From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Aug 2027
Tempers go at Shirak
Rafik Misakyan 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.
Squad23 Aug 2027
David Nduka 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.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Jesse Akila gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Aug 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Rafik Misakyan 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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Aug 2027
Johan Osorio in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rafik Misakyan 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Shirak know it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Aug 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad2 Aug 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Suren Tsarukyan 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Shirak
Stanislav Kritsyuk was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rafik Misakyan 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.
Squad26 Jul 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Jul 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Shirak may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad19 Jul 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Rafik Misakyan falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Jul 2027
Johan Osorio in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Suren Tsarukyan 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.
Boardroom12 Jul 2027
Wages eat 99% of everything Shirak earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad5 Jul 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Shirak may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match3 Jul 2027
The wait goes on for Shirak
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.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
The Shirak board want somebody sold
The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Stanislav Kritsyuk and Shirak agree another 2 years.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Shirak
Johan Osorio was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Rafik Misakyan 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.
Match3 Jul 2027
The goals have deserted Shirak
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Shirak can tell you which week it ends in.
Match3 Jul 2027
A bad afternoon for Shirak against Urartu
0‑1 to Urartu, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings5 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match26 Jun 2027
4 matches without a win for Shirak
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Shirak are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings28 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Tempers go at Shirak
Stanislav Kritsyuk 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.
Market28 Jun 2027
Noah paid $84.0K and Shirak took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rafik Misakyan 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.
Squad28 Jun 2027
The team sheet said everything about Jesse Akila
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Jesse Akila.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Jun 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings21 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match19 Jun 2027
0‑2 to Alashkert, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Suren Tsarukyan 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.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Aleksa Vidić gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Jesse Akila dropped after a run of poor form
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Jun 2027
Tempers go at Shirak
Stanislav Kritsyuk 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.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rafik Misakyan 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.
Market14 Jun 2027
Gandzasar paid $40.0K and Shirak took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
The terraces14 Jun 2027
Shirak supporters have found a favourite in David Nduka
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. David Nduka 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.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
A performance of 8.52 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad14 Jun 2027
A muscle injury sidelines Benito Yllaconza for 17 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Shirak will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Boardroom14 Jun 2027
Wages eat 107% of everything Shirak earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad14 Jun 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Shirak know it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Jun 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Shirak can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Aleksi Paananen: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Shirak have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad7 Jun 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Jun 2027
İbrahim Yılmaz falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings7 Jun 2027
A defender's afternoon for Johan Osorio
Defensive actions: 20. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings7 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jesse Akila, and the manager let it.
The terraces7 Jun 2027
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Player ratings7 Jun 2027
A defender's afternoon for David Nduka
Defensive actions: 13. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad31 May 2027
The match ball belongs to İbrahim Yılmaz, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Player ratings31 May 2027
İbrahim Yılmaz, 33, rolls back the years — 9.75
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.75 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Squad31 May 2027
Tempers go at Shirak
Stanislav Kritsyuk 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.
Match29 May 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: İbrahim Yılmaz. 3‑1 against Pyunik, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Filip Mirkovic 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.
Squad31 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Filip Mirkovic, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 May 2027
Tempers go at Shirak
Johan Osorio was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad24 May 2027
İbrahim Yılmaz falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings24 May 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.71, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad24 May 2027
The manager makes an example of İbrahim Yılmaz
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad24 May 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Stanislav Kritsyuk's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Match22 May 2027
It needed Donald Kodia to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Gandzasar, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market17 May 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Tigran Sumbulyan will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Shirak the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Player ratings17 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad17 May 2027
Johan Osorio in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings17 May 2027
A performance of 9.44 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. İbrahim Yılmaz 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.
Match15 May 2027
It finished 2‑1, and it was David Nduka’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Shirak.
Player ratings17 May 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.91, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad17 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stanislav Kritsyuk, and the manager let it.
Boardroom17 May 2027
Wages eat 107% of everything Shirak earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 May 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match10 May 2027
Every point is an argument now for Shirak
Position 8 and 9 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad10 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 May 2027
Filip Mirkovic 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.
Match8 May 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 May 2027
Benito Yllaconza: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Shirak have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad3 May 2027
Tempers go at Shirak
Stanislav Kritsyuk 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 May 2027
A muscle injury sidelines Rafik Misakyan for 16 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Shirak will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. İbrahim Yılmaz 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.
Match1 May 2027
A bad afternoon for Shirak against Urartu
0‑1 to Urartu, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match24 Apr 2027
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 85th, and Ararat spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Defensive actions: 26, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 Apr 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Apr 2027
İbrahim Yılmaz 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 terraces26 Apr 2027
The crowd has taken to David Nduka
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Squad26 Apr 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match24 Apr 2027
Ararat made Shirak work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Ninety minutes of David Nduka at his very best
Marked 8.02. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Shirak.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match17 Apr 2027
The wait goes on for Shirak
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Market19 Apr 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Tigran Sumbulyan will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Shirak the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad19 Apr 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Filip Mirkovic falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.02, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Boardroom19 Apr 2027
91% of the income goes out in wages at Shirak
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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Christian Flores dropped after a run of poor form
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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rudik Mkrtchyan, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 Apr 2027
Every point is an argument now for Shirak
Position 8 and 5 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Match10 Apr 2027
The wait goes on for Shirak
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.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Tempers go at Shirak
Stanislav Kritsyuk 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. İbrahim Yılmaz 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Jesse Akila
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match10 Apr 2027
Noah take the points off Shirak
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad12 Apr 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Shirak know it.
Market12 Apr 2027
The Donald Kodia story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Donald Kodia signs something — a contract at Shirak or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Apr 2027
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Stanislav Kritsyuk: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Match3 Apr 2027
The cup run ends for Shirak
2‑4 against Van, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
No sign of nerves from Haruna Attah at 21 — 8.12
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Haruna Attah did not need any: 8.12, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Shirak may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Boardroom5 Apr 2027
The Shirak board want somebody sold
The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.
Match3 Apr 2027
4 matches without a win for Shirak
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Shirak are no longer polite ones.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Arthur Coneglian is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad5 Apr 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match3 Apr 2027
6 goals as Shirak and Van go for it
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Shirak and Van, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market29 Mar 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad29 Mar 2027
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad29 Mar 2027
David Nduka: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Shirak have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Shirak
Christian Flores 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Aleksi Paananen falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 14 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
13 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Match27 Mar 2027
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Pyunik will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Mar 2027
Artem Avanesyan: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Shirak have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market22 Mar 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Shirak they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad22 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. John Guidetti 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of César Aponte
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom22 Mar 2027
Wages eat 92% of everything Shirak earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match20 Mar 2027
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Market22 Mar 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Jesse Akila’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.65, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Shirak
Stanislav Kritsyuk 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.
Match13 Mar 2027
Shirak get the job done against BKMA
A 4‑3 win over BKMA, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Match13 Mar 2027
İbrahim Yılmaz among the goals in a wild afternoon
7 goals in one match, İbrahim Yılmaz on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Shirak and BKMA.
Squad15 Mar 2027
John Guidetti falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.07, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad15 Mar 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.64, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Market15 Mar 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 Mar 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Christian Flores and Shirak agree another 2 years.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad8 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Shirak will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
Graduation day at Shirak
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleksi Paananen 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.
Market8 Mar 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Armen Mkhitaryan 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.
Market8 Mar 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Arman Karapetyan 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.
Market8 Mar 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Karen Hovhannisyan is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Mar 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Shirak know it.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Shirak
Stanislav Kritsyuk 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
John Guidetti falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market22 Feb 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Shirak they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad22 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Feb 2027
A last season at home is what Aleksi Paananen is after
It is sentimental, it is completely genuine, and it is the beginning of a departure nobody has announced. The club can be gracious about it or it can pretend not to have heard.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Feb 2027
A last season at home is what Stanislav Kritsyuk is after
It is sentimental, it is completely genuine, and it is the beginning of a departure nobody has announced. The club can be gracious about it or it can pretend not to have heard.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Shirak
Christian Flores 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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Aleksi Paananen falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad8 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. John Guidetti is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Shirak would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market1 Feb 2027
Narek Janoyan hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Shirak can pretend not to have heard.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Shirak know it.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Shirak
Stanislav Kritsyuk 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market25 Jan 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market25 Jan 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Shirak they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad25 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleksi Paananen 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.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
Wages eat 124% of everything Shirak earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market18 Jan 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Shirak
Stanislav Kritsyuk 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
John Guidetti falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market11 Jan 2027
Shirak say no — this time
The offer from Van for Tigran Sumbulyan was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Boardroom11 Jan 2027
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Hovhannes Pahlevanyan has agreed terms with Alashkert for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad11 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Suren Tsarukyan and Shirak agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. John Guidetti 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.
Market11 Jan 2027
Narek Janoyan is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Shirak has been clear about where Narek Janoyan stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market4 Jan 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Shirak, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market4 Jan 2027
BKMA come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Shirak did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Alexandr Mishiev is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Shirak
Stanislav Kritsyuk 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Aleksi Paananen 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.
Market4 Jan 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Shirak, another week without a signature from Filip Mirkovic.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Dec 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Arthur Coneglian is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad28 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Dec 2026
A muscle injury sidelines Aleksa Vidić for 19 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Shirak will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
In brief
-
Squad
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
-
Boardroom
205% of the income goes out in wages at Shirak
-
Market
The Jesse Akila question follows Shirak around
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Shirak
Christian Flores was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad21 Dec 2026
John Guidetti 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
38 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleksi Paananen 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.
Market14 Dec 2026
The name of Donald Kodia keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Shirak say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Shirak
Stanislav Kritsyuk 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 Dec 2026
John Guidetti 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Shirak will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Nov 2026
“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 Shirak know it.
Squad30 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. John Guidetti 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Shirak
Stanislav Kritsyuk 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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Aleksi Paananen 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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Jesse Akila asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. John Guidetti 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Jesse Akila knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jesse Akila trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Shirak
Christian Flores 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
John Guidetti 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.
Market9 Nov 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Rafik Misakyan signs something — a contract at Shirak or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleksi Paananen 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.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages eat 252% of everything Shirak earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Shirak
Stanislav Kritsyuk was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad26 Oct 2026
John Guidetti 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
15 new faces, and Shirak 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Oct 2026
“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; Shirak are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad19 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Tigran Sumbulyan is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
In brief
-
Squad
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
-
Market
Donald Kodia linked with a move away
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Oct 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Alexandr Mishiev is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“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; Shirak are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Shirak
Stanislav Kritsyuk 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Oct 2026
“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 Shirak know it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. John Guidetti 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Sep 2026
Arthur Coneglian is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Shirak
Stanislav Kritsyuk 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
John Guidetti falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleksi Paananen 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Too much change too quickly at Shirak
15 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Sep 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Shirak
Christian Flores 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 Sep 2026
John Guidetti falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Sep 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Shirak can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A move Haruna Attah would have made for nothing
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Haruna Attah is living that version at Shirak, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad7 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. John Guidetti 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.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
292% of the income goes out in wages at Shirak
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.
Market7 Sep 2026
He is 20, and nobody at Shirak signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Shirak can pretend not to have heard.
Market31 Aug 2026
Shirak say no — this time
The offer from BKMA for Ruben Karagulyan was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market31 Aug 2026
The fee is $220.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Urartu drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Shirak
Stanislav Kritsyuk 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rafik Misakyan 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.
Market31 Aug 2026
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Sokrat Hovhannisyan has his answer from Shirak; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad24 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Rafik Misakyan 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
This league is too small for Johan Osorio
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Shirak will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Too much change too quickly at Shirak
13 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.
Market24 Aug 2026
At 33, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 Aug 2026
Shirak bow out of the cup
Van go through and Shirak go home, 1‑2 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A first appearance Narek Janoyan will want to forget — 5.80
Everybody's debut is one of two stories and this was the other one. 5.80, and the only consolation available is that nobody's career has ever been decided by ninety minutes in a shirt he had just been given.
Market17 Aug 2026
Shirak get their man
The chase for Arthur Coneglian ended with $120.0K changing hands and Noah out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Shirak
Stanislav Kritsyuk 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
John Guidetti falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stanislav Kritsyuk, and the manager let it.
Squad17 Aug 2026
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Shirak will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Market17 Aug 2026
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Lyova Karapetyan has his answer from Shirak; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Lyova Mryan and Shirak agree another 3 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Shirak
Stanislav Kritsyuk 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rafik Misakyan 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Shirak will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Market10 Aug 2026
The clock runs on Jesse Akila's contract
48 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
Market10 Aug 2026
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Shirak has been clear about where Tigran Sumbulyan stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Donald Kodia and Shirak agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Donald Kodia in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Rafik Misakyan 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
This league is too small for John Guidetti
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Shirak will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Market3 Aug 2026
49 months and counting on Donald Kodia
Still no offer on the table, and Donald Kodia’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Market3 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.