“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ordabasy have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Léo Natel 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Ordabasy, and 0 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bekkhan Shaizada signs something — a contract at Ordabasy or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ordabasy is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Léo Natel 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Léo Natel 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Ordabasy game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Aktobe runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bekkhan Shaizada signs something — a contract at Ordabasy or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Ordabasy has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ordabasy, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ordabasy they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Léo Natel 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Dimitar Mitkov signs something — a contract at Ordabasy or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ordabasy is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Erkebūlan Rakhmetulla: 1 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Léo Natel 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 name of Ordabasy Shomko has come up in conversations Ordabasy were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 19 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Zhetysu will make the call about Ordabasy Shomko this week. Ordabasy have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bekkhan Shaizada signs something — a contract at Ordabasy or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
A new face in his position, and Victor Mudrac suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Ordabasy have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Léo Natel 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ordabasy Shomko will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ordabasy the goodbyes have quietly begun.
David Abagna 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 phone has started ringing about Victor Mudrac again, and this time the name on the line is Kairat. Ordabasy are listening politely and promising nothing.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ordabasy know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
SquadHansamu Yama asks for a word with the manager
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 19 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Irtysh defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bekkhan Shaizada signs something — a contract at Ordabasy or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Léo Natel 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.
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Shakhter? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — David Abagna has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. Ordabasy know, and have known for weeks.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.36 — 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.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Ordabasy have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Léo Natel 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.
Marked 8.83 — 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.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bekkhan Shaizada signs something — a contract at Ordabasy or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Ordabasy has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 27 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Léo Natel 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.
2 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.92 — 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.
Léo Natel 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.
Add another name to the list: Zhetysu have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Askhat Beysebekov. The answer from Ordabasy has not changed — yet.
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Ordabasy will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Chiemela Emmanuel and Ordabasy agree another 4 years.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Julani Archibald arrives at 38 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Léo Natel 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.
Marked 8.86 — 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nikola Antić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Dimitar Mitkov signs something — a contract at Ordabasy or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — David Abagna has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. Ordabasy know, and have known for weeks.
Léo Natel 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ordabasy have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Léo Natel 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
7 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.
Léo Natel 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 15 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
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.
Léo Natel 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.
5 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 20 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Askhat Beysebekov and Ordabasy agree another 3 years.
Léo Natel 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.
“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; Ordabasy are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
David Abagna 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Dimitar Mitkov. 2‑1 against Atyrau, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.26 — 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ibrohimjon Qurbonov and Ordabasy agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Ordabasy have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
9 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Yeldos Baizhanov is a Ordabasy player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
The deal that would have taken Mihai Căpăţînă to Astana has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Ordabasy with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Léo Natel 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.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ordabasy know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Ordabasy will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
A new face in his position, and Léo Natel suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Ordabasy have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Léo Natel 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.
$2.0M is a serious amount of money and it does not play centre-forward. Everybody in the dressing room knows who used to be looked at when it went wrong.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bekkhan Shaizada signs something — a contract at Ordabasy or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Ordabasy has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
The chase for Erkebūlan Rakhmetulla ended with $200.0K changing hands and Shakhter out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Léo Natel 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.
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Ordabasy will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 Ordabasy know it.
A new face in his position, and Victor Mudrac suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Ordabasy have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Léo Natel 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.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Murodzhon Khalmatov has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
“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 Ordabasy, and it is not being withdrawn.
Bekkhan Shaizada 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.
Léo Natel 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ordabasy know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Ordabasy has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Karim Ashour is 35 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Ordabasy has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Ädilkhan Taňzharyqov 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.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Murodzhon Khalmatov has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
In brief
SquadQuestions about Rinat Abiken on the training pitch
“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 Ordabasy, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bekkhan Shaizada signs something — a contract at Ordabasy or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Léo Natel 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ordabasy they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vladyslav Naumets trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Léo Natel 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ordabasy can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bekkhan Shaizada signs something — a contract at Ordabasy or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ordabasy they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Léo Natel 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ordabasy know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Ordabasy that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ordabasy they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Léo Natel 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ordabasy have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ordabasy they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Léo Natel 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ordabasy know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Murodzhon Khalmatov plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Boikanyo Komane will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ordabasy the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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; Ordabasy are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Léo Natel 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ordabasy can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Ordabasy game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Bnei Yehuda runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ordabasy is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Léo Natel 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ordabasy know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ordabasy is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Léo Natel 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until David Abagna signs something — a contract at Ordabasy or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Every summer it is another club, another set of team-mates, another manager to convince. I have done all that. Now I want a pre-season at Ordabasy and a proper look at me.” He remains Astana’s player until the spell runs out — but the argument is with the club that owns him.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ordabasy know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Still no offer on the table, and Herman Talla’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Ordabasy that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Ordabasy that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
Léo Natel 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.
“I watch every Ordabasy game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Bnei Yehuda runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ordabasy, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ordabasy they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ordabasy, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A new face in his position, and Léo Natel suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Ordabasy have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ordabasy is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Astana paid $1.1M and Ordabasy took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Léo Natel 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ordabasy, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Yeldos Baizhanov.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
“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 Ordabasy, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Ordabasy, and 0 appearances in 25 say he has earned the hearing.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ordabasy is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ordabasy is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 24 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Léo Natel 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 shirt still fits. Chinedu Godspower is back at Ordabasy, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 21 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ordabasy have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Frets Butuan will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ordabasy the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ordabasy can pretend not to have heard.
Léo Natel 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.
“I watch every Ordabasy game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Bnei Yehuda runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
$1.9M is a serious amount of money and it does not play centre-forward. Everybody in the dressing room knows who used to be looked at when it went wrong.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Chiemela Emmanuel and Ordabasy agree another 3 years.
“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 Ordabasy, and it is not being withdrawn.
Léo Natel 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Tobol will make the call about Guy-Marcelin Kilama this week. Ordabasy have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Marked 8.01 — 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.
10 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ordabasy they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every debut is a small story about the future: Ordabasy Shomko, 16 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Three loans in three years. At some point a club has to decide if I am their player or their asset.” The spell at Astana continues; the message travels home.
“I watch every Ordabasy game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Bnei Yehuda runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ordabasy can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ordabasy have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Aleksa Amanović 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A season average of 7.06 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Ordabasy know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Irtysh? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until David Abagna signs something — a contract at Ordabasy or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ordabasy they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Aleksa Amanović 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ordabasy have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Ordabasy, and 0 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ordabasy have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
Aleksa Amanović 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bekkhan Shaizada signs something — a contract at Ordabasy or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Ordabasy has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.05 — 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.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Ordabasy have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Frets Butuan will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ordabasy the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Aleksa Amanović 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.
Léo Natel 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.
Marked 9.80 — 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Marked 8.00 — 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.
Aleksa Amanović 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.
Marked 8.92 — 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Marked 9.39 — 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.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Ordabasy have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ordabasy they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Aleksa Amanović 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.
Marked 9.36 — 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.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Ordabasy, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Akzhaiyk defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Zhetysu moved on, Guy-Marcelin Kilama reports back to Ordabasy, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Aleksa Amanović 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 shirt still fits. Yeldos Dosmagambetov is back at Ordabasy, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Ordabasy Akhmetov is a Ordabasy player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
The shirt still fits. Serikzhan Orazov is back at Ordabasy, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Léo Natel 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Zhetysu will make the call about Guy-Marcelin Kilama this week. Ordabasy have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Aleksa Amanović 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 offer from Astana for Guy-Marcelin Kilama 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aleksa Amanović trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ordabasy know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“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 Ordabasy, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from Taraz for Aleksa Amanović 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.
Aleksa Amanović 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.
Johan Alfarizi is 37 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Thulani Ngcobo is 18, and Ordabasy have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ordabasy, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Aleksa Amanović 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Rinat Abiken will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ordabasy the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Nihat Əhmədzadə 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 offer from Bhayangkara Presisi for Mohamed Niaré 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.
Aleksa Amanović 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nikola Antić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Aleksa Amanović 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ordabasy is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Aleksa Amanović 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ordabasy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Murodzhon Khalmatov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Ordabasy has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.