Marked for Timur Logvinenko
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match14 Jun 2036
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 87th, and Zhetysu spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
Player ratings16 Jun 2036
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.96 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Market16 Jun 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 The request is on a desk at Shakhter, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market16 Jun 2036
Add another name to the list: Kairat have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Ivan Migunov. The answer from Shakhter has not changed — yet.
The dugout16 Jun 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.
Squad16 Jun 2036
A falling-out at Shakhter
Aslan Akhmedov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Jun 2036
Arseny Dmitriev 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.
Squad16 Jun 2036
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 34 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Shakhter is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Oct 2035
13 seasons and 350 appearances, all of them here. Careers like this are not designed; they happen to a certain kind of man at a certain kind of club, and this town has one.
The dugout8 Oct 2035
“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.
Squad8 Oct 2035
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Daniil Grigorjev and Shakhter agree another 2 years.
Squad8 Oct 2035
Words exchanged at Shakhter
Aslan Akhmedov 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 Oct 2035
A row about effort at Shakhter
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ańsar Altynkhan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout8 Oct 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.
Market8 Oct 2035
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Meirambek Qalmyrza signs something — a contract at Shakhter or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout8 Oct 2035
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 Timur Logvinenko is on it.
Market8 Oct 2035
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Shakhter, another week without a signature from Ańsar Altynkhan.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 May 2035
A knee injury of the worst kind for Karim Mekkaoui
63 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Shakhter lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad28 May 2035
Words exchanged at Shakhter
Aslan Akhmedov 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.
Squad28 May 2035
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yaroslav Khramtsevich 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.
Match26 May 2035
0‑1 to Akzhaiyk, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout28 May 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.
Match28 May 2035
The half-term report on Shakhter
Position 6, 15 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
Boardroom28 May 2035
Nobody left the Shakhter 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.
The dugout28 May 2035
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout28 May 2035
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 May 2035
Karim Mekkaoui damages knee ligaments — 70 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 70 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.
The dugout21 May 2035
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Shakhter may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad21 May 2035
Aslan Akhmedov 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.
Squad21 May 2035
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 15 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Player ratings21 May 2035
Successful dribbles: 15. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout21 May 2035
Half-satisfied: Interim Coach on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout21 May 2035
“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.
Squad21 May 2035
A booking nobody needed, on a night the game was already won. Shakhter lose a player for the most avoidable reason there is.
The dugout21 May 2035
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 Eldiyar Zarypbekov is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Apr 2035
Karim Mekkaoui damages knee ligaments — 91 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 91 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.
Match28 Apr 2035
3‑0, and Pavel Popov took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Shakhter tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Squad30 Apr 2035
Pavel Popov takes the match ball home
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Squad30 Apr 2035
Words exchanged at Shakhter
Aslan Akhmedov 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.
Player ratings30 Apr 2035
Ninety minutes of Pavel Popov at his very best
Marked 9.22. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Shakhter.
Squad30 Apr 2035
A muscle injury sidelines Talgat Postnikov for 14 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Shakhter will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Player ratings30 Apr 2035
16 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
The dugout30 Apr 2035
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Interim Coach kept it short after the 3‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout30 Apr 2035
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad23 Apr 2035
Karim Mekkaoui damages knee ligaments — 98 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 98 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.
Squad23 Apr 2035
Aslan Akhmedov 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.
Match21 Apr 2035
Aktobe left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout23 Apr 2035
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad23 Apr 2035
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ańsar Altynkhan 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 dugout23 Apr 2035
“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.
The dugout23 Apr 2035
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 Eldiyar Zarypbekov is on it.
The dugout23 Apr 2035
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Looking ahead23 Apr 2035
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Taraz in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad16 Apr 2035
Karim Mekkaoui damages knee ligaments — 105 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 105 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.
Player ratings16 Apr 2035
A defender's goal wins it for Shakhter — 7.83
1 for Meirambek Qalmyrza, marked 7.83, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Squad16 Apr 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 Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match14 Apr 2035
A bad afternoon for Shakhter against Astana
1‑2 to Astana, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad16 Apr 2035
200 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
The dugout16 Apr 2035
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad16 Apr 2035
A row about effort at Shakhter
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ańsar Altynkhan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout16 Apr 2035
Daniil Grigorjev has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Shakhter 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 dugout16 Apr 2035
The manager makes an example of Riccardo Vitale
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings26 Mar 2035
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Gafurzhan Dosmagambetov provided it, and the 8.40 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings26 Mar 2035
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.98 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad26 Mar 2035
Aslan Akhmedov 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 terraces26 Mar 2035
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Gafurzhan Dosmagambetov has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Player ratings26 Mar 2035
Marked 8.15 — 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.
The dugout26 Mar 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.
Market26 Mar 2035
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Shakhter, another week without a signature from Yaroslav Khramtsevich.
Squad26 Mar 2035
Ańsar Altynkhan 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
Upbeat
Player ratings19 Mar 2035
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.45, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad19 Mar 2035
A falling-out at Shakhter
Pavel Popov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Mar 2035
100 goals in these colours now, every one of them somebody’s memory. There is a supporter in the stand who can tell you where he was for most of them.
Squad19 Mar 2035
Time is catching up with Damir Marat
Everybody at Shakhter saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 34 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
Match17 Mar 2035
Late, late show earns Shakhter a point
Minute 93, against Tobol, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
Match17 Mar 2035
It needed Pavel Popov to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Tobol, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout19 Mar 2035
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.
Player ratings19 Mar 2035
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.
Market19 Mar 2035
Shakhter have let the market know Meirambek Qalmyrza can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.