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 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.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Abzal Abiken was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.09. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Nobody's fault and entirely his: a goal that goes into the book with his name against it and nothing about it intended. Akzhaiyk deserved better, and so did he.
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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Abzal Abiken 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.
“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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Koshiro Sumi 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Akzhaiyk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
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.
“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.
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.
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Nurali Islamkhan is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Ordabasy Murtazaev has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Nurali Akhmetov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The bid was some way short and Akzhaiyk did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timur 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.
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 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.
“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.
Abzal Abiken 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Erkebūlan Toibekov and Akzhaiyk agree another 3 years.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timur 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 board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Maxim Murtazaev has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
“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.
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.
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 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.
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Erkebūlan Toibekov is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
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.
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.
In brief
SquadTimur Postnikov falls out with a teammate over standards
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 14 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.
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.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Maxim Murtazaev has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
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.
“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.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Akzhaiyk have had the benefit of it.
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 words a physio says slowly. 52 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.
“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.
Abzal Abiken 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
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.
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 words a physio says slowly. 94 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.
Position 12 and 5 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.
Abzal Abiken 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
The words a physio says slowly. 115 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 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 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.
“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.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Samat Postnikov commits to Akzhaiyk for another 2 years.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timur 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.
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.
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.
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.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Koshiro Sumi 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.
Abzal Abiken 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.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timur 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Rinat Zainutdinov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
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 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Akzhaiyk told Älisher Süleimen something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The phone has started ringing about Aibol Nuserbayev again, and this time the name on the line is Dewa United. Akzhaiyk are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timur 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.
Gafurzhan Dosmagambetov is 16, and Akzhaiyk have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Abzal Abiken 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Bian Abu Raya is living that version at Akzhaiyk, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timur 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.
10 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 offer from Atyrau for Timur Postnikov was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Abzal Abiken 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 phone has started ringing about Aibol Nuserbayev again, and this time the name on the line is Dewa United. Akzhaiyk are listening politely and promising nothing.
The offer from Shakhter for Abzal Abiken was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“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.
“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.
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 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
6 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.
“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 phone has started ringing about Yeldos Vorogovskiy again, and this time the name on the line is Atyrau. Akzhaiyk are listening politely and promising nothing.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Akzhaiyk and Kairat, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timur 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.
$130.0K is a serious amount of money and it does not play centre-forward. Everybody in the dressing room knows who used to be looked at when it went wrong.
The offer from Astana for Abzal Abiken was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Aibol Tymoshchuk was one of the reasons people came, and $130.0K does not replace that by itself.
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.
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.
6 goals in one match, Timur Postnikov on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Akzhaiyk and Zhetysu.
In brief
SquadKoshiro Sumi falls out with a teammate over standards
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.
Abzal Abiken 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.
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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Koshiro Sumi 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.
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.
“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.
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.
6 goals in one match, Abzal Abiken on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Akzhaiyk and Atyrau.
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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.84 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Abzal Abiken 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.
7 goals in one match, Abzal Abiken on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Akzhaiyk and Irtysh.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Abzal Abiken. 3‑1 against Shakhter, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timur 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Timur Postnikov has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad17 May 2027
The division's best last weekend was a Akzhaiyk man
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Abzal Abiken was the best thing in any of them.
13 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.
2‑5 to Okzhetpes, 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.63 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 18 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Akzhaiyk and Okzhetpes, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
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.
12 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 25 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Abzal Abiken 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.
A performance of 8.11 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Koshiro Sumi 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 32 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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.
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.
6 goals in one match, Abzal Abiken on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Akzhaiyk and Aktobe.
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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 40 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 47 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
There were 7 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.
The terraces12 Apr 2027
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 6 of the 28 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Abzal Abiken 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.
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.
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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Akzhaiyk know it.
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.
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.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Askhat Postnikov did not need any: 7.61, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
7 goals in one match, Askhat Postnikov on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Akzhaiyk and Tobol.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timur 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Akzhaiyk and Atyrau, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
“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.
Abzal Abiken 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.
Abzal Abiken 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 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.
130 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.
There is exactly one of these per career and it does not usually go like this. 0 on the scoresheet, 7.42 beside the name, and a crowd that had never seen him before chanting it by the end.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
Akzhaiyk are taken apart by Tobol — and the town wants answers
It finished 3-6. 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.
Marked 7.90. 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.
9 goals in one match, Timur Postnikov on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Akzhaiyk and Tobol.
Whether it was the goalkeeper or the ten in front of him is the argument that will fill every conversation in town this week. 4 saves does not settle it either way.
There is exactly one of these per career and it does not usually go like this. 0 on the scoresheet, 7.34 beside the name, and a crowd that had never seen him before chanting it by the end.
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 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.