“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Corum FK can pretend not to have heard.
Everything agreed with Keciorengucu, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Corum FK offered $19.0K; Pendikspor said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eren Karadağ 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.
“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 The request is on a desk at Corum FK, and it is not being withdrawn.
Corum FK offered $35.0K; Samsunspor said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emir Ortakaya 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.
Corum FK asked and Adana Demirspor said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
Nobody at Corum FK 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Cemali Sertel will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Corum FK the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The chase for Cengiz Ünder ended with $1.1M changing hands and Fenerbahce out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Ahmed Ildız 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.
Erzurumspor wanted more than $110.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Lucas Zelaya 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.
Keciorengucu 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.
Corum FK and Fenerbahce have settled on $1.1M. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
“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 Corum FK, and it is not being withdrawn.
$110.0K on the table at Erzurumspor. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cemali Sertel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Corum FK know it.
7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
“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 Corum FK, and it is not being withdrawn.
Corum FK and Trabzonspor have settled on $640.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Hatayspor have kept their man, and Corum FK go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Mostafa Abdelrahim has just signed for Corum FK, and for once the answer mattered.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emir Ortakaya 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Corum FK has been clear about where Arda Şengül stands, which is more than many ever get.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Corum FK can pretend not to have heard.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Corum FK will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Eren Karadağ 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.
Squad29 May 2028
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ahmed Ildız 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.
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 36 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Corum FK is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
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.
Leonardo Tavares is 20, and Corum FK have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Corum FK, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Position 9 on 52 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 35 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
Squad22 May 2028
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Taha Altıkardeş 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Marked 7.70 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Corum FK had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout15 May 2028
Somebody else is better right now than Ibrahim Sehic
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
“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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Corum FK is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Corum FK can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Corum FK have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.85 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Fredy 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Taha Altıkardeş was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 17. 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.
0‑3 to Keciorengucu, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
“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 Corum FK, and it is not being withdrawn.
Successful dribbles: 21. 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.
Squad1 May 2028
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Taha Altıkardeş 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.
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.
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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Yasir Subaşı
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jaurès Assoumou was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Marked 8.24 — 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.
Marked 8.17 — 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.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Successful dribbles: 18. 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.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
Somebody else is better right now than Ibrahim Sehic
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Corum FK, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Corum FK is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Successful dribbles: 26. 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Corum FK can pretend not to have heard.
Fredy 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.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Taha Altıkardeş 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.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Corum FK can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ahmed Ildız trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“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 Corum FK, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jaurès Assoumou was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Something was said to Jaurès Assoumou and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
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 Volkan Dervisoglu left the room before anybody could ask which.
In brief
SquadA place in the month's best eleven for Arda Özçimen
The dugoutAhmed Ildız asks for a word with the manager
The terracesEverybody has an opinion about Ibrahim Sehic
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.
6 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Nobody at Corum FK 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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Burak Çoban’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Corum FK needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Corum FK. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Corum FK could ask drops and the wages Cemali Sertel can ask rise.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Emeka Eze signs something — a contract at Corum FK or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Successful dribbles: 34. 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Taha Altıkardeş 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.
“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 dugout20 Mar 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Volkan Dervisoglu was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Corum FK dressing room was either.
Nobody at Corum FK 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 one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Mame Thiam signs something — a contract at Corum FK or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Corum FK they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 16 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Fredy 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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jaurès Assoumou 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Corum FK has been clear about where Cemali Sertel stands, which is more than many ever get.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.06 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
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.
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.
20 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Corum FK pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Everybody at Corum FK saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 37 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.
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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
6 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Corum FK, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jaurès Assoumou was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Fredy trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Volkan Dervisoglu was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Corum FK dressing room was either.
Nobody at Corum FK 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.
Two goals and a mark of 9.49 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Cemali Sertel will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Corum FK the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Basaksehir is saying, and nobody at Corum FK is enjoying the guessing.
Fredy 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 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ahmed Ildız, and the manager let it.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
Jaurès Assoumou was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.26. 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.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Mame Thiam had Corum FK level again within 3 minutes, and Alanyaspor never got to play with a lead at all.
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.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Corum FK close the window on a squad of their own making
6 in and 2 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Corum FK asked and Basaksehir said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Corum FK can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
In brief
The dugoutAhmed Ildız knocks on the manager’s door
The offer went to Basaksehir this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.94 for the rest of it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahim Sehic was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.92 at 37, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Taha Altıkardeş 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.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Abdurrahim Dursun commits to Corum FK for another 4 years.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Volkan Dervisoglu, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
There were 89 minutes on the clock and Vanspor had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Corum FK did not stop to explain themselves.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Corum FK is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“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 Corum FK, and it is not being withdrawn.
Corum FK had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Basaksehir, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
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.
Fredy 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Taha Altıkardeş was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
21 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Corum FK lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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 Corum FK, and it is not being withdrawn.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Cemali Sertel has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Fredy 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.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim Sehic 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Basaksehir have kept their man, and Corum FK go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The words a physio says slowly. 30 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.
“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 Corum FK, and it is not being withdrawn.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Corum FK will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
The phone has started ringing about Arda Şengül again, and this time the name on the line is Vanspor. Corum FK are listening politely and promising nothing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Taha Altıkardeş was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Corum FK asked and Igdir FK said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
37 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Corum FK lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.00 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Fredy 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 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.
Successful dribbles: 15. 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.
“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 dugout27 Dec 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Volkan Dervisoglu chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
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.
There were 87 minutes on the clock and Keciorengucu had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Corum FK did not stop to explain themselves.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Ibrahim Sehic 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mame Thiam. 1‑0 against Keciorengucu, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
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.” Volkan Dervisoglu kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The words a physio says slowly. 53 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 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 one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.82 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
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 goal that put Manisa FK ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Corum FK equalised, 3 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
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.
Squad6 Dec 2027
A place in the month's best eleven for Ahmed Ildız
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Ahmed Ildız has come out of that comparison in the side, and Corum FK have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
The words a physio says slowly. 20 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.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.54 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Corum FK have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Ibrahim Sehic 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.
Fredy 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.
At 37, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
17 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
28 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Corum FK lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
1 for Emir Ortakaya, marked 7.97, 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.
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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Emir Ortakaya 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ibrahim Sehic, and the manager let it.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Volkan Dervisoglu, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
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 Lucas Zelaya is on it.
36 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Corum FK lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Taha Altıkardeş was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Corum FK can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Corum FK, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Igdir FK in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Emeka Eze signs something — a contract at Corum FK or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 44 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.
Ahmed Ildız and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Ibrahim Sehic 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Emeka Eze. 2‑0 against Istanbulspor, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
At 35, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Taha Altıkardeş was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Something was said to Taha Altıkardeş and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Volkan Dervisoglu after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Corum FK than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.91 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Taha Altıkardeş and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Ibrahim Sehic 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.
9 combined actions and 7.42. 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.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
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 Volkan Dervisoglu left the room before anybody could ask which.
6 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
In brief
The dugoutLucas Zelaya has become a man the manager trusts
Ahmed Ildız 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahim Sehic was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Corum FK has been clear about where Osman Şahin stands, which is more than many ever get.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Volkan Dervisoglu on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Emir Ortakaya 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Taha Altıkardeş was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Nobody at Corum FK 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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Mame Thiam’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Corum FK needing him to play as if none of it matters.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.83 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Emir Ortakaya 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 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.
100 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Ahmed Ildız 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.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim Sehic 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.
Corum FK asked and Trabzonspor said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
7 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Corum FK scored in the 112th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Corum FK have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Yunus Tarhan is living that version at Corum FK, and it tends to show in the first month.
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.
Corum FK asked and Samsunspor said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The words a physio says slowly. 16 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.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.10 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Everything agreed with another club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Emir Ortakaya 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Taha Altıkardeş 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 new man at Corum FK has worked with Emir Ortakaya before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 86. Antalyaspor had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
25 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Corum FK lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Corum FK, and it is not being withdrawn.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Eren Karadağ has just signed for Corum FK, and for once the answer mattered.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 15 arrived, 15 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Taha Altıkardeş 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 shirt still fits. Eren Karadağ is back at Corum FK, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim Sehic 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.
Corum FK asked and Kasimpasa said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The new man at Corum FK has worked with Emir Ortakaya before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Arda Özçimen
Transfer targetsA loan move for Göktan Gürpüz is in the works
The dugoutEmir Ortakaya knocks on the manager’s door
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Corum FK can pretend not to have heard.
Ahmed Ildız 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Kocaelispor have kept their man, and Corum FK go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The new man at Corum FK has worked with Emir Ortakaya before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
Esenler Erokspor left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Burak Çoban 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Volkan Dervisoglu after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
In brief
Squad6 new faces, and Corum FK are still learning each other
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Corum FK will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Ibrahim Sehic 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 new man at Corum FK has worked with Emir Ortakaya before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Corum FK will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
11 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Vanspor were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
The terraces16 Aug 2027
Supporters turn on the $310.0K sale of Kenan Fakılı
He is going to Bandirmaspor, the club has $310.0K 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. José Tamburelli is living that version at Corum FK, and it tends to show in the first month.
At 34 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.
Bandirmaspor pay $310.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Corum FK will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“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 Corum FK, and it is not being withdrawn.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Genclerbirligi have kept their man, and Corum FK go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emir Ortakaya was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Atakan Akkaynak trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 40 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 Corum FK, and it is not being withdrawn.
Ahmed Ildız 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.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Ibrahim Sehic 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Kocaelispor have kept their man, and Corum FK go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Still no offer on the table, and Kerem Kalafat’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Corum FK will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Corum FK can pretend not to have heard.
Ahmed Ildız 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.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Ibrahim Sehic 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 new man at Corum FK has worked with Emir Ortakaya before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
In brief
The dugoutAhmed Ildız asks for a word with the manager
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Efraín Ustariz
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Corum FK will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Corum FK, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from Igdir FK for Oğuz Gürbulak 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.
The new man at Corum FK has worked with Emir Ortakaya before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 19 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Burak Çoban 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Corum FK know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Astra arrived with $1.5M and left with the best player in the building. The board will call it business; the queue at the ticket office will use other words.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Corum FK will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Braian Samudio has gone, the accounts have $1.5M in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
The offer from Hatayspor for Eren Karadağ 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahim Sehic was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Pendikspor have kept their man, and Corum FK go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The new man at Corum FK has worked with Emir Ortakaya before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Corum FK will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Add another name to the list: Hatayspor have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Eren Karadağ. The answer from Corum FK has not changed — yet.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim Sehic 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.
Braian Samudio 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Trabzonspor have kept their man, and Corum FK go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The new man at Corum FK has worked with Emir Ortakaya before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Corum FK has been clear about where Arda Şengül stands, which is more than many ever get.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 83 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Corum FK can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahim Zubariu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 25 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Braian Samudio 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 new man at Corum FK has worked with Emir Ortakaya before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Corum FK, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Sinan Osmanoğlu has his answer from Corum FK; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Corum FK will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Ahmed Ildız and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim Sehic 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 new man at Corum FK has worked with Emir Ortakaya before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Corum FK, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Corum FK know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Position 6 on 55 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Corum FK will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Corum FK, and it is not being withdrawn.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Corum FK have done the hard part with Goztepe, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Besiktas have kept their man, and Corum FK go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The new man at Corum FK has worked with Emir Ortakaya before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Corum FK know which stage they are at.
“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 Corum FK, and it is not being withdrawn.
The deal with Rizespor 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahim Zubariu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Braian Samudio 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Besiktas have kept their man, and Corum FK go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ahmed Ildız trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Corum FK has been clear about where Mert Aktaş stands, which is more than many ever get.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Atakan Akkaynak was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Braian Samudio 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Corum FK know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Corum FK. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 55 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.88 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Emir Ortakaya 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahim Zubariu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 18. 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.
10 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.
Emir Ortakaya 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 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.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Corum FK pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Successful dribbles: 14. 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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Arda Şengül’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Corum FK needing him to play as if none of it matters.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Corum FK will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.14 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
A season average of 7.24 with 21 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad10 May 2027
Emir Ortakaya 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.
Braian Samudio 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 29 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 Corum FK, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim Zubariu 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.
“I watch every Corum FK game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Sakaryaspor runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Corum FK will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Emeka Eze provided it, and the 8.78 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.83 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahim Zubariu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A point taken on 88 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Corum FK will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emir Ortakaya was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Corum FK can tell you which week it ends in.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Ibrahim Zubariu'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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 54 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
5 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim Zubariu 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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Ibrahim Sehic’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Corum FK needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 62 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Emir Ortakaya and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim Zubariu 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.
“I watch every Corum FK game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Sakaryaspor runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Ferhat Yazgan has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
“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.
Emir Ortakaya 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Corum FK has been clear about where Ferhat Yazgan stands, which is more than many ever get.
Igdir FK next, and one man in the Corum FK dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Corum FK know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Corum FK. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Corum FK has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Pedrinho trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Emir Ortakaya 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
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim Zubariu 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.
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.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Corum FK will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahim Zubariu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
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 2‑3 Volkan Dervisoglu left the room before anybody could ask which.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Corum FK pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Corum FK, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Corum FK will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ibrahim Sehic and Corum FK agree another 2 years.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emir Ortakaya 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.
Braian Samudio 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.
A mark of 7.37, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Volkan Dervisoglu was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Corum FK dressing room was either.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Pendikspor defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Ferhat Yazgan’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Corum FK needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 30 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 91th minute. Adana Demirspor will replay every second of the added time for a week.
“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; Corum FK are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahim Zubariu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A 1‑0 win over Adana Demirspor, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Corum FK will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.51 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Everything agreed with another club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Atakan Akkaynak 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahim Zubariu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It finished 2‑1, and it was Mame Thiam’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Corum FK.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Ahmed Ildız was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.02. 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Corum FK will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Emir Ortakaya 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.
Braian Samudio 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sivasspor have kept their man, and Corum FK go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“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 dugout15 Feb 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Volkan Dervisoglu to a room that had heard them before.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Emeka Eze’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Corum FK needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 55 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
24 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.
Corum FK asked and Alanyaspor said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Corum FK will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Corum FK can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Corum FK have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Corum FK close the window on a squad of their own making
1 in and 2 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Emir Ortakaya 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim Zubariu 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.
Corum FK asked and Besiktas said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Corum FK will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Corum FK asked and Rizespor said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
A 1‑0 win over Esenler Erokspor, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
200 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cemali Sertel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Volkan Dervisoglu could afford to be generous.
In brief
Player ratingsA defender's afternoon for Cemali Sertel
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Corum FK will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
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.
Corum FK asked and Sivasspor said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Corum FK will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
At 23 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahim Zubariu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 34 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Corum FK is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Corum FK will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Corum FK can pretend not to have heard.
The offer from Trabzonspor for Mame Thiam 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.
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Corum FK had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
The first defeat in 8 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Sivasspor; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
The name of Ferhat Yazgan has come up in conversations Corum FK were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Corum FK will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
2 goals to the good, and then a slow surrender of everything that had been earned. Mame Thiam will not be the one blamed for it, but nobody at Corum FK escapes the conversation that follows a collapse like this.
33 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
A brace, and Mame Thiam takes the afternoon — 8.72
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Mame Thiam provided it, and the 8.72 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
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.
Two sides from the top of the table, one afternoon, and a month of talk decided in ninety minutes. Corum FK will not use the word title this week and will not stop thinking it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 110 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Ibrahim Zubariu 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.
Three points for Corum FK, 2‑1 the final word against Amedspor in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Emeka Eze was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.43. 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Atakan Akkaynak was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Volkan Dervisoglu could afford to be generous.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 117 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
15 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
In brief
SquadWords at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 126 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim Zubariu 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.
Fredy 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.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 93. Erzurumspor had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
“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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Fredy’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Corum FK needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 133 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahim Zubariu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 138 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Successful dribbles: 15. 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.
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Osman Şahin 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.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 145 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 dugout16 Nov 2026
Oğuz Gürbulak is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Burak Çoban’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Corum FK needing him to play as if none of it matters.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Mame Thiam signs something — a contract at Corum FK or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Corum FK. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Corum FK scored in the 90th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.08 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim Zubariu 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.
Fredy 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.
Successful dribbles: 15. 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.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
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.” Volkan Dervisoglu kept it short after the 2‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.93 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mame Thiam. 3‑2 against Sakaryaspor, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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.
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Volkan Dervisoglu, on a 3‑2 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Osman Şahin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Fredy and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Volkan Dervisoglu to a room that had heard them before.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Burak Çoban’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Corum FK needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
At 23 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Volkan Dervisoglu after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Oğuz Gürbulak'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.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Pendikspor in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
At 23 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 36 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Corum FK is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
Fredy 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Osman Şahin 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.
Adana Demirspor next, and one man in the Corum FK dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mame Thiam. 1‑0 against Keciorengucu, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim Zubariu 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.
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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.15 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Atakan Akkaynak. 3‑2 against Sariyer, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahim Zubariu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Volkan Dervisoglu on a 3‑2 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Ferhat Yazgan
Amedspor go through and Corum FK go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 10.00 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Corum FK and Manisa FK, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 15. 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.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 5‑1, Volkan Dervisoglu could afford to be generous.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Osman Şahin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Ibrahim Sehic
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.00 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahim Zubariu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Oğuz Gürbulak’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Corum FK needing him to play as if none of it matters.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Geraldo had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Corum FK can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 13 signed and 6 gone
That is the business done at Corum FK 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.
The offer from Manisa FK for Kenan Fakılı 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.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Ferhat Yazgan reports back to Corum FK with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim Zubariu 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Emeka Eze’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Corum FK needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.68 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“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 Corum FK, and it is not being withdrawn.
Add another name to the list: Eyupspor have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Ferhat Yazgan. The answer from Corum FK has not changed — yet.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Braian Samudio had Corum FK level again within 3 minutes, and Esenler Erokspor never got to play with a lead at all.
Semih Akyıldız has gone, the accounts have $510.0K in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
“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 Corum FK, and it is not being withdrawn.
Everything agreed with another club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Fatih Karagumruk paid $510.0K and Corum FK took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahim Zubariu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The name of Kenan Fakılı has come up in conversations Corum FK were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Corum FK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.40 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Yusuf Erdoğan has left for Goztepe in a $190.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim Zubariu 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 ratings17 Aug 2026
Burak Çoban was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.27. 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.
Fredy 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 dugout17 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Volkan Dervisoglu, on a 4‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
In brief
BoardroomCorum FK turn down the training-ground plan
Boluspor paid $340.0K and Corum FK took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Erkan Ozcan 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Can Inan is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Fredy and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Corum FK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Osman Şahin 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.
Hatayspor next, and one man in the Corum FK dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Corum FK would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
In brief
The dugoutArda Şengül asks for a word with the manager