Marked for Nikolay Edjibia
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market16 Aug 2027
The offer from Strogino for Gennady Nikitin 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.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
No sign of nerves from Bogdan Dunjić at 19 — 7.68
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Bogdan Dunjić did not need any: 7.68, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
Everything agreed with Druzhba, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad16 Aug 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Luki-Energiya know it.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
Luki-Energiya asked and Murom said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad16 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.
The terraces16 Aug 2027
At 22 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.
Match14 Aug 2027
Three points for Luki-Energiya, 2‑0 the final word against Tver in a contest settled by the finer margins.
The dugout16 Aug 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
The dugout12 Apr 2027
Nikolay Edjibia: 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.” Luki-Energiya have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market12 Apr 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Luki-Energiya can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilja Salnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Valentin Andyamov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Gennady Nikitin
“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 dugout12 Apr 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.
Market12 Apr 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alexandr Galimov signs something — a contract at Luki-Energiya or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market30 Nov 2026
Lev Ushakhin 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 Luki-Energiya can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
No sign of nerves from Igor Shestakov at 21 — 7.63
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Igor Shestakov did not need any: 7.63, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Market30 Nov 2026
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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Ilja Salnikov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad30 Nov 2026
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.
The dugout30 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.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Danil Dudko, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
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
Vsevolod Yeliseev 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
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.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Alexandr Lukin
“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 dugout16 Nov 2026
Ilja Salnikov 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 Luki-Energiya, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Looking ahead16 Nov 2026
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Baltika 2 in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Dmitry Melnik gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Dmitry Melnik is on it.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“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.
Market16 Nov 2026
1 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Luki-Energiya could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
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.
Match7 Nov 2026
3 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Ilja Salnikov 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 dugout9 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Anas Raheel, and the manager let it.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mikhail Maiboroda commits to Luki-Energiya for another 3 years.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Danil Dudko: “We have to be better”
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Ilja Salnikov 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.
Match7 Nov 2026
Point won or two lost for Luki-Energiya?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Kosmos? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market2 Nov 2026
Lev Ushakhin 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 Luki-Energiya can pretend not to have heard.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Market2 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Ilja Salnikov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces2 Nov 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Dmitry Melnik 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 dugout2 Nov 2026
“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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Igor Shestakov named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Igor Shestakov is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Luki-Energiya will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
No sign of nerves from Gennady Nikitin at 20 — 7.66
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Gennady Nikitin did not need any: 7.66, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Match3 Oct 2026
5 matches without a win for Luki-Energiya
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Luki-Energiya are no longer polite ones.
Market5 Oct 2026
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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad5 Oct 2026
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad5 Oct 2026
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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Valentin Andyamov 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.
The dugout5 Oct 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.
Market5 Oct 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Luki-Energiya, another week without a signature from Alexandr Kukharchuk.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Sep 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nikolay Edjibia will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Luki-Energiya the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Nikolay Edjibia 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Anas Raheel and Luki-Energiya agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Ilja Salnikov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Luki-Energiya asked and Arsenal Tula said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Luki-Energiya training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Galimov 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 dugout7 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dmitry Melnik, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The formation has left Anas Raheel behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Luki-Energiya will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Market7 Sep 2026
He is 19, and nobody at Luki-Energiya signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.