Marked for Savely Kunavin
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market15 Mar 2032
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zarya Lugansk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market15 Mar 2032
“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 The request is on a desk at Zarya Lugansk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad15 Mar 2032
Artem Grigorjev 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.
Boardroom15 Mar 2032
No fees may be paid for anybody, whatever the squad needs. Every rumour about this club until it lifts is a rumour about a deal that cannot be done.
Squad15 Mar 2032
Yegor Yegorov 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.
Boardroom15 Mar 2032
The borrowing at Zarya Lugansk reaches $8.6M
Past the limit the bank set, which is the line between a club being financed and a club being in trouble. $8.6M is now the number every conversation about this club will start with.
Squad15 Mar 2032
“The easiest signature of my career.” Savely Kunavin and Zarya Lugansk agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout15 Mar 2032
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Zarya Lugansk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad15 Mar 2032
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Zarya Lugansk has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout17 Nov 2031
“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.
Market17 Nov 2031
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kirill Signevich will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Zarya Lugansk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market17 Nov 2031
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Zarya Lugansk can pretend not to have heard.
Squad17 Nov 2031
Nikita Krivoruchko 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 dugout17 Nov 2031
This is not rotation. Kirill Signevich has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Zarya Lugansk is pretending otherwise.
Squad17 Nov 2031
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yegor Kuznetsov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Looking ahead17 Nov 2031
Zarya Lugansk take on the side everybody is chasing
Baltika 2 arrive as leaders. A side at the top is beaten roughly once a month, and the club that does it gets a week it remembers for a year.
Squad17 Nov 2031
The formation has left Savely Kunavin behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Zarya Lugansk will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Market17 Nov 2031
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Wojciech Szafranek’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Nov 2031
“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.
Market10 Nov 2031
Bruno Orsic has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zarya Lugansk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The dugout10 Nov 2031
This is not rotation. Csongor Komáromi has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Zarya Lugansk is pretending otherwise.
Squad10 Nov 2031
Nikita Krivoruchko 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.
Squad10 Nov 2031
Savely Kunavin arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Savely Kunavin has, at Zarya Lugansk, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Squad10 Nov 2031
Words at Zarya Lugansk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandros Kedikoglou 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.
Match8 Nov 2031
0‑1 to Leningradets, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout10 Nov 2031
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 Narcisse Oumar to a room that had heard them before.
Market10 Nov 2031
Anton Tikhomirov is 17, and Zarya Lugansk have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match17 Feb 2031
Every point is an argument now for Osipovichi
Position 11 and 23 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.
Market17 Feb 2031
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Osipovichi can pretend not to have heard.
Squad17 Feb 2031
Vladislav Yatskevich and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets17 Feb 2031
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.
Squad17 Feb 2031
Words at Osipovichi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Arseniy Prokopenko 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.
Boardroom17 Feb 2031
The embargo bars a fee being paid for a player, whatever the manager thinks the squad needs. Every rumour printed about this club between now and its lifting is a rumour about a deal that cannot happen.
Transfer targets17 Feb 2031
Osipovichi have made the call to Isloch. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Market17 Feb 2031
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Stefan Iancu’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market17 Feb 2031
7 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Osipovichi money.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market10 Feb 2031
“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 Osipovichi, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets10 Feb 2031
The deal with Dinamo Minsk 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.
Transfer targets10 Feb 2031
No thanks: Artur Chumak rejects the move
Osipovichi had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Dinamo Minsk, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad10 Feb 2031
Vladislav Yatskevich 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 targets10 Feb 2031
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dinamo Minsk have kept their man, and Osipovichi go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad10 Feb 2031
Words at Osipovichi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Arseniy Prokopenko 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.
Boardroom10 Feb 2031
115% of the income goes out in wages at Osipovichi
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.
Market10 Feb 2031
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Vladislav Dybin may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market13 Jan 2031
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Osipovichi can pretend not to have heard.
Squad13 Jan 2031
Panagiotis Doumis 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.
Squad13 Jan 2031
Words at Osipovichi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Dybin 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.
Boardroom13 Jan 2031
Wages eat 109% of everything Osipovichi 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.
Squad13 Jan 2031
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Osipovichi can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The dugout13 Jan 2031
“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
Market16 Dec 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Osipovichi can pretend not to have heard.
Squad16 Dec 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Osipovichi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Dec 2030
Vladislav Dybin 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.
Boardroom16 Dec 2030
Wages swallow 128% of the Osipovichi income
Every club 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 it has been tried.
Market16 Dec 2030
Osipovichi have made Martinos Zinonos available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Squad16 Dec 2030
A season on the outside for Kleidi Xhani
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Osipovichi has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market18 Nov 2030
“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.
Squad18 Nov 2030
Arseniy Prokopenko 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.
Squad18 Nov 2030
A row about effort at Osipovichi
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abena Ottou Felix Christanval was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom18 Nov 2030
Wages swallow 122% of the Osipovichi income
Every club 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 it has been tried.
Squad18 Nov 2030
“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; Osipovichi are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout18 Nov 2030
Artur Asrikyan 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 Osipovichi, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match28 Oct 2030
23 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad28 Oct 2030
Denis Beskorovainy 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.
Squad28 Oct 2030
A row about effort at Osipovichi
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abena Ottou Felix Christanval was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom28 Oct 2030
No fees may be paid for anybody, whatever the squad needs. Every rumour about this club until it lifts is a rumour about a deal that cannot be done.
Squad28 Oct 2030
8 new faces, and Osipovichi are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Market28 Oct 2030
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Stefan Iancu may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.