Marked for Ivan Oborocha
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match31 Jul 2027
The wait goes on for Angusht
28 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match31 Jul 2027
Nowhere to hide for Angusht
0‑4 against Dinamo Makhachkala 2, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
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Market2 Aug 2027
Only the photograph left for Aslan Aushev
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Aslan Aushev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Angusht the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Match31 Jul 2027
Angusht leaking at the back
6 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Aliskhan Akhilgov commits to Angusht for another 2 years.
Squad2 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Angusht
Dmitry Khokhlov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
Angusht offered $13.0K; Luki-Energiya said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Match31 Jul 2027
The goals have deserted Angusht
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Angusht can tell you which week it ends in.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match17 Jul 2027
No end in sight to Angusht's wait for a win
26 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Angusht has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad19 Jul 2027
8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Market19 Jul 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.
Market19 Jul 2027
Only the photograph left for Ivan Oborocha
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ivan Oborocha will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Angusht the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Ville Nilsson is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
Angusht had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Tyumen, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
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Squad19 Jul 2027
Dmitry Khokhlov 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.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
Volgar wanted more than $120.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces12 Jul 2027
Anger at Angusht spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Market12 Jul 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Angusht can pretend not to have heard.
Squad12 Jul 2027
A falling-out at Angusht
Aliskhan Akhilgov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
Angusht asked and Rubin said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Angusht training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vitaly Nem 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.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
A loan move for Nikita Zavjalov is in the works
Angusht have made the call to Murom. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Market12 Jul 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Angusht, another week without a signature from Vladimir Tolmachev.
Market12 Jul 2027
3 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Angusht could get for him.
The dugout12 Jul 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 Angusht, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom21 Jun 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Angusht
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Angusht is running low.
Market21 Jun 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.
Market21 Jun 2027
Only the photograph left for Ivan Oborocha
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ivan Oborocha will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Angusht the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Abdullah Dorsigov is a better footballer than he was
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.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad21 Jun 2027
Dmitry Khokhlov 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.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
Angusht offered $120.0K; Volgar said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Vitaly Nem 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces14 Jun 2027
Anger at Angusht spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Market14 Jun 2027
Inal Dudaev 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 Angusht can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Angusht
Dmitry Khokhlov 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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Angusht training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vitaly Nem 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 dugout14 Jun 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.
Market14 Jun 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ville Nilsson signs something — a contract at Angusht or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market14 Jun 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Vitaly Nem may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Market14 Jun 2027
The clock does Ivan Oborocha’s negotiating for him
2 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Angusht could ask drops and the wages Ivan Oborocha can ask rise.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Nerves in the Angusht squad
Aliskhan Akhilgov has been around long enough to know what the spring feels like when it goes wrong, and he can feel it. A dressing room that is frightened plays like one.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
Crisis meeting at Angusht
The official line will be that it was routine. It was not routine, the timing says so, and every person in that room knows what the next bad result costs.
Market7 Jun 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 Angusht, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad7 Jun 2027
A falling-out at Angusht
Dmitry Khokhlov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Vitaly Nem 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 dugout7 Jun 2027
Alexey Naidenov loses the manager who believed in him
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Alexey Naidenov's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
Market7 Jun 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 dugout7 Jun 2027
Dmitry Khokhlov 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom24 May 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Angusht
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market24 May 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Angusht can pretend not to have heard.
Market24 May 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Angusht is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The dugout24 May 2027
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Squad24 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Angusht this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 May 2027
Words at Angusht training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikita Khlusov 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 dugout24 May 2027
“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.
Market24 May 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Alexey Naidenov may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Market24 May 2027
2 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Angusht could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces17 May 2027
The mood at Angusht has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Market17 May 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Angusht can pretend not to have heard.
Squad17 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Angusht this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 May 2027
Vitaly Nem 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
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Angusht, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market17 May 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ville Nilsson signs something — a contract at Angusht or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market17 May 2027
3 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Angusht could get for him.
Market17 May 2027
Angusht have let the market know Kirill Pluzhnikov can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Squad17 May 2027
The training reports on Kirill Pluzhnikov are not good
A bad Saturday is forgiven; a bad Tuesday is chosen. Standards have slipped and in a building where everybody watches everybody, it has been noticed.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom26 Apr 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Angusht
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Angusht is running low.
Market26 Apr 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Angusht can pretend not to have heard.
Market26 Apr 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Angusht is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad26 Apr 2027
Dmitry Khokhlov 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Angusht
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vitaly Nem was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
A promise honoured at Angusht
Something was said to Aslan Aushev and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Kirill Matsak
“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 dugout26 Apr 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 Angusht, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces19 Apr 2027
Supporters organise against the Angusht board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Market19 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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Dmitry Khokhlov 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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Angusht
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikita Khlusov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom19 Apr 2027
Wages eat 111% of everything Angusht 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.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Dmitry Khokhlov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market19 Apr 2027
The name of Ville Nilsson keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Angusht say nothing, which says plenty.
Market19 Apr 2027
4 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Angusht money.
Market19 Apr 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Kirill Pluzhnikov may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom29 Mar 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Angusht
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Angusht is running low.
Market29 Mar 2027
Only the photograph left for Ivan Oborocha
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ivan Oborocha will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Angusht the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Abdullah Dorsigov is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
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Squad29 Mar 2027
Nikita Khlusov 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 dugout29 Mar 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alexey Naidenov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
A promise honoured at Angusht
Something was said to Mark Dementyev and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Market29 Mar 2027
Angusht have let the market know Aman Babakhanov can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Market29 Mar 2027
4 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Angusht money.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces22 Mar 2027
The mood at Angusht has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Market22 Mar 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
A falling-out at Angusht
Nikita Khlusov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Vitaly Nem 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.
Boardroom22 Mar 2027
Wages eat 128% of everything Angusht 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.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
“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.
Market22 Mar 2027
The name of Ville Nilsson keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Angusht say nothing, which says plenty.
Market22 Mar 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Kirill Pluzhnikov may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Market22 Mar 2027
The clock does Ivan Oborocha’s negotiating for him
5 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Angusht could ask drops and the wages Ivan Oborocha can ask rise.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom1 Mar 2027
Pressure builds in the Angusht boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market1 Mar 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Angusht can pretend not to have heard.
Market1 Mar 2027
Only the photograph left for Ivan Oborocha
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ivan Oborocha will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Angusht the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom1 Mar 2027
Window shuts: 0 in, 0 out at Angusht
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 0 arrived, 0 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Transfer targets1 Mar 2027
The deal with Chaika is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Boardroom1 Mar 2027
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
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Squad1 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Angusht
Dmitry Khokhlov 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.
Transfer targets1 Mar 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. SKA Khabarovsk have kept their man, and Angusht go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Angusht
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market1 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 Angusht, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad1 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Angusht this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Chelyabinsk have kept their man, and Angusht go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Angusht
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vitaly Nem was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kirill Pluzhnikov, and the manager let it.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
A loan enquiry to Mashuk: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Murom have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market18 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Angusht can pretend not to have heard.
Squad18 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Angusht this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Angusht
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Inal Dudaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Squad18 Jan 2027
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Angusht will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
The dugout18 Jan 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 Angusht, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market18 Jan 2027
The name of Dmitry Khokhlov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Angusht say nothing, which says plenty.
Market18 Jan 2027
7 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Angusht could get for him.
Market18 Jan 2027
Angusht have made Sergei Leskov available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match14 Nov 2026
17 matches without a win for Angusht
The run now stands at 17, and the questions being asked around Angusht are no longer polite ones.
Squad16 Nov 2026
23 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Angusht lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match16 Nov 2026
Angusht sink to position 14
4 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market16 Nov 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 Angusht, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Angusht
Dmitry Khokhlov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match14 Nov 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ivan Oborocha, and the manager let it.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Boris Zuev to a room that had heard them before.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Angusht
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Inal Dudaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Oct 2026
51 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Angusht lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match17 Oct 2026
13 matches without a win for Angusht
The run now stands at 13, and the questions being asked around Angusht are no longer polite ones.
Match19 Oct 2026
Every point is an argument now for Angusht
Position 13 and 4 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.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad19 Oct 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 Angusht this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match17 Oct 2026
0‑1 to Rubin Yalta, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Angusht
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vitaly Nem was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“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.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Boris Zuev left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Sep 2026
86 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Angusht lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match12 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑3 by Legion, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Match12 Sep 2026
8 matches without a win for Angusht
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Angusht are no longer polite ones.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market14 Sep 2026
“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.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 30 signed and 10 gone
That is the business done at Angusht until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Match12 Sep 2026
Angusht cannot find the net
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.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Angusht
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikita Khlusov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Angusht
Dmitry Khokhlov 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.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Angusht asked and Dinamo Barnaul said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match15 Aug 2026
Angusht cannot find the net
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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Angusht
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vitaly Nem was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Vadim Pastushkov and Angusht agree another 3 years.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Ivan Oborocha
“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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
No place for Ville Nilsson in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Angusht are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Market17 Aug 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Angusht, another week without a signature from Dmitry Khokhlov.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Nobody could get near Vitaly Nem
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.