The Sioni Sentinel
Squad4 Jan 2027
Nika Zurabashvili damages knee ligaments — 22 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 22 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.
The terraces4 Jan 2027
Supporters organise against the Sioni board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Sioni
Luka Avaliani 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 targets4 Jan 2027
Door shut on Ilia Buzaladze
Sioni asked and Chikhura said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
Sioni ask about Malisela Morudu
A loan enquiry to Guria: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
A loan move for Sandro Gamsakhurdia is in the works
Sioni have made the call to Zugdidi. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Squad4 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Sioni
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sandro Lobjanidze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom4 Jan 2027
Open for business: Sioni enter the window
The registration window is open and the phone has started. Between now and the deadline this club will be linked with forty players and sign three, which is the usual ratio.
Market4 Jan 2027
Giorgi Gaprindashvili linked with a move away
The name of Giorgi Gaprindashvili keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Sioni say nothing, which says plenty.
In brief
- Market Luka Gegeshidze leaves for nothing
- Market Davit Gogebashvili leaves for nothing
- The dugout The manager comes out for Luka Avaliani