“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kokand 1912 can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kokand 1912 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“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 Aug 2036
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Interim Coach, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Kokand 1912 could ask drops and the wages Joseph Peter can ask rise.
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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Boardroom28 Jul 2036
92% of the income goes out in wages at Kokand 1912
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.
Pakhtakor next, and one man in the Kokand 1912 dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kokand 1912 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The offer from Mashal for Sardor Suyunov 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Žarko Bogdanović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kokand 1912 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Kokand 1912 has been clear about where Chingiz Seytjonov stands, which is more than many ever get.
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 players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Interim Coach could afford to be generous.
Everything agreed with Bunyodkor, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Marked 8.21 — 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.
Bunyodkor held the lead for 3 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. Kokand 1912 answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
Squad14 Jul 2036
Words at Kokand 1912 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Diyorbek Haliyev 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.
Something was said to Ayyubxon Muxtorov and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Interim Coach after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.92 for the rest of it.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Andijon keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
“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 Kokand 1912 know it.
Kokand 1912 asked and Lokomotiv 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 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.
Pakhtakor go through and Kokand 1912 go home, 0‑5 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
2 behind and going nowhere, until Andrej Nikolić decided otherwise. Nasaf had done the hard part and then watched it come apart, and the noise at the final whistle was the sort a ground keeps.
Two goals and a mark of 8.56 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
It finished 0-5. A cup exit is a disappointment; this was a public dismantling, and the difference between the two is the number of people who will still be talking about it in August.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kokand 1912 can pretend not to have heard.
Kokand 1912 asked and Sogdiana 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 clubs have shaken hands with Lokomotiv; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kokand 1912 can pretend not to have heard.
Kokand 1912 had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Andijon, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Joseph Peter 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 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.
Marked 8.56 — 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.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.91 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
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.
Abrorjon Aliyev 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Interim Coach on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Kokand 1912 has been clear about where Marouane Ait Jilali stands, which is more than many ever get.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Shortan in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
“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; Kokand 1912 are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Nurali Nuserbayev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 May 2036
Words at Kokand 1912 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Žarko Bogdanović 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.
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 demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Bryan Leal Moreira is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The dugout5 May 2036
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Interim Coach, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kokand 1912 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Kokand 1912, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Murodali Usmonov’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Kokand 1912 needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kokand 1912 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
MarketThe clock does Joseph Peter’s negotiating for him
Joseph Peter 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.
A 1‑1 draw with Pakhtakor leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout21 Apr 2036
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Interim Coach was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Kokand 1912 dressing room was either.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Doniyor Ismailov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Qizilqum in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kokand 1912 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Mirziyod Mirodilov’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Kokand 1912 needing him to play as if none of it matters.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Bryan Leal Moreira trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Chingiz Seytjonov has written the date down.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Yehor Kondratiuk signs something — a contract at Kokand 1912 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
99 graduates, from a department now rated 7 out of 20. Nothing about the academy appears in a result, and nothing about the club’s future exists without it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kokand 1912 can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kokand 1912 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
“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 dugout17 Mar 2036
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Kokand 1912 will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
The end came on a Tuesday, as these things usually do: a short meeting, a shorter statement, and the manager clearing his office by noon. Football’s cruellest ritual, performed to schedule.
The coaching staff has emptied out entirely and there was nobody internal to promote, so the club has appointed a name almost none of its supporters will recognise. Clubs recover from this; none of them enjoy explaining it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 26 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I am not thinking past Saturday, and I would advise nobody else to.” The caretaker’s first rule is to pretend the job is small; Interim Coach recited it perfectly.
“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; Kokand 1912 are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Joseph Peter 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kokand 1912 will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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 new man at Kokand 1912 has worked with Ayyubxon Muxtorov before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
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.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Kokand 1912 are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Sebastián Paillaleo signs something — a contract at Kokand 1912 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
7 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Kokand 1912 could ask drops and the wages Bryan Leal Moreira can ask rise.
In brief
The dugoutAziz Hasanov knocks on the manager’s door
MatchNothing left to play for but pride at Kokand 1912
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kokand 1912 can pretend not to have heard.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 41 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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 new man at Kokand 1912 has worked with Ayyubxon Muxtorov before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Kokand 1912 are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kokand 1912 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kokand 1912 will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Abrorjon Aliyev has, at Kokand 1912, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Sebastián Paillaleo 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Žarko Bogdanović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The new man at Kokand 1912 has worked with Ayyubxon Muxtorov before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
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 Žarko Bogdanović is on it.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Kokand 1912, another week without a signature from Abrorjon Aliyev.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Kokand 1912, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kokand 1912 can pretend not to have heard.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 71 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Kokand 1912 and Sogdiana have settled on $35.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Sebastián Paillaleo 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.
Pakhtakor wanted more than $4.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad21 Jan 2036
Words at Kokand 1912 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Žarko Bogdanović 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Bunyodkor have kept their man, and Kokand 1912 go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The new man at Kokand 1912 has worked with Ayyubxon Muxtorov before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
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.
$4.0K on the table at Pakhtakor. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kokand 1912 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Jan 2036
Words at Kokand 1912 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Žarko Bogdanović 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Lokomotiv have kept their man, and Kokand 1912 go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 35 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Kokand 1912 is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
The new man at Kokand 1912 has worked with Ayyubxon Muxtorov before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
Kokand 1912 have made the call to Andijon. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kokand 1912 will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Doniyor Nematov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Kokand 1912 the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Kokand 1912 can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
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.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Kokand 1912 will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
The new man at Kokand 1912 has worked with Ayyubxon Muxtorov before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
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.
Nobody at Kokand 1912 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Doniyor Nematov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The new man at Kokand 1912 has worked with Ayyubxon Muxtorov before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sardor Suyunov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Kokand 1912 could ask drops and the wages Farruh Toshpo'latov can ask rise.
Joseph Peter and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Nov 2035
Nikita Dorosh 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 new man at Kokand 1912 has worked with Ayyubxon Muxtorov before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Andrej Nikolić signs something — a contract at Kokand 1912 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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.
“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 Kokand 1912, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Žarko Bogdanović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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; Kokand 1912 are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kokand 1912 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The new man at Kokand 1912 has worked with Ayyubxon Muxtorov before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
Nobody at Kokand 1912 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Yehor Kondratiuk signs something — a contract at Kokand 1912 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Kokand 1912 is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“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; Kokand 1912 are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kokand 1912 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Nov 2035
Nikita Dorosh 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 new man at Kokand 1912 has worked with Ayyubxon Muxtorov before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
Boardroom5 Nov 2035
108% of the income goes out in wages at Kokand 1912
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.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Kokand 1912, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Kokand 1912 is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Joseph Peter 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 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.
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.
The new man at Kokand 1912 has worked with Ayyubxon Muxtorov before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
5 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kokand 1912 can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Doniyor Nematov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Kokand 1912 the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Doniyor Nematov has agreed terms with Andijon for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
The shirt still fits. Ayyubxon Muxtorov is back at Kokand 1912, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Žarko Bogdanović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Chingiz Seytjonov 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.
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.