5 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Artem Bykovskiy 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilja Samoshnikov 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.
Two sides from the top of the table, one afternoon, and a month of talk decided in ninety minutes. Spartak Moscow 2 will not use the word title this week and will not stop thinking it.
Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Stepan Bogdanov did not need any: 8.24, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Moscow 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 19 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.
2 goals before the ground had finished arriving. Torpedo Miass spent the rest of the afternoon playing a match that had already been decided, and everybody in the stadium knew it.
Shots: 5. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilja Samoshnikov 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 easiest signature of my career.” Danil Makushenko and Spartak Moscow 2 agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Spartak Moscow 2 will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Spartak Moscow 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Spartak Moscow 2 can pretend not to have heard.
At 18 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.
9 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.
The captaincy has been taken off Ilja Samoshnikov. Spartak Moscow 2 will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
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.
The first defeat in 8 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Zenit 2; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Matvey Kuznetsov is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 15 combined actions and a mark of 7.07, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
Artem Bykovskiy 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.
Zenit 2 next, which means a week that starts on Monday. Everything else on this page will be forgotten by Saturday; this fixture will not be forgotten for a year.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Alexandr Dobroditskiy and Spartak Moscow 2 agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Spartak Moscow 2 will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Nursultan Alisherov is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilja Samoshnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Timofey Rozhkov 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Spartak Moscow 2 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilja Samoshnikov 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.
One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Ilja Samoshnikov has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.
“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 Spartak Moscow 2 will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Ilja Ivarlak is 18, and for one weekend he was the best of everybody his age in the division. Nobody should build a career on it and everybody quietly does.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Timofey Rozhkov’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Spartak Moscow 2 needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Shots: 8. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ilja Ivarlak and Spartak Moscow 2 agree another 4 years.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Spartak Moscow 2 would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Spartak Moscow 2 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
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 competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Makar Vysochenko keeps the shirt for now, at Spartak Moscow 2's convenience rather than his own.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Position 2, 55 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Makar Vysochenko is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matvey Kuznetsov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Moscow 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Spartak Moscow 2 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matvey Kuznetsov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nikita Kochanov 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 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.
Through a full week of training without a reaction, and already asking for a place. Spartak Moscow 2 will be careful with him and he will resent every day of it.
Position 2, 55 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matvey Kuznetsov 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Spartak Moscow 2 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matvey Kuznetsov 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.
Individual work, away from the group, aimed at one specific thing the coaches think is holding him back. It rarely makes the news and it is how most improvement actually happens.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matvey Kuznetsov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Danil Makushenko and Spartak Moscow 2 agree another 3 years.
Matvey Kuznetsov 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matvey Kuznetsov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nikita Kochanov 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 message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Nikita Kochanov plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matvey Kuznetsov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Makar Vysochenko is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Nikita Kochanov is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matvey Kuznetsov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“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.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 22 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matvey Kuznetsov 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.
Saturn next, and the two sides the division is watching meet each other. Whoever wins will be told nothing is decided in the same breath as being congratulated.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Dmitry Zinchenko after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
At 19 he is being measured against the rest of the division's kids and coming out in front. The senior version of this award is where the club would like this to lead.
He is 19 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.
Two sides from the top of the table, one afternoon, and a month of talk decided in ninety minutes. Spartak Moscow 2 will not use the word title this week and will not stop thinking it.
The goal that put Kolomna ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Spartak Moscow 2 equalised, 3 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 2‑2 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
53 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.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Ilja Ivarlak, 17, plays like he has been here for years — 8.43
A mark of 8.43 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 17-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Artem Nekrasov and Spartak Moscow 2 agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matvey Kuznetsov 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.
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.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Zakhar Chushkin had Spartak Moscow 2 level again within 1 minutes, and Torpedo Vladimir never got to play with a lead at all.
A season average of 7.04 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Spartak Moscow 2 know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matvey Kuznetsov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Alexandr Dobroditskiy 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.
Two sides from the top of the table, one afternoon, and a month of talk decided in ninety minutes. Spartak Moscow 2 will not use the word title this week and will not stop thinking it.
He is 18, he is averaging 7.26, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
10 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Baltika 2 held the lead for 2 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. Spartak Moscow 2 answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 4 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
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.
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Score against anybody else and it is a goal. Score against them and it is a story with your name in it for a decade, and Spartak Moscow 2 supporters have already started telling it.
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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Dmitry Zinchenko on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
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 Pavel Pelevin is on it.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Zakhar Chushkin did not need any: 8.25, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
He is 18, he is averaging 7.08, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
At 18 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.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Moscow 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Artem Nekrasov 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 hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Dmitry Shopin did not need any: 8.15, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
At 18 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matvey Kuznetsov 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.
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.
8 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
The unbeaten run reaches 12. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Pavel Pelevin, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 7.96
A mark of 7.96 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.
He is 17, he is averaging 7.01, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ivan Sorokin and Spartak Moscow 2 agree another 4 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matvey Kuznetsov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 18 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Pavel Pelevin. 2‑0 against Tver, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Half the programme played, position 1, 30 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
A season average of 7.19 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Spartak Moscow 2 know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Zakhar Chushkin, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 8.08
A mark of 8.08 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matvey Kuznetsov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 18 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.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Nobody at Spartak Moscow 2 is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
“If we are going to be beaten, let it not be because somebody in here could not be bothered.” He stood up and said it in front of everybody, which is a thing a squad remembers about a man for years.
Pavel Pelevin 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matvey Kuznetsov 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Moscow 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matvey Kuznetsov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Dmitry Zinchenko chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Spartak Moscow 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Spartak Moscow 2 and Kolomna, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matvey Kuznetsov 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.
He is 18 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.
Two sides from the top of the table, one afternoon, and a month of talk decided in ninety minutes. Spartak Moscow 2 will not use the word title this week and will not stop thinking it.
In brief
Squad22 new faces, and Spartak Moscow 2 are still learning each other
21 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Pavel Pelevin is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
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.
He is 19 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.
The goal that put Torpedo Vladimir ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Spartak Moscow 2 equalised, 1 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Zakhar Chushkin provided it, and the 8.26 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
A season average of 7.05 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Spartak Moscow 2 know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matvey Kuznetsov 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.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Matvey Kuznetsov scored, was marked 6.94, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
At 18 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.
Pavel Pelevin 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.
A 1‑1 draw with Zenit 2 leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Dmitry Zinchenko was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Spartak Moscow 2 dressing room was either.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
At 19 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matvey Kuznetsov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nothing about the week ahead is ordinary. Zenit 2 on Saturday, a town that has already started talking about it, and a dressing room that does not need telling what it means.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 2‑2 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Successful dribbles: 10. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Zakhar Chushkin is the division's best young player this month
At 18 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Spartak Moscow 2 will try very hard not to make too much of it.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Artem Nekrasov has come out of that comparison in the side, and Spartak Moscow 2 have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
In brief
SquadZakhar Chushkin, 18, is the weekend’s best young player
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.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 2‑2, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Nobody at Spartak Moscow 2 is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
“Nobody outside is coming to save us.” It was short, it was not comfortable, and by all accounts the Spartak Moscow 2 squad were quieter afterwards than they had been all season.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matvey Kuznetsov 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Dmitry Zinchenko after 0‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Shots: 9. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Pavel Pelevin 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 18-year-old it feels ownership of. Artem Nekrasov 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.
Successful dribbles: 14. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
Zakhar Chushkin, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 7.78
A mark of 7.78 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Makar Vysochenko and Spartak Moscow 2 agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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.
He is 18 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Zakhar Chushkin. 1‑0 against Tver, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
33 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.