From our football correspondent
Steady
Market23 Aug 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.
Squad23 Aug 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Nikita Bozov 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 dugout23 Aug 2027
“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 dugout23 Aug 2027
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Market23 Aug 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Soslan Takulov has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Baltika 2.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
No place in the plan for Nikita Bozov
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
Dmitry Begun 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.
Market23 Aug 2027
The name of Kirill Nikolaev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Baltika 2 say nothing, which says plenty.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout16 Aug 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Baltika 2 may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market16 Aug 2027
“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 The request is on a desk at Baltika 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Nikita Bozov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
Maxim Kulik 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 dugout16 Aug 2027
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Market16 Aug 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Kirill Davidenko has his answer from Baltika 2; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Andrey Tsitsilin keeps the shirt for now, at Baltika 2's convenience rather than his own.
Market16 Aug 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Kirill Stepanov may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The terraces9 Aug 2027
Supporters organise against the Baltika 2 board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Market9 Aug 2027
Aymane Mourid 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 Baltika 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words exchanged at Baltika 2
Mikhail Volkov 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 dugout9 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Aymane Mourid
“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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Daniil Rybintsev and Baltika 2 agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
Nikita Bozov 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.
Market9 Aug 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Kirill Stepanov has his answer from Baltika 2; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Maxim Kulik has had enough of the bench
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Baltika 2 will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market2 Aug 2027
Gavin Vlijter 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 Baltika 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Nikita Bozov 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 Aug 2027
Aymane Mourid has had enough of the bench
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Baltika 2 will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Ivan Safonov is no longer first choice
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Ivan Safonov 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.
Market2 Aug 2027
Baltika 2 have made Aymane Mourid available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
Aymane Mourid 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 dugout2 Aug 2027
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Baltika 2 than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Jul 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Baltika 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Vladislav Pospelov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
Somebody else is better right now than Timofey Schelkunov
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
The plan did not have a place for David Cherkasov
Nobody at Baltika 2 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.
Market26 Jul 2027
The name of Kirill Nikolaev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Baltika 2 say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad26 Jul 2027
A new face in his position, and Vladislav Pospelov suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Baltika 2 have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market19 Jul 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market19 Jul 2027
The deal that would have taken Ruslan Angutaev to Sevastopol has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Baltika 2 with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words exchanged at Baltika 2
Vladislav Pospelov 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.
Market19 Jul 2027
Aymane Mourid is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Baltika 2 has been clear about where Aymane Mourid stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Timofey Schelkunov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
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.
Market19 Jul 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Gavin Vlijter may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Squad19 Jul 2027
A wage question at Baltika 2
Aymane Mourid has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The terraces12 Jul 2027
Anger at Baltika 2 spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Market12 Jul 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Vladislav Pospelov 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.
Market12 Jul 2027
Fakel are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Baltika 2 will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Market12 Jul 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Gavin Vlijter has his answer from Baltika 2; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Squad12 Jul 2027
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Baltika 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market12 Jul 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until David Cherkasov signs something — a contract at Baltika 2 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad12 Jul 2027
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Kirill Nikolaev keeps the shirt for now, at Baltika 2's convenience rather than his own.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market5 Jul 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Baltika 2 people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market5 Jul 2027
Ivan Safonov 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 Baltika 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Market5 Jul 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Baltika 2 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad5 Jul 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Jul 2027
14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at Baltika 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrey Mendel 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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Dmitry Begun slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Dmitry Begun is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and David Cherkasov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
The manager's exit leaves Dmitry Begun exposed
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Dmitry Begun is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 Jun 2027
“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 Baltika 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market28 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad28 Jun 2027
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Jun 2027
“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.
Market21 Jun 2027
“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 Baltika 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market21 Jun 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Baltika 2 have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Squad21 Jun 2027
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Mikhail Volkov 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 dugout21 Jun 2027
“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
Steady
The terraces14 Jun 2027
Anger at Baltika 2 spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Market14 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market14 Jun 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Baltika 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 Jun 2027
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Vladislav Pospelov 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 dugout14 Jun 2027
The manager makes an example of Ivan Safonov
“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
Squad7 Jun 2027
Maxim Shnaptsev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
Maxim Shnaptsev loses the manager who believed in him
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Maxim Shnaptsev's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yegor Lyubakov, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Baltika 2 will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
Andrey Tsitsilin 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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
Match7 Jun 2027
Baltika 2 in the hunt for Europe
Position 5, 49 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Nerves in the Baltika 2 squad
Maxim Shnaptsev has been around long enough to know what the spring feels like when it goes wrong, and he can feel it. A dressing room that is frightened plays like one.
Market7 Jun 2027
The name of Vladislav Pospelov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Baltika 2 say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 May 2027
“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 Baltika 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market31 May 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Timofey Schelkunov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Baltika 2 the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad31 May 2027
Vladislav Pospelov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout31 May 2027
“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 dugout31 May 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Timofey Schelkunov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market31 May 2027
Baltika 2 have let the market know David Cherkasov can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 May 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Baltika 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Squad24 May 2027
Maxim Shnaptsev 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 dugout24 May 2027
“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
Steady
The terraces17 May 2027
The mood at Baltika 2 has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad17 May 2027
Words exchanged at Baltika 2
Mikhail Volkov 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.
Market17 May 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until David Cherkasov signs something — a contract at Baltika 2 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 May 2027
Maxim Shnaptsev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 May 2027
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Baltika 2 will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
The dugout10 May 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Baltika 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 May 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.
Market3 May 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Baltika 2 is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The dugout3 May 2027
“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.
Squad3 May 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2027
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Baltika 2 will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
The dugout3 May 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and David Cherkasov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Apr 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.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Baltika 2 have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Maxim Shnaptsev 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The terraces19 Apr 2027
Supporters organise against the Baltika 2 board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words exchanged at Baltika 2
Vladislav Pospelov 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 dugout19 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yegor Lyubakov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Apr 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Timofey Schelkunov, and the manager let it.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
Mikhail Volkov 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 Mikhail Volkov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad12 Apr 2027
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Baltika 2 will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
Match12 Apr 2027
Baltika 2 have something to play for
Position 5 on 49 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
Market12 Apr 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Vladislav Pospelov signs something — a contract at Baltika 2 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Apr 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 14 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market5 Apr 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Baltika 2 can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
Pablo Caballero: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Baltika 2 have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market5 Apr 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Timofey Schelkunov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Baltika 2 the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad5 Apr 2027
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad5 Apr 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
Mikhail Volkov 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 Mikhail Volkov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad5 Apr 2027
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“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
Squad29 Mar 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Baltika 2 will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market29 Mar 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Baltika 2
Maxim Shnaptsev 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The terraces22 Mar 2027
The mood at Baltika 2 has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Baltika 2 will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market22 Mar 2027
“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 Baltika 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Baltika 2 may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad22 Mar 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
David Cherkasov 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
Steady
Squad15 Mar 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Baltika 2 will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Igor Vaisbein 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 dugout15 Mar 2027
Ivan Safonov 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 dugout15 Mar 2027
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 Mar 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Baltika 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Match15 Mar 2027
Baltika 2 in the hunt for Europe
Position 5, 49 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Mar 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Baltika 2 will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market8 Mar 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Timofey Schelkunov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Baltika 2 the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ivan Safonov commits to Baltika 2 for another 4 years.
Squad8 Mar 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
“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 dugout8 Mar 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Matvey Romashin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Mar 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Baltika 2 will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market1 Mar 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.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
Ivan Safonov: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Baltika 2 have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Baltika 2
Maxim Shnaptsev 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 dugout1 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mikhail Ryadno, and the manager let it.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Baltika 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The terraces22 Feb 2027
Supporters organise against the Baltika 2 board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Market22 Feb 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Baltika 2 people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Baltika 2
Vladislav Pospelov 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market15 Feb 2027
“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 Baltika 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“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.
Squad15 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Ivan Belikov 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 dugout15 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Kirill Nikolaev
“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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Baltika 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Match15 Feb 2027
Continental football is in reach for Baltika 2
49 points from position 5. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
Squad15 Feb 2027
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Maxim Shnaptsev keeps the shirt for now, at Baltika 2's convenience rather than his own.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match6 Feb 2027
Zvezda will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Baltika 2 were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Market8 Feb 2027
Legion come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Baltika 2 did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Kirill Nikolaev, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.79
A mark of 7.79 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces8 Feb 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Kirill Nikolaev 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.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of David Cherkasov
“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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A place in the month's best eleven for Timofey Schelkunov
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Timofey Schelkunov has come out of that comparison in the side, and Baltika 2 have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
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.” Fyodor Zubov, on a 3‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match30 Jan 2027
4‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Squad1 Feb 2027
3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
Market1 Feb 2027
“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 Baltika 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad1 Feb 2027
20 goals and a season average of 7.35. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Marked 7.65 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Baltika 2
Maxim Shnaptsev 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.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Ninety minutes of Kirill Nikishin at his very best
Marked 9.53. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Baltika 2.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Ivan Belikov 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 terraces1 Feb 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Timofey Schelkunov 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The terraces25 Jan 2027
Supporters organise against the Baltika 2 board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Market25 Jan 2027
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Kirill Nikishin had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Pablo Caballero 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 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Maxim Kulik, and the manager let it.
Squad25 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
Market25 Jan 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Ruslan Angutaev has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Baltika 2.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
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.
Market25 Jan 2027
The name of David Cherkasov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Baltika 2 say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad18 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Baltika 2
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ivan Belikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match16 Jan 2027
Dinamo Vologda left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
“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.
Boardroom18 Jan 2027
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.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
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 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Fyodor Zubov to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
Somebody else is better right now than Timofey Schelkunov
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Baltika 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match9 Jan 2027
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Torpedo Vladimir, and it could have been more.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
“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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Kirill Nikishin
17 goals and a season average of 7.30 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces11 Jan 2027
He is 21 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.
Market11 Jan 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Kirill Nikishin has his answer from Baltika 2; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
A performance of 8.30 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
“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 dugout11 Jan 2027
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Fyodor Zubov on a 3‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market4 Jan 2027
The bid was some way short and Baltika 2 did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad4 Jan 2027
A season average of 7.27 with 16 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Baltika 2 know it.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Baltika 2
Maxim Shnaptsev 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Baltika 2
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ivan Belikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces4 Jan 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Kirill Nikishin 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.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Pablo Caballero
“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
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom4 Jan 2027
Nobody left the Baltika 2 dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The terraces28 Dec 2026
Supporters organise against the Baltika 2 board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Baltika 2
Pablo Caballero 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.
Match26 Dec 2026
0‑1 to Kosmos, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout28 Dec 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 dugout28 Dec 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Kirill Nikishin 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
“If we are going to be beaten, let it not be because somebody in here could not be bothered.” He stood up and said it in front of everybody, which is a thing a squad remembers about a man for years.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Dec 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Andrey Tsitsilin is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Ivan Belikov 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.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Kirill Nikishin
“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.
Match19 Dec 2026
0‑1 to Yenisey 2, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
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 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Fyodor Zubov to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Pablo Caballero
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kirill Nikolaev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Two goals and a mark of 8.77 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Match12 Dec 2026
Baltika 2 cannot stop winning
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Defences have started doubling up on Kirill Nikishin
15 goals and a season average of 7.29 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Match12 Dec 2026
A 3‑1 win over Cherepovets, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Vladislav Pospelov and Baltika 2 agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Pablo Caballero 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 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout14 Dec 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 dugout14 Dec 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Kirill Nikishin
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match5 Dec 2026
3‑0, and Maxim Kulik took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Baltika 2 tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Maxim Kulik, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 7.78
A mark of 7.78 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Maxim Shnaptsev commits to Baltika 2 for another 4 years.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Baltika 2
Maxim Shnaptsev 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
13 goals and a season average of 7.24. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Ivan Belikov 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 terraces7 Dec 2026
He is 20 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.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Maxim Shnaptsev, and the manager let it.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.09, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
The terraces30 Nov 2026
Anger at Baltika 2 spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
A hand in 2 of them from Kirill Nikishin — 7.62
Marked 7.62. There is a kind of forward whose value only shows up when you count what he was involved in rather than what he finished, and this is the day that argument makes itself.
The terraces30 Nov 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Kirill Nikishin 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
12 goals and a season average of 7.20. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match28 Nov 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Kirill Nikishin. 1‑0 against Saturn, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. 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
Words exchanged at Baltika 2
Vladislav Pospelov 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 dugout30 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Maxim Kulik
“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 dugout30 Nov 2026
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Fyodor Zubov on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market23 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 Baltika 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Squad23 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Baltika 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ivan Belikov 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 dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Ivan Belikov
“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.
Match21 Nov 2026
Kolomna left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Match21 Nov 2026
The run is over for Baltika 2
5 matches without defeat, and then Kolomna. Nobody at the ground pretended it would go on forever; nobody expected it to stop here either.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market16 Nov 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 Baltika 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match14 Nov 2026
Baltika 2 cannot stop winning
5 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.78 for the rest of it.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Andrey Tsitsilin 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 terraces16 Nov 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. David Cherkasov 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.
Match14 Nov 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: David Cherkasov. 1‑0 against Chertanovo, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Match16 Nov 2026
The half-term report on Baltika 2
Position 4, 30 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Artem Afanasjev, and the manager let it.
The dugout16 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.” Fyodor Zubov kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match7 Nov 2026
3‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
A brace, and Kirill Nikishin takes the afternoon — 8.84
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Kirill Nikishin provided it, and the 8.84 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The dugout9 Nov 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.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Timofey Schelkunov, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.82
A mark of 7.82 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Match7 Nov 2026
Baltika 2 make it 4 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Baltika 2 have 4 straight wins of it.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Ivan Belikov 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 terraces9 Nov 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Timofey Schelkunov 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.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kirill Nikishin, and the manager let it.
Squad9 Nov 2026
11 goals and a season average of 7.22. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
The terraces2 Nov 2026
Supporters organise against the Baltika 2 board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Two goals and a mark of 8.73 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Match31 Oct 2026
Nobody wants to play Baltika 2 right now
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
The terraces2 Nov 2026
At 21 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.
Match31 Oct 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Kirill Nikishin. 2‑0 against Luki-Energiya, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad2 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Nov 2026
The award goes to Kirill Nikishin, and nobody around here is inclined to argue with the choice.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Kirill Nikishin named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Kirill Nikishin is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout2 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.” Fyodor Zubov kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad26 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Ivan Belikov 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.
Match24 Oct 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Kirill Nikishin. 2‑1 against Zvezda, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Ninety minutes of Kirill Nikishin at his very best
Marked 8.24. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Baltika 2.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout26 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Too much change too quickly at Baltika 2
15 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Fyodor Zubov could afford to be generous.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Kirill Nikolaev dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match17 Oct 2026
6‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A brace, and Kirill Nikishin takes the afternoon — 9.09
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Kirill Nikishin provided it, and the 9.09 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market19 Oct 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 Baltika 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
No sign of nerves from Maxim Kulik at 18 — 8.09
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Maxim Kulik did not need any: 8.09, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Match17 Oct 2026
Ivan Belikov among the goals in a wild afternoon
6 goals in one match, Ivan Belikov on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Baltika 2 and Tver.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Andrey Tsitsilin 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 terraces19 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.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kirill Nikolaev, and the manager let it.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Fyodor Zubov on a 6‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Aymane Mourid: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Baltika 2 have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Baltika 2
Maxim Shnaptsev 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Baltika 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ivan Belikov 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 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
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
Looking ahead12 Oct 2026
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Ivan Belikov’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Baltika 2 needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The dugout12 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Market12 Oct 2026
Baltika 2 have let the market know Matvey Romashin can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The terraces5 Oct 2026
Anger at Baltika 2 spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Squad5 Oct 2026
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Andrey Tsitsilin and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Kirill Nikolaev did the work nobody counts — 6.96
9 combined actions and 6.96. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
The dugout5 Oct 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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
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.
Match3 Oct 2026
A 1‑1 draw with Dinamo Vologda leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces28 Sep 2026
He is 21 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.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Ivan Belikov
“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 Sep 2026
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Timofey Schelkunov has his answer from Baltika 2; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Too much change too quickly at Baltika 2
15 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
7.63, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Baltika 2 had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Fyodor Zubov on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
Kirill Nikolaev dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match19 Sep 2026
Chastening afternoon for Baltika 2
A 1‑4 beating by Spartak Moscow 2 was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Andrey Tsitsilin 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 dugout21 Sep 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.
Market21 Sep 2026
Artem Afanasjev is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Baltika 2 has been clear about where Artem Afanasjev stands, which is more than many ever get.
Boardroom21 Sep 2026
Nobody left the Baltika 2 dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Kirill Nikolaev
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Baltika 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match12 Sep 2026
Baltika 2 win it in stoppage time
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 92th minute. Kosmos will replay every second of the added time for a week.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.90, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ivan Belikov and Baltika 2 agree another 4 years.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Ivan Belikov 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.
Match12 Sep 2026
It finished 2‑1, and it was Kirill Nikishin’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Baltika 2.
The terraces14 Sep 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.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Maxim Shnaptsev, and the manager let it.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“I want to play”: Ivan Belikov speaks
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match5 Sep 2026
0‑1 to Yenisey 2, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
Maxim Kulik 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.
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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Fyodor Zubov left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Kirill Nikolaev named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Kirill Nikolaev is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Andrey Tsitsilin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Baltika 2 than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match29 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Igor Vaisbein 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
Too much change too quickly at Baltika 2
15 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Fyodor Zubov left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of David Cherkasov
“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 dugout31 Aug 2026
Kirill Nikolaev dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The plan did not have a place for Nikita Bokov
Nobody at Baltika 2 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Nikita Bokov speaks, and the room listens
“I am not asking anybody to be better than they are. I am asking everybody to be as good as they are, every week.” Said out loud, in front of everybody, and the room at Baltika 2 was different afterwards.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match22 Aug 2026
3‑0, and Ivan Belikov took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Baltika 2 tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Kirill Nikolaev, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.86
A mark of 7.86 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Player ratings24 Aug 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Baltika 2
Nikita Bokov 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 dugout24 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Nikita Bokov
“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 dugout24 Aug 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.” Fyodor Zubov kept it short after the 3‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
No place in the plan for Nikita Bokov
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“Nobody outside is coming to save us.” It was short, it was not comfortable, and by all accounts the Baltika 2 squad were quieter afterwards than they had been all season.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Aug 2026
Nikita Bokov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match15 Aug 2026
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 dugout17 Aug 2026
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.” Fyodor Zubov chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Igor Vaisbein
“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 dugout17 Aug 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.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 8. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“Nobody outside is coming to save us.” It was short, it was not comfortable, and by all accounts the Baltika 2 squad were quieter afterwards than they had been all season.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Baltika 2 have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Fouls conceded: 5. Some of it was commitment and some of it was frustration, and the free-kick count did not distinguish between the two.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
A defender's goal wins it for Baltika 2 — 7.18
1 for Timofey Schelkunov, marked 7.18, 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.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Nikita Bokov 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.
Match8 Aug 2026
A point taken on 94 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
Match8 Aug 2026
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 dugout10 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Fyodor Zubov was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Baltika 2 dressing room was either.
Market10 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Looking ahead10 Aug 2026
A test against the best for Baltika 2
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Saturn.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
The plan did not have a place for Nikita Bokov
Nobody at Baltika 2 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.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match1 Aug 2026
Chertanovo will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Baltika 2 were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Marked 7.81 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Nikita Bokov commits to Baltika 2 for another 4 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Nikita Bokov 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 Baltika 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces3 Aug 2026
At 21 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.
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 Baltika 2, another week without a signature from Nikita Bokov.
Squad3 Aug 2026
17 new faces, and Baltika 2 are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 3‑0, already talking about the next one.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Aymane Mourid 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.