Marked for Zayed Khamis
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 May 2028
A fracture rules Zayed Khamis out for 21 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason IMT will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market22 May 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vasilije Novičić will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around IMT the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad22 May 2028
A row about effort at IMT
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksandar Sedlar was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad22 May 2028
Words exchanged at IMT
Benjamin Acquah 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 dugout22 May 2028
Juninho 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.
Loan watch22 May 2028
30 appearances away from home and 8 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
The dugout22 May 2028
Juninho has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at IMT will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Market22 May 2028
The Miloš Bakić question follows IMT around
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Miloš Bakić’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad22 May 2028
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and IMT will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 May 2028
28 days out for Zayed Khamis after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. IMT will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market15 May 2028
Juninho has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around IMT they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad15 May 2028
Words exchanged at IMT
Iván Martos 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.
Squad15 May 2028
A row about effort at IMT
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksandar Sedlar was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout15 May 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Vukašin Jovanović's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout15 May 2028
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 Josué Tiendrébéogo is on it.
The dugout15 May 2028
Nikola Krstić 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 Nikola Krstić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout15 May 2028
The manager makes an example of Siniša Popović
“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.
Squad15 May 2028
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at IMT would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
In brief
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Market
The Nikola Krstić story refuses to die
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Boardroom
The IMT academy earns its keep
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 May 2028
Zayed Khamis breaks a bone — 36 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 36 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad8 May 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Aleksandar Sedlar and IMT agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 May 2028
A falling-out at IMT
Iván Martos and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 May 2028
Tomislav Todorović 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 dugout8 May 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 dugout8 May 2028
Nikola Krstić 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 IMT, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout8 May 2028
Damjan Knežević is still paying for one afternoon at IMT
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout8 May 2028
Nikola Đuričić has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at IMT 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.
Market8 May 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Aleksandar Sedlar signs something — a contract at IMT or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 May 2028
43 days out for Zayed Khamis after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. IMT will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market1 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 IMT can pretend not to have heard.
Market1 May 2028
Siniša Popović has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around IMT they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad1 May 2028
Iván Martos 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 IMT this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 May 2028
Words at IMT training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleksandar Sedlar 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 dugout1 May 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.
Squad1 May 2028
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at IMT has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
The dugout1 May 2028
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 Vasilije Novičić is on it.
The dugout1 May 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aleksa Cvetković trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
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The dugout
The manager plants his flag on Maciej Kolasa
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Boardroom
The IMT board choose calm
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Apr 2028
51 days out for Zayed Khamis after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. IMT will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market24 Apr 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vasilije Novičić will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around IMT the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Tempers go at IMT
Iván Martos 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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
A row about effort at IMT
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksandar Sedlar was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vladimir Radočaj trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Loan watch24 Apr 2028
30 appearances at Grafičar and the goals keep coming. IMT are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mateja Vukomanović, and the manager let it.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
When it matters, Juninho plays
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.
Market24 Apr 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Benjamin Acquah’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Apr 2028
Aleksandar Sedlar 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 dugout10 Apr 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad10 Apr 2028
A falling-out at IMT
Nezar Ahassad and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 Apr 2028
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at IMT can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
Damjan Knežević 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.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
Nikola Đuričić has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at IMT 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.
Market10 Apr 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Nikola Krstić’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Match10 Apr 2028
Continental football is in reach for IMT
46 points from position 5. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
Leontije Vasić 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 IMT, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 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 IMT, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad24 May 2027
A falling-out at IMT
Anton Mitryushkin and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout24 May 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 dugout24 May 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.
Squad24 May 2027
A row about effort at IMT
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Zayed Khamis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market24 May 2027
The Luka Luković talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. IMT know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout24 May 2027
Miloš Jović has been promised minutes
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 Miloš Jović has written the date down.
Squad24 May 2027
Nobody writes a headline about a tutor. Nobody has to be told, either, what happens to a signing who spends two years being the man nobody can talk to at lunch.
Squad24 May 2027
The training reports on Stefan Baltić are not good
A bad Saturday is forgiven; a bad Tuesday is chosen. Standards have slipped and in a building where everybody watches everybody, it has been noticed.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 May 2027
A falling-out at IMT
Leart Paçarada and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Loan watch3 May 2027
“I watch every IMT game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Dubočica runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad3 May 2027
Zayed Khamis 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 dugout3 May 2027
Moussa Sissako 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 Moussa Sissako trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad3 May 2027
Iván Martos is starting to look at home
The language is arriving, the jokes are landing, and there is somebody at the next peg to talk to. None of it appears in a scouting report and all of it shows up on the pitch.
The dugout3 May 2027
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Sankara Karamoko has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Apr 2027
The knee: Wang Guoming out for 34 days
34 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. IMT lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words exchanged at IMT
Anton Mitryushkin 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 dugout12 Apr 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Juninho wants to go home
“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 IMT know it.
Loan watch12 Apr 2027
“I did not go to Jedinstvo Ub to sit and watch. I want to come back to IMT and fight for my place.” 5 appearances in 35 matches say the rest.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ognjen Čančarević is on it.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at IMT training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Zayed Khamis 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 dugout12 Apr 2027
Nikola Krstić 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 Nikola Krstić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Loan watch12 Apr 2027
Kadir Gicić’s loan is measured in nothing happening
6 clean sheets from 27 appearances at Ušće. That is the whole of a goalkeeper’s job done properly, and it is being done a long way from the club that owns him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Mar 2027
The knee: Wang Guoming out for 56 days
56 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. IMT lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
Bi Jinhao keeps the receipts
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” IMT may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Iván Martos 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 IMT this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market22 Mar 2027
Luka Luković is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at IMT has been clear about where Luka Luković stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad22 Mar 2027
5 new faces, and IMT are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
Stefan Šapić 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.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Vukašin Jovanović is on it.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
Luka Luković 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 IMT, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Zayed Khamis 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.