The words a physio says slowly. 105 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Vasilis Kakionis is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Klevi Qefalija 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 words a physio says slowly. 112 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 25 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Klevi Qefalija arrives at Vllaznia Shkodër with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.
The words a physio says slowly. 119 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The offer from Partizani Tirana for Sokol Uldedaj 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 Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Elmando Gjini has improved at 24, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gledjan Pusi 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 words a physio says slowly. 126 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.
Sherif Kallaku 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
The words a physio says slowly. 133 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The words a physio says slowly. 140 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.
Bekim Balaj was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
In brief
SquadEsin Hakaj falls out with a teammate over standards
The words a physio says slowly. 147 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sherif Kallaku is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
The 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.
“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 Vllaznia Shkodër, and it is not being withdrawn.
Sherif Kallaku was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
In brief
SquadSimon Uldedaj is a better footballer than he was
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Vllaznia Shkodër can pretend not to have heard.
Léon Pöhls 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Eris Kurtulaj is 17, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
In brief
SquadSherif Kallaku falls out with a teammate over standards
SquadThe manager has not finished forgetting Sherif Kallaku's mistake
Bekim Balaj was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
In brief
SquadGledjan Pusi falls out with a teammate over standards
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Vllaznia Shkodër know 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 Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody at Vllaznia Shkodër 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.
Bekim Balaj was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sherif Kallaku 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.
“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 Vllaznia Shkodër, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
Andrey Yago was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
In brief
SquadThe manager has not finished forgetting Sherif Kallaku's mistake
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at Vllaznia Shkodër the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Vllaznia Shkodër can pretend not to have heard.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Sherif Kallaku was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Gledjan Pusi 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.
Bekim Balaj 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.
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
SquadEdon Murataj is not doing himself any favours
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Bekim Balaj 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.
“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 Vllaznia Shkodër, and it is not being withdrawn.
Andrey Yago 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 Alexandros Kouros trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sherif Kallaku 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.
“I watch every Vllaznia Shkodër game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Zorya 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 Vllaznia Shkodër 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.” Vllaznia Shkodër 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 Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gledjan Pusi 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.
Sherif Kallaku 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 Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Bekim Balaj 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.
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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Gledjan Pusi 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Vllaznia Shkodër game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Zorya runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Vllaznia Shkodër spent the window trying to move Aris Ara on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.
The phone has started ringing about Vasilis Kakionis again, and this time the name on the line is Naftan. Vllaznia Shkodër are listening politely and promising nothing.
The offer from Partizani Tirana for Sokol Uldedaj 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sherif Kallaku is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 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.
Andrey Yago 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 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 Vllaznia Shkodër will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Sherif Kallaku 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 Vllaznia Shkodër can pretend not to have heard.
Léon Pöhls was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
In brief
SquadSherif Kallaku falls out with a teammate over standards
The offer from Partizani Tirana for Sokol Uldedaj 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.
Bekim Balaj was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
In brief
SquadEris Kurtulaj is a better footballer than he was
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vllaznia Shkodër 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 Vllaznia Shkodër can pretend not to have heard.
Bekim Balaj was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
In brief
SquadWords at Vllaznia Shkodër training over how hard people work
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Vllaznia Shkodër can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Andrey Yago 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.
“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 Vllaznia Shkodër, 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 Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Léon Pöhls was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Sherif Kallaku 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 9.25 — 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.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Vasilis Kakionis.
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.
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.
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Vllaznia Shkodër lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 ratings23 Nov 2026
Sherif Kallaku was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.32. 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.
The goal that put Dinamo City ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Vllaznia Shkodër equalised, 4 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Vllaznia Shkodër have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Bekim Balaj was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sherif Kallaku is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Vasilis Kakionis provided it, and the 8.14 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Nobody at Vllaznia Shkodër 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gledjan Pusi 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.
Marked 8.66 — 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 ratings2 Nov 2026
Sherif Kallaku was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.43. 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.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Jasmin Čeliković has come out of that comparison in the side, and Vllaznia Shkodër have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“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 Vllaznia Shkodër, and it is not being withdrawn.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Esat Mala provided it, and the 9.15 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sherif Kallaku is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Esat Mala. 2‑0 against Teuta Durrës, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
8 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody at Vllaznia Shkodër 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.
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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Kevin Dodaj, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.83
A mark of 7.83 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Bekim Balaj was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sherif Kallaku is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every 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.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Eris Kurtulaj is 17, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
“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 Vllaznia Shkodër will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Two goals and a mark of 8.81 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Bekim Balaj 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 wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Vllaznia Shkodër have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
4 shots, and a count that reads like a good afternoon until you check the other column. Strikers survive weeks like this on the understanding that the chances keep arriving; the day they stop is the day it becomes a problem.
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.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Lirim Kastrati was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.90. 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.
Andrey Yago 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.
4 shots, and a count that reads like a good afternoon until you check the other column. Strikers survive weeks like this on the understanding that the chances keep arriving; the day they stop is the day it becomes a problem.
In brief
SquadThe plan did not have a place for Elmando Gjini
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Vllaznia Shkodër can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sherif Kallaku 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.
Marked 8.79 — 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 Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
4 shots, and a count that reads like a good afternoon until you check the other column. Strikers survive weeks like this on the understanding that the chances keep arriving; the day they stop is the day it becomes a problem.
Léon Pöhls 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 manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Klinti Qato has his answer from Vllaznia Shkodër; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“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 Vllaznia Shkodër, 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 Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sherif Kallaku 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 offer from Partizani Tirana for Sokol Uldedaj 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 Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gledjan Pusi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vllaznia Shkodër this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
36 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Amer Kthupi has his answer from Vllaznia Shkodër; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Vllaznia Shkodër that is a harder question to answer.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Lirim Kastrati and Vllaznia Shkodër agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Bekim Balaj was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sherif Kallaku 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.
49 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
Vasilis Kakionis is 19, and Vllaznia Shkodër 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.