“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 The request is on a desk at Rotor, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rotor they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Fedor Galochkin has agreed terms with SKA Khabarovsk for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Troshechkin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Rotor, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The words a physio says slowly. 59 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Rotor can pretend not to have heard.
Alexandr Troshechkin 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.
Squad31 May 2032
Dennis Boni 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.
Past the limit the bank set, which is the line between a club being financed and a club being in trouble. $40.8M is now the number every conversation about this club will start with.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Said Aliev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Rotor are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
66 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Rotor lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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 Rotor, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rotor they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Okiki Akinwande and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 May 2032
Nikita Lobov 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.
“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 Rotor know it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Rotor know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 15 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Neftekhimik go through and Irkutsk go home, 0‑3 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
It finished 0-3. A cup exit is a disappointment; this was a public dismantling, and the difference between the two is the number of people who will still be talking about it in August.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irkutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
This is money that keeps the lights on rather than money that buys a centre-half, and the difference is the whole story. A club funded by its owner rather than by its football has exactly one conversation left ahead of it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 22 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Two goals and a mark of 9.06 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irkutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Vojtěch Hranoš. 2‑1 against Dinamo Kirov, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ilja Voronov, and the manager let it.
Player ratings29 Sep 2031
Marek Jaroň was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.40. 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 fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.
Past the limit the bank set, which is the line between a club being financed and a club being in trouble. $9.3M is now the number every conversation about this club will start with.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 29 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Irkutsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Pavel Tarletskiy 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 ratings22 Sep 2031
Vojtěch Hranoš was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.68. 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Irkutsk will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Position 3, 13 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Marek Jaroň 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Igor Atamanskiy was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Tyumen? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
The dugout15 Sep 2031
The manager has not finished forgetting Jesus Valencia's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Ilja Voronov
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Irkutsk will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Everything was agreed with Zvezda and then the doctor spoke. Irkutsk have walked away from a signing on the advice of somebody who never saw him play, which is how it is supposed to work.
Boardroom8 Sep 2031
Deadline passes with 10 signed and 4 gone
That is the business done at Irkutsk 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.
The shortfall was covered from upstairs again. Supporters are entitled to be relieved and entitled to ask what happens the month it is not, and both feelings usually arrive together.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Igor Atamanskiy was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Daniil Konovalov 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.
In brief
SquadA place in the month's best eleven for Vojtěch Hranoš
The dugoutMatheus Santos is still being punished for one mistake
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 50 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Vojtěch Hranoš scored in the 88th minute, Spartak Tambov had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Irkutsk took the lot.
“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 Irkutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
The deal with Zvezda is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it 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 Irkutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Irkutsk asked and Yenisey said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The manager may talk to whoever he likes and may pay nobody. A squad survives a window like this by borrowing, by promoting, and by hoping the injuries land somewhere else.
Football clubs borrow; that is not the story. Borrowing more than the facility allows is, because from here it is the owner's money or somebody else's decision, and neither of those belongs to the board.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Irkutsk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
0 on the scoresheet on his first appearance and a mark of 7.69 beside it. Most debuts are got through; this one was enjoyed, by him and by everybody watching it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Danila Strebtsov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Irkutsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The deal with Volna is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Marek Jaroň 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Irkutsk and Sevastopol, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 64 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Pavel Tarletskiy 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 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.
Squad18 Aug 2031
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Igor Atamanskiy 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 fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.
Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 71 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Lokomotiv Moscow have kept their man, and Irkutsk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Vojtěch Hranoš. 1‑0 against Dinamo Stavropol, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Irkutsk will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The gap in the accounts was filled from upstairs again. Supporters are entitled to be grateful and to ask what happens the month it is not, and both feelings arrive together.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Lokomotiv Moscow have kept their man, and Irkutsk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad4 Aug 2031
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Igor Atamanskiy 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 7.36 on 11 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Irkutsk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Irkutsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Irkutsk can pretend not to have heard.
One scored and one made, which is a different afternoon from scoring twice and an easier one to overlook. Marked 7.84, and involved in 2 of his side's goals.
Marek Jaroň 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.
Irkutsk asked and Akron said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
In brief
SquadIgor Atamanskiy falls out with a teammate over standards
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Irkutsk will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
6 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Gennady Golovin has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Rodion Ponomarev is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Evgeny Zolotov 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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Denis Efimov has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Irkutsk will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The offer from Krasnodar for Vojtěch Hranoš was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Irkutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Irkutsk asked and Lokomotiv Moscow said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad14 Jul 2031
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Igor Atamanskiy 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Irkutsk will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The gap in the accounts was filled from upstairs again. Supporters are entitled to be grateful and to ask what happens the month it is not, and both feelings arrive together.
Irkutsk asked and CSKA Moscow said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
Past the limit the bank set, which is the line between a club being financed and a club being in trouble. $8.5M is now the number every conversation about this club will start with.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Irkutsk, another week without a signature from Dawid Keller.
Signed today, seen by nobody for years, and one of them may one day be the reason the club exists. That is the whole of the argument for an academy, and it is a good one.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Irkutsk will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Danila Strebtsov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Irkutsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Pavel Tarletskiy 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 Kirill Kiryanin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Vojtěch Hranoš signs something — a contract at Irkutsk or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Daniil Konovalov has written the date down.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Irkutsk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Marek Jaroň 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 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 Jun 2031
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Igor Atamanskiy 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 embargo bars a fee being paid for a player, whatever the manager thinks the squad needs. Every rumour printed about this club between now and its lifting is a rumour about a deal that cannot happen.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Irkutsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Irkutsk will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Ilja Voronov is living that version at Irkutsk, and it tends to show in the first month.
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 Jun 2031
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Igor Atamanskiy 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.
He is doing his job and he is not settling. Irkutsk were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.
Position 3, 23 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Danila Strebtsov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Irkutsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Irkutsk will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
The gap in the accounts was filled from upstairs again. Supporters are entitled to be grateful and to ask what happens the month it is not, and both feelings arrive together.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Timur Yakovlev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Irkutsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Irkutsk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irkutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Irkutsk can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Irkutsk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Irkutsk. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Position 3, 23 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Irkutsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Marek Jaroň and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The shortfall was covered from upstairs again. Supporters are entitled to be relieved and entitled to ask what happens the month it is not, and both feelings usually arrive together.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Timur Yakovlev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Irkutsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Irkutsk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.