Marked for Marc Ploner
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market8 Jul 2030
Only the photograph left for Gleb Bakharev
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gleb Bakharev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Kaluga the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market8 Jul 2030
“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 The request is on a desk at Kaluga, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout8 Jul 2030
“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.
Boardroom8 Jul 2030
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Market8 Jul 2030
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Kaluga have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad8 Jul 2030
Ilja Grischenko 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.
Squad8 Jul 2030
Tempers go at Kaluga
Kirill Balashov 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.
Boardroom8 Jul 2030
Intake day at the Kaluga academy
4 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
Squad8 Jul 2030
No place for Brandon Paiber in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Kaluga are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market17 Jun 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kaluga can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout17 Jun 2030
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad17 Jun 2030
Sergey Chibisov 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.
Squad17 Jun 2030
Tempers go at Kaluga
Cristian Falla 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.
Market17 Jun 2030
No place for Marc Ploner in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Marc Ploner has his answer from Kaluga; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Market17 Jun 2030
The clock does Igor Sokolov’s negotiating for him
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Kaluga could ask drops and the wages Igor Sokolov can ask rise.
The dugout17 Jun 2030
The manager makes an example of Artem Maifet
“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.
Market17 Jun 2030
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kaluga know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Boardroom17 Jun 2030
Open for business: Kaluga enter the window
The registration window is open and the phone has started. Between now and the deadline this club will be linked with forty players and sign three, which is the usual ratio.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad10 Jun 2030
16 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Kaluga lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad10 Jun 2030
A falling-out at Kaluga
Ilja Grischenko and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 Jun 2030
A row about effort at Kaluga
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luke Howard was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout10 Jun 2030
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 Kirill Balashov is on it.
The dugout10 Jun 2030
Marc Ploner 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.
The dugout10 Jun 2030
Sime Kasalo is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The dugout10 Jun 2030
Cristian Falla 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 Cristian Falla trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market10 Jun 2030
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ilja Grischenko signs something — a contract at Kaluga or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market10 Jun 2030
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad6 May 2030
22 days out for Stuart Moore after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kaluga will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad6 May 2030
Words exchanged at Kaluga
Ilja Grischenko 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.
Squad6 May 2030
Sergey Chibisov 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 May 2030
“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.
Squad6 May 2030
Marc Ploner slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Marc Ploner is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Market6 May 2030
3 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Kaluga could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad18 Mar 2030
Stuart Moore breaks a bone — 71 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 71 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad18 Mar 2030
Arsen Djioev damages knee ligaments — 38 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 38 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.
Squad18 Mar 2030
A falling-out at Kaluga
Ilja Grischenko and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad18 Mar 2030
Words at Kaluga training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daud Daliev 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 dugout18 Mar 2030
Igor Sokolov 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 Igor Sokolov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout18 Mar 2030
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 Kirill Balashov is on it.
The dugout18 Mar 2030
The manager makes an example of Arsen Djioev
“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 dugout18 Mar 2030
Sime Kasalo is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Market18 Mar 2030
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ilja Grischenko signs something — a contract at Kaluga or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad4 Mar 2030
A fracture rules Stuart Moore out for 85 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kaluga will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad4 Mar 2030
Arsen Djioev damages knee ligaments — 52 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 52 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.
Match4 Mar 2030
40 points and nobody above them. The word is not being said around the ground yet, and it is being thought in every seat.
Market4 Mar 2030
Gleb Bakharev hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kaluga can pretend not to have heard.
Market4 Mar 2030
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Kaluga is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad4 Mar 2030
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Cristian Falla commits to Kaluga for another 4 years.
Squad4 Mar 2030
Tempers go at Kaluga
Ilja Grischenko 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 dugout4 Mar 2030
The manager makes an example of Sergey Chibisov
“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.
Boardroom4 Mar 2030
Nobody arrives at Kaluga until somebody leaves
The club is not barred from spending; it simply has nothing to spend that it has not first raised. Every name linked with Kaluga this window arrives with a name leaving in the same sentence.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad4 Feb 2030
113 days out for Stuart Moore after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kaluga will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad4 Feb 2030
Arsen Djioev damages knee ligaments — 80 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 80 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.
Match4 Feb 2030
40 points and nobody above them. The word is not being said around the ground yet, and it is being thought in every seat.
Market4 Feb 2030
“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 Kaluga, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market4 Feb 2030
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market4 Feb 2030
Abdullah Turuc has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kaluga they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad4 Feb 2030
“The easiest signature of my career.” Stuart Moore and Kaluga agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad4 Feb 2030
Words exchanged at Kaluga
Ilja Grischenko 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 dugout4 Feb 2030
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad17 Dec 2029
The knee: Luke Howard out for 32 days
32 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Kaluga lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market17 Dec 2029
Cristian Falla has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kaluga they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market17 Dec 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 Kaluga, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout17 Dec 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Kaluga may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Boardroom17 Dec 2029
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Cristian Falla has agreed terms with Sochi for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad17 Dec 2029
Tempers go at Kaluga
Ilja Grischenko 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.
Boardroom17 Dec 2029
Belts tighten at Kaluga
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
Squad17 Dec 2029
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Kaluga can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad17 Dec 2029
Sergey Chibisov 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
Upbeat
Market30 Apr 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Kaluga is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market30 Apr 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.
Squad30 Apr 2029
A falling-out at Kaluga
Ilja Grischenko and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Daud Daliev 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.
Squad30 Apr 2029
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Kaluga are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout30 Apr 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Dmitry Yugaldin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout30 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.
Market30 Apr 2029
The Nikita Kuzin talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kaluga know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market30 Apr 2029
Kaluga have made Nikita Kuzin available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match23 Apr 2029
The view from the top for Kaluga
38 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.
Market23 Apr 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Dmitry Yugaldin will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Kaluga the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market23 Apr 2029
Amur Balkizov hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kaluga can pretend not to have heard.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Daud Daliev 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.
Squad23 Apr 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 Kaluga this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Apr 2029
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Kaluga can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Boardroom23 Apr 2029
Kaluga can only buy what they sell
Nobody has barred the club from spending; it simply has nothing to spend that it has not first raised. Every incoming name comes with an outgoing one attached.
The dugout23 Apr 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Dmitry Yugaldin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad23 Apr 2029
The formation has left Marc Ploner behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Kaluga will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.