“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Arsenal Tula 2 can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Arsenal Tula 2 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anton Polorotov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Alexey Markov 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Arsenal Tula 2 has been clear about where Richard Yeboah stands, which is more than many ever get.
Michele Cattaneo is 17, and Arsenal Tula 2 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Arsenal Tula 2 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.
Maxim Timchenko 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Arsenal Tula 2 has been clear about where Charlie Burton stands, which is more than many ever get.
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.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
“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 The request is on a desk at Arsenal Tula 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Arsenal Tula 2 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Danil Batyrshin is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sinan Ucar was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Arsenal Tula 2 told Danil Batyrshin something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Anton Polorotov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Arsenal Tula 2 is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“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 Arsenal Tula 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Successful dribbles: 21. 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.
Maxim Timchenko 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.
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.
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.
Three points for Arsenal Tula 2, 1‑0 the final word against Rodina M in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad23 Jul 2029
Words at Arsenal Tula 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sinan Ucar 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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Zvezda waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Arsenal Tula 2 is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Filippo Bellei 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 Arsenal Tula 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Words at Arsenal Tula 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yaroslav Demchenko 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Timur Kim signs something — a contract at Arsenal Tula 2 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Arsenal Tula 2 could ask drops and the wages Danil Batyrshin can ask rise.
In brief
The dugoutVasily Kostin asks for a word with the manager
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Arsenal Tula 2 can pretend not to have heard.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Arsenal Tula 2 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.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Alessandro Rossi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Arsenal Tula 2 the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Danil Batyrshin is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Anton Polorotov 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 demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Filippo Bellei is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Arsenal Tula 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yaroslav Demchenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Sinan Ucar 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 competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Anton Polorotov keeps the shirt for now, at Arsenal Tula 2's convenience rather than his own.
In brief
The dugoutIgor Gromov knocks on the manager's door