17 Aug 2027
Tuesday
Process
55 Edition

The Van Post

16 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Transfer targets

No deal for Oleg Novikov at that price

Van offered $2.0K; BKMA 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.

Squad

Marin Jakoliš 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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Van

Vladyslav Hevlych 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.

Loan watch

Kevin Pereira wants to come home

“I did not go to Gandzasar to sit and watch. I want to come back to Van and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Van

5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.

The dugout

Danila Bokov gets picked when it counts

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 Danila Bokov is on it.

In brief

Back issues
54 Edition

The Van Post

9 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Mauro

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

Market

Dilane Ekongolo 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 Van can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

A row about effort at Van

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

Squad

Vladyslav Hevlych stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Vladyslav Hevlych and Van agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Words exchanged at Van

Yuri Martirosyan 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 dugout

Allef 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 dugout

When it matters, Gor Manukyan plays

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 dugout

A door opens for Danila Bokov

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.

Market

12 months and counting on Gor Manukyan

Still no offer on the table, and Gor Manukyan’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.

In brief

53 Edition

The Van Post

2 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The terraces

Supporters organise against the Van 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

The knee: Mauro out for 26 days

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

Boardroom

Van put Vahan Mkhitaryan on notice

The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.

Match

Every point is an argument now for Van

Position 8 and 13 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at Van

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Van is running low.

Market

Yuri Martirosyan asks to leave Van

“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.

Market

Paulo Vitor is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Van is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

A falling-out at Van

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

Squad

Vladyslav Hevlych signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Vladyslav Hevlych and Van agree another 2 years.

In brief

52 Edition

The Van Post

26 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Mauro

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

Squad

Yuri Martirosyan 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 Van this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

Urartu tell Van: Artem Poliarus 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.

Squad

Words at Van training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artur Kartashyan 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.

Squad

Poghos Krmzyan is a square peg at Van

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.

The dugout

Danila Bokov 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.

In brief

51 Edition

The Van Post

19 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Mauro damages knee ligaments — 40 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 40 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.

Market

Van get their man

The chase for Marin Jakoliš ended with $780.0K changing hands and Noah out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.

The dugout

Karen Bayramyan says Van 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.

Transfer targets

No deal for Junior Julio at that price

Van offered $810.0K; Ararat-Armenia 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.

Squad

Artur Kartashyan 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 Van this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The terraces

Van spend $780.0K on the signing the town wanted

It is the rarest sequence in football: supporters ask for something, and the club goes and does it. $780.0K for Marin Jakoliš, and for one week nobody is complaining about anything.

Transfer targets

Van rebuffed over Miguel Velosa

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

Boardroom

Van beat the market to Pedro Venaque from Ararat

Ararat will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Pedro Venaque has pre-agreed a move to Van, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.

Squad

Words at Van training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dilane Ekongolo 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

50 Edition

The Van Post

12 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Transfer targets

Junior Julio due for a Van medical

Everything agreed with Ararat-Armenia, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Squad

A falling-out at Van

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

Transfer targets

Van baulk at the price for Vlad Chatunts

Alashkert wanted more than $110.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.

Market

Sousa moves on

Gandzasar pay $140.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.

Transfer targets

Ararat-Armenia tell Van: Davit Petrosyan 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

One of our own: Gevorg Mkhitaryan joins the Van first team

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

Market

Armen Spertsyan steps up from the Van academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Armen Spertsyan 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.

Market

Van promote Vahan Barseghyan from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Vahan Barseghyan 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Van

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

In brief

49 Edition

The Van Post

5 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The terraces

The mood at Van has turned into something else

Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.

Match

Van sink to position 8

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

Match

Van finish in position 8

13 points, and the season has a number on it. Whatever it felt like from the inside, this is what it will look like in a book.

Player ratings

Dilane Ekongolo was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 27. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Van

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

The dugout

Harutyun Asatryan: 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.” Van have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Alessandro Rossi 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 Van can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Paulo Vitor has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Van they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Transfer targets

Van bid $130.0K for Aleksandr Aleksanyan

The offer went to Ararat 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.

In brief

48 Edition

The Van Post

28 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Van end the wait against BKMA

It had gone 13 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.

Squad

Tenton Yenne is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.49 with 21 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

Player ratings

Dilane Ekongolo was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Market

Kevin Pereira has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Van they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Van

Tenton Yenne 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

Van find a way past BKMA

BKMA made Van work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Player ratings

Tenton Yenne was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.14. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

Looking ahead

A six-pointer for Van

Gandzasar next, and both sides can do the sum. Win and the table looks different; lose and it looks the way everybody has been fearing.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Allef

“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.

In brief

  • Squad A row about effort at Van
  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
  • The dugout When it matters, Allef plays
47 Edition

The Van Post

21 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

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

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

Squad

Danila Bokov keeps Van in it on his own

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.

Match

The cup run ends for Van

1‑3 against Ararat-Armenia, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.

Market

Paulo Vitor agrees terms with Gandzasar

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Van people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Squad

Tenton Yenne is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.47 with 20 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

Player ratings

Dilane Ekongolo was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 26. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Squad

Tenton Yenne 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 Van this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Kadir Seven

“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 row about effort at Van

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

In brief

46 Edition

The Van Post

14 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

11 matches without a win for Van

The run now stands at 11, and the questions being asked around Van are no longer polite ones.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Danila Bokov

There were 10 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.

Market

Kevin Pereira agrees terms with BKMA

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Van people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Squad

Defences have started doubling up on Tenton Yenne

19 goals and a season average of 7.47 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.

Squad

A falling-out at Van

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

Squad

Jefferson Granado signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jefferson Granado commits to Van for another 3 years.

Player ratings

Tenton Yenne beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 17. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Match

Urartu snatch it back from Van

A goal on 85 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.

Match

Honours even between Van and Urartu

2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

In brief

  • The dugout The team sheet said everything about Saba Sidamonidze
  • The dugout Vahan Mkhitaryan: “We have to be better”
  • Looking ahead Van take on the side everybody is chasing
45 Edition

The Van Post

7 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

10 matches without a win for Van

The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Van are no longer polite ones.

Match

Van sink to position 9

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

The terraces

Anger at Van spills outside the ground

It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Dilane Ekongolo

Successful dribbles: 33. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Tenton Yenne is carrying Van

18 goals and a season average of 7.45. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Squad

Words exchanged at Van

Tenton Yenne 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

Paulo Vitor attracts admirers

The name of Paulo Vitor has come up in conversations Van were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Squad

Appearance number 200 for Petros Avetisyan

200 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.

The dugout

Javier Torres 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

44 Edition

The Van Post

31 May 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Danila Bokov 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

9 matches without a win for Van

The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Van are no longer polite ones.

Match

Chastening afternoon for Van

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

Squad

Tempers go at Van

Tenton Yenne 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

No clean sheets in sight for Van

5 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.

Squad

A row about effort at Van

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

Boardroom

Inquest at Van

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.

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 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Vahan Mkhitaryan to a room that had heard them before.

The dugout

When it matters, Tenton Yenne plays

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.

In brief

43 Edition

The Van Post

24 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Danila Bokov keeps Van in it on his own

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.

Match

A 2-goal lead gone for Van

It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Noah kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Van will be asked about the last half hour all week.

Match

8 matches without a win for Van

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

Player ratings

A brace, and Tenton Yenne takes the afternoon — 8.49

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Tenton Yenne provided it, and the 8.49 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Market

Saba Sidamonidze 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 Van, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Tenton Yenne is carrying Van

17 goals and a season average of 7.47. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Squad

Tenton Yenne 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 Van this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Van leaking at the back

4 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.

Squad

A row about effort at Van

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

In brief

  • Match Tenton Yenne rescues a point for Van
  • The dugout The view from the dugout
  • The dugout When it matters, Allef plays
42 Edition

The Van Post

17 May 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

3 goals for Dilane Ekongolo

The match ball belongs to Dilane Ekongolo, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.

Match

The wait goes on for Van

7 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.

Market

Only the photograph left for Kevin Pereira

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kevin Pereira will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Van the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

A falling-out at Van

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

Match

A bad afternoon for Van against Ararat

3‑4 to Ararat, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Match

Dilane Ekongolo among the goals in a wild afternoon

7 goals in one match, Dilane Ekongolo on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Van and Ararat.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Dilane Ekongolo at his very best

Marked 9.58. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Van.

The terraces

Van supporters have found a favourite in Dilane Ekongolo

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Dilane Ekongolo has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Tenton Yenne

Marked 8.18 — 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.

In brief

41 Edition

The Van Post

10 May 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Van sink to position 9

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

Player ratings

A brace, and Tenton Yenne takes the afternoon — 9.43

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Tenton Yenne provided it, and the 9.43 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Match

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

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

Squad

Tenton Yenne is carrying Van

15 goals and a season average of 7.40. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Match

Van come up short against Pyunik

Pyunik left with the points after a 3‑5 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Words exchanged at Van

Tenton Yenne 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

Tenton Yenne among the goals in a wild afternoon

8 goals in one match, Tenton Yenne on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Van and Pyunik.

Market

Aram Movsisyan steps up from the Van academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Aram Movsisyan 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.

Market

Grigor Haroyan steps up from the Van academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Grigor Haroyan 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.

In brief

  • The dugout The manager makes an example of Artur Kartashyan
  • Player ratings A masterclass from Allef
  • Squad Words at Van training over how hard people work
40 Edition

The Van Post

3 May 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Both of them Tenton Yenne's — 9.19

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.19, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Gor Manukyan

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.

Match

5 matches without a win for Van

The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Van are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Tempers go at Van

Tenton Yenne 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

Tenton Yenne’s goal not enough for Van

Tenton Yenne scored, and precious little else went right: 3‑4 to Gandzasar, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Match

Nobody could stop scoring

7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Van and Gandzasar in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.

Squad

Defences have started doubling up on Tenton Yenne

13 goals and a season average of 7.30 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.

Player ratings

Molik Khan runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

A row about effort at Van

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

In brief

39 Edition

The Van Post

26 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Saba Sidamonidze 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 Van, and it is not being withdrawn.

The dugout

Sousa keeps the receipts

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

Match

4 matches without a win for Van

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

Squad

Tenton Yenne 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 Van this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Dilane Ekongolo beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Dilane Ekongolo

“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.

Player ratings

Allef in the eights

A performance of 8.11 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Vladyslav Hevlych 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.

Match

Van and BKMA take a point apiece

It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

In brief

  • The dugout Tenton Yenne has become a man the manager trusts
  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
  • Looking ahead A reunion for Dilane Ekongolo
38 Edition

The Van Post

19 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Chastening afternoon for Van

A 2‑9 beating by Ararat-Armenia was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.

Player ratings

Both of them Tenton Yenne's — 8.81

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.81, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Squad

A day to forget for Gor Manukyan

Beaten 9 times, 4 saves, and an afternoon that will go on his record whether it was his fault or the defence’s. It is the quiet unfairness of the position.

Market

Kevin Pereira has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Van they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tenton Yenne 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 Van this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Tenton Yenne among the goals in a wild afternoon

11 goals in one match, Tenton Yenne on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Van and Ararat-Armenia.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Kadir Seven

“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

Tenton Yenne is carrying Van

11 goals and a season average of 7.23. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Squad

A row about effort at Van

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

In brief

37 Edition

The Van Post

12 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Van sink to position 9

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

Squad

Yuri Martirosyan signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Yuri Martirosyan commits to Van for another 4 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Van

Tenton Yenne was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Player ratings

Allef was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.19. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

Squad

Saba Sidamonidze 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.

Match

Allef rescues a point for Van

It needed Allef to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Urartu, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Vahan Mkhitaryan chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.

Looking ahead

The leaders are next for Van

Ararat-Armenia top the table and they are coming into view. Nothing to lose, which is what every manager says before losing.

Squad

The division's best last weekend was a Van man

It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Tenton Yenne was the best thing in any of them.

In brief

36 Edition

The Van Post

5 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Tenton Yenne sends Van through

Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Tenton Yenne obliged against Shirak. 3‑3 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Van.

Match

Cup progress for Van

A 2‑1 win over Shirak, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?

Player ratings

A brace, and Sousa takes the afternoon — 8.86

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Sousa provided it, and the 8.86 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Squad

Tenton Yenne takes the match ball home

3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.

Squad

Words exchanged at Van

Tenton Yenne 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.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Tenton Yenne at his very best

Marked 9.65. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Van.

The terraces

Van supporters have found a favourite in Sousa

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Sousa has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Hollman McCormick

Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

The dugout

Van keep their word to Dilane Ekongolo

Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.

In brief

  • Squad Words at Van training over how hard people work
  • The dugout The view from the dugout
  • Squad Matteo Antignani is no longer first choice
35 Edition

The Van Post

29 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Nowhere to hide for Van

1‑5 against Alashkert, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.

Match

6 matches without a win for Van

The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Van are no longer polite ones.

Squad

6 saves: Gor Manukyan was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Squad

A falling-out at Van

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

Match

No clean sheets in sight for Van

5 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.

Squad

The step up is real for Hunan Gyurjinyan

At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.

Match

Tenton Yenne among the goals in a wild afternoon

6 goals in one match, Tenton Yenne on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Van and Alashkert.

Squad

Words at Van training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saba Sidamonidze 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.

Boardroom

Doors closed at Van

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

In brief

  • The dugout The view from the dugout
  • The dugout Matteo Antignani gets it from the manager
  • The dugout Allef gets picked when it counts
34 Edition

The Van Post

22 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

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

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

Market

Kevin Pereira has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Van they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tenton Yenne 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 Van this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Jonel Désirè’s goal not enough for Van

Jonel Désirè scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to Noah, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Match

No clean sheets in sight for Van

4 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Danila Bokov

“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 row about effort at Van

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

Market

No place for Saba Sidamonidze in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Saba Sidamonidze has his answer from Van; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

The dugout

Vahan Mkhitaryan answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

In brief

33 Edition

The Van Post

15 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Allef scores twice — 9.14

Two goals and a mark of 9.14 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Squad

Gor Manukyan keeps Van in it on his own

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.

Match

4 matches without a win for Van

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

Squad

Tempers go at Van

Tenton Yenne 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

Ararat take the points off Van

Beaten 3‑4, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Match

Nobody could stop scoring

7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Van and Ararat in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Tenton Yenne

Marked 8.30 — 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.

Player ratings

Dilane Ekongolo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

The dugout

Javier Torres 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

32 Edition

The Van Post

8 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

4 goals for Tenton Yenne

The match ball belongs to Tenton Yenne, whose 4 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.

Squad

Petros Avetisyan signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Petros Avetisyan and Van agree another 3 years.

Squad

Words exchanged at Van

Tenton Yenne 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

Nobody could stop scoring

8 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Van and Pyunik in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Tenton Yenne at his very best

Marked 9.86. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Van.

The dugout

Petros Avetisyan 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Van

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

Match

Van and Pyunik take a point apiece

It finished 4‑4, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

The dugout

The manager has not finished forgetting Petros Avetisyan'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.

In brief

31 Edition

The Van Post

1 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Dilane Ekongolo 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 Van can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

A falling-out at Van

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

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Dilane Ekongolo

“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

Saba Sidamonidze 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.

Squad

Matteo Antignani signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Matteo Antignani and Van agree another 3 years.

The dugout

Danila Bokov 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 Van, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Looking ahead

A reunion for Artur Kartashyan

He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Pyunik in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.

Market

Talks stall between Van and Vladyslav Hevlych

“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.

The dugout

Gor Manukyan gets picked when it counts

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 Gor Manukyan is on it.

In brief

30 Edition

The Van Post

22 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Kevin Pereira is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Van is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Tenton Yenne 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 Van this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Vladyslav Hevlych falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

In brief

29 Edition

The Van Post

15 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Van

Tenton Yenne 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 Van

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

The dugout

Artur Kartashyan is still being punished for one mistake

Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.

In brief

28 Edition

The Van Post

8 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Words exchanged at Van

Tenton Yenne 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

Levon Mkhitaryan steps up from the Van academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Levon Mkhitaryan has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Squad

Saba Sidamonidze falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

In brief

27 Edition

The Van Post

1 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Dilane Ekongolo 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 Van can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Terms done: Kevin Pereira is going

Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Bukhara waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Van is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.

Boardroom

Van close the window on a squad of their own making

1 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.

Squad

A falling-out at Van

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

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Dilane Ekongolo

“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 row about effort at Van

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

In brief

26 Edition

The Van Post

25 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Not going: Kevin Pereira stays at Van

“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Urartu had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.

Squad

Tenton Yenne 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 Van this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Van training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saba Sidamonidze 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.

Squad

Home is on Alessandro Rossi's mind

“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Van are dealing with a man who wants a different country.

The dugout

Allef gets picked when it counts

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 Allef is on it.

The dugout

Alessandro Rossi 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

25 Edition

The Van Post

18 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Van

Tenton Yenne 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

Saba Sidamonidze 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

Artur Kartashyan is still paying for one afternoon at Van

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.

The dugout

When it matters, Tenton Yenne plays

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 dugout

Alessandro Rossi 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 Alessandro Rossi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Squad

Good reports on Yuri Martirosyan

The word out of the training ground is that he has been the sharpest man there all week. It is the quietest story a paper carries and it usually runs the week before somebody's run in the side begins.

In brief

24 Edition

The Van Post

11 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Kevin Pereira agrees terms with BKMA

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Van people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Squad

Words exchanged at Van

Tenton Yenne 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

Van promote Henrikh Haroyan from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Henrikh Haroyan 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.

Squad

Words at Van training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladyslav Hevlych 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

Danila Bokov 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 Danila Bokov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

The dugout

Ivan Yakovlev 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.

The dugout

Hollman McCormick gets picked when it counts

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 Hollman McCormick is on it.

Market

Talks stall between Van and Ivan Yakovlev

“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.

The dugout

The manager plants his flag on Tenton Yenne

“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Tenton Yenne’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.

In brief

23 Edition

The Van Post

4 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Saba Sidamonidze asks to leave Van

“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

A falling-out at Van

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

Market

Eyes on Kevin Pereira again

The phone has started ringing about Kevin Pereira again, and this time the name on the line is BKMA. Van are listening politely and promising nothing.

The dugout

Dilane Ekongolo 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.

Squad

Saba Sidamonidze 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.

Squad

Vladyslav Hevlych is no longer first choice

The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Vladyslav Hevlych 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 dugout

Danila Bokov 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.

Squad

Danila Bokov moves up the pecking order

Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Van than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.

Market

Still no ink between Van and Vladyslav Hevlych

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Van, another week without a signature from Vladyslav Hevlych.

In brief

  • The dugout When it matters, Gor Manukyan plays
  • Boardroom Open for business: Van enter the window
  • The dugout The manager comes out for Allef
22 Edition

The Van Post

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tenton Yenne 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 Van this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Real improvement from Hunan Gyurjinyan at Van

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Hunan Gyurjinyan is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

The dugout

Kadir Seven 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Van

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

The dugout

Allef gets picked when it counts

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 Allef is on it.

The dugout

Vladyslav Hevlych 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 Vladyslav Hevlych trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

21 Edition

The Van Post

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Van

Tenton Yenne 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

Vladyslav Hevlych 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

Artur Kartashyan is still paying for one afternoon at Van

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.

In brief

20 Edition

The Van Post

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Words exchanged at Van

Tenton Yenne 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: Artak Karapetyan joins the Van first team

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

Squad

A row about effort at Van

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

In brief

19 Edition

The Van Post

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A falling-out at Van

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

Squad

Vladyslav Hevlych stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Vladyslav Hevlych and Van agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Words at Van training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saba Sidamonidze 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

Dilane Ekongolo 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 Van, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Squad

Artur Kartashyan moves up the pecking order

Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Van than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.

The dugout

No hiding place for Paulo Vitor

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

In brief

18 Edition

The Van Post

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tenton Yenne 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 Van this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Vladyslav Hevlych 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.

Squad

Alessandro Rossi signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Alessandro Rossi commits to Van for another 3 years.

The dugout

Allef gets picked when it counts

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 Allef is on it.

Market

Van and Alessandro Rossi 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.

The dugout

Alessandro Rossi 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 Van, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

17 Edition

The Van Post

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Van

Tenton Yenne 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 Kadir Seven

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

Squad

Saba Sidamonidze 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.

Squad

Alessandro Rossi stays put

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

The dugout

Tenton Yenne gets picked when it counts

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 Tenton Yenne is on it.

The dugout

The manager has not finished forgetting Artur Kartashyan'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.

In brief

16 Edition

The Van Post

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Words exchanged at Van

Tenton Yenne 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 dugout

Hollman McCormick has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Van 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.

Squad

Artur Kartashyan goes off with his country

A call-up flatters the player and the club that produced him in the same breath. Van would like him back in one piece and know they will not be consulted.

In brief

15 Edition

The Van Post

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A falling-out at Van

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

Loan watch

Sousa counts the days

“I watch every Van game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Gandzasar runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.

The dugout

No hiding place for Ivan Yakovlev

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

In brief

14 Edition

The Van Post

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Matteo Antignani gets the move he always wanted

Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Matteo Antignani has just signed for Van, and for once the answer mattered.

Squad

Tenton Yenne 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 Van this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Van

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

Market

Still no ink between Van and Vladyslav Hevlych

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Van, another week without a signature from Vladyslav Hevlych.

The dugout

Allef gets picked when it counts

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 Allef is on it.

The dugout

Vladyslav Hevlych 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 Vladyslav Hevlych trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

13 Edition

The Van Post

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Van

Tenton Yenne 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

Saba Sidamonidze 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.

Squad

10 new faces, and Van 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.

In brief

12 Edition

The Van Post

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Words exchanged at Van

Tenton Yenne 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 dugout

Dilane Ekongolo 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 dugout

When it matters, Hollman McCormick plays

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.

In brief

11 Edition

The Van Post

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A falling-out at Van

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

Squad

Real improvement from Hunan Gyurjinyan at Van

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Hunan Gyurjinyan is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Market

Artur Mkhitaryan steps up from the Van academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Artur Mkhitaryan has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Squad

Words at Van training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladyslav Hevlych 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.

Loan watch

Sousa wants to come home

“I did not go to Gandzasar to sit and watch. I want to come back to Van and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.

The dugout

When it matters, Gor Manukyan plays

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.

In brief

10 Edition

The Van Post

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tenton Yenne 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 Van this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Van training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saba Sidamonidze 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.

Boardroom

106% of the income goes out in wages at Van

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 dugout

Allef has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Van 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.

Market

The Kevin Pereira story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Kevin Pereira signs something — a contract at Van or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

Squad

Dilane Ekongolo has settled at Van

The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.

In brief

9 Edition

The Van Post

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Van

Tenton Yenne 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

11 new faces, and Van 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

Tenton Yenne has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Van 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.

In brief

8 Edition

The Van Post

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Words exchanged at Van

Tenton Yenne 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

Vladyslav Hevlych 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.

Market

The shop window has Saba Sidamonidze in it

Van have let the market know Saba Sidamonidze can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.

In brief

7 Edition

The Van Post

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A falling-out at Van

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

Market

Ararat Hovhannisyan steps up from the Van academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ararat Hovhannisyan 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.

Market

One of our own: Karen Bayramyan joins the Van first team

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

Squad

Words at Van training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saba Sidamonidze 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.

Loan watch

Sousa counts the days

“I watch every Van game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Gandzasar runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.

The dugout

Vladyslav Hevlych 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 Van, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Squad

Rob Nizet walks taller at Van

His past walked in ahead of him. Players who have been where he has been get a hearing in a dressing room before they have earned one, and he has it for as long as his form does.

The dugout

Gor Manukyan gets picked when it counts

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 Gor Manukyan is on it.

Market

Talks stall between Van and Ivan Yakovlev

“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.

In brief

6 Edition

The Van Post

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Boardroom

Van close the window on a squad of their own making

16 in and 2 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.

Squad

Tenton Yenne 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 Van this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Dilane Ekongolo

“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 Artur Kartashyan at Van

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.

Squad

Dilane Ekongolo has had enough of the bench

“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 Van will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.

Squad

Arthur Coneglian 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.

Market

Van and Vladyslav Hevlych 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.

The dugout

Allef has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Van 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.

The dugout

Vladyslav Hevlych 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 Van, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

5 Edition

The Van Post

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Gor Manukyan keeps Van in it on his own

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.

Match

The small margins put Van out

Out, 1‑3 to Ararat-Armenia, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.

Player ratings

Rob Nizet runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Tempers go at Van

Tenton Yenne 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 targets

Van baulk at the price for Khalil Sammani

Alashkert wanted more than $14.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.

The dugout

No hiding place for Petros Avetisyan

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

Squad

Words at Van training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladyslav Hevlych 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.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Van

11 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.

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 1‑3 Vahan Mkhitaryan left the room before anybody could ask which.

In brief

4 Edition

The Van Post

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Van march on in the cup

Pyunik are out and Van go through, 0‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.

Squad

Gor Manukyan wins the shoot-out

1 kept out from twelve yards, and a stadium that will describe each of them for twenty years. A goalkeeper needs one night like this in a career, and this was it.

Market

Not going: Kevin Pereira stays at Van

“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Okzhetpes had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.

Market

Van turn down Ararat for Hollman McCormick

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Squad

Words exchanged at Van

Tenton Yenne 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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Rob Nizet

Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Saba Sidamonidze 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

The form table has caught Artur Kartashyan

Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.

The dugout

Vahan Mkhitaryan: “We have to be better”

“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.

In brief

3 Edition

The Van Post

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Match

Allef sends Van through

Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Allef obliged against Shirak. 2‑1 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Van.

Match

Van win it in stoppage time

The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 95th minute. Shirak will replay every second of the added time for a week.

Squad

Gor Manukyan stands alone

7 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

A falling-out at Van

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

Player ratings

Mauro beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

The terraces

Van supporters have found a favourite in Hollman McCormick

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Hollman McCormick has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Market

Okzhetpes watching Kevin Pereira

The interest is real enough to have reached print. Van have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Allef at his very best

Marked 8.61. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Van.

Market

Talks stall between Van and Dilane Ekongolo

“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.

In brief

2 Edition

The Van Post

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Van

Tenton Yenne 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

Javier Torres signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Javier Torres and Van agree another 3 years.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Tenton Yenne

“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.

Market

Van promote Karen Hovhannisyan from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Karen Hovhannisyan 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: Artur Mkhitaryan joins the Van first team

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

Market

Robert Grigoryan steps up from the Van academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Robert Grigoryan has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

In brief

1 Edition

The Van Post

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Petros Avetisyan signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Petros Avetisyan and Van agree another 2 years.

Squad

Tenton Yenne 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 Van this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Gandzasar join the queue for Sousa

Add another name to the list: Gandzasar have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Sousa. The answer from Van has not changed — yet.

Squad

7 new faces, and Van 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.

Market

Still no ink between Van and Molik Khan

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Van, another week without a signature from Molik Khan.

Squad

No place for Ivan Yakovlev in the new shape

He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Van are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.

In brief