Position 3, 63 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.
“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.
In brief
SquadDmitry Shopin falls out with a teammate over standards
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 Ilja Samoshnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“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.
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.
Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — Ilja Samoshnikov has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. Spartak Moscow 2 know, and have known for weeks.
Position 3, 63 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Artem Nosachev and Spartak Moscow 2 agree another 4 years.
He is 19, he is averaging 7.07, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
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.
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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.58 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
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.
5 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
A mark of 7.65 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-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 Ilja Samoshnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
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.
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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Yaroslav 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.
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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.43 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Two goals and a mark of 8.30 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Stepan Bogdanov did not need any: 8.46, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alexey Polesskiy and Spartak Moscow 2 agree another 3 years.
8 goals in one match, Danil Makushenko on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Spartak Moscow 2 and Yenisey 2.
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 Ilja Samoshnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
A mark of 8.03 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nikolay Kobylin and Spartak Moscow 2 agree another 5 years.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pavel Pelevin, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 8.06
A mark of 8.06 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Vladislav Djuraev is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
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.
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.
22 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
“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 3‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Danil Makushenko 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.