108 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Shirak lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Eyüp Aydın 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 Rafik Misakyan 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 Donald Kodia is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sem Eekhout trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alexandr Podbeltsev and Shirak agree another 1 years.
“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.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Narek Janoyan 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 Shirak 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 Shirak, 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 Shirak 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.
At 23 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rafik Misakyan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Shirak 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 Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Narek Janoyan 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.
In brief
The dugoutDonald Kodia has become a man the manager trusts
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 13 arrived, 1 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Donald Kodia 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 clock did what Pyunik would not, and ended it. Supporters who watched the countdown will spend the next window doing it again.
Squad6 Sep 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Paris Saint-Germain have kept their man, and Shirak go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Hovhannes Pahlevanyan and Shirak agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Renato Hyshmeri has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
The deal with Club Brugge is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Lyova Mryan 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 Rafik Misakyan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Shirak have made the call to Peterborough United. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Nobody at Shirak 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.
At 23 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Narek Janoyan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Tobías Quinteros is in the works
The dugoutSem Eekhout knocks on the manager's door
“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.
Squad16 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ascoli have kept their man, and Shirak go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Donald Kodia 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alexandr Mishiev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
Lyova Mryan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
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.
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 Lyova Mryan is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alexandr Mishiev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Shirak have done the hard part with OGC Nice, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Rafik Misakyan 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.
Shirak asked and Málaga said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Narek Janoyan 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 Gagik Akulyan is on it.
12 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sokrat Hovhannisyan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Shirak had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Vicenza, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Lyova Mryan 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 not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Shirak told Martin Grigoryan something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
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 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.
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.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Narek Janoyan 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.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Petros Adamyan 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Artur 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. David Bayramyan is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexandr Mishiev, and the manager let it.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Narek Janoyan 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 words a physio says slowly. 19 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 last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 21 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Shirak has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad5 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.
Shirak asked and FC Nantes 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 Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 86. Urartu had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
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.
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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
The deal with OGC Nice is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Porto is saying, and nobody at Shirak is enjoying the guessing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rafik Misakyan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Suren Tsarukyan 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.
33 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Shirak lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Noah 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.
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.
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
42 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Shirak lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Shirak had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Ararat, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rafik Misakyan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Van will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Hayk Khachatryan has pre-agreed a move to Shirak, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Karen 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.
49 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Shirak lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The deal with Ararat is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Lyova Mryan 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.
Squad7 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.
56 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Shirak 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.” Shirak have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
Squad31 May 2027
Aleksa Vidić 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Sergey Manukyan 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Lyova Mryan. 1‑0 against Pyunik, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The words a physio says slowly. 64 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 Shirak 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.
A point taken on 90 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.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Shirak told Martin Grigoryan something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
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.
72 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Shirak lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Successful dribbles: 43. 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.
Squad17 May 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.
Rimal Haxhiu 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 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.
The dugout17 May 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Armen Khachatryan was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Shirak dressing room was either.
Nobody at Shirak 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.
82 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Shirak lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 19 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Rafik Misakyan 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 no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Karen Sarkisov 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.
23 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
The dugout10 May 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Armen Khachatryan left the room before anybody could ask which.
The words a physio says slowly. 89 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Shirak will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Two goals and a mark of 8.09 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Lyova Mryan 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
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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Donald Kodia. 2‑1 against Urartu, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Half the programme played, position 5, 13 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Armen Khachatryan on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
96 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Shirak lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 34 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
A brace, and Donald Kodia takes the afternoon — 8.11
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Donald Kodia provided it, and the 8.11 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
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.
10 combined actions and 7.64. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Armen Khachatryan could afford to be generous.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Donato Ianzano
104 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Shirak lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Shirak will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Armen Khachatryan after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Renato Hyshmeri trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The words a physio says slowly. 112 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.
Lyova Mryan 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.
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad12 Apr 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Karen Sarkisov 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.
“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 dugout12 Apr 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑3 defeat, delivered by Armen Khachatryan to a room that had heard them before.
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 Lyova Mryan is on it.
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 121 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.
A 3‑1 win over Van, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Match31 Mar 2027
Donald Kodia wins it after the whistle should have gone
96 minutes played. Donald Kodia found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Van went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Rafik Misakyan 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 words a physio says slowly. 129 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.
Successful dribbles: 38. 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Narek Janoyan 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 words a physio says slowly. 137 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.
Successful dribbles: 35. 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.
“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.
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Shirak has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad22 Mar 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.
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.
Rudik Mkrtchyan 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 dugout22 Mar 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Armen Khachatryan was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Shirak dressing room was either.
The words a physio says slowly. 144 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.
Successful dribbles: 45. 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.
“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.
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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Narek Janoyan 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 dugout15 Mar 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Armen Khachatryan was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Shirak dressing room was either.
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.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against BKMA? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Gandzasar next, and one man in the Shirak dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
The words a physio says slowly. 151 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.
Rafik Misakyan 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.
He is 23 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.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Shirak can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
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 dugout8 Mar 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Armen Khachatryan was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Shirak dressing room was either.
In brief
BoardroomShirak say no to the training-ground money
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Martin Grigoryan
The words a physio says slowly. 158 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 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 squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Tigran Khachiyan’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Shirak needing him to play as if none of it matters.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Narek Janoyan 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.
Shirak had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Nueva Chicago, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lyova Mryan, and the manager let it.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Narek Janoyan 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.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Shirak has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Nobody at Shirak 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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Kokand 1912 is saying, and nobody at Shirak is enjoying the guessing.
Lyova Mryan 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.
Squad8 Feb 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.
Shirak 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. David Ghazaryan is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
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 Shirak, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Shirak would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
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.
Shirak close the window on a squad of their own making
3 in and 0 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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Gimnasia y Tiro is saying, and nobody at Shirak is enjoying the guessing.
Lyova Mryan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Feb 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Estoril Praia have kept their man, and Shirak go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Shirak have made the call to Kokand 1912. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Shirak than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
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.
In brief
MarketThe window shut and Grigor Ghumashyan is still in the building
Shirak had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Renate, 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 Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Narek Janoyan 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 loan enquiry to Gimnasia y Tiro: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Nobody at Shirak 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.
Lyova Mryan 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 Rafik Misakyan 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 Donald Kodia is on it.
Rafik Misakyan 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.
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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Levon Spertsyan 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.
Signings arrive with a picture of the club in their head, and this one’s picture was bigger than the building. He will play well and he will be gone, in that order, and everybody knows it.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Narek Janoyan 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.
Estoril Praia 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.
Nobody at Shirak 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.
Rafik Misakyan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Narek Janoyan 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 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.
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 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.
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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Shirak, 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 Gagik Akulyan is on it.
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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Levon Darbinyan, and the manager let it.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Narek Janoyan 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.
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
Rafik Misakyan 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Artak Barseghyan is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Tigran Khachatryan is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Narek Janoyan 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 Lyova Mryan is on it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Shirak. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Aleksa Vidić
Lyova Mryan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Dec 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.
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. Donato Ianzano 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 Gagik Akulyan is on it.
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Hovhannes Grigoryan and Shirak agree another 3 years.
Nobody at Shirak 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.
Lyova Mryan 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 Rafik Misakyan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Shirak 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Hovhannes Grigoryan 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 19 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 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. Emiljano Vila 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 27 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Lyova Mryan 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
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Shirak will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Rafik Misakyan 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 Lyova Mryan is on it.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Narek Janoyan 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.
In brief
The dugoutNarek Simonyan asks for a word with the manager
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Shirak will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Rafik Misakyan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Emiljano Vila 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Artur Khachatryan is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Artur Barseghyan 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.
10 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Shirak will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about 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 Shirak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Shirak know it.
Squad5 Oct 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.
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 bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Shirak will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Narek Janoyan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 63 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Rafik Misakyan 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 Sep 2026
Emiljano Vila 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 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 Lyova Mryan is on it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 71 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Tomás Bais 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Shirak will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 22 signed and 0 gone
That is the business done at Shirak 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.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Temperley keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
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
9 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Shirak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Narek Janoyan 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.
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 Levon Darbinyan has written the date down.
A season-long look at somebody else’s player: Uriel Ramos arrives from Defensa y Justicia with something to prove and a return ticket in the drawer. Good loans make everybody richer; this one starts Saturday.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Shirak will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Shirak have done the hard part with Defensa y Justicia, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Emiljano Vila 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Apollon have kept their man, and Shirak go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Shirak are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Thiago Yfran is in the works
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Shirak will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Shirak will quote 16 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
$140.0K on the table at Urartu. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Lyova Mryan 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.
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.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 2‑3 Armen Khachatryan left the room before anybody could ask which.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Shirak will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
A 2‑1 win over Van, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A brace, and Donald Kodia takes the afternoon — 8.00
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Donald Kodia provided it, and the 8.00 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Alashkert have kept their man, and Shirak go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Narek Janoyan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Van held the lead for 3 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. Shirak answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Emiljano Vila 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Sargis Khachatryan is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Hakob Bayramyan 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 shirt still fits. Martin Grigoryan is back at Shirak, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Shirak have gone to Noah with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
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
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.
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Shirak know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
49 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.