Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 26 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Irkutsk can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irkutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 40 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Andrey Lomash is 22, 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.
Yegor Perevoznikov 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 phone has started ringing about Vladimir Chekhov again, and this time the name on the line is Dinamo St Petersburg. Irkutsk are listening politely and promising nothing.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 47 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
A brace, and Tumelo Shai takes the afternoon — 8.72
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Tumelo Shai provided it, and the 8.72 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Bjørn Marwa did not need any: 8.41, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
“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 Irkutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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.
Ivan Mokshin 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 accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Irkutsk now.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Molemo Seemela 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 54 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Irkutsk can pretend not to have heard.
The terraces14 Aug 2028
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 6 of the 24 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 61 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
2 goals to the good, and then a slow surrender of everything that had been earned. Tumelo Shai will not be the one blamed for it, but nobody at Irkutsk escapes the conversation that follows a collapse like this.
“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 Irkutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Danil Pekhnov is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Konev 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.
Amin Zhangurazov 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.
Marked 8.16 — 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 68 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Irkutsk can pretend not to have heard.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Andrey Lomash is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irkutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 24 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
At 23 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: Yegor Perevoznikov. 1‑0 against Cherepovets, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 75 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
5 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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.
Ivan Mokshin 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 unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Konev 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Molemo Seemela 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.
Marked 8.44 — 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 96 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Irkutsk can pretend not to have heard.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Molemo Seemela is 22, 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.
Yegor Perevoznikov 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.
“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 Irkutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nikita Baranov 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
SquadWords at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Irkutsk can pretend not to have heard.
The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Konev 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 Irkutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 20 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.
Danil Pekhnov is 19, and Irkutsk have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Molemo Seemela has come out of that comparison in the side, and Irkutsk have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“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 ratings24 Jan 2028
Molemo Seemela, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.23
A mark of 8.23 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Nikita Baranov 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexandr Konev, and the manager let it.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Danila Molodnyakov 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.
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Nobody at Irkutsk will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Molemo Seemela did not need any: 8.85, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irkutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Molemo Seemela 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.
Marked 8.15 — 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.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Irkutsk can pretend not to have heard.
The terraces10 Jan 2028
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 5 of the 25 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
4 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Irkutsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Konev 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 Irkutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Danila Molodnyakov and Irkutsk agree another 4 years.
At 22 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.
“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.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Danila Molodnyakov 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.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Evgeniy Alymov.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Molemo Seemela did not need any: 7.76, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
2‑3 to Dinamo Vologda, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Konev 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 Irkutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 Irkutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
The terraces13 Dec 2027
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 8 of the 25 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Molemo Seemela did not need any: 8.01, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Irkutsk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Irkutsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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 is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Molemo Seemela 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.
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Konev 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.
Nikita Baranov 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.
At 23 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: Tiago Sousa. 1‑0 against Baltika 2, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“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 ratings22 Nov 2027
Molemo Seemela, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.29
A mark of 8.29 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irkutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 22 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.
A performance of 8.32 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Danila Molodnyakov 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 goal that put Yenisey 2 ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Irkutsk equalised, 4 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
“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 Irkutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Molemo Seemela did not need any: 8.01, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Irkutsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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 is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Molemo Seemela 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irkutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Konev 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.
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.
At 23 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.
Marked 8.52 — 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.
Ivan Zybchenko 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Irkutsk can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Irkutsk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Yegor Belyaev 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Arseny Lavrentjev 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.
“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 Irkutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
The terraces27 Sep 2027
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 8 of the 25 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Konev 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.
Ivan Zybchenko 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 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Irkutsk can pretend not to have heard.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Molemo Seemela provided it, and the 8.62 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Irkutsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Yegor Belyaev 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Nikita Baranov 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 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Irkutsk told Evgeniy Alymov something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
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.
“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 Irkutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
At 23 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.
10 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.
5 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.
15 combined actions and 7.13. 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.
Amin Zhangurazov 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.
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Danila Molodnyakov 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 is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Irkutsk told Molemo Seemela something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“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 Irkutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Yegor Belyaev 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irkutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Irkutsk, another week without a signature from Amin Zhangurazov.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Amin Zhangurazov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Irkutsk can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Molemo Seemela, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.01
A mark of 8.01 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Molemo Seemela is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Irkutsk and Cherepovets in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Irkutsk know it.
In brief
SquadYegor Belyaev falls out with a teammate over standards
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Arseny Lavrentjev provided it, and the 8.99 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
7 goals in one match, Arseny Lavrentjev on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Irkutsk and Spartak Moscow 2.
Kirill Chernyavskiy 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.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yegor Belyaev 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Arseny Lavrentjev 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.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Tumelo Shai 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Igor Gromov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Evgeni Kuznetsov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Vladimir Chekhov has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Vlad Kolmakov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Molemo Seemela is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Nikita Baranov 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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Danila Molodnyakov 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.
3 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.
“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 Irkutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Dmitry Pytlev 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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Irkutsk know it.
The words a physio says slowly. 20 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Irkutsk can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Irkutsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Daniil Alexandrov 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. Irkutsk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Matteo Dashi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The words a physio says slowly. 27 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.
Molemo Seemela 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Tumelo Shai 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Irkutsk can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Artem Dudarev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Irkutsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Dmitry Pytlev 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Tumelo Shai 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Irkutsk, another week without a signature from Arseny Lavrentjev.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Irkutsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“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 Irkutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Irkutsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vladimir Tolmachev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Artem Dudarev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Irkutsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Tumelo Shai 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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Irkutsk know it.
“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 Irkutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irkutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Irkutsk told Ruslan Aderikhin something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Tumelo Shai signs something — a contract at Irkutsk or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Arseny Lavrentjev provided it, and the 8.08 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Arseny Lavrentjev. 2‑1 against Kolomna, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Tumelo Shai 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Danila Molodnyakov 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.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Gennady Shulga is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Arseny Lavrentjev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Irkutsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“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 Irkutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tumelo Shai 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.
Yegor Perevoznikov 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.
At 22 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Irkutsk, another week without a signature from Arseny Lavrentjev.
In brief
SquadGetting past Kirill Chernyavskiy has become the hardest job in the division
Position 15 and 17 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
0‑3 to Zenit 2, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
“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 Irkutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Tumelo Shai 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.
Artem Maifet 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irkutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Danila Molodnyakov.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Irkutsk can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Molemo Seemela, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.94
A mark of 7.94 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Dmitry Pytlev 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Tiago Sousa and Irkutsk agree another 3 years.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Tumelo Shai 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Kirill Chernyavskiy 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.
“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; Irkutsk are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“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 Irkutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Arseny Lavrentjev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Irkutsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Position 15, 13 points, and a crowd that arrives already braced. Relegation seasons are lost in exactly this atmosphere, and everybody who has lived through one recognises it immediately.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Tumelo Shai, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.95
A mark of 7.95 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Arseny Lavrentjev has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 17 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irkutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Molemo Seemela did not need any: 8.56, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Irkutsk may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tumelo Shai 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 20 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. Molemo Seemela had Irkutsk level again within 3 minutes, and Dinamo Vologda never got to play with a lead at all.
It needed Molemo Seemela to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Dinamo Vologda, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
“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 Irkutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Tumelo Shai did not need any: 8.03, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Molemo Seemela 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Tumelo Shai 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.
Position 15, 11 points, and a crowd that arrives already braced. Relegation seasons are lost in exactly this atmosphere, and everybody who has lived through one recognises it immediately.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Tumelo Shai, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.35
A mark of 8.35 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Irkutsk can pretend not to have heard.
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Tumelo Shai did not need any: 7.91, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Irkutsk has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Tumelo Shai 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.
Artem Maifet 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.
“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 ratings23 Nov 2026
Tumelo Shai, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.85
A mark of 7.85 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
4 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irkutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tumelo Shai 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.
Dmitry Pytlev 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tumelo Shai, and the manager let it.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Danila Molodnyakov 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Dmitry Ikovanyuk trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“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 Irkutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irkutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Irkutsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tumelo Shai 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 keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Irkutsk, another week without a signature from Fedor Motovilov.
“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 Irkutsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Molemo Seemela, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 8.17
A mark of 8.17 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irkutsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Gennady Shulga did not need any: 7.99, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Irkutsk may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Tumelo Shai 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Gennady Shulga 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.
Artem Maifet 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.