From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout8 Feb 2027
Nika Kacharava: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bukhara have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market8 Feb 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.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
No thanks: Sunusi Audu rejects the move
Bukhara had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Nasarawa United, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Andijon have kept their man, and Bukhara go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market8 Feb 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Dostonbek Suyunov has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Qulmatov 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Albert Nurullayev 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.
The dugout8 Feb 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.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Feb 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.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
“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.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 1 signed and 1 gone
That is the business done at Bukhara until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Shirinboy Abdullayev 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.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ikorodu City have kept their man, and Bukhara go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout1 Feb 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.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Bukhara have made the call to Trabzonspor. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
A loan move for Sunusi Audu is in the works
Bukhara have made the call to Nasarawa United. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Market1 Feb 2027
The name of Sherzod Esanov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Bukhara say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
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 Bukhara, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bukhara may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad25 Jan 2027
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Bukhara will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Vladimir Rodić 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 targets25 Jan 2027
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 dugout25 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nika Kacharava, and the manager let it.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ravshan Xayrullayev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Albert Nurullayev has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Bukhara 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.
Market25 Jan 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bukhara know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The terraces18 Jan 2027
Bukhara sell a favourite for $210.0K
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Asilbek Qayumov was one of the reasons people came, and $210.0K does not replace that by itself.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
No thanks: Vasil Delev rejects the move
Bukhara had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Slavia Sofia, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad18 Jan 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 Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market18 Jan 2027
Asilbek Qayumov has left for Nasaf in a $210.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Qulmatov 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 targets18 Jan 2027
A loan move for Stanley Amon is in the works
Bukhara have made the call to Bayelsa United. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
Ikorodu City 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 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Muhammadsafo Fozilov, and the manager let it.
Market18 Jan 2027
Bukhara have let the market know Mikheil Basheleishvili can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market11 Jan 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Bukhara
Vladimir Rodić and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market11 Jan 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ulugbek Ahmedov has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sardor Qulmatov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout11 Jan 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.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
A loan move for Vasil Delev is in the works
Bukhara have made the call to Slavia Sofia. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Anvarjon Jo'rayev's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Market11 Jan 2027
Bukhara have made Nika Kacharava available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market4 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bukhara can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
Everything agreed with Basaksehir, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Vladimir Rodić 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
The dugout4 Jan 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Umidjon Hamroyev and Bukhara agree another 3 years.
Squad4 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Javohir Ro'ziyev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
A loan enquiry to Van: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Market4 Jan 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Mikheil Basheleishvili has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Bukhara.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Nika Kacharava: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bukhara have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Vladimir Rodić 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
The medical room confirms 25 days on the sidelines for Xurrambek Hamidov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Qulmatov 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.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Wages swallow 118% of the Bukhara income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
The dugout28 Dec 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ozodbek Rajabov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Amirbek Saidov
“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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Albert Nurullayev 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 dugout21 Dec 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ozodbek Rajabov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Market21 Dec 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Javohir Ro'ziyev signs something — a contract at Bukhara or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Dec 2026
A falling-out at Bukhara
Shirinboy Abdullayev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market14 Dec 2026
Asilbek Qayumov is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Bukhara has been clear about where Asilbek Qayumov stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Javohir Ro'ziyev 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 dugout14 Dec 2026
“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 dugout14 Dec 2026
Amirbek Saidov knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bukhara, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Dec 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 Bukhara can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bukhara may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Vladimir Rodić 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 Dec 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ozodbek Rajabov 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Kiril Todorov and Bukhara agree another 3 years.
Squad7 Dec 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Nov 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bukhara will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market30 Nov 2026
Only the photograph left for Kiril Todorov
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kiril Todorov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bukhara the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Vladimir Rodić 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.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
131% of the income goes out in wages at Bukhara
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Qulmatov 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 dugout30 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Nika Kacharava
“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 dugout30 Nov 2026
Albert Nurullayev has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Bukhara 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.
Market30 Nov 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bukhara know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Javohir Ro'ziyev 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad23 Nov 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 26 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 Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“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 dugout23 Nov 2026
Nika Kacharava knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bukhara, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Bukhara. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Squad23 Nov 2026
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at Bukhara the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Nov 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bukhara will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad16 Nov 2026
15 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bukhara lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The dugout16 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Bukhara
Vladimir Rodić and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Qulmatov 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 dugout16 Nov 2026
“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
Steady
Squad9 Nov 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bukhara will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad9 Nov 2026
24 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bukhara lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Vladimir Rodić 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.
Market9 Nov 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Sardor Fayzullaev has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sardor Qulmatov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout9 Nov 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Nov 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 49 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad2 Nov 2026
31 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bukhara lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market2 Nov 2026
Only the photograph left for Kiril Todorov
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kiril Todorov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bukhara the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad2 Nov 2026
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.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages swallow 131% of the Bukhara income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
Loan watch2 Nov 2026
“I watch every Bukhara game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Metallurg runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“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 dugout2 Nov 2026
Amirbek Saidov 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.
Market2 Nov 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Bukhara, another week without a signature from Kiril Todorov.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Qulmatov 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 dugout26 Oct 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.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Amirbek Saidov knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Amirbek Saidov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Bukhara
Shirinboy Abdullayev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Temur Mamasiddiqov commits to Bukhara for another 3 years.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sardor Qulmatov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Oct 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.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Anvarjon Jo'rayev's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Javohir Ro'ziyev 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Vladimir Rodić 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muhammadsafo Fozilov 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 dugout12 Oct 2026
“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.
Market12 Oct 2026
The name of Sherzod Esanov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Bukhara say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad12 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 dugout12 Oct 2026
Nika Kacharava 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.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Market12 Oct 2026
Bukhara have made Oybek Shomurodov available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Squad12 Oct 2026
The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bukhara may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market5 Oct 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bukhara is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Shirinboy Abdullayev 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
Vladimir Rodić 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.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages eat 181% of everything Bukhara earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Amirbek Saidov is the month’s best young player
At 20 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Bukhara will try not to make too much of it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
12 new faces, and Bukhara are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout5 Oct 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.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 30. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Marked 7.73 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad28 Sep 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 Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Oybek Shomurodov arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Oybek Shomurodov has, at Bukhara, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Match26 Sep 2026
Obod made Bukhara work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dominik Begić 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.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
The game went through Dominik Begić — 6.99
Marked 6.99 on 10 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
A mark of 7.87, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Sep 2026
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.
Match19 Sep 2026
The drought breaks for Bukhara
8 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Navbahor were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Bukhara
Vladimir Rodić and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces21 Sep 2026
At 20 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.
Match19 Sep 2026
A 1‑0 win over Navbahor, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.
The dugout21 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.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 12. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Anvarjon Jo'rayev's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match12 Sep 2026
8 matches without a win for Bukhara
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Bukhara are no longer polite ones.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Atyrau have kept their man, and Bukhara go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market14 Sep 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Sherzod Ismailov has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Bukhara ran out of time with Navbahor. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
The dugout14 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Qulmatov 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.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Marked 7.47. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Match12 Sep 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Pakhtakor came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match5 Sep 2026
7 matches without a win for Bukhara
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Bukhara are no longer polite ones.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 11 signed and 3 gone
That is the business done at Bukhara until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Bukhara have done the hard part with Navbahor, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Market7 Sep 2026
Kiril Todorov has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bukhara they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Bukhara asked and AEL Larisa said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match5 Sep 2026
A bad afternoon for Bukhara against Andijon
0‑2 to Andijon, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Qulmatov 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Amirbek Saidov is the month’s best young player
At 20 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Bukhara will try not to make too much of it.
Squad7 Sep 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.
In brief
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Squad
Too much change too quickly at Bukhara
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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The dugout
Ibroxim Numonov gets it from the manager
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 Aug 2026
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Ibroxim Numonov had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Match29 Aug 2026
The wait goes on for Bukhara
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.
Squad31 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 Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Navbahor have kept their man, and Bukhara go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout31 Aug 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.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
A loan move for Tijan Vasić is in the works
Bukhara have made the call to Olimpija Ljubljana. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Match29 Aug 2026
A 1‑1 draw with Qizilqum leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 Aug 2026
No end in sight to Bukhara's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Bukhara has to find a result from somewhere.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
The deal with Rivers United 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Bukhara
Vladimir Rodić and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market24 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Ibroxim Numonov again, and this time the name on the line is Lokomotivi. Bukhara are listening politely and promising nothing.
Match22 Aug 2026
Kokand 1912 left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Qulmatov 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 dugout24 Aug 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Javohir Ro'ziyev, and the manager let it.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match12 Aug 2026
Bukhara bow out of the cup
Navbahor go through and Bukhara go home, 1‑4 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Squad17 Aug 2026
There were 7 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.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
Bukhara are taken apart by Navbahor — and the town wants answers
It finished 1-4. A cup exit is a disappointment; this was a public dismantling, and the difference between the two is the number of people who will still be talking about it in August.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Basaksehir is saying, and nobody at Bukhara is enjoying the guessing.
Match15 Aug 2026
4 matches without a win for Bukhara
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Bukhara are no longer polite ones.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Vladimir Rodić 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sardor Qulmatov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout17 Aug 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market10 Aug 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bukhara is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Everything agreed with Basaksehir, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Bukhara had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Shakhtar, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Boardroom10 Aug 2026
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
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 Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
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.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Nodir Abdullaev has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Otabek Nematov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Abdulla Abdullaev has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 28. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Sherzod Esanov and Bukhara agree another 4 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Vladimir Rodić 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 targets3 Aug 2026
Bukhara asked and Nasarawa United said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sardor Qulmatov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad3 Aug 2026
100 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.
Market3 Aug 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Market3 Aug 2026
The clock runs on Sherzod Esanov's contract
49 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
A loan move for Ekrem Stancic is in the works
Bukhara have made the call to Basaksehir. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.