The Rotor Gazette
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
Ilja Safronov beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 26. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Transfer targets14 Feb 2028
Sergey Petrov turns down Rotor
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Krasnodar keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Transfer targets14 Feb 2028
Lisandro Morrone due for a Rotor medical
Everything agreed with Temperley, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Nikita Chagrov 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 Rotor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Feb 2028
A row about effort at Rotor
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilja Safronov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
No hiding place for Ilja Safronov
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ilja Safronov, and the manager let it.
Market14 Feb 2028
Makar Karimov steps up from the Rotor academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Makar Karimov 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.
Market14 Feb 2028
Rotor promote Aleksei Rybakov from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Aleksei Rybakov has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market14 Feb 2028
Grigory Lukyanov steps up from the Rotor academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Grigory Lukyanov 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.
In brief
- Market Rotor promote Stanislav Kalinovsky from within
- Match Rotor share the spoils with Volga
- The dugout Radomir Ushakov on the point