From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Nov 2027
33 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Montana lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market15 Nov 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vladislav Tsekov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Montana the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad15 Nov 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Montana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
Márcio Rosa gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Márcio Rosa is on it.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Petar Atanasov's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Looking ahead15 Nov 2027
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Chavdar Ivaylov’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Montana needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Hamza Bouihrouchane trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad15 Nov 2027
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Montana would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 Nov 2027
Velislav Vasilev damages knee ligaments — 41 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 41 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match6 Nov 2027
Nowhere to hide for Montana
1‑4 against Hebar, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Radoslav Zhivkov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Azevedo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom8 Nov 2027
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑4, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Ibrahim Keïta makes the team of the month
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Market8 Nov 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Montana, another week without a signature from Márcio Rosa.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad1 Nov 2027
Velislav Vasilev damages knee ligaments — 48 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 48 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
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 Montana can pretend not to have heard.
Squad1 Nov 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Montana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Nov 2027
A row about effort at Montana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Azevedo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match30 Oct 2027
A bad afternoon for Montana against Vihren
0‑1 to Vihren, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
Márcio Rosa gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Georgi Milanov left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Chidera Micheal is on it.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
Somebody else is better right now than Ivaylo Markov
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad25 Oct 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Velislav Vasilev
56 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Montana lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad25 Oct 2027
The match ball belongs to Misael Sosa, whose 5 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Match23 Oct 2027
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 6‑0 against Ludogorets II, and it could have been more.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Ninety minutes of Misael Sosa at his very best
Marked 10.00. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Montana.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Words exchanged at Montana
Chidera Micheal and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match23 Oct 2027
Misael Sosa among the goals in a wild afternoon
6 goals in one match, Misael Sosa on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Montana and Ludogorets II.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Marked 9.59 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
19 shots, and a count that reads like a good afternoon until you check the other column. Strikers survive weeks like this on the understanding that the chances keep arriving; the day they stop is the day it becomes a problem.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Hamza Bouihrouchane, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad18 Oct 2027
Velislav Vasilev damages knee ligaments — 63 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 63 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match16 Oct 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.
Player ratings18 Oct 2027
Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Montana may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market18 Oct 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Montana is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words exchanged at Montana
Ibrahim Keïta and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Tomás Azevedo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings18 Oct 2027
Ninety minutes of Dimitar Burov at his very best
Marked 8.15. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Montana.
Squad18 Oct 2027
25 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Oct 2027
71 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Montana lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Azevedo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Kirill Yakuta was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stefan Statev, and the manager let it.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Petar Atanasov is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Looking ahead11 Oct 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Spartak Pleven in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Vajebah Sakor knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vajebah Sakor trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market11 Oct 2027
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.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad4 Oct 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Velislav Vasilev
78 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Montana lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
Vladislav Tsekov: 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.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ivan Kokonov and Montana agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words exchanged at Montana
Radoslav Zhivkov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad4 Oct 2027
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
The manager makes an example of Chavdar Ivaylov
“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.
Match2 Oct 2027
It needed Ibrahim Keïta to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Sevlievo, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Sep 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Velislav Vasilev
85 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Montana lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
Adam Wierzbicki: 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.
Squad27 Sep 2027
A falling-out at Montana
Radoslav Zhivkov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Azevedo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match25 Sep 2027
1‑2 to CSKA Sofia II, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout27 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.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Georgi Milanov to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
A promise honoured at Montana
Something was said to João Daniel and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Market27 Sep 2027
No place for Edu Silva in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Edu Silva has his answer from Montana; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad20 Sep 2027
Velislav Vasilev damages knee ligaments — 92 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 92 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market20 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 Montana can pretend not to have heard.
Market20 Sep 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vladislav Tsekov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Montana the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad20 Sep 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Montana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Ivan Kokonov is not the player he was
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 36 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Tomás Azevedo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Market20 Sep 2027
Montana have made Tomás Azevedo available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Montana, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Petar Atanasov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad13 Sep 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Velislav Vasilev
100 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Montana lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad13 Sep 2027
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Market13 Sep 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.
The dugout13 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
A falling-out at Montana
Ibrahim Keïta and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match11 Sep 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Market13 Sep 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Galin Milanov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market13 Sep 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Stanimir Yankov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market13 Sep 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Zdravko Tonev is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad6 Sep 2027
Velislav Vasilev damages knee ligaments — 109 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 109 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market6 Sep 2027
Ibrahim Keïta 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.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Window shuts: 20 in, 11 out at Montana
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 20 arrived, 11 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Ludogorets is saying, and nobody at Montana is enjoying the guessing.
Market6 Sep 2027
The shirt still fits. Dimitar Burov is back at Montana, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Squad6 Sep 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Montana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Tomás Azevedo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Montana will try again when the window opens; Sevlievo may not be selling by then.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad30 Aug 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Velislav Vasilev
118 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Montana lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market30 Aug 2027
Tomás Azevedo 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.
Market30 Aug 2027
Montana say no — this time
The offer from Cherno More for Ibrahim Keïta was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Transfer targets30 Aug 2027
Everything agreed with AZ, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Ibrahim Keïta was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Azevedo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets30 Aug 2027
Montana asked and Piast said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match28 Aug 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Misael Sosa. 1‑0 against Minyor Pernik, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Misael Sosa was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.06. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad23 Aug 2027
Velislav Vasilev damages knee ligaments — 127 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 127 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad23 Aug 2027
A one-man rearguard from Márcio Rosa
There were 9 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match18 Aug 2027
Montana bow out of the cup
CSKA Sofia go through and Montana go home, 1‑3 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
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 Montana can pretend not to have heard.
Match21 Aug 2027
The 87th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Tomás Azevedo decided nobody was going anywhere. Sportist Svoge had no time left to answer.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
Tomás Azevedo goes up and wins it — 7.88
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.88 for the rest of it.
Market23 Aug 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Montana they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match21 Aug 2027
Sportist Svoge made Montana work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Aug 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Velislav Vasilev
134 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Montana lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match14 Aug 2027
Cruel end for Etar as Montana pounce
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Montana scored in the 91th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Two goals and a mark of 8.78 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Montana have done the hard part with Lech, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Radoslav Zhivkov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match14 Aug 2027
It finished 3‑2, and it was Misael Sosa’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Montana.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Azevedo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Slavia Prague have kept their man, and Montana go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad9 Aug 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Velislav Vasilev
142 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Montana lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
Axel Velev, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.86
A mark of 7.86 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Market9 Aug 2027
Montana say no — this time
The offer from Etar for Vladislav Tsekov was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words exchanged at Montana
Radoslav Zhivkov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match7 Aug 2027
2‑3 to Dobrudzha, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Chavdar Ivaylov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
Montana asked and Ludogorets said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
No hiding place for Hevertton
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Hevertton, and the manager let it.
Squad9 Aug 2027
29 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market2 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.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
The deal with Lokomotiv Plovdiv is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad2 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Montana
Chavdar Ivaylov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefan Statev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Defensive actions: 16, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad2 Aug 2027
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Vladislav Tsekov is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Panos Chaikalis, and the manager let it.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Georgi Milanov after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The terraces26 Jul 2027
The mood at Montana has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Market26 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.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.19, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market26 Jul 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Montana is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad26 Jul 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Montana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
Door shut on Manu
Montana asked and CSKA 1948 said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Azevedo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Jul 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Montana, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
Ibrahim Muhammad: 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.
Market19 Jul 2027
Montana say no — this time
The offer from Lokomotiv Plovdiv for Arian Mršulja was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Puskas Akademia is saying, and nobody at Montana is enjoying the guessing.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Radoslav Zhivkov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match17 Jul 2027
The goals have deserted Montana
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Montana can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chavdar Ivaylov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
A loan move for Oliver Rudman is in the works
Montana have made the call to Altamura. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
In brief
-
The dugout
The view from the dugout
-
Boardroom
Montana say no to the training-ground money
-
Match
Montana draw a blank against Fratria
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Jul 2027
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.
Market12 Jul 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words exchanged at Montana
Radoslav Zhivkov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chavdar Ivaylov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Market12 Jul 2027
Add another name to the list: Lokomotiv Plovdiv have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Arian Mršulja. The answer from Montana has not changed — yet.
Market12 Jul 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Stoycho Popov has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Misael Sosa has outgrown this division
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Montana know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Adam Wierzbicki, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
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.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Aarau is saying, and nobody at Montana is enjoying the guessing.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Montana are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Tomás Azevedo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
Montana asked and Slavia Sofia said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market5 Jul 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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words exchanged at Montana
Edu Silva and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
Godoy Cruz have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
A loan enquiry to Lech: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces28 Jun 2027
Supporters organise against the Montana board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Market28 Jun 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Montana, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market28 Jun 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Montana have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market28 Jun 2027
The deal that would have taken Vitinho to Yantra has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Montana with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Market28 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad28 Jun 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Montana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Montana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Azevedo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
Aarau have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market21 Jun 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Montana have done the hard part with Levski, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Vasil Simeonov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chavdar Ivaylov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Market21 Jun 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.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
Stefan Statev knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Stefan Statev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market21 Jun 2027
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.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Hevertton has outgrown this division
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Montana know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Jun 2027
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Marek had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Market14 Jun 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Montana people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market14 Jun 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Montana, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market14 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Montana
Vasil Simeonov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Velislav Vasilev falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
Montana asked and Envigado said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
A loan enquiry to NK Maribor: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
A loan enquiry to Spartak 1918: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
It is over: Montana are relegated
The arithmetic ran out, and everybody could see it coming from a distance. The hard summer starts now, and next season's fixtures will be full of unfamiliar names.
Market7 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market7 Jun 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.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
This is not rotation. Vasil Simeonov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Montana is pretending otherwise.
Market7 Jun 2027
The phone has started ringing about Vitinho again, and this time the name on the line is Spartak Pleven. Montana are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad7 Jun 2027
A falling-out at Montana
Vasil Simeonov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Azevedo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets7 Jun 2027
Montana asked and Sevlievo said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout7 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces31 May 2027
The mood at Montana has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Market31 May 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.
Squad31 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Montana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 May 2027
Vitinho falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout31 May 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Chavdar Ivaylov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout31 May 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Market31 May 2027
Montana have let the market know Arian Mršulja can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Market31 May 2027
The name of Vasil Simeonov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Montana say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad31 May 2027
Vitinho still has not settled
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Montana would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 May 2027
Stefan Statev 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.
Squad24 May 2027
Vasil Simeonov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad24 May 2027
Chidera Micheal falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout24 May 2027
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.
Market24 May 2027
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.
The dugout24 May 2027
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match17 May 2027
Every point is an argument now for Montana
Position 15 and 20 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Market17 May 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.
Squad17 May 2027
A row about effort at Montana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vasil Simeonov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad17 May 2027
Words exchanged at Montana
Martin Atanasov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout17 May 2027
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 Montana, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market17 May 2027
The Ivan Kokonov talk will not go away
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.
Squad17 May 2027
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Montana will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Market17 May 2027
Montana have let the market know Ibrahim Keïta can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
The dugout17 May 2027
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Montana. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market10 May 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.
Squad10 May 2027
A falling-out at Montana
Radoslav Zhivkov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vasil Simeonov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout10 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vladislav Tsekov, and the manager let it.
The dugout10 May 2027
Stefan Statev 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.
Market10 May 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until David Carmona signs something — a contract at Montana or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout10 May 2027
Márcio Rosa gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Márcio Rosa is on it.
Market10 May 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Vasil Simeonov may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Squad10 May 2027
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at Montana the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces3 May 2027
Supporters organise against the Montana board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Market3 May 2027
Ibrahim Keïta 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.
Squad3 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Montana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Montana are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chidera Micheal is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market3 May 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 dugout3 May 2027
Stefan Statev knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Stefan Statev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout3 May 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Petar Atanasov's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Market3 May 2027
The name of Vasil Simeonov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Montana say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Apr 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Chavdar Ivaylov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vasil Simeonov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout26 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.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
David Carmona asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market26 Apr 2027
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
Match19 Apr 2027
Montana sink to position 15
20 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market19 Apr 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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Chavdar Ivaylov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vasil Simeonov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
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.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
Ibrahim Keïta 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
Market12 Apr 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Montana, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout12 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
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Montana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Montana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Chidera Micheal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Chavdar Ivaylov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market12 Apr 2027
The name of David Carmona keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Montana say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
When it matters, Márcio Rosa plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Nerves in the Montana squad
Elijah Dijkstra has been around long enough to know what the spring feels like when it goes wrong, and he can feel it. A dressing room that is frightened plays like one.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Montana. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Apr 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Montana, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Elijah Dijkstra is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Boris Dimitrov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vasil Simeonov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vajebah Sakor, and the manager let it.
Squad5 Apr 2027
The captaincy has been taken off Ivan Kokonov. Montana will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Chavdar Ivaylov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Market5 Apr 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Vasil Simeonov signs something — a contract at Montana or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market29 Mar 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Montana, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout29 Mar 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Montana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vasil Simeonov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stefan Statev, and the manager let it.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Montana
Martin Atanasov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Tomás Azevedo asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market29 Mar 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Velislav Vasilev’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market29 Mar 2027
Montana have made Vajebah Sakor available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Montana. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match22 Mar 2027
Montana sink to position 15
20 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market22 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Radoslav Zhivkov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vajebah Sakor is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Petar Atanasov, and the manager let it.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
Tomás Azevedo 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.
Market22 Mar 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Ivan Kokonov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad22 Mar 2027
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Montana will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Montana. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market15 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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Montana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Montana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vasil Simeonov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad15 Mar 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Montana know it.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Too much change too quickly at Montana
7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout15 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout8 Mar 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.
Market8 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ivan Kokonov and Montana agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Mar 2027
A falling-out at Montana
Chavdar Ivaylov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Montana know it.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vasil Simeonov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout8 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.
Market8 Mar 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 dugout8 Mar 2027
Vasil Simeonov 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match27 Feb 2027
Nowhere to hide for Montana
0‑4 against Spartak 1918, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Market1 Mar 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Montana, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Montana
Vasil Simeonov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad1 Mar 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Montana know it.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Stefan Statev
“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
A row about effort at Montana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vajebah Sakor was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad1 Mar 2027
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Boardroom1 Mar 2027
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
Market1 Mar 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 Feb 2027
Montana sink to position 15
20 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market22 Feb 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Montana
Boris Dimitrov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vasil Simeonov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
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.
Match20 Feb 2027
CSKA 1948 left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Looking ahead22 Feb 2027
Both clubs in the mire, one fixture between them, and a ground that will be louder and more frightened than at any point in the season. Montana know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Boris Dimitrov will call it something else in private.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market15 Feb 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Montana, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Montana may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Tycho de Wit, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.95
A mark of 7.95 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Squad15 Feb 2027
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match13 Feb 2027
The drought breaks for Montana
7 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Lokomotiv Plovdiv were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Montana
Boris Dimitrov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Montana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vasil Simeonov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets15 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. CSKA Moscow have kept their man, and Montana go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The terraces15 Feb 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Tycho de Wit has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 Feb 2027
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market8 Feb 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.
Match6 Feb 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.
Match6 Feb 2027
Montana leaking at the back
5 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match6 Feb 2027
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.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vajebah Sakor is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Montana
Martin Atanasov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match30 Jan 2027
Chastening afternoon for Montana
A 1‑4 beating by Septemvri was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
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
The wait goes on for Montana
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The dugout1 Feb 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.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Montana close the window on a squad of their own making
6 in and 2 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Montana
Radoslav Zhivkov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Montana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vasil Simeonov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Lokomotiv Plovdiv have kept their man, and Montana go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match25 Jan 2027
Every point is an argument now for Montana
Position 15 and 17 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Match23 Jan 2027
Chastening afternoon for Montana
A 0‑3 beating by Arda was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
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.
Match23 Jan 2027
The wait goes on for Montana
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match23 Jan 2027
The goals have deserted Montana
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Montana can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad25 Jan 2027
43 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
No thanks: Igor Dmitriev rejects the move
Montana had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Spartak Moscow, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Radoslav Zhivkov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Vasil Simeonov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match16 Jan 2027
Chastening afternoon for Montana
A 0‑3 beating by Ludogorets was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market18 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.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Dinamo Moscow is saying, and nobody at Montana is enjoying the guessing.
Match16 Jan 2027
The wait goes on for Montana
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match16 Jan 2027
The goals have deserted Montana
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Montana can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad18 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Montana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Lokomotiv Plovdiv have kept their man, and Montana go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout18 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
Crisis
Match9 Jan 2027
Nowhere to hide for Montana
0‑4 against Botev Plovdiv, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Market11 Jan 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Montana, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Boris Dimitrov is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Montana
Chavdar Ivaylov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Edu Silva gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Edu Silva has just signed for Montana, and for once the answer mattered.
Market11 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vasil Simeonov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match9 Jan 2027
The goals have deserted Montana
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Montana can tell you which week it ends in.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Chernomorets Burgas have kept their man, and Montana go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad4 Jan 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 12 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Market4 Jan 2027
Montana say no — this time
The offer from Botev Vratsa for Vasil Simeonov was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market4 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Montana
Vasil Simeonov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Hamza Bouihrouchane commits to Montana for another 3 years.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Montana can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
Montana asked and Sevlievo said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout4 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.
Match2 Jan 2027
0‑1 to CSKA Sofia, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market28 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.
Match28 Dec 2026
Montana are in real trouble now
Position 14, 17 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Elijah Dijkstra is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Montana may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Vasil Simeonov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match26 Dec 2026
A bad afternoon for Montana against Levski
0‑2 to Levski, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stefan Statev, and the manager let it.
Squad28 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Montana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vajebah Sakor was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Dec 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Tycho de Wit, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.08
A mark of 8.08 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Tomás Azevedo and Montana agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefan Statev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The terraces21 Dec 2026
At 19 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match19 Dec 2026
It finished 1‑0, and it was Tycho de Wit’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Montana.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“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
Tycho de Wit is the weekend's best young player
At 19 he is being measured against the rest of the division's kids and coming out in front. The senior version of this award is where the club would like this to lead.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Dec 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 16 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad14 Dec 2026
8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match12 Dec 2026
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 86th, and Slavia Sofia spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
The dugout14 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.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Tycho de Wit, 19, steals the show — 7.71
Marked 7.71 at 19, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad14 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Montana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stefan Statev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match12 Dec 2026
Three points for Montana, 2‑1 the final word against Slavia Sofia in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Match12 Dec 2026
It had gone 5 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
In brief
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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The dugout
The manager makes an example of Albin Linnér
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The dugout
Stefan Statev knocks on the manager’s door
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Dec 2026
23 days out for Chavdar Ivaylov after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Montana will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match5 Dec 2026
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.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Match5 Dec 2026
Cherno More left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Montana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Azevedo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jorginho Soares, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Georgi Milanov left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
Vasil Simeonov is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad30 Nov 2026
30 days out for Chavdar Ivaylov after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Montana will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market30 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.
Squad30 Nov 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.
Match28 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.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
The game went through Tomás Azevedo — 6.71
Marked 6.71 on 15 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Chavdar Ivaylov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefan Statev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vasil Simeonov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad23 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Chavdar Ivaylov out for 38 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Montana will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market23 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.
Match23 Nov 2026
Montana sink to position 14
11 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Tycho de Wit, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.67
A mark of 7.67 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Squad23 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Montana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefan Statev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The terraces23 Nov 2026
At 19 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
The dugout23 Nov 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.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Elijah Dijkstra is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Chavdar Ivaylov out for 45 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Montana will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Montana
Vasil Simeonov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Montana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Azevedo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout16 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.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
David Carmona knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and David Carmona trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Looking ahead16 Nov 2026
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Stefan Statev’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Montana needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Market16 Nov 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Chidera Micheal’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Márcio Rosa has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Montana will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad9 Nov 2026
52 days out for Chavdar Ivaylov after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Montana will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Montana
Vasil Simeonov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match7 Nov 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout9 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.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Ivan Kokonov beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market9 Nov 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.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad2 Nov 2026
60 days out for Chavdar Ivaylov after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Montana will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad2 Nov 2026
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.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Tycho de Wit, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.95
A mark of 7.95 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Match31 Oct 2026
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad2 Nov 2026
200 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Tycho de Wit is the month’s best young player
At 19 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Montana will try not to make too much of it.
Market2 Nov 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Montana, another week without a signature from Chavdar Ivaylov.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Oct 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 67 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Two goals and a mark of 8.38 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Montana may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Tomás Azevedo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout26 Oct 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.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑1, already talking about the next one.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Stefan Statev 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
Squad19 Oct 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 75 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match17 Oct 2026
Anton Tungarov wins it after the whistle should have gone
93 minutes played. Anton Tungarov found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Beroe went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Squad19 Oct 2026
8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Tycho de Wit, 19, steals the show — 8.02
Marked 8.02 at 19, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Anton Tungarov pops up at the right end — 7.44
7.44, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Match17 Oct 2026
It had gone 8 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.
Match17 Oct 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Anton Tungarov. 2‑1 against Beroe, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The terraces19 Oct 2026
At 19 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Tomás Azevedo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Chavdar Ivaylov out for 82 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Montana will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Montana may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Boris Dimitrov is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Montana
Chavdar Ivaylov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Vasil Simeonov
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Montana are still strangers to each other
11 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Looking ahead12 Oct 2026
Beroe next, and one man in the Montana dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
The dugout12 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.
Market12 Oct 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with David Carmona’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
In brief
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The dugout
Márcio Rosa gets picked when it counts
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Looking ahead
Looking ahead: Beroe at home
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad5 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Chavdar Ivaylov out for 90 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Montana will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match5 Oct 2026
Every point is an argument now for Montana
Position 16 and 4 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Match3 Oct 2026
The wait goes on for Montana
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match3 Oct 2026
The goals have deserted Montana
8 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Montana can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad5 Oct 2026
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad5 Oct 2026
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Vasil Simeonov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match3 Oct 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout5 Oct 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
Crisis
Squad28 Sep 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 97 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match26 Sep 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
7 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match26 Sep 2026
Montana cannot find the net
7 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad28 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Montana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match26 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.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Azevedo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Georgi Milanov left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Sep 2026
A fracture rules Chavdar Ivaylov out for 105 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Montana will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match19 Sep 2026
Chastening afternoon for Montana
A 0‑4 beating by Ludogorets was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad21 Sep 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.
Match19 Sep 2026
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.
Match19 Sep 2026
6 matches without a goal for Montana
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 6 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Montana
Vasil Simeonov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout21 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.
Boardroom21 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.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑4 defeat, delivered by Georgi Milanov to a room that had heard them before.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Sep 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 113 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match12 Sep 2026
0‑3 to Botev Plovdiv, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Match12 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.
Match12 Sep 2026
Montana cannot find the net
5 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Montana asked and AZ said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tycho de Wit, and the manager let it.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Montana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Azevedo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Tycho de Wit has outgrown this division
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Montana know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Doors closed at Montana
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
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.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 21 signed and 0 gone
That is the business done at Montana until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Everything agreed with AZ, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Montana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Azevedo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Vladislav Tsekov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market7 Sep 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Montana, another week without a signature from Chidera Micheal.
Squad7 Sep 2026
10 new faces, and Montana are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Ibrahim Muhammad is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match29 Aug 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.
Match29 Aug 2026
4 matches without a goal for Montana
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Levski have kept their man, and Montana go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match29 Aug 2026
CSKA Sofia left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Georgi Milanov to a room that had heard them before.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to AZ: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Petar Atanasov's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Aug 2026
16 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match19 Aug 2026
The small margins put Montana out
Out, 0‑2 to Beroe, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Match22 Aug 2026
Nowhere to hide for Montana
0‑3 against Levski, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Montana
Chavdar Ivaylov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match22 Aug 2026
3 matches without a goal for Montana
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Lokomotiv Plovdiv have kept their man, and Montana go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Stefan Statev
“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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Tomás Azevedo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Boardroom24 Aug 2026
Doors closed at Montana
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Aug 2026
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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Montana
Vasil Simeonov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Montana asked and Fratria said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match15 Aug 2026
0‑1 to Lokomotiv Sofia, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Azevedo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad17 Aug 2026
100 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Ibrahim Keïta
“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 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.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Georgi Milanov to a room that had heard them before.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad10 Aug 2026
There were 9 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market10 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.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Skonto is saying, and nobody at Montana is enjoying the guessing.
Squad10 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Montana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Estrela da Amadora have kept their man, and Montana go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The terraces10 Aug 2026
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match8 Aug 2026
A 2‑0 win over Slavia Sofia, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Georgi Nikolov has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Viktor Dyakov has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Vasil Simeonov commits to Montana for another 3 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Vasil Simeonov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Montana asked and Farense said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vasil Simeonov, and the manager let it.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Vajebah Sakor falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Market3 Aug 2026
A stepping stone, not a home, for Ibrahim Keïta
He is doing his job and he is not settling. Montana were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.
Match1 Aug 2026
A point taken on 93 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
Squad3 Aug 2026
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Market3 Aug 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Montana, another week without a signature from Ivan Kokonov.