25 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.
2‑9 against Tskhinvali, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Beaten 9 times, with 1 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
11 goals in one match, Baba Ofori on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Kolkheti and Tskhinvali.
Squad19 Jul 2032
Words at Kolkheti training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ridouan Essaeh 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.
“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.
Player ratings19 Jul 2032
Baba Ofori was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.24. 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.
The run now stands at 16, and the questions being asked around Kolkheti are no longer polite ones.
The terraces17 May 2032
The mood at Kolkheti 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.
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.
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.
Tornike Gamsakhurdia 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 crowd waited for a goal that never came. Guria defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Nobody at Kolkheti is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
“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.
Squad10 Mar 2031
Words at Kolkheti training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Bolívar 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.
Irakli Gamsakhurdia 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.
Marked 4.77. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
The mood at Kolkheti 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kolkheti this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Dec 2030
Words at Kolkheti training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bachana Okriashvili 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.