Marked for Dato Ananidze
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad4 Oct 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kolkheti will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Dato Ananidze commits to Kolkheti for another 2 years.
Squad4 Oct 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 Kolkheti this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Avtandil Mikautadze 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.
Market4 Oct 2027
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Avtandil Qazaishvili leaves Kolkheti the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
Market4 Oct 2027
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Davit Gvelesiani leaves Kolkheti the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match4 Sep 2027
Nowhere to hide for Kolkheti
0‑5 against Shukura, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Market6 Sep 2027
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Guria moved on, Davit Shengelia reports back to Kolkheti, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Squad6 Sep 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 Kolkheti this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Sep 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Shota Kiteishvili commits to Kolkheti for another 2 years.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words at Kolkheti training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dato Ananidze 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jaba Kakabadze, and the manager let it.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market6 Sep 2027
Kolkheti bring in an old head
Brynjar Hlöðvers is 38 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad16 Aug 2027
Jaba Kakabadze 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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Dato Ananidze 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 terraces16 Aug 2027
At 18 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match14 Aug 2027
Zugdidi made Kolkheti work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Levan Kiteishvili was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.06. 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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mikheil Daraselia, and the manager let it.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Lekso Otinashvili is the weekend's best young player
At 18 he is being measured against the rest of the division's kids and coming out in front. The senior version of this award is where the club would like this to lead.
Market16 Aug 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Giorgi Tsitaishvili signs something — a contract at Kolkheti or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad26 Jul 2027
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.
Market26 Jul 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 Kolkheti, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad26 Jul 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 Kolkheti this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Kolkheti training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dato Ananidze 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.
Match24 Jul 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad26 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniel Viljoen, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad5 Jul 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Temur Gamsakhurdia commits to Kolkheti for another 3 years.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Jaba Kakabadze 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.
Match3 Jul 2027
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Dato Ananidze 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.
Squad5 Jul 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.
Player ratings5 Jul 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.55, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Market5 Jul 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Kolkheti have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
Kolkheti sign 6 boys into the academy
None of them will be seen by anybody outside the training ground for three years, most of them will never play a senior match, and one of them might change the club. That is the whole proposition, and it is why academies exist.
Market5 Jul 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Daniel Viljoen has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Kolkheti.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
The terraces14 Jun 2027
Supporters turn on the $330.0K sale of Bachana Kakabadze
He is going to Lokomotivi, the club has $330.0K it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
Market14 Jun 2027
“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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Luka Khelashvili is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 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.
Squad14 Jun 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 Kolkheti this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Kolkheti training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dato Ananidze 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.
Match12 Jun 2027
It finished 2‑0, and it was Levan Kiteishvili’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Kolkheti.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
11 combined actions and 7.39. 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.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
Marked 8.04 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 May 2027
Jaba Kakabadze 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.
Squad24 May 2027
Dato Ananidze 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 2027
Shukura left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 May 2027
No end in sight to Kolkheti's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Kolkheti has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings3 May 2027
A brace, and Giorgi Tsitaishvili takes the afternoon — 8.86
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Giorgi Tsitaishvili provided it, and the 8.86 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad3 May 2027
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.
Squad3 May 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 Kolkheti this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match1 May 2027
2‑3 to Zugdidi, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Kolkheti training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dato Ananidze 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.
Squad3 May 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.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 10. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Chances created: 6. Not on the scoresheet and not remotely anonymous — a passing performance that pulled a defence apart without leaving a mark on the column that gets read.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Apr 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 Kolkheti, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match10 Apr 2027
The wait goes on for Kolkheti
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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
“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; Kolkheti are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad12 Apr 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 Kolkheti this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Kolkheti training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dato Ananidze 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.
Market12 Apr 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Giorgi Tsitaishvili has his answer from Kolkheti; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Squad12 Apr 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.
Match10 Apr 2027
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Dinamo Tbilisi came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Market12 Apr 2027
The name of Beka Mchedlidze keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Kolkheti say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Mar 2027
Jaba Kakabadze 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Dato Ananidze 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mikheil Chakvetadze commits to Kolkheti for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Mar 2027
Nemanja Ilić 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 Kolkheti this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Kolkheti training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dato Ananidze 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.
Loan watch1 Mar 2027
“I watch every Kolkheti game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Shukura runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Feb 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jaba Kakabadze and Kolkheti agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Jaba Kakabadze 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Dato Ananidze 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
Steady
Squad25 Jan 2027
A fracture rules Jaba Qazaishvili out for 25 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kolkheti will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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 Kolkheti, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Nemanja Ilić 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 Jan 2027
Dato Ananidze 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
30 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market25 Jan 2027
Davit Shengelia is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Kolkheti has been clear about where Davit Shengelia stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Jan 2027
A fracture rules Jaba Qazaishvili out for 32 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kolkheti will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Nemanja Ilić 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 Kolkheti this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A move Diogo Martins 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. Diogo Martins is living that version at Kolkheti, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Kolkheti training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dato Ananidze 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.
Market18 Jan 2027
The name of Beka Mchedlidze keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Kolkheti say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Dec 2026
A fracture rules Jaba Qazaishvili out for 53 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kolkheti will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Revaz Arveladze 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Dato Ananidze 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
Steady
Squad7 Dec 2026
A fracture rules Jaba Qazaishvili out for 74 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kolkheti will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Nemanja Ilić 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 Kolkheti this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Kolkheti training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dato Ananidze 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
Steady
Squad16 Nov 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 96 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“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.
Market16 Nov 2026
“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 Kolkheti, and it is not being withdrawn.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Kolkheti may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Kolkheti training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dato Ananidze 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.
Squad26 Oct 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 Kolkheti this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market5 Oct 2026
“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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Dato Ananidze 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Jaba Kakabadze 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market14 Sep 2026
“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 Kolkheti, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Kolkheti training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dato Ananidze 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Otar Okriashvili 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.
Match12 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“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.
Loan watch14 Sep 2026
“I did not go to Merani to sit and watch. I want to come back to Kolkheti and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match19 Aug 2026
The small margins put Kolkheti out
Out, 0‑1 to Dinamo Tbilisi, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Market24 Aug 2026
“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 Kolkheti, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Nemanja Ilić 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.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Dato Ananidze 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 Aug 2026
Three points for Kolkheti, 2‑0 the final word against Chikhura in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dato Ananidze, and the manager let it.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Ninety minutes of Beka Mchedlidze at his very best
Marked 8.07. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Kolkheti.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Ninety minutes of Levan Kiteishvili at his very best
Marked 8.01. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Kolkheti.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match8 Aug 2026
3‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Market10 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kolkheti can pretend not to have heard.
Market10 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad10 Aug 2026
The match ball belongs to Beka Mchedlidze, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Beka Mchedlidze commits to Kolkheti for another 3 years.
Squad10 Aug 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 Kolkheti this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Marked 9.32 — 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Kolkheti training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dato Ananidze 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Sandro Kiteishvili has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Kolkheti.