The words a physio says slowly. 131 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Shakhter can pretend not to have heard.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Ordabasy is saying, and nobody at Shakhter is enjoying the guessing.
Nauryzbek Zhagorov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Sep 2031
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan Rikelme 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.
“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 Shakhter know it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Shakhter, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Nobody at Shakhter 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.
Market15 Sep 2031
The window shut and Bohdan Savkiv is still in the building
Shakhter spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
The words a physio says slowly. 17 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.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Shakhter may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Boardroom8 Sep 2031
Shakhter close the window on a squad of their own making
21 in and 11 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.
Dias Qalybaev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 Sep 2031
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Zuev 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.
Shakhter asked and Dinamo Tbilisi said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The words a physio says slowly. 26 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Sep 2031
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Zuev 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.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Shakhter can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Chornomorets 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.
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.
Shakhter and Ordabasy have settled on $190.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Shakhter had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Dinamo Tbilisi, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Shakhter asked and Noah said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad25 Aug 2031
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan Rikelme 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.
Shakhter have made the call to Chornomorets. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alexandr Lazarev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Ordabasy is saying, and nobody at Shakhter is enjoying the guessing.
Squad18 Aug 2031
Alexandr Zuev 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.
Shakhter asked and Hajduk Split said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A loan enquiry to Dinamo Tbilisi: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Chornomorets 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Shakhter, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Shakhter can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nauryzbek Zhagorov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
A loan enquiry to Dinamo Tbilisi: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
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 Maksim Galkin is on it.
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
In brief
The dugoutArtem Litosh knocks on the manager's door
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 36 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Two goals and a mark of 8.34 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Nauryzbek Zhagorov 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ordabasy have kept their man, and Shakhter go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
In brief
SquadWords at Shakhter training over how hard people work
“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 Shakhter, and it is not being withdrawn.
Dias Qalybaev 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nauryzbek Zhagorov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is 17 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Maksim Galkin. 2‑0 against Ordabasy, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Partizan is saying, and nobody at Shakhter is enjoying the guessing.
Dias Qalybaev 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 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.
Shakhter asked and Noah said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“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 Shakhter know it.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.11 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Successful dribbles: 26. 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.
Nauryzbek Zhagorov 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 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.
Squad14 Jul 2031
Juan Rikelme 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.
“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; Shakhter are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
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.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Gaetano Armenise is in the works
“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 Shakhter, and it is not being withdrawn.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.09 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
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 7.81 for the rest of it.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Shakhter have done the hard part with Pakhtakor, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Shakhter asked and Ordabasy 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 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Shakhter have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
Juan Rikelme 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 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ahrobiznes have kept their man, and Shakhter go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Pascal Omgba has his answer from Shakhter; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Successful dribbles: 41. 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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Ordabasy is saying, and nobody at Shakhter is enjoying the guessing.
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 Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Irtysh have kept their man, and Shakhter go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad23 Jun 2031
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan Rikelme 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.14 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Zuev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Shakhter has been clear about where Bohdan Savkiv stands, which is more than many ever get.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Dias Qalybaev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Jun 2031
Alexandr Zuev 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.
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.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
Dias Qalybaev and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad2 Jun 2031
Juan Rikelme 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.
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.
The dugout2 Jun 2031
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Kairat Suyumbayev chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
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.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Arman Nusip
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Juan Rikelme 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Zuev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Kairat Suyumbayev on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Shakhter, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 May 2031
Alexandr Zuev 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.
Half the programme played, position 5, 17 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
11 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 dugout19 May 2031
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Kairat Suyumbayev, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Shakhter have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juan Rikelme was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Shakhter can pretend not to have heard.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nauryzbek Zhagorov and Shakhter agree another 2 years.
Dias Qalybaev 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.
Squad5 May 2031
Alexandr Zuev 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.
“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; Shakhter are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“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 dugout5 May 2031
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Kairat Suyumbayev was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Shakhter dressing room was either.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Rafail' Ospanov
7 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Okzhetpes were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad28 Apr 2031
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Zuev 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Kairat Suyumbayev on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Shakhter has been clear about where Mikhail Golubnichii stands, which is more than many ever get.
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 Artem Litosh is on it.
In brief
The dugoutArman Nusip dropped after a run of poor form
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.
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.
Nauryzbek Zhagorov 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juan Rikelme was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
11 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.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Zhetysu go through and Shakhter go home, 0‑0 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
1 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Suhrobjon Parmonqulov is living that version at Shakhter, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad14 Apr 2031
Alexandr Zuev 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.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
An order from above at Shakhter: somebody has to go
Balance sheets do not care about form or about who the manager was planning to build around. The board have decided a sale is required, and the only question left is which name ends up carrying it.
Juan Rikelme 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.
“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 dugout7 Apr 2031
Ivan Bašić 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.
The dugout7 Apr 2031
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Kairat Suyumbayev left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad7 Apr 2031
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Lazarev 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 demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Älisher Süleimen is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 Älikhan Israilov is on it.
Squad31 Mar 2031
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan Rikelme 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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Ivan Bašić’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Shakhter needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Successful dribbles: 27. 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.
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.
Älisher Sulei and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Mar 2031
10 new faces, and Shakhter 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.
Squad24 Mar 2031
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Lazarev 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.
A mark of 7.28, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout24 Mar 2031
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Kairat Suyumbayev chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Kairat.
In brief
The dugoutArtem Litosh has become a man the manager trusts
14 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Shakhter lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Shakhter have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Nauryzbek Zhagorov 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Abdulhamid Ikromov is living that version at Shakhter, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad17 Mar 2031
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aslan Akhmedov 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.
Successful dribbles: 19. 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.
7.41, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Shakhter had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout17 Mar 2031
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Kairat Suyumbayev chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
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 Maksim Galkin is on it.
22 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Shakhter lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The shirt still fits. Pascal Omgba is back at Shakhter, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Karim Madrakhimov has just signed for Shakhter, and for once the answer mattered.
Boardroom10 Mar 2031
10 academy players handed senior numbers at Shakhter
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Vakhtang Shengelia has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Shakhter have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Squad10 Mar 2031
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aslan Akhmedov 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
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.
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 Älikhan Israilov is on it.
27 points from position 6. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
That is the business done at Shakhter 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.
Shakhter asked and Pakhtakor said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Lazarev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Artem Litosh is on it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Sūltan Shymyrkhan will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Shakhter the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Qarabag have kept their man, and Shakhter go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Ädilkhan Taňzharyqov 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.
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 Sūltan Shymyrkhan is on it.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Arman Nusip commits to Shakhter for another 1 years.
Squad10 Feb 2031
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Lazarev 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 clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Shakhter people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“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 Shakhter, and it is not being withdrawn.
Dmitry Ivanov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 Feb 2031
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Lazarev 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.
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 Älikhan Israilov is on it.
27 points from position 6. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
Nauryzbek Zhagorov 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Aktobe have kept their man, and Shakhter go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Add another name to the list: Atyrau have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Sūltan Shymyrkhan. The answer from Shakhter has not changed — yet.
Shakhter have made the call to Galatasaray. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
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.
The registration window is open and the phone has started. Between now and the deadline this club will be linked with forty players and sign three, which is the usual ratio.
Ädilkhan Taňzharyqov 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Lazarev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Sūltan Shymyrkhan is on it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Shakhter have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Shakhter they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ädilkhan Taňzharyqov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad13 Jan 2031
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Lazarev 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.
Nobody at Shakhter 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 Älikhan Israilov is on it.
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.
Position 6 on 27 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
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.
Squad30 Dec 2030
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Lazarev 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.
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 Artem Litosh is on it.
43 graduates, from a department now rated 9 out of 20. Nothing about the academy appears in a result, and nothing about the club’s future exists without it.
Nauryzbek Zhagorov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad23 Dec 2030
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Lazarev 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.
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 14 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Shakhter 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 Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Artem Litosh has written the date down.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Ivan Bašić
22 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Shakhter lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
31 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Shakhter lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Shakhter will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
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.
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.
Commercial news is the news nobody sings about and everything else is paid for with. The board will call it a partnership; the accountants will call it the difference between this squad and a smaller one.
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Shakhter could ask drops and the wages Ädilkhan Taňzharyqov can ask rise.
38 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Shakhter lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 29 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Ädilkhan Taňzharyqov 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.
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.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Shakhter, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 38 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Shakhter they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Lazarev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Shakhter 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.
16 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Shakhter lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 45 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Lazarev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Shakhter, and both men came out saying it was fine.
23 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Shakhter lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Nauryzbek Zhagorov 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.
Nobody at Shakhter 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.
“I will play as long as the body lets me and stop the day it does not.” He is 37, with 344 appearances behind him, and the club has to plan for a decision that is not yet made.
30 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Shakhter lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Dmitry Ivanov 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 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 words a physio says slowly. 38 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Shakhter they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Nauryzbek Zhagorov 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.
Squad21 Oct 2030
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Lazarev 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.
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 Maksim Galkin is on it.
The words a physio says slowly. 46 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Shakhter have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
Nobody at Shakhter 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.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Artem Litosh has written the date down.
Position 6 on 27 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
The words a physio says slowly. 53 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Lazarev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Shakhter 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 61 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Shakhter have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Ädilkhan Taňzharyqov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad30 Sep 2030
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Lazarev 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.
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 70 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Shakhter they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ädilkhan Taňzharyqov 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.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aleksandr Migunov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Shakhter. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
78 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Shakhter lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Nauryzbek Zhagorov 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Pyunik have kept their man, and Shakhter go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
Nobody at Shakhter 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.
Position 6 on 27 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
85 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Shakhter lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 5 arrived, 3 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Slovan Bratislava have kept their man, and Shakhter go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
33 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad9 Sep 2030
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Lazarev 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.
Shakhter have made the call to Crvena Zvezda. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Nobody at Shakhter 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.
92 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Shakhter lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Okzhetpes waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Shakhter is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Shakhter asked and Aktobe said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Shakhter have made the call to Slovan Bratislava. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“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 Shakhter will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
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.
99 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Shakhter lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Shakhter have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Shakhter have done the hard part with Tobol, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Shakhter asked and Irtysh 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 name of Sūltan Shymyrkhan has come up in conversations Shakhter were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Ädilkhan Taňzharyqov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad26 Aug 2030
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Lazarev 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.
Slovan Bratislava 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.
107 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Shakhter lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Shakhter have done the hard part with Kairat, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Kairat have kept their man, and Shakhter go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
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.
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.
27 points from position 6. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Taraz had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Everything agreed with Hajduk Split, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Shakhter asked and Pakhtakor said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aleksandr Migunov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
7 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Shakhter could ask drops and the wages Ädilkhan Taňzharyqov can ask rise.
In brief
SquadThe selectors could not leave Alexandr Zuev out
Dias Qalybaev had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Akzhaiyk were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
Position 6 on 27 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Shakhter have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.37 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Shakhter asked and Aktobe 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 phone has started ringing about Sūltan Shymyrkhan again, and this time the name on the line is Taraz. Shakhter are listening politely and promising nothing.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Shakhter pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Lazarev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
Boardroom93% of the income goes out in wages at Shakhter
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Shakhter have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Shakhter is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Shakhter had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Qarabag, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Nauryzbek Zhagorov 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Astana have kept their man, and Shakhter go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Kairat Suyumbayev after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Shakhter asked and Olympiacos said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Dmitry Ivanov 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bohdan Savkiv was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Kairat Suyumbayev after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
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.
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 Älikhan Israilov is on 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 Shakhter, and it is not being withdrawn.
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 7.91 for the rest of 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 Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Bukovyna have kept their man, and Shakhter go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bohdan Savkiv was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Kairat 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.
The dugout15 Jul 2030
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Kairat Suyumbayev, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Shakhter people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“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 Shakhter, and it is not being withdrawn.
13 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Every club 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 it has been tried.
Shakhter asked and Aktobe said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad1 Jul 2030
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bohdan Savkiv 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.
Ädilkhan Taňzharyqov 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.
“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 Jul 2030
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Kairat Suyumbayev to a room that had heard them before.
Ordabasy go through and Shakhter 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.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Shakhter have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Transfer targets24 Jun 2030
$220.0K settles it between the clubs for Vadim Guskov
Tobol have accepted the money. What Shakhter do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
12 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Irtysh have kept their man, and Shakhter go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bohdan Savkiv was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A point taken on 94 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.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Jun 2030
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Lazarev 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.
Nasaf 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.
The dugout17 Jun 2030
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Kairat Suyumbayev, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Ädilkhan Taňzharyqov has his answer from Shakhter; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Okzhetpes will make the call about Sūltan Shymyrkhan this week. Shakhter have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Successful dribbles: 50. 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.
0‑2 to Zhetysu, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad10 Jun 2030
Bohdan Savkiv 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.
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.
Nobody at Shakhter 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.
Kairat next, and one man in the Shakhter dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Successful dribbles: 28. 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.
Dmitry Ivanov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad3 Jun 2030
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bohdan Savkiv 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.
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.
Marked 7.31. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout3 Jun 2030
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Kairat Suyumbayev was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Shakhter dressing room was either.
Nauryzbek Zhagorov 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.
6 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Atyrau were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Dias Qalybaev. 2‑0 against Atyrau, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Lazarev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout27 May 2030
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Kairat Suyumbayev, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Tobol next, and one man in the Shakhter dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
In brief
The dugoutBohdan Savkiv knocks on the manager's door
10 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
Squad20 May 2030
Bohdan Savkiv 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Position 7, 11 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
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.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
0‑1 to Ordabasy, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad13 May 2030
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bohdan Savkiv 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.
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The 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.
1‑4 to Irtysh, 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.
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.
Ädilkhan Taňzharyqov 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 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.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Shakhter can tell you which week it ends in.
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad29 Apr 2030
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bohdan Savkiv 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.
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.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Apr 2030
Bohdan Savkiv 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 dugout22 Apr 2030
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Kairat Suyumbayev was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Shakhter dressing room was either.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Taraz? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Nauryzbek Zhagorov’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Shakhter needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Nobody at Shakhter 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Sūltan Shymyrkhan 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.
8 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
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 Älikhan Israilov is on it.
Nauryzbek Zhagorov 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.
0‑1 to Astana, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad8 Apr 2030
Bohdan Savkiv 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Aktobe next, and one man in the Shakhter dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
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.
“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 Shakhter, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nauryzbek Zhagorov 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 medical room confirms 24 days on the sidelines for Rinat Baizhanov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad1 Apr 2030
Bohdan Savkiv 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Shakhter has been clear about where Toqtar Zhańğylyshbai stands, which is more than many ever get.
Successful dribbles: 14. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
In brief
The dugoutThe view from the dugout
Looking aheadShakhter take on the side everybody is chasing
The dugoutMaksim Galkin has become a man the manager trusts
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.17, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Player ratings25 Mar 2030
A brace, and Ivan Bašić takes the afternoon — 8.18
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ivan Bašić provided it, and the 8.18 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.95 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
8.24. 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 4‑0, Kairat Suyumbayev could afford to be generous.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Kairat in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Successful dribbles: 27. 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.
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad18 Mar 2030
Bohdan Savkiv 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.
Ädilkhan Taňzharyqov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout18 Mar 2030
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 Kairat Suyumbayev to a room that had heard them before.
Nobody at Shakhter 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.
Zhetysu next, and one man in the Shakhter dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Shakhter, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Talgat Postnikov 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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Abzal Vorogovskiy has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Baktiyor Nurgaliev has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Askhat Tymoshchuk 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.
8.32. 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Nauryzbek Zhagorov 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Lazarev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Dias Qalybaev
SquadArtem Litosh is training like a man with a point to make
187Edition
The Shakhter Gazette
25 Feb 2030
From our football correspondentUneasy
Boardroom25 Feb 2030
Shakhter close the window on a squad of their own making
0 in and 1 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.
Dmitry Ivanov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad25 Feb 2030
Bohdan Savkiv 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.
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.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Älikhan Israilov has written the date down.
34 points from position 6. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
Shakhter opened the door and nobody walked through it. So Däulet Zainetdinov stays — listed, trained, and available — while both sides mark the days to January on the same calendar.
The clubs have shaken hands with Aktobe; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
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.
Nobody at Shakhter 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.
Shakhter had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Shakhtar, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Shakhter asked and Kairat said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Lazarev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Shakhter have made the call to Crvena Zvezda. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
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 Älikhan Israilov is on it.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Nasaf keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Älikhan Israilov and Shakhter agree another 3 years.
Squad4 Feb 2030
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bohdan Savkiv 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.
Ädilkhan Taňzharyqov 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 manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Älikhan Israilov has his answer from Shakhter; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Nobody at Shakhter 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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bohdan Savkiv was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Shakhter 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.
A month in which every rumour is possible and most of them are nonsense. The manager has a list, the board has a number, and neither is telling the other the whole of it.
34 points from position 6. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
“Ambitious players need ambitious projects. Draw your own conclusions.” Däulet Zainetdinov’s representative said it with a smile, and made sure everyone wrote it down.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Jan 2030
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Lazarev 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.
Nobody at Shakhter 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.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Älisher Süleimen has written the date down.
The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
Nauryzbek Zhagorov 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.
Squad14 Jan 2030
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bohdan Savkiv 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.
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 Älikhan Israilov is on it.
Dmitry Ivanov 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.
Squad7 Jan 2030
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bohdan Savkiv 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.
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.
Nauryzbek Zhagorov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad31 Dec 2029
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Lazarev 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.
Nobody at Shakhter 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.
34 points from position 6. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
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.
38 graduates, from a department now rated 9 out of 20. Nothing about the academy appears in a result, and nothing about the club’s future exists without it.
Bohdan Savkiv 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bohdan Savkiv was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
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 Älikhan Israilov is on it.
Ädilkhan Taňzharyqov 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 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.
Nobody at Shakhter 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.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Shakhter. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bohdan Savkiv was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Shakhter, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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 Matvey Lykov is on it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Shakhter. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Position 6 on 34 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Erkebūlan Rakhmetulla has just signed for Shakhter, and for once the answer mattered.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Squad26 Nov 2029
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bohdan Savkiv 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 easiest signature of my career.” Shahmurza Adyrbekov and Shakhter agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Nobody at Shakhter 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Shakhter, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Dmitry Ivanov 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Lazarev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Igor' Shatskii and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Nov 2029
Bohdan Savkiv 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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bohdan Savkiv was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Igor' Shatskii is on it.
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
Position 6 on 34 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shakhter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Oct 2029
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Lazarev 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.
Nobody at Shakhter 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.
Words at Shakhter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bohdan Savkiv 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.
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.