Marked for Stanislav Dmitriev
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 May 2027
Mamuka Kakabadze damages knee ligaments — 22 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 22 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad10 May 2027
Words exchanged at Zugdidi
Dimas 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.
Loan watch10 May 2027
“I did not go to Sioni to sit and watch. I want to come back to Zugdidi and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 14 matches say the rest.
Match8 May 2027
0‑1 to Kolkheti, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout10 May 2027
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 Tornike Kakabadze left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Shota Qazaishvili 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.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout10 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Ronnie Sandford
“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 dugout10 May 2027
Airton knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Airton trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 Apr 2027
Jaba Okriashvili damages knee ligaments — 43 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 43 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.
Match10 Apr 2027
1‑6 to Dila, 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.
Match10 Apr 2027
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Zugdidi and Dila in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dimas 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words exchanged at Zugdidi
Frank Chileshe 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
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.
Boardroom12 Apr 2027
Nobody left the Zugdidi dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Loan watch12 Apr 2027
“I watch every Zugdidi game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Sioni runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
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 1‑6 Tornike Kakabadze left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match6 Mar 2027
No end in sight to Zugdidi's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Zugdidi has to find a result from somewhere.
Market8 Mar 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 Zugdidi, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
Temur Lomadze: 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.” Zugdidi have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Zugdidi
Dimas 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 Mar 2027
A move Jonathan Lawson would have made for nothing
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Jonathan Lawson is living that version at Zugdidi, and it tends to show in the first month.
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
5 academy graduates step up at Zugdidi
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Market8 Mar 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Avtandil Kiteishvili is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market8 Mar 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Guram Mikautadze is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market8 Mar 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Otar Mikautadze has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sioni this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Gabriel Varanda and Sioni agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market8 Feb 2027
Nikita Morozov is 20, and Sioni 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Sioni training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dachi Chochoshvili 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 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kuji Beselia, and the manager let it.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Sioni would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Sioni
Luka Avaliani 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 targets25 Jan 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Lokomotivi have kept their man, and Sioni go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
A loan move for Luka Chaganava is in the works
Sioni have made the call to Guria. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Tskhinvali 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.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Sioni have made the call to Zugdidi. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Sioni are still strangers to each other
6 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Luka Avaliani knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sioni, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market25 Jan 2027
The name of Bantu Mzwakali keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Sioni say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A new face in his position, and Alexandr Verulidze suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Sioni have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market25 Jan 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 Zugdidi, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Zugdidi and Lokomotivi have settled on $170.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Dinamo Batumi is saying, and nobody at Zugdidi is enjoying the guessing.
Market25 Jan 2027
Mikheil Kiteishvili has left for Shukura in a $250.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Zugdidi asked and Chikhura said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Zugdidi
Airton 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
The medical room confirms 28 days on the sidelines for Giorgi Mchedlidze, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Market25 Jan 2027
Add another name to the list: Sioni have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Stanislav Dmitriev. The answer from Zugdidi has not changed — yet.
Squad25 Jan 2027
No place for Airton in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Zugdidi are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Dec 2026
85 days out for Jaba Ananidze after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Zugdidi will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad14 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zugdidi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Shota Qazaishvili 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 dugout14 Dec 2026
“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.
Market14 Dec 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Stanislav Dmitriev may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
Jacopo Piras knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Zugdidi, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Zugdidi
Guram Tsitaishvili and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Loan watch16 Nov 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Zugdidi, and 3 appearances in 10 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Saba Tsitaishvili trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Loan watch2 Nov 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Zugdidi, and 7 appearances in 11 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad2 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zugdidi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Zugdidi
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Shota Qazaishvili was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market2 Nov 2026
The name of Mohamed Cherif keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Zugdidi say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Temur Lomadze is put on a programme of his own
Individual work, away from the group, aimed at one specific thing the coaches think is holding him back. It rarely makes the news and it is how most improvement actually happens.
Squad2 Nov 2026
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 Sep 2026
Chastening afternoon for Chikhura
A 1‑4 beating by Dinamo Batumi was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A move Luigi Gaspar would have made for nothing
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Luigi Gaspar is living that version at Chikhura, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Avto Tsartsidze is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dinamo Tbilisi have kept their man, and Chikhura go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Emmanuel Boansi 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.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Emmanuel Boansi did the work nobody counts — 6.56
9 combined actions and 6.56. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Market14 Sep 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
In brief
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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The dugout
The manager makes an example of Davit Bakhia
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Looking ahead
A reunion for Jaba Kashia