Marked for Dmitry Lesnikov
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Dec 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.
Match28 Dec 2026
Volgar up to position 3
28 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Volgar
Kirill Kolesnichenko 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 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Volgar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vyacheslav Krotov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Wages swallow 429% of the Volgar 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.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“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.
Market28 Dec 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Volgar know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Dmitry Koverov 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 dugout28 Dec 2026
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Vladislav Yampolskiy has written the date down.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Nov 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Volgar will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match30 Nov 2026
Volgar up to position 3
28 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Volgar
Vyacheslav Krotov 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Volgar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Morozov 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 swallow 473% of the Volgar 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.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexandr Pomalyuk, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad23 Nov 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Volgar will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad23 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Volgar
Vyacheslav Krotov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad23 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Volgar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kirill Kolesnichenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Loan watch23 Nov 2026
“I watch every Volgar game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Skonto runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad23 Nov 2026
One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Dmitry Lesnikov has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.
Market23 Nov 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Vyacheslav Krotov signs something — a contract at Volgar or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match14 Nov 2026
No mercy from Volgar
Veles will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Volgar were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
A brace, and Vladislav Morozov takes the afternoon — 8.84
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Vladislav Morozov provided it, and the 8.84 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match14 Nov 2026
8 unbeaten for Volgar
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Volgar did not have in the autumn.
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 Volgar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Volgar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Morozov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.94, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vitaliy Myronenko, and the manager let it.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Timur Yefimov, on a 4‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match7 Nov 2026
7 unbeaten for Volgar
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Volgar did not have in the autumn.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Volgar
Vyacheslav Krotov 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
Vladislav Morozov 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
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Oleg Dmitriev. 2‑1 against Dinamo Moscow 2, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Kirill Kolesnichenko was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.38. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.21 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Volgar pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Danil Anosov beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 15. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
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.” Timur Yefimov kept it short after the 2‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 45. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Volgar
Vyacheslav Krotov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Volgar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kirill Kolesnichenko 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.
Loan watch26 Oct 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Volgar, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Half-satisfied: Timur Yefimov on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vsevolod Yermakov, and the manager let it.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Bookings catch up with Ilja Zuev
One yellow too many, and a match watched from the stand. The most avoidable absence in football, and Volgar will feel it on Saturday.
Match24 Oct 2026
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Textilschik will be the happier side with the point.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 32. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
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 Volgar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Volgar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Morozov 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.
Match17 Oct 2026
Three points for Volgar, 1‑0 the final word against Sibir in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.14 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 9 actions, 6.93, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Timur Yefimov could afford to be generous.
The dugout19 Oct 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.
The dugout19 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
Steady
Squad12 Oct 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Volgar
Vyacheslav Krotov 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Kirill Kolesnichenko 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 dugout12 Oct 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.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Half-satisfied: Timur Yefimov on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Nobody at Volgar is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Match10 Oct 2026
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Leningradets defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Vyacheslav Krotov has let it be known that he does not like the way Volgar are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match3 Oct 2026
Dmitry Lesnikov wins it after the whistle should have gone
94 minutes played. Dmitry Lesnikov found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Alania went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Match5 Oct 2026
Volgar are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 16 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Volgar
Vyacheslav Krotov 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Volgar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Morozov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
666% of the income goes out in wages at Volgar
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.
Match3 Oct 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Dmitry Lesnikov. 1‑0 against Alania, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Marked 7.95. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Volgar are still strangers to each other
8 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad3 Aug 2026
201 appearances across 11 seasons in one shirt. Careers like that are not built on purpose any more, and Volgar know exactly what they have.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Oleg Dmitriev commits to Volgar for another 3 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Volgar
Vyacheslav Krotov 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Volgar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Morozov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces3 Aug 2026
Volgar supporters have found a favourite in Danil Anosov
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Danil Anosov has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Match1 Aug 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Kirill Kolesnichenko. 2‑0 against Alania, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.44 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market3 Aug 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Volgar, another week without a signature from Oleg Dmitriev.
Market3 Aug 2026
The clock runs on Danil Pelikh's contract
49 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
In brief
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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Player ratings
Danil Anosov runs at them all day
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Market
Dmitry Ivanov is free to find somewhere else