From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market29 Mar 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 Montana can pretend not to have heard.
Squad29 Mar 2027
100 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Ulises Agüero 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market22 Mar 2027
Fulvio Duarte 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 Montana can pretend not to have heard.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Chinedu Ekene 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 Montana , and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market22 Mar 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Iván Morel may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match15 Mar 2027
Montana sink to position 1619 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market15 Mar 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Freire gets it from the manager“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 Mar 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Gonzalo Ontivero and Montana agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Nicklas Bärkroth 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
Market1 Mar 2027
Jorge Giménez 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 Montana can pretend not to have heard.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Ivan Kokonov : 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.” Montana have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad1 Mar 2027
130 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market22 Feb 2027
Fulvio Duarte 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 Montana can pretend not to have heard.
Squad22 Feb 2027
The medical room confirms 39 days on the sidelines for Kostadin Iliev , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad22 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Úmaro Baldé
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match15 Feb 2027
Montana sink to position 1619 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market15 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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Iván Morel gets it from the manager“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match6 Feb 2027
10 matches without a win for Montana
The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Montana are no longer polite ones.
Market8 Feb 2027
Chinedu Ekene 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 Montana can pretend not to have heard.
Match6 Feb 2027
Spartak 1918 left with the points after a 0-2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Yesid Valbuena and Montana agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Feb 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.
Market8 Feb 2027
Matteo Donatiello is 20, and Montana have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match30 Jan 2027
9 matches without a win for Montana
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Montana are no longer polite ones.
Market1 Feb 2027
Jorge Giménez 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 Montana can pretend not to have heard.
Market1 Feb 2027
The paperwork is done: Yesid Valbuena joins from Beroe in a deal worth $390.0K. Now comes the harder part.
Match30 Jan 2027
Beaten 1-2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Market1 Feb 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Montana have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad1 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Jorge Giménez
“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 Feb 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Juan José Barreña and Montana agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market1 Feb 2027
He is 19, and nobody at Montana signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Ulises Agüero will call it something else in private.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Jan 2027
8 matches without a win for Montana
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Montana are no longer polite ones.
Market25 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.
Market25 Jan 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Montana have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
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.
Match23 Jan 2027
Lokomotiv Plovdiv left with the points after a 0-1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Jorge Giménez 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
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The terraces25 Jan 2027
Supporters make their feelings known about Vajebah Sakor
The speculation has reached the stands, and the stands have answered. Montana would like this settled before it becomes the only thing anybody asks about.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A new face in his position, and Aleksandar Todorov suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Montana have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match18 Jan 2027
Montana sink to position 1619 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Match16 Jan 2027
7 matches without a win for Montana
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Montana are no longer polite ones.
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.
Market18 Jan 2027
Beroe pay $310.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Match16 Jan 2027
Beaten 0-1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
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
Gonzalo Ontivero 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.
Market18 Jan 2027
“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.
Market18 Jan 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Vajebah Sakor may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market11 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.
Match9 Jan 2027
6 matches without a win for Montana
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Montana are no longer polite ones.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Filip Jania commits to Montana for another 4 years.
Mazinho Mazinho asks to leave Montana
Squad11 Jan 2027
No place for Chinedu Ekene 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 Montana pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Squad11 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Freire
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad11 Jan 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 Montana , and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market4 Jan 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market4 Jan 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 Montana can pretend not to have heard.
Match2 Jan 2027
5 matches without a win for Montana
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Montana are no longer polite ones.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Chinedu Ekene commits to Montana for another 4 years.
Market4 Jan 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Montana have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad4 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Boris Dimitrov : 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.” Montana have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match26 Dec 2026
4 matches without a win for Montana
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Montana are no longer polite ones.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
149% of the income goes out in wages at Montana
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
“The easiest signature of my career.” Rubén García and Montana agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Vajebah Sakor 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.
Match26 Dec 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Ludogorets came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Market28 Dec 2026
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Rubén García arrives at Montana with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match21 Dec 2026
Montana are in real trouble nowPosition 16, 16 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market21 Dec 2026
Vajebah Sakor 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 Montana can pretend not to have heard.
Match19 Dec 2026
0-2 to Botev Plovdiv , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market14 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.
Match12 Dec 2026
CSKA Sofia left with the points after a 0-2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad14 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.
Mazinho Mazinho asks to leave Montana
Squad14 Dec 2026
Fulvio Duarte 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 Montana , and both men came out saying it was fine.
The terraces14 Dec 2026
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Market14 Dec 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Montana know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Dec 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Montana can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Dec 2026
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.
Squad7 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
The medical room confirms 18 days on the sidelines for Boris Dimitrov , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Úmaro Baldé and Montana agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match5 Dec 2026
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Levski defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market30 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.
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.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages eat 164% of everything Montana 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.
Match28 Nov 2026
A 1-0 win over Lokomotiv Sofia , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad30 Nov 2026
David Carmona 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 Montana , and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad30 Nov 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match23 Nov 2026
Montana are in real trouble nowPosition 16, 12 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Match18 Nov 2026
The cup run ends for Montana
1-3 against Ludogorets , and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Market23 Nov 2026
Vajebah Sakor 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 Montana can pretend not to have heard.
The terraces23 Nov 2026
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 8 of the 36 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Squad23 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.
Match21 Nov 2026
No end in sight to Montana 's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Montana has to find a result from somewhere.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market16 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.
Squad16 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.
Match14 Nov 2026
Beaten 1-2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Mazinho Mazinho asks to leave Montana
Squad16 Nov 2026
Mazinho 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Vajebah Sakor 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Montana have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market9 Nov 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Montana can pretend not to have heard.
Squad9 Nov 2026
47 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad9 Nov 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market2 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Jorginho Soares : 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.” Montana have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages eat 164% of everything Montana 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.
Match31 Oct 2026
Dobrudzha made Montana work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Ivan Kokonov 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Mazinho asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match26 Oct 2026
Montana sink to position 167 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market26 Oct 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
The medical room confirms 34 days on the sidelines for Philip Ejike , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market19 Oct 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.
Match17 Oct 2026
CSKA 1948 left with the points after a 0-2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad19 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Freire
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Mazinho
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match10 Oct 2026
Three points for Montana , 1-0 the final word against Lokomotiv Plovdiv in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Montana , and both men came out saying it was fine.
Mazinho The manager makes an example of Mazinho
Market12 Oct 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Vajebah Sakor may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The terraces12 Oct 2026
The press cannot get enough of Atanas Kabov
Praise is not points and never has been. It is, however, the fastest way for a valuation to move, and everybody in the game reads the same pages.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Mazinho is starting to look at homeThe language is arriving, the jokes are landing, and there is somebody at the next peg to talk to. None of it appears in a scouting report and all of it shows up on the pitch.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market5 Oct 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.
Match3 Oct 2026
No end in sight to Montana 's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Montana has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Vitinho says Montana 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Mazinho signs a new deal“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mazinho commits to Montana for another 2 years.
Match3 Oct 2026
A bad afternoon for Montana against Beroe
1-2 to Beroe , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages eat 259% of everything Montana 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of David Carmona
“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.
Market5 Oct 2026
“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.
Squad5 Oct 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match28 Sep 2026
Montana are in real trouble nowPosition 16, 4 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market28 Sep 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.
Match26 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Montana 's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Montana has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad28 Sep 2026
63 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad28 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Ivaylo Markov
“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 Sep 2026
Costly mistake from Bo Geens
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Bo Geens knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market21 Sep 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.
Match19 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Montana 's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Montana has to find a result from somewhere.
Match19 Sep 2026
A bad afternoon for Montana against Arda
0-1 to Arda , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Ivan Kokonov gets it from the manager“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Vajebah Sakor asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market21 Sep 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Montana know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 Sep 2026
Beaten 0-3 by Ludogorets , and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Match12 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Montana 's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Montana has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad14 Sep 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.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Nobody left the Montana dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Costly mistake from Bo Geens
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Bo Geens knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Ivan Kokonov 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 Montana , and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
Squad
Atanas Kabov has taken the shirt
Market
The window shut and Vitinho is still in the building
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Sep 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Atanas Kabov 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.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Wages eat 102% of everything Montana 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The captaincy has been taken off Vajebah Sakor . Montana will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“Ask me in the summer. I will know before anybody else does.” He is 37 with 1 appearances behind him, and Montana have to plan for both answers.
Match5 Sep 2026
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Botev Plovdiv will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market31 Aug 2026
Arian Mršulja 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 Montana can pretend not to have heard.
Squad31 Aug 2026
91 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market31 Aug 2026
The paperwork is done: Ivaylo Nedelchev joins from Arda in a deal worth $80.0K. Now comes the harder part.
Squad31 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Anton Tungarov
“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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Fulvio Duarte 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
Match19 Aug 2026
Cup progress for Montana
A 2-1 win over Botev Plovdiv , a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Market24 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Montana can pretend not to have heard.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A one-man rearguard from Márcio Rosa
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.
Match22 Aug 2026
Beaten 1-3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad24 Aug 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Fulvio Duarte 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 Montana , and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad24 Aug 2026
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Montana have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Market24 Aug 2026
Vitinho placed on the listMontana have made Vitinho available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Market24 Aug 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Montana know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces17 Aug 2026
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 7 of the 30 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Market17 Aug 2026
Vasil Simeonov has left for CSKA 1948 in a $860.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Match15 Aug 2026
0-2 to Lokomotiv Sofia , and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad17 Aug 2026
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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Montana , and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market17 Aug 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Anton Tungarov may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market10 Aug 2026
Vajebah Sakor 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 Montana can pretend not to have heard.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market10 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Montana have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad10 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Ivan Kokonov
“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.
Match8 Aug 2026
Slavia Sofia left with the points after a 0-1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Market10 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Montana can pretend not to have heard.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Vasil Simeonov and Montana agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Boris Dimitrov
“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 Aug 2026
“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.
Market3 Aug 2026
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Montana has been clear about where Ibrahim Muhammad stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Vajebah Sakor 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.