Add another name to the list: Lokomotiv Gomel have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Vladislav Krolik. The answer from Torpedo-BelAZ has not changed — yet.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Torpedo-BelAZ, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
Player ratingsThe one thing Steven Alfred could not do
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Steven Alfred 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 board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Alexey Zaleskiy. 3‑1 against Gomel, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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.
Steven Alfred 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.
Marked 8.19 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Smorgon go through and Torpedo-BelAZ 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.
Vadim Pobudey 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.
Marked 8.32 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
The captaincy has been taken off Sergey Ignatovich. Torpedo-BelAZ will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Torpedo-BelAZ have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Steven Alfred 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vadim Pobudey trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alexey Zaleskiy signs something — a contract at Torpedo-BelAZ or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
BoardroomThe Torpedo-BelAZ production line keeps running
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo-BelAZ can pretend not to have heard.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for 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 Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Steven Alfred 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 board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.04 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and 2 appearances in 10 say he has earned the hearing.
Marked 8.76 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 8.21 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Vadim Pobudey 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vladislav Melko trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.17 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 8.47 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Steven Alfred 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.
Marked 8.51 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Torpedo-BelAZ have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Torpedo-BelAZ, 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 Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Araz Ismayilov and Torpedo-BelAZ agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Shots: 9. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Steven Alfred 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.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alexey Zaleskiy signs something — a contract at Torpedo-BelAZ or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Steven Alfred 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.
Marked 9.54 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
A new deal for the man in the dugout, and the clearest thing a board can say without calling a press conference about it. Stability is cheap to promise and expensive to deliver.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alexey Zaleskiy and Torpedo-BelAZ agree another 3 years.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Ihar Ihnatovich is a Torpedo-BelAZ player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo-BelAZ can pretend not to have heard.
Vadim Pobudey was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alexey Zaleskiy signs something — a contract at Torpedo-BelAZ or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The offer from Slonim for Vladislav Krolik was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ilya Rutskiy signs something — a contract at Torpedo-BelAZ or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The language is coming and there is somebody to talk to in the dressing room. A footballer who feels at home plays like one, and it never shows up in a scouting report.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Torpedo-BelAZ have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Steven Alfred was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Vadim Pobudey signs something — a contract at Torpedo-BelAZ or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The offer from Dinamo Minsk for Steven Alfred was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Dmitriy Khalimonchikov has his answer from Torpedo-BelAZ; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Torpedo-BelAZ will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Add another name to the list: BATE have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Nenad Perović. The answer from Torpedo-BelAZ has not changed — yet.
Steven Alfred 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 was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Torpedo-BelAZ has been clear about where Mikhail Ladutsko stands, which is more than many ever get.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alexey Zaleskiy signs something — a contract at Torpedo-BelAZ or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
The terracesSupporters make their feelings known about Nenad Perović
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vadim Kiselev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Vadim Pobudey was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Torpedo-BelAZ, 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 Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Torpedo-BelAZ, and both men came out saying it was fine.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Torpedo-BelAZ have had the benefit 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 Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Steven Alfred was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Torpedo-BelAZ, 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 Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Yevhen Chahovets has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
Steven Alfred was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vladislav Melko trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo-BelAZ can pretend not to have heard.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Torpedo-BelAZ will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Vadim Pobudey was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Michael Boxall arrives at 33 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Torpedo-BelAZ have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Steven Alfred 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Torpedo-BelAZ know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Torpedo-BelAZ, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
BoardroomThe Torpedo-BelAZ board put their names to 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 Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Steven Alfred 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 am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Torpedo-BelAZ, and 16 appearances in 35 say he has earned the hearing.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Steven Alfred was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo-BelAZ can pretend not to have heard.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Sergey Ignatovich and Torpedo-BelAZ agree another 2 years.
Steven Alfred 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 board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Position 3, 45 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Steven Alfred 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Yevhen Chahovets trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Torpedo-BelAZ know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Beaten 4 times, with 4 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
Steven Alfred 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.
Add another name to the list: Slutsk have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Egor Mychelkin. The answer from Torpedo-BelAZ has not changed — yet.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
“I watch every Torpedo-BelAZ game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Vitebsk runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Torpedo-BelAZ has been clear about where Egor Mychelkin stands, which is more than many ever get.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 25 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: Dnepr Mogilev have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Maxim Budko. The answer from Torpedo-BelAZ has not changed — yet.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Danila Zhulpa. 2‑0 against Belshina, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Position 2, 42 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Vadim Pobudey 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 have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo-BelAZ can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.80 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 19 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo-BelAZ can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Steven Alfred 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 afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Steven Alfred 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.
Marked 8.96 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Torpedo-BelAZ know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Torpedo-BelAZ have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
Steven Alfred 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Dmitry Yefremov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Torpedo-BelAZ game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Vitebsk runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
$610.0K is a serious amount of money and it does not play centre-forward. Everybody in the dressing room knows who used to be looked at when it went wrong.
Steven Alfred 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.
Marked 8.12 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The offer from Slonim for Maxim Budko was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.88 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
Steven Alfred 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 18 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 16 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Steven Alfred was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Torpedo-BelAZ have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Vadim Pobudey 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.
Marked 8.09 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Torpedo-BelAZ have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.45 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Position 3, 15 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Steven Alfred 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.
Marked 8.93 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 8.65 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“I watch every Torpedo-BelAZ game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Vitebsk runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Shots: 5. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Steven Alfred 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.
Marked 8.99 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Torpedo-BelAZ know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Torpedo-BelAZ, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
In brief
The terracesThe press cannot get enough of Steven Alfred
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Vadim Pobudey 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.
Marked 8.52 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 8.51 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Sergey Ignatovich knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything 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 Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Olexandr Batischev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Steven Alfred 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.
Shots: 5. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Torpedo-BelAZ know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Played out of position, hooked on the hour, asked to be somebody he is not — the details vary and the mood does not. Torpedo-BelAZ have a player doing his work under protest.
Minsk will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Torpedo-BelAZ were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Sergey Ignatovich and Torpedo-BelAZ agree another 2 years.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Sergei Skavysh is a Torpedo-BelAZ player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Viktar Savitski is a Torpedo-BelAZ player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
The shirt still fits. Sergei Skavysh is back at Torpedo-BelAZ, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Steven Alfred 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.
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Torpedo-BelAZ will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Torpedo-BelAZ would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Torpedo-BelAZ know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Neman paid $56.0K and Torpedo-BelAZ took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
The chase for Dmitriy Latykhov ended with $210.0K changing hands and Naftan out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Steven Alfred was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The name of Maxim Budko has come up in conversations Torpedo-BelAZ were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Kirill Semashko is 20, and Torpedo-BelAZ 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Araz Ismayilov and Torpedo-BelAZ agree another 3 years.
Steven Alfred 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 phone has started ringing about Vadim Kiselev again, and this time the name on the line is Vitebsk. Torpedo-BelAZ are listening politely and promising nothing.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo-BelAZ can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Steven Alfred was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Steven Alfred 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Torpedo-BelAZ know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Vadim Pobudey was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nenad Perović trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Steven Alfred 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Torpedo-BelAZ know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Torpedo-BelAZ have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
175% of the income goes out in wages at Torpedo-BelAZ
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Torpedo-BelAZ have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Steven Alfred 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Torpedo-BelAZ have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Torpedo-BelAZ game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Orsha runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Steven Alfred was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
175% of the income goes out in wages at Torpedo-BelAZ
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Steven Alfred 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nenad Perović trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Steven Alfred 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 am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Torpedo-BelAZ, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every paper's favourite story and every manager's least. What happened is being dealt with internally, which is the phrase clubs use when they would rather nobody asked again.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
290% of the income goes out in wages at Torpedo-BelAZ
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
In brief
SquadRaised voices on the training ground at Torpedo-BelAZ
Steven Alfred 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.
Marked 8.34 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.21 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Torpedo-BelAZ have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Vadim Pobudey 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Vitebsk will make the call about Vadim Kiselev this week. Torpedo-BelAZ have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Torpedo-BelAZ, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Torpedo-BelAZ know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Torpedo-BelAZ, another week without a signature from Vitaliy Urbanovich.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The name of Vadim Kiselev has come up in conversations Torpedo-BelAZ were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
233% of the income goes out in wages at Torpedo-BelAZ
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
The fee is $120.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Slavia Mozyr drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Vadim Pobudey 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.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Sergey Ignatovich: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Danila Zhulpa. 2‑1 against Dinamo Brest, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.86 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Vadim Pobudey 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.
Add another name to the list: HIFK have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Vadim Kiselev. The answer from Torpedo-BelAZ has not changed — yet.
Marked 8.48 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 8.48 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.