From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 Mar 2032
27 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Merani lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad8 Mar 2032
Renat Gagity breaks a bone — 96 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 96 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match6 Mar 2032
0‑4 to Dinamo Tbilisi, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Squad8 Mar 2032
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Market8 Mar 2032
“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.
Match6 Mar 2032
No end in sight to Merani's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Merani has to find a result from somewhere.
Match6 Mar 2032
Merani cannot find the net
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad8 Mar 2032
Words exchanged at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Boardroom8 Mar 2032
13 academy players handed senior numbers at Merani
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Mar 2032
34 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Merani lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad1 Mar 2032
Renat Gagity breaks a bone — 103 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 103 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad1 Mar 2032
Tempers go at Merani
Ruslan Askerov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout1 Mar 2032
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad1 Mar 2032
Alexandr Bárta falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Looking ahead1 Mar 2032
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Levan Tsotsonava’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Merani needing him to play as if none of it matters.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Feb 2032
A fracture rules Renat Gagity out for 110 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Merani will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad23 Feb 2032
The medical room confirms 36 days on the sidelines for Levan Tsotsonava, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad23 Feb 2032
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giorgi Ugrekhelidze is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Feb 2032
Bachana Mchedlidze damages knee ligaments — 15 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 15 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad16 Feb 2032
A fracture rules Renat Gagity out for 117 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Merani will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad16 Feb 2032
A falling-out at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Feb 2032
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgi Ugrekhelidze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market16 Feb 2032
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Khazbulat Khamkhoev signs something — a contract at Merani or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout16 Feb 2032
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Merani. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Feb 2032
Bachana Mchedlidze damages knee ligaments — 22 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 22 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad9 Feb 2032
A fracture rules Renat Gagity out for 124 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Merani will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad9 Feb 2032
Words exchanged at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Feb 2032
Bachana Mchedlidze damages knee ligaments — 29 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 29 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad2 Feb 2032
Renat Gagity breaks a bone — 131 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 131 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Boardroom2 Feb 2032
Window shuts: 0 in, 0 out at Merani
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 0 arrived, 0 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Squad2 Feb 2032
Tempers go at Merani
Ruslan Askerov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Transfer targets2 Feb 2032
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout2 Feb 2032
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Jan 2032
138 days out for Renat Gagity after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Merani will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Transfer targets26 Jan 2032
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad26 Jan 2032
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giorgi Ugrekhelidze is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Transfer targets19 Jan 2032
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Dinamo Tbilisi is saying, and nobody at Merani is enjoying the guessing.
Squad19 Jan 2032
A falling-out at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Jan 2032
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Bárta is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad19 Jan 2032
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nikoloz Vibliani and Merani agree another 2 years.
Market19 Jan 2032
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Khazbulat Khamkhoev signs something — a contract at Merani or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout19 Jan 2032
Valer Chachava 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 Merani, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Jan 2032
Words exchanged at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad12 Jan 2032
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgi Ugrekhelidze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad12 Jan 2032
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nika Kiteishvili and Merani agree another 3 years.
The dugout12 Jan 2032
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nika Kiteishvili, and the manager let it.
The dugout12 Jan 2032
Liam Gibson 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 Merani, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market12 Jan 2032
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Archil Janelidze signs something — a contract at Merani or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Jan 2032
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgi Ugrekhelidze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad5 Jan 2032
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Renat Gagity commits to Merani for another 2 years.
The dugout5 Jan 2032
The manager makes an example of Giorgi Gvasalia
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad5 Jan 2032
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Mikheil Gamsakhurdia is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Squad5 Jan 2032
A falling-out at Merani
Douglas Lima and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets5 Jan 2032
A loan enquiry to Dinamo Tbilisi: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout5 Jan 2032
Liam Gibson knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Liam Gibson trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Boardroom5 Jan 2032
The window opens at Merani
A month in which every rumour is possible and most of them are nonsense. The manager has a list, the board has a number, and neither is telling the other the whole of it.
Market5 Jan 2032
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Merani know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Dec 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market29 Dec 2031
The name of Javohir Esonqulov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Merani say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout29 Dec 2031
Giorgi Gvasalia 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
Uneasy
Squad22 Dec 2031
A falling-out at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Dec 2031
Giorgi Ugrekhelidze falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Market22 Dec 2031
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Khazbulat Khamkhoev signs something — a contract at Merani or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Boardroom22 Dec 2031
Merani keep producing them
66 graduates from an academy now rated 9 out of 20. A club this size does not survive any other way, and every name on that list is known in the town.
The dugout22 Dec 2031
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Khazbulat Khamkhoev’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
Squad22 Dec 2031
Questions about Nikoloz Vibliani on the training pitch
The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Dec 2031
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mikheil Gamsakhurdia commits to Merani for another 3 years.
Squad15 Dec 2031
Words exchanged at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout15 Dec 2031
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mikheil Gamsakhurdia, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad8 Dec 2031
“The easiest signature of my career.” Giorgi Ugrekhelidze and Merani agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Dec 2031
Alexandr Bárta falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad8 Dec 2031
A falling-out at Merani
Douglas Lima and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout8 Dec 2031
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mikheil Gamsakhurdia trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad8 Dec 2031
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Merani would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
Market8 Dec 2031
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Dec 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Dec 2031
Giorgi Ugrekhelidze falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad1 Dec 2031
Alexandr Bárta slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Alexandr Bárta is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 Nov 2031
Words exchanged at Merani
Nodar Kavtaradze and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad24 Nov 2031
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Bárta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market24 Nov 2031
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Khazbulat Khamkhoev signs something — a contract at Merani or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout24 Nov 2031
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Boardroom24 Nov 2031
The Merani academy earns its keep
66 graduates, from a department now rated 9 out of 20. Nothing about the academy appears in a result, and nothing about the club’s future exists without it.
The dugout24 Nov 2031
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Mikheil Kvilitaia has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Nov 2031
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad17 Nov 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout17 Nov 2031
“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
The dugout10 Nov 2031
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Merani may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad10 Nov 2031
Tempers go at Merani
Ruslan Askerov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad10 Nov 2031
Nodar Kavtaradze falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad10 Nov 2031
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Renat Gagity commits to Merani for another 1 years.
The dugout10 Nov 2031
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nika Kiteishvili, and the manager let it.
Market10 Nov 2031
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Merani know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 Nov 2031
“The easiest signature of my career.” Mikheil Kvilitaia and Merani agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Nov 2031
Tempers go at Merani
Nodar Kavtaradze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad3 Nov 2031
Alexandr Bárta falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad3 Nov 2031
Merani 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.
Market3 Nov 2031
The name of Javohir Esonqulov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Merani say nothing, which says plenty.
Market3 Nov 2031
Merani have made Doueugui Mala available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad27 Oct 2031
A falling-out at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Oct 2031
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nodar Kavtaradze is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market27 Oct 2031
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Khazbulat Khamkhoev signs something — a contract at Merani or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad20 Oct 2031
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad20 Oct 2031
Douglas Lima in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout20 Oct 2031
The manager makes an example of Doueugui Mala
“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
Uneasy
The dugout13 Oct 2031
“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.
Squad13 Oct 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Oct 2031
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Bárta is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout13 Oct 2031
The manager makes an example of Valer Chachava
“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.
Market13 Oct 2031
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Merani know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout13 Oct 2031
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Khazbulat Khamkhoev has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad6 Oct 2031
17 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Merani lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad6 Oct 2031
“The easiest signature of my career.” Javohir Esonqulov and Merani agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad6 Oct 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Oct 2031
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nodar Kavtaradze is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout6 Oct 2031
The manager makes an example of Mattia Lione
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout6 Oct 2031
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Merani told Valer Chachava something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Sep 2031
20 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Merani lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad29 Sep 2031
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad29 Sep 2031
Tempers go at Merani
Douglas Lima was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout29 Sep 2031
Mattia Lione 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.
Market29 Sep 2031
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Khazbulat Khamkhoev signs something — a contract at Merani or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Boardroom29 Sep 2031
The Merani academy earns its keep
66 graduates, from a department now rated 9 out of 20. Nothing about the academy appears in a result, and nothing about the club’s future exists without it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad22 Sep 2031
27 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Merani lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match20 Sep 2031
A hiding for Merani
Beaten 0‑4 by Tskhinvali, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad22 Sep 2031
There were 9 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.
Match22 Sep 2031
Full time on the season at Merani
Position 11 on 30 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
Squad22 Sep 2031
A falling-out at Merani
Nodar Kavtaradze and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match20 Sep 2031
3 matches without a goal for Merani
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad22 Sep 2031
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Bárta is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout22 Sep 2031
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Giorgi Gvasalia, and the manager let it.
Boardroom22 Sep 2031
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
Uneasy
Squad15 Sep 2031
The words a physio says slowly. 34 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad15 Sep 2031
Tempers go at Merani
Ruslan Askerov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Transfer targets15 Sep 2031
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad15 Sep 2031
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nodar Kavtaradze is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings15 Sep 2031
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad15 Sep 2031
“The easiest signature of my career.” Valer Chachava and Merani agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout15 Sep 2031
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
The dugout15 Sep 2031
Renat Gagity 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.
The dugout15 Sep 2031
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Interim Coach after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 Sep 2031
41 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Merani lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad8 Sep 2031
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nodar Kavtaradze and Merani agree another 2 years.
Squad8 Sep 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets8 Sep 2031
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dila have kept their man, and Merani go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad8 Sep 2031
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nodar Kavtaradze is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match6 Sep 2031
Merani come up short against Sioni
Sioni left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout8 Sep 2031
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout8 Sep 2031
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Player ratings8 Sep 2031
Successful dribbles: 12. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Sep 2031
15 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Merani lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom1 Sep 2031
Deadline passes with 9 signed and 7 gone
That is the business done at Merani until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Transfer targets1 Sep 2031
No thanks: Mateo Itrak rejects the move
Merani had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Torpedo Kutaisi, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad1 Sep 2031
Words exchanged at Merani
Nodar Kavtaradze and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Player ratings1 Sep 2031
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Transfer targets1 Sep 2031
Merani offered $210.0K; Dinamo Batumi said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad1 Sep 2031
Alexandr Bárta falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The terraces1 Sep 2031
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 18-year-old it feels ownership of. Khvicha Kobiashvili has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Match30 Aug 2031
Three points for Merani, 1‑0 the final word against Samtredia in a contest settled by the finer margins.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Aug 2031
A knee injury of the worst kind for Archil Janelidze
22 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Merani lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match23 Aug 2031
No end in sight to Merani's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Merani has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad25 Aug 2031
Words exchanged at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad25 Aug 2031
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets25 Aug 2031
Merani asked and Dinamo Tbilisi said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Player ratings25 Aug 2031
Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Player ratings25 Aug 2031
A performance of 8.03 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad25 Aug 2031
25 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Match23 Aug 2031
It needed Otar Kvilitaia to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Sapovnela, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Aug 2031
29 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Merani lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match16 Aug 2031
Nowhere to hide for Merani
0‑3 against Torpedo Kutaisi, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad18 Aug 2031
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Transfer targets18 Aug 2031
Merani and Lokomotivi have settled on $11.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Transfer targets18 Aug 2031
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Merani have done the hard part with Dinamo Batumi, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad18 Aug 2031
Tempers go at Merani
Ruslan Askerov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Transfer targets18 Aug 2031
Merani asked and Dinamo Batumi said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad18 Aug 2031
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match16 Aug 2031
Merani cannot find the net
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
In brief
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The dugout
Khazbulat Khamkhoev gets it from the manager
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Boardroom
Nobody left the Merani dressing room in a hurry
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad11 Aug 2031
The words a physio says slowly. 69 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad11 Aug 2031
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.
Transfer targets11 Aug 2031
Merani asked and Dila said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad11 Aug 2031
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Bárta is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad11 Aug 2031
Words exchanged at Merani
Douglas Lima and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout11 Aug 2031
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Interim Coach was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Merani dressing room was either.
The dugout11 Aug 2031
Mattia Lione 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 Merani, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Looking ahead11 Aug 2031
The leaders are next for Merani
Torpedo Kutaisi top the table and they are coming into view. Nothing to lose, which is what every manager says before losing.
Player ratings11 Aug 2031
14 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad4 Aug 2031
The words a physio says slowly. 76 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Transfer targets4 Aug 2031
$3.0K settles it between the clubs for Dato Kvaratskhelia
Tskhinvali have accepted the money. What Merani do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Transfer targets4 Aug 2031
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Torpedo Kutaisi keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad4 Aug 2031
A falling-out at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets4 Aug 2031
Merani offered $210.0K; Dinamo Batumi said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad4 Aug 2031
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad4 Aug 2031
“The easiest signature of my career.” Levan Tsotsonava and Merani agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match2 Aug 2031
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Match2 Aug 2031
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 4 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad28 Jul 2031
83 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Merani lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Player ratings28 Jul 2031
Two goals and a mark of 9.15 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings28 Jul 2031
Mattia Lione beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 26. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match26 Jul 2031
Nobody wants to play Merani right now
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Squad28 Jul 2031
Words exchanged at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets28 Jul 2031
Merani offered $18.0K; Samtredia said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad28 Jul 2031
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match26 Jul 2031
It finished 3‑1, and it was Javohir Esonqulov’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Merani.
Transfer targets28 Jul 2031
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dinamo Tbilisi have kept their man, and Merani go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Jul 2031
90 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Merani lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Player ratings21 Jul 2031
At 38 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 8.00, and nobody on the pitch better.
Match19 Jul 2031
Merani cannot stop winning
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad21 Jul 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets21 Jul 2031
$18.0K on the table at Samtredia. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Transfer targets21 Jul 2031
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad21 Jul 2031
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Bárta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match19 Jul 2031
Guria made Merani work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings21 Jul 2031
Ninety minutes of Ruslan Askerov at his very best
Marked 8.37. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Merani.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 Jul 2031
The words a physio says slowly. 97 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The dugout14 Jul 2031
“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.
Player ratings14 Jul 2031
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.93 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Transfer targets14 Jul 2031
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Dinamo Tbilisi is saying, and nobody at Merani is enjoying the guessing.
Transfer targets14 Jul 2031
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Kolkheti have kept their man, and Merani go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad14 Jul 2031
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nodar Kavtaradze is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match12 Jul 2031
A 1‑0 win over Chikhura, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings14 Jul 2031
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad14 Jul 2031
Words exchanged at Merani
Douglas Lima and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Jul 2031
104 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Merani lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match5 Jul 2031
The 86th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Ruslan Askerov decided nobody was going anywhere. Zugdidi had no time left to answer.
Squad7 Jul 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets7 Jul 2031
$210.0K was the most the club would pay and Dinamo Batumi were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Squad7 Jul 2031
Nodar Kavtaradze falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets7 Jul 2031
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dinamo Tbilisi have kept their man, and Merani go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match5 Jul 2031
A 2‑1 win over Zugdidi, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings7 Jul 2031
Ruslan Askerov was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.47. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Player ratings7 Jul 2031
Marked 8.25 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad30 Jun 2031
The words a physio says slowly. 111 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match28 Jun 2031
Nowhere to hide for Merani
0‑3 against Dila, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad30 Jun 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Jun 2031
Alexandr Bárta falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout30 Jun 2031
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Luka Tsulaia, and the manager let it.
Boardroom30 Jun 2031
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.
The dugout30 Jun 2031
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
Player ratings30 Jun 2031
Mattia Lione beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 14. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad30 Jun 2031
One booking too many, and a game watched from the stand. Merani lose him for the most avoidable reason in the sport.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Jun 2031
The words a physio says slowly. 118 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match21 Jun 2031
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 86th, and Saburtalo spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
Match21 Jun 2031
It had gone 9 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.
Squad23 Jun 2031
Words exchanged at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad23 Jun 2031
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets23 Jun 2031
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match21 Jun 2031
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mattia Lione. 1‑0 against Saburtalo, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings23 Jun 2031
Mattia Lione was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.29. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The dugout23 Jun 2031
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Interim Coach, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad16 Jun 2031
125 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Merani lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match14 Jun 2031
0‑5 to Dinamo Tbilisi, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Match14 Jun 2031
The wait goes on for Merani
9 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad16 Jun 2031
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad16 Jun 2031
A falling-out at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Jun 2031
Nodar Kavtaradze falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets16 Jun 2031
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dila have kept their man, and Merani go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout16 Jun 2031
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Giorgi Gvasalia, and the manager let it.
Boardroom16 Jun 2031
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
Squad9 Jun 2031
The words a physio says slowly. 132 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match7 Jun 2031
8 matches without a win for Merani
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Merani are no longer polite ones.
Match9 Jun 2031
Every point is an argument now for Merani
Position 14 and 9 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
The dugout9 Jun 2031
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Merani may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings9 Jun 2031
A defender's goal wins it for Merani — 7.50
1 for Mikheil Kvilitaia, marked 7.50, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Squad9 Jun 2031
Tempers go at Merani
Nodar Kavtaradze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match7 Jun 2031
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Merani and Tskhinvali, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Transfer targets9 Jun 2031
$210.0K was the most the club would pay and Dinamo Batumi were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Match7 Jun 2031
2‑4 to Tskhinvali, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad2 Jun 2031
78 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Merani lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match31 May 2031
No end in sight to Merani's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Merani has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings2 Jun 2031
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.98 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad2 Jun 2031
Tempers go at Merani
Ruslan Askerov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad2 Jun 2031
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nodar Kavtaradze is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match31 May 2031
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout2 Jun 2031
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Interim Coach left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad2 Jun 2031
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Levan Tsotsonava is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The dugout2 Jun 2031
A promise honoured at Merani
Something was said to Giorgi Gvasalia and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 May 2031
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Merani will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match24 May 2031
The wait goes on for Merani
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match24 May 2031
The goals have deserted Merani
6 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Merani can tell you which week it ends in.
Player ratings26 May 2031
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 May 2031
Words exchanged at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad26 May 2031
Nodar Kavtaradze falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings26 May 2031
Marked 7.55. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout26 May 2031
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Interim Coach was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Merani dressing room was either.
Match24 May 2031
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Sioni will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 May 2031
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Merani will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match17 May 2031
The wait goes on for Merani
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match17 May 2031
The goals have deserted Merani
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Merani can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad19 May 2031
Words exchanged at Merani
Nodar Kavtaradze and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad19 May 2031
Alexandr Bárta falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match17 May 2031
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout19 May 2031
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
Player ratings19 May 2031
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout19 May 2031
“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
Squad12 May 2031
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Merani will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings12 May 2031
Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Match10 May 2031
The wait goes on for Merani
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match10 May 2031
The goals have deserted Merani
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Merani can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad12 May 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 May 2031
Nodar Kavtaradze falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match10 May 2031
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout12 May 2031
The manager makes an example of Mattia Lione
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout12 May 2031
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad5 May 2031
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 14 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match3 May 2031
Nowhere to hide for Merani
0‑3 against Torpedo Kutaisi, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad5 May 2031
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 41 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad5 May 2031
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ruslan Askerov commits to Merani for another 4 years.
Squad5 May 2031
Tempers go at Merani
Ruslan Askerov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match3 May 2031
Merani cannot find the net
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
The dugout5 May 2031
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Levan Tsotsonava, and the manager let it.
Boardroom5 May 2031
Nobody left the Merani dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout5 May 2031
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 Apr 2031
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Merani will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad28 Apr 2031
A falling-out at Merani
Nodar Kavtaradze and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Apr 2031
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Bárta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match26 Apr 2031
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout28 Apr 2031
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout28 Apr 2031
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Player ratings28 Apr 2031
Successful dribbles: 14. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Looking ahead28 Apr 2031
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Nodar Kavtaradze’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Merani needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Market28 Apr 2031
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Khazbulat Khamkhoev’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Apr 2031
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Merani will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad21 Apr 2031
A falling-out at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Apr 2031
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match19 Apr 2031
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings21 Apr 2031
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout21 Apr 2031
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Looking ahead21 Apr 2031
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Dinamo Batumi in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Market21 Apr 2031
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Javohir Esonqulov signs something — a contract at Merani or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout21 Apr 2031
Levan Tsotsonava 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
Match12 Apr 2031
No mercy from Merani
Shukura will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Merani were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Squad14 Apr 2031
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 62 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings14 Apr 2031
At 38 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.05 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad14 Apr 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Apr 2031
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nodar Kavtaradze is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings14 Apr 2031
Marked 8.61 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings14 Apr 2031
Ninety minutes of Mattia Lione at his very best
Marked 8.34. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Merani.
The dugout14 Apr 2031
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Giorgi Gvasalia, and the manager let it.
The dugout14 Apr 2031
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Interim Coach kept it short after the 4‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match2 Apr 2031
The small margins put Merani out
Out, 0‑5 to Dinamo Batumi, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Squad7 Apr 2031
8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad7 Apr 2031
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 69 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The terraces7 Apr 2031
0-5. Going out of a cup is one afternoon; going out like that is a week of phone-ins, and the manager will hear every one of them.
Player ratings7 Apr 2031
At 33 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 7.97, and nobody on the pitch better.
Squad7 Apr 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Apr 2031
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Liam Gibson and Merani agree another 2 years.
Boardroom7 Apr 2031
Doors closed at Merani
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Player ratings7 Apr 2031
A touch he did not mean and a goal that goes in the book with his name against it. Merani will not blame him tonight and he will not need them to.
In brief
-
Market
Doueugui Mala told to find a new club
-
Match
Merani and Guria take a point apiece
-
The dugout
The manager’s verdict
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match29 Mar 2031
The drought breaks for Merani
12 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Chikhura were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Player ratings31 Mar 2031
Successful dribbles: 29. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings31 Mar 2031
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.45 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Squad31 Mar 2031
Words exchanged at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad31 Mar 2031
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces31 Mar 2031
At 18 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match29 Mar 2031
It finished 2‑0, and it was Javohir Esonqulov’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Merani.
The dugout31 Mar 2031
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Interim Coach could afford to be generous.
Player ratings31 Mar 2031
Defensive actions: 12, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match22 Mar 2031
No end in sight to Merani's wait for a win
12 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Merani has to find a result from somewhere.
Boardroom24 Mar 2031
The club looked outside for a month, found nothing it preferred, and handed the job to the man who had been doing it anyway. He knows the building; now he has to prove he knows the rest.
Player ratings24 Mar 2031
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.11 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad24 Mar 2031
A falling-out at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Mar 2031
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings24 Mar 2031
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match22 Mar 2031
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout24 Mar 2031
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Interim Coach after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The dugout24 Mar 2031
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Aleksandre Gamsakhurdia, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match15 Mar 2031
No end in sight to Merani's wait for a win
11 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Merani has to find a result from somewhere.
Match15 Mar 2031
A hiding for Merani
Beaten 0‑3 by Dila, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Match15 Mar 2031
The goals have deserted Merani
7 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Merani can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad17 Mar 2031
Tempers go at Merani
Nodar Kavtaradze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match15 Mar 2031
Merani leaking at the back
5 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Squad17 Mar 2031
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Bárta is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Boardroom17 Mar 2031
Doors closed at Merani
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout17 Mar 2031
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑3 Interim Coach left the room before anybody could ask which.
Looking ahead17 Mar 2031
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Zugdidi in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match8 Mar 2031
10 matches without a win for Merani
The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Merani are no longer polite ones.
Match8 Mar 2031
The goals have deserted Merani
6 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Merani can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad10 Mar 2031
Tempers go at Merani
Ruslan Askerov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad10 Mar 2031
Nodar Kavtaradze falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Boardroom10 Mar 2031
Merani still without a manager
9 days since the seat came open, a list of names doing the rounds, and nobody has signed anything. Every week this drags on the shortlist gets shorter.
Match8 Mar 2031
Merani are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Match8 Mar 2031
Saburtalo left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout10 Mar 2031
“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 Mar 2031
200 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom3 Mar 2031
The statement thanked him for his efforts and wished him well, in that order and in about that many words. The search begins immediately.
Match1 Mar 2031
Chastening afternoon for Merani
A 0‑5 beating by Dinamo Tbilisi was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match1 Mar 2031
The wait goes on for Merani
9 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Boardroom3 Mar 2031
An empty coaching office at Merani
There is nobody left to promote and nobody left to run a session. The board have brought in a name the supporters do not know, and the question of how a club gets here will outlast whoever answers it.
Boardroom3 Mar 2031
“I am not thinking past Saturday, and I would advise nobody else to.” The caretaker’s first rule is to pretend the job is small; Interim Coach recited it perfectly.
Match1 Mar 2031
5 matches without a goal for Merani
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 5 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad3 Mar 2031
Words exchanged at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Boardroom3 Mar 2031
8 academy players handed senior numbers at Merani
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad3 Mar 2031
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nodar Kavtaradze is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout24 Feb 2031
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Squad24 Feb 2031
Words exchanged at Merani
Nodar Kavtaradze and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad24 Feb 2031
Alexandr Bárta falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Feb 2031
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout17 Feb 2031
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Squad17 Feb 2031
Words exchanged at Merani
Douglas Lima and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Market17 Feb 2031
The name of Javohir Esonqulov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Merani say nothing, which says plenty.
Boardroom17 Feb 2031
Merani keep producing them
58 graduates from an academy now rated 9 out of 20. A club this size does not survive any other way, and every name on that list is known in the town.
Squad17 Feb 2031
The least glamorous thing a foreign signing ever does and the one that decides most of them. A player who can hear the shout behind him is a different footballer from one who cannot.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout10 Feb 2031
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Squad10 Feb 2031
The medical room confirms 20 days on the sidelines for Ruslan Askerov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad10 Feb 2031
Tempers go at Merani
Ruslan Askerov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad10 Feb 2031
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nodar Kavtaradze is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad10 Feb 2031
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Doueugui Mala and Merani agree another 1 years.
The dugout10 Feb 2031
“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
Boardroom3 Feb 2031
Window shuts: 1 in, 1 out at Merani
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 1 arrived, 1 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Squad3 Feb 2031
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nodar Kavtaradze and Merani agree another 2 years.
Squad3 Feb 2031
A falling-out at Merani
Nodar Kavtaradze and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 Feb 2031
Alexandr Bárta falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout3 Feb 2031
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout3 Feb 2031
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From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout27 Jan 2031
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Squad27 Jan 2031
A falling-out at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Jan 2031
Nodar Kavtaradze falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets27 Jan 2031
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout27 Jan 2031
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout27 Jan 2031
Mattia Lione knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mattia Lione trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad20 Jan 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Jan 2031
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets20 Jan 2031
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout20 Jan 2031
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Squad20 Jan 2031
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nikoloz Vibliani and Merani agree another 2 years.
The dugout20 Jan 2031
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Javohir Esonqulov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market20 Jan 2031
The name of Javohir Esonqulov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Merani say nothing, which says plenty.
Boardroom20 Jan 2031
The Merani production line keeps running
58 graduates out of an academy now rated 9 out of 20. Clubs this size survive on exactly that, and the town knows every name.
Squad20 Jan 2031
Nobody writes a headline about a tutor. Nobody has to be told, either, what happens to a signing who spends two years being the man nobody can talk to at lunch.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout13 Jan 2031
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Squad13 Jan 2031
48 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad13 Jan 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets13 Jan 2031
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dinamo Tbilisi have kept their man, and Merani go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad13 Jan 2031
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Bárta is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad13 Jan 2031
“The easiest signature of my career.” Lasha Gadilia and Merani agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad6 Jan 2031
Words exchanged at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad6 Jan 2031
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nodar Kavtaradze is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Boardroom6 Jan 2031
Dinamo Batumi will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Calum Moreland has pre-agreed a move to Merani, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Transfer targets6 Jan 2031
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dinamo Tbilisi have kept their man, and Merani go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout6 Jan 2031
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Transfer targets6 Jan 2031
A loan enquiry to Dinamo Tbilisi: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Market6 Jan 2031
He is 18, and nobody at Merani signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Squad6 Jan 2031
“The easiest signature of my career.” Irakli Ananidze and Merani agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad6 Jan 2031
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Merani are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout30 Dec 2030
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Squad30 Dec 2030
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nodar Kavtaradze is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad30 Dec 2030
Tempers go at Merani
Douglas Lima was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout30 Dec 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lasha Gadilia, and the manager let it.
The dugout30 Dec 2030
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Merani, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market30 Dec 2030
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Khazbulat Khamkhoev signs something — a contract at Merani or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Dec 2030
Tempers go at Merani
Nodar Kavtaradze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad23 Dec 2030
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Bárta is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout23 Dec 2030
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Market23 Dec 2030
The name of Javohir Esonqulov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Merani say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout23 Dec 2030
Lasha Gadilia knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Lasha Gadilia trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market23 Dec 2030
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Mikheil Kvaratskhelia may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout16 Dec 2030
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Market16 Dec 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Merani can pretend not to have heard.
Squad16 Dec 2030
Tempers go at Merani
Ruslan Askerov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad16 Dec 2030
Nodar Kavtaradze falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout16 Dec 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Levan Tsotsonava, and the manager let it.
Market16 Dec 2030
The name of Archil Janelidze keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Merani say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Dec 2030
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alexandr Bárta and Merani agree another 4 years.
Squad9 Dec 2030
Words exchanged at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad9 Dec 2030
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout9 Dec 2030
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout9 Dec 2030
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The dugout9 Dec 2030
Luka Tsulaia knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Luka Tsulaia trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout2 Dec 2030
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Squad2 Dec 2030
“The easiest signature of my career.” Alexandr Bárta and Merani agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad2 Dec 2030
Words exchanged at Merani
Nodar Kavtaradze and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad2 Dec 2030
The medical room confirms 14 days on the sidelines for Mikheil Gamsakhurdia, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad2 Dec 2030
Alexandr Bárta falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Market2 Dec 2030
He signed expecting a bigger stage than the one he found. It has not taken long, and it has not taken the dressing room long to notice either.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad25 Nov 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Nov 2030
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nodar Kavtaradze is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout25 Nov 2030
Luka Tsulaia 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.
The dugout25 Nov 2030
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The dugout25 Nov 2030
Liam Gibson 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.
Market25 Nov 2030
The name of Javohir Esonqulov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Merani say nothing, which says plenty.
Market25 Nov 2030
Merani have made Zviad Sikharulia available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Boardroom25 Nov 2030
Merani keep producing them
58 graduates from an academy now rated 9 out of 20. A club this size does not survive any other way, and every name on that list is known in the town.
The dugout25 Nov 2030
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Khazbulat Khamkhoev’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout18 Nov 2030
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Market18 Nov 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Merani can pretend not to have heard.
Squad18 Nov 2030
Tempers go at Merani
Ruslan Askerov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad18 Nov 2030
Nodar Kavtaradze falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout18 Nov 2030
“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.
Market18 Nov 2030
The name of Archil Janelidze keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Merani say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout11 Nov 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Merani may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad11 Nov 2030
A falling-out at Merani
Nodar Kavtaradze and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad11 Nov 2030
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Liam Gibson is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout11 Nov 2030
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The dugout11 Nov 2030
“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.
Market11 Nov 2030
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Giorgi Ugrekhelidze’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market4 Nov 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Merani can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout4 Nov 2030
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Squad4 Nov 2030
A falling-out at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad4 Nov 2030
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout4 Nov 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Levan Tsotsonava, and the manager let it.
The dugout4 Nov 2030
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Merani, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout28 Oct 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Merani may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad28 Oct 2030
Nodar Kavtaradze falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout28 Oct 2030
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Squad28 Oct 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market28 Oct 2030
The name of Javohir Esonqulov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Merani say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout28 Oct 2030
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Zviad Sikharulia trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Boardroom28 Oct 2030
The Merani academy earns its keep
58 graduates, from a department now rated 9 out of 20. Nothing about the academy appears in a result, and nothing about the club’s future exists without it.
Squad28 Oct 2030
A bad Saturday is forgiven; a bad Tuesday is chosen. Standards have slipped and in a building where everybody watches everybody, it has been noticed.
Squad28 Oct 2030
Liam Gibson starts on the language
Two hours a week with a tutor, which is the least glamorous thing at Merani and the one that decides whether a foreign signing is still here in two years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Oct 2030
A fracture rules Mate Bakhtadze out for 18 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Merani will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The dugout21 Oct 2030
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Squad21 Oct 2030
15 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad21 Oct 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Oct 2030
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Liam Gibson is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout21 Oct 2030
The manager makes an example of Mattia Lione
“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
Uneasy
Squad14 Oct 2030
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 25 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market14 Oct 2030
“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 Oct 2030
A falling-out at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Oct 2030
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout14 Oct 2030
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Squad14 Oct 2030
A muscle injury sidelines Lasha Gadilia for 14 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Merani will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Oct 2030
A fracture rules Mate Bakhtadze out for 32 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Merani will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market7 Oct 2030
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Merani, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout7 Oct 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Merani may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
The dugout7 Oct 2030
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Squad7 Oct 2030
Words exchanged at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad7 Oct 2030
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nodar Kavtaradze is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad7 Oct 2030
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Giorgi Ugrekhelidze and Merani agree another 2 years.
Market7 Oct 2030
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Merani has been clear about where Mikheil Kvilitaia stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout7 Oct 2030
Liam Gibson 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 Merani, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Sep 2030
39 days out for Mate Bakhtadze after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Merani will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad30 Sep 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout30 Sep 2030
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Squad30 Sep 2030
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgi Ugrekhelidze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 Sep 2030
“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.
Market30 Sep 2030
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Merani know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Sep 2030
Merani finish in position 12
31 points, and the season has a number on it. Whatever it felt like from the inside, this is what it will look like in a book.
Match21 Sep 2030
No end in sight to Merani's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Merani has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad23 Sep 2030
8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad23 Sep 2030
46 days out for Mate Bakhtadze after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Merani will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The dugout23 Sep 2030
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Squad23 Sep 2030
18 goals and a season average of 7.24. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match21 Sep 2030
4 matches without a goal for Merani
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad23 Sep 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match21 Sep 2030
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match14 Sep 2030
0‑6 to Lokomotivi, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Squad16 Sep 2030
There were 8 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.
Squad16 Sep 2030
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 53 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match14 Sep 2030
7 matches without a win for Merani
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Merani are no longer polite ones.
Market16 Sep 2030
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Merani, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad16 Sep 2030
A falling-out at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match14 Sep 2030
Nobody could stop scoring
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Merani and Lokomotivi in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad16 Sep 2030
Nodar Kavtaradze falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match14 Sep 2030
Merani cannot find the net
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match7 Sep 2030
No end in sight to Merani's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Merani has to find a result from somewhere.
The dugout9 Sep 2030
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Transfer targets9 Sep 2030
Merani had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Dinamo Tbilisi, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad9 Sep 2030
“The easiest signature of my career.” Luka Tsulaia and Merani agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad9 Sep 2030
A falling-out at Merani
Nodar Kavtaradze and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings9 Sep 2030
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad9 Sep 2030
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgi Ugrekhelidze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout9 Sep 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Levan Tsotsonava, and the manager let it.
The dugout9 Sep 2030
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Nika Lobjanidze after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match31 Aug 2030
The wait goes on for Merani
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Boardroom2 Sep 2030
Merani close the window on a squad of their own making
8 in and 9 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Transfer targets2 Sep 2030
Everything agreed with Dinamo Tbilisi, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad2 Sep 2030
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Luka Tsulaia and Merani agree another 4 years.
Squad2 Sep 2030
Tempers go at Merani
Ruslan Askerov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Transfer targets2 Sep 2030
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad2 Sep 2030
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market2 Sep 2030
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Nodar Kavtaradze has his answer from Merani; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout2 Sep 2030
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From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Aug 2030
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Merani, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings26 Aug 2030
No sign of nerves from Otar Kvilitaia at 17 — 8.56
The hardest thing about being 17 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Otar Kvilitaia did not need any: 8.56, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Transfer targets26 Aug 2030
Fee done, terms next for Luka Kakulia
Merani and Shukura have settled on $29.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Player ratings26 Aug 2030
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.94 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
The dugout26 Aug 2030
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Squad26 Aug 2030
18 goals and a season average of 7.26. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match24 Aug 2030
No end in sight to Merani's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Merani has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad26 Aug 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Aug 2030
Nodar Kavtaradze falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market19 Aug 2030
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Merani people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Squad19 Aug 2030
There were 9 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.
Match17 Aug 2030
0‑3 to Torpedo Kutaisi, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Squad19 Aug 2030
Words exchanged at Merani
Nodar Kavtaradze and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets19 Aug 2030
Merani offered $13.0K; Lokomotivi said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Match17 Aug 2030
3 matches without a goal for Merani
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
The dugout19 Aug 2030
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Squad19 Aug 2030
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giorgi Ugrekhelidze is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout19 Aug 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Doueugui Mala, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match10 Aug 2030
Nowhere to hide for Merani
0‑5 against Dinamo Batumi, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
The dugout12 Aug 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Merani may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market12 Aug 2030
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Merani, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market12 Aug 2030
The shirt still fits. Jaba Kvaratskhelia is back at Merani, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Squad12 Aug 2030
Words exchanged at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets12 Aug 2030
The offer went to Lokomotivi this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad12 Aug 2030
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Jaba Kvaratskhelia has, at Merani, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Squad12 Aug 2030
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nodar Kavtaradze is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout12 Aug 2030
Luka Tsulaia 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
Steady
Market5 Aug 2030
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Merani people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Transfer targets5 Aug 2030
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Merani have done the hard part with Dinamo Tbilisi, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad5 Aug 2030
Tempers go at Merani
Ruslan Askerov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad5 Aug 2030
Nodar Kavtaradze falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match3 Aug 2030
Kolkheti left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout5 Aug 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Khazbulat Khamkhoev, and the manager let it.
The dugout5 Aug 2030
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Squad5 Aug 2030
Doueugui Mala slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Doueugui Mala is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The dugout5 Aug 2030
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Nika Lobjanidze after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match27 Jul 2030
No mercy from Merani
Shukura will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Merani were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Squad29 Jul 2030
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Player ratings29 Jul 2030
At 33 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 9.80, and nobody on the pitch better.
Market29 Jul 2030
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Merani, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings29 Jul 2030
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Transfer targets29 Jul 2030
The paperwork begins on Barnes Osei
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Merani have done the hard part with Dinamo Tbilisi, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Match27 Jul 2030
Merani cannot stop winning
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad29 Jul 2030
A season average of 7.26 with 17 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Market29 Jul 2030
The phone has started ringing about Davit Khelaia again, and this time the name on the line is Sapovnela. Merani are listening politely and promising nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings22 Jul 2030
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.24 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Squad22 Jul 2030
A falling-out at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Jul 2030
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match20 Jul 2030
Merani get the job done against Guria
A 2‑0 win over Guria, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The dugout22 Jul 2030
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Nika Lobjanidze on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout22 Jul 2030
Levan Tsotsonava asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout22 Jul 2030
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout22 Jul 2030
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Market22 Jul 2030
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Javohir Esonqulov signs something — a contract at Merani or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market15 Jul 2030
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Kolkheti waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Merani is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Squad15 Jul 2030
The match ball belongs to Javohir Esonqulov, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Player ratings15 Jul 2030
At 33 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 9.37, and nobody on the pitch better.
Transfer targets15 Jul 2030
The clubs have shaken hands with Dinamo Tbilisi; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Player ratings15 Jul 2030
Successful dribbles: 23. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Match13 Jul 2030
It had gone 7 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.
Squad15 Jul 2030
Nodar Kavtaradze falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match13 Jul 2030
A 3‑1 win over Chikhura, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Transfer targets15 Jul 2030
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Torpedo Kutaisi have kept their man, and Merani go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 Jul 2030
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Merani people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Match6 Jul 2030
No end in sight to Merani's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Merani has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings8 Jul 2030
Successful dribbles: 28. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market8 Jul 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Merani can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets8 Jul 2030
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Merani have done the hard part with Dinamo Tbilisi, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad8 Jul 2030
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nodar Kavtaradze and Merani agree another 2 years.
Squad8 Jul 2030
Tempers go at Merani
Ruslan Askerov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Transfer targets8 Jul 2030
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Shukura have kept their man, and Merani go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad8 Jul 2030
Giorgi Ugrekhelidze falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market1 Jul 2030
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Merani, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match29 Jun 2030
6 matches without a win for Merani
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Merani are no longer polite ones.
Match29 Jun 2030
6 matches without a goal for Merani
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 6 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Market1 Jul 2030
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Merani they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad1 Jul 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Jul 2030
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nodar Kavtaradze is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets1 Jul 2030
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match29 Jun 2030
No clean sheets in sight for Merani
4 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Match29 Jun 2030
A bad afternoon for Merani against Dila
0‑2 to Dila, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 Jun 2030
A hiding for Merani
Beaten 0‑4 by Saburtalo, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad24 Jun 2030
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
The dugout24 Jun 2030
“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.
Transfer targets24 Jun 2030
The deal with Dinamo Batumi died in the treatment room. Nobody will say what was found and everybody in the game will find out by Friday.
Match22 Jun 2030
5 matches without a win for Merani
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Merani are no longer polite ones.
Match22 Jun 2030
5 matches without a goal for Merani
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 5 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Market24 Jun 2030
The name of Davit Khelaia has come up in conversations Merani were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad24 Jun 2030
A falling-out at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Jun 2030
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match15 Jun 2030
Nowhere to hide for Merani
0‑6 against Dinamo Tbilisi, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Market17 Jun 2030
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Merani people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Squad17 Jun 2030
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Transfer targets17 Jun 2030
$100.0K settles it between the clubs for Barnes Osei
Dinamo Tbilisi have accepted the money. What Merani do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
The dugout17 Jun 2030
“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.
Match15 Jun 2030
4 matches without a win for Merani
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Merani are no longer polite ones.
Match15 Jun 2030
4 matches without a goal for Merani
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad17 Jun 2030
A falling-out at Merani
Nodar Kavtaradze and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match15 Jun 2030
Nobody could stop scoring
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Merani and Dinamo Tbilisi in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match8 Jun 2030
A hiding for Merani
Beaten 0‑3 by Tskhinvali, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market10 Jun 2030
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad10 Jun 2030
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Transfer targets10 Jun 2030
Everything agreed with Dinamo Batumi, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad10 Jun 2030
Tempers go at Merani
Ruslan Askerov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad10 Jun 2030
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match8 Jun 2030
Merani cannot find the net
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Transfer targets10 Jun 2030
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Torpedo Kutaisi have kept their man, and Merani go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match10 Jun 2030
Merani at the halfway mark
Half the programme played, position 11, 18 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Jun 2030
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout3 Jun 2030
Zviad Sikharulia: 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.” Merani have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad3 Jun 2030
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad3 Jun 2030
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Davit Khelaia and Merani agree another 3 years.
Player ratings3 Jun 2030
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad3 Jun 2030
Words exchanged at Merani
Zviad Sikharulia and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets3 Jun 2030
A loan enquiry to Dinamo Tbilisi: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout3 Jun 2030
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Nika Lobjanidze after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Squad3 Jun 2030
A booking nobody needed, on a night the game was already won. Merani lose a player for the most avoidable reason there is.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 May 2030
Words exchanged at Merani
Nodar Kavtaradze and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Player ratings27 May 2030
Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad27 May 2030
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgi Ugrekhelidze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout27 May 2030
The manager makes an example of Andro Jolokhava
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout27 May 2030
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Nika Lobjanidze was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Merani dressing room was either.
The dugout27 May 2030
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Levan Tsotsonava trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Match25 May 2030
Merani and Sioni cancel each other out
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Sioni came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Looking ahead27 May 2030
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Nodar Kavtaradze’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Merani needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Market27 May 2030
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Khazbulat Khamkhoev signs something — a contract at Merani or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings20 May 2030
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.07 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad20 May 2030
Words exchanged at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad20 May 2030
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match18 May 2030
Three points for Merani, 1‑0 the final word against Samtredia in a contest settled by the finer margins.
The dugout20 May 2030
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
The dugout20 May 2030
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Nika Lobjanidze on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout20 May 2030
The plan did not have a place for Levan Tsotsonava
Nobody at Merani is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Looking ahead20 May 2030
Sioni next, and one man in the Merani dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Market20 May 2030
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Javohir Esonqulov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match11 May 2030
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 5‑2 against Sapovnela, and it could have been more.
Player ratings13 May 2030
Two goals and a mark of 9.79 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings13 May 2030
Two goals and a mark of 9.70 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Squad13 May 2030
Tempers go at Merani
Ruslan Askerov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match11 May 2030
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Merani and Sapovnela, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad13 May 2030
Nodar Kavtaradze falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings13 May 2030
Ninety minutes of Ruslan Askerov at his very best
Marked 8.18. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Merani.
Squad13 May 2030
100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
Player ratings13 May 2030
Successful dribbles: 17. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad6 May 2030
There were 15 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.
Match4 May 2030
The wait goes on for Merani
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad6 May 2030
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Levan Tsotsonava commits to Merani for another 2 years.
Match4 May 2030
The goals have deserted Merani
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Merani can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad6 May 2030
Tempers go at Merani
Nodar Kavtaradze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match4 May 2030
0‑2 to Torpedo Kutaisi, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout6 May 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mikheil Gamsakhurdia, and the manager let it.
Squad6 May 2030
A row about effort at Merani
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgi Ugrekhelidze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout6 May 2030
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad29 Apr 2030
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.
Squad29 Apr 2030
A falling-out at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad29 Apr 2030
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nodar Kavtaradze is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match27 Apr 2030
The goals have deserted Merani
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Merani can tell you which week it ends in.
Match27 Apr 2030
0‑2 to Dinamo Batumi, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout29 Apr 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Doueugui Mala, and the manager let it.
The dugout29 Apr 2030
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Nika Lobjanidze left the room before anybody could ask which.
Looking ahead29 Apr 2030
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Nodar Kavtaradze’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Merani needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The dugout29 Apr 2030
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Apr 2030
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad22 Apr 2030
Words exchanged at Merani
Ruslan Askerov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad22 Apr 2030
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nodar Kavtaradze is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match20 Apr 2030
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout22 Apr 2030
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Player ratings22 Apr 2030
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 10 combined actions and a mark of 7.06, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
Squad22 Apr 2030
“The easiest signature of my career.” Aleksandre Gamsakhurdia and Merani agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout22 Apr 2030
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Nika Lobjanidze left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout22 Apr 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Zviad Sikharulia, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings15 Apr 2030
Successful dribbles: 27. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad15 Apr 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Merani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Apr 2030
Giorgi Ugrekhelidze falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad15 Apr 2030
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Andro Jolokhava commits to Merani for another 3 years.
Squad15 Apr 2030
40 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout15 Apr 2030
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Nika Lobjanidze after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Match13 Apr 2030
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Shukura defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
The dugout15 Apr 2030
The plan did not have a place for Doueugui Mala
Nobody at Merani is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
The dugout15 Apr 2030
“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.