Marked for Aslan Dashaev
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nart this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Nart training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aslan Dashaev 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 terraces8 Feb 2027
The stands have heard the Alil Magomedov talk too
What was a back-page story is now a matter for the terraces, and the terraces do not do nuance. Nart would like it dealt with before it becomes the only question anybody asks.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A new face in his position, and Khyzyr Appaev suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Nart have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Market8 Feb 2027
A season-long look at somebody else’s player: Maxim Vafiev arrives from Torpedo Vladimir with something to prove and a return ticket in the drawer. Good loans make everybody richer; this one starts Saturday.
Market8 Feb 2027
A season-long look at somebody else’s player: Artem Yermakov arrives from Dinamo Bryansk with something to prove and a return ticket in the drawer. Good loans make everybody richer; this one starts Saturday.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Nart
Alexandr Olenev 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Aslan Dashaev 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.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
The numbers do not look good at Nart
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Nart
Alexandr Olenev 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Aslan Dashaev 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Nart told Alexandr Olenev something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 40. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market11 Jan 2027
“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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nart this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Nart
Alexandr Olenev 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.
Match2 Jan 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Dmitry Pereverzev. 1‑0 against Pobeda, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad4 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Aslan Dashaev
“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.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Marked 7.75 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Nart had the best player on the pitch.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Nart training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tiago Duarte 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad28 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nart this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Nart training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aslan Dashaev 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.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
372% of the income goes out in wages at Nart
Every club in football 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 somebody has tried it.
The terraces28 Dec 2026
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match26 Dec 2026
Three points for Nart, 1‑0 the final word against Angusht in a contest settled by the finer margins.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market21 Dec 2026
“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 Nart, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match19 Dec 2026
The goals have deserted Nart
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Nart can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Aslan Dashaev 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nart this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match19 Dec 2026
Dinamo Stavropol left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 40. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market7 Dec 2026
“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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Nart
Alexandr Olenev 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Aslan Dashaev 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Nart are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 44. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad30 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nart this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Nart training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aslan Dashaev 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.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages eat 347% of everything Nart earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Match28 Nov 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Alexandr Olenev. 1‑0 against Kuban Holding, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Aslan Dashaev, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 49. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad16 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nart this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Nart training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aslan Dashaev 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 30. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market9 Nov 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nart can pretend not to have heard.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Nart
Alexandr Olenev 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Aslan Dashaev 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.
Match7 Nov 2026
A bad afternoon for Nart against Druzhba
0‑2 to Druzhba, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad9 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Alil Magomedov
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match24 Oct 2026
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Nart scored in the 92th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 29. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Nart
Alexandr Olenev 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Aslan Dashaev 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 terraces26 Oct 2026
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Marked 7.38 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Nart had the best player on the pitch.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Rustam Isaev 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Oct 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 18 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad19 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nart this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 Sep 2026
A fracture rules Alexandr Olenev out for 40 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Nart will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 34. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market28 Sep 2026
“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.
Match26 Sep 2026
The wait goes on for Nart
6 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.
Match26 Sep 2026
The goals have deserted Nart
6 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Nart can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Nart
Alexandr Olenev 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Aslan Dashaev 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.
Match26 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad28 Sep 2026
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Sep 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 55 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 34. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match12 Sep 2026
4 matches without a win for Nart
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Nart are no longer polite ones.
Match12 Sep 2026
4 matches without a goal for Nart
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Nart
Ratmir Mashezov 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Aslan Dashaev 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“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.
Match12 Sep 2026
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Astrakhan defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Market14 Sep 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alexandr Olenev signs something — a contract at Nart or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 49. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 62 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad7 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nart this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match5 Sep 2026
3 matches without a goal for Nart
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Nart training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aslan Dashaev 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 Aug 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 69 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 37. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nart can pretend not to have heard.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Nart
Alexandr Olenev 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Nart training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ratmir Mashezov 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Aug 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 76 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match19 Aug 2026
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Georgy Karginov obliged against Kaluga. 2‑1 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Nart.
Match19 Aug 2026
Nart win it in stoppage time
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 113th minute. Kaluga will replay every second of the added time for a week.
Market24 Aug 2026
“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 Nart, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A defender's goal wins it for Nart — 7.58
1 for Georgy Karginov, marked 7.58, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Squad24 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nart this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alexander Nathan and Nart agree another 3 years.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Nart training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aslan Dashaev 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 39. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 83 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Nart
Alexandr Olenev 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Alexander Nathan commits to Nart for another 3 years.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Aslan Dashaev 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.
Match15 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 40. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Khyzyr Appaev and Nart agree another 1 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nart this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Nart training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aslan Dashaev 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.
Match1 Aug 2026
Rostov 2 left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Anar Panaev 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.