From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Aug 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 Rodina M can pretend not to have heard.
Match14 Aug 2027
4 matches without a win for Rodina M
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Rodina M are no longer polite ones.
Squad16 Aug 2027
“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.
Market16 Aug 2027
Zenit Penza are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Rodina M will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Match14 Aug 2027
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Dinamo St Petersburg will be the happier side with the point.
Squad16 Aug 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 Rodina M, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 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 Rodina M can pretend not to have heard.
The terraces26 Jul 2027
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 6 of the 22 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Match24 Jul 2027
Beaten 0-1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Pavel Zhabov 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.
Market26 Jul 2027
Rodina M have made Pavel Zhabov available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Squad26 Jul 2027
João Vitor 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 Rodina M, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 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 Rodina M can pretend not to have heard.
Market10 May 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rodina M is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market10 May 2027
3 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Rodina M could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 May 2027
Renato Osorio 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 Rodina M can pretend not to have heard.
Market3 May 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.
Squad3 May 2027
João Vitor 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 Rodina M, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market22 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 Rodina M can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom22 Mar 2027
Wages eat 152% of everything Rodina M 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.
Loan watch22 Mar 2027
“I did not go to Tver to sit and watch. I want to come back to Rodina M and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match30 Jan 2027
Still nobody has beaten Rodina M
The unbeaten run reaches 8. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad1 Feb 2027
17 clean sheets and counting. Strikers leave this ground muttering his name, which is exactly how a goalkeeper measures a good season.
Match30 Jan 2027
SKA Khabarovsk 2 made Rodina M work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market25 Jan 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.
Match23 Jan 2027
Still nobody has beaten Rodina M
The unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Match23 Jan 2027
Three points for Rodina M, 3-1 the final word against Zenit Penza in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
Wages eat 212% of everything Rodina M 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.
Squad25 Jan 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Kirill Krol commits to Rodina M for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market11 Jan 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market14 Dec 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Manos Sbokos commits to Rodina M for another 3 years.
Match12 Dec 2026
Orel made Rodina M work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad14 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Pavel Zhabov
“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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
João Vitor 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
Steady
Market7 Dec 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Sharip Yusupov: 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.” Rodina M have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Bryann Fernández and Rodina M agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad7 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Renato Osorio
“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.
Market7 Dec 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Oct 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.
Match24 Oct 2026
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 9 matches without defeat is a foundation Rodina M did not have in the autumn.
Squad26 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of João Vitor
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market19 Oct 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.
Squad19 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.
Match17 Oct 2026
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Rodina M did not have in the autumn.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match30 Sep 2026
Rodina M through in the cup
A 1-0 win over Dinamo Moscow, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Match3 Oct 2026
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Rodina M did not have in the autumn.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
290% of the income goes out in wages at Rodina M
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Match3 Oct 2026
Three points for Rodina M, 1-0 the final word against Salyut in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Pavel Zhabov
“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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Pavel Zhabov finally opens his account
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Rodina M have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
The medical room confirms 73 days on the sidelines for Harvin Fazanando, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad14 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of João Vitor
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Sep 2026
The paperwork is done: Gleb Geikin joins from Zenit Penza in a deal worth $37.0K. Now comes the harder part.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Wages eat 319% of everything Rodina M 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Manos Sbokos
“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.
Market7 Sep 2026
He is 19, and nobody at Rodina M signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Market7 Sep 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Market7 Sep 2026
11 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Aug 2026
Cup progress for Rodina M
A 1-0 win over Saturn, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
The terraces24 Aug 2026
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 9 of the 18 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Match22 Aug 2026
0-1 to Dinamo St Petersburg, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad24 Aug 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.
Market24 Aug 2026
“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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Every debut is a small story about the future: Alexandr Yevstratov, 18 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
Squad24 Aug 2026
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Rodina M have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Squad24 Aug 2026
At 21 he is in the side on merit and somebody else is watching from the bench. Places at Rodina M are won quietly and lost loudly.
Market24 Aug 2026
A season-long audition: Metallurg still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are Rodina M's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.