Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Leon Zaidenzal 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.
He went out to keep goal every week and came back with 0 games and 0 of them shut out. Somebody at Dinamo Moscow 2 argued for this move last summer; nobody is arguing for it now.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Dinamo Moscow 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dinamo Moscow 2 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Leon Zaidenzal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Artem Zmeev's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Market15 Mar 2027
Kurban Rasulov returns from a loan that taught him nothing
0 appearances and 0 clean sheets. A goalkeeper learns his job by playing it, and a season that gave him neither the games nor the shut-outs is a year taken off the front of a career.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dinamo Moscow 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dmitry Alexandrov 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Dinamo Moscow 2 has been clear about where Timofey Marinkin stands, which is more than many ever get.
“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 dugout1 Feb 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Vitaly Letechin's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Dinamo Moscow 2 has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Dinamo Moscow 2 than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
Position 9 and 16 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dinamo Moscow 2 can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Dmitry Alexandrov 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.
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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Lubnin 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Leon Zaidenzal 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 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.
The table has started to be checked before the results are in, and that is always the tell. Nobody at Dinamo Moscow 2 says the word out loud, and everybody in the building is thinking it.
Position 8 and 16 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dinamo Moscow 2 have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dinamo Moscow 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
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 team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Tyumen.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Leon Zaidenzal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Dmitry Alexandrov 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.
In brief
Looking aheadDinamo Moscow 2 take on the side everybody is chasing
0‑3 to Leningradets, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Dmitry Alexandrov 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.