The Akron Chronicle
Match2 Jan 2027
The wait goes on for Akron
4 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Roberto Fernández 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 Akron this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Akron
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yomar Rocha was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match2 Jan 2027
Rubin take the points off Akron
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Ivan Zlobin
“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.
Market4 Jan 2027
One of our own: Vitaliy Spiridonov joins the Akron first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Vitaliy Spiridonov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market4 Jan 2027
One of our own: Luka Isakov joins the Akron first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Luka Isakov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market4 Jan 2027
Yegor Ibragimov steps up from the Akron academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Yegor Ibragimov 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.
Market4 Jan 2027
One of our own: Dmitry Sidorov joins the Akron first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Dmitry Sidorov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
In brief
- Player ratings Roberto Fernández runs at them all day
- The dugout Vasily Kudryavtsev answers for it
- The dugout The form table has caught Vitaly Gudiev