Marked for Dmitry Isayev
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom28 May 2029
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Spartak Nalchik is running low.
Market28 May 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Spartak Nalchik can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout28 May 2029
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Squad28 May 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yegor Tushev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad28 May 2029
Iljas Gaibov 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 dugout28 May 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dmitry Isayev, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom30 Apr 2029
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Spartak Nalchik is running low.
Market30 Apr 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Spartak Nalchik can pretend not to have heard.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Alan Khachirov 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 dugout30 Apr 2029
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Squad30 Apr 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yegor Tushev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market30 Apr 2029
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Spartak Nalchik know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout16 Apr 2029
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Squad16 Apr 2029
Alan Khachirov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Words at Spartak Nalchik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yegor Tushev 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.
Market16 Apr 2029
The clock does Yegor Tushev’s negotiating for him
2 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Spartak Nalchik could ask drops and the wages Yegor Tushev can ask rise.
Market16 Apr 2029
The Islam Tlupov talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Spartak Nalchik know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout16 Apr 2029
Dmitri Yefremov 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
Boardroom2 Apr 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Spartak Nalchik
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market2 Apr 2029
Dmitry Isayev 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 Spartak Nalchik can pretend not to have heard.
Squad2 Apr 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Soslan Lysenko and Spartak Nalchik agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout2 Apr 2029
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Squad2 Apr 2029
Iljas Gaibov 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.
Market2 Apr 2029
Fyodor Gavrilov is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Spartak Nalchik has been clear about where Fyodor Gavrilov stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout19 Mar 2029
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Squad19 Mar 2029
Alan Khachirov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Yegor Tushev 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 dugout19 Mar 2029
“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.
Market19 Mar 2029
3 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Spartak Nalchik money.
Market19 Mar 2029
The Islam Tlupov talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Spartak Nalchik know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Mar 2029
“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.
Boardroom5 Mar 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Spartak Nalchik
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad5 Mar 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Alan Khachirov and Spartak Nalchik agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad5 Mar 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Nalchik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout5 Mar 2029
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Transfer targets5 Mar 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Fakel have kept their man, and Spartak Nalchik go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yegor Tushev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom5 Mar 2029
Wages swallow 85% of the Spartak Nalchik income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
Market5 Mar 2029
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Spartak Nalchik know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Feb 2029
“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 Spartak Nalchik, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom26 Feb 2029
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 1 arrived, 4 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Market26 Feb 2029
The offer from Znamya Truda for Rodion Savrasov was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Transfer targets26 Feb 2029
Everything agreed with Akhmat Grozny, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad26 Feb 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Nalchik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets26 Feb 2029
Spartak Nalchik 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.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yegor Tushev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market26 Feb 2029
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Spartak Nalchik know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout26 Feb 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Dmitri Yefremov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Feb 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Spartak Nalchik can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
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Transfer targets19 Feb 2029
The deal with Zenit 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 targets19 Feb 2029
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Zenit is saying, and nobody at Spartak Nalchik is enjoying the guessing.
Transfer targets19 Feb 2029
Spartak Nalchik asked and Fakel said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Iljas Gaibov 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 Spartak Nalchik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
“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.
Transfer targets19 Feb 2029
A loan enquiry to Dinamo Bryansk: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Market19 Feb 2029
The Islam Tlupov talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Spartak Nalchik know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Feb 2029
“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.
Boardroom5 Feb 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Spartak Nalchik
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Boardroom5 Feb 2029
An order from above at Spartak Nalchik: somebody has to go
Balance sheets do not care about form or about who the manager was planning to build around. The board have decided a sale is required, and the only question left is which name ends up carrying it.
Transfer targets5 Feb 2029
The deal with Mashuk 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.
Squad5 Feb 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Nalchik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout5 Feb 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Transfer targets5 Feb 2029
Spartak Nalchik asked and Ural said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad5 Feb 2029
Words at Spartak Nalchik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yegor Tushev 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.
Market5 Feb 2029
A stepping stone, not a home, for Iljas Gaibov
He is doing his job and he is not settling. Spartak Nalchik were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market29 Jan 2029
Dmitry Isayev 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 Spartak Nalchik can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout29 Jan 2029
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Transfer targets29 Jan 2029
The deal with Ufa 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.
Squad29 Jan 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Nalchik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Soslan Lysenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market29 Jan 2029
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Savely Rusakov has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Spartak Nalchik.
The dugout29 Jan 2029
Khusey Karkaev 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 Khusey Karkaev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout29 Jan 2029
Something was said to Viktor Belyaev and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings1 Jan 2029
No sign of nerves from Savely Rusakov at 16 — 7.93
The hardest thing about being 16 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Savely Rusakov did not need any: 7.93, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Market1 Jan 2029
“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 Spartak Nalchik, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout1 Jan 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad1 Jan 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Nalchik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Words at Spartak Nalchik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Soslan Lysenko 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 terraces1 Jan 2029
He is 16 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.
Match30 Dec 2028
It finished 1‑0, and it was Savely Rusakov’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Spartak Nalchik.
The dugout1 Jan 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Adam Cherkesov, and the manager let it.
The dugout1 Jan 2029
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Nikita Popov kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market30 Oct 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.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
At 34 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 7.95, and nobody on the pitch better.
The dugout30 Oct 2028
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Player ratings30 Oct 2028
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Yegor Tushev 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.
Match28 Oct 2028
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout30 Oct 2028
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout30 Oct 2028
Amur Khatsukov 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.
The dugout30 Oct 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 Adam Cherkesov is on it.