From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Feb 2027
132 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Taraz lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market8 Feb 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Taraz can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
The clubs have shaken hands with Kairat; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Market8 Feb 2027
Astana come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Taraz did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad8 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Taraz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Kairat have kept their man, and Taraz go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Älisher Süleimen 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.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
A loan enquiry to Crvena Zvezda: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Market8 Feb 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Egor Ališauskas may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Feb 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Ülan Konysbaev
140 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Taraz lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market1 Feb 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market1 Feb 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Zhetysu have kept their man, and Taraz go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Taraz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Älisher Süleimen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Taraz
Erasyl Keulimzhai 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.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
A loan move for Rubin Hebaj is in the works
Taraz have made the call to Tobol. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
A loan enquiry to Shakhter: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Market1 Feb 2027
He is 20, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Jan 2027
148 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Taraz lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Taraz
Madiiar Nūraly 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Taraz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eskendir Qybyrai was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market25 Jan 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Maqsat Ämirkhanov has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Taraz.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
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 Ülan Konysbaev is on it.
Market25 Jan 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Taraz know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Jan 2027
156 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Taraz lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad18 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Taraz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Taraz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Älisher Süleimen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Jan 2027
Ülan Konysbaev damages knee ligaments — 163 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 163 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Taraz
Madiiar Nūraly and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Taraz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Älisher Süleimen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market4 Jan 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Taraz, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Taraz
Madiiar Nūraly 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Taraz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eskendir Qybyrai 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 dugout4 Jan 2027
Älisher Sulei asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
Dias Ańdyrmash has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Taraz 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Tair Nurseitov has moved up it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Taraz
Madiiar Nūraly was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Älisher Süleimen 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 dugout28 Dec 2026
Ülan Konysbaev has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Taraz 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Taraz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Älisher Süleimen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A falling-out at Taraz
Eskendir Qybyrai and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
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 Ersūltan Töreqūl is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Taraz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market14 Dec 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Erbol Nuserbayev 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Taraz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eskendir Qybyrai is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Taraz
Madiiar Nūraly 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 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Taraz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Älisher Süleimen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Enzo Uribe commits to Taraz for another 3 years.
Squad7 Dec 2026
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Taraz
Madiiar Nūraly was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Zhandos Ömirzaqov 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Enzo Uribe and Taraz agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
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 dugout30 Nov 2026
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
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Market
Taraz shop where it costs nothing
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Squad
A season on the outside for Enzo Uribe
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market23 Nov 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Taraz can pretend not to have heard.
Squad23 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Taraz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Taraz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eskendir Qybyrai was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Ersūltan Töreqūl has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Taraz 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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Ädilet Ömei wants out of the dugout
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Taraz will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Taraz
Madiiar Nūraly and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Taraz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eskendir Qybyrai 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 dugout16 Nov 2026
Älisher Sulei knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Älisher Sulei trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Taraz
Madiiar Nūraly 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.
Market9 Nov 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Talgat Dosmagambetov has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Egor Ališauskas
“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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Erasyl Keulimzhai 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.
Loan watch9 Nov 2026
“I watch every Taraz game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Okzhetpes runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Taraz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eskendir Qybyrai was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Taraz
Merei Zhambyl and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Taraz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eskendir Qybyrai was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Taraz
Merei Zhambyl 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 dugout26 Oct 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Taraz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Azamat Erkinbek 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 dugout19 Oct 2026
Andrei Pasechenko has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Taraz 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Taraz
Madiiar Nūraly 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.
Market12 Oct 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Talgat Baizhanov 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.
Market12 Oct 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Ordabasy Tagybergen 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 dugout12 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Egor Ališauskas
“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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Eskendir Qybyrai 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.
Loan watch12 Oct 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Taraz, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Taraz
Madiiar Nūraly was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Taraz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eskendir Qybyrai 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.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages swallow 97% of the Taraz income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
Squad5 Oct 2026
10 new faces, and Taraz 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Andrei Pasechenko 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 dugout5 Oct 2026
Älisher Sulei 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 Taraz, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Taraz may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market28 Sep 2026
“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 Taraz, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad28 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Taraz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Zhandos Ömirzaqov 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 dugout28 Sep 2026
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 Ersūltan Töreqūl is on it.
Market28 Sep 2026
Taraz have let the market know Älisher Sulei can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Taraz
Madiiar Nūraly and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Taraz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eskendir Qybyrai 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 dugout21 Sep 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Taraz close the window on a squad of their own making
17 in and 3 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.
Market14 Sep 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Askhat Kuat 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 dugout14 Sep 2026
“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.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
The clock did what Akzhaiyk would not, and ended it. Supporters who watched the countdown will spend the next window doing it again.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Eskendir Qybyrai 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Taraz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Andrei Pasechenko keeps the shirt for now, at Taraz's convenience rather than his own.
Market14 Sep 2026
The window shut and Älisher Sulei is still in the building
Taraz spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The terraces7 Sep 2026
Taraz sell a favourite for $200.0K
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Stanislav Samoilov was one of the reasons people came, and $200.0K does not replace that by itself.
Market7 Sep 2026
Atyrau come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Taraz did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
The deal with Akzhaiyk 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.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Taraz had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Alashkert, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Market7 Sep 2026
Stanislav Samoilov has left for Shakhter in a $200.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Taraz asked and Mashal said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Taraz
Eskendir Qybyrai 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 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Taraz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Zhandos Ömirzaqov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Sep 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 Aug 2026
“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 Taraz, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Everything agreed with Alashkert, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
No thanks: Kevin Pereira rejects the move
Taraz had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Van, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
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.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
$25.0K was the most the club would pay and Astana 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Taraz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Egor Ališauskas is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad31 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Taraz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Älisher Sulei, and the manager let it.
Squad31 Aug 2026
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Aug 2026
There were 9 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match19 Aug 2026
The cup run ends for Taraz
1‑2 against Astana, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Market24 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Everything agreed with Ararat, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Taraz
Madiiar Nūraly and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
$91.0K was the most the club would pay and Aktobe 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 targets24 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Stade Malien have kept their man, and Taraz go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Andrei Pasechenko 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 dugout24 Aug 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match12 Aug 2026
Taraz march on in the cup
Atyrau are out and Taraz go through, 2‑1 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Match12 Aug 2026
Taraz win it in stoppage time
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 102th minute. Atyrau will replay every second of the added time for a week.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A brace, and Ülan Konysbaev takes the afternoon — 8.20
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ülan Konysbaev provided it, and the 8.20 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Marked 7.96 at 19, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Taraz had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at AGMK, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
$91.0K on the table at Aktobe. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Taraz
Madiiar Nūraly 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.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Taraz offered $110.0K; Okzhetpes said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Andijon have kept their man, and Taraz go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Everything agreed with AGMK, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Taraz have gone to Okzhetpes 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Taraz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Taraz asked and Astana said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Nurali Tymoshchuk 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Talgat Tagybergen is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Timur Abiken 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Rinat Islamkhan 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Taraz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eskendir Qybyrai is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 Aug 2026
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market3 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Bauyrzhan Baitana and Taraz agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Taraz
Madiiar Nūraly 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.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Taraz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andrei Pasechenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match1 Aug 2026
Tobol take the points off Taraz
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Market3 Aug 2026
The clock runs on Nūrlan Däirov's contract
36 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.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Serikzhan Nurgaliev after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.