci will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match31 Jan 2028
36 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad31 Jan 2028
A one-man rearguard from Bruno Puja
There were 6 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.
Player ratings31 Jan 2028
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market31 Jan 2028
Only the photograph left for Onome Onotafe
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Onome Onotafe will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Pogradeci the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Transfer targets31 Jan 2028
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Pogradeci have done the hard part with Egnatia Rrogozhinë, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Match29 Jan 2028
Whatever happens, Pogradeci do not lose
7 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.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Klevis Shaqe 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 Pogradeci this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout31 Jan 2028
This is not rotation. Kutbi Budo has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Pogradeci is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets31 Jan 2028
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market29 Nov 2027
Kutbi Budo 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 Pogradeci can pretend not to have heard.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Words exchanged at Pogradeci
Klevis Shaqe 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.
Player ratings29 Nov 2027
Renato Gjini beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Haris Hasanović 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.
Boardroom29 Nov 2027
Wages eat 111% of everything Pogradeci 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.
Match29 Nov 2027
Halfway: Pogradeci sit in position 4
18 points at the turn. The first half of a season is a promise; the second is a bill, and the town is about to find out which of the two this one was.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
The manager makes an example of Buddy Vogelzang
“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 dugout29 Nov 2027
Half-satisfied: Uesli Berisha on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Squad29 Nov 2027
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Pogradeci will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 May 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.
Squad17 May 2027
Henry Ndedi 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.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Pogradeci training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Moses Nyebe 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 dugout17 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marjus Korreshi, and the manager let it.
Boardroom17 May 2027
Wages swallow 87% of the Pogradeci 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
Jorgo Lleshaj 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 Jorgo Lleshaj is on it.
The dugout17 May 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Haris Hasanović trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market17 May 2027
The name of José Rafael Reyes keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Pogradeci say nothing, which says plenty.
Match17 May 2027
Pogradeci in the hunt for Europe
Position 5, 32 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Apr 2027
55 days out for Renato Gjini after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Pogradeci will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market5 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Moses Nyebe 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 dugout5 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Marjus Korreshi
“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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Andri Xhafa: “I am not a substitute”
“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 Pogradeci will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Boardroom5 Apr 2027
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Pogradeci now.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
Leo Ballhysa 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 Leo Ballhysa trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market5 Apr 2027
The Moses Nyebe story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Moses Nyebe signs something — a contract at Pogradeci or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout5 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 Mar 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 dugout8 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Pogradeci may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Henry Ndedi 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 Pogradeci this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Pogradeci
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Moses Nyebe was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Pogradeci can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Henry Ndedi
“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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Buddy Vogelzang and Pogradeci agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
Klejdi Paloka 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.
Market8 Mar 2027
The Moses Nyebe story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Moses Nyebe signs something — a contract at Pogradeci or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.