From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market1 Jan 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad1 Jan 2029
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad1 Jan 2029
“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.
Market1 Jan 2029
Dila have made Dimitar Burov available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Dato Bukia asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Boardroom1 Jan 2029
Dila keep producing them12 graduates from an academy now rated 9 out of 20. A club this size does not survive any other way, and every name on that list is known in the town.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad25 Dec 2028
Vladislav Samko : that is not what I was promised“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dila have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad25 Dec 2028
At 21, Arda Ünyay is already the best thing here
An average of 7.09 in a first team he is several years too young for. Dila have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad25 Dec 2028
The manager makes an example of Zurab Museliani
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad18 Dec 2028
At 21, Alioune Tall is already the best thing here
An average of 7.10 in a first team he is several years too young for. Dila have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad18 Dec 2028
“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.
Market18 Dec 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dila know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Alioune Tall At 21, Alioune Tall is already the best thing here
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match11 Dec 2028
Dila up to position 261 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad11 Dec 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dila have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad11 Dec 2028
A season average of 7.19 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Dila know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Boardroom4 Dec 2028
Continental nights are coming to Dila
Qualification is secured, and next season the big floodlit nights are continental ones. For the players it is a stage; for the accounts it is a lifeline; for the supporters it is passports.
Match29 Nov 2028
15 unbeaten for Dila
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 15 matches without defeat is a foundation Dila did not have in the autumn.
Squad4 Dec 2028
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Davit Kereselidze : 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Match29 Nov 2028
The cup run ends for Dila
1-1 against Saburtalo , and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Squad4 Dec 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market4 Dec 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad4 Dec 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Federico Pereyra commits to Dila for another 4 years.
Squad4 Dec 2028
13 goals and a season average of 7.33. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Boardroom4 Dec 2028
Dila release $1.7M for the managerThe board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
In brief
The terraces
Everybody has an opinion about Davit Kereselidze
Market
Dila bring in an old head
Boardroom
Dila keep producing them
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad27 Nov 2028
At 21, Arda Ünyay is already the best thing here
An average of 7.09 in a first team he is several years too young for. Dila have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad27 Nov 2028
The medical room confirms 29 days on the sidelines for Lasha Ozbetelashvili , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Loan watch27 Nov 2028
“I did not go to Torpedo Kutaisi to sit and watch. I want to come back to Dila and fight for my place.” 4 appearances in 16 matches say the rest.
Arda Ünyay At 21, Arda Ünyay is already the best thing here
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad20 Nov 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad20 Nov 2028
At 21, Alioune Tall is already the best thing here
An average of 7.10 in a first team he is several years too young for. Dila have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Diego Otoya gets it from the manager“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad13 Nov 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Match13 Nov 2028
Dila up to position 261 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad13 Nov 2028
A season average of 7.19 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Dila know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad6 Nov 2028
“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.
Boardroom6 Nov 2028
Dila release $1.7M for the managerThe board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Federico Pereyra asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad30 Oct 2028
At 21, Arda Ünyay is already the best thing here
An average of 7.09 in a first team he is several years too young for. Dila have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad30 Oct 2028
58 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Loan watch30 Oct 2028
“I did not go to Torpedo Kutaisi to sit and watch. I want to come back to Dila and fight for my place.” 4 appearances in 12 matches say the rest.
Arda Ünyay At 21, Arda Ünyay is already the best thing here
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad23 Oct 2028
Dmitriy Sibilev : that is not what I was promised“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dila have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad23 Oct 2028
At 21, Alioune Tall is already the best thing here
An average of 7.10 in a first team he is several years too young for. Dila have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad23 Oct 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match16 Oct 2028
Dila up to position 261 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Market16 Oct 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dila can pretend not to have heard.
Squad16 Oct 2028
A season average of 7.19 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Dila know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad16 Oct 2028
The manager makes an example of Ivan Mamrosenko
“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.
Squad16 Oct 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Dila , and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market16 Oct 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dila know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad9 Oct 2028
Ermal Meta : that is not what I was promised“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dila have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad9 Oct 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ramaric Etou and Dila agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad9 Oct 2028
“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.
Ermal Meta Ermal Meta: that is not what I was promised
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad2 Oct 2028
Diego Otoya : that is not what I was promised“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dila have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad2 Oct 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ramaric Etou commits to Dila for another 2 years.
Squad2 Oct 2028
At 21, Arda Ünyay is already the best thing here
An average of 7.09 in a first team he is several years too young for. Dila have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Diego Otoya Diego Otoya: that is not what I was promised
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match23 Sep 2028
Dila make it 4 in a rowMomentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Dila have 4 straight wins of it.
Squad25 Sep 2028
At 21, Alioune Tall is already the best thing here
An average of 7.10 in a first team he is several years too young for. Dila have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Match23 Sep 2028
Dinamo Batumi made Dila work for it, but the scoreboard read 3-1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Alioune Tall At 21, Alioune Tall is already the best thing here
Squad25 Sep 2028
The manager makes an example of Ramaric Etou
“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.
Squad25 Sep 2028
A season average of 7.22 with 5 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad25 Sep 2028
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Dila pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match18 Sep 2028
Dila are in among the leadersPosition 2 and 58 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market18 Sep 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dila can pretend not to have heard.
Squad18 Sep 2028
At 19, León Astrada is already the best thing here
An average of 7.12 in a first team he is several years too young for. Dila have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Match16 Sep 2028
Dila cannot stop winning3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad18 Sep 2028
A season average of 7.33 with 13 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad18 Sep 2028
“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.
Match16 Sep 2028
A 1-0 win over Dinamo Tbilisi , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Ramaric Etou left out for the big oneA player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Ramaric Etou will call it something else in private.
Market18 Sep 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dila know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match9 Sep 2028
Dila march on in the cupKolkheti are out and Dila go through, 1-0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Match9 Sep 2028
Still nobody has beaten Dila
The unbeaten run reaches 12. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad11 Sep 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad11 Sep 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mohamed Kanté commits to Dila for another 3 years.
Squad11 Sep 2028
The manager makes an example of Mohamed Kanté
“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.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Otar Parulava is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.30 with 3 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Market11 Sep 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Ivan Mamrosenko may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Market11 Sep 2028
The window shut and Badri Gogoberishvili is still in the building
Dila spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match2 Sep 2028
10 unbeaten for Dila
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 10 matches without defeat is a foundation Dila did not have in the autumn.
Market4 Sep 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market4 Sep 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad4 Sep 2028
At 21, Arda Ünyay is already the best thing here
An average of 7.06 in a first team he is several years too young for. Dila have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad4 Sep 2028
The medical room confirms 120 days on the sidelines for Lasha Ozbetelashvili , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad4 Sep 2028
“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.
Squad4 Sep 2028
The medical room confirms 27 days on the sidelines for Mohammed Jahfali , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Boardroom4 Sep 2028
Dila release $1.7M for the managerThe board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Match2 Sep 2028
It finished 1-1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market28 Aug 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dila can pretend not to have heard.
Match26 Aug 2028
9 unbeaten for Dila
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 9 matches without defeat is a foundation Dila did not have in the autumn.
Squad28 Aug 2028
A season average of 7.08 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Dila know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Market28 Aug 2028
The name of Emmanuel Boansi has come up in conversations Dila were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad28 Aug 2028
12 goals and a season average of 7.31. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad28 Aug 2028
The manager makes an example of Vladislav Samko
“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.
Match26 Aug 2028
Dila share the spoils with Shukura A 2-2 draw with Shukura leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad28 Aug 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Dila , and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market28 Aug 2028
The name of Davit Kereselidze keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match21 Aug 2028
Dila up to position 250 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Market21 Aug 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad21 Aug 2028
At 19, León Astrada is already the best thing here
An average of 7.11 in a first team he is several years too young for. Dila have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Match19 Aug 2028
8 unbeaten for Dila
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Dila did not have in the autumn.
Match19 Aug 2028
Three points for Dila , 2-1 the final word against Lokomotivi in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad21 Aug 2028
A season average of 7.26 with 11 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad21 Aug 2028
“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.
Squad21 Aug 2028
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Dila pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Market21 Aug 2028
The name of Tiziano Pagani keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 Aug 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market14 Aug 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dila can pretend not to have heard.
Match12 Aug 2028
7 unbeaten for Dila
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Dila did not have in the autumn.
Match12 Aug 2028
Dila get the job done against Guria A 2-0 win over Guria , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad14 Aug 2028
The manager makes an example of Dimitar Burov
“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.
Market14 Aug 2028
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Dila has been clear about where Abdulmalik Olatunji stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Mohammed Jahfali asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad14 Aug 2028
1 goals and a season average of 7.20. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Market14 Aug 2028
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Dmitriy Sibilev arrives at Dila with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Aug 2028
Abdullah Abdo hands in a written request“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dila can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Aug 2028
56 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Tiziano Pagani and Dila agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match5 Aug 2028
6 unbeaten for Dila
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Dila did not have in the autumn.
Market7 Aug 2028
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Giorgi Akhaladze has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Dila .
Squad7 Aug 2028
No place for Ramaric Etou on the big day
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Dila pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Arda Ünyay named player of the monthThe award goes to Arda Ünyay , and nobody around here is inclined to argue with the choice.
Boardroom7 Aug 2028
Dila release $1.7M for the managerThe board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Market7 Aug 2028
Dila bring in an old headAbdullah Al-Shammari is 36 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 Jul 2028
A season average of 7.06 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Dila know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Match29 Jul 2028
Chikhura made Dila work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Ramaric Etou gets it from the manager“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad31 Jul 2028
2 goals and a season average of 7.20. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Market31 Jul 2028
The name of Davit Kereselidze keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad31 Jul 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Dila , and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match22 Jul 2028
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3-0 against Samtredia , and it could have been more.
Match24 Jul 2028
Dila up to position 240 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad24 Jul 2028
At 18, León Astrada is already the best thing here
An average of 7.02 in a first team he is several years too young for. Dila have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
León Astrada At 18, León Astrada is already the best thing here
Squad24 Jul 2028
“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.
Squad24 Jul 2028
10 goals and a season average of 7.24. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Market24 Jul 2028
Guria are about to pick up the phoneA conversation is coming this week. Dila will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad24 Jul 2028
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Market24 Jul 2028
The name of Tiziano Pagani keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
Market24 Jul 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Abdullah Abdo may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 Jul 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dila can pretend not to have heard.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Emmanuel Boansi : that is not what I was promised“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dila have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match15 Jul 2028
No end in sight to Dila 's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Dila has to find a result from somewhere.
Market17 Jul 2028
The name of Lekso Otinashvili has come up in conversations Dila were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad17 Jul 2028
The manager makes an example of Vladislav Samko
“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.
Match15 Jul 2028
Honours even between Dila and Zugdidi
2-2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Squad17 Jul 2028
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Market17 Jul 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Yegor Guziev may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The terraces17 Jul 2028
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Jul 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad10 Jul 2028
86 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market10 Jul 2028
The fee is $200.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Sapovnela drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Market10 Jul 2028
The paperwork is done: Məmməd Hüseynov joins from Guria in a deal worth $140.0K. Now comes the harder part.
Squad10 Jul 2028
“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.
Match8 Jul 2028
It finished 1-1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Jul 2028
The manager makes an example of Yegor Guziev
“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.
Boardroom3 Jul 2028
$1.7M on the table at Dila
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Squad3 Jul 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Dila , and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market3 Jul 2028
Experience through the door at Dila
Diego Ftacla arrives at 36 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Match1 Jul 2028
Dila draw a blank against Merani The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Merani defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Market3 Jul 2028
The name of Davit Kereselidze keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad3 Jul 2028
“Ask me in the summer. I will know before anybody else does.” He is 37 with 246 appearances behind him, and Dila have to plan for both answers.
Loan watch3 Jul 2028
13 appearances at Giresunspor and the goals keep coming. Dila are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Somebody is after Ramaric Etou ’s shirt
A new face in his position, and Ramaric Etou suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Dila have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match21 Jun 2028
Dila through in the cupA 1-0 win over Zugdidi , and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Match26 Jun 2028
Dila are in among the leadersPosition 3 and 34 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market26 Jun 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad26 Jun 2028
At 21, Alioune Tall is already the best thing here
An average of 7.04 in a first team he is several years too young for. Dila have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad26 Jun 2028
The manager makes an example of Ramaric Etou
“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.
Match24 Jun 2028
Beaten 0-1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Market26 Jun 2028
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Emmanuel Boansi has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Dila .
Market26 Jun 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Dila will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad26 Jun 2028
One booking too many, and Ramaric Etou sits out. Dila lose him for the sort of avoidable reason that makes a manager's week longer.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match17 Jun 2028
Dila taken apart1-4 to Saburtalo , 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.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Dato Bukia : that is not what I was promised“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dila have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market19 Jun 2028
The paperwork is done: Ivan Mamrosenko joins from Sioni in a deal worth $740.0K. Now comes the harder part.
Dato Bukia Dato Bukia: that is not what I was promised
Market19 Jun 2028
Dinamo Tbilisi pay $420.0K, 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.
Squad19 Jun 2028
The manager makes an example of Zurab Museliani
“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.
Boardroom19 Jun 2028
Nobody left the Dila dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Market19 Jun 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Dila will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Market19 Jun 2028
Diego Otoya is free to find somewhere else“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Dila has been clear about where Diego Otoya stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Whether it was the goalkeeper or the ten in front of him is the argument that will fill every conversation in town this week. 2 saves does not settle it either way.
In brief
Squad
Mohammed Jahfali asks for a word with the manager
Boardroom
The Dila production line keeps running
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market12 Jun 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad12 Jun 2028
The medical room confirms 119 days on the sidelines for Mohammed Jahfali , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Match10 Jun 2028
Dila cannot stop winning3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Match10 Jun 2028
A 1-0 win over Dinamo Batumi , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Market12 Jun 2028
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Badri Gogoberishvili has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Dila .
Squad12 Jun 2028
The manager makes an example of Ermal Meta
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market12 Jun 2028
Kolkheti are about to pick up the phoneA conversation is coming this week. Dila will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad12 Jun 2028
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Dila have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Market12 Jun 2028
The name of Federico Pereyra keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match3 Jun 2028
Still nobody has beaten Dila
The unbeaten run reaches 8. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Match3 Jun 2028
Dinamo Tbilisi made Dila work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad5 Jun 2028
“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.
Market5 Jun 2028
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Dila have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Boardroom5 Jun 2028
$1.7M on the table at Dila
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Market5 Jun 2028
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Yilber Aponzá has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Dila .
Market5 Jun 2028
The name of Davit Kereselidze keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
Loan watch5 Jun 2028
13 appearances at Giresunspor and the goals keep coming. Dila are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Market5 Jun 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Diego Otoya may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match29 May 2028
Dila up to position 228 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Match27 May 2028
Still nobody has beaten Dila
The unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad29 May 2028
At 21, Alioune Tall is already the best thing here
An average of 7.00 in a first team he is several years too young for. Dila have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Alioune Tall At 21, Alioune Tall is already the best thing here
Match27 May 2028
Dila get the job done against Kolkheti A 1-0 win over Kolkheti , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad29 May 2028
“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.
Squad29 May 2028
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 May 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dila have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match20 May 2028
No end in sight to Dila 's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Dila has to find a result from somewhere.
Match20 May 2028
Still nobody has beaten Dila
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad22 May 2028
The manager makes an example of Zurab Museliani
“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.
Match20 May 2028
1-1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Squad22 May 2028
Yegor Guziev knocks on the manager's door“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Dila , and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 May 2028
“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.
Squad15 May 2028
43 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad15 May 2028
Zurab Museliani asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 May 2028
“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.
Boardroom8 May 2028
$1.7M on the table at Dila
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Match6 May 2028
It finished 1-1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Market8 May 2028
The name of Davit Kereselidze keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
Loan watch8 May 2028
13 appearances at Giresunspor and the goals keep coming. Dila are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad8 May 2028
Mohammed Jahfali unhappy with how he is being usedAsked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Mohammed Jahfali has let it be known that he does not like the way Dila are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match1 May 2028
Dila are in among the leadersPosition 1 and 22 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad1 May 2028
“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.
Match29 Apr 2028
Honours even between Dila and Guria
1-1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Market1 May 2028
The name of Abdulmalik Olatunji keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad1 May 2028
The language is arriving, the jokes are landing, and there is somebody at the next peg to talk to. None of it appears in a scouting report and all of it shows up on the pitch.
Squad1 May 2028
Ramaric Etou named in the team of the weekA rating of 6.93 was enough for the selectors, and nobody who watched the match is going to argue with them.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match22 Apr 2028
Dila get the job done against Sioni A 1-0 win over Sioni , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad24 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Yegor Guziev
“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.
Market24 Apr 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dila know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad24 Apr 2028
The shirt belongs to Ramaric Etou now
At 33 he has made the position his own, and the man he took it from has to find something to say about it. Dila have a decision that made itself.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Davit Gotsiridze asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad24 Apr 2028
León Astrada unhappy with how he is being usedAsked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — León Astrada has let it be known that he does not like the way Dila are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match15 Apr 2028
Dila get the job done against Chikhura A 1-0 win over Chikhura , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad17 Apr 2028
“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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Ramaric Etou finally opens his accountHe wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Dila have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match5 Apr 2028
Dila march on in the cupSapovnela are out and Dila go through, 1-0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Match8 Apr 2028
Beaten 0-1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad10 Apr 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Emmanuel Boansi commits to Dila for another 5 years.
Squad10 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Alioune Tall
“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.
Boardroom10 Apr 2028
Nobody left the Dila dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Squad10 Apr 2028
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Davit Kereselidze knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Every debut is a small story about the future: Giorgi Kobakhidze , 19 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
Market10 Apr 2028
The name of Davit Kereselidze keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
Loan watch10 Apr 2028
10 appearances away from home and 5 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match1 Apr 2028
Dila cannot stop winning5 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Match1 Apr 2028
Dila get the job done against Zugdidi A 2-1 win over Zugdidi , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad3 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Ramaric Etou
“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.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Yilber Aponzá and Dila agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Apr 2028
15 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
Dila release $1.7M for the managerThe board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Loan watch3 Apr 2028
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Dila , and 9 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Market3 Apr 2028
Nobody at Dila has picked up the phone to Yilber Aponzá
24 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match25 Mar 2028
Dila cannot stop winning4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Match25 Mar 2028
Sapovnela made Dila work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad27 Mar 2028
“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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Mohammed Jahfali asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market27 Mar 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dila know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad27 Mar 2028
At 28 he has made the position his own, and the man he took it from has to find something to say about it. Dila have a decision that made itself.
Boardroom27 Mar 2028
The Dila production line keeps running
12 graduates out of an academy now rated 9 out of 20. Clubs this size survive on exactly that, and the town knows every name.
Loan watch27 Mar 2028
8 starts and a season average of 6.42. The loan is doing exactly what it was arranged to do.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match18 Mar 2028
Dila cannot stop winning3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Match18 Mar 2028
Merani made Dila work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Yegor Guziev gets it from the manager“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad20 Mar 2028
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Dila have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Market20 Mar 2028
The name of Federico Pereyra keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad20 Mar 2028
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Dila that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match11 Mar 2028
35 unbeaten for Dila
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 35 matches without defeat is a foundation Dila did not have in the autumn.
Squad13 Mar 2028
There were 6 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.
Match11 Mar 2028
A 2-1 win over Torpedo Kutaisi , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad13 Mar 2028
“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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Vakhtang Tsitaishvili and Dila agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market13 Mar 2028
The name of Davit Kereselidze keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match4 Mar 2028
34 unbeaten for Dila
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 34 matches without defeat is a foundation Dila did not have in the autumn.
Squad6 Mar 2028
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Squad6 Mar 2028
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.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ramaric Etou and Dila agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market6 Mar 2028
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market6 Mar 2028
The shirt still fits. Kakha Lobjanidze is back at Dila , and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market6 Mar 2028
The shirt still fits. Mamuka Shengelia is back at Dila , and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market6 Mar 2028
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Match4 Mar 2028
Saburtalo made Dila work for it, but the scoreboard read 3-1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market28 Feb 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dila know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Loan watch28 Feb 2028
4 appearances at Giresunspor and the goals keep coming. Dila are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad28 Feb 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Dila , and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Feb 2028
Yegor Guziev asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market21 Feb 2028
The name of Federico Pereyra keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
Market21 Feb 2028
Dila have made Diego Otoya available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market14 Feb 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Dila they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market14 Feb 2028
The deal that would have taken Davit Gotsiridze to Dinamo Batumi has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Dila with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Market14 Feb 2028
The name of Davit Kereselidze keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match7 Feb 2028
Dila up to position 167 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad7 Feb 2028
At 20, Alioune Tall is already the best thing here
An average of 7.15 in a first team he is several years too young for. Dila have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Market7 Feb 2028
The name of Davit Gotsiridze has come up in conversations Dila were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Alioune Tall At 20, Alioune Tall is already the best thing here
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Dila release $1.5M for the managerThe board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Market7 Feb 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Dila will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Market7 Feb 2028
He is 18, and nobody at Dila signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market31 Jan 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market31 Jan 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad31 Jan 2028
16 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad31 Jan 2028
The manager makes an example of Yegor Guziev
“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.
Market31 Jan 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Dila will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad31 Jan 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Karol Kalata commits to Dila for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market24 Jan 2028
Dinamo Batumi pay $450.0K, 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.
Market24 Jan 2028
The name of Javohir Esonqulov has come up in conversations Dila were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Karol Kalata gets it from the manager“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market24 Jan 2028
The name of Federico Pereyra keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Ramaric Etou has company in his positionThe competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Ramaric Etou keeps the shirt for now, at Dila 's convenience rather than his own.
Market24 Jan 2028
Dila have made Diego Otoya available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad17 Jan 2028
The manager makes an example of Zurab Museliani
“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.
Market17 Jan 2028
Ermis are about to pick up the phoneA conversation is coming this week. Dila will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Market17 Jan 2028
Dila bring in an old headMohammed Jahfali is 37 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Market17 Jan 2028
The name of Davit Kereselidze keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
Market17 Jan 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Mohamed Kanté may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Yilber Aponzá asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match10 Jan 2028
Dila up to position 167 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Market10 Jan 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dila can pretend not to have heard.
Market10 Jan 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad10 Jan 2028
At 20, Alioune Tall is already the best thing here
An average of 7.15 in a first team he is several years too young for. Dila have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Market10 Jan 2028
Luka Sanikidze has left for Tskhinvali in a $240.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Zurab Museliani asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market3 Jan 2028
Yilber Aponzá hands in a written request“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dila can pretend not to have heard.
Market3 Jan 2028
The bid was some way short and Dila did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad3 Jan 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Tiziano Pagani commits to Dila for another 2 years.
Market3 Jan 2028
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Dila have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Yegor Guziev gets it from the manager“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Boardroom3 Jan 2028
Dila release $1.5M for the managerThe board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad27 Dec 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad27 Dec 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad27 Dec 2027
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Giorgi Akhaladze plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad20 Dec 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Dila , and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market20 Dec 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dila know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Badri Gogoberishvili has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
In brief
Boardroom
Dila board back the manager
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match13 Dec 2027
Dila are in among the leadersPosition 1 and 67 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market13 Dec 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad13 Dec 2027
A season average of 7.15 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Dila know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad13 Dec 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Emmanuel Boansi commits to Dila for another 5 years.
Squad13 Dec 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Dila , and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market13 Dec 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Lasha Ozbetelashvili may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
Silverware for Dila
They will talk about this season in this town for a long time. The trophy comes home with the squad, and the route is already agreed.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Abdullah Abdo : that is not what I was promised“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dila have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
Dila release $1.5M for the managerThe board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Emmanuel Boansi asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad6 Dec 2027
A new face in his position, and Mohamed Kanté suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Dila have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Market6 Dec 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Davit Gotsiridze may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match24 Nov 2027
Still nobody has beaten Dila
The unbeaten run reaches 33. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Boardroom29 Nov 2027
Dila have won itThis is the season the town will measure the next twenty against. The trophy travels home with the squad, and the route through the streets was agreed days ago.
Squad29 Nov 2027
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Davit Kereselidze : 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Match24 Nov 2027
Dila through in the cupA 1-1 win over Torpedo Kutaisi , and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Zurab Museliani : that is not what I was promised“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dila have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad29 Nov 2027
13 goals and a season average of 7.30. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad22 Nov 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Loan watch22 Nov 2027
13 appearances away from home and 11 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Zurab Museliani asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad22 Nov 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market22 Nov 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dila know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Shota Shekiladze has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match15 Nov 2027
Dila are in among the leadersPosition 1 and 67 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Luka Sanikidze : that is not what I was promised“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dila have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad15 Nov 2027
A season average of 7.15 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Dila know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Loan watch15 Nov 2027
12 appearances at Ethnikos Achnas and the goals keep coming. Dila are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Loan watch15 Nov 2027
27 appearances away from home and 8 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Shota Shekiladze joins up with his country. Dila lose him for the window and would like him back in one piece.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad8 Nov 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom8 Nov 2027
Dila release $1.5M for the managerThe board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Loan watch8 Nov 2027
11 appearances away from home and 9 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Yegor Guziev asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market8 Nov 2027
The name of Luka Sanikidze keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
Boardroom8 Nov 2027
The Dila production line keeps running
7 graduates out of an academy now rated 9 out of 20. Clubs this size survive on exactly that, and the town knows every name.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad1 Nov 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad1 Nov 2027
The manager makes an example of Yegor Guziev
“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.
Loan watch1 Nov 2027
10 appearances away from home and 7 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad25 Oct 2027
26 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad25 Oct 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market25 Oct 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dila know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Loan watch25 Oct 2027
9 appearances at Ethnikos Achnas and the goals keep coming. Dila are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Dato Bukia asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad25 Oct 2027
The manager comes out for Alioune Tall
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Alioune Tall has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match18 Oct 2027
Dila are in among the leadersPosition 1 and 67 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad18 Oct 2027
A season average of 7.15 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Dila know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad18 Oct 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad11 Oct 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mohamed Kanté commits to Dila for another 4 years.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Zurab Museliani asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad4 Oct 2027
The manager makes an example of Yegor Guziev
“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.
Boardroom4 Oct 2027
$1.5M on the table at Dila
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Loan watch4 Oct 2027
6 appearances away from home and 3 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad27 Sep 2027
There were 6 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.
Match25 Sep 2027
Dila make it 4 in a rowMomentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Dila have 4 straight wins of it.
Squad27 Sep 2027
The medical room confirms 59 days on the sidelines for Davit Kereselidze , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad27 Sep 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match25 Sep 2027
Dinamo Batumi made Dila work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad27 Sep 2027
4 goals and a season average of 7.35. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match20 Sep 2027
Dila up to position 164 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad20 Sep 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad20 Sep 2027
At 20, Alioune Tall is already the best thing here
An average of 7.14 in a first team he is several years too young for. Dila have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Moussa Kone Moussa Kone says Dila went back on their word
Match18 Sep 2027
Dila make it 3 in a rowMomentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Dila have 3 straight wins of it.
Match18 Sep 2027
Dinamo Tbilisi made Dila work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad20 Sep 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad20 Sep 2027
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Dila pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Loan watch20 Sep 2027
26 appearances at Lokomotivi and the goals keep coming. Dila are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Market20 Sep 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dila know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match11 Sep 2027
30 unbeaten for Dila
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 30 matches without defeat is a foundation Dila did not have in the autumn.
Match8 Sep 2027
Dila through in the cupA 2-1 win over Saburtalo , and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Match11 Sep 2027
Kolkheti made Dila work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad13 Sep 2027
The medical room confirms 20 days on the sidelines for Karol Kalata , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad13 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Abdullah Abdo
“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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Dila , and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad13 Sep 2027
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Market13 Sep 2027
The window shut and Lasha Menteshashvili is still in the building
Dila spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
Market13 Sep 2027
The name of Luka Sanikidze keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match4 Sep 2027
Still nobody has beaten Dila
The unbeaten run reaches 28. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad6 Sep 2027
A season average of 7.31 with 13 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad6 Sep 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
$1.5M on the table at Dila
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Match4 Sep 2027
It finished 1-1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad6 Sep 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match28 Aug 2027
Still nobody has beaten Dila
The unbeaten run reaches 27. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad30 Aug 2027
88 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Match28 Aug 2027
Shukura made Dila work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Yegor Guziev gets it from the manager“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad30 Aug 2027
1 goals and a season average of 7.24. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Market30 Aug 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dila know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match21 Aug 2027
Still nobody has beaten Dila
The unbeaten run reaches 26. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Match23 Aug 2027
Dila up to position 154 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Luka Sanikidze : that is not what I was promised“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dila have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad23 Aug 2027
At 20, Alioune Tall is already the best thing here
An average of 7.16 in a first team he is several years too young for. Dila have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad23 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Zurab Museliani
“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.
Squad23 Aug 2027
A season average of 7.33 with 4 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match14 Aug 2027
Still nobody has beaten Dila
The unbeaten run reaches 25. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad16 Aug 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad16 Aug 2027
The medical room confirms 52 days on the sidelines for Karol Kalata , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad16 Aug 2027
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Dila pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Squad16 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Pedro Ataíde
“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.
Loan watch16 Aug 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Dila , and 0 appearances in 30 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match7 Aug 2027
Dila cannot stop winning8 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad9 Aug 2027
A season average of 7.39 with 13 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match7 Aug 2027
Sioni made Dila work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match31 Jul 2027
Dila cannot stop winning7 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Match31 Jul 2027
Three points for Dila , 3-2 the final word against Chikhura in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad2 Aug 2027
A season average of 7.32 with 11 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Lasha Ozbetelashvili and Dila agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad2 Aug 2027
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Dila have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
Dila release $1.5M for the managerThe board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Market2 Aug 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dila know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Loan watch2 Aug 2027
19 appearances at Lokomotivi and the goals keep coming. Dila are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match26 Jul 2027
Dila up to position 146 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Match24 Jul 2027
Dila cannot stop winning6 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad26 Jul 2027
At 20, Alioune Tall is already the best thing here
An average of 7.10 in a first team he is several years too young for. Dila have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Alioune Tall At 20, Alioune Tall is already the best thing here
Match24 Jul 2027
A 1-0 win over Samtredia , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad26 Jul 2027
10 goals and a season average of 7.27. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad26 Jul 2027
One booking too many, and Alioune Tall sits out. Dila lose him for the sort of avoidable reason that makes a manager's week longer.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad19 Jul 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match17 Jul 2027
3-0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Match17 Jul 2027
Dila cannot stop winning5 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Market19 Jul 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad19 Jul 2027
83 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad19 Jul 2027
9 goals and a season average of 7.21. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad19 Jul 2027
The manager makes an example of Pedro Ataíde
“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.
Loan watch19 Jul 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Dila , and 6 appearances in 26 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match10 Jul 2027
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3-0 against Sapovnela , and it could have been more.
Match10 Jul 2027
Dila cannot stop winning4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad12 Jul 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad12 Jul 2027
3 goals and a season average of 7.27. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad12 Jul 2027
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Squad12 Jul 2027
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Shota Shekiladze keeps the shirt for now, at Dila 's convenience rather than his own.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match3 Jul 2027
Dila cannot stop winning3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Match3 Jul 2027
Dila get the job done against Merani A 1-0 win over Merani , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad5 Jul 2027
The manager makes an example of Yilber Aponzá
“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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Alioune Tall named player of the monthThe award goes to Alioune Tall , and nobody around here is inclined to argue with the choice.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
Dila release $1.5M for the managerThe board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Squad5 Jul 2027
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Dila have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Market5 Jul 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dila know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Ramaric Etou has company in his positionThe competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Ramaric Etou keeps the shirt for now, at Dila 's convenience rather than his own.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match26 Jun 2027
Still nobody has beaten Dila
The unbeaten run reaches 18. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Match23 Jun 2027
Cup progress for Dila
A 1-0 win over Chikhura , a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Match28 Jun 2027
Dila up to position 134 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad28 Jun 2027
The medical room confirms 31 days on the sidelines for Zurab Museliani , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad28 Jun 2027
At 20, Alioune Tall is already the best thing here
An average of 7.04 in a first team he is several years too young for. Dila have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad28 Jun 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market28 Jun 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Dila will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Match26 Jun 2027
Torpedo Kutaisi made Dila work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Somebody is after Ramaric Etou ’s shirt
A new face in his position, and Ramaric Etou suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Dila have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match19 Jun 2027
16 unbeaten for Dila
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 16 matches without defeat is a foundation Dila did not have in the autumn.
Market21 Jun 2027
The paperwork is done: Tiziano Pagani joins from Saburtalo in a deal worth $1.2M. Now comes the harder part.
Squad21 Jun 2027
115 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad21 Jun 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch21 Jun 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Dila , and 6 appearances in 22 say he has earned the hearing.
Match19 Jun 2027
A 2-2 draw with Saburtalo leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad21 Jun 2027
A season average of 7.20 with 2 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad21 Jun 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
In brief
Market
Luka Sanikidze linked with a move away
The terraces
The press cannot get enough of Ramaric Etou
Boardroom
The Dila production line keeps running
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market14 Jun 2027
$2.7M from Saburtalo for Jean-Marc Tiboué . Money is money, but the dressing room has lost the man it looked to.
Match12 Jun 2027
15 unbeaten for Dila
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 15 matches without defeat is a foundation Dila did not have in the autumn.
Market14 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market14 Jun 2027
The name of Blankson Anoff has come up in conversations Dila were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad14 Jun 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ibrahima Dramé commits to Dila for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match5 Jun 2027
14 unbeaten for Dila
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 14 matches without defeat is a foundation Dila did not have in the autumn.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market7 Jun 2027
Saburtalo are about to pick up the phoneA conversation is coming this week. Dila will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Diego Otoya Diego Otoya says Dila went back on their word
Market7 Jun 2027
The name of Claude Kouakou has come up in conversations Dila were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
Dila release $1.5M for the managerThe board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Loan watch7 Jun 2027
“I did not go to Saburtalo to sit and watch. I want to come back to Dila and fight for my place.” 9 appearances in 18 matches say the rest.
Match5 Jun 2027
It finished 1-1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match29 May 2027
13 unbeaten for Dila
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 13 matches without defeat is a foundation Dila did not have in the autumn.
Match31 May 2027
Dila are in among the leadersPosition 2 and 26 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad31 May 2027
64 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad31 May 2027
At 20, Alioune Tall is already the best thing here
An average of 7.00 in a first team he is several years too young for. Dila have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad31 May 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match29 May 2027
Honours even between Dila and Kolkheti
2-2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
In brief
Squad
Tray Fuller wants a proper job in this side
Boardroom
The Dila board put their names to it
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match22 May 2027
12 unbeaten for Dila
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 12 matches without defeat is a foundation Dila did not have in the autumn.
Squad24 May 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Match22 May 2027
Three points for Dila , 1-0 the final word against Tskhinvali in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Loan watch24 May 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Dila , and 6 appearances in 18 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad24 May 2027
Karol Kalata gets it from the manager“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad24 May 2027
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Dila have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Squad24 May 2027
Blankson Anoff wants a proper job in this sideShifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — Blankson Anoff has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. Dila know, and have known for weeks.
Market24 May 2027
The name of Luka Sanikidze keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
The terraces24 May 2027
The press cannot get enough of Otar Parulava
Praise is not points and never has been. It is, however, the fastest way for a valuation to move, and everybody in the game reads the same pages.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match15 May 2027
11 unbeaten for Dila
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 11 matches without defeat is a foundation Dila did not have in the autumn.
Match15 May 2027
Dila get the job done against Shukura A 2-0 win over Shukura , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad17 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Claude Kouakou
“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.
Market17 May 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dila know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The terraces17 May 2027
Praise is not points and never has been. It is, however, the fastest way for a valuation to move, and everybody in the game reads the same pages.
Squad17 May 2027
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Jean-Marc Tiboué plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match8 May 2027
10 unbeaten for Dila
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 10 matches without defeat is a foundation Dila did not have in the autumn.
Squad10 May 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Luciano Squadrone and Dila agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad10 May 2027
Diego Otoya gets it from the manager“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match3 May 2027
Dila up to position 118 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad3 May 2027
Dato Bukia : that is not what I was promised“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dila have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match1 May 2027
9 unbeaten for Dila
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 9 matches without defeat is a foundation Dila did not have in the autumn.
Dato Bukia Dato Bukia: that is not what I was promised
Squad3 May 2027
The medical room confirms 95 days on the sidelines for Zurab Museliani , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad3 May 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad3 May 2027
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Dila have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
In brief
Boardroom
$1.5M on the table at Dila
Match
Dila and Guria cancel each other out
Boardroom
The Dila board put their names to it
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match24 Apr 2027
Still nobody has beaten Dila
The unbeaten run reaches 8. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Match24 Apr 2027
Dila get the job done against Sioni A 1-0 win over Sioni , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad26 Apr 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Tray Fuller unhappy with how he is being usedAsked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Tray Fuller has let it be known that he does not like the way Dila are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.
Market26 Apr 2027
The name of Luka Sanikidze keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Shota Shekiladze has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
In brief
Squad
Shota Shekiladze named in the team of the week
Boardroom
The Dila production line keeps running
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad19 Apr 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Match17 Apr 2027
Still nobody has beaten Dila
The unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad19 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Yilber Aponzá
“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.
Match17 Apr 2027
Honours even between Dila and Chikhura
1-1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Squad19 Apr 2027
At 24 he is in the side on merit and somebody else is watching from the bench. Places at Dila are won quietly and lost loudly.
Market19 Apr 2027
The name of Abdulmalik Olatunji keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match10 Apr 2027
Dila make it 5 in a rowMomentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Dila have 5 straight wins of it.
Match10 Apr 2027
A 3-1 win over Samtredia , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad12 Apr 2027
42 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Loan watch12 Apr 2027
“I did not go to Saburtalo to sit and watch. I want to come back to Dila and fight for my place.” 4 appearances in 10 matches say the rest.
Squad12 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Claude Kouakou
“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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Blankson Anoff asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match31 Mar 2027
Dila march on in the cupSioni are out and Dila go through, 2-1 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad5 Apr 2027
The medical room confirms 126 days on the sidelines for Zurab Museliani , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Diego Otoya Diego Otoya says Dila went back on their word
Match3 Apr 2027
Dila make it 4 in a rowMomentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Dila have 4 straight wins of it.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Yilber Aponzá and Dila agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match3 Apr 2027
Three points for Dila , 2-1 the final word against Zugdidi in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom5 Apr 2027
Dila release $1.5M for the managerThe board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Loan watch5 Apr 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Dila , and 5 appearances in 11 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match27 Mar 2027
A 2-1 win over Sapovnela , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad29 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Diego Otoya
“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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
At 24 he is in the side on merit and somebody else is watching from the bench. Places at Dila are won quietly and lost loudly.
Diego Otoya The manager makes an example of Diego Otoya
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match20 Mar 2027
Dila get the job done against Merani A 1-0 win over Merani , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad22 Mar 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad22 Mar 2027
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Dila that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Shota Shekiladze joins up with his country. Dila lose him for the window and would like him back in one piece.
Squad22 Mar 2027
At 27 he is in the side on merit and somebody else is watching from the bench. Places at Dila are won quietly and lost loudly.
Market22 Mar 2027
The name of Abdulmalik Olatunji keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match13 Mar 2027
5 matches without a win for Dila
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Dila are no longer polite ones.
Squad15 Mar 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match11 Mar 2027
Beaten 0-1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad15 Mar 2027
74 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Loan watch15 Mar 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Dila , and 2 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad15 Mar 2027
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Yilber Aponzá will call it something else in private.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market8 Mar 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad8 Mar 2027
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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Diego Otoya commits to Dila for another 2 years.
Market8 Mar 2027
The shirt still fits. Vakhtang Tsitaishvili is back at Dila , and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market8 Mar 2027
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market8 Mar 2027
The shirt still fits. Mikheil Kiteishvili is back at Dila , and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Match6 Mar 2027
Beaten 0-1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch8 Mar 2027
“I did not go to Saburtalo to sit and watch. I want to come back to Dila and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Mar 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Loan watch1 Mar 2027
“I did not go to Gaziantep to sit and watch. I want to come back to Dila and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 6 matches say the rest.
Squad1 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Diego Otoya
“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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Is this Diego Otoya ’s last season?
“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Diego Otoya is 36, with 13 appearances behind him, and Dila will have to plan for whichever answer comes.
Squad1 Mar 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Dila , and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market1 Mar 2027
10 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad22 Feb 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The terraces22 Feb 2027
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 5 of the 24 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Match18 Feb 2027
1-2 to Galatasaray , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad22 Feb 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Diego Otoya left out for the big oneA player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Diego Otoya will call it something else in private.
The terraces22 Feb 2027
Everybody has an opinion about Ramaric Etou
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Feb 2027
104 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Loan watch15 Feb 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Dila , and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Market15 Feb 2027
The name of Davit Kereselidze keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dila say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market8 Feb 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market8 Feb 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Dila will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Diego Otoya asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.