Marked for Dmitriy Vashkevich
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Mar 2029
A fracture rules Evgeny Chernov out for 51 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Slutsk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market5 Mar 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Slutsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The dugout5 Mar 2029
This is not rotation. Vladislav Sychev has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Slutsk is pretending otherwise.
Market5 Mar 2029
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Squad5 Mar 2029
A falling-out at Slutsk
Ivan Mikhnyuk and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom5 Mar 2029
5 academy graduates step up at Slutsk
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Transfer targets5 Mar 2029
Slutsk asked and Vitebsk said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Words at Slutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleg Nikiforenko 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 terraces5 Mar 2029
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Andrey Solodukhin 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Feb 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 58 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market26 Feb 2029
“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.
Boardroom26 Feb 2029
Slutsk close the window on a squad of their own making
1 in and 1 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.
Squad26 Feb 2029
A falling-out at Slutsk
Dmitriy Vashkevich and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout26 Feb 2029
This is not rotation. Bogdan Kutsyi has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Slutsk is pretending otherwise.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Words at Slutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleg Nikiforenko is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets26 Feb 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Neman have kept their man, and Slutsk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Transfer targets26 Feb 2029
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Slutsk will try again when the window opens; Belshina may not be selling by then.
Transfer targets26 Feb 2029
Slutsk have made the call to Neman. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Jan 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Ivan Balanovich
34 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Slutsk lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad29 Jan 2029
A fracture rules Evgeny Chernov out for 88 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Slutsk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market29 Jan 2029
“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.
Squad29 Jan 2029
A falling-out at Slutsk
Matvey Svidinskiy and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Samuil Kolev arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Samuil Kolev has, at Slutsk, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
The dugout29 Jan 2029
This is not rotation. Bogdan Kutsyi has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Slutsk is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets29 Jan 2029
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Transfer targets29 Jan 2029
Neman have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Transfer targets29 Jan 2029
Dinamo Minsk have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Jan 2029
A fracture rules Evgeny Chernov out for 119 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Slutsk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad1 Jan 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Slutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout1 Jan 2029
This is not rotation. Bogdan Kutsyi has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Slutsk is pretending otherwise.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Maxim Kiselev 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.
Market1 Jan 2029
“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 dugout1 Jan 2029
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Slutsk told Vladislav Sychev something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout1 Jan 2029
Andrey Kren 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 dugout1 Jan 2029
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.
Market1 Jan 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Dmitriy Vashkevich signs something — a contract at Slutsk or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad4 Dec 2028
The words a physio says slowly. 21 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.
Squad4 Dec 2028
A falling-out at Slutsk
Matvey Svidinskiy and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout4 Dec 2028
This is not rotation. Bogdan Kutsyi has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Slutsk is pretending otherwise.
Squad4 Dec 2028
Words at Slutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleg Nikiforenko 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.
Market4 Dec 2028
Arseniy Asonov returns from a loan that taught him nothing
22 appearances and 1 clean sheets. A goalkeeper learns his job by playing it, and a season that gave him neither the games nor the shut-outs is a year taken off the front of a career.
The dugout4 Dec 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Slutsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market4 Dec 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Arseniy Asonov may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The dugout4 Dec 2028
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 dugout4 Dec 2028
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad6 Nov 2028
50 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Slutsk lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Words exchanged at Slutsk
Ivan Mikhnyuk 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.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Oleg Nikiforenko 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.
Market6 Nov 2028
“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.
Squad6 Nov 2028
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.
The dugout6 Nov 2028
Andrey Kren 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 Andrey Kren trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout6 Nov 2028
Nikita Bylinkin has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Slutsk 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 dugout6 Nov 2028
“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.
Market6 Nov 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Dmitriy Vashkevich signs something — a contract at Slutsk or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout30 Oct 2028
This is not rotation. Artem Tolkin has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Slutsk is pretending otherwise.
Squad30 Oct 2028
A falling-out at Slutsk
Oleg Nikiforenko and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Words at Slutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maxim Kiselev 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 dugout30 Oct 2028
“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 dugout30 Oct 2028
A promise honoured at Slutsk
Something was said to Dmitriy Vashkevich and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout30 Oct 2028
Ivan Mikhnyuk 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.
Market30 Oct 2028
Slutsk have made Nikita Bylinkin available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Loan watch30 Oct 2028
22 appearances at Niva for an average of 6.19. He is playing, which was the point, but nobody at either club is pretending this is going well.
Squad30 Oct 2028
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market9 Oct 2028
“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.
Match7 Oct 2028
No end in sight to Slutsk's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Slutsk has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad9 Oct 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Slutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Oct 2028
A row about effort at Slutsk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maxim Kiselev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings9 Oct 2028
Andrey Kren 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.
Match7 Oct 2028
A 1‑1 draw with Torpedo-BelAZ leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout9 Oct 2028
“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 dugout9 Oct 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Mikita Volodko was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Slutsk dressing room was either.
Market9 Oct 2028
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Slutsk, another week without a signature from Dmitriy P. Denisenko.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market2 Oct 2028
“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 Slutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout2 Oct 2028
This is not rotation. Artem Tolkin has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Slutsk is pretending otherwise.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Tempers go at Slutsk
Ivan Mikhnyuk 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.
Match30 Sep 2028
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Words at Slutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleg Nikiforenko 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 dugout2 Oct 2028
“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.
Squad2 Oct 2028
100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
Market2 Oct 2028
“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 dugout2 Oct 2028
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom11 Sep 2028
Deadline passes with 9 signed and 8 gone
That is the business done at Slutsk until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Tempers go at Slutsk
Ivan Mikhnyuk 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 targets11 Sep 2028
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.
Squad11 Sep 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Daniil Kirbay and Slutsk agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Oleg Nikiforenko 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 dugout11 Sep 2028
Ivan Mikhnyuk 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 dugout11 Sep 2028
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 dugout11 Sep 2028
“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.
Market11 Sep 2028
The name of Dmitriy Vashkevich keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Slutsk say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Aug 2028
“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 Slutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Tempers go at Slutsk
Oleg Nikiforenko 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 targets28 Aug 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Torpedo-BelAZ have kept their man, and Slutsk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad28 Aug 2028
A row about effort at Slutsk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maxim Kiselev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout28 Aug 2028
This is not rotation. Makar Litskevich has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Slutsk is pretending otherwise.
The dugout28 Aug 2028
The manager makes an example of Artem Tolkin
“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.
Transfer targets28 Aug 2028
Vitebsk have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Squad28 Aug 2028
The formation has left Max Zhestarev behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Slutsk will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Market28 Aug 2028
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Aug 2028
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Ostrovets waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Slutsk is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market14 Aug 2028
“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 Slutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Tempers go at Slutsk
Ivan Mikhnyuk 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.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Words at Slutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleg Nikiforenko is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets14 Aug 2028
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.
The dugout14 Aug 2028
This is not rotation. Vadim Tseluyko has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Slutsk is pretending otherwise.
The dugout14 Aug 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dmitriy Vashkevich, and the manager let it.
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Transfer targets14 Aug 2028
Dinamo Brest have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market7 Aug 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Slutsk can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout7 Aug 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Slutsk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Transfer targets7 Aug 2028
Everything agreed with Vitebsk, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
The dugout7 Aug 2028
This is not rotation. Artem Tolkin has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Slutsk is pretending otherwise.
Squad7 Aug 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Slutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets7 Aug 2028
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.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Words at Slutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Fedosov 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.
Match5 Aug 2028
Smorgon left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout7 Aug 2028
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market3 Jul 2028
“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 Slutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match1 Jul 2028
No end in sight to Slutsk's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Slutsk has to find a result from somewhere.
The dugout3 Jul 2028
This is not rotation. Vladislav Fedosov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Slutsk is pretending otherwise.
Squad3 Jul 2028
A falling-out at Slutsk
Ivan Mikhnyuk and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets3 Jul 2028
Slutsk asked and Vitebsk said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match1 Jul 2028
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad3 Jul 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Maxim Kiselev commits to Slutsk for another 2 years.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Words at Slutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleg Nikiforenko 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.
Squad3 Jul 2028
100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Jun 2028
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Slutsk people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market19 Jun 2028
“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 Slutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Tempers go at Slutsk
Ivan Mikhnyuk 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.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Words at Slutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleg Nikiforenko is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets19 Jun 2028
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.
Market19 Jun 2028
Add another name to the list: Orsha have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Daniil Kirbay. The answer from Slutsk has not changed — yet.
The dugout19 Jun 2028
This is not rotation. Vadim Tseluyko has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Slutsk is pretending otherwise.
The dugout19 Jun 2028
“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.
Match17 Jun 2028
Level with 90 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Slutsk had all but put away. Torpedo-BelAZ will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market12 Jun 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Slutsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
This is not rotation. Artem Tolkin has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Slutsk is pretending otherwise.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Words exchanged at Slutsk
Ivan Mikhnyuk 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.
Squad12 Jun 2028
A row about effort at Slutsk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oleg Nikiforenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match10 Jun 2028
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
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 1‑2 Mikita Volodko left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
The manager makes an example of Artem Kuratnik
“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.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
Andrey Kren 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.
Looking ahead12 Jun 2028
Torpedo-BelAZ next, and one man in the Slutsk dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad22 May 2028
Words at Slutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleg Nikiforenko 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.
Squad22 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Slutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout22 May 2028
This is not rotation. Vadim Tseluyko has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Slutsk is pretending otherwise.
The dugout22 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dmitriy Vashkevich, and the manager let it.
Player ratings22 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout22 May 2028
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout22 May 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nikita Bylinkin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market22 May 2028
The name of Vladislav Fedosov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Slutsk say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
The dugout15 May 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Slutsk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market15 May 2028
Only the photograph left for Daniil Lesko
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Daniil Lesko will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Slutsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The dugout15 May 2028
This is not rotation. Artem Tolkin has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Slutsk is pretending otherwise.
Squad15 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Slutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 May 2028
Vladislav Fedosov 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 dugout15 May 2028
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.
Looking ahead15 May 2028
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Dmitriy Vashkevich’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Slutsk needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Market15 May 2028
Slutsk have made Vladislav Fedosov available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Market15 May 2028
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market27 Mar 2028
“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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Slutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Mar 2028
A row about effort at Slutsk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oleg Nikiforenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dmitriy Nekrashevich, and the manager let it.
Looking ahead27 Mar 2028
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Dinamo Minsk in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
“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 Slutsk will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Market27 Mar 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Vladislav Fedosov may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Market27 Mar 2028
The name of Dmitriy Vashkevich keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Slutsk say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market6 Mar 2028
Slutsk say no — this time
The offer from Osipovichi for Daniil Lesko 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.
Market6 Mar 2028
Daniil Kirbay has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Slutsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
The board have signed the man in the dugout to a longer contract, which says more than any statement of support. Stability is easy to promise and costly to keep.
Transfer targets6 Mar 2028
$850.0K was the most the club would pay and Vitebsk were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Match4 Mar 2028
7 unbeaten for Slutsk
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Slutsk did not have in the autumn.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Tempers go at Slutsk
Vladislav Fedosov 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.
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Slutsk
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Dmitriy Vashkevich and Slutsk agree another 4 years.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Oleg Nikiforenko 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market21 Feb 2028
“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 Slutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market21 Feb 2028
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Slutsk people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Transfer targets21 Feb 2028
Everything agreed with Baltika, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad21 Feb 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Slutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets21 Feb 2028
Slutsk asked and BATE said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad21 Feb 2028
A row about effort at Slutsk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Fedosov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
Kirill Dudkin 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 Kirill Dudkin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
Daniil Lesko has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Slutsk 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.
Market21 Feb 2028
Slutsk have let the market know Oleg Nikiforenko can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad24 Jan 2028
Words exchanged at Slutsk
Ivan Mikhnyuk 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.
Squad24 Jan 2028
A row about effort at Slutsk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oleg Nikiforenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market17 Jan 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Slutsk can pretend not to have heard.
Squad17 Jan 2028
A falling-out at Slutsk
Ivan Mikhnyuk and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 Jan 2028
A row about effort at Slutsk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oleg Nikiforenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout17 Jan 2028
Daniil Lesko 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 Daniil Lesko is on it.
Market17 Jan 2028
Slutsk have let the market know Oleg Nikiforenko can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Market17 Jan 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Dmitriy Vashkevich’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad20 Dec 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Slutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Words at Slutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Fedosov 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 dugout20 Dec 2027
A promise honoured at Slutsk
Something was said to Maxim Kiselev and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Squad20 Dec 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Semen Shestilovskiy and Slutsk agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Slutsk will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yeremy Angulo, and the manager let it.
Market20 Dec 2027
Slutsk bring in an old head
Semen Shestilovskiy is 33 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nikita Bylinkin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad29 Nov 2027
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Slutsk have had the benefit of it.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Words exchanged at Slutsk
Dmitriy Vashkevich 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.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Artem Kuratnik 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 dugout29 Nov 2027
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.
Market29 Nov 2027
Slutsk have made Matvey Svidinskiy available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vladislav Chebotar trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad22 Nov 2027
A falling-out at Slutsk
Vladislav Fedosov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Slutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleg Nikiforenko 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 dugout22 Nov 2027
“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 dugout22 Nov 2027
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.
Squad22 Nov 2027
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Slutsk will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
Market22 Nov 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Oleg Nikiforenko may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad25 Oct 2027
A fracture rules Maxim Kiselev out for 26 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Slutsk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
“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.
Market25 Oct 2027
Only the photograph left for Daniil Kirbay
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Daniil Kirbay will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Slutsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Oleg Nikiforenko 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.
Squad25 Oct 2027
A falling-out at Slutsk
Dmitriy Vashkevich and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
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.
Market25 Oct 2027
Slutsk have made Oleg Nikiforenko available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Market25 Oct 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Dmitriy Vashkevich signs something — a contract at Slutsk or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Makar Litskevich trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market23 Aug 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market23 Aug 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Slutsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match21 Aug 2027
Nobody wants to play Slutsk right now
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
The deal with Neman died in the treatment room. Nobody will say what was found and everybody in the game will find out by Friday.
Market23 Aug 2027
Slutsk say no — this time
The offer from Naftan for Daniil Kirbay 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.
Boardroom23 Aug 2027
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Artem Kuratnik has agreed terms with Molodechno for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad23 Aug 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Slutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
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.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Words at Slutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleg Nikiforenko is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Two goals and a mark of 8.48 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Market16 Aug 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Slutsk people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Match14 Aug 2027
Nobody wants to play Slutsk right now
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Tempers go at Slutsk
Matvey Svidinskiy 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.
Match14 Aug 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Dmitriy Vashkevich. 3‑1 against Lida, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Words at Slutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Fedosov 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.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
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 dugout16 Aug 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Mikita Volodko kept it short after the 3‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match2 Aug 2027
Slutsk up to position 3
35 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad2 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Slutsk
Vladislav Fedosov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad2 Aug 2027
A row about effort at Slutsk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oleg Nikiforenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match31 Jul 2027
A 2‑0 win over Osipovichi, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Market2 Aug 2027
The name of Daniil Kirbay has come up in conversations Slutsk were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Looking ahead2 Aug 2027
The big one: Baranovichi come into view
Two sides from the top of the table, one afternoon, and a month of talk decided in ninety minutes. Slutsk will not use the word title this week and will not stop thinking it.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“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; Slutsk are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Marked 7.94 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Slutsk had the best player on the pitch.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
Neman have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match17 Jul 2027
Still nobody has beaten Slutsk
The unbeaten run reaches 9. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Market19 Jul 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market19 Jul 2027
Daniil Lesko has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Slutsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match17 Jul 2027
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 7 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
Market19 Jul 2027
Add another name to the list: Arsenal Dzerzhinsk have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Ilya Branovets. The answer from Slutsk has not changed — yet.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at Slutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleg Nikiforenko is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
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.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Slutsk
Dmitriy Vashkevich 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.
Match17 Jul 2027
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Oleg Nikiforenko had Slutsk level again within 1 minutes, and Bumprom Gomel never got to play with a lead at all.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match12 Jun 2027
4‑1, and Dmitriy Vashkevich took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Slutsk tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
A brace, and Dmitriy Vashkevich takes the afternoon — 8.89
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Dmitriy Vashkevich provided it, and the 8.89 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Match12 Jun 2027
Slutsk cannot stop winning
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Market14 Jun 2027
Only the photograph left for Daniil Lesko
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Daniil Lesko will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Slutsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Tempers go at Slutsk
Maxim Kiselev 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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Slutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Fedosov 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.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.05, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match14 Jun 2027
Slutsk at the halfway mark
Half the programme played, position 5, 22 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match22 May 2027
No mercy from Slutsk
Uni-X Labs will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Slutsk were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings24 May 2027
Two goals and a mark of 8.69 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings24 May 2027
Evgeny Chernov, 34, rolls back the years — 8.01
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.01 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Squad24 May 2027
Words exchanged at Slutsk
Oleg Nikiforenko 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 ratings24 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad24 May 2027
Words at Slutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Fedosov 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 terraces24 May 2027
At 23 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.
The dugout24 May 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Mikita Volodko kept it short after the 3‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout24 May 2027
Maxim Kiselev 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 Slutsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 May 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Slutsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad17 May 2027
Words exchanged at Slutsk
Matvey Svidinskiy 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.
Squad17 May 2027
A row about effort at Slutsk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oleg Nikiforenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces17 May 2027
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The dugout17 May 2027
“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.
Player ratings17 May 2027
Marked 7.29 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Slutsk had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout17 May 2027
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 dugout17 May 2027
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout17 May 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market10 May 2027
Daniil Kirbay has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Slutsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad10 May 2027
A falling-out at Slutsk
Vladislav Fedosov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Slutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleg Nikiforenko 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 dugout10 May 2027
“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.
Market10 May 2027
“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 dugout10 May 2027
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 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Mikita Volodko to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout10 May 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Artem Tolkin'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.
Player ratings10 May 2027
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Slutsk lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match24 Apr 2027
The wait goes on for Slutsk
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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
6 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.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
Ignatiy Sidor: 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.” Slutsk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Words exchanged at Slutsk
Maxim Kiselev 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Oleg Nikiforenko 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 dugout26 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Maxim Kiselev
“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.
Match24 Apr 2027
Slutsk rescue it on 88 minutes
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 88. Vitebsk had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
Match24 Apr 2027
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
1 error, one goal, and a night in front of the same three seconds. He will see it tonight, tomorrow and probably in February, and everybody who has played knows exactly which frame he keeps stopping on.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match17 Apr 2027
5 matches without a win for Slutsk
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Slutsk are no longer polite ones.
Market19 Apr 2027
Only the photograph left for Daniil Lesko
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Daniil Lesko will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Slutsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words exchanged at Slutsk
Oleg Nikiforenko 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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Slutsk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artem Kuratnik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market19 Apr 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Ilya Branovets has his answer from Slutsk; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ilya Branovets, and the manager let it.
Match17 Apr 2027
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
Chances created: 10. Nothing on the scoresheet and everything in the match: the pass before the pass, over and over, until the defence stopped guessing right.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market12 Apr 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Slutsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match10 Apr 2027
The wait goes on for Slutsk
4 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 ratings12 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad12 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Slutsk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Fedosov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad12 Apr 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Slutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Evgeny Chernov
“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.
Market12 Apr 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Yahor Korzun 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.
Match10 Apr 2027
Niva take the points off Slutsk
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad12 Apr 2027
“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 Slutsk know it.
In brief
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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Squad
Too much change too quickly at Slutsk
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The dugout
Somebody else is better right now than Maxim Kiselev