Shukura U20

29 Nov 2026
Sunday
Process
17 Edition

The Shukura Herald

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Shukura sink to position 16

1 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Market

Giorgi Kavtaradze puts it in writing

“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 The request is on a desk at Shukura, and it is not being withdrawn.

The dugout

Nikoloz Shapatava keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Shukura may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Luka Nozadze 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 Shukura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Levan Okriashvili signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Levan Okriashvili commits to Shukura for another 3 years.

The dugout

No hiding place for Anri Gogitidze

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Anri Gogitidze, and the manager let it.

Squad

Khvicha Daraselia 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 dugout

Levan Arveladze knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Shukura, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Khvicha Daraselia placed on the list

Shukura have made Khvicha Daraselia available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.

In brief

Back issues
16 Edition

The Shukura Herald

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Luka Kakulia

20 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Shukura lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

The dugout

Luka Jincharadze: 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.” Shukura have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

A falling-out at Shukura

Luka Nozadze and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Words at Shukura training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dato Dolidze 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 dugout

The manager has not finished forgetting Revaz Tsitaishvili'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.

Market

Shukura put Giorgi Kavtaradze up for sale

The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Giorgi Kavtaradze may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.

In brief

15 Edition

The Shukura Herald

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Luka Kakulia damages knee ligaments — 27 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 27 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 dugout

Anri Gogitidze says Shukura went back on their word

“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.

Market

Khvicha Daraselia asks to leave Shukura

“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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Shukura

Luka Nozadze 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.

Squad

Words at Shukura training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giorgi Kavtaradze 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.

Market

One of our own: Levan Okriashvili joins the Shukura first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Levan Okriashvili is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

In brief

14 Edition

The Shukura Herald

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The terraces

Supporters organise against the Shukura board

A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Luka Kakulia

34 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Shukura lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Market

Gogita Salukvadze 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 Shukura can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Archil Kiteishvili signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Archil Kiteishvili commits to Shukura for another 3 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Shukura

Luka Nozadze 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 dugout

No hiding place for Dato Dolidze

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dato Dolidze, and the manager let it.

In brief

13 Edition

The Shukura Herald

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Shukura are in real trouble now

Position 16, 1 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Market

Giorgi Kavtaradze asks to leave Shukura

“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.

Squad

Luka Nozadze 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 Shukura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Lasha Gvelesiani stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Lasha Gvelesiani and Shukura agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

A row about effort at Shukura

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luka Kakulia was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Kakha Kashia 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.

In brief

12 Edition

The Shukura Herald

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Jaba Kashia damages knee ligaments — 17 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 17 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.

Squad

Giorgi Kavtaradze 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 Shukura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Shukura training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luka Nozadze 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 dugout

No hiding place for Archil Kiteishvili

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Archil Kiteishvili, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Revaz Tsitaishvili is still paying for one afternoon at Shukura

Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.

Squad

Dato Dolidze: “I am not a substitute”

“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Shukura will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.

In brief

11 Edition

The Shukura Herald

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The knee: Jaba Kashia out for 24 days

24 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Shukura lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Market

Khvicha Daraselia puts it in writing

“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 Shukura, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Words exchanged at Shukura

Luka Nozadze 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.

Market

One of our own: Khvicha Daraselia joins the Shukura first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Khvicha Daraselia is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market

Lasha Gvelesiani steps up from the Shukura academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Lasha Gvelesiani 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.

Squad

Shukura are still strangers to each other

9 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.

The dugout

A promise honoured at Shukura

Something was said to Mate Ghaghvishvili and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.

Squad

Luka Katamadze 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 dugout

Luka Chaganava 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.

In brief

10 Edition

The Shukura Herald

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The terraces

Supporters organise against the Shukura board

A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.

Market

Gogita Salukvadze 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 Shukura can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Shukura

Luka Nozadze 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Shukura

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dato Dolidze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Irakli Giritiladze makes the team of the month

Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Anri Gogitidze

“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.

Squad

A step back for Otar Mikautadze at Shukura

Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.

Market

Shukura and Anri Gogitidze are talking past each other

“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.

Market

Shukura put Saba Kvirkvelia up for sale

The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Saba Kvirkvelia may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.

In brief

9 Edition

The Shukura Herald

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The wait goes on for Shukura

10 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Match

Shukura sink to position 16

1 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Market

Giorgi Kavtaradze 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 Shukura can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Mate Ghaghvishvili is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 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.

Match

Shukura are shipping goals every week

Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.

Squad

A falling-out at Shukura

Giorgi Kavtaradze and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Luka Rekhviashvili’s goal not enough for Shukura

Luka Rekhviashvili scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to Sapovnela, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Squad

Words at Shukura training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luka Nozadze 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 dugout

Gogita Salukvadze 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.

In brief

8 Edition

The Shukura Herald

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Mate Ghaghvishvili keeps Shukura in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Match

Chastening afternoon for Shukura

A 0‑5 beating by Torpedo Kutaisi was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.

Match

No end in sight to Shukura's wait for a win

9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Shukura has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

A falling-out at Shukura

Luka Nozadze and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Shukura are shipping goals every week

Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.

The dugout

Luka Nozadze 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.

Boardroom

Nobody left the Shukura dressing room in a hurry

The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑5 defeat, delivered by Dato Arveladze to a room that had heard them before.

Squad

Words at Shukura training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Levan Arveladze 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

7 Edition

The Shukura Herald

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Nowhere to hide for Shukura

1‑4 against Dinamo Batumi, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.

Match

8 matches without a win for Shukura

The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Shukura are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Mate Ghaghvishvili stands alone

8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Squad

Words exchanged at Shukura

Luka Nozadze 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.

Market

Shukura promote Otar Daraselia from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Otar Daraselia 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.

Transfer targets

The window shuts on the Mikheil Ananidze deal

Shukura ran out of time with Zugdidi. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.

Boardroom

Doors closed at Shukura

The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.

Squad

9 new faces, and Shukura 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.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑4 Dato Arveladze left the room before anybody could ask which.

In brief

6 Edition

The Shukura Herald

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Chastening afternoon for Shukura

A 0‑3 beating by Kolkheti was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.

Squad

Mate Ghaghvishvili stands alone

8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Market

Gogita Salukvadze puts it in writing

“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 Shukura, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

7 matches without a win for Shukura

The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Shukura are no longer polite ones.

Transfer targets

$69.0K settles it between the clubs for Mikheil Ananidze

Zugdidi have accepted the money. What Shukura do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.

Boardroom

Window shuts: 19 in, 0 out at Shukura

The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 19 arrived, 0 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.

Transfer targets

No thanks: Tornike Mikautadze rejects the move

Shukura had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Zugdidi, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.

Match

4 matches without a goal for Shukura

The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.

Squad

Tempers go at Shukura

Luka Nozadze 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.

In brief

5 Edition

The Shukura Herald

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Mate Ghaghvishvili stands alone

10 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Match

A hiding for Shukura

Beaten 0‑4 by Dila, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.

Market

Giorgi Kavtaradze asks to leave Shukura

“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.

Match

The wait goes on for Shukura

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.

Transfer targets

Shota Janelidze is a medical away from Shukura

The deal with Tskhinvali 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.

Squad

Luka Nozadze 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 Shukura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

3 matches without a goal for Shukura

The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Aleksandre Gvelesiani

Shukura asked and Zugdidi said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Boardroom

Inquest at Shukura

The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.

In brief

4 Edition

The Shukura Herald

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

No end in sight to Shukura's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Shukura has to find a result from somewhere.

Transfer targets

Emmanuel Boansi turns down Shukura

The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Dila keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.

Squad

Giorgi Kavtaradze 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 Shukura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

Shukura rebuffed over Nika Kvaratskhelia

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Zugdidi have kept their man, and Shukura go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad

Words at Shukura training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luka Nozadze is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Transfer targets

Shukura ask about Revaz Daraselia

A loan enquiry to Zugdidi: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.

Market

Shukura sign Luka Rekhviashvili, one for the future

Luka Rekhviashvili is 19, and Shukura have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.

Squad

Otar Mikautadze signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Otar Mikautadze commits to Shukura for another 3 years.

The dugout

Half-satisfied: Dato Arveladze on the draw

“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.

In brief

  • The dugout No hiding place for Luka Jincharadze
  • Looking ahead Shukura take on the side everybody is chasing
  • Match Point won or two lost for Shukura?
3 Edition

The Shukura Herald

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Mate Ghaghvishvili stands alone

11 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Match

Shukura out of the cup

Tskhinvali ended it 1‑3. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.

Match

Shukura taken apart

0‑3 to Chikhura, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.

Match

4 matches without a win for Shukura

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Shukura are no longer polite ones.

Transfer targets

Shukura bid $43.0K for Luka Rekhviashvili

The offer went to Torpedo Kutaisi this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.

Squad

Words exchanged at Shukura

Luka Nozadze 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.

Match

Shukura are shipping goals every week

Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.

Boardroom

Nobody left the Shukura dressing room in a hurry

The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.

The dugout

Dato Arveladze answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

In brief

2 Edition

The Shukura Herald

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

A hiding for Shukura

Beaten 0‑3 by Zugdidi, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.

Squad

Luka Nozadze 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 Shukura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A move Luka Kakulia 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. Luka Kakulia is living that version at Shukura, and it tends to show in the first month.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Irakli Rukhadze

Shukura asked and Dinamo Batumi said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Market

One of our own: Otar Mikautadze joins the Shukura first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Otar Mikautadze is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market

Shukura promote Dato Kiteishvili from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Dato Kiteishvili 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.

Market

One of our own: Revaz Tsitaishvili joins the Shukura first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Revaz Tsitaishvili is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market

Shukura promote Lasha Mchedlidze from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Lasha Mchedlidze 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.

Boardroom

Nobody left the Shukura dressing room in a hurry

The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.

In brief

1 Edition

The Shukura Herald

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

A hiding for Shukura

Beaten 0‑6 by Merani, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.

Market

Giorgi Kavtaradze 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 Shukura can pretend not to have heard.

The terraces

The stands have turned

“Enough is enough. We have watched this for months.” 4 of the 19 senior players walked off to it, and the message was not aimed at any one of them.

Squad

Giorgi Kavtaradze signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Giorgi Kavtaradze commits to Shukura for another 4 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Shukura

Luka Nozadze 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.

Match

6 goals as Shukura and Merani go for it

Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Shukura and Merani, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.

Transfer targets

Too dear: Shukura walk away from Tornike Kirkitadze

$37.0K was the most the club would pay and Dinamo Batumi were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.

Transfer targets

Dinamo Tbilisi tell Shukura: Léo Santos is not for sale

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.

Market

The ambition of Luka Nozadze outgrows Shukura early

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.

In brief