Marked for Vladimir Manakov
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 May 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vladimir Manakov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Orenburg 2 the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad21 May 2029
Ivan Morozov 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.
Squad21 May 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Orenburg 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market23 Apr 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vladimir Manakov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Orenburg 2 the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Ivan Morozov 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.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Ivan Morozov 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 Orenburg 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Apr 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Orenburg 2 may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad9 Apr 2029
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Omar Minatulaev 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
Market26 Mar 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vladimir Manakov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Orenburg 2 the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Maxim Kalinichev 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 Mar 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Daniil Martovoy trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market12 Mar 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Orenburg 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Squad12 Mar 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Sevastjan Bulatov commits to Orenburg 2 for another 3 years.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Ivan Morozov 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Feb 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Orenburg 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Feb 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Orenburg 2 may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market26 Feb 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Orenburg 2 is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match19 Feb 2029
Orenburg 2 are in among the leaders
Position 2 and 38 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market19 Feb 2029
“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 Orenburg 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market19 Feb 2029
Only the photograph left for Oleg Nekrasov
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Oleg Nekrasov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Orenburg 2 the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad19 Feb 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Orenburg 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market19 Feb 2029
Sokol are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Orenburg 2 will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Market19 Feb 2029
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Orenburg 2 has been clear about where Vladimir Manakov stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Feb 2029
The medical room confirms 68 days on the sidelines for Victor Demjanov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Matheus Reis in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Orenburg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market12 Feb 2029
The paperwork is done: Artem Shestopalov joins from Fakel in a deal worth $93.0K. Now comes the harder part.
Market12 Feb 2029
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Orenburg will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad12 Feb 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Douglas Ochoko and Orenburg agree another 3 years.
Market12 Feb 2029
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Emircan Gürlük may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market5 Feb 2029
The offer from Sochi for Atsamaz Revazov was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market5 Feb 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Orenburg 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Market5 Feb 2029
The name of Vladimir Manakov has come up in conversations Orenburg 2 were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad5 Feb 2029
Vladislav Davydov 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.
Squad5 Feb 2029
“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 Feb 2029
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Daniil Martovoy will call it something else in private.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Dec 2028
Pavel Gorelov 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 Dec 2028
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Dmitry Cherkasov will call it something else in private.
Squad18 Dec 2028
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market4 Dec 2028
“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 Orenburg 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad4 Dec 2028
Dmitry Cherkasov 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.
Squad4 Dec 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Pavel Gorelov, and the manager let it.
Squad4 Dec 2028
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Player ratings4 Dec 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match2 Dec 2028
A 1‑1 draw with Khimik leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market6 Nov 2028
“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.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad6 Nov 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Orenburg 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match4 Nov 2028
Amkar made Orenburg 2 work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑2 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings6 Nov 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.95, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings6 Nov 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.34, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad6 Nov 2028
A season average of 7.38 with 6 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings6 Nov 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.07, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad6 Nov 2028
“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
Match19 Aug 2028
Whatever happens, Orenburg 2 do not lose
7 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Dmitry Cherkasov 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 ratings21 Aug 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.87, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad21 Aug 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nikolay Koserik, and the manager let it.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
Marked 8.48 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad21 Aug 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Yaroslav Svanson commits to Orenburg 2 for another 3 years.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad21 Aug 2028
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Match19 Aug 2028
A 2‑2 draw with Amkar leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Aug 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad14 Aug 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Orenburg 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match12 Aug 2028
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Orenburg 2 did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
Marked 8.84 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad14 Aug 2028
“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.
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad7 Aug 2028
There were 10 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.
Market7 Aug 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Orenburg 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Aug 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Orenburg 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings7 Aug 2028
Marked 9.42 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match5 Aug 2028
Three points for Orenburg 2, 1‑0 the final word against Uralets-TS in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Artem Zhelannikov commits to Orenburg 2 for another 3 years.
Squad7 Aug 2028
The award goes to Atsamaz Revazov, and nobody around here is inclined to argue with the choice.
Player ratings7 Aug 2028
Defensive actions: 13, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings7 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 12. 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
Steady
Squad17 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Orenburg 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings17 Jul 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.67, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad17 Jul 2028
The manager makes an example of Ivan Gulko
“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.
Match15 Jul 2028
A 1‑1 draw with Ural 2 leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Player ratings17 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad17 Jul 2028
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Orenburg 2 have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad6 Mar 2028
Vladimir Manakov: 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.” Orenburg 2 have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Danila Vedernikov 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.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.