Marked for Denis Nikittsev
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 May 2027
Murad Omarov 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 Spartak Tambov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout24 May 2027
This is not rotation. Andrey Maloletov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Spartak Tambov is pretending otherwise.
Squad24 May 2027
Words at Spartak Tambov training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Shmarov 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.
Boardroom24 May 2027
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.
The dugout24 May 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Daniil Gurchenko trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout24 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Denis Nikittsev, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom17 May 2027
Wages eat 201% of everything Spartak Tambov earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad17 May 2027
Alexandr Shmarov 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.
The dugout17 May 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.
Market17 May 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Dmitry Kuptsov signs something — a contract at Spartak Tambov or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market17 May 2027
1 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Spartak Tambov money.
The dugout17 May 2027
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 Ilja Vostrikov has written the date down.
The dugout17 May 2027
Denis Nikittsev 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.
The dugout17 May 2027
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Alexandr Shmarov has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Apr 2027
Andrey Bokovoy has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spartak Tambov they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Murad Omarov 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Alexandr Shmarov 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.
Market5 Apr 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
Daniil Gurchenko 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.
The dugout5 Apr 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.
Market5 Apr 2027
3 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Spartak Tambov money.
Market5 Apr 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Maxim Levin’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market8 Feb 2027
Only the photograph left for Andrey Bokovoy
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Andrey Bokovoy will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spartak Tambov the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market8 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 Spartak Tambov, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Kaluga have kept their man, and Spartak Tambov go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Alexandr Shmarov 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.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
A loan move for Yury Petrovskiy is in the works
Spartak Tambov have made the call to Volgar. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
A loan move for Amur Balkizov is in the works
Spartak Tambov have made the call to Kaluga. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
A loan move for Roman Torosyan is in the works
Spartak Tambov have made the call to Dinamo St Petersburg. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout8 Feb 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 Spartak Tambov, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market8 Feb 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Spartak Tambov, another week without a signature from Andrey Bokovoy.