Ivan Grinko

Striker - Baltika 2
7 Nov 2029
Wednesday
Process

Marked for Ivan Grinko

169 Edition

The Baltika 2 Gazette

22 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

A masterclass from Arseny Popushoy

Marked 9.17 — 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.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Lucas Ferraz Vila

Marked 9.08 — 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Baltika 2

Dmitry Begun 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.

Match

Baltika 2 see off Tver

Three points for Baltika 2, 2‑0 the final word against Tver in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Player ratings

Dmitry Begun shuts the door

Defensive actions: 20, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Squad

Ivan Grinko gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

Vitaly Semenov runs at them all day

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.

Squad

Lucas Ferraz Vila 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 Lucas Ferraz Vila trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Squad

Arseny Popushoy is off the mark for Baltika 2

The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.

In brief

Back issues
167 Edition

The Baltika 2 Gazette

8 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Ivan Salikhov: 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.” Baltika 2 have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Match

5 matches without a win for Baltika 2

The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Baltika 2 are no longer polite ones.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Artem Isik

Defensive actions: 26. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

Artem Isik signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Artem Isik and Baltika 2 agree another 4 years.

Squad

No hiding place for Lucas Ferraz Vila

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lucas Ferraz Vila, and the manager let it.

Squad

Tempers go at Baltika 2

Alexandr Kuzmin 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 ratings

Vitaly Semenov runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Baltika 2 and Dinamo Vologda cancel each other out

Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Dinamo Vologda came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.

Player ratings

Off the pace: Timofey Schelkunov

A mark of 5.16 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.

In brief

166 Edition

The Baltika 2 Gazette

1 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Baltika 2's wait for a win

4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Baltika 2 has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Tempers go at Baltika 2

Lucas Ferraz Vila 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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Baltika 2 against Torpedo Vladimir

0‑1 to Torpedo Vladimir, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Artem Isik

“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 ratings

Nobody could get near Arseny Popushoy

Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

“I want to play”: Denis Makarov speaks

“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.

In brief

164 Edition

The Baltika 2 Gazette

17 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Denis Vambolt has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Baltika 2 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Baltika 2

Lucas Ferraz Vila 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.

Match

Baltika 2 come up short against Kosmos

Kosmos left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Dmitry Begun gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

A costly moment from Vladislav Pospelov

One lapse, one goal, and ninety minutes of honest work counting for nothing. That is the job at Baltika 2, and it is a cruel one.

Player ratings

Arseny Popushoy runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Denis Makarov 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 Baltika 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Player ratings

A day to forget for Ivan Grinko

Marked 5.27, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.

Player ratings

Eldzhat Mamedov never got going

5.63 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.

In brief

162 Edition

The Baltika 2 Gazette

3 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Artem Yashkov: 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.” Baltika 2 have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Albert Gabaraev

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 21 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Squad

Dmitry Begun 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Denis Makarov gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Match

Baltika 2 see off Cherepovets

Three points for Baltika 2, 1‑0 the final word against Cherepovets in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Player ratings

One of those days for Ivan Grinko

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.26, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Artem Isik shuts the door

Defensive actions: 17, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Market

Chaika expected to open talks for Denis Vambolt

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Baltika 2 will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Lucas Ferraz Vila

Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

161 Edition

The Baltika 2 Gazette

27 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Evgeny Kim puts it in writing

“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 Baltika 2, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Andrey Tsitsilin 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Volga are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. Baltika 2 will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

Squad

No hiding place for Timofey Schelkunov

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Timofey Schelkunov, and the manager let it.

Squad

Lucas Ferraz Vila 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 Lucas Ferraz Vila trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Player ratings

Lucas Ferraz Vila runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

145 Edition

The Baltika 2 Gazette

7 May 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Dmitry Begun keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Baltika 2 may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Tempers go at Baltika 2

Lucas Ferraz Vila 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.

Squad

Baltika 2 lose Ivan Grinko

36 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

In brief

  • Squad The manager makes an example of Artem Isik
132 Edition

The Baltika 2 Gazette

5 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Igor Vaisbein

There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Eldzhat Mamedov

Defensive actions: 25. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

Tempers go at Baltika 2

Timofey Schelkunov 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 ratings

Nobody could get near Dmitry Nikitin

Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Timofey Schelkunov

“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.

Match

Baltika 2 get the job done against Zvezda

A 1‑0 win over Zvezda, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

In brief

129 Edition

The Baltika 2 Gazette

15 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Agnaldo asks to leave Baltika 2

“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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Maxim Kulik

Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Tempers go at Baltika 2

Lucas Ferraz Vila 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Denis Makarov

“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.

Match

Dinamo Vologda take the points off Baltika 2

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Timofey Schelkunov has had enough of the bench

“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Baltika 2 will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.

In brief

127 Edition

The Baltika 2 Gazette

1 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Baltika 2 get the job done against Spartak Moscow 2

A 2‑1 win over Spartak Moscow 2, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Squad

Dmitry Begun 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Agnaldo

Marked 8.28 — 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.

Player ratings

One of those days for Dmitry Nikitin

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.28, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

Artem Isik gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Lucas Ferraz Vila is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.22 with 6 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

Squad

“I want to play”: Dmitry Nikitin speaks

“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.

The terraces

Everybody has an opinion about Lucas Ferraz Vila

He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.

Player ratings

Off the pace: Lucas Ferraz Vila

A mark of 5.68 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.

In brief

125 Edition

The Baltika 2 Gazette

18 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Baltika 2's wait for a win

7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Baltika 2 has to find a result from somewhere.

Match

A bad afternoon for Baltika 2 against Yenisey 2

1‑2 to Yenisey 2, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Denis Makarov gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Maxim Kulik

Marked 8.43 — 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.

Squad

Igor Vaisbein 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Denis Makarov runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

122 Edition

The Baltika 2 Gazette

27 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Denis Makarov puts it in writing

“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 Baltika 2, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

4 matches without a win for Baltika 2

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Baltika 2 are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Timofey Schelkunov stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Timofey Schelkunov and Baltika 2 agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Lucas Ferraz Vila 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

No hiding place for Dmitry Nikitin

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dmitry Nikitin, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Dmitry Nikitin runs at them all day

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.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Artem Isik

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Player ratings

Dmitry Begun shuts the door

Defensive actions: 16, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Match

Baltika 2 draw a blank against Saturn

The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Saturn defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.

In brief

121 Edition

The Baltika 2 Gazette

20 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Baltika 2 count the cost of losing Lucas Ferraz Vila

16 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Squad

Dmitry Begun 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Agnaldo

Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Vladislav Pospelov gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Match

Baltika 2 and Kolomna cancel each other out

Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Kolomna came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.

Player ratings

Off the pace: Ivan Grinko

A mark of 5.62 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.

In brief

120 Edition

The Baltika 2 Gazette

13 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

A bad afternoon for Baltika 2 against Chertanovo

1‑2 to Chertanovo, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Tempers go at Baltika 2

Dmitry Begun 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 ratings

A masterclass from Arseny Popushoy

Marked 8.66 — 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.

Squad

Timofey Schelkunov gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Vladislav Pospelov signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Vladislav Pospelov commits to Baltika 2 for another 4 years.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Lucas Ferraz Vila

Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

115 Edition

The Baltika 2 Gazette

9 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at Baltika 2

Lucas Ferraz Vila 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 ratings

Dmitry Nikitin in the eights

A performance of 8.18 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Agnaldo

“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.

Squad

Ivan Grinko 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 Ivan Grinko trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Maxim Kulik

Successful dribbles: 11. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Lucas Ferraz Vila has company in his position

The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Lucas Ferraz Vila keeps the shirt for now, at Baltika 2's convenience rather than his own.

In brief

114 Edition

The Baltika 2 Gazette

2 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Denis Makarov puts it in writing

“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 Baltika 2, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

The wait goes on for Baltika 2

6 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.

Squad

Artem Yashkov: 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.” Baltika 2 have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Tempers go at Baltika 2

Dmitry Begun 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.

Match

Baltika 2 come up short against Dinamo Vologda

Dinamo Vologda left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

No hiding place for Timofey Schelkunov

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Timofey Schelkunov, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Arseny Popushoy

Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

A day to forget for Ivan Grinko

Marked 5.30, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.

Squad

Is this Agnaldo’s last season?

“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Agnaldo is 34, with 50 appearances behind him, and Baltika 2 will have to plan for whichever answer comes.

In brief

112 Edition

The Baltika 2 Gazette

18 Sep 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Eldzhat Mamedov says Baltika 2 went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Match

No end in sight to Baltika 2's wait for a win

4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Baltika 2 has to find a result from somewhere.

Match

Baltika 2 come up short against Spartak Moscow 2

Spartak Moscow 2 left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Player ratings

Lucas Ferraz Vila runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

One of those days for Dmitry Begun

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.01, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

Tempers go at Baltika 2

Pavel Gorbachev 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.

In brief

102 Edition

The Baltika 2 Gazette

10 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Vladimir Pochechura has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Baltika 2 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Baltika 2

Lucas Ferraz Vila 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.

Market

Eyes on Andrey Tsitsilin again

The phone has started ringing about Andrey Tsitsilin again, and this time the name on the line is Chaika. Baltika 2 are listening politely and promising nothing.

Squad

Ivan Grinko signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ivan Grinko and Baltika 2 agree another 3 years.

Market

No place for Andrey Tsitsilin in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Andrey Tsitsilin has his answer from Baltika 2; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

Squad

Denis Makarov 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.

In brief

101 Edition

The Baltika 2 Gazette

3 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Andrey Tsitsilin is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Baltika 2 is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Lucas Ferraz Vila 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Vladislav Pospelov gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief