Marked for Matvey Melnikov
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad18 Jun 2029
A fracture rules Ivan Polyakov out for 88 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Chertanovo will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The terraces18 Jun 2029
Supporters organise against the Chertanovo 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.
Market18 Jun 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 Chertanovo can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout18 Jun 2029
This is not rotation. Artem Selyukov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets18 Jun 2029
Everything agreed with Irtysh, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Boardroom18 Jun 2029
Wages swallow 163% of the Chertanovo 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 Jun 2029
A row about effort at Chertanovo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Zakhar Yevdachev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad18 Jun 2029
Luka Ushakov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout18 Jun 2029
Semyon Semenov knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Semyon Semenov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad11 Jun 2029
95 days out for Ivan Polyakov after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Chertanovo will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Boardroom11 Jun 2029
The scrutiny sharpens at Chertanovo
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Chertanovo is running low.
The dugout11 Jun 2029
This is not rotation. Matvey Melnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Market11 Jun 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Chertanovo they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom11 Jun 2029
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Evgeniy Gurskiy has agreed terms with Murom for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Artem Selyukov 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.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Zakhar Yevdachev 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.
Market11 Jun 2029
2 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Chertanovo money.
Market11 Jun 2029
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Chertanovo know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 May 2029
A fracture rules Ivan Polyakov out for 116 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Chertanovo will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The terraces21 May 2029
Anger at Chertanovo 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.
Market21 May 2029
“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.
The dugout21 May 2029
This is not rotation. Artem Selyukov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Boardroom21 May 2029
Wages swallow 176% of the Chertanovo 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.
Squad21 May 2029
Words at Chertanovo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Zakhar Yevdachev 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.
Squad21 May 2029
Evgeniy Gurskiy 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 dugout21 May 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Dmitry Kondrashov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market21 May 2029
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Chertanovo know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom14 May 2029
Pressure builds in the Chertanovo boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
The dugout14 May 2029
This is not rotation. Matvey Melnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad14 May 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 Chertanovo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout14 May 2029
Matvey Melnikov 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.
Market14 May 2029
Chertanovo have made Semyon Semenov available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Market14 May 2029
“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.
Market14 May 2029
7 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Chertanovo could get for him.
Squad14 May 2029
Zakhar Yevdachev is not doing himself any favours
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom16 Apr 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Chertanovo
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
The dugout16 Apr 2029
This is not rotation. Matvey Melnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Muslim Shikhbabaev 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.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Vladislav Korbut 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 dugout16 Apr 2029
Zakhar Svetov 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 Chertanovo, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The dugout9 Apr 2029
This is not rotation. Dmitry Kondrashov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Artem Selyukov 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.
Squad9 Apr 2029
A row about effort at Chertanovo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ivan Polyakov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom9 Apr 2029
The borrowing at Chertanovo reaches $3.2M
Past the limit the bank set, which is the line between a club being financed and a club being in trouble. $3.2M is now the number every conversation about this club will start with.
The dugout9 Apr 2029
Zakhar Svetov 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.
The dugout9 Apr 2029
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market9 Apr 2029
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Chertanovo know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market9 Apr 2029
The clock does Alexey Osipov’s negotiating for him
4 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Chertanovo could ask drops and the wages Alexey Osipov can ask rise.
Market9 Apr 2029
Chertanovo have made Matvey Melnikov available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces26 Mar 2029
Supporters organise against the Chertanovo 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.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
This is not rotation. Artem Selyukov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Muslim Shikhbabaev 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.
Boardroom26 Mar 2029
Wages swallow 140% of the Chertanovo 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.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Luka Ushakov 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.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Matvey Melnikov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market26 Mar 2029
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Chertanovo know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market26 Mar 2029
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Vadim Agafontsev may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Yves-Pulumde Nikiéma’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom19 Mar 2029
Pressure builds in the Chertanovo boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market19 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 Chertanovo can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
This is not rotation. Matvey Melnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad19 Mar 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 Chertanovo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Mar 2029
22 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Words at Chertanovo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Axel Blichfeldt 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 dugout19 Mar 2029
Semyon Semenov 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.
Market19 Mar 2029
Chertanovo have made Semyon Semenov available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
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 Chertanovo can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout12 Mar 2029
This is not rotation. Dmitry Kondrashov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad12 Mar 2029
A row about effort at Chertanovo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muslim Shikhbabaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Zakhar Yevdachev 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 dugout12 Mar 2029
“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.
Squad12 Mar 2029
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
The dugout12 Mar 2029
Semyon Semenov 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 Chertanovo, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout12 Mar 2029
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market12 Mar 2029
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Chertanovo know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom19 Feb 2029
Pressure builds in the Chertanovo boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
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 Chertanovo, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
This is not rotation. Matvey Melnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
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 Chertanovo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets19 Feb 2029
Chertanovo asked and Chernomorets said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad19 Feb 2029
A row about effort at Chertanovo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muslim Shikhbabaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad19 Feb 2029
50 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Muslim Shikhbabaev, and the manager let it.
Squad19 Feb 2029
100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
Marked 7.62 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Market12 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 Chertanovo, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout12 Feb 2029
This is not rotation. Dmitry Kondrashov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets12 Feb 2029
The deal with Chelyabinsk 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 targets12 Feb 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Chaika have kept their man, and Chertanovo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Muslim Shikhbabaev 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 terraces12 Feb 2029
He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Match10 Feb 2029
It finished 1‑0, and it was Arseny Avvakumov’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Chertanovo.
The dugout12 Feb 2029
“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
Crisis
Boardroom22 Jan 2029
The scrutiny sharpens at Chertanovo
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Chertanovo is running low.
Match20 Jan 2029
Beaten 1‑5 by Zenit 2, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
The dugout22 Jan 2029
This is not rotation. Matvey Melnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Match20 Jan 2029
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Chertanovo and Zenit 2 in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad22 Jan 2029
A row about effort at Chertanovo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muslim Shikhbabaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout22 Jan 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ivan Polyakov, and the manager let it.
Boardroom22 Jan 2029
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout22 Jan 2029
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑5, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Whether it was the goalkeeper or the ten in front of him is the argument that will fill every conversation in town this week. 2 saves does not settle it either way.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom8 Jan 2029
Alexandr Kobzev has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Chertanovo can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market8 Jan 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 Chertanovo, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout8 Jan 2029
This is not rotation. Vadim Agafontsev has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Artem Selyukov 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.
Boardroom8 Jan 2029
$80.7K of the owner's money at Chertanovo
The shortfall was covered from upstairs again. Supporters are entitled to be relieved and entitled to ask what happens the month it is not, and both feelings usually arrive together.
Squad8 Jan 2029
A row about effort at Chertanovo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muslim Shikhbabaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match6 Jan 2029
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Zakhar Svetov. 1‑0 against Zvezda, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Boardroom8 Jan 2029
No signings allowed at Chertanovo
The manager may talk to whoever he likes and may pay nobody. A squad survives a window like this by borrowing, by promoting, and by hoping the injuries land somewhere else.
Player ratings8 Jan 2029
Marked 8.22 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces1 Jan 2029
Anger at Chertanovo 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.
Match1 Jan 2029
14 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
The dugout1 Jan 2029
This is not rotation. Artem Selyukov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Artem Selyukov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Jan 2029
A row about effort at Chertanovo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muslim Shikhbabaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout1 Jan 2029
“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.
Boardroom1 Jan 2029
Wages swallow 127% of the Chertanovo 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.
Looking ahead1 Jan 2029
Everything rides on Zvezda
Both clubs in the mire, one fixture between them, and a ground that will be louder and more frightened than at any point in the season. Chertanovo know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.
Player ratings1 Jan 2029
Marked 7.18. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom25 Dec 2028
The scrutiny sharpens at Chertanovo
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Chertanovo is running low.
Market25 Dec 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.
The dugout25 Dec 2028
This is not rotation. Matvey Melnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad25 Dec 2028
A row about effort at Chertanovo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muslim Shikhbabaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Saba Tartarashvili 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.
The dugout25 Dec 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Dmitry Kondrashov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout25 Dec 2028
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.
The dugout25 Dec 2028
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Vladimir Bartasevich is on it.
Looking ahead25 Dec 2028
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Arseny Avvakumov’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Chertanovo needing him to play as if none of it matters.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The dugout18 Dec 2028
This is not rotation. Dmitry Kondrashov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad18 Dec 2028
A row about effort at Chertanovo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muslim Shikhbabaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces18 Dec 2028
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Arseny Avvakumov has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Match16 Dec 2028
A 2‑0 win over Kolomna, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Match16 Dec 2028
The drought breaks for Chertanovo
5 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Kolomna were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Squad18 Dec 2028
German Mikadze 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 ratings18 Dec 2028
A mark of 7.87, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout18 Dec 2028
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Alexandr Kobzev could afford to be generous.
The dugout18 Dec 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Matvey Melnikov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom27 Nov 2028
The scrutiny sharpens at Chertanovo
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Chertanovo is running low.
The dugout27 Nov 2028
This is not rotation. Matvey Melnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Match25 Nov 2028
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.
Squad27 Nov 2028
A row about effort at Chertanovo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muslim Shikhbabaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout27 Nov 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Semyon Semenov, and the manager let it.
Squad27 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 Chertanovo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings27 Nov 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Player ratings27 Nov 2028
Marked 7.04 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Chertanovo had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout27 Nov 2028
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces6 Nov 2028
Anger at Chertanovo 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.
Boardroom6 Nov 2028
Alexandr Kobzev has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Chertanovo can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market6 Nov 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 Chertanovo, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout6 Nov 2028
This is not rotation. Artem Selyukov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Igor Kuznetsov is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Boardroom6 Nov 2028
$67.1K of the owner's money at Chertanovo
The shortfall was covered from upstairs again. Supporters are entitled to be relieved and entitled to ask what happens the month it is not, and both feelings usually arrive together.
Squad6 Nov 2028
A row about effort at Chertanovo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muslim Shikhbabaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match4 Nov 2028
Cherepovets left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout6 Nov 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matvey Melnikov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match28 Oct 2028
25 matches without a win, and then this, against Irkutsk. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
Boardroom30 Oct 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Chertanovo
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.87, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
The dugout30 Oct 2028
This is not rotation. Matvey Melnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
Marked 7.80. There is a kind of forward whose value only shows up when you count what he was involved in rather than what he finished, and this is the day that argument makes itself.
Match28 Oct 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Arseny Avvakumov. 3‑1 against Irkutsk, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Words at Chertanovo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muslim Shikhbabaev 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 terraces30 Oct 2028
At 19 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
The dugout30 Oct 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Semyon Semenov, and the manager let it.
In brief
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Match
Irkutsk blown away early
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Squad
Tempers go at Chertanovo
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match30 Sep 2028
The wait goes on for Chertanovo
23 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.
Boardroom2 Oct 2028
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.
Boardroom2 Oct 2028
The scrutiny sharpens at Chertanovo
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Chertanovo is running low.
Squad2 Oct 2028
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.
Market2 Oct 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 Chertanovo can pretend not to have heard.
Squad2 Oct 2028
398 appearances across 15 seasons in one shirt. Careers like that are not built on purpose any more, and Chertanovo know exactly what they have.
Player ratings2 Oct 2028
No sign of nerves from Arseny Avvakumov at 19 — 7.97
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Arseny Avvakumov did not need any: 7.97, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The dugout2 Oct 2028
This is not rotation. Matvey Melnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad2 Oct 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 Chertanovo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces11 Sep 2028
The mood at Chertanovo 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.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
This is not rotation. Artem Selyukov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Market11 Sep 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.
Boardroom11 Sep 2028
Deadline passes with 8 signed and 7 gone
That is the business done at Chertanovo 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.
Transfer targets11 Sep 2028
Chertanovo asked and Mashuk said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Words at Chertanovo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muslim Shikhbabaev 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.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Igor Kuznetsov 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 dugout11 Sep 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Chertanovo, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Artem Gerasimov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match2 Sep 2028
No end in sight to Chertanovo's wait for a win
20 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Chertanovo has to find a result from somewhere.
Match2 Sep 2028
6 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.
The dugout4 Sep 2028
This is not rotation. Matvey Melnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Boardroom4 Sep 2028
$49.7K from the owner keeps Chertanovo afloat
The gap in the accounts was filled from upstairs again. Supporters are entitled to be grateful and to ask what happens the month it is not, and both feelings arrive together.
Transfer targets4 Sep 2028
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.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Muslim Shikhbabaev 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.
Match2 Sep 2028
0‑1 to Zvezda, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout4 Sep 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matvey Melnikov, and the manager let it.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 35 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Chertanovo is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match26 Aug 2028
No end in sight to Chertanovo's wait for a win
19 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Chertanovo has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
The dugout28 Aug 2028
This is not rotation. Dmitry Kondrashov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Match26 Aug 2028
The goals have deserted Chertanovo
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Chertanovo can tell you which week it ends in.
Transfer targets28 Aug 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Volga have kept their man, and Chertanovo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad28 Aug 2028
A row about effort at Chertanovo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muslim Shikhbabaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad28 Aug 2028
53 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout28 Aug 2028
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Alexandr Kobzev after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The dugout28 Aug 2028
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match5 Aug 2028
No end in sight to Chertanovo's wait for a win
16 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Chertanovo has to find a result from somewhere.
Market7 Aug 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 Chertanovo, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout7 Aug 2028
This is not rotation. Matvey Melnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets7 Aug 2028
Everything agreed with Rodina, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Artem Selyukov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom7 Aug 2028
$39.0K from the owner keeps Chertanovo afloat
The gap in the accounts was filled from upstairs again. Supporters are entitled to be grateful and to ask what happens the month it is not, and both feelings arrive together.
Squad7 Aug 2028
A row about effort at Chertanovo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muslim Shikhbabaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings7 Aug 2028
The game went through Daniil Korunov — 6.68
Marked 6.68 on 12 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
The dugout7 Aug 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yves-Pulumde Nikiéma, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces17 Jul 2028
The mood at Chertanovo 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.
Match15 Jul 2028
No end in sight to Chertanovo's wait for a win
13 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Chertanovo has to find a result from somewhere.
Market17 Jul 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.
The dugout17 Jul 2028
This is not rotation. Artem Selyukov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
The deal with Sokol 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.
Match15 Jul 2028
4 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.
Boardroom17 Jul 2028
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Chertanovo
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sokol have kept their man, and Chertanovo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Muslim Shikhbabaev 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
Boardroom3 Jul 2028
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Alexandr Kobzev has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Boardroom3 Jul 2028
The Chertanovo board call everybody in
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Market3 Jul 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 Chertanovo, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout3 Jul 2028
This is not rotation. Matvey Melnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets3 Jul 2028
Everything agreed with Textilschik, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Boardroom3 Jul 2028
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Ramil Gainullin has agreed terms with Chelyabinsk for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Boardroom3 Jul 2028
The owner puts $27.9K into Chertanovo
This is money that keeps the lights on rather than money that buys a centre-half, and the difference is the whole story. A club funded by its owner rather than by its football has exactly one conversation left ahead of it.
Transfer targets3 Jul 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Kuban have kept their man, and Chertanovo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad3 Jul 2028
A row about effort at Chertanovo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muslim Shikhbabaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces19 Jun 2028
The mood at Chertanovo 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.
Market19 Jun 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.
The dugout19 Jun 2028
This is not rotation. Artem Selyukov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets19 Jun 2028
The deal with Sevastopol 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.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Vladimir Bartasevich 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 Jun 2028
Muslim Shikhbabaev 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.
Market19 Jun 2028
He signed expecting a bigger stage than the one he found. It has not taken long, and it has not taken the dressing room long to notice either.
Market19 Jun 2028
Chertanovo have made Matvey Melnikov available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
The dugout19 Jun 2028
Ivan Polyakov 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
Boardroom5 Jun 2028
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.
Boardroom5 Jun 2028
The Chertanovo board call everybody in
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Market5 Jun 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.
The dugout5 Jun 2028
This is not rotation. Matvey Melnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Boardroom5 Jun 2028
The owner puts $17.6K into Chertanovo
This is money that keeps the lights on rather than money that buys a centre-half, and the difference is the whole story. A club funded by its owner rather than by its football has exactly one conversation left ahead of it.
Squad5 Jun 2028
A row about effort at Chertanovo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muslim Shikhbabaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Igor Kuznetsov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout5 Jun 2028
Alexey Osipov knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alexey Osipov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout5 Jun 2028
Daniil Korunov loses the manager who believed in him
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Daniil Korunov's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom8 May 2028
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.
Boardroom8 May 2028
The Chertanovo board call everybody in
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Market8 May 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 Chertanovo can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout8 May 2028
This is not rotation. Matvey Melnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad8 May 2028
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Ramil Gainullin is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad8 May 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Vladimir Bartasevich and Chertanovo agree another 2 years.
Squad8 May 2028
Vladimir Bartasevich and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom8 May 2028
The owner puts $5.9K into Chertanovo
This is money that keeps the lights on rather than money that buys a centre-half, and the difference is the whole story. A club funded by its owner rather than by its football has exactly one conversation left ahead of it.
Squad8 May 2028
Muslim Shikhbabaev 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 dugout10 Apr 2028
This is not rotation. Matvey Melnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad10 Apr 2028
A row about effort at Chertanovo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muslim Shikhbabaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad10 Apr 2028
German Mikadze 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.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say German Mikadze is on it.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vadim Agafontsev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market10 Apr 2028
3 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Chertanovo money.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad13 Mar 2028
22 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chertanovo lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
This is not rotation. Matvey Melnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Vladimir Bartasevich and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Words at Chertanovo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muslim Shikhbabaev 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 dugout13 Mar 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ramil Gainullin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market13 Mar 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Muslim Shikhbabaev’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market13 Mar 2028
4 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Chertanovo money.
Market13 Mar 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Muslim Shikhbabaev may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Feb 2028
52 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Chertanovo lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match12 Feb 2028
10 matches without a win for Chertanovo
The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Chertanovo are no longer polite ones.
Market14 Feb 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.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
This is not rotation. Matvey Melnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad14 Feb 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 Chertanovo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets14 Feb 2028
Chertanovo asked and Ryazan said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Words at Chertanovo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muslim Shikhbabaev 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.
Match12 Feb 2028
Chertanovo are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Match12 Feb 2028
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Jan 2028
73 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chertanovo lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom24 Jan 2028
The scrutiny sharpens at Chertanovo
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Chertanovo is running low.
Match22 Jan 2028
The wait goes on for Chertanovo
7 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.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
This is not rotation. Vadim Agafontsev has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Vladimir Bartasevich 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.
Squad24 Jan 2028
A row about effort at Chertanovo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muslim Shikhbabaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match22 Jan 2028
Zenit 2 left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matvey Melnikov, and the manager let it.
Boardroom24 Jan 2028
Wages eat 114% of everything Chertanovo 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Jan 2028
80 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chertanovo lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match15 Jan 2028
No end in sight to Chertanovo's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Chertanovo has to find a result from somewhere.
The dugout17 Jan 2028
This is not rotation. Matvey Melnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Muslim Shikhbabaev 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.
Match15 Jan 2028
Luki-Energiya left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout17 Jan 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.
Player ratings17 Jan 2028
Zakhar Svetov did the work nobody counts — 6.80
11 combined actions and 6.80. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
Squad17 Jan 2028
German Mikadze 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.
The dugout17 Jan 2028
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 Alexandr Kobzev left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad20 Dec 2027
112 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Chertanovo lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match18 Dec 2027
1‑4 to Dinamo Vologda, 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.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
Up for the corner, and Semyon Semenov delivers — 7.67
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Semyon Semenov scored, was marked 7.67, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
This is not rotation. Matvey Melnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad20 Dec 2027
A row about effort at Chertanovo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muslim Shikhbabaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Vladislav Korbut 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.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
The manager makes an example of Matvey Melnikov
“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.
Boardroom20 Dec 2027
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑4, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad6 Dec 2027
The words a physio says slowly. 126 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The terraces6 Dec 2027
The mood at Chertanovo 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.
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
Alexandr Kobzev has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Chertanovo can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
This is not rotation. Artem Selyukov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad6 Dec 2027
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad6 Dec 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 Chertanovo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Words at Chertanovo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muslim Shikhbabaev 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.
Match4 Dec 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vadim Agafontsev, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad29 Nov 2027
The words a physio says slowly. 133 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Boardroom29 Nov 2027
Pressure builds in the Chertanovo boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Player ratings29 Nov 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.45, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Muslim Shikhbabaev 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 terraces29 Nov 2027
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Match27 Nov 2027
Three points for Chertanovo, 2‑0 the final word against Kosmos in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Boardroom29 Nov 2027
Wages swallow 99% of the Chertanovo 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.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Alexandr Kobzev on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Player ratings29 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 14. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad22 Nov 2027
The words a physio says slowly. 140 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
This is not rotation. Vadim Agafontsev has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad22 Nov 2027
A row about effort at Chertanovo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ivan Polyakov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match20 Nov 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout22 Nov 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.
Match22 Nov 2027
Half the programme played, position 8, 18 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
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 Alexandr Kobzev to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout22 Nov 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 Chertanovo, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 11. 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
Uneasy
Boardroom1 Nov 2027
Pressure builds in the Chertanovo boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Player ratings1 Nov 2027
Marked 7.75 at 18, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Player ratings1 Nov 2027
Semyon Semenov did the work nobody counts — 6.91
19 combined actions and 6.91. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
Squad1 Nov 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 Chertanovo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Muslim Shikhbabaev 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 terraces1 Nov 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 18-year-old it feels ownership of. Ramil Gainullin has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matvey Melnikov, and the manager let it.
Match30 Oct 2027
Chertanovo hit back inside 4 minutes
Irkutsk held the lead for 4 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. Chertanovo answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
Boardroom1 Nov 2027
Wages eat 85% of everything Chertanovo 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces11 Oct 2027
The mood at Chertanovo 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.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
This is not rotation. Artem Selyukov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Muslim Shikhbabaev 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 dugout11 Oct 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.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say German Mikadze is on it.
Market11 Oct 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Chertanovo know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market11 Oct 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Matvey Melnikov may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Ivan Polyakov is not doing himself any favours
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
Squad11 Oct 2027
The comeback has moved again. The medical staff will not give a new date and the manager has stopped asking for one.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom4 Oct 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Chertanovo
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Vladimir Bartasevich and Chertanovo agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words at Chertanovo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muslim Shikhbabaev 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.
Match2 Oct 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout4 Oct 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.
Squad4 Oct 2027
German Mikadze 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.
Market4 Oct 2027
“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.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
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 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Alexandr Kobzev to a room that had heard them before.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Ramil Gainullin named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Ramil Gainullin is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
A brace, and Matvey Melnikov takes the afternoon — 8.38
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Matvey Melnikov provided it, and the 8.38 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Ramil Gainullin, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 7.73
A mark of 7.73 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Market27 Sep 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 Chertanovo, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
This is not rotation. Vadim Agafontsev has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Chertanovo is pretending otherwise.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Muslim Shikhbabaev 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.
Match25 Sep 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Matvey Melnikov. 2‑1 against Zenit 2, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The terraces27 Sep 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Matvey Melnikov has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The dugout27 Sep 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.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Alexandr Kobzev on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market6 Sep 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 Chertanovo can pretend not to have heard.
Squad6 Sep 2027
389 appearances across 14 seasons in one shirt. Careers like that are not built on purpose any more, and Chertanovo know exactly what they have.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Chertanovo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Chertanovo have done the hard part with Dinamo Bryansk, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Vladimir Bartasevich and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets6 Sep 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Ivan Polyakov 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.
Market6 Sep 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Artem Selyukov has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Chertanovo.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Chertanovo will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Aug 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Chertanovo will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
Everything agreed with Volgar, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Match7 Aug 2027
1‑3 to Avangard, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad9 Aug 2027
A row about effort at Chertanovo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ivan Polyakov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout9 Aug 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.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
Alexey Osipov knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alexey Osipov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market9 Aug 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Daniil Korunov has his answer from Chertanovo; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
Marked 4.91, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.