From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market30 Apr 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Feniks they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market30 Apr 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Market30 Apr 2029
3 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Feniks money.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market23 Apr 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.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Maksym Radchenko 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.
Market23 Apr 2029
The Kevin Ocejo talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Feniks know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Apr 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Feniks is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market16 Apr 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Squad16 Apr 2029
The medical room confirms 106 days on the sidelines for Valerii Kucherov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad16 Apr 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market16 Apr 2029
The name of Oleh Synytsia keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Feniks say nothing, which says plenty.
Market16 Apr 2029
Feniks have made Ernest Astakhov available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market9 Apr 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.
Squad9 Apr 2029
15 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad9 Apr 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Miloš Zličić and Feniks agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad9 Apr 2029
The medical room confirms 21 days on the sidelines for Pavlo Zakhidnyi, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Emad Fidaa 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.
Market9 Apr 2029
4 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Feniks could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market2 Apr 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Squad2 Apr 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Miloš Zličić commits to Feniks for another 4 years.
Market2 Apr 2029
4 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Feniks could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Mar 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.
Market26 Mar 2029
The Kevin Ocejo talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Feniks know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market26 Mar 2029
Feniks have made Lucas Avendaño available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Mar 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Feniks is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market19 Mar 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Market19 Mar 2029
The name of Oleh Synytsia keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Feniks say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Mar 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.
Squad12 Mar 2029
The medical room confirms 49 days on the sidelines for Pavlo Zakhidnyi, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad12 Mar 2029
“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.
Market12 Mar 2029
5 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Feniks money.
Market12 Mar 2029
The name of Vitalii Zhupanskyi keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Feniks say nothing, which says plenty.
Market12 Mar 2029
Feniks have made Szymon Skonieczny available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Mar 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Mar 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market5 Mar 2029
5 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Feniks money.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Feb 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.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Maksym Radchenko 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.
Market26 Feb 2029
The Kevin Ocejo talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Feniks know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match17 Feb 2029
No end in sight to Feniks's wait for a win
14 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Feniks has to find a result from somewhere.
Market19 Feb 2029
Diego Zúñiga 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Match17 Feb 2029
Beaten 0-1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad19 Feb 2029
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Squad19 Feb 2029
“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.
Squad19 Feb 2029
At 21 years old, Jakob Thorsen became the latest name off the academy production line to be handed a senior shirt.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match10 Feb 2029
No end in sight to Feniks's wait for a win
13 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Feniks has to find a result from somewhere.
Market12 Feb 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.
Squad12 Feb 2029
The manager makes an example of Miloš Zličić
“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.
Match10 Feb 2029
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Epicentr will be the happier side with the point.
Market12 Feb 2029
6 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Feniks could get for him.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Damián Arruabarrena has let it be known that he does not like the way Feniks are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match3 Feb 2029
No end in sight to Feniks's wait for a win
12 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Feniks has to find a result from somewhere.
Market5 Feb 2029
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market5 Feb 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.
Squad5 Feb 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Vladyslav Sydorenko commits to Feniks for another 3 years.
Squad5 Feb 2029
Kevin Ocejo 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.
Market5 Feb 2029
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Damián Arruabarrena may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match27 Jan 2029
No end in sight to Feniks's wait for a win
11 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Feniks has to find a result from somewhere.
Market29 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.
Market29 Jan 2029
The name of Alex Payares has come up in conversations Feniks were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Match27 Jan 2029
Beaten 1-2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad29 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.
Market29 Jan 2029
Strahinja Babic is 19, and Feniks have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Squad29 Jan 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jakob Thorsen and Feniks agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market29 Jan 2029
The Kevin Ocejo talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Feniks know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The terraces29 Jan 2029
Supporters make their feelings known about Alex Payares
The speculation has reached the stands, and the stands have answered. Feniks would like this settled before it becomes the only thing anybody asks about.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match20 Jan 2029
No end in sight to Feniks's wait for a win
10 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Feniks has to find a result from somewhere.
Market22 Jan 2029
Diego Zúñiga 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Market22 Jan 2029
He is 18, and nobody at Feniks signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Alex Payares 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 Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad22 Jan 2029
“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.
Market22 Jan 2029
Experience through the door at Feniks
Xaver Kalajdzic 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match13 Jan 2029
No end in sight to Feniks's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Feniks has to find a result from somewhere.
Market15 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.
Market15 Jan 2029
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.
Market15 Jan 2029
The shirt still fits. Marek Antonov is back at Feniks, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market15 Jan 2029
He is 20, and nobody at Feniks signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Squad15 Jan 2029
“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
Uneasy
Match6 Jan 2029
No end in sight to Feniks's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Feniks has to find a result from somewhere.
Market8 Jan 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Market8 Jan 2029
The shirt still fits. Alfie Friars is back at Feniks, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Squad8 Jan 2029
The manager makes an example of Diego Zúñiga
“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.
Squad8 Jan 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Match6 Jan 2029
Feniks and UCSA cancel each other out
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. UCSA came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
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.
Match30 Dec 2028
No end in sight to Feniks's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Feniks has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad1 Jan 2029
The manager makes an example of Miloš Zličić
“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.
Match30 Dec 2028
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Vorskla defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Market1 Jan 2029
The Kevin Ocejo talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Feniks know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Damián Arruabarrena has let it be known that he does not like the way Feniks are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.
Squad1 Jan 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad1 Jan 2029
At 25 he is in the side on merit and somebody else is watching from the bench. Places at Feniks are won quietly and lost loudly.
Market1 Jan 2029
1 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Feniks money.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Dec 2028
No end in sight to Feniks's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Feniks has to find a result from somewhere.
Market25 Dec 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Match23 Dec 2028
Probiy left with the points after a 0-1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Kevin Ocejo 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.
Market25 Dec 2028
The name of Oleh Synytsia keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Feniks say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Rostyslav Rusyn unhappy with how he is being used
Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Rostyslav Rusyn has let it be known that he does not like the way Feniks are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market18 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.
Match16 Dec 2028
No end in sight to Feniks's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Feniks has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Alex Payares 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
Uneasy
Market11 Dec 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Match9 Dec 2028
No end in sight to Feniks's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Feniks has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Alex Payares 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 Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Match9 Dec 2028
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Inhulets will be the happier side with the point.
Squad11 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.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Oleh Synytsia unhappy with how he is being used
Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Oleh Synytsia has let it be known that he does not like the way Feniks are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.
From our football correspondent
Steady
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
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Feniks have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
Squad4 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.
Squad4 Dec 2028
Alex Payares 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.
Match2 Dec 2028
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Ahrobiznes will be the happier side with the point.
Market4 Dec 2028
The Kevin Ocejo talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Feniks know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market27 Nov 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Match25 Nov 2028
Metalurh Zaporizhzhia left with the points after a 0-2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad27 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market20 Nov 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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
The manager makes an example of Miloš Zličić
“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.
Match18 Nov 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market13 Nov 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match13 Nov 2028
Feniks up to position 3
28 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Match11 Nov 2028
Bukovyna made Feniks work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad13 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.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — Damián Arruabarrena has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. Feniks know, and have known for weeks.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market6 Nov 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.
Match4 Nov 2028
1-2 to Prykarpattia, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
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.
Market6 Nov 2028
The Kevin Ocejo talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Feniks know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market6 Nov 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Ernest Astakhov may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Market6 Nov 2028
2 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Feniks could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market30 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Match28 Oct 2028
Three points for Feniks, 2-1 the final word against Epicentr in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad30 Oct 2028
The manager makes an example of Alex Payares
“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.
Squad30 Oct 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Rodrigo Olivares commits to Feniks for another 3 years.
Market30 Oct 2028
The name of Oleh Synytsia keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Feniks say nothing, which says plenty.
Market30 Oct 2028
Feniks have made Christian Mansilla available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market23 Oct 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.
Squad23 Oct 2028
The manager makes an example of Miloš Zličić
“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 Oct 2028
Alex Payares 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
Match16 Oct 2028
Feniks are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 21 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market16 Oct 2028
Diego Zúñiga 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Match14 Oct 2028
A 1-0 win over Victoriia Sumy, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad16 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.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Alex Payares 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 Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Every debut is a small story about the future: Andriy Nazarenko, 17 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — Damián Arruabarrena has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. Feniks know, and have known for weeks.
Market16 Oct 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Feniks know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market16 Oct 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Szymon Skonieczny may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market9 Oct 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.
Squad9 Oct 2028
38 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Match7 Oct 2028
4 matches without a win for Feniks
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Feniks are no longer polite ones.
Squad9 Oct 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Oleh Synytsia commits to Feniks for another 3 years.
Squad9 Oct 2028
The manager makes an example of Pavlo Zakhidnyi
“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.
Squad9 Oct 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.
Match7 Oct 2028
No goals between Feniks and Nyva
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Nyva will be the happier side with the point.
Market9 Oct 2028
The Kevin Ocejo talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Feniks know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market9 Oct 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Ernest Astakhov may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
In brief
-
Market
Daniel Banyk runs his contract down
-
Boardroom
The Feniks production line keeps running
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market2 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Squad2 Oct 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Oleh Synytsia and Feniks agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market2 Oct 2028
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Kevin Ocejo named player of the month
The award goes to Kevin Ocejo, and nobody around here is inclined to argue with the choice.
Market2 Oct 2028
Mahamed Abdi Abdikani is 20, and Feniks have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Squad2 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 Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market25 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.
Market25 Sep 2028
The shirt still fits. Artem Vorobjov is back at Feniks, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Match23 Sep 2028
UCSA take the points off Feniks
Beaten 0-2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Alex Payares 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.
Squad25 Sep 2028
A new face in his position, and Pavlo Orikhovskyi suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Feniks have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Market25 Sep 2028
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Alexandr Pivovarchik arrives at Feniks with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Sep 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market18 Sep 2028
Diego Zúñiga 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Match16 Sep 2028
Still nobody has beaten Feniks
The unbeaten run reaches 9. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Market18 Sep 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.
Match16 Sep 2028
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Vorskla defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Squad18 Sep 2028
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Pavlo Orikhovskyi keeps the shirt for now, at Feniks's convenience rather than his own.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market11 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Squad11 Sep 2028
The medical room confirms 66 days on the sidelines for Oleh Synytsia, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Match9 Sep 2028
Still nobody has beaten Feniks
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.
Squad11 Sep 2028
The medical room confirms 20 days on the sidelines for Miloš Zličić, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Match9 Sep 2028
Feniks get the job done against Probiy
A 1-0 win over Probiy, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad11 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.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Oleh Synytsia 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.
Market11 Sep 2028
Kevin Ocejo linked with a move away
The name of Kevin Ocejo keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Feniks say nothing, which says plenty.
Market11 Sep 2028
The window shut and Pavlo Orikhovskyi is still in the building
Feniks 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
Match30 Aug 2028
The cup run ends for Feniks
0-0 against Oleksandriya, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
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
Alex Payares is the hero from the spot
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Alex Payares: 1 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Match2 Sep 2028
Still nobody has beaten Feniks
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.
Match2 Sep 2028
A 1-0 win over Podillia, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Market4 Sep 2028
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Training ground row involving Emad Fidaa
Tempers went at Feniks this week. Nothing a hard session and a quiet word cannot repair, though the story got out all the same.
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
Feniks will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
From our football correspondent
Steady
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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Squad28 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.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Alex Payares lets one through his hands
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Match26 Aug 2028
A 1-1 draw with Inhulets leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad28 Aug 2028
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
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 Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
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
A one-man rearguard from Alex Payares
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.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Daniel Banyk: 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.” Feniks have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match19 Aug 2028
A 1-0 win over Ahrobiznes, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad21 Aug 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Arkhip Leonov commits to Feniks for another 3 years.
Squad21 Aug 2028
The manager makes an example of Pavlo Zakhidnyi
“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.
Market21 Aug 2028
The name of Vitalii Zhupanskyi keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Feniks say nothing, which says plenty.
Market21 Aug 2028
No fee and no drama: Arkhip Leonov has signed at Feniks, and the wage bill is the only line that moved.
Market21 Aug 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Christian Mansilla may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 Aug 2028
The medical room confirms 94 days on the sidelines for Oleh Synytsia, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad14 Aug 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Maksym Radchenko commits to Feniks for another 3 years.
Squad14 Aug 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.
Match12 Aug 2028
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Metalurh Zaporizhzhia came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Every debut is a small story about the future: Matvii Sorochynskyi, 19 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 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.
Squad7 Aug 2028
A one-man rearguard from Alex Payares
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.
Squad7 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.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Lucas Brahim and Feniks agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match5 Aug 2028
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Poltava will be the happier side with the point.
Market7 Aug 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Feniks know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Market31 Jul 2028
The shirt still fits. Dmytro Bondar is back at Feniks, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market31 Jul 2028
The shirt still fits. Eduard Pikhalyonok is back at Feniks, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market31 Jul 2028
The shirt still fits. Dmytro Shaparenko is back at Feniks, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Match29 Jul 2028
A 1-0 win over Bukovyna, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Kevin Ocejo 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.
Boardroom31 Jul 2028
A promise the Feniks board did not keep
There was a commitment, there was a date, and the date went past. Trust at a football club takes years to build and one afternoon to spend.
Squad31 Jul 2028
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Feniks have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
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 Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom24 Jul 2028
Pressure builds in the Feniks boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market24 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.
Market24 Jul 2028
Denys Balan has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Feniks they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad24 Jul 2028
The medical room confirms 74 days on the sidelines for Anton Zadereiko, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Market24 Jul 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Kevin Ocejo may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Maksym Radchenko 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
Crisis
Market17 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.
Squad17 Jul 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 Jul 2028
Alex Payares 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 Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market10 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Squad10 Jul 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.
Market10 Jul 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Feniks know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market3 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
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 Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market3 Jul 2028
Kevin Ocejo linked with a move away
The name of Kevin Ocejo keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Feniks say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom26 Jun 2028
Pressure builds in the Feniks boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market26 Jun 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Market26 Jun 2028
Denys Balan has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Feniks they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad26 Jun 2028
The medical room confirms 102 days on the sidelines for Anton Zadereiko, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Market26 Jun 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Kevin Ocejo may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Anton Zadereiko 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
Crisis
Market19 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.
Squad19 Jun 2028
The medical room confirms 14 days on the sidelines for Valerii Kucherov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad19 Jun 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.
Market19 Jun 2028
Davis Jagodinskis is 18, and Feniks have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Squad19 Jun 2028
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Damián Arruabarrena keeps the shirt for now, at Feniks's convenience rather than his own.
Market19 Jun 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Feniks know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market12 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.
Squad12 Jun 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 Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market12 Jun 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Feniks know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom5 Jun 2028
It is over: Feniks are relegated
The arithmetic ran out, and everybody could see it coming from a distance. The hard summer starts now, and next season's fixtures will be full of unfamiliar names.
Market5 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.
Market5 Jun 2028
He is 20, and nobody at Feniks signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Market5 Jun 2028
Dane Lockyer is 19, and Feniks have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Market5 Jun 2028
Ciprian Keseru is 19, and Feniks have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Rostyslav Rusyn 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
Crisis
Boardroom29 May 2028
Pressure builds in the Feniks boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market29 May 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Market29 May 2028
Denys Balan has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Feniks they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad29 May 2028
The medical room confirms 31 days on the sidelines for Denys Balan, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Market29 May 2028
Axel Castagne is 18, and Feniks have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Squad29 May 2028
Alex Payares 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
Crisis
Market22 May 2028
Diego Zúñiga 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Squad22 May 2028
Maksym Radchenko: 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.” Feniks have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad22 May 2028
16 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market15 May 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.
Squad15 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.
Market15 May 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Feniks know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match8 May 2028
Feniks sink to position 16
15 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Boardroom8 May 2028
Anton Bondar has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Feniks can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market8 May 2028
Alex Payares 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Squad8 May 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Andrii Bohdanov commits to Feniks for another 2 years.
Squad8 May 2028
Denys Balan 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 May 2028
Still no signature from Denys Balan
3 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Feniks could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom1 May 2028
Pressure builds in the Feniks boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market1 May 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.
Market1 May 2028
Denys Balan has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Feniks they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market24 Apr 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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
44 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad24 Apr 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 Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market17 Apr 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.
Market17 Apr 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Feniks know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Maksym Radchenko 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
Crisis
Match10 Apr 2028
Feniks sink to position 16
15 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market10 Apr 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Andrii Bohdanov 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
Crisis
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Feniks
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market3 Apr 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.
Market3 Apr 2028
Denys Balan has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Feniks they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market27 Mar 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.
Squad27 Mar 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 Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market27 Mar 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Feniks know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market20 Mar 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.
Squad20 Mar 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 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match13 Mar 2028
Feniks sink to position 16
15 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad13 Mar 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Feniks have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market13 Mar 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Feniks
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market6 Mar 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.
Market6 Mar 2028
Denys Balan has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Feniks they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad6 Mar 2028
The medical room confirms 115 days on the sidelines for Denys Balan, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Rostyslav Rusyn and Feniks agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad6 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market28 Feb 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.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Maksym Radchenko: 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.” Feniks have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad28 Feb 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.
Market28 Feb 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Feniks know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market28 Feb 2028
Feniks spent the window trying to move Valerii Kucherov on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.
Market28 Feb 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Roman Kovaliuk may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Feb 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 13 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match19 Feb 2028
10 matches without a win for Feniks
The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Feniks are no longer polite ones.
Match19 Feb 2028
Chastening afternoon for Feniks
A 0-3 beating by Shakhtar was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market21 Feb 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 Feb 2028
The manager makes an example of Kevin Ocejo
“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.
Boardroom21 Feb 2028
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match14 Feb 2028
Feniks sink to position 16
15 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Match12 Feb 2028
9 matches without a win for Feniks
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Feniks are no longer polite ones.
Market14 Feb 2028
Alex Payares 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Match12 Feb 2028
Oleksandriya left with the points after a 1-2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad14 Feb 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.
Squad14 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 Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Market7 Feb 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Match5 Feb 2028
8 matches without a win for Feniks
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Feniks are no longer polite ones.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Feniks
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad7 Feb 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Damián Arruabarrena commits to Feniks for another 2 years.
Market7 Feb 2028
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Alex Payares has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Feniks.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Diego Zúñiga 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.
Squad7 Feb 2028
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Feniks pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Match5 Feb 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match29 Jan 2028
7 matches without a win for Feniks
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Feniks are no longer polite ones.
The terraces31 Jan 2028
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 6 of the 30 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Match29 Jan 2028
Beaten 0-2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad31 Jan 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.
Squad31 Jan 2028
No place for Diego Zúñiga 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 Feniks pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Market31 Jan 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Feniks know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match22 Jan 2028
6 matches without a win for Feniks
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Feniks are no longer polite ones.
Market24 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Squad24 Jan 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.
Market24 Jan 2028
He is 18, and nobody at Feniks signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Match22 Jan 2028
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Metalist will be the happier side with the point.
Market24 Jan 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Feniks know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match17 Jan 2028
Feniks sink to position 16
13 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market17 Jan 2028
Diego Zúñiga 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Match15 Jan 2028
5 matches without a win for Feniks
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Feniks are no longer polite ones.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Kevin Ocejo 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.
Squad17 Jan 2028
A booking nobody needed, on a night the game was already won. Feniks lose a player for the most avoidable reason there is.
Match15 Jan 2028
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Veres defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market10 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.
Match8 Jan 2028
4 matches without a win for Feniks
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Feniks are no longer polite ones.
Match8 Jan 2028
A bad afternoon for Feniks against Karpaty
0-1 to Karpaty, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad10 Jan 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.
Squad10 Jan 2028
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Andrii Kukharuk keeps the shirt for now, at Feniks's convenience rather than his own.
Market10 Jan 2028
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Pavlo Zakhidnyi arrives at Feniks with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 Jan 2028
Chastening afternoon for Feniks
A 0-3 beating by Dynamo Kyiv was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market3 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.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Andrii Bohdanov: 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.” Feniks have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad3 Jan 2028
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Vitalii Zhupanskyi will call it something else in private.
Boardroom3 Jan 2028
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
Squad3 Jan 2028
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Alex Payares knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad27 Dec 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Feniks have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market27 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.
Squad27 Dec 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match20 Dec 2027
Feniks are in real trouble now
Position 16, 11 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market20 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.
Squad20 Dec 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.
Match18 Dec 2027
A bad afternoon for Feniks against LNZ
0-1 to LNZ, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad20 Dec 2027
The manager makes an example of Kevin Ocejo
“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 Dec 2027
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Alex Payares knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match11 Dec 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.
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
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Feniks have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Denys Balan 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.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Rostyslav Rusyn unhappy with how he is being used
Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Rostyslav Rusyn has let it be known that he does not like the way Feniks are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.
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 Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad6 Dec 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market6 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.
Match4 Dec 2027
No end in sight to Feniks's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Feniks has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad6 Dec 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.
Squad6 Dec 2027
The manager makes an example of Andrii Bohdanov
“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.
Match4 Dec 2027
Feniks and Obolon take a point apiece
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
Crisis
Match27 Nov 2027
No end in sight to Feniks's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Feniks has to find a result from somewhere.
Market29 Nov 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.
Squad29 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 Nov 2027
Feniks are in real trouble now
Position 16, 7 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market22 Nov 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.
Match20 Nov 2027
No end in sight to Feniks's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Feniks has to find a result from somewhere.
Match20 Nov 2027
Kryvbas left with the points after a 1-2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
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.
Squad22 Nov 2027
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market15 Nov 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.
Match13 Nov 2027
No end in sight to Feniks's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Feniks has to find a result from somewhere.
Match13 Nov 2027
0-2 to Chornomorets, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 Nov 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 Nov 2027
A one-man rearguard from Alex Payares
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.
Squad8 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market1 Nov 2027
Alex Payares 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
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
“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
Crisis
Match25 Oct 2027
Feniks sink to position 16
6 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market25 Oct 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.
Match23 Oct 2027
A bad afternoon for Feniks against Epicentr
0-1 to Epicentr, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 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.
Match16 Oct 2027
Kolos made Feniks work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad18 Oct 2027
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Squad18 Oct 2027
The manager makes an example of Anton Zadereiko
“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.
Squad18 Oct 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 Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Boardroom18 Oct 2027
Feniks were not finished after all
Written off a fortnight ago, the squad has closed ranks and answered on the pitch. Something was said behind that door, and so far it is holding.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match9 Oct 2027
12 matches without a win for Feniks
The run now stands at 12, and the questions being asked around Feniks are no longer polite ones.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad11 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
Crisis
Match2 Oct 2027
11 matches without a win for Feniks
The run now stands at 11, and the questions being asked around Feniks are no longer polite ones.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Andrii Bohdanov commits to Feniks for another 2 years.
Match2 Oct 2027
Feniks come up short against Veres
Veres left with the points after a 0-1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match25 Sep 2027
10 matches without a win for Feniks
The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Feniks are no longer polite ones.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match27 Sep 2027
Feniks are in real trouble now
Position 16, 3 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market27 Sep 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Squad27 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.
Match25 Sep 2027
A bad afternoon for Feniks against Karpaty
0-1 to Karpaty, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match18 Sep 2027
9 matches without a win for Feniks
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Feniks are no longer polite ones.
Match18 Sep 2027
A hiding for Feniks
Beaten 0-4 by Dynamo Kyiv, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad20 Sep 2027
A one-man rearguard from Alex Payares
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match11 Sep 2027
8 matches without a win for Feniks
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Feniks are no longer polite ones.
Market13 Sep 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 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Denys Balan
“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
“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.
Match11 Sep 2027
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Zorya defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Market13 Sep 2027
The name of Vitalii Zhupanskyi keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Feniks say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match4 Sep 2027
7 matches without a win for Feniks
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Feniks are no longer polite ones.
Market6 Sep 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
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
88% of the income goes out in wages at Feniks
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Match4 Sep 2027
Feniks and LNZ cancel each other out
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. LNZ came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Squad6 Sep 2027
At 21 years old, Abdelrahman Yousif became the latest name off the academy production line to be handed a senior shirt.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match25 Aug 2027
Feniks bow out of the cup
Chornomorets go through and Feniks go home, 0-2 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Match28 Aug 2027
6 matches without a win for Feniks
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Feniks are no longer polite ones.
Squad30 Aug 2027
A one-man rearguard from Alex Payares
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.
The terraces30 Aug 2027
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 5 of the 25 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Denys Balan: 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.” Feniks have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match28 Aug 2027
Feniks come up short against Rukh
Rukh left with the points after a 0-1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market23 Aug 2027
Alex Payares 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Roman Borysevych: 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.” Feniks have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match21 Aug 2027
No end in sight to Feniks's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Feniks has to find a result from somewhere.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Aug 2027
A one-man rearguard from Alex Payares
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.
Market16 Aug 2027
Szymon Skonieczny is 20, and Feniks have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Match14 Aug 2027
1-1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Squad16 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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Kevin Ocejo finally opens his account
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Feniks have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Squad16 Aug 2027
At 21 years old, Christian Mansilla became the latest name off the academy production line to be handed a senior shirt.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Emad Fidaa commits to Feniks for another 3 years.
Match7 Aug 2027
Kryvbas left with the points after a 0-1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Roman Hahun 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Valerii Kucherov 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.
Market9 Aug 2027
The name of Oleh Synytsia keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Feniks say nothing, which says plenty.
Market9 Aug 2027
36 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
Upbeat
Squad2 Aug 2027
A one-man rearguard from Alex Payares
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
The terraces2 Aug 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.” 7 of the 26 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Market2 Aug 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.
Market2 Aug 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.
Market2 Aug 2027
The shirt still fits. Artem Lunyov is back at Feniks, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market2 Aug 2027
The shirt still fits. Vladyslav Karavayev is back at Feniks, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market26 Jul 2027
Alex Payares 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 Feniks can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Jul 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Vladyslav Sydorenko commits to Feniks for another 3 years.
Squad26 Jul 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 Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad19 Jul 2027
Alex Payares 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.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Roman Hahun 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 Feniks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market19 Jul 2027
The name of Andrii Kusyi keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Feniks say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad12 Jul 2027
Anton Zadereiko: 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.” Feniks have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Boardroom12 Jul 2027
Wages eat 99% of everything Feniks earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Roman Hahun 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.
Market12 Jul 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Feniks know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad12 Jul 2027
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Vitalii Zhupanskyi keeps the shirt for now, at Feniks's convenience rather than his own.
Market12 Jul 2027
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Juan Madjar arrives at Feniks with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad5 Jul 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Damián Arruabarrena commits to Feniks for another 2 years.
Market5 Jul 2027
He is 20, and nobody at Feniks signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Squad5 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market28 Jun 2027
Bukovyna come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Feniks did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Denys Balan gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad28 Jun 2027
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Pavlo Orikhovskyi plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market21 Jun 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Feniks have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Alex Payares 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.
Squad21 Jun 2027
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Valerii Kucherov keeps the shirt for now, at Feniks's convenience rather than his own.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market14 Jun 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.
Squad14 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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Lysandros Thomakos commits to Feniks for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad7 Jun 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Rodrigo Olivares and Feniks agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market7 Jun 2027
He is 20, and nobody at Feniks signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
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.
Market7 Jun 2027
Nobody at Feniks has picked up the phone to Emad Fidaa
9 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.
Market7 Jun 2027
The name of Vitalii Zhupanskyi keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Feniks say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad7 Jun 2027
A new face in his position, and Pavlo Orikhovskyi suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Feniks have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.