Leonid Polunin

Left Back - Angusht
1 Jan 2030
Tuesday
Process

Marked for Leonid Polunin

178 Edition

The Angusht Post

24 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Angusht's wait for a win

20 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Angusht has to find a result from somewhere.

The terraces

The mood at Angusht has turned into something else

Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at Angusht

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Angusht is running low.

Match

Every point is an argument now for Angusht

Position 13 and 9 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.

Player ratings

Yaroslav Popov, 16, steals the show — 7.89

Marked 7.89 at 16, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.

The dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Squad

Maxim Shabaidakov 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 Angusht this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Yaroslav Popov’s goal not enough for Angusht

Yaroslav Popov scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to Astrakhan, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Match

No clean sheets in sight for Angusht

4 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.

In brief

Back issues
174 Edition

The Angusht Post

26 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

16 matches without a win for Angusht

The run now stands at 16, and the questions being asked around Angusht are no longer polite ones.

The terraces

Anger at Angusht 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.

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Angusht

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Match

Every point is an argument now for Angusht

Position 13 and 9 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.

Squad

Andrey Sorokin keeps Angusht in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

The dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Squad

Rustam Vazitdinov 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 Angusht this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Dmitry Tashov 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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Angusht against Spartak Nalchik

0‑1 to Spartak Nalchik, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

In brief

  • Boardroom No signings allowed at Angusht
  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
  • The dugout Vadim Obukhov gets it from the manager
171 Edition

The Angusht Post

5 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

13 matches without a win for Angusht

The run now stands at 13, and the questions being asked around Angusht are no longer polite ones.

Boardroom

Angusht put Evgeny Ershov on notice

The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.

Market

Dmitry Tashov has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Angusht they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Market

Andrey Sazonov asks to leave Angusht

“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.

Boardroom

The owner puts $46.4K into Angusht

This is money that keeps the lights on rather than money that buys a centre-half, and the difference is the whole story. A club funded by its owner rather than by its football has exactly one conversation left ahead of it.

Squad

Words at Angusht training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dmitry Tashov 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.

Match

Angusht come up short against Dinamo Makhachkala 2

Dinamo Makhachkala 2 left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Market

Leonid Polunin is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Angusht has been clear about where Leonid Polunin stands, which is more than many ever get.

Market

Talks stall between Angusht and Rustam Vazitdinov

“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.

In brief

170 Edition

The Angusht Post

29 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

The terraces

Anger at Angusht 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.

Match

No end in sight to Angusht's wait for a win

12 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Angusht has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Andrey Sorokin keeps Angusht in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Match

Angusht are in real trouble now

Position 12, 8 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Angusht

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

The dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Squad

Rustam Vazitdinov 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 Angusht this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Angusht

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dmitry Tashov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Boardroom

No signings allowed at Angusht

The manager may talk to whoever he likes and may pay nobody. A squad survives a window like this by borrowing, by promoting, and by hoping the injuries land somewhere else.

In brief

164 Edition

The Angusht Post

17 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Angusht taken apart

0‑5 to Legion, 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.

Market

Dmitry Tashov asks to leave Angusht

“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.

Match

7 matches without a win for Angusht

The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Angusht are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Andrey Sorokin stands alone

6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Squad

Dmitry Tashov 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.

Squad

Vitaly Khabarov makes it 100

100 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.

The dugout

Leonid Polunin 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.

Boardroom

Doors closed at Angusht

The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑5 defeat, delivered by Evgeny Ershov to a room that had heard them before.

In brief

163 Edition

The Angusht Post

10 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Only the photograph left for Dmitry Tashov

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Dmitry Tashov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Angusht the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Market

Andrey Sazonov asks to leave Angusht

“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.

Match

6 matches without a win for Angusht

The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Angusht are no longer polite ones.

Boardroom

Angusht close the window on a squad of their own making

9 in and 11 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.

Squad

A falling-out at Angusht

Rustam Vazitdinov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Angusht come up short against Rubin Yalta

Rubin Yalta left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

No hiding place for Vitaly Khabarov

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vitaly Khabarov, and the manager let it.

Market

Angusht and Rustam Vazitdinov are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

The dugout

Evgeny Ershov: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

In brief

153 Edition

The Angusht Post

2 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Angusht put Rodion Plotnikov on notice

The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.

Boardroom

The Angusht board call everybody in

Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.

Market

Artem Gavrilenko puts it in writing

“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 Angusht, and it is not being withdrawn.

The dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Squad

Tempers go at Angusht

Rustam Vazitdinov 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.

Boardroom

The owner puts $30.8K into Angusht

This is money that keeps the lights on rather than money that buys a centre-half, and the difference is the whole story. A club funded by its owner rather than by its football has exactly one conversation left ahead of it.

Squad

Murad Amirbekov signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Murad Amirbekov and Angusht agree another 3 years.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Arseny Kalugin

Angusht asked and Dinamo Bryansk said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad

Maxim Shabaidakov 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.

In brief

149 Edition

The Angusht Post

4 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Savely Kolesnikov damages knee ligaments — 26 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 26 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.

Boardroom

Rodion Plotnikov has until the next board meeting

What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Angusht can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.

Boardroom

Emergency meeting at Angusht

The whole football department in one room on a weekday morning. Nothing was announced afterwards, which is what a board announces when it has run out of patience.

The dugout

Dmitry Safonov says Angusht went back on their word

“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.

The dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Boardroom

$22.9K from the owner keeps Angusht afloat

The gap in the accounts was filled from upstairs again. Supporters are entitled to be grateful and to ask what happens the month it is not, and both feelings arrive together.

Squad

Maxim Shabaidakov 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.

Boardroom

The borrowing at Angusht reaches $3.7M

Past the limit the bank set, which is the line between a club being financed and a club being in trouble. $3.7M is now the number every conversation about this club will start with.

Squad

Tempers go at Angusht

Dmitry Safonov 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

145 Edition

The Angusht Post

7 May 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Savely Kolesnikov damages knee ligaments — 54 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 54 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.

Boardroom

Angusht spell it out for Rodion Plotnikov

The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Rodion Plotnikov has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.

Boardroom

The Angusht board call everybody in

Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.

The dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Squad

Maxim Shabaidakov 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 Angusht this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Boardroom

The owner puts $15.4K into Angusht

This is money that keeps the lights on rather than money that buys a centre-half, and the difference is the whole story. A club funded by its owner rather than by its football has exactly one conversation left ahead of it.

Boardroom

Angusht are $3.6M in the red

The borrowing is past what the bank agreed, which is the line where a debt stops being how football is financed and starts being a problem. Every phone-in in this town will quote the figure for the next five years.

Market

Angusht and Rustam Vazitdinov are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

The dugout

Rustam Vazitdinov knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Angusht, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

141 Edition

The Angusht Post

9 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

The knee: Andrey Sazonov out for 31 days

31 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Angusht lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Market

Petr Salasin asks to leave Angusht

“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 dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Squad

Rustam Vazitdinov 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 Angusht this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Maxim Shabaidakov 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Dmitry Tashov

“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.

Boardroom

The borrowing at Angusht reaches $3.6M

Past the limit the bank set, which is the line between a club being financed and a club being in trouble. $3.6M is now the number every conversation about this club will start with.

Market

Angusht and Dmitry Tashov are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

Market

Rustam Vazitdinov linked with a move away

The name of Rustam Vazitdinov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Angusht say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

139 Edition

The Angusht Post

26 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Savely Kolesnikov

97 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Angusht lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

The dugout

Danil Kapustyanskiy keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Angusht may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Words exchanged at Angusht

Rustam Vazitdinov 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 dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Market

Still no ink between Angusht and Vitaly Khabarov

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Angusht, another week without a signature from Vitaly Khabarov.

The dugout

Vitaly Khabarov knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vitaly Khabarov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Vladimir Solovyov

“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.

Market

The Danil Kapustyanskiy talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Angusht know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Market

The shop window has Petr Salasin in it

Angusht have let the market know Petr Salasin can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.

In brief

137 Edition

The Angusht Post

12 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Savely Kolesnikov damages knee ligaments — 111 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 111 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.

The dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Squad

Rustam Vazitdinov 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 Angusht this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Maxim Shabaidakov 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.

Market

Still no ink between Angusht and Andrey Sorokin

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Angusht, another week without a signature from Andrey Sorokin.

The dugout

Rustam Vazitdinov knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Rustam Vazitdinov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

133 Edition

The Angusht Post

12 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Transfer targets

Alexandr Shashkov is a medical away from Angusht

The deal with Volna 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.

The dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Squad

Rustam Vazitdinov 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 Angusht this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Sergey Mokrousov

Angusht asked and Irtysh said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad

Dmitry Tashov 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.

Market

Angusht and Andrey Sorokin are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

The dugout

Angusht keep their word to Sergey Kopylov

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.

The dugout

No hiding place for Petr Salasin

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Petr Salasin, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Dmitry Tashov 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.

In brief

129 Edition

The Angusht Post

15 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Kirill Matsak asks to leave Angusht

“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 dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Squad

A row about effort at Angusht

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maxim Shabaidakov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Tempers go at Angusht

Artemy Ositsin 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Petr Salasin

“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.

Boardroom

Nobody arrives at Angusht until somebody leaves

The club is not barred from spending; it simply has nothing to spend that it has not first raised. Every name linked with Angusht this window arrives with a name leaving in the same sentence.

The dugout

Andrey Sorokin 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.

Market

Rustam Vazitdinov linked with a move away

The name of Rustam Vazitdinov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Angusht say nothing, which says plenty.

Market

Angusht and Petr Salasin are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

In brief

128 Edition

The Angusht Post

8 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

10 matches without a win for Angusht

The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Angusht are no longer polite ones.

Match

A hiding for Angusht

Beaten 1‑5 by Pobeda, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.

Boardroom

Angusht put Rodion Plotnikov on notice

The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.

Match

Angusht finish in position 13

12 points, and the season has a number on it. Whatever it felt like from the inside, this is what it will look like in a book.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Andrey Sorokin

There were 8 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.

Market

Artemy Ositsin asks to leave Angusht

“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 ratings

Maxim Shabaidakov, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.69

A mark of 7.69 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.

The dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Squad

A falling-out at Angusht

Rustam Vazitdinov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

In brief

127 Edition

The Angusht Post

1 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Angusht's wait for a win

9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Angusht has to find a result from somewhere.

Market

Abdullah Dorsigov puts it in writing

“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 Angusht, and it is not being withdrawn.

The dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Squad

Words exchanged at Angusht

Rustam Vazitdinov 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.

Squad

Leonid Polunin stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Leonid Polunin and Angusht agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

A row about effort at Angusht

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dmitry Tashov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Dinamo Stavropol take the points off Angusht

Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

The dugout

Maxim Shabaidakov 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 dugout

Rodion Plotnikov answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

In brief

125 Edition

The Angusht Post

18 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Angusht's wait for a win

7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Angusht has to find a result from somewhere.

Market

Artem Gavrilenko asks to leave Angusht

“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 dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Squad

Rustam Vazitdinov 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 Angusht this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Angusht training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dmitry Tashov 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Leonid Polunin

“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.

Market

Angusht and Dmitry Tashov are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

Squad

Vitaliy Bondarenko stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Vitaliy Bondarenko and Angusht agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Boardroom

Nobody arrives at Angusht until somebody leaves

The club is not barred from spending; it simply has nothing to spend that it has not first raised. Every name linked with Angusht this window arrives with a name leaving in the same sentence.

In brief

123 Edition

The Angusht Post

4 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Angusht put Rodion Plotnikov on notice

The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Maxim Shabaidakov at 21 — 7.88

The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Maxim Shabaidakov did not need any: 7.88, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Match

No end in sight to Angusht's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Angusht has to find a result from somewhere.

The dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Squad

Words exchanged at Angusht

Rustam Vazitdinov 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.

Match

Angusht come up short against Kuban Holding

Kuban Holding left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Words at Angusht training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vitaly Khabarov 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.

Market

Leonid Polunin is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Angusht has been clear about where Leonid Polunin stands, which is more than many ever get.

Market

Still no ink between Angusht and Rustam Vazitdinov

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Angusht, another week without a signature from Rustam Vazitdinov.

In brief

  • The dugout The view from the dugout
  • The dugout Inal Dudaev gets it from the manager
  • The dugout Rustam Vazitdinov without the man who signed him