Marked for Samat Postnikov
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match30 Jun 2029
The wait goes on for Akzhaiyk
43 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad2 Jul 2029
66 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Akzhaiyk lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match30 Jun 2029
1‑12 to Kairat, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Boardroom2 Jul 2029
Pressure builds in the Akzhaiyk boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Boardroom2 Jul 2029
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Yeldos Nurgaliev has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Squad2 Jul 2029
7 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Market2 Jul 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.
Transfer targets2 Jul 2029
The deal with Aktobe 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.
Match30 Jun 2029
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 13 goals between Akzhaiyk and Kairat, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Jun 2029
42 matches without a win for Akzhaiyk
The run now stands at 42, and the questions being asked around Akzhaiyk are no longer polite ones.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Konstantin Kotov damages knee ligaments — 73 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 73 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 terraces25 Jun 2029
Anger at Akzhaiyk spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
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 Akzhaiyk people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market25 Jun 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.
Transfer targets25 Jun 2029
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Akzhaiyk have done the hard part with Astana, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad25 Jun 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets25 Jun 2029
Akzhaiyk asked and Astana said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samat Postnikov 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match9 Jun 2029
No end in sight to Akzhaiyk's wait for a win
40 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Akzhaiyk has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad11 Jun 2029
87 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Akzhaiyk lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match9 Jun 2029
Akzhaiyk are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 9 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Market11 Jun 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 Akzhaiyk can pretend not to have heard.
Squad11 Jun 2029
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.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Konstantin Kotov 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.
Match9 Jun 2029
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad11 Jun 2029
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samat Postnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout11 Jun 2029
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Yeldos Nurgaliev after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match2 Jun 2029
The wait goes on for Akzhaiyk
39 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad4 Jun 2029
94 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Akzhaiyk lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom4 Jun 2029
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Yeldos Nurgaliev has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Boardroom4 Jun 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Akzhaiyk
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad4 Jun 2029
7 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match2 Jun 2029
No clean sheets in sight for Akzhaiyk
8 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Talgat Nuserbayev 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
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samat Postnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match2 Jun 2029
A bad afternoon for Akzhaiyk against Irtysh
1‑2 to Irtysh, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match19 May 2029
37 matches without a win for Akzhaiyk
The run now stands at 37, and the questions being asked around Akzhaiyk are no longer polite ones.
Match21 May 2029
Akzhaiyk are in real trouble now
Position 12, 2 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Match19 May 2029
0‑5 to Shakhter, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Market21 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 Akzhaiyk can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout21 May 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.
Match19 May 2029
Akzhaiyk are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 6 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Squad21 May 2029
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samat Postnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad21 May 2029
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Talgat Tymoshchuk 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.
Match21 May 2029
The half-term report on Akzhaiyk
Position 12, 2 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match12 May 2029
36 matches without a win for Akzhaiyk
The run now stands at 36, and the questions being asked around Akzhaiyk are no longer polite ones.
Squad14 May 2029
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Market14 May 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.
Match12 May 2029
Akzhaiyk are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Match12 May 2029
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Akzhaiyk and Okzhetpes, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Player ratings14 May 2029
Marked 9.66 — 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.
Squad14 May 2029
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samat Postnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad14 May 2029
A falling-out at Akzhaiyk
Samat Kuat and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match12 May 2029
3‑3, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match5 May 2029
35 matches without a win for Akzhaiyk
The run now stands at 35, and the questions being asked around Akzhaiyk are no longer polite ones.
Match5 May 2029
Beaten 1‑4 by Taraz, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad7 May 2029
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Konstantin Kotov 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.
Squad7 May 2029
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Talgat Nuserbayev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match5 May 2029
Akzhaiyk leaking at the back
4 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
The dugout7 May 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marat Beysebekov, and the manager let it.
Boardroom7 May 2029
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout7 May 2029
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Squad7 May 2029
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match28 Apr 2029
The wait goes on for Akzhaiyk
34 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The terraces30 Apr 2029
Anger at Akzhaiyk spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Squad30 Apr 2029
10 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match28 Apr 2029
0‑5 to Aktobe, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Match28 Apr 2029
The goals have deserted Akzhaiyk
9 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Akzhaiyk can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Konstantin Kotov 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.
Squad30 Apr 2029
The medical room confirms 19 days on the sidelines for Talgat Tymoshchuk, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad30 Apr 2029
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samat Postnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom30 Apr 2029
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match21 Apr 2029
The wait goes on for Akzhaiyk
33 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 16 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match21 Apr 2029
Chastening afternoon for Akzhaiyk
A 0‑7 beating by Astana was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match23 Apr 2029
Akzhaiyk are in real trouble now
Position 12, 1 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Match21 Apr 2029
Akzhaiyk cannot find the net
8 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
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 Akzhaiyk can pretend not to have heard.
Match21 Apr 2029
Nobody could stop scoring
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Akzhaiyk and Astana in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Talgat Nuserbayev 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 Apr 2029
Samat Postnikov 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match7 Apr 2029
The wait goes on for Akzhaiyk
31 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad9 Apr 2029
9 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match4 Apr 2029
Shakhter ended it 0‑9. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
The terraces9 Apr 2029
Akzhaiyk are taken apart by Shakhter — and the town wants answers
It finished 0-9. 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.
Match7 Apr 2029
Akzhaiyk cannot find the net
6 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Player ratings9 Apr 2029
Successful dribbles: 26. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match4 Apr 2029
Nobody could stop scoring
9 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Akzhaiyk and Shakhter in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad9 Apr 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Daniil Borisov and Akzhaiyk agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Samat Postnikov 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match24 Mar 2029
The wait goes on for Akzhaiyk
28 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad26 Mar 2029
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Akzhaiyk will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad26 Mar 2029
17 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Akzhaiyk lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market26 Mar 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 Akzhaiyk can pretend not to have heard.
Match24 Mar 2029
3 matches without a goal for Akzhaiyk
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad26 Mar 2029
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Talgat Nuserbayev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match24 Mar 2029
A bad afternoon for Akzhaiyk against Atyrau
0‑1 to Atyrau, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Samat Kuat 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 Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Yeldos Nurgaliev left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match17 Mar 2029
27 matches without a win for Akzhaiyk
The run now stands at 27, and the questions being asked around Akzhaiyk are no longer polite ones.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Akzhaiyk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad19 Mar 2029
The words a physio says slowly. 24 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.
Market19 Mar 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 Akzhaiyk can pretend not to have heard.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
Successful dribbles: 23. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market19 Mar 2029
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Squad19 Mar 2029
A falling-out at Akzhaiyk
Konstantin Kotov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match17 Mar 2029
A bad afternoon for Akzhaiyk against Irtysh
0‑2 to Irtysh, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad26 Feb 2029
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Akzhaiyk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match26 Feb 2029
Every point is an argument now for Akzhaiyk
Position 12 and 4 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.
Boardroom26 Feb 2029
Akzhaiyk close the window on a squad of their own making
0 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Transfer targets26 Feb 2029
Everything agreed with Aktobe, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad26 Feb 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets26 Feb 2029
Akzhaiyk asked and Shakhter 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
Crisis
Squad19 Feb 2029
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Akzhaiyk will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market19 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 Akzhaiyk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets19 Feb 2029
The clubs have shaken hands with Okzhetpes; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Talgat Nuserbayev 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.
Transfer targets19 Feb 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Tobol have kept their man, and Akzhaiyk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Samat Postnikov 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.
Squad19 Feb 2029
The medical room confirms 22 days on the sidelines for Erbol Tymoshchuk, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Maxim Boichenko, and the manager let it.
The dugout19 Feb 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 Akzhaiyk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces5 Feb 2029
The mood at Akzhaiyk has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad5 Feb 2029
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Akzhaiyk will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Boardroom5 Feb 2029
Yeldos Nurgaliev has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Akzhaiyk can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Boardroom5 Feb 2029
The Akzhaiyk 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.
Transfer targets5 Feb 2029
$420.0K settles it between the clubs for Talğat Kusiapov
Aktobe have accepted the money. What Akzhaiyk do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Market5 Feb 2029
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad5 Feb 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Maqsat Ämirkhanov and Akzhaiyk agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Transfer targets5 Feb 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Kairat have kept their man, and Akzhaiyk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad5 Feb 2029
Samat Postnikov 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad29 Jan 2029
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Akzhaiyk will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match29 Jan 2029
Akzhaiyk sink to position 12
4 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Transfer targets29 Jan 2029
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Akzhaiyk have done the hard part with Kairat, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad29 Jan 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets29 Jan 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Kairat have kept their man, and Akzhaiyk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samat Postnikov 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 dugout29 Jan 2029
“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.
Squad29 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; Akzhaiyk are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Transfer targets29 Jan 2029
Akzhaiyk have made the call to Kairat. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad15 Jan 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 100 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Boardroom15 Jan 2029
Pressure builds in the Akzhaiyk boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market15 Jan 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 Akzhaiyk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Konstantin Kotov 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 Jan 2029
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samat Postnikov 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.
Squad15 Jan 2029
59 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
The dugout15 Jan 2029
The manager makes an example of Nikita Baranov
“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 Jan 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kairat Nurgaliev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Boardroom15 Jan 2029
Akzhaiyk keep producing them
10 graduates from an academy now rated 7 out of 20. A club this size does not survive any other way, and every name on that list is known in the town.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces8 Jan 2029
Supporters organise against the Akzhaiyk 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.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Akzhaiyk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Boardroom8 Jan 2029
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Yeldos Nurgaliev has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Boardroom8 Jan 2029
Crisis meeting at Akzhaiyk
The official line will be that it was routine. It was not routine, the timing says so, and every person in that room knows what the next bad result costs.
Squad8 Jan 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Jan 2029
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samat Postnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad8 Jan 2029
20 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
The dugout8 Jan 2029
The manager makes an example of Maxim Boichenko
“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.
Boardroom8 Jan 2029
$1.1M taken back off the Akzhaiyk table
What was available in the summer has quietly gone. Upstairs nobody will call it a change of ambition; downstairs nobody will call it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad25 Dec 2028
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samat Postnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Talgat Tymoshchuk 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 Dec 2028
33 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match4 Dec 2028
Every point is an argument now for Akzhaiyk
Position 12 and 4 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.
Boardroom4 Dec 2028
Yeldos Nurgaliev has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Akzhaiyk can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Boardroom4 Dec 2028
Crisis meeting at Akzhaiyk
The official line will be that it was routine. It was not routine, the timing says so, and every person in that room knows what the next bad result costs.
Squad4 Dec 2028
Ramin Khodadad arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Ramin Khodadad has, at Akzhaiyk, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Squad4 Dec 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 Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Dec 2028
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samat Postnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad4 Dec 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ramin Khodadad and Akzhaiyk agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market4 Dec 2028
He is 19, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
The dugout4 Dec 2028
Daniil Gorovykh without the man who signed him
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Daniil Gorovykh was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market27 Nov 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 Akzhaiyk can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout27 Nov 2028
Maxim Boichenko: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Akzhaiyk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad27 Nov 2028
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Talgat Nuserbayev 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.
Squad27 Nov 2028
Samat Postnikov 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 Nov 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Talgat Tymoshchuk, and the manager let it.
The dugout27 Nov 2028
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
The terraces13 Nov 2028
The mood at Akzhaiyk has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Konstantin Kotov 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.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Samat Postnikov 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 dugout13 Nov 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marat Nurgaliev, and the manager let it.
The dugout13 Nov 2028
Maxim Logvinenko 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.
Squad13 Nov 2028
The table has started to be checked before the results are in, and that is always the tell. Nobody at Akzhaiyk says the word out loud, and everybody in the building is thinking it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match6 Nov 2028
Every point is an argument now for Akzhaiyk
Position 12 and 4 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.
Boardroom6 Nov 2028
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Yeldos Nurgaliev has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Boardroom6 Nov 2028
Crisis meeting at Akzhaiyk
The official line will be that it was routine. It was not routine, the timing says so, and every person in that room knows what the next bad result costs.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Talgat Nuserbayev 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.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samat Postnikov 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 dugout6 Nov 2028
“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.
Boardroom6 Nov 2028
$1.1M taken back off the Akzhaiyk table
What was available in the summer has quietly gone. Upstairs nobody will call it a change of ambition; downstairs nobody will call it anything else.
The dugout6 Nov 2028
Marat Nurgaliev 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.
The dugout6 Nov 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom23 Oct 2028
Pressure builds in the Akzhaiyk boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market23 Oct 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 Akzhaiyk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Konstantin Kotov 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.
Squad23 Oct 2028
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samat Postnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Talgat Nuserbayev, and the manager let it.
Squad23 Oct 2028
The training reports on Daniil Borisov 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
Crisis
The terraces16 Oct 2028
The mood at Akzhaiyk has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad16 Oct 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Konstantin Kotov and Akzhaiyk agree another 3 years.
Squad16 Oct 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 Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samat Postnikov 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 dugout16 Oct 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 Akzhaiyk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout16 Oct 2028
“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
Crisis
Match9 Oct 2028
Every point is an argument now for Akzhaiyk
Position 12 and 4 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.
Squad9 Oct 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Talgat Nuserbayev commits to Akzhaiyk for another 3 years.
Squad9 Oct 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 Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Oct 2028
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Talgat Nuserbayev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout9 Oct 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Talgat Tymoshchuk, and the manager let it.
The dugout9 Oct 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 Yeldos Nurgaliev is on it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom2 Oct 2028
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Yeldos Nurgaliev has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Market2 Oct 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 Akzhaiyk can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout2 Oct 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Akzhaiyk may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad2 Oct 2028
A falling-out at Akzhaiyk
Konstantin Kotov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Samat Postnikov 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 dugout2 Oct 2028
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Akzhaiyk told Daniil Gorovykh something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout2 Oct 2028
Daniil Gorovykh loses the manager who believed in him
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Daniil Gorovykh's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
The dugout2 Oct 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.
Boardroom2 Oct 2028
Akzhaiyk pull $1.1M back off the table
The money that was there in the summer is not there now. Nobody upstairs calls this a change of ambition, and everybody downstairs reads it as one.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom25 Sep 2028
Pressure builds in the Akzhaiyk boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market25 Sep 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 Akzhaiyk can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout25 Sep 2028
“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.
Squad25 Sep 2028
A falling-out at Akzhaiyk
Talgat Nuserbayev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets25 Sep 2028
Akzhaiyk asked and Tobol said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Samat Postnikov 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match11 Sep 2028
Akzhaiyk sink to position 12
4 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Boardroom11 Sep 2028
Akzhaiyk close the window on a squad of their own making
5 in and 2 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Transfer targets11 Sep 2028
Akzhaiyk asked and Kairat said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samat Postnikov 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.
Squad11 Sep 2028
A falling-out at Akzhaiyk
Samat Kuat and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout11 Sep 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.
Transfer targets11 Sep 2028
A loan enquiry to Kairat: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
Konstantin Kotov 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.
The dugout11 Sep 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces21 Aug 2028
Anger at Akzhaiyk spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Transfer targets21 Aug 2028
$37.0K settles it between the clubs for Mikhail Golubnichii
Okzhetpes have accepted the money. What Akzhaiyk do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Konstantin Kotov 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.
Transfer targets21 Aug 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Kairat have kept their man, and Akzhaiyk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad21 Aug 2028
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samat Postnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad21 Aug 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Samat Kuat and Akzhaiyk agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout21 Aug 2028
“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 dugout21 Aug 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Daniil Gorovykh trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market21 Aug 2028
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Akzhaiyk, another week without a signature from Baktiyor Logvinenko.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match14 Aug 2028
Every point is an argument now for Akzhaiyk
Position 12 and 4 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.
The dugout14 Aug 2028
“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.
Market14 Aug 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.
Transfer targets14 Aug 2028
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Akzhaiyk have done the hard part with Irtysh, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Talgat Nuserbayev 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.
Transfer targets14 Aug 2028
Akzhaiyk asked and Kairat said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Samat Postnikov 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.
Squad14 Aug 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Azat Dosmagambetov and Akzhaiyk agree another 3 years.
Transfer targets14 Aug 2028
Kairat have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match29 Jul 2028
The wait goes on for Akzhaiyk
24 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Boardroom31 Jul 2028
The scrutiny sharpens at Akzhaiyk
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Akzhaiyk is running low.
Match29 Jul 2028
Chastening afternoon for Akzhaiyk
A 2‑5 beating by Okzhetpes was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market31 Jul 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 Akzhaiyk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings31 Jul 2028
A hand in 2 of them from Samat Postnikov — 7.85
Marked 7.85. There is a kind of forward whose value only shows up when you count what he was involved in rather than what he finished, and this is the day that argument makes itself.
Match29 Jul 2028
Akzhaiyk leaking at the back
5 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Match29 Jul 2028
Samat Postnikov among the goals in a wild afternoon
7 goals in one match, Samat Postnikov on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Akzhaiyk and Okzhetpes.
Transfer targets31 Jul 2028
Akzhaiyk asked and Kairat said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samat Postnikov 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 Jul 2028
No end in sight to Akzhaiyk's wait for a win
23 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Akzhaiyk has to find a result from somewhere.
The terraces24 Jul 2028
Supporters organise against the Akzhaiyk 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.
Market24 Jul 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 Akzhaiyk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match22 Jul 2028
Akzhaiyk cannot find the net
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Transfer targets24 Jul 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.
Squad24 Jul 2028
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samat Postnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match22 Jul 2028
Akzhaiyk leaking at the back
4 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Match22 Jul 2028
A bad afternoon for Akzhaiyk against Taraz
0‑2 to Taraz, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout24 Jul 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Konstantin Kotov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match8 Jul 2028
The wait goes on for Akzhaiyk
21 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad10 Jul 2028
There were 10 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.
Match8 Jul 2028
Chastening afternoon for Akzhaiyk
A 0‑3 beating by Astana was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Transfer targets10 Jul 2028
$37.0K settles it between the clubs for Mikhail Golubnichii
Okzhetpes have accepted the money. What Akzhaiyk do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Market10 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.
Transfer targets10 Jul 2028
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Akzhaiyk have done the hard part with Kairat, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad10 Jul 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 Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets10 Jul 2028
Akzhaiyk asked and Astana said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad10 Jul 2028
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samat Postnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
-
Boardroom
Nobody left the Akzhaiyk dressing room in a hurry
-
The dugout
The view from the dugout
-
The dugout
The manager makes an example of Marat Beysebekov
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match17 Jun 2028
18 matches without a win for Akzhaiyk
The run now stands at 18, and the questions being asked around Akzhaiyk are no longer polite ones.
Squad19 Jun 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Marat Murtazaev
30 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Akzhaiyk lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match17 Jun 2028
Chastening afternoon for Akzhaiyk
A 0‑7 beating by Tobol was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match19 Jun 2028
Every point is an argument now for Akzhaiyk
Position 12 and 2 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.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match17 Jun 2028
Nobody could stop scoring
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Akzhaiyk and Tobol in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad19 Jun 2028
A falling-out at Akzhaiyk
Konstantin Kotov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samat Postnikov 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 dugout19 Jun 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match10 Jun 2028
17 matches without a win for Akzhaiyk
The run now stands at 17, and the questions being asked around Akzhaiyk are no longer polite ones.
Squad12 Jun 2028
38 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Akzhaiyk lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match10 Jun 2028
Nowhere to hide for Akzhaiyk
1‑4 against Atyrau, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Market12 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.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Talgat Nuserbayev 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.
Squad12 Jun 2028
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samat Postnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout12 Jun 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.
Boardroom12 Jun 2028
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑4, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match27 May 2028
15 matches without a win for Akzhaiyk
The run now stands at 15, and the questions being asked around Akzhaiyk are no longer polite ones.
The terraces29 May 2028
Anger at Akzhaiyk spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Match27 May 2028
Beaten 0‑8 by Ordabasy, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Match27 May 2028
Akzhaiyk leaking at the back
7 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Squad29 May 2028
5 saves does not settle the argument about whose fault it was, and the argument will run all week. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines whoever caused them.
Match27 May 2028
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Akzhaiyk and Ordabasy, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad29 May 2028
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Konstantin Kotov 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.
Squad29 May 2028
Samat Postnikov 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.
Looking ahead29 May 2028
Akzhaiyk face Irtysh in the game that matters most
Two sides from the bottom of the table, three points, and an afternoon that will be described afterwards as a relegation decider by whoever loses it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match20 May 2028
No end in sight to Akzhaiyk's wait for a win
14 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Akzhaiyk has to find a result from somewhere.
Match22 May 2028
Akzhaiyk sink to position 12
2 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Match20 May 2028
Beaten 0‑5 by Shakhter, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad22 May 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match20 May 2028
No clean sheets in sight for Akzhaiyk
6 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Squad22 May 2028
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Talgat Nuserbayev 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 May 2028
Samat Postnikov 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.
Match22 May 2028
Halfway: Akzhaiyk sit in position 12
2 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.
Boardroom22 May 2028
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match6 May 2028
12 matches without a win for Akzhaiyk
The run now stands at 12, and the questions being asked around Akzhaiyk are no longer polite ones.
Squad8 May 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match6 May 2028
Nowhere to hide for Akzhaiyk
1‑6 against Taraz, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Market8 May 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 dugout8 May 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Akzhaiyk may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match6 May 2028
7 goals in one match, Serikzhan Akhmetov on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Akzhaiyk and Taraz.
Squad8 May 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 Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 May 2028
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samat Postnikov 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.
Match6 May 2028
No clean sheets in sight for Akzhaiyk
4 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
In brief
-
The dugout
The manager makes an example of Daniil Gorovykh
-
Boardroom
Inquest at Akzhaiyk
-
The dugout
The manager’s verdict
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces1 May 2028
Supporters organise against the Akzhaiyk 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.
Match29 Apr 2028
No end in sight to Akzhaiyk's wait for a win
11 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Akzhaiyk has to find a result from somewhere.
Match29 Apr 2028
Chastening afternoon for Akzhaiyk
A 1‑6 beating by Aktobe was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad1 May 2028
There were 9 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.
Market1 May 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.
Match29 Apr 2028
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Akzhaiyk and Aktobe, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad1 May 2028
A falling-out at Akzhaiyk
Talgat Nuserbayev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 May 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Marat Nurgaliev and Akzhaiyk agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad1 May 2028
Samat Postnikov 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match15 Apr 2028
Nowhere to hide for Akzhaiyk
0‑8 against Kairat, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Match15 Apr 2028
9 matches without a win for Akzhaiyk
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Akzhaiyk are no longer polite ones.
Squad17 Apr 2028
There were 9 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.
Match15 Apr 2028
Nobody could stop scoring
8 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Akzhaiyk and Kairat in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Talgat Nuserbayev 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 Apr 2028
Samat Postnikov 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.
Boardroom17 Apr 2028
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑8 Yeldos Nurgaliev left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nikita Baranov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match5 Apr 2028
Aktobe ended it 0‑3. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Match8 Apr 2028
8 matches without a win for Akzhaiyk
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Akzhaiyk are no longer polite ones.
The terraces10 Apr 2028
Akzhaiyk are taken apart by Aktobe — and the town wants answers
It finished 0-3. 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.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Konstantin Kotov 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.
Squad10 Apr 2028
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samat Postnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.04, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniil Borisov, and the manager let it.
Boardroom10 Apr 2028
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match25 Mar 2028
0‑4 to Atyrau, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Market27 Mar 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 Akzhaiyk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match25 Mar 2028
The wait goes on for Akzhaiyk
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match25 Mar 2028
Akzhaiyk cannot find the net
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad27 Mar 2028
A falling-out at Akzhaiyk
Konstantin Kotov 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
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samat Postnikov 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.
Match25 Mar 2028
No clean sheets in sight for Akzhaiyk
4 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Daniil Gorovykh
“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.
Boardroom27 Mar 2028
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The dugout20 Mar 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Akzhaiyk may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match18 Mar 2028
No end in sight to Akzhaiyk's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Akzhaiyk has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Talgat Nuserbayev 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.
Match18 Mar 2028
3 matches without a goal for Akzhaiyk
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Samat Postnikov 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.
Match18 Mar 2028
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout20 Mar 2028
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout20 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces6 Mar 2028
Supporters organise against the Akzhaiyk 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.
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Yeldos Nurgaliev has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
The Akzhaiyk 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.
Market6 Mar 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 Akzhaiyk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Daniil Gorovykh and Akzhaiyk agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Akzhaiyk
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Transfer targets6 Mar 2028
Akzhaiyk asked and Astana said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad6 Mar 2028
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samat Postnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad6 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 Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market28 Feb 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 Akzhaiyk can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom28 Feb 2028
Window shuts: 0 in, 1 out at Akzhaiyk
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 0 arrived, 1 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Transfer targets28 Feb 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.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Talgat Nuserbayev 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.
Squad28 Feb 2028
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samat Postnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets28 Feb 2028
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Akzhaiyk will try again when the window opens; Okzhetpes may not be selling by then.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom14 Feb 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Akzhaiyk
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Transfer targets14 Feb 2028
Everything agreed with Okzhetpes, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Konstantin Kotov 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 targets14 Feb 2028
Akzhaiyk asked and Kairat said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Samat Postnikov 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 dugout14 Feb 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yeldos Postnikov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces7 Feb 2028
The mood at Akzhaiyk has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Yeldos Nurgaliev has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Emergency meeting at Akzhaiyk
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.
Market7 Feb 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 Akzhaiyk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad7 Feb 2028
A falling-out at Akzhaiyk
Talgat Nuserbayev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets7 Feb 2028
Akzhaiyk asked and Tobol said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samat Postnikov 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.
Squad7 Feb 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Samat Kuat and Akzhaiyk agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Transfer targets7 Feb 2028
A loan move for Olzhas Baibek is in the works
Akzhaiyk have made the call to Kairat. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match24 Jan 2028
Every point is an argument now for Akzhaiyk
Position 12 and 7 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.
Squad24 Jan 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 Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Jan 2028
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samat Postnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom17 Jan 2028
Pressure builds in the Akzhaiyk boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad17 Jan 2028
28 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad17 Jan 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 Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Samat Postnikov 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 dugout17 Jan 2028
The manager makes an example of Maxim Boichenko
“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 Jan 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 Akzhaiyk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom3 Jan 2028
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Yeldos Nurgaliev has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Boardroom3 Jan 2028
Crisis meeting at Akzhaiyk
The official line will be that it was routine. It was not routine, the timing says so, and every person in that room knows what the next bad result costs.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Konstantin Kotov 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.
Squad3 Jan 2028
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samat Postnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad3 Jan 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Marat Beysebekov and Akzhaiyk agree another 3 years.
The dugout3 Jan 2028
Daniil Gorovykh without the man who signed him
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Daniil Gorovykh was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
The dugout3 Jan 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Zakhar Podzolkov, and the manager let it.
The dugout3 Jan 2028
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Akzhaiyk told Baktiyor Shomko something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Akzhaiyk than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces13 Dec 2027
Anger at Akzhaiyk spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Squad13 Dec 2027
15 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Akzhaiyk lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Samat Postnikov 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.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Talgat Tymoshchuk 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.
Squad13 Dec 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Maxim Boichenko commits to Akzhaiyk for another 3 years.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces15 Nov 2027
The mood at Akzhaiyk has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Market15 Nov 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Akzhaiyk can pretend not to have heard.
Squad15 Nov 2027
A falling-out at Akzhaiyk
Konstantin Kotov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom8 Nov 2027
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Boardroom8 Nov 2027
The Akzhaiyk 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.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Konstantin Kotov 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.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Talgat Nuserbayev 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 dugout8 Nov 2027
The manager's exit leaves Daniil Gorovykh exposed
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Daniil Gorovykh is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
Boardroom8 Nov 2027
Akzhaiyk pull $1.4M back off the table
The money that was there in the summer is not there now. Nobody upstairs calls this a change of ambition, and everybody downstairs reads it as one.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
Yeldos Nurgaliev has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Akzhaiyk 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.
Squad8 Nov 2027
The table is being checked before the results are in, which is always the tell. Nobody at Akzhaiyk says the word and every senior player in the building is thinking it.
Squad8 Nov 2027
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Akzhaiyk has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces18 Oct 2027
The mood at Akzhaiyk has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Market18 Oct 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 Akzhaiyk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Talgat Nuserbayev 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.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Talgat Tymoshchuk 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 dugout18 Oct 2027
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 dugout18 Oct 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.