From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Dec 2026
There were 21 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match19 Dec 2026
18 matches without a win for Chaika M
The run now stands at 18, and the questions being asked around Chaika M are no longer polite ones.
Match19 Dec 2026
18 matches without a goal for Chaika M
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 18 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Match19 Dec 2026
Chaika M are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 18 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Match19 Dec 2026
Nowhere to hide for Chaika M
0‑4 against Kuban Holding, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
The terraces21 Dec 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Ivan Sorochinskiy 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.
Boardroom21 Dec 2026
Nobody left the Chaika M 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 Dec 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑4, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Vadim Gapeev knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Chaika M, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 Dec 2026
The wait goes on for Chaika M
17 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match12 Dec 2026
The goals have deserted Chaika M
17 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Chaika M can tell you which week it ends in.
Match12 Dec 2026
Chaika M leaking at the back
17 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Squad14 Dec 2026
14 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match12 Dec 2026
Beaten 0‑7 by Kyzyltash, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Match12 Dec 2026
Nobody could stop scoring
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Chaika M and Kyzyltash in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑7, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Competition arrives for Ivan Ivanov
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Chaika M have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“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 Chaika M was different afterwards.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Dec 2026
There were 20 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match5 Dec 2026
The wait goes on for Chaika M
16 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match5 Dec 2026
The goals have deserted Chaika M
16 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Chaika M can tell you which week it ends in.
Match5 Dec 2026
Chaika M leaking at the back
16 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Match5 Dec 2026
0‑3 to PSK Pervorechenskoe, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Market7 Dec 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Chaika M is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Boardroom7 Dec 2026
Nobody left the Chaika M 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 dugout7 Dec 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“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 Chaika M will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad30 Nov 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 18 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match28 Nov 2026
The wait goes on for Chaika M
15 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match28 Nov 2026
The goals have deserted Chaika M
15 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Chaika M can tell you which week it ends in.
Match28 Nov 2026
Chaika M leaking at the back
15 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Match28 Nov 2026
Beaten 0‑4 by Neftyanik, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Match30 Nov 2026
Chaika M are in real trouble now
Position 20, 0 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad23 Nov 2026
There were 21 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match21 Nov 2026
No end in sight to Chaika M's wait for a win
14 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Chaika M has to find a result from somewhere.
Match21 Nov 2026
Chaika M cannot find the net
14 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Match21 Nov 2026
No clean sheets in sight for Chaika M
14 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Match21 Nov 2026
Chastening afternoon for Chaika M
A 0‑4 beating by Shakhter Donetsk was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
The terraces23 Nov 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.
Boardroom23 Nov 2026
Nobody left the Chaika M 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 dugout23 Nov 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Nil Sokolov after 0‑4, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Looking ahead16 Nov 2026
Position 19 for the hosts, a long journey for the away end, and a fixture that will look ordinary on paper right up until it is not.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Ivan Ivanov named in the team of the week
A rating of 6.56 was enough for the selectors, and nobody who watched the match is going to argue with them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad9 Nov 2026
There were 15 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match7 Nov 2026
13 matches without a win for Chaika M
The run now stands at 13, and the questions being asked around Chaika M are no longer polite ones.
Match7 Nov 2026
13 matches without a goal for Chaika M
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 13 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Match7 Nov 2026
Chaika M are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 13 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Match7 Nov 2026
Beaten 0‑8 by Angusht, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market9 Nov 2026
Vadim Gapeev has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Chaika M they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match7 Nov 2026
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Chaika M and Angusht, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
The dugout9 Nov 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 0‑8 defeat, delivered by Nil Sokolov to a room that had heard them before.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Chaika M lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad2 Nov 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 20 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match31 Oct 2026
12 matches without a win for Chaika M
The run now stands at 12, and the questions being asked around Chaika M are no longer polite ones.
Match31 Oct 2026
12 matches without a goal for Chaika M
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 12 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Match31 Oct 2026
Chaika M are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 12 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Match31 Oct 2026
0‑6 to Nart, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Match2 Nov 2026
Chaika M sink to position 20
0 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Match31 Oct 2026
Nobody could stop scoring
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Chaika M and Nart in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Nobody left the Chaika M 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 dugout2 Nov 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 0‑6 defeat, delivered by Nil Sokolov to a room that had heard them before.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad26 Oct 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 14 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match24 Oct 2026
11 matches without a win for Chaika M
The run now stands at 11, and the questions being asked around Chaika M are no longer polite ones.
Match24 Oct 2026
11 matches without a goal for Chaika M
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 11 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Match24 Oct 2026
Beaten 0‑10 by Astrakhan, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Match24 Oct 2026
Chaika M are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 11 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Match24 Oct 2026
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 10 goals between Chaika M and Astrakhan, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Nil Sokolov after 0‑10, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
There was one mistake and it ended in the net. Defenders are judged on the worst thing they did rather than on the eighty-nine minutes either side of it, which is unfair and is also the job.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ivan Ivanov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Oct 2026
16 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match17 Oct 2026
The wait goes on for Chaika M
10 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match17 Oct 2026
The goals have deserted Chaika M
10 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Chaika M can tell you which week it ends in.
Match17 Oct 2026
0‑5 to Dinamo Stavropol, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Match17 Oct 2026
Chaika M leaking at the back
10 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Boardroom19 Oct 2026
Nobody left the Chaika M 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 dugout19 Oct 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑5, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Squad19 Oct 2026
At 20 he has taken a place rather than been given one, and somebody else has to find something to say about it. Chaika M have a decision that made itself.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Oct 2026
Only the photograph left for Vadim Gapeev
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vadim Gapeev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Chaika M the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad12 Oct 2026
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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Chaika M
Vadim Gapeev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad5 Oct 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 11 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match3 Oct 2026
Chastening afternoon for Chaika M
A 0‑9 beating by Sochi 2 was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match3 Oct 2026
9 matches without a win for Chaika M
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Chaika M are no longer polite ones.
Match3 Oct 2026
9 matches without a goal for Chaika M
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 9 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Match3 Oct 2026
Chaika M are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 9 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Match3 Oct 2026
Nobody could stop scoring
9 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Chaika M and Sochi 2 in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 20 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match26 Sep 2026
0‑11 to Rubin Yalta, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Match26 Sep 2026
8 matches without a win for Chaika M
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Chaika M are no longer polite ones.
Match26 Sep 2026
8 matches without a goal for Chaika M
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 8 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Match26 Sep 2026
Chaika M are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 8 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Match26 Sep 2026
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 11 goals between Chaika M and Rubin Yalta, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Boardroom28 Sep 2026
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.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Nil Sokolov after 0‑11, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ivan Sorochinskiy trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Sep 2026
There were 16 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match19 Sep 2026
0‑14 to Sevastopol, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Match19 Sep 2026
The wait goes on for Chaika M
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match19 Sep 2026
The goals have deserted Chaika M
7 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Chaika M can tell you which week it ends in.
Match19 Sep 2026
Chaika M leaking at the back
7 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Match19 Sep 2026
Nobody could stop scoring
14 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Chaika M and Sevastopol in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
In brief
-
The dugout
The view from the dugout
-
Squad
The room hears from Ivan Sorochinskiy
-
Looking ahead
Home comforts ahead for Chaika M
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 31 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match12 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑14 by Pobeda, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Match12 Sep 2026
The wait goes on for Chaika M
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match12 Sep 2026
The goals have deserted Chaika M
6 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Chaika M can tell you which week it ends in.
Match12 Sep 2026
Chaika M leaking at the back
6 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Match12 Sep 2026
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 14 goals between Chaika M and Pobeda, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Sep 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.
Market7 Sep 2026
Chaika M have made Ivan Sorochinskiy available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Chaika M than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
In brief
-
Looking ahead
Home comforts ahead for Chaika M
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match29 Aug 2026
0‑50 to Zarya Lugansk, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Match29 Aug 2026
The wait goes on for Chaika M
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match29 Aug 2026
The goals have deserted Chaika M
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Chaika M can tell you which week it ends in.
In brief
-
Match
Chaika M leaking at the back
-
Match
Nobody could stop scoring
-
The dugout
The view from the dugout
-
Squad
Competition arrives for Ivan Sorochinskiy
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 Aug 2026
Nowhere to hide for Chaika M
0‑91 against Spartak Nalchik, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Match22 Aug 2026
No end in sight to Chaika M's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Chaika M has to find a result from somewhere.
Match22 Aug 2026
Chaika M cannot find the net
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match15 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑93 by Druzhba, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Match15 Aug 2026
Nobody could stop scoring
93 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Chaika M and Druzhba in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Match15 Aug 2026
Chaika M cannot find the net
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
In brief
-
The dugout
The view from the dugout
-
Looking ahead
Home comforts ahead for Chaika M
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match8 Aug 2026
Chastening afternoon for Chaika M
A 0‑88 beating by Rostov 2 was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match8 Aug 2026
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 88 goals between Chaika M and Rostov 2, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑88, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 Aug 2026
Chastening afternoon for Chaika M
A 0‑93 beating by Dinamo Makhachkala 2 was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match1 Aug 2026
Nobody could stop scoring
93 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Chaika M and Dinamo Makhachkala 2 in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Nil Sokolov after 0‑93, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.