Marked for Dzmitry Martynovich
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Feb 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Isloch will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Transfer targets14 Feb 2028
The deal with Dinamo Minsk is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad14 Feb 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Isloch this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market14 Feb 2028
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Isloch have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Words at Isloch training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrey Makarenko 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 dugout14 Feb 2028
The manager makes an example of Ivan Khovalko
“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 dugout14 Feb 2028
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Maxim Kovalevich is on it.
Squad14 Feb 2028
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Isloch, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Feb 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Isloch will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match7 Feb 2028
Isloch sink to position 13
22 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market7 Feb 2028
“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.
Squad7 Feb 2028
A falling-out at Isloch
Ilja Skrobotov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Nikita Patsko 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 dugout7 Feb 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Andrey Makarenko, and the manager let it.
Transfer targets7 Feb 2028
BATE 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.
The dugout7 Feb 2028
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.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Isloch lose 1 sponsors
1 deals ran out and none was renewed. Commercial partners follow a club down the table at almost exactly the speed the table moves.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 Jan 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Isloch will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The terraces31 Jan 2028
Anger at Isloch spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Market31 Jan 2028
Sergey Volkov 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 Isloch can pretend not to have heard.
Market31 Jan 2028
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Isloch have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Boardroom31 Jan 2028
Pressure builds in the Isloch boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Words exchanged at Isloch
Ilja Skrobotov 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.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Nikita Patsko 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.
Squad31 Jan 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Maxim Shamrin and Isloch agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market31 Jan 2028
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Isloch, another week without a signature from Andrey Makarenko.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 Jan 2028
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Isloch will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Tempers go at Isloch
Ilja Skrobotov 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.
Squad24 Jan 2028
A row about effort at Isloch
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Svirepa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad24 Jan 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Artem Davidovich commits to Isloch for another 4 years.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
Maxim Kovalevich 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
Squad17 Jan 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Isloch will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Tempers go at Isloch
Maxim Kiselev 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.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Words at Isloch training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Svirepa 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Jan 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Isloch will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match10 Jan 2028
Isloch sink to position 13
22 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad10 Jan 2028
A falling-out at Isloch
Ilja Skrobotov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 Jan 2028
A row about effort at Isloch
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikita Patsko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad10 Jan 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Vladislav Drozd commits to Isloch for another 3 years.
The dugout10 Jan 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Pavel Shevchenko, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 May 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Isloch can pretend not to have heard.
Match3 May 2027
Isloch sink to position 13
4 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Match1 May 2027
5 matches without a win for Isloch
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Isloch are no longer polite ones.
Squad3 May 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 Isloch this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Isloch training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dzmitry Martynovich 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 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.
Squad3 May 2027
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout3 May 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.” Andrei Hleb chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match31 Mar 2027
Cup progress for Isloch
A 2‑1 win over Bumprom Gomel, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Market5 Apr 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Isloch can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
Aliaksandr Nekhaichik, 15, plays like he has been here for years — 7.67
A mark of 7.67 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 15-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad5 Apr 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 Isloch this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces5 Apr 2027
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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Isloch
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikita Patsko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Ilja Skrobotov slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Ilja Skrobotov is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
Andrei Hleb: “We have to be better”
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market8 Feb 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market8 Feb 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Isloch have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
The deal with Cukaricki is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Dinamo Moscow is saying, and nobody at Isloch is enjoying the guessing.
Market8 Feb 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Hleb Stasevich 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Isloch
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikita Patsko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Isloch
Mohammed Dayyabu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
A loan move for Dmitry Vasiljev is in the works
Isloch have made the call to Orenburg. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Isloch may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market30 Nov 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Maxim Kovalevich will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Isloch the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Isloch
Evgeniy Yudchits 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Isloch
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikita Patsko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 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.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Sergey Volkov 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
Steady
Market2 Nov 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Maxim Kovalevich will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Isloch the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Dzmitry Martynovich and Isloch agree another 3 years.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Isloch
Dzmitry Martynovich 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Andrey Makarenko 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Ivan Yerokhin 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.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Ivan Shakirov has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Isloch 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.
Market2 Nov 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Isloch, another week without a signature from Maxim Kovalevich.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Market2 Nov 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ilja Skrobotov signs something — a contract at Isloch or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Isloch
Evgeniy Yudchits 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 Oct 2026
Nikita Patsko 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Sergi Abramishvili and Isloch agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout5 Oct 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.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Dzmitry Martynovich trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad5 Oct 2026
At 20 he was the best of everybody his age in the division for one weekend. Nobody should build a career on it and everybody quietly does.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Sep 2026
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Lokomotiv Gomel waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Isloch is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Market7 Sep 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Isloch can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Isloch
Dzmitry Martynovich 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 targets7 Sep 2026
Isloch asked and Dinamo Bucharest 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
A row about effort at Isloch
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikita Patsko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ilja Skrobotov and Isloch agree another 3 years.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Isloch have made the call to Qarabag. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Isloch have made the call to Zlin. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 Aug 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market10 Aug 2026
Belshina come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Isloch did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market10 Aug 2026
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Isloch people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
The deal with Pandurii is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Korona keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad10 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Isloch this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Maksim Martynovich is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Dzmitry Martynovich is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Match8 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.