Marked for Alexandr Nesterov
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom3 Dec 2035
The administrators have gone from Salyut
A year of somebody else signing off every invoice ends this week. The books are smaller, the squad is smaller, and for the first time since it began the club is allowed to plan.
Squad3 Dec 2035
Yegor Grafov 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 Salyut this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match1 Dec 2035
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad3 Dec 2035
Words at Salyut training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ramazan Magomedov 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.
Boardroom3 Dec 2035
Wages swallow 343% of the Salyut 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.
Boardroom3 Dec 2035
The Salyut debt reaches $7.4M
Football clubs borrow; that is not the story. Borrowing more than the facility allows is, because from here it is the owner's money or somebody else's decision, and neither of those belongs to the board.
The dugout3 Dec 2035
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad3 Dec 2035
A place in the month's best eleven for Rasil Asaidulin
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Rasil Asaidulin has come out of that comparison in the side, and Salyut have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
The dugout3 Dec 2035
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Nov 2035
Words exchanged at Salyut
Ramazan Magomedov 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.
Squad19 Nov 2035
A muscle injury and 14 days out for Alexandr Nesterov
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Salyut will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Boardroom19 Nov 2035
Salyut cannot sign anybody
The embargo bars a fee being paid for a player, whatever the manager thinks the squad needs. Every rumour printed about this club between now and its lifting is a rumour about a deal that cannot happen.
Squad19 Nov 2035
Juha Huuhka 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.
Market19 Nov 2035
Stephen Reid is 19, and Salyut have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Squad19 Nov 2035
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Stephen Reid commits to Salyut for another 4 years.
The dugout19 Nov 2035
Ilja Vinnikov has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Salyut will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout19 Nov 2035
“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.
Market19 Nov 2035
Salyut have made Dmitry Borovikov available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market15 Oct 2035
“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 Salyut, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad15 Oct 2035
“The easiest signature of my career.” Nil Obukhov and Salyut agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad15 Oct 2035
A falling-out at Salyut
Yegor Grafov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom15 Oct 2035
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Squad15 Oct 2035
Words at Salyut training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ramazan Magomedov 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 dugout15 Oct 2035
“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.
Squad15 Oct 2035
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
The dugout15 Oct 2035
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout15 Oct 2035
Rasil Asaidulin has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Salyut will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match29 Sep 2035
A hiding for Salyut
Beaten 0‑3 by Metallurg, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad1 Oct 2035
339 appearances across 12 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
Squad1 Oct 2035
Tempers go at Salyut
Vladislav Zernaev 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 Oct 2035
Ramazan Magomedov 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 dugout1 Oct 2035
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexandr Nesterov, and the manager let it.
Boardroom1 Oct 2035
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
Squad1 Oct 2035
“The easiest signature of my career.” Anatoly Garin and Salyut agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout1 Oct 2035
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout1 Oct 2035
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 Sep 2035
“The easiest signature of my career.” Vladislav Zernaev and Salyut agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Sep 2035
A falling-out at Salyut
Zakhar Terpugov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets3 Sep 2035
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Krasnodar have kept their man, and Salyut go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match1 Sep 2035
Yegor Grafov scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Rotor 2, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad3 Sep 2035
A row about effort at Salyut
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ramazan Magomedov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout3 Sep 2035
The manager makes an example of Juha Huuhka
“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.
The dugout3 Sep 2035
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout3 Sep 2035
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 Vladislav Zernaev is on it.
Squad3 Sep 2035
Salyut will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Jul 2035
A falling-out at Salyut
Zakhar Terpugov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets9 Jul 2035
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad9 Jul 2035
Ramazan Magomedov 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 dugout9 Jul 2035
“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 dugout9 Jul 2035
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market9 Jul 2035
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad9 Jul 2035
The formation has left Juha Huuhka behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Salyut will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Market9 Jul 2035
2 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Salyut money.
Market9 Jul 2035
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Zakhar Terpugov signs something — a contract at Salyut or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market2 Jul 2035
“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 Salyut, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad2 Jul 2035
Tempers go at Salyut
Vladislav Zernaev 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.
Transfer targets2 Jul 2035
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Boardroom2 Jul 2035
Salyut cannot sign anybody
The embargo bars a fee being paid for a player, whatever the manager thinks the squad needs. Every rumour printed about this club between now and its lifting is a rumour about a deal that cannot happen.
Squad2 Jul 2035
A row about effort at Salyut
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ramazan Magomedov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout2 Jul 2035
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kevin Kompany, and the manager let it.
Squad2 Jul 2035
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Ramazan Magomedov has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Boardroom2 Jul 2035
4 new boys at the Salyut academy
Signed today, seen by nobody for years, and one of them may one day be the reason the club exists. That is the whole of the argument for an academy, and it is a good one.
The dugout2 Jul 2035
Rasil Asaidulin has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Salyut will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market23 Apr 2035
“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.
Squad23 Apr 2035
A falling-out at Salyut
Vladislav Zernaev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad23 Apr 2035
Everybody at Salyut saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 35 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
Squad23 Apr 2035
A row about effort at Salyut
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maxim Kulik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom23 Apr 2035
291% of the income goes out in wages at Salyut
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 dugout23 Apr 2035
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market23 Apr 2035
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Salyut know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout23 Apr 2035
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
The dugout23 Apr 2035
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Salyut, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market2 Apr 2035
“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.
Squad2 Apr 2035
Tempers go at Salyut
Zakhar Terpugov 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.
Squad2 Apr 2035
Maxim Kulik 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 dugout2 Apr 2035
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Grisha Paronyan, and the manager let it.
Market2 Apr 2035
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Salyut, another week without a signature from Nikita Razdorskikh.
The dugout2 Apr 2035
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout2 Apr 2035
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alexandr Nesterov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market2 Apr 2035
The name of Ilja Vinnikov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Salyut say nothing, which says plenty.
Market2 Apr 2035
Still no signature from Maxim Kulik
3 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Salyut could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Mar 2035
A falling-out at Salyut
Vladislav Zernaev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Mar 2035
A row about effort at Salyut
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilja Vinnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom26 Mar 2035
Wages eat 333% of everything Salyut 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.
The dugout26 Mar 2035
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 Vladislav Zernaev is on it.
The dugout26 Mar 2035
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Salyut, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market26 Mar 2035
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Salyut know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Mar 2035
A fracture rules Leonid Bykov out for 16 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Salyut will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad12 Mar 2035
Tempers go at Salyut
Vladislav Zernaev 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 Mar 2035
Maxim Kulik 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.
Boardroom12 Mar 2035
No signings allowed at Salyut
The manager may talk to whoever he likes and may pay nobody. A squad survives a window like this by borrowing, by promoting, and by hoping the injuries land somewhere else.
The dugout12 Mar 2035
Yegor Grafov 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.
The dugout12 Mar 2035
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 Rasil Asaidulin is on it.
Market12 Mar 2035
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout12 Mar 2035
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ramazan Magomedov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market12 Mar 2035
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Salyut know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Jan 2035
Tempers go at Salyut
Vladislav Zernaev 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.
Squad15 Jan 2035
Words at Salyut training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maxim Kulik 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.
Match13 Jan 2035
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Boardroom15 Jan 2035
No signings allowed at Salyut
The manager may talk to whoever he likes and may pay nobody. A squad survives a window like this by borrowing, by promoting, and by hoping the injuries land somewhere else.
The dugout15 Jan 2035
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexandr Nesterov, and the manager let it.
Market15 Jan 2035
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Salyut, another week without a signature from Rasil Asaidulin.
The dugout15 Jan 2035
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout15 Jan 2035
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout15 Jan 2035
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Salyut, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad8 Jan 2035
27 goals and a season average of 7.49. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match6 Jan 2035
No mercy from Salyut
Rotor 2 will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Salyut were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings8 Jan 2035
Two goals and a mark of 8.93 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Match6 Jan 2035
7 unbeaten for Salyut
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Salyut did not have in the autumn.
Squad8 Jan 2035
A row about effort at Salyut
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maxim Kulik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings8 Jan 2035
A performance of 8.18 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The dugout8 Jan 2035
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Salyut pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
The dugout8 Jan 2035
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Interim Coach on a 4‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout8 Jan 2035
Ilja Vinnikov gets picked when it counts
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 Ilja Vinnikov is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Dec 2034
Words exchanged at Salyut
Zakhar Terpugov 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.
Squad25 Dec 2034
Maxim Kulik 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 dugout25 Dec 2034
The manager makes an example of Denis Yeremeev
“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 ratings25 Dec 2034
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.71 on the card, and the Salyut support went home talking about one name.
The dugout25 Dec 2034
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 Vladislav Zernaev is on it.
The dugout25 Dec 2034
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Interim Coach chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Player ratings25 Dec 2034
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad25 Dec 2034
One yellow too many, and a match watched from the stand. The most avoidable absence in football, and Salyut will feel it on Saturday.
Match23 Dec 2034
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Rodina 2 will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match16 Dec 2034
Salyut make home a hard place to visit
14 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Squad18 Dec 2034
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Salyut this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Dec 2034
Maxim Kulik 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 dugout18 Dec 2034
“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.
Boardroom18 Dec 2034
Salyut cannot sign anybody
The embargo bars a fee being paid for a player, whatever the manager thinks the squad needs. Every rumour printed about this club between now and its lifting is a rumour about a deal that cannot happen.
Player ratings18 Dec 2034
Ninety minutes of Ramazan Magomedov at his very best
Marked 8.22. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Salyut.
Match16 Dec 2034
Salyut rescue it on 85 minutes
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 85. Rodina M had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
Squad18 Dec 2034
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Match16 Dec 2034
It needed Ramazan Magomedov to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Rodina M, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.