Marked for Igor Vaisbein
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market18 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Baltika 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
No sign of nerves from Arseny Popushoy at 20 — 7.92
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Arseny Popushoy did not need any: 7.92, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
Igor Vaisbein: 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.” Baltika 2 have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A season average of 7.17 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Baltika 2 know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad18 Jan 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Daniil Rybintsev is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Match16 Jan 2027
A 2‑1 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.
The terraces18 Jan 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Denis Makarov 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.
The dugout18 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match5 Sep 2026
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Baltika 2 did not have in the autumn.
Match5 Sep 2026
3 matches without a goal for Baltika 2
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Andrey Tsitsilin, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Sep 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Sep 2026
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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
Half-satisfied: Ilya Samoylov on the draw
“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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Baltika 2 than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout24 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Nikita Bokov
“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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Baltika 2
Igor Vaisbein 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 Aug 2026
Words at Baltika 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ivan Belikov 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 dugout24 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Ilya Samoylov was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Baltika 2 dressing room was either.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Kirill Nikolaev
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
Match22 Aug 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Irkutsk came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
No place in the plan for Nikita Bokov
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 11. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“Nobody outside is coming to save us.” It was short, it was not comfortable, and by all accounts the Baltika 2 squad were quieter afterwards than they had been all season.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Marked 7.82 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Market17 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Nikita Bokov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Timofey Schelkunov 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.
Match15 Aug 2026
A 1‑0 win over Saturn, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
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.” Ilya Samoylov kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Igor Vaisbein
“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 dugout17 Aug 2026
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.