Marked for Hebert
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Jul 2027
Elias Telles in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vorskla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Jul 2027
A row about effort at Vorskla
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ivan Nesterenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
Vorskla asked and Polissia said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market26 Jul 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.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
Legia 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.
Market26 Jul 2027
At 33, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.
Looking ahead26 Jul 2027
UCSA next, and one man in the Vorskla dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
Hebert 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.
Squad26 Jul 2027
A new face in his position, and Matvii Burenko suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Vorskla have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Vorskla
Elias Telles 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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Vorskla training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vadym Chervak 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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Joshua Phillips and Vorskla agree another 4 years.
Market14 Jun 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Vladyslav Voitsekhovskyi has his answer from Vorskla; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
Hebert gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market14 Jun 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alex Chidomere signs something — a contract at Vorskla or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Match14 Jun 2027
Continental football is in reach for Vorskla
43 points from position 6. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Vorskla, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Vorskla. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Jun 2027
A falling-out at Vorskla
Elias Telles and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at Vorskla training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vadym Chervak 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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Hebert signs a new deal
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Hebert commits to Vorskla for another 3 years.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Vorskla will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yehor Butenko, and the manager let it.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
“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
Steady
Squad26 Apr 2027
Elias Telles 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
A row about effort at Vorskla
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vadym Chervak was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market26 Apr 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Vorskla know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.