Marked for Guram Janelidze
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Oct 2027
85 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Zugdidi lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Zugdidi may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad18 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 Zugdidi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Warley 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 watch18 Oct 2027
“I watch every Zugdidi game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Merani runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aleksandre Kvilitaia trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Zugdidi
Shota Okriashvili 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.
Market30 Nov 2026
The shop window has Yegor Ivanov in it
Zugdidi have let the market know Yegor Ivanov can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Guram Janelidze, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad23 Nov 2026
Dato Ananidze breaks a bone — 18 days out
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.
Squad23 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.
Loan watch23 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 2 appearances in 14 say he has earned the hearing.
Market23 Nov 2026
The name of Guram Arveladze keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Zugdidi say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
The training reports on Dato Lobjanidze 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
Steady
Squad12 Oct 2026
38 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Zugdidi lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Shota 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.
Market12 Oct 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Guram Janelidze may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Oct 2026
Shota Okriashvili damages knee ligaments — 45 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 45 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Giorgi Zivzivadze 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Guram Janelidze 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.