Marked for Maxim Vertiev
From our football correspondent
Triumph
The dugout23 Jul 2029
“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.
Match21 Jul 2029
Nobody wants to play Veles right now
5 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Market23 Jul 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 The request is on a desk at Veles, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings23 Jul 2029
Up for the corner, and Dmitry Sergeev delivers — 7.94
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Dmitry Sergeev scored, was marked 7.94, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Squad23 Jul 2029
Tempers go at Veles
Dmitry Sadov 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 Jul 2029
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 36 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Veles is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
Boardroom23 Jul 2029
Veles still without a manager
8 days since the seat came open, a list of names doing the rounds, and nobody has signed anything. Every week this drags on the shortlist gets shorter.
Squad23 Jul 2029
Ishkhan Geloyan 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.
Transfer targets23 Jul 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Chernomorets have kept their man, and Veles go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market25 Jun 2029
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Veles people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market25 Jun 2029
Maxim Vertiev 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 Veles can pretend not to have heard.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Tempers go at Veles
Ishkhan Geloyan 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 Jun 2029
A row about effort at Veles
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dmitry Sergeev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets25 Jun 2029
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.
Boardroom25 Jun 2029
Veles cannot sign anybody
The embargo bars a fee being paid for a player, whatever the manager thinks the squad needs. Every rumour printed about this club between now and its lifting is a rumour about a deal that cannot happen.
Squad25 Jun 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 Veles know it.
Squad25 Jun 2029
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Veles are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
The dugout25 Jun 2029
Mikhail Rybalko is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad4 Jun 2029
Yury Zavezen breaks a bone — 23 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 23 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Boardroom4 Jun 2029
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Yuri Polivanov has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Boardroom4 Jun 2029
Emergency meeting at Veles
The whole football department in one room on a weekday morning. Nothing was announced afterwards, which is what a board announces when it has run out of patience.
Squad4 Jun 2029
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Veles will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Words exchanged at Veles
Dmitry Sadov 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.
Squad4 Jun 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Mikhail Rybalko and Veles agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Boardroom4 Jun 2029
$242.7K from the owner keeps Veles afloat
The gap in the accounts was filled from upstairs again. Supporters are entitled to be grateful and to ask what happens the month it is not, and both feelings arrive together.
Boardroom4 Jun 2029
The borrowing at Veles reaches $6.7M
Past the limit the bank set, which is the line between a club being financed and a club being in trouble. $6.7M is now the number every conversation about this club will start with.
The dugout4 Jun 2029
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 Dmitry Kuchugura is on it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 May 2029
45 days out for Anatoly Anisimov after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Znamya Truda will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market14 May 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Znamya Truda can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom14 May 2029
Wages swallow 133% of the Znamya Truda 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 dugout14 May 2029
This is not rotation. Eduard Antonov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Znamya Truda is pretending otherwise.
Market14 May 2029
“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 dugout14 May 2029
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 dugout14 May 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Znamya Truda, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad14 May 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artak Spertsyan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market14 May 2029
The Zeki Aliev talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Znamya Truda know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad7 May 2029
Yury Zavezen breaks a bone — 51 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 51 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Boardroom7 May 2029
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Yuri Polivanov has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Boardroom7 May 2029
The Veles board call everybody in
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Market7 May 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 Veles, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad7 May 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Dmitry Sergeev and Veles agree another 4 years.
Squad7 May 2029
A falling-out at Veles
Dmitry Sadov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom7 May 2029
The owner puts $239.4K into Veles
This is money that keeps the lights on rather than money that buys a centre-half, and the difference is the whole story. A club funded by its owner rather than by its football has exactly one conversation left ahead of it.
Squad7 May 2029
Kirill Korolkov 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.
Boardroom7 May 2029
Veles are $6.7M in the red
The borrowing is past what the bank agreed, which is the line where a debt stops being how football is financed and starts being a problem. Every phone-in in this town will quote the figure for the next five years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Apr 2029
A fracture rules Anatoly Anisimov out for 59 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Znamya Truda will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match30 Apr 2029
Every point is an argument now for Znamya Truda
Position 13 and 17 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.
Boardroom30 Apr 2029
The scrutiny sharpens at Znamya Truda
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Znamya Truda is running low.
Market30 Apr 2029
“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.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Maxim Vertiev 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.
The dugout30 Apr 2029
This is not rotation. Gevorg Arabyan has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Znamya Truda is pretending otherwise.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Everybody at Znamya Truda 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.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anatoly-Talmas Muradov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 Apr 2029
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 Denis Nikonorov is on it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market23 Apr 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Znamya Truda can pretend not to have heard.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Anatoly Anisimov 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.
The dugout23 Apr 2029
“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 dugout23 Apr 2029
Soslan Dzarasov 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.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Artak Spertsyan 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 dugout23 Apr 2029
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.
Market23 Apr 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Marcin Kozłowski signs something — a contract at Znamya Truda or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad23 Apr 2029
The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad9 Apr 2029
Yury Zavezen breaks a bone — 79 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 79 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad9 Apr 2029
A falling-out at Veles
Dmitry Sadov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Apr 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Vsevolod Bykov commits to Veles for another 4 years.
Squad9 Apr 2029
A row about effort at Veles
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dmitry Sergeev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom9 Apr 2029
The borrowing at Veles reaches $6.7M
Past the limit the bank set, which is the line between a club being financed and a club being in trouble. $6.7M is now the number every conversation about this club will start with.
Loan watch9 Apr 2029
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Veles, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout9 Apr 2029
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 Dmitry Kuchugura is on it.
Market9 Apr 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Kirill Korolkov signs something — a contract at Veles or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Match9 Apr 2029
Continental football is in reach for Veles
28 points from position 4. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Mar 2029
Maxim Vertiev 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 targets12 Mar 2029
Znamya Truda asked and Rodina said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Boardroom12 Mar 2029
No fees may be paid for anybody, whatever the squad needs. Every rumour about this club until it lifts is a rumour about a deal that cannot be done.
Market12 Mar 2029
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Znamya Truda, another week without a signature from Anatoly Anisimov.
The dugout12 Mar 2029
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 dugout12 Mar 2029
Soslan Dzarasov 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.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Artak Spertsyan 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.
Market12 Mar 2029
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Dmitry Goncharuk may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Market12 Mar 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Krzysztof Szewczyk signs something — a contract at Znamya Truda or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad26 Feb 2029
A fracture rules Yury Zavezen out for 121 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Veles will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market26 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 Veles, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom26 Feb 2029
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 2 gone
That is the business done at Veles until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Tempers go at Veles
Dmitry Sadov 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.
Market26 Feb 2029
Astrakhan are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Veles will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Dmitry Sergeev 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.
Transfer targets26 Feb 2029
Veles asked and Zvezda said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout26 Feb 2029
The manager makes an example of Ishkhan Geloyan
“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 dugout26 Feb 2029
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
Squad26 Feb 2029
A fracture rules Danil Voitenko out for 21 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Znamya Truda will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market26 Feb 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Znamya Truda can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.81 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Boardroom26 Feb 2029
Deadline passes with 2 signed and 5 gone
That is the business done at Znamya Truda until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Transfer targets26 Feb 2029
The deal with Veles 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.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Marcin Kozłowski and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets26 Feb 2029
Znamya Truda asked and Amkar said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match24 Feb 2029
1‑2 to Zenit Penza, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout26 Feb 2029
The manager makes an example of Denis Safronov
“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
Squad19 Feb 2029
Yury Zavezen breaks a bone — 128 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 128 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Boardroom19 Feb 2029
The scrutiny sharpens at Veles
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Veles is running low.
Market19 Feb 2029
Veles say no — this time
The offer from Uralets-TS for Dmitry Kuchugura 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.
Market19 Feb 2029
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Veles people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market19 Feb 2029
“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.
Market19 Feb 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mikhail Rybalko will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Veles the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Words exchanged at Veles
Dmitry Sadov 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.
Squad19 Feb 2029
A row about effort at Veles
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dmitry Sergeev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets19 Feb 2029
Veles asked and Rodina said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad12 Feb 2029
Yury Zavezen breaks a bone — 135 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 135 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market12 Feb 2029
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Veles have lost him in all but the paperwork.
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 Veles, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad12 Feb 2029
A falling-out at Veles
Dmitry Sadov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Words at Veles training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ishkhan Geloyan 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.
Transfer targets12 Feb 2029
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.
The dugout12 Feb 2029
“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 dugout12 Feb 2029
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 Dmitry Kuchugura is on it.
The dugout12 Feb 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Dmitry Kuchugura trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad22 Jan 2029
A fracture rules Yury Zavezen out for 156 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Veles will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Boardroom22 Jan 2029
Pressure builds in the Veles boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market22 Jan 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Veles can pretend not to have heard.
Market22 Jan 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Veles is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Words exchanged at Veles
Dmitry Sadov 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.
Squad22 Jan 2029
A row about effort at Veles
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ishkhan Geloyan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom22 Jan 2029
Wages eat 139% of everything Veles 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.
Squad22 Jan 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; Veles are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout22 Jan 2029
The manager makes an example of Maxim Vertiev
“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
Market11 Dec 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 Veles can pretend not to have heard.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Dmitry Sadov 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 Veles this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Ishkhan Geloyan 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.
Boardroom11 Dec 2028
Veles cannot sign anybody
The embargo bars a fee being paid for a player, whatever the manager thinks the squad needs. Every rumour printed about this club between now and its lifting is a rumour about a deal that cannot happen.
Boardroom11 Dec 2028
Veles are $6.7M in the red
The borrowing is past what the bank agreed, which is the line where a debt stops being how football is financed and starts being a problem. Every phone-in in this town will quote the figure for the next five years.
The dugout11 Dec 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 dugout11 Dec 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Mikhail Rybalko'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.
Market11 Dec 2028
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Maxim Vertiev has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Veles.
Market11 Dec 2028
The name of Kasjan Semmerling keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Veles say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Transfer targets26 Jun 2028
Everything agreed with Dinamo Bryansk, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad26 Jun 2028
A falling-out at Veles
Dmitry Sadov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Dmitry Sergeev 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.
Boardroom26 Jun 2028
Veles cannot sign anybody
The embargo bars a fee being paid for a player, whatever the manager thinks the squad needs. Every rumour printed about this club between now and its lifting is a rumour about a deal that cannot happen.
Boardroom26 Jun 2028
Veles are $6.2M in the red
The borrowing is past what the bank agreed, which is the line where a debt stops being how football is financed and starts being a problem. Every phone-in in this town will quote the figure for the next five years.
Transfer targets26 Jun 2028
A loan move for Vlad Dolgikh is in the works
Veles have made the call to Neftyanik. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout26 Jun 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 Veles, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout26 Jun 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Miha Brekalo, and the manager let it.
Market26 Jun 2028
The Yury Zavezen talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Veles know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 Apr 2028
Giorgi Jinjikhadze damages knee ligaments — 71 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 71 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.
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
Yuri Polivanov has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Veles can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Squad3 Apr 2028
A falling-out at Veles
Dmitry Sadov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Kasjan Semmerling and Veles agree another 4 years.
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
The owner puts $66.6K into Veles
This is money that keeps the lights on rather than money that buys a centre-half, and the difference is the whole story. A club funded by its owner rather than by its football has exactly one conversation left ahead of it.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words at Veles training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dmitry Sergeev 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.
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
Veles cannot sign anybody
The embargo bars a fee being paid for a player, whatever the manager thinks the squad needs. Every rumour printed about this club between now and its lifting is a rumour about a deal that cannot happen.
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
Veles are $6.0M in the red
The borrowing is past what the bank agreed, which is the line where a debt stops being how football is financed and starts being a problem. Every phone-in in this town will quote the figure for the next five years.
Market3 Apr 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.