The Avangard Courier
Market14 Sep 2026
Yegor Skorobogatko turns Kolomna down
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 14 signed and 1 gone
That is the business done at Avangard until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Market14 Sep 2026
One of our own: Nazar Suslov joins the Avangard first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Nazar Suslov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market14 Sep 2026
Rostislav Artemov steps up from the Avangard academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Rostislav Artemov 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.
Match12 Sep 2026
Kaluga take the points off Avangard
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Alexey Sukharev
“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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Avangard
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and August Bryld was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Looking ahead14 Sep 2026
Avangard face Irtysh in the game that matters most
Two sides from the bottom of the table, three points, and an afternoon that will be described afterwards as a relegation decider by whoever loses it.
Match14 Sep 2026
Avangard at the halfway mark
Half the programme played, position 6, 6 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
In brief
- The dugout Stepan Kurlov: “No excuses”
- Player ratings Nobody could get near Maxim Slobodchikov
- The dugout Dmitry Zakharov asks for a word with the manager