Marked for Inal Dudaev
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match28 Oct 2028
The wait goes on for Astrakhan
12 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.
Match30 Oct 2028
Every point is an argument now for Astrakhan
Position 13 and 11 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Market30 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.
Market30 Oct 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mikhail Tolstoy will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Astrakhan the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Yelisey Krivokhizhin was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
Defensive actions: 18, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad30 Oct 2028
The manager makes an example of Inal Dudaev
“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.
Match28 Oct 2028
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Druzhba will be the happier side with the point.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market19 Jun 2028
Timofey Semak has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Astrakhan they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad19 Jun 2028
The medical room confirms 17 days on the sidelines for Fedor Galochkin, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Yelisey Krivokhizhin 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.
Market19 Jun 2028
The name of Maxim Kostyuk has come up in conversations Astrakhan were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad19 Jun 2028
23 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market19 Jun 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Astrakhan will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market22 May 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 Astrakhan, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market22 May 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Astrakhan is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad22 May 2028
Artur Karpov 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 Astrakhan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 May 2028
51 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad22 May 2028
Artur Karpov 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 Astrakhan, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market22 May 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Yelisey Krivokhizhin signs something — a contract at Astrakhan or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 Apr 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.
Market24 Apr 2028
Only the photograph left for Timofey Semak
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Timofey Semak will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Astrakhan the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad24 Apr 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 Astrakhan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Apr 2028
79 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Aly Tagiev 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.
Market24 Apr 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Danil Sizov may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market27 Mar 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 Astrakhan can pretend not to have heard.
Market27 Mar 2028
Only the photograph left for Timofey Semak
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Timofey Semak will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Astrakhan the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Artur Karpov 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 Astrakhan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Mar 2028
107 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Danil Sizov 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.
Market27 Mar 2028
The shop window has Artur Karpov in it
Astrakhan have let the market know Artur Karpov can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Feb 2028
Artur Karpov hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Astrakhan can pretend not to have heard.
Market28 Feb 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Astrakhan is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Artur Karpov 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 Astrakhan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Feb 2028
The medical room confirms 135 days on the sidelines for Inal Dudaev, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Oleg Lapaev 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 Astrakhan, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market28 Feb 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Yelisey Krivokhizhin signs something — a contract at Astrakhan or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market13 Dec 2027
“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 Astrakhan, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match11 Dec 2027
8 matches without a win for Astrakhan
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Astrakhan are no longer polite ones.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Artur Karpov 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 Astrakhan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match11 Dec 2027
Nart left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad13 Dec 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 ratings13 Dec 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match31 Jul 2027
The wait goes on for Astrakhan
10 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.
Squad2 Aug 2027
The medical room confirms 21 days on the sidelines for Alexandr Bolonin, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Alexandr Bolonin commits to Astrakhan for another 2 years.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Aly Tagiev 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 Astrakhan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Valentin Grishin, and the manager let it.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Market2 Aug 2027
He is 20, and nobody at Astrakhan signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Defensive actions: 15. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Jul 2027
Aly Tagiev hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Astrakhan can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Jul 2027
49 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Danil Sizov, and the manager let it.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Aly Tagiev 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 Astrakhan, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market5 Jul 2027
The clock does Pavel Solomatin’s negotiating for him
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Astrakhan could ask drops and the wages Pavel Solomatin can ask rise.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“Ask me in the summer. I will know before anybody else does.” He is 34 with 5 appearances behind him, and Astrakhan have to plan for both answers.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Jun 2027
Tempers go at Volga
Dmitry Tikhiy 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.
Market28 Jun 2027
The paperwork is done: Muslim Shikhbabaev joins from Pobeda in a deal worth $72.0K. Now comes the harder part.
Squad28 Jun 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Inal Dudaev and Volga agree another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market21 Jun 2027
“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 Alania, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad21 Jun 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 Alania this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom21 Jun 2027
Alania counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Alania now.
Market21 Jun 2027
The phone has started ringing about David Tepsikoev again, and this time the name on the line is Zvezda. Alania are listening politely and promising nothing.
Market21 Jun 2027
Inal Dudaev has left for Chelyabinsk in a $34.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Jun 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 Chelyabinsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market21 Jun 2027
The paperwork is done: Inal Dudaev joins from Alania in a deal worth $34.0K. Now comes the harder part.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Emir Tonbul 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market21 Jun 2027
Ufa come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Volga did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market21 Jun 2027
Add another name to the list: Kaluga have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Ruslan Shagiakhmetov. The answer from Volga has not changed — yet.
Squad21 Jun 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 Volga this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dmitry Tikhiy, and the manager let it.
Squad21 Jun 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Danil Novikov and Volga agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market21 Jun 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Volga know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Mar 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.
Market1 Mar 2027
The deal that would have taken Inal Dudaev to Volga has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Alania with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Alania
David Kobesov 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.
Market1 Mar 2027
Business is business: Timur Chetoev goes
Nart paid $28.0K and Alania took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Loan watch1 Mar 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Alania, and 1 appearances in 25 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad1 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Anzor Amiraliev, and the manager let it.
Boardroom1 Mar 2027
The numbers do not look good at Alania
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Squad1 Mar 2027
David Kobesov 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.