Marked for Igor Shestakov
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market25 Oct 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.
Market25 Oct 2027
Only the photograph left for Yakov Aksyonov
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Yakov Aksyonov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Luki-Energiya the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Ilja Salnikov 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.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Alexandr Galimov 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
“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.
Loan watch25 Oct 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 Luki-Energiya, and 5 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad25 Oct 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.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.03 on the card, and the Luki-Energiya support went home talking about one name.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
4.59 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market27 Sep 2027
Only the photograph left for Yakov Aksyonov
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Yakov Aksyonov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Luki-Energiya the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Alexandr Kukharchuk 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 ratings27 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words at Luki-Energiya training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilja Salnikov 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.
Match25 Sep 2027
Saturn made Luki-Energiya work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
The terraces27 Sep 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Igor Shestakov 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.
Match25 Sep 2027
No time for Saturn to settle
The goal that put Saturn ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Luki-Energiya equalised, 2 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
Squad27 Sep 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; Luki-Energiya are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Marked 7.85. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market30 Aug 2027
Only the photograph left for Yakov Yarygin
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Yakov Yarygin will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Luki-Energiya the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market30 Aug 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Match28 Aug 2027
4 matches without a win for Luki-Energiya
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Luki-Energiya are no longer polite ones.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Gerald Kubazi 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.
Market30 Aug 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Luki-Energiya have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words at Luki-Energiya training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilja Salnikov 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.
Match28 Aug 2027
0‑1 to Spartak Moscow 2, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Ilja Mamkin 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.
Loan watch30 Aug 2027
“I watch every Luki-Energiya game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Rubin Yalta runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Aug 2027
Ilja Salnikov 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.
Match31 Jul 2027
Whatever happens, Luki-Energiya do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Market2 Aug 2027
Igor Kurbanov has left for Irkutsk in a $3.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Alexandr Galimov 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.
Match31 Jul 2027
A 1‑0 win over Dinamo Vologda, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
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; Luki-Energiya are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Marked 7.76. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
Loan watch2 Aug 2027
“I watch every Luki-Energiya game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Rubin Yalta runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Yegor Pankov named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Yegor Pankov is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Feb 2027
A fracture rules Alexandr Galimov out for 104 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Luki-Energiya will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market15 Feb 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 Luki-Energiya, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market15 Feb 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Boardroom15 Feb 2027
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Igor Kurbanov has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad15 Feb 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 Luki-Energiya this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market15 Feb 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Luki-Energiya will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match30 Jan 2027
No end in sight to Luki-Energiya's wait for a win
15 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Luki-Energiya has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A fracture rules Alexandr Galimov out for 118 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Luki-Energiya will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market1 Feb 2027
The offer from Tyumen for Alexandr Kukharchuk 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.
Match30 Jan 2027
7 matches without a goal for Luki-Energiya
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 7 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad1 Feb 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 Luki-Energiya this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Dmitry Saganovich 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.
Loan watch1 Feb 2027
“I did not go to Kosmos to sit and watch. I want to come back to Luki-Energiya and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 24 matches say the rest.
Market1 Feb 2027
The phone has started ringing about Dmitry Melnik again, and this time the name on the line is Irkutsk. Luki-Energiya are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad1 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Gerald Kubazi
“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
Crisis
Match16 Jan 2027
13 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 ratings18 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match16 Jan 2027
5 matches without a goal for Luki-Energiya
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 5 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Dmitry Saganovich 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Valentin Andyamov 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.
Match16 Jan 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match9 Jan 2027
12 matches without a win for Luki-Energiya
The run now stands at 12, and the questions being asked around Luki-Energiya are no longer polite ones.
Match9 Jan 2027
Beaten 0‑3 by Saturn, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Match9 Jan 2027
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Ilja Salnikov 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Luki-Energiya training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dmitry Saganovich 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.
Boardroom11 Jan 2027
Nobody left the Luki-Energiya dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Loan watch11 Jan 2027
“I watch every Luki-Energiya game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Kosmos runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad11 Jan 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Lev Ushakhin 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match26 Dec 2026
No end in sight to Luki-Energiya's wait for a win
10 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Luki-Energiya has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad28 Dec 2026
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Luki-Energiya have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 31. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Gerald Kubazi 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Luki-Energiya training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dmitry Saganovich 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
“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
Match14 Nov 2026
No end in sight to Luki-Energiya's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Luki-Energiya has to find a result from somewhere.
Market16 Nov 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Luki-Energiya is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Luki-Energiya training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dmitry Saganovich 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Luki-Energiya this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Ilja Salnikov
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market9 Nov 2026
“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.
Market9 Nov 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Luki-Energiya is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match7 Nov 2026
4 matches without a win for Luki-Energiya
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Luki-Energiya are no longer polite ones.
Match7 Nov 2026
4 matches without a goal for Luki-Energiya
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad9 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Luki-Energiya this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Dmitry Saganovich 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.
Match7 Nov 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexey Pipo, and the manager let it.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Dmitry Melnik commits to Luki-Energiya for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 40. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market14 Sep 2026
Ivan Ovsyankin has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Luki-Energiya they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Dmitry Saganovich 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Nikita Gorbachev 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 ratings14 Sep 2026
The afternoon belonged to Yegor Pankov
A mark of 6.93, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Luki-Energiya can pretend not to have heard.
Market31 Aug 2026
The offer from Salyut for Alexandr Kukharchuk 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Luki-Energiya this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The terraces31 Aug 2026
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.
Match29 Aug 2026
A 1‑0 win over Spartak Moscow 2, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Luki-Energiya training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jakub Hajdo 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 ratings31 Aug 2026
The afternoon belonged to Yegor Pankov
A mark of 7.73, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Market31 Aug 2026
Luki-Energiya have let the market know Alexandr Kukharchuk can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.