From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Oct 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 13 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad16 Oct 2028
The manager makes an example of Nicolás Arévalo
“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.
Match14 Oct 2028
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Polissia will be the happier side with the point.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Oct 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad9 Oct 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Illia Krupskyi commits to Metalist for another 5 years.
Match7 Oct 2028
Three points for Metalist , 2-1 the final word against Kryvbas in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Match3 Oct 2028
1-2 to FC Nordsjaelland , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad9 Oct 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market9 Oct 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Metalist know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Every debut is a small story about the future: Kuzma Vlasiuk , 20 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
Market9 Oct 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Maksym Kovalenko may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The terraces9 Oct 2028
The press have found their man in Danylo Varakuta
Column inches are not points, but a footballer whose name keeps appearing for the right reasons is a footballer whose price has just gone up.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Oct 2028
Andrii Buleza : 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.” Metalist have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad2 Oct 2028
17 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad2 Oct 2028
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Danylo Varakuta knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Match30 Sep 2028
A 2-2 draw with Dynamo Kyiv leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad2 Oct 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market2 Oct 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Metalist know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market25 Sep 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Metalist is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match19 Sep 2028
A 2-1 win over FK Senica , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Match23 Sep 2028
A 1-0 win over Zorya , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad25 Sep 2028
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Danylo Varakuta knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Squad25 Sep 2028
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Oleksandr Yatsyk will call it something else in private.
Squad25 Sep 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market18 Sep 2028
Alperen Aydın hands in a written request“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Metalist can pretend not to have heard.
Match16 Sep 2028
Beaten 1-2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad18 Sep 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Josimar Alcócer 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 terraces18 Sep 2028
Everybody has an opinion about Danylo Varakuta
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Squad18 Sep 2028
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Market18 Sep 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Metalist know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad18 Sep 2028
At 28 he is in the side on merit and somebody else is watching from the bench. Places at Metalist are won quietly and lost loudly.
Market18 Sep 2028
No fee, no negotiation, no argument: Volodymyr Tanchyk moves on to another club with his contract settled and the wage bill a little lighter.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Sep 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad11 Sep 2028
“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.
Match9 Sep 2028
Honours even between Metalist and Rukh
1-1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Market11 Sep 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Metalist will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Market11 Sep 2028
The name of Rafael Profini keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
Market11 Sep 2028
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match30 Aug 2028
Cup progress for Metalist
A 1-0 win over Ahrobiznes , a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Market4 Sep 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad4 Sep 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Vajebah Sakor commits to Metalist for another 2 years.
Match2 Sep 2028
Kolos left with the points after a 1-2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Market4 Sep 2028
The name of Alisson Oliveira Da Silva has come up in conversations Metalist were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad4 Sep 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Oleksandr Yatsyk 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.
Market4 Sep 2028
The name of Nicolás Arévalo keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad4 Sep 2028
At 20 years old, Ihor Bohomolov became the latest name off the academy production line to be handed a senior shirt.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match26 Aug 2028
Chornomorets left with the points after a 1-2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad28 Aug 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The terraces28 Aug 2028
Everybody has an opinion about Oscar Gonzalez
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Market28 Aug 2028
Epicentr are about to pick up the phoneA conversation is coming this week. Metalist will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Market28 Aug 2028
The name of Carlos Paraco keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad28 Aug 2028
At 22 he has made the position his own, and the man he took it from has to find something to say about it. Metalist have a decision that made itself.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market21 Aug 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market21 Aug 2028
Poltava pay $39.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Match19 Aug 2028
Veres made Metalist work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad21 Aug 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Cristian Arroyave commits to Metalist for another 3 years.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Alan Salas 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.
Market21 Aug 2028
The name of Ivan Kaliuzhnyi keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match12 Aug 2028
Karpaty will want this one forgotten quickly: 4-1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Metalist were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Oscar Gonzalez : 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.” Metalist have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad14 Aug 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Yevhen Pidlepenets commits to Metalist for another 3 years.
Squad14 Aug 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad14 Aug 2028
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Market14 Aug 2028
The name of Rafael Profini keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
Market14 Aug 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Andrii Buleza may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The terraces14 Aug 2028
Everybody has an opinion about Denys Nahnoinyi
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Market14 Aug 2028
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Aug 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market7 Aug 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market7 Aug 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Metalist is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Alan Salas Alan Salas says Metalist went back on their word
Market7 Aug 2028
Poltava come back empty-handedThe bid was some way short and Metalist did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Match5 Aug 2028
0-2 to Shakhtar , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad7 Aug 2028
The manager makes an example of Josimar Alcócer
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market31 Jul 2028
Yevhen Pavliuk has one foot out of the doorTerms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Metalist they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market31 Jul 2028
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market31 Jul 2028
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market31 Jul 2028
The shirt still fits. Viktor Sudakov is back at Metalist , and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Squad31 Jul 2028
The manager makes an example of Oscar Gonzalez
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match29 Jul 2028
Three points for Metalist , 1-0 the final word against Metalist in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad31 Jul 2028
The medical room confirms 38 days on the sidelines for Dimitrios Papadopoulos , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
The terraces31 Jul 2028
Everybody has an opinion about Danylo Varakuta
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Squad31 Jul 2028
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 Jul 2028
The paperwork is done: Arsentiy Doroshenko joins from Nyva in a deal worth $170.0K. Now comes the harder part.
Market24 Jul 2028
Deian Verón told to find a new club“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Deian Verón has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Metalist .
Squad24 Jul 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market24 Jul 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Metalist know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Yevhen Pavliuk asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Somebody is after Deian Verón ’s shirt
A new face in his position, and Deian Verón suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Metalist have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market17 Jul 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Metalist will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad17 Jul 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Dobrivoj Rusov commits to Metalist for another 2 years.
Market17 Jul 2028
Vitalii Hrusha is free to find somewhere else“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Metalist has been clear about where Vitalii Hrusha stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad17 Jul 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market17 Jul 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Metalist know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market17 Jul 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Yevhen Pavliuk may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Jul 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Metalist is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market10 Jul 2028
The name of Ermir Rashica has come up in conversations Metalist were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad10 Jul 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market10 Jul 2028
The name of Ivan Kaliuzhnyi keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Carlos Paraco has company in his positionThe competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Carlos Paraco keeps the shirt for now, at Metalist 's convenience rather than his own.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match3 Jul 2028
Metalist up to position 354 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Market3 Jul 2028
Yevhen Pavliuk has one foot out of the doorTerms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Metalist they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market3 Jul 2028
LNZ pay $570.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Boardroom3 Jul 2028
$4.0M on the table at Metalist
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Squad3 Jul 2028
The manager makes an example of Ermir Rashica
“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.
Market3 Jul 2028
The name of Rafael Profini keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Jun 2028
The bid was some way short and Metalist did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market26 Jun 2028
Zorya pay $1.1M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Market26 Jun 2028
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Metalist have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad26 Jun 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Ermir Rashica 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
Market19 Jun 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market19 Jun 2028
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Metalist have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad19 Jun 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Oleksandr Yatsyk and Metalist agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market19 Jun 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Metalist will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad19 Jun 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market19 Jun 2028
The name of Carlos Paraco keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market12 Jun 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Metalist is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad12 Jun 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market12 Jun 2028
The name of Nicolás Arévalo keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match5 Jun 2028
Metalist up to position 354 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad5 Jun 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Nicolás Arévalo commits to Metalist for another 5 years.
Boardroom5 Jun 2028
$4.0M on the table at Metalist
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom29 May 2028
Continental nights are coming to Metalist
Qualification is secured, and next season the big floodlit nights are continental ones. For the players it is a stage; for the accounts it is a lifeline; for the supporters it is passports.
Squad29 May 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad29 May 2028
Raymond Owusu 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 Metalist , and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 May 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad22 May 2028
The manager makes an example of Marcelo Silva
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market22 May 2028
The name of Carlos Paraco keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market15 May 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Metalist is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad15 May 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market15 May 2028
The name of Nicolás Arévalo keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match8 May 2028
Metalist up to position 354 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad8 May 2028
Ermir Rashica : 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.” Metalist have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Boardroom8 May 2028
$4.0M on the table at Metalist
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Squad8 May 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market8 May 2028
The name of Rafael Profini keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad8 May 2028
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Rafael Profini has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 May 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad1 May 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch1 May 2028
“I did not go to Shakhtar to sit and watch. I want to come back to Metalist and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 45 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Vajebah Sakor
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market24 Apr 2028
The name of Carlos Paraco keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Valerii Dubko 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 Metalist , and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Apr 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market17 Apr 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Metalist is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad17 Apr 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Vajebah Sakor Vajebah Sakor says Metalist went back on their word
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match10 Apr 2028
Metalist up to position 354 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad10 Apr 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market10 Apr 2028
The name of Rafael Profini keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Apr 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Stepan Hryhorashchuk and Metalist agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Apr 2028
The medical room confirms 17 days on the sidelines for Ihor Snurnitsyn , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Mar 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ermir Rashica and Metalist agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad27 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Andrii Buleza
“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.
Market27 Mar 2028
The name of Carlos Paraco keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market20 Mar 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Metalist is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad20 Mar 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market20 Mar 2028
The name of Nicolás Arévalo keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match13 Mar 2028
Metalist up to position 354 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad13 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Valerii Dubko
“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 Mar 2028
The name of Rafael Profini keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market6 Mar 2028
Rosenborg pay $10.4M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Market6 Mar 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Metalist is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ivan Kaliuzhnyi commits to Metalist for another 4 years.
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
Metalist release $4.0M for the managerThe board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Loan watch6 Mar 2028
“I did not go to Shakhtar to sit and watch. I want to come back to Metalist and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 37 matches say the rest.
Market6 Mar 2028
Poltava are about to pick up the phoneA conversation is coming this week. Metalist will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 Feb 2028
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Metalist have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Market28 Feb 2028
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Vladyslav Kalitvintsev reports back to Metalist with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Market28 Feb 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market28 Feb 2028
Kolos pay $190.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Squad28 Feb 2028
The manager makes an example of Andrii Buleza
“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.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Vajebah Sakor 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 Metalist , and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Feb 2028
23 goals and a season average of 7.55. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Market21 Feb 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market21 Feb 2028
The name of Ihor Snurnitsyn has come up in conversations Metalist were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Match19 Feb 2028
Rukh made Metalist work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Market21 Feb 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Metalist will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad21 Feb 2028
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Metalist pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Feb 2028
22 goals and a season average of 7.51. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match14 Feb 2028
Metalist are in among the leadersPosition 3 and 51 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market14 Feb 2028
Shakhtar come back empty-handedThe bid was some way short and Metalist did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Marcelo Silva : 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.” Metalist have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad14 Feb 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Rafael Profini and Metalist agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market14 Feb 2028
Kolos pay $74.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Squad14 Feb 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match12 Feb 2028
It finished 2-2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Market14 Feb 2028
The name of Rafael Profini keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market7 Feb 2028
Malmo FF come back empty-handedThe bid was some way short and Metalist did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad7 Feb 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Luka Romero is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.60 with 8 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Market7 Feb 2028
Matvii Panchenko has left for Dynamo Kyiv in a $1.1M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Match5 Feb 2028
Polissia left with the points after a 1-2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Market7 Feb 2028
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Metalist have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad7 Feb 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Metalist release $4.0M for the managerThe board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Loan watch7 Feb 2028
“I did not go to Shakhtar to sit and watch. I want to come back to Metalist and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 33 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market31 Jan 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Peter Itodo is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.49 with 21 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Market31 Jan 2028
Deian Verón hands in a written request“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Metalist can pretend not to have heard.
Match29 Jan 2028
Kryvbas made Metalist work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad31 Jan 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market31 Jan 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Metalist will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad31 Jan 2028
No place for Vajebah Sakor on the big day
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Metalist pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Peter Itodo has to sit this one outA booking nobody needed, on a night the game was already won. Metalist lose a player for the most avoidable reason there is.
Market31 Jan 2028
Fabricio Santos is free to find somewhere else“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Metalist has been clear about where Fabricio Santos stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Jan 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad24 Jan 2028
5 goals and a season average of 7.20. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match22 Jan 2028
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Feniks will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match17 Jan 2028
Metalist are in among the leadersPosition 2 and 46 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Eriki says Metalist went back on their word“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.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Luka Romero is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.58 with 7 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Eriki Eriki says Metalist went back on their word
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad10 Jan 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Ihor Snurnitsyn : 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.” Metalist have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad10 Jan 2028
A season average of 7.42 with 12 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match8 Jan 2028
0-2 to Oleksandriya , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad10 Jan 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch10 Jan 2028
“I did not go to Shakhtar to sit and watch. I want to come back to Metalist and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 29 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad3 Jan 2028
20 goals and a season average of 7.52. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match1 Jan 2028
Metalist cannot stop winning3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Match1 Jan 2028
Three points for Metalist , 3-1 the final word against Epicentr in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad3 Jan 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ivan Lytvynenko and Metalist agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Jan 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Peter Itodo named player of the monthThe award goes to Peter Itodo , and nobody around here is inclined to argue with the choice.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad27 Dec 2027
18 goals and a season average of 7.47. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad27 Dec 2027
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad27 Dec 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Match25 Dec 2027
Still nobody has beaten Metalist
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Match25 Dec 2027
Three points for Metalist , 1-0 the final word against Kolos in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad27 Dec 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match20 Dec 2027
Metalist up to position 240 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad20 Dec 2027
17 goals and a season average of 7.43. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad20 Dec 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad13 Dec 2027
A season average of 7.38 with 11 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match11 Dec 2027
Three points for Metalist , 2-1 the final word against Veres in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad13 Dec 2027
The manager makes an example of Danylo Varakuta
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Loan watch13 Dec 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Metalist , and 1 appearances in 25 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad13 Dec 2027
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Metalist pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Match12 Dec 2027
1-1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad6 Dec 2027
Peter Itodo is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.40 with 15 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match4 Dec 2027
Three points for Metalist , 1-0 the final word against Karpaty in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
Metalist release $4.0M for the managerThe board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Squad6 Dec 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market6 Dec 2027
The name of Nicolás Arévalo keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Andrii Buleza 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
Squad29 Nov 2027
14 goals and a season average of 7.37. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match27 Nov 2027
Dynamo Kyiv left with the points after a 4-5 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad29 Nov 2027
The manager makes an example of Ivan Kaliuzhnyi
“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.
Match28 Nov 2027
Narva Trans made Metalist work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Beaten 5 times, with 5 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
Squad29 Nov 2027
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Illia Krupskyi will call it something else in private.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match20 Nov 2027
3-0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Squad22 Nov 2027
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match22 Nov 2027
Metalist up to position 331 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad22 Nov 2027
13 goals and a season average of 7.33. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad22 Nov 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Ivan Kaliuzhnyi 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
Match13 Nov 2027
7 matches without a win for Metalist
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Metalist are no longer polite ones.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Ermir Rashica : 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.” Metalist have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad15 Nov 2027
A season average of 7.29 with 8 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad15 Nov 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch15 Nov 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Metalist , and 1 appearances in 21 say he has earned the hearing.
Match13 Nov 2027
Metalist and LNZ take a point apieceIt finished 1-1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match3 Nov 2027
The cup run ends for Metalist
0-1 against Poltava , and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Match7 Nov 2027
No end in sight to Metalist 's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Metalist has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Peter Itodo is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.30 with 11 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Peter Itodo 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.
Match7 Nov 2027
0-1 to Crvena Zvezda , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad8 Nov 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Dmytro Kapinus commits to Metalist for another 4 years.
Squad8 Nov 2027
The medical room confirms 38 days on the sidelines for Samuel Obinaia , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Boardroom8 Nov 2027
Metalist release $4.0M for the managerThe board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Match6 Nov 2027
Metalist and Rukh take a point apieceIt finished 1-1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Nov 2027
Yevhen Pavliuk : 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.” Metalist have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market1 Nov 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Metalist can pretend not to have heard.
Squad1 Nov 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Carlos Paraco commits to Metalist for another 4 years.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Peter Itodo is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.24 with 10 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad1 Nov 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match30 Oct 2027
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Obolon will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match25 Oct 2027
Metalist are in among the leadersPosition 2 and 25 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Luka Romero is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.48 with 6 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad25 Oct 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match24 Oct 2027
Beaten 0-2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Match23 Oct 2027
2-2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Squad25 Oct 2027
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Metalist pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match16 Oct 2027
Kryvbas will want this one forgotten quickly: 5-2, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Metalist were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Squad18 Oct 2027
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad18 Oct 2027
5 goals and a season average of 7.41. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad18 Oct 2027
The manager makes an example of Andrii Buleza
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Loan watch18 Oct 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Metalist , and 1 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad18 Oct 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Heorhiy Mykhailychenko commits to Metalist for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad11 Oct 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match9 Oct 2027
Three points for Metalist , 1-0 the final word against Feniks in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad11 Oct 2027
4 goals and a season average of 7.29. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Oleksandr Yatsyk asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market11 Oct 2027
The name of Nicolás Arévalo keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad11 Oct 2027
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Metalist that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad4 Oct 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Illia Krupskyi and Metalist agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Loan watch4 Oct 2027
“I did not go to Zorya to sit and watch. I want to come back to Metalist and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 12 matches say the rest.
Squad4 Oct 2027
The manager makes an example of Danylo Varakuta
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad4 Oct 2027
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Metalist pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Boardroom4 Oct 2027
$4.0M on the table at Metalist
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Match3 Oct 2027
2-2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Match2 Oct 2027
1-1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Market4 Oct 2027
Experience through the door at Metalist
Douglas Dias arrives at 36 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Market4 Oct 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Metalist know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match27 Sep 2027
Metalist are in among the leadersPosition 2 and 17 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Ihor Snurnitsyn : 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.” Metalist have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match25 Sep 2027
Oleksandriya left with the points after a 1-2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad27 Sep 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Ivan Kaliuzhnyi asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market27 Sep 2027
Peter Itodo linked with a move awayThe name of Peter Itodo keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match19 Sep 2027
4-0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Squad20 Sep 2027
The match ball belongs to Peter Itodo , whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Match19 Sep 2027
Metalist make it 4 in a rowMomentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Metalist have 4 straight wins of it.
Match18 Sep 2027
Three points for Metalist , 2-0 the final word against Epicentr in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Loan watch20 Sep 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Metalist , and 1 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad20 Sep 2027
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Metalist pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Squad20 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Valerii Dubko
“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.
Market20 Sep 2027
The name of Rafael Profini keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Luka Romero unhappy with how he is being usedAsked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Luka Romero has let it be known that he does not like the way Metalist are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad13 Sep 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market13 Sep 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market13 Sep 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market13 Sep 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Metalist know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Match11 Sep 2027
Three points for Metalist , 3-2 the final word against Kolos in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad13 Sep 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match4 Sep 2027
Chornomorets will want this one forgotten quickly: 3-0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Metalist were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Market6 Sep 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Metalist can pretend not to have heard.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Oleh Mozil : 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.” Metalist have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market6 Sep 2027
Poltava are about to pick up the phoneA conversation is coming this week. Metalist will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Market6 Sep 2027
Poltava pay $43.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Squad6 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Andrii Buleza
“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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Metalist 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Market6 Sep 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Metalist know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match25 Aug 2027
Cup progress for Metalist
A 3-0 win over Victoriia Sumy , a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Market30 Aug 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad30 Aug 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Danylo Varakuta commits to Metalist for another 4 years.
Match28 Aug 2027
A bad afternoon for Metalist against Veres
2-3 to Veres , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad30 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Illia Krupskyi
“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 Aug 2027
Deian Verón told to find a new club“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Deian Verón has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Metalist .
Market30 Aug 2027
The name of Ivan Kaliuzhnyi keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad30 Aug 2027
At 20 years old, Denys Kondratiuk became the latest name off the academy production line to be handed a senior shirt.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Andrii Buleza 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
Match21 Aug 2027
Still nobody has beaten Metalist
The unbeaten run reaches 16. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Market23 Aug 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Metalist can pretend not to have heard.
Market23 Aug 2027
Cauan Baptistella has left for Shakhtar in a $1.4M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Market23 Aug 2027
Albirex Niigata are about to pick up the phoneA conversation is coming this week. Metalist will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad23 Aug 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch23 Aug 2027
“I did not go to Shakhtar to sit and watch. I want to come back to Metalist and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
Match21 Aug 2027
2-2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The terraces23 Aug 2027
Everybody has an opinion about Danylo Varakuta
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Market23 Aug 2027
The name of Rafael Profini keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match14 Aug 2027
Still nobody has beaten Metalist
The unbeaten run reaches 15. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad16 Aug 2027
There were 10 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 Aug 2027
Jacob Murrell : 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.” Metalist have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market16 Aug 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Metalist have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Market16 Aug 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market16 Aug 2027
Poltava pay $560.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Match14 Aug 2027
A 2-1 win over Dynamo Kyiv , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Market16 Aug 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Valerii Dubko has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Metalist .
Squad16 Aug 2027
Luka Romero finally opens his accountHe wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Metalist have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Aug 2027
There were 11 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.
Match7 Aug 2027
Still nobody has beaten Metalist
The unbeaten run reaches 14. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Market9 Aug 2027
Poltava are about to pick up the phoneA conversation is coming this week. Metalist will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Vladlen Yurchenko commits to Metalist for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match31 Jul 2027
Still nobody has beaten Metalist
The unbeaten run reaches 13. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Market2 Aug 2027
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market2 Aug 2027
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market2 Aug 2027
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market2 Aug 2027
The shirt still fits. Denys Matvienko is back at Metalist , and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Match31 Jul 2027
Three points for Metalist , 2-1 the final word against LNZ in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad2 Aug 2027
The captaincy has been taken off Ivan Kaliuzhnyi . Metalist will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
Squad2 Aug 2027
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Metalist have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Jul 2027
Oleh Mozil hands in a written request“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Metalist can pretend not to have heard.
Market26 Jul 2027
The name of Cauan Baptistella has come up in conversations Metalist were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad26 Jul 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Vitalii Hrusha commits to Metalist for another 3 years.
Squad26 Jul 2027
The medical room confirms 19 days on the sidelines for Illia Sosnytskyi , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Loan watch26 Jul 2027
“I did not go to Shakhtar to sit and watch. I want to come back to Metalist and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
Squad26 Jul 2027
The manager makes an example of Lucas Dilelio
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Jul 2027
Ari Moura : 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.” Metalist have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad19 Jul 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Dobrivoj Rusov and Metalist agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad19 Jul 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Ari Moura Ari Moura: that is not what I was promised
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market12 Jul 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Yevhen Pavliuk : 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.” Metalist have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market12 Jul 2027
Nyva come back empty-handedThe bid was some way short and Metalist did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market12 Jul 2027
Oleh Mozil is free to find somewhere else“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Metalist has been clear about where Oleh Mozil stands, which is more than many ever get.
Market12 Jul 2027
Metalist bring in an old headDobrivoj Rusov is 34 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Squad12 Jul 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Metalist , and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match5 Jul 2027
Metalist are in among the leadersPosition 2 and 57 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market5 Jul 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market5 Jul 2027
Kryvbas come back empty-handedThe bid was some way short and Metalist did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Peter Itodo commits to Metalist for another 4 years.
Market5 Jul 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Metalist have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Market5 Jul 2027
Chernihiv pay $6.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 Jun 2027
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Denys Antiukh reports back to Metalist with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Market28 Jun 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Metalist will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Market28 Jun 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Metalist have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad28 Jun 2027
The medical room confirms 49 days on the sidelines for Illia Sosnytskyi , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad28 Jun 2027
The manager makes an example of Marcelo Silva
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market28 Jun 2027
The name of Rafael Profini keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Jun 2027
The medical room confirms 16 days on the sidelines for Danylo Varakuta , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Market21 Jun 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Metalist will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Loan watch21 Jun 2027
“I did not go to Shakhtar to sit and watch. I want to come back to Metalist and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 0 matches say the rest.
Market21 Jun 2027
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Metalist has been clear about where Vladyslav Kalitvintsev stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad21 Jun 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market21 Jun 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Metalist know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Jun 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Metalist have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Deian Verón : 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.” Metalist have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market14 Jun 2027
Joel Sacks is free to find somewhere else“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Metalist has been clear about where Joel Sacks stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Ari Moura 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.
Market14 Jun 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Metalist know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match7 Jun 2027
Metalist are in among the leadersPosition 2 and 57 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Ihor Snurnitsyn : 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.” Metalist have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Oleksandr Yatsyk commits to Metalist for another 4 years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom31 May 2027
Qualification is done, and next season the floodlights come on for something bigger. A stage for the players, oxygen for the accounts and a passport for everybody else.
Squad31 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Deian Verón
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market31 May 2027
The name of Rafael Profini keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
Deian Verón The manager makes an example of Deian Verón
Squad31 May 2027
Lucas Dilelio 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 Metalist , and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market31 May 2027
The loan is over: 0 appearances and 0 goals away from home, and now the harder question of whether he is wanted here.
Squad31 May 2027
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Marcelo Silva plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 May 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market24 May 2027
The name of Nicolás Arévalo keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad24 May 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Metalist , and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 May 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad17 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Lucas Dilelio
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad17 May 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Metalist , and both men came out saying it was fine.
Ari Moura Ari Moura says Metalist went back on their word
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match10 May 2027
Metalist are in among the leadersPosition 2 and 57 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad10 May 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Nicolás Arévalo commits to Metalist for another 4 years.
Squad10 May 2027
Joel Sacks 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.
Loan watch10 May 2027
“I did not go to Victoriia Sumy to sit and watch. I want to come back to Metalist and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 14 matches say the rest.
Market10 May 2027
Peter Itodo linked with a move awayThe name of Peter Itodo keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad10 May 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Loan watch3 May 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Metalist , and 4 appearances in 37 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad3 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Ivan Lytvynenko
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad3 May 2027
Joel Sacks 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 Metalist , and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market3 May 2027
The name of Rafael Profini keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad3 May 2027
Is this Joel Sacks ’s last season?
“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Joel Sacks is 38, with 5 appearances behind him, and Metalist will have to plan for whichever answer comes.
Loan watch3 May 2027
24 starts and a season average of 6.86. The loan is doing exactly what it was arranged to do.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Ari Moura
“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.
Market26 Apr 2027
The name of Nicolás Arévalo keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Fabricio Santos 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.
Ari Moura The manager makes an example of Ari Moura
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Apr 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market19 Apr 2027
The name of Ivan Kaliuzhnyi keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Fabricio Santos 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 2027
Metalist up to position 257 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad12 Apr 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad12 Apr 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Yaroslav Karpizin and Metalist agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad12 Apr 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch12 Apr 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Metalist , and 2 appearances in 10 say he has earned the hearing.
Market12 Apr 2027
The Peter Itodo talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Metalist know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Apr 2027
Ari Moura : 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.” Metalist have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad5 Apr 2027
27 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jonathan Hereñú and Metalist agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Ari Moura Ari Moura: that is not what I was promised
Loan watch5 Apr 2027
“I did not go to Poltava to sit and watch. I want to come back to Metalist and fight for my place.” 4 appearances in 33 matches say the rest.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market5 Apr 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Metalist know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad29 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Marcelo Silva
“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.
Market29 Mar 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Metalist know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad29 Mar 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Metalist , and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Ari Moura
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Loan watch22 Mar 2027
26 appearances at Probiy and the goals keep coming. Metalist are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Joel Sacks 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.
Ari Moura The manager makes an example of Ari Moura
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match15 Mar 2027
Metalist up to position 257 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad15 Mar 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Loan watch15 Mar 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Metalist , and 2 appearances in 6 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Mar 2027
59 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Marcos Minetti and Metalist agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch8 Mar 2027
“I did not go to Poltava to sit and watch. I want to come back to Metalist and fight for my place.” 4 appearances in 29 matches say the rest.
Market8 Mar 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Metalist know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Loan watch8 Mar 2027
24 starts and an average of 6.86. He went there to play and he is playing, which is the only thing a loan was ever for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Mar 2027
Marcelo Silva hands in a written request“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Metalist can pretend not to have heard.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Dmytro Kapinus : 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.” Metalist have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market1 Mar 2027
LNZ pay $800.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Squad1 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Joel Sacks
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Metalist 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.
Market1 Mar 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Metalist know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match20 Feb 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 12 matches without defeat is a foundation Metalist did not have in the autumn.
Squad22 Feb 2027
17 goals and a season average of 7.21. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Deian Verón 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Danylo Varakuta knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Match20 Feb 2027
1-1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Loan watch22 Feb 2027
26 appearances at Probiy and the goals keep coming. Metalist are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match15 Feb 2027
Metalist are in among the leadersPosition 2 and 56 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Match13 Feb 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 11 matches without defeat is a foundation Metalist did not have in the autumn.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Oleh Mozil : 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.” Metalist have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Oleh Mozil Oleh Mozil: that is not what I was promised
Squad15 Feb 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Carlos Paraco commits to Metalist for another 4 years.
Market15 Feb 2027
Artem Shabanov has left for Chornomorets in a $120.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad15 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Marcelo Silva
“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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A season average of 7.20 with 5 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match13 Feb 2027
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Obolon came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Market15 Feb 2027
The Peter Itodo talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Metalist know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market8 Feb 2027
Rukh come back empty-handedThe bid was some way short and Metalist did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Match6 Feb 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 10 matches without defeat is a foundation Metalist did not have in the autumn.
Market8 Feb 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Danylo Varakuta and Metalist agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Loan watch8 Feb 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Metalist , and 3 appearances in 25 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad8 Feb 2027
3 goals and a season average of 7.34. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Oleksandr Yatsyk will call it something else in private.
Squad8 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Ari Moura
“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.
Match6 Feb 2027
It finished 1-1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Feb 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market1 Feb 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Match30 Jan 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 9 matches without defeat is a foundation Metalist did not have in the autumn.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Ermir Rashica : 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.” Metalist have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match30 Jan 2027
A 3-1 win over Kryvbas , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Denys Antiukh is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.51 with 4 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad1 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Joel Sacks
“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.
Market1 Feb 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Metalist will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Market1 Feb 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Metalist know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market25 Jan 2027
Denys Antiukh hands in a written request“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Metalist can pretend not to have heard.
Squad25 Jan 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Match23 Jan 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Metalist did not have in the autumn.
Squad25 Jan 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Rafael Profini and Metalist agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match23 Jan 2027
Three points for Metalist , 2-0 the final word against Karpaty in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad25 Jan 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
Wages eat 92% of everything Metalist earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Joel Sacks 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 Jan 2027
The name of Ivan Kaliuzhnyi keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Metalist say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match18 Jan 2027
Metalist are in among the leadersPosition 2 and 48 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market18 Jan 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Fabricio Santos : 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.” Metalist have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match16 Jan 2027
No end in sight to Metalist 's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Metalist has to find a result from somewhere.
Match16 Jan 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Metalist did not have in the autumn.
Squad18 Jan 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A season average of 7.20 with 5 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match16 Jan 2027
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Zorya defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Baton Zabërgja 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
Squad11 Jan 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Match9 Jan 2027
No end in sight to Metalist 's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Metalist has to find a result from somewhere.
Match9 Jan 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Metalist did not have in the autumn.
Lucas Dilelio Lucas Dilelio says Metalist went back on their word
Squad11 Jan 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch11 Jan 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Metalist , and 3 appearances in 21 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A season average of 7.29 with 3 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad4 Jan 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Match2 Jan 2027
No end in sight to Metalist 's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Metalist has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad4 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Peter Itodo
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Denys Antiukh is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.44 with 3 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad4 Jan 2027
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Metalist pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Match2 Jan 2027
Honours even between Metalist and Rukh
1-1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Dec 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
145% of the income goes out in wages at Metalist
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Squad28 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Denys Antiukh is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.40 with 2 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match26 Dec 2026
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Kolos defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Marcelo Silva 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
Match21 Dec 2026
Metalist are in among the leadersPosition 2 and 44 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market21 Dec 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad21 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Joel Sacks
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad21 Dec 2026
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Danylo Varakuta knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Match19 Dec 2026
A 2-2 draw with Dynamo Kyiv leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The terraces21 Dec 2026
Everybody has an opinion about Danylo Varakuta
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Dec 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Deian Verón 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.
Loan watch14 Dec 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Metalist , and 3 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match5 Dec 2026
A 3-1 win over Poltava , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad7 Dec 2026
3 goals and a season average of 7.25. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Joel Sacks 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 Metalist , and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market7 Dec 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Metalist know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad7 Dec 2026
It went in off him and he did not care in the slightest. 3 for the season now, and a forward who has scored is a different footballer by Tuesday.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad30 Nov 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Illia Krupskyi and Metalist agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match28 Nov 2026
1-2 to Shakhtar , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Valerii Dubko Valerii Dubko says Metalist went back on their word
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages eat 182% of everything Metalist earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad30 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Jonathan Hereñú
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Denys Antiukh is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.30 with 2 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match21 Nov 2026
Still nobody has beaten Metalist
The unbeaten run reaches 18. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Match23 Nov 2026
Metalist are in among the leadersPosition 1 and 39 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market23 Nov 2026
“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.
Match21 Nov 2026
Oleksandriya made Metalist work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad23 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Danylo Varakuta
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad23 Nov 2026
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Matei Popa knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Squad23 Nov 2026
A season average of 7.20 with 5 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market23 Nov 2026
The Peter Itodo talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Metalist know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.