Marked for Talgat Postnikov
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 Aug 2036
A knee injury of the worst kind for Marat Suyumbayev
25 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Irtysh lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad18 Aug 2036
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 22 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market18 Aug 2036
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Atyrau waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Irtysh is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Squad18 Aug 2036
A row about effort at Irtysh
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Makhach Abdulkhamidov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets18 Aug 2036
Irtysh asked and Iberia 1999 said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad18 Aug 2036
Paulo Gali 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 Irtysh this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets18 Aug 2036
Gagra 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.
The dugout18 Aug 2036
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Makhach Abdulkhamidov is on it.
The dugout18 Aug 2036
“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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad11 Aug 2036
A fracture rules Rustam Zhankhaev out for 29 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Irtysh will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match11 Aug 2036
The season ends: position 9 for Irtysh
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 21 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Market11 Aug 2036
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Madiiar Mergenbaev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Irtysh the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market11 Aug 2036
“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.
Match9 Aug 2036
No end in sight to Irtysh's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Irtysh has to find a result from somewhere.
The dugout11 Aug 2036
“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.
Match9 Aug 2036
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad11 Aug 2036
A row about effort at Irtysh
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Makhach Abdulkhamidov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad11 Aug 2036
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kairat Tymoshchuk and Irtysh agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad4 Aug 2036
There were 11 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.
Squad4 Aug 2036
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 36 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match2 Aug 2036
Chastening afternoon for Irtysh
A 0‑4 beating by Kairat was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market4 Aug 2036
“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 Irtysh, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market4 Aug 2036
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Irtysh is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Transfer targets4 Aug 2036
The deal with Kairat is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Match2 Aug 2036
The wait goes on for Irtysh
4 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.
Squad4 Aug 2036
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irtysh this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets4 Aug 2036
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Kairat have kept their man, and Irtysh go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Jul 2036
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 50 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market21 Jul 2036
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Irtysh people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Squad21 Jul 2036
Words at Irtysh training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Makhach Abdulkhamidov 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.
Transfer targets21 Jul 2036
Irtysh asked and Nasaf said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match19 Jul 2036
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings21 Jul 2036
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.73 on the card, and the Irtysh support went home talking about one name.
The dugout21 Jul 2036
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 1‑2 Interim Coach left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad21 Jul 2036
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irtysh this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets21 Jul 2036
Kairat 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Jul 2036
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 64 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market7 Jul 2036
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Irtysh can pretend not to have heard.
Match5 Jul 2036
Irtysh strike at the death to beat Tobol
There were 85 minutes on the clock and Tobol had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Irtysh did not stop to explain themselves.
The dugout7 Jul 2036
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Irtysh have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market7 Jul 2036
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Irtysh they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad7 Jul 2036
Words exchanged at Irtysh
Sənan Ağalarov 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.
Squad7 Jul 2036
A row about effort at Irtysh
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Makhach Abdulkhamidov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets7 Jul 2036
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The terraces7 Jul 2036
At 22 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad30 Jun 2036
A fracture rules Rustam Zhankhaev out for 71 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Irtysh will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market30 Jun 2036
Irtysh say no — this time
The offer from Aktobe for Madiiar Mergenbaev 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.
Market30 Jun 2036
“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.
Transfer targets30 Jun 2036
Everything agreed with Kairat, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad30 Jun 2036
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.
Transfer targets30 Jun 2036
Irtysh asked and Iberia 1999 said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad30 Jun 2036
A falling-out at Irtysh
Islambek Tymoshchuk and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match28 Jun 2036
Irtysh come up short against Taraz
Taraz left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout30 Jun 2036
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Jun 2036
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 11 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad23 Jun 2036
A fracture rules Rustam Zhankhaev out for 78 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Irtysh will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match18 Jun 2036
Irtysh through in the cup
A 2‑1 win over Astana, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Match18 Jun 2036
Cruel end for Astana as Irtysh pounce
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Irtysh scored in the 108th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Market23 Jun 2036
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Irtysh have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Player ratings23 Jun 2036
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.30 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Market23 Jun 2036
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Irtysh can pretend not to have heard.
Squad23 Jun 2036
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Irtysh can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad23 Jun 2036
Words exchanged at Irtysh
Makhach Abdulkhamidov 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Mar 2036
Irtysh say no — this time
The offer from Aktobe for Madiiar Mergenbaev 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.
Market3 Mar 2036
“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.
Transfer targets3 Mar 2036
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad3 Mar 2036
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Makhach Abdulkhamidov commits to Irtysh for another 2 years.
Squad3 Mar 2036
Words at Irtysh training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Makhach Abdulkhamidov 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 Mar 2036
Tempers go at Irtysh
Ferdiansyah Surya 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 dugout3 Mar 2036
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Squad3 Mar 2036
The captaincy has been taken off Juan Rodrigues. Irtysh will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
The dugout3 Mar 2036
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Madiiar Mergenbaev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market18 Feb 2036
“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 Irtysh, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market18 Feb 2036
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Irtysh have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad18 Feb 2036
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Irtysh can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad18 Feb 2036
Tempers go at Irtysh
Makhach Abdulkhamidov 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.
Transfer targets18 Feb 2036
Irtysh asked and Ordabasy said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Transfer targets18 Feb 2036
Ordabasy 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.
Squad18 Feb 2036
Words at Irtysh training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdullah Juma 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 dugout18 Feb 2036
“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 dugout18 Feb 2036
Aibol Nuserbayev has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Irtysh will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 Jan 2036
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Irtysh is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market28 Jan 2036
“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.
Squad28 Jan 2036
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irtysh this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout28 Jan 2036
Olzhas Ädil gets it from the manager
“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.
Squad28 Jan 2036
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Talgat Postnikov and Irtysh agree another 3 years.
Transfer targets28 Jan 2036
Bunyodkor 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 targets28 Jan 2036
Navbahor 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.
Boardroom28 Jan 2036
Open for business: Irtysh enter the window
The registration window is open and the phone has started. Between now and the deadline this club will be linked with forty players and sign three, which is the usual ratio.
The dugout28 Jan 2036
Abdullah Juma has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Irtysh will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Dec 2035
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Irtysh will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad24 Dec 2035
A falling-out at Irtysh
Sənan Ağalarov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Dec 2035
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 dugout24 Dec 2035
The manager makes an example of Abdullah Juma
“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 dugout24 Dec 2035
Aibol Nuserbayev has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Irtysh will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout24 Dec 2035
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jaloliddin Tukhtasinov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Jan 2035
Talgat Logvinenko damages knee ligaments — 133 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 133 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.
Market22 Jan 2035
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Irtysh they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad22 Jan 2035
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irtysh this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Jan 2035
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 dugout22 Jan 2035
“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.
Squad22 Jan 2035
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Talgat Postnikov and Irtysh agree another 3 years.