Marked for Kirill Simonov
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 May 2027
107 days out for Merabi Uridia after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Fakel will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The dugout10 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.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Fakel training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdula Bagamaev 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 dugout10 May 2027
Matvey Bardachev is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Market10 May 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Darko Todorović signs something — a contract at Fakel or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad10 May 2027
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
The dugout10 May 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.
The dugout10 May 2027
Maxim Turischev 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.
Squad10 May 2027
The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market11 Jan 2027
Igor Yurganov 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 Fakel can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
At 33 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 8.18, and nobody on the pitch better.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Fakel
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Darko Todorović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Fakel
Vyacheslav Yakimov 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.
Match9 Jan 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Rassambek Akhmatov. 2‑0 against Torpedo Moscow, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Butta Magomedov
“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 dugout11 Jan 2027
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.” Tikhon Belyakov kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Looking ahead11 Jan 2027
The leaders are next for Fakel
Ural top the table and they are coming into view. Nothing to lose, which is what every manager says before losing.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Defensive actions: 14, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Fakel
Darko Todorović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Belajdi Pusi 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.
Match19 Sep 2026
A bad afternoon for Fakel against Yenisey
0‑1 to Yenisey, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Fakel
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abdula Bagamaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
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.
Market21 Sep 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Fakel know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Igor Yurganov unhappy with how he is being used
Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Igor Yurganov has let it be known that he does not like the way Fakel are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 9. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.