Marked for Cailen Hill
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market16 Nov 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 Poltava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Poltava may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match14 Nov 2026
4 matches without a win for Poltava
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Poltava are no longer polite ones.
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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Poltava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dmytro Plakhtyr 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
“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; Poltava are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Match14 Nov 2026
Poltava are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match19 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑3 by Zorya, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market21 Sep 2026
“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 The request is on a desk at Poltava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match19 Sep 2026
6 matches without a win for Poltava
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Poltava are no longer polite ones.
Squad21 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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Sep 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.
Boardroom21 Sep 2026
Nobody left the Poltava 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 watch21 Sep 2026
“I did not go to Obolon to sit and watch. I want to come back to Poltava and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 6 matches say the rest.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Too much change too quickly at Poltava
5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Sanfrecce Hiroshima training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mutsuki Kato 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Kim Jusung 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 Ryo Germain
A mark of 7.83, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Squad14 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Naoto Arai
“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.