Marked for Pavel Ushakov
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Nov 2027
Pavel Ushakov has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo Vladimir they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Stanislav Utkin 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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Nikita Kolganov 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.
Player ratings1 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Boardroom1 Nov 2027
100% of the income goes out in wages at Torpedo Vladimir
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.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
The manager makes an example of Roman Mikheev
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
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.” Gennady Chistov chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Torpedo Vladimir, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Match30 Oct 2027
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Dinamo Vologda came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market4 Oct 2027
“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 The request is on a desk at Torpedo Vladimir, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
Two goals and a mark of 8.48 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Market4 Oct 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo Vladimir is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words at Torpedo Vladimir training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Konstantin Popov 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 dugout4 Oct 2027
Maxim Vafiev gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
Marked 8.02 — 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.
Boardroom4 Oct 2027
104% of the income goes out in wages at Torpedo Vladimir
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.
Market4 Oct 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Match2 Oct 2027
A 2‑2 draw with Kosmos leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
In brief
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Squad
Stanislav Utkin makes the team of the month
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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The dugout
Makar Pestov gets picked when it counts
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match11 Sep 2027
3‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Market13 Sep 2027
“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 Torpedo Vladimir, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.19, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market13 Sep 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Neftyanik waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Torpedo Vladimir is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Match11 Sep 2027
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Torpedo Vladimir have 5 straight wins of it.
Boardroom13 Sep 2027
Deadline passes with 5 signed and 1 gone
That is the business done at Torpedo Vladimir until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Stanislav Utkin 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.
Transfer targets13 Sep 2027
Torpedo Vladimir asked and Murom said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Konstantin Popov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market23 Aug 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Torpedo Vladimir have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
A brace, and Alexandr Komissarov takes the afternoon — 8.58
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Alexandr Komissarov provided it, and the 8.58 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
No sign of nerves from Pavel Ushakov at 18 — 7.87
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Pavel Ushakov did not need any: 7.87, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Market23 Aug 2027
“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.
Match21 Aug 2027
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.
Market23 Aug 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vladislav Kostryukov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo Vladimir the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom23 Aug 2027
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Konstantin Popov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market16 Aug 2027
Ilja Zharov hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo Vladimir can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.66, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market16 Aug 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and PSK Pervorechenskoe waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Torpedo Vladimir is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Torpedo Vladimir have done the hard part with Dinamo Bryansk, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Konstantin Popov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
“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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Pavel Ushakov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market9 Aug 2027
Makar Pestov hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo Vladimir can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
Denis Arslanov: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Torpedo Vladimir have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market9 Aug 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo Vladimir is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
Involvement in 2 goals, from a player who spent the ninety minutes doing the thing a manager actually wants: being where the ball was going to end up. 7.80 beside his name.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Veles have kept their man, and Torpedo Vladimir go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Nikita Kolganov 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Daniil Kleiner and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces9 Aug 2027
He is 22 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.
Match7 Aug 2027
A 2‑0 win over Zenit 2, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market2 Aug 2027
“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.
Market2 Aug 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Torpedo Vladimir have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Ilja Zharov: 10 seasons and counting
184 appearances across 10 seasons in one shirt. Careers like that are not built on purpose any more, and Torpedo Vladimir know exactly what they have.
Squad2 Aug 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo Vladimir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Alania have kept their man, and Torpedo Vladimir go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Konstantin Popov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Maxim Vafiev
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match31 Jul 2027
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 91. Luki-Energiya had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Jul 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Torpedo Vladimir people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market12 Jul 2027
The offer from Neftyanik for Pavel Ushakov was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
$31.0K on the table at Akhmat Grozny. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
The offer went to Sochi this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Stanislav Utkin 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Torpedo Vladimir training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Konstantin Popov 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 dugout12 Jul 2027
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Torpedo Vladimir told Alexandr Vyaznikov something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Jun 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Torpedo Vladimir have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market28 Jun 2027
“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 Torpedo Vladimir, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at CSKA Moscow is saying, and nobody at Torpedo Vladimir is enjoying the guessing.
Squad28 Jun 2027
66 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
Torpedo Vladimir have gone to Sochi with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Boardroom28 Jun 2027
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Torpedo Vladimir now.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Zenit have kept their man, and Torpedo Vladimir go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words at Torpedo Vladimir training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikita Kolganov 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.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
Dinamo Vladivostok have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Jun 2027
Only the photograph left for Pavel Ushakov
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Pavel Ushakov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo Vladimir the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Tigran Armenakyan is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Ilja Zharov in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo Vladimir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Konstantin Popov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market14 Jun 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Danil Glinskiy has his answer from Torpedo Vladimir; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 May 2027
Pavel Ushakov has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo Vladimir they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad17 May 2027
Nikita Kolganov 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.
The dugout17 May 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match10 May 2027
48 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad10 May 2027
Konstantin Popov 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.
The dugout10 May 2027
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.
Squad10 May 2027
Pavel Ushakov 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.
Market10 May 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Vladislav Sirotov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout10 May 2027
Artem Gerasimov asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 May 2027
Konstantin Popov 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.
Squad3 May 2027
“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; Torpedo Vladimir are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad3 May 2027
Pavel Ushakov 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.
Boardroom3 May 2027
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Torpedo Vladimir now.
The dugout3 May 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout3 May 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Market3 May 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Ilja Zharov may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Market3 May 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Stanislav Utkin signs something — a contract at Torpedo Vladimir or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Loan watch3 May 2027
30 starts and an average of 6.60. He went there to play and he is playing, which is the only thing a loan was ever for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Apr 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo Vladimir is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Stanislav Utkin 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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Konstantin Popov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“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.
Boardroom19 Apr 2027
87% of the income goes out in wages at Torpedo Vladimir
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.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
Something was said to Artem Gerasimov and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout22 Mar 2027
Artem Gerasimov: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Torpedo Vladimir have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad22 Mar 2027
A muscle injury sidelines Vladislav Sirotov for 15 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Torpedo Vladimir will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Market22 Mar 2027
Only the photograph left for Pavel Ushakov
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Pavel Ushakov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo Vladimir the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Torpedo Vladimir training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Konstantin Popov 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.
Boardroom22 Mar 2027
96% of the income goes out in wages at Torpedo Vladimir
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.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match15 Mar 2027
Position 3, 48 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.
Transfer targets15 Mar 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Krylya Sovetov have kept their man, and Torpedo Vladimir go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Konstantin Popov 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.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
Vladislav Sirotov is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Pavel Ushakov 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market22 Feb 2027
“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.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
Danil Glinskiy: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Torpedo Vladimir have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Transfer targets22 Feb 2027
The clubs have shaken hands with SKA Khabarovsk; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Market22 Feb 2027
Pavel Ushakov has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo Vladimir they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Stanislav Utkin 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.
Transfer targets22 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sibir have kept their man, and Torpedo Vladimir go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Konstantin Popov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom22 Feb 2027
98% of the income goes out in wages at Torpedo Vladimir
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.
Market22 Feb 2027
Danil Sobolev is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Torpedo Vladimir has been clear about where Danil Sobolev stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match1 Feb 2027
47 points and nobody above them. The word is not being said around the ground yet, and it is being thought in every seat.
Market1 Feb 2027
“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 Torpedo Vladimir, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Torpedo Vladimir had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Ural, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ural have kept their man, and Torpedo Vladimir go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Nikita Kolganov 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.
Looking ahead1 Feb 2027
Spartak Moscow 2 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo Vladimir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market1 Feb 2027
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Torpedo Vladimir has been clear about where Vladislav Kostryukov stands, which is more than many ever get.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Torpedo Vladimir now.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.00 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Market25 Jan 2027
Only the photograph left for Pavel Ushakov
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Pavel Ushakov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo Vladimir the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
14 days with the chair empty, a list of names that grows and shrinks by the day, and not one signature on anything. Every week that passes takes the best candidates off it.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Konstantin Popov 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo Vladimir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match23 Jan 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Vladislav Sirotov. 2‑0 against Kosmos, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
111% of the income goes out in wages at Torpedo Vladimir
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.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Gennady Chistov could afford to be generous.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Boardroom18 Jan 2027
Compensation agreed, contract signed, and a manager gone who was never for sale. Torpedo Vladimir begin the search from behind, which is the only place a club in this position ever begins.
Boardroom18 Jan 2027
“Somebody picks the team on Saturday. This week it is me, and that is as far as I have thought.” No promises were made in either direction, which is how these usually begin.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
Denis Arslanov: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Torpedo Vladimir have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikita Kolganov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match16 Jan 2027
Yenisey 2 left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
Maxim Vafiev gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Gennady Chistov left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Pavel Ushakov 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 dugout18 Jan 2027
A fresh start for Vladislav Sirotov under the new man
Nothing resets a career like somebody arriving who did not pick the side last season. Vladislav Sirotov has taken the hint, and Torpedo Vladimir are getting a version of him the previous regime had stopped seeing.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match26 Dec 2026
4‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Match26 Dec 2026
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Torpedo Vladimir have 7 straight wins of it.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.97, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.81 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Market28 Dec 2026
Pavel Ushakov has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo Vladimir they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Stanislav Utkin 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Konstantin Popov 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.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Wages swallow 180% of the Torpedo Vladimir income
Every club 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 it has been tried.
Match26 Dec 2026
Another one collected away from home
3 on the bounce on the road for Torpedo Vladimir. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match12 Dec 2026
Chertanovo will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Torpedo Vladimir were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Squad14 Dec 2026
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Alexandr Komissarov did not need any: 9.20, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Match12 Dec 2026
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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
A one-man rearguard from Maxim Vafiev
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
The terraces14 Dec 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Alexandr Komissarov 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Pavel Ushakov 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 dugout14 Dec 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Dmitriy Tikhomirov kept it short after the 3‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match7 Dec 2026
31 points and nobody above them. The word is not being said around the ground yet, and it is being thought in every seat.
Match5 Dec 2026
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Torpedo Vladimir have 4 straight wins of it.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Torpedo Vladimir may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Konstantin Popov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match5 Dec 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Alexandr Korenblyum. 1‑0 against Zenit 2, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
A performance of 8.15 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match7 Dec 2026
31 points at the turn. The first half of a season is a promise; the second is a bill, and the town is about to find out which of the two this one was.
Squad7 Dec 2026
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Vladislav Kostryukov has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match28 Nov 2026
3 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.
Market30 Nov 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo Vladimir is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Nikita Kolganov 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Konstantin Popov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match28 Nov 2026
A 2‑1 win over Luki-Energiya, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages eat 189% of everything Torpedo Vladimir earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The terraces30 Nov 2026
He is 23 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.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Ninety minutes of Artem Dudarev at his very best
Marked 8.03. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Torpedo Vladimir.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market2 Nov 2026
Only the photograph left for Pavel Ushakov
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Pavel Ushakov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo Vladimir the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
189% of the income goes out in wages at Torpedo Vladimir
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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Alexandr Korenblyum 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.
Loan watch2 Nov 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Torpedo Vladimir, and 7 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Vladislav Sirotov is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Market2 Nov 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Torpedo Vladimir than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“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.
Looking ahead2 Nov 2026
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Alexandr Vyaznikov’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Torpedo Vladimir needing him to play as if none of it matters.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Oct 2026
Nikita Kolganov 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 34 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Torpedo Vladimir is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Alexandr Korenblyum 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.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Pavel Ushakov, and the manager let it.
Market12 Oct 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Maxim Vafiev’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“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 Torpedo Vladimir will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Market12 Oct 2026
2 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Torpedo Vladimir money.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Valery Arkhipenko trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Looking ahead12 Oct 2026
A side in position 8 visits next. The result will not make anybody’s season and it could quietly break the shape of one, which is why the manager has been watching the video since Sunday.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match5 Oct 2026
18 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.
Market5 Oct 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo Vladimir is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Stanislav Utkin 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Torpedo Vladimir training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Konstantin Popov 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.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages eat 254% of everything Torpedo Vladimir earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad5 Oct 2026
100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Torpedo Vladimir have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
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.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Danil Glinskiy
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
A brace, and Alimkhan Alimkhanov takes the afternoon — 8.58
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Alimkhan Alimkhanov provided it, and the 8.58 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market14 Sep 2026
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Chertanovo waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Torpedo Vladimir is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Alexandr Komissarov did not need any: 7.68, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 12 arrived, 5 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Orenburg have kept their man, and Torpedo Vladimir go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Torpedo Vladimir training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Konstantin Popov 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 terraces14 Sep 2026
He is 22 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 dugout14 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Nikita Kolganov
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Torpedo Vladimir asked and Dinamo Vladivostok said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Torpedo Vladimir training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Konstantin Popov 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Torpedo Vladimir have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Pavel Ushakov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A place in the month's best eleven for Vladislav Sirotov
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Vladislav Sirotov has come out of that comparison in the side, and Torpedo Vladimir have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
Market7 Sep 2026
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Torpedo Vladimir will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Market7 Sep 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Market7 Sep 2026
The Maxim Vafiev talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Torpedo Vladimir know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market7 Sep 2026
3 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Torpedo Vladimir could get for him.