21 Mar 2027
Sunday
Process
33 Edition

The Tver Courier

15 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Muslim Nabiev asks to leave Tver

“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.

Market

Muslim Nabiev is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tver is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Savely Borodin out for 16 days

The medical room confirms 16 days on the sidelines for Savely Borodin, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

A row about effort at Tver

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yegor Ponomarev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Words exchanged at Tver

Roman Kopylov 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.

Transfer targets

Tamerlan Khachirov stays at Druzhba as time runs out

A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Tver will try again when the window opens; Druzhba may not be selling by then.

The dugout

Sergey Tormashev 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 dugout

Kirill Zakharov has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Tver will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

Market

The Nikita Yeremenko story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Nikita Yeremenko signs something — a contract at Tver or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

In brief

Back issues
32 Edition

The Tver Courier

8 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Nikita Yeremenko 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 Tver can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Kirill Dudkin 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.

Transfer targets

The window shuts on the Sergey Makarov deal

Tver ran out of time with Rotor. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.

Market

Tver promote Daniil Bocharov from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Daniil Bocharov has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Squad

Klim Perekalskiy 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 Tver this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Andrey Shevtsov

“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.

Boardroom

$143.1K taken back off the Tver table

What was available in the summer has quietly gone. Upstairs nobody will call it a change of ambition; downstairs nobody will call it anything else.

Market

The Vyacheslav Shataev question follows Tver around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Vyacheslav Shataev’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

The dugout

Muslim Nabiev 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 Muslim Nabiev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

31 Edition

The Tver Courier

1 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Boris Tsygankov 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 Tver can pretend not to have heard.

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Tver boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Transfer targets

Tver agree $41.0K for Tamerlan Khachirov

The clubs have shaken hands with Druzhba; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.

Boardroom

Window shuts: 1 in, 0 out at Tver

The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 1 arrived, 0 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.

Transfer targets

The paperwork begins on Sergey Makarov

A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Tver have done the hard part with Rotor, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.

Squad

Kirill Dudkin 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 Tver this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Tver training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yegor Ponomarev 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.

Transfer targets

The window shuts on the Maxim Chaykovsky deal

Tver ran out of time with Irtysh. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.

The dugout

No hiding place for Daniil Sokolov

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniil Sokolov, and the manager let it.

In brief

30 Edition

The Tver Courier

22 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Kirill Dudkin asks to leave Tver

“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.

Transfer targets

The paperwork begins on Aslanbek Kumykov

A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Tver have done the hard part with Spartak Nalchik, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.

Squad

A falling-out at Tver

Kirill Dudkin and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Tver

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yegor Ponomarev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Transfer targets

Tver ask about Timofey Sharapov

A loan enquiry to Salyut: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.

Squad

Stepan Barkov signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Stepan Barkov and Tver agree another 3 years.

The dugout

Nikolay Abdulkin 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 dugout

When it matters, Muslim Nabiev plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

The dugout

Daniil Sokolov 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 Tver, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

29 Edition

The Tver Courier

15 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Muslim Nabiev puts it in writing

“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 Tver, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Only the photograph left for Muslim Nabiev

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Muslim Nabiev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tver the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Transfer targets

Pyotr Zhdanov due for a Tver medical

Everything agreed with Volgar, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Squad

Tver count the cost of losing Savely Borodin

44 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Transfer targets

Znamya Truda tell Tver: Sergey Mokrousov is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Squad

Words at Tver training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kirill Dudkin 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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Tver

Roman Kopylov 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 dugout

No hiding place for Muslim Nabiev

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Muslim Nabiev, and the manager let it.

The dugout

A promise honoured at Tver

Something was said to Kirill Zakharov and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.

In brief

28 Edition

The Tver Courier

8 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Vyacheslav Shataev keeps Tver in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Player ratings

Kirill Zakharov scores twice — 8.70

Two goals and a mark of 8.70 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Market

Nikita Yeremenko puts it in writing

“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 Tver, and it is not being withdrawn.

Player ratings

Roman Kopylov, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.74

A mark of 7.74 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.

Match

4 matches without a win for Tver

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Tver are no longer polite ones.

Match

Kirill Zakharov’s goal not enough for Tver

Kirill Zakharov scored, and precious little else went right: 3‑4 to Torpedo Vladimir, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Match

7 goals as Tver and Torpedo Vladimir go for it

Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Tver and Torpedo Vladimir, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.

Squad

Artem Fomin 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 Tver this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

Tver rebuffed over Aslanbek Kumykov

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Spartak Nalchik have kept their man, and Tver go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

In brief

27 Edition

The Tver Courier

1 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

FCI Tallinn come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Tver did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Squad

Defences have started doubling up on Yegor Ponomarev

17 goals and a season average of 7.32 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.

Match

3 matches without a goal for Tver

The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.

Squad

A row about effort at Tver

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yegor Ponomarev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

No hiding place for Nikita Yeremenko

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nikita Yeremenko, and the manager let it.

Loan watch

Islam Zangiev wants to come home

“I did not go to Uralets-TS to sit and watch. I want to come back to Tver and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 25 matches say the rest.

Squad

A falling-out at Tver

Grigory Kosenko and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Transfer targets

Tver try to borrow Artyom Savin

Nart have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.

Squad

Grigory Kosenko is no longer first choice

The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Grigory Kosenko 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.

In brief

26 Edition

The Tver Courier

25 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Nowhere to hide for Tver

0‑3 against Kosmos, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.

Market

Boris Tsygankov 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 Tver can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Grigory Kosenko 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 Tver this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Appearance number 100 for Yegor Ponomarev

100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.

Boardroom

Inquest at Tver

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 dugout

Prokhor Medvedev answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

Squad

A row about effort at Tver

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muslim Nabiev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Sergey Tormashev

“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 dugout

Vyacheslav Shataev 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.

In brief

25 Edition

The Tver Courier

18 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Grigory Kosenko 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 Tver can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Muslim Nabiev is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tver is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Words at Tver training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yegor Ponomarev 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.

Match

Tver come up short against Yenisey 2

Yenisey 2 left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

Anton Khomyakov 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 dugout

Prokhor Medvedev answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

Squad

A falling-out at Tver

Klim Perekalskiy and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Player ratings

Kirill Dudkin runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

The dugout

Grigory Kosenko 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 Tver, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

24 Edition

The Tver Courier

11 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Muslim Nabiev puts it in writing

“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 Tver, and it is not being withdrawn.

Player ratings

A defender's goal wins it for Tver — 7.86

1 for Anton Khomyakov, marked 7.86, 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Tver

Kirill Dudkin 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.

Squad

Real improvement from Klim Perekalskiy at Tver

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Klim Perekalskiy is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad

Ivan Pugachevskiy stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Ivan Pugachevskiy and Tver agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

A row about effort at Tver

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yegor Ponomarev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Anton Khomyakov sends Tver past Cherepovets

It finished 1‑0, and it was Anton Khomyakov’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Tver.

The dugout

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.” Prokhor Medvedev, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.

Player ratings

Ivan Pugachevskiy beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 14. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

In brief

23 Edition

The Tver Courier

4 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Irkutsk punish Tver for switching off

2 goals to the good, and then a slow surrender of everything that had been earned. Yegor Ponomarev will not be the one blamed for it, but nobody at Tver escapes the conversation that follows a collapse like this.

Squad

3 goals for Yegor Ponomarev

The match ball belongs to Yegor Ponomarev, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.

Squad

Yegor Ponomarev is named among the best

There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Tver will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.

Squad

Yegor Ponomarev is carrying Tver

17 goals and a season average of 7.36. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Match

Irkutsk take the points off Tver

Beaten 3‑4, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Kirill Dudkin 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 Tver this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Kirill Dudkin

Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

The dugout

Daniil Sokolov 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.

Loan watch

Islam Zangiev wants to come home

“I did not go to Uralets-TS to sit and watch. I want to come back to Tver and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 21 matches say the rest.

In brief

22 Edition

The Tver Courier

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Kirill Dudkin runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 29. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Vyacheslav Shataev keeps Tver in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

A falling-out at Tver

Kirill Dudkin and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Words at Tver training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yegor Ponomarev 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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Tver against Saturn

0‑2 to Saturn, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Boardroom

106% of the income goes out in wages at Tver

Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.

The dugout

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 Prokhor Medvedev to a room that had heard them before.

The dugout

Sergey Tormashev 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.

Squad

Player of the week: Yegor Ponomarev

Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.

In brief

21 Edition

The Tver Courier

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Tver tear Kolomna apart

Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 4‑1 against Kolomna, and it could have been more.

Player ratings

Both of them Yegor Ponomarev's — 8.98

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.98, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Market

Boris Tsygankov asks to leave Tver

“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.

Player ratings

Anton Khomyakov goes up and wins it — 7.79

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 7.79 for the rest of it.

Market

Only the photograph left for Muslim Nabiev

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Muslim Nabiev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tver the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Yegor Ponomarev is carrying Tver

14 goals and a season average of 7.31. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Kirill Dudkin

At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

Player ratings

One of those days for Kirill Dudkin

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.10, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

Boris Tsygankov 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.

In brief

20 Edition

The Tver Courier

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Yegor Ponomarev breaks Chertanovo hearts

Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Yegor Ponomarev scored in the 88th minute, Chertanovo had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Tver took the lot.

The dugout

Klim Perekalskiy says Tver went back on their word

“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.

Match

The drought breaks for Tver

6 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Chertanovo were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.

Squad

Defences have started doubling up on Yegor Ponomarev

12 goals and a season average of 7.26 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.

Match

Yegor Ponomarev the difference as Tver beat Chertanovo

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Yegor Ponomarev. 2‑1 against Chertanovo, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Kirill Zakharov

At 19 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

Player ratings

Yegor Ponomarev was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.73. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

Market

One of our own: Ilya Gordeev joins the Tver first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Ilya Gordeev is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Squad

A row about effort at Tver

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muslim Nabiev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

In brief

19 Edition

The Tver Courier

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Chastening afternoon for Tver

A 1‑4 beating by Zenit 2 was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.

Squad

8 saves: Vyacheslav Shataev was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Market

Nikita Yeremenko puts it in writing

“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 Tver, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

No end in sight to Tver's wait for a win

6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Tver has to find a result from somewhere.

The dugout

Marat Bairamov keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Tver may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Yegor Ponomarev 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 dugout

No hiding place for Vyacheslav Shataev

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vyacheslav Shataev, and the manager let it.

Squad

Defences have started doubling up on Yegor Ponomarev

11 goals and a season average of 7.21 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Yegor Ponomarev

Marked 8.12 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

In brief

  • Boardroom Nobody left the Tver dressing room in a hurry
  • Loan watch Islam Zangiev wants to come home
  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
18 Edition

The Tver Courier

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Tver let it slip despite Nikita Yeremenko

Nikita Yeremenko had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Luki-Energiya were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.

Squad

8 saves: Vyacheslav Shataev was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Player ratings

A brace, and Nikita Yeremenko takes the afternoon — 9.00

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Nikita Yeremenko provided it, and the 9.00 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Match

No end in sight to Tver's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Tver has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Words at Tver training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yegor Ponomarev 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 terraces

One of their own: Yegor Ponomarev

He is 23 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.

Player ratings

Yegor Ponomarev in the eights

A performance of 8.48 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Boardroom

108% of the income goes out in wages at Tver

Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.

Match

Tver share the spoils with Luki-Energiya

A 3‑3 draw with Luki-Energiya leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

In brief

  • Squad Words exchanged at Tver
  • Squad Vasily Lobanov signs on for more
  • The dugout The view from the dugout
17 Edition

The Tver Courier

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Boris Tsygankov 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 Tver can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Muslim Nabiev is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tver is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Match

The wait goes on for Tver

4 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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Tver

Kirill Dudkin 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 ratings

Ivan Pugachevskiy was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 16. 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.

Squad

Muslim Nabiev 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 dugout

The manager’s verdict

“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Prokhor Medvedev was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Tver dressing room was either.

The dugout

Tver pick somebody else ahead of Sergey Tormashev

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.

Match

Tver draw a blank against Zvezda

The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Zvezda defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.

In brief

16 Edition

The Tver Courier

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Kirill Dudkin

Successful dribbles: 37. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Tempers go at Tver

Kirill Dudkin 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.

Match

Spartak Moscow 2 take the points off Tver

Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Match

The half-term report on Tver

Position 11, 12 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 dugout

No hiding place for Daniil Sokolov

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniil Sokolov, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Prokhor Medvedev faces the questions

“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Prokhor Medvedev after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.

Squad

A row about effort at Tver

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muslim Nabiev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

The form table has caught Sergey Tormashev

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 ahead

A reunion for Marat Bairamov

He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Zvezda in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.

In brief

15 Edition

The Tver Courier

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Nikita Yeremenko 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 Tver can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Kirill Dudkin 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 Tver this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Boris Tsygankov stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Boris Tsygankov and Tver agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Loan watch

Islam Zangiev has seen enough of Uralets-TS

“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Tver, and 1 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.

The dugout

No hiding place for Andrey Shevtsov

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Andrey Shevtsov, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Muslim Nabiev has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Tver will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

Looking ahead

A reunion for Boris Tsygankov

He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Spartak Moscow 2 in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.

The dugout

Nikita Yeremenko 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 Tver, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

The Yegor Ponomarev talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Tver know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

14 Edition

The Tver Courier

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Kirill Dudkin asks to leave Tver

“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 dugout

Evgeniy Goryachev: 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.” Tver have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Match

Dinamo Vologda take the points off Tver

Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Boardroom

Wages swallow 108% of the Tver income

Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.

The dugout

Prokhor Medvedev: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

Squad

A row about effort at Tver

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muslim Nabiev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Player ratings

Kirill Dudkin beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 15. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Marat Bairamov

“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 dugout

Sergey Tormashev 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.

In brief

13 Edition

The Tver Courier

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

A 2-goal lead gone for Tver

It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Torpedo Vladimir kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Tver will be asked about the last half hour all week.

Player ratings

A brace, and Yegor Ponomarev takes the afternoon — 8.89

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Yegor Ponomarev provided it, and the 8.89 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Squad

Vyacheslav Shataev keeps Tver in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Market

Muslim Nabiev has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tver they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Match

Torpedo Vladimir take the points off Tver

Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

The dugout

No hiding place for Vyacheslav Shataev

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vyacheslav Shataev, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Kirill Dudkin beats them one at a time

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 dugout

Prokhor Medvedev answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 2‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

Squad

Words at Tver training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrey Shevtsov 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.

In brief

12 Edition

The Tver Courier

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Kirill Dudkin

Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Tver see off Baltika 2

Three points for Tver, 2‑1 the final word against Baltika 2 in a contest settled by the finer margins.

The terraces

Tver supporters have found a favourite in Yegor Ponomarev

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Yegor Ponomarev 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.

Match

Tver end the wait against Baltika 2

It had gone 5 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.

Player ratings

Yegor Ponomarev in the eights

A performance of 8.69 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Sergey Tormashev signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Sergey Tormashev commits to Tver for another 3 years.

The dugout

A satisfied Prokhor Medvedev

“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Prokhor Medvedev could afford to be generous.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Sergey Tormashev

“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.

Looking ahead

A reunion for Daniil Sokolov

He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Torpedo Vladimir in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.

In brief

11 Edition

The Tver Courier

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Vyacheslav Shataev keeps Tver in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Match

The wait goes on for Tver

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.

Market

Muslim Nabiev puts it in writing

“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 Tver, and it is not being withdrawn.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Kirill Dudkin

Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Real improvement from Klim Perekalskiy at Tver

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Klim Perekalskiy is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad

Evgeniy Goryachev signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Evgeniy Goryachev and Tver agree another 3 years.

Player ratings

Nobody on the pitch touched Nikita Yeremenko

7.79, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Tver had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.

Loan watch

Islam Zangiev counts the days

“I watch every Tver game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Uralets-TS runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.

Squad

Tempers go at Tver

Klim Perekalskiy 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.

In brief

10 Edition

The Tver Courier

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Nowhere to hide for Tver

1‑5 against Yenisey 2, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.

Market

Kirill Dudkin 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 Tver can pretend not to have heard.

Match

The wait goes on for Tver

4 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.

Match

Tver are shipping goals every week

Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.

Squad

A falling-out at Tver

Kirill Dudkin and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

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 Tver and Yenisey 2 in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.

Boardroom

Wages swallow 131% of the Tver income

Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.

Boardroom

Nobody left the Tver 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 dugout

Prokhor Medvedev answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑5, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

In brief

9 Edition

The Tver Courier

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Kirill Dudkin beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 25. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Market

Only the photograph left for Muslim Nabiev

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Muslim Nabiev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tver the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Words exchanged at Tver

Kirill Dudkin 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.

Match

No clean sheets in sight for Tver

4 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.

Match

Tver come up short against Cherepovets

Cherepovets left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

Vyacheslav Shataev 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 dugout

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 Prokhor Medvedev to a room that had heard them before.

Squad

Tver are still strangers to each other

6 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.

The dugout

A promise honoured at Tver

Something was said to Nikita Lyutikov and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.

In brief

8 Edition

The Tver Courier

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Nowhere to hide for Tver

1‑6 against Irkutsk, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Nikita Lyutikov

There were 7 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Tver

Kirill Dudkin 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.

Match

Nikita Yeremenko among the goals in a wild afternoon

7 goals in one match, Nikita Yeremenko on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Tver and Irkutsk.

Transfer targets

Tver rebuffed over Yegor Plotnikov

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Mashuk have kept their man, and Tver go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Boardroom

Nobody left the Tver 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 dugout

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 1‑6 Prokhor Medvedev left the room before anybody could ask which.

Market

The Kirill Dudkin talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Tver know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

The dugout

Daniil Sokolov left out for tactical reasons at Tver

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.

In brief

7 Edition

The Tver Courier

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Both of them Kirill Dudkin's — 8.14

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.14, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Squad

6 saves: Nikita Lyutikov was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Boardroom

Tver close the window on a squad of their own making

10 in and 1 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.

Match

Saturn take the points off Tver

Beaten 3‑4, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Match

Kirill Dudkin among the goals in a wild afternoon

7 goals in one match, Kirill Dudkin on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Tver and Saturn.

Transfer targets

Amkar tell Tver: Tikhon Nazarov is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

The terraces

One of their own: Kirill Dudkin

He is 23 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.

Transfer targets

The window shuts on the Maxim Chaykovsky deal

Tver ran out of time with Irtysh. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Daniil Sokolov

“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.

In brief

6 Edition

The Tver Courier

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Yegor Ponomarev scores twice — 9.40

Two goals and a mark of 9.40 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Player ratings

Kirill Zakharov, 19, steals the show — 8.17

Marked 8.17 at 19, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.

Player ratings

Kirill Dudkin beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 26. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Market

Muslim Nabiev 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 Tver can pretend not to have heard.

Match

Tver find a way past Kolomna

Kolomna made Tver work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑2 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Transfer targets

Tver rebuffed over Ilja Bychkov

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dinamo Barnaul have kept their man, and Tver go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

The terraces

Tver supporters have found a favourite in Yegor Ponomarev

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Yegor Ponomarev 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 dugout

Prokhor Medvedev: “That is the standard”

“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 3‑2, already talking about the next one.

The dugout

Andrey Shevtsov 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.

In brief

5 Edition

The Tver Courier

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Kirill Dudkin puts it in writing

“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 Tver, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Muslim Nabiev is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tver is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Match

4 matches without a win for Tver

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Tver are no longer polite ones.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Ilya Korsakov

Tver asked and Tyumen said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Kirill Dudkin

Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Chertanovo snatch it back from Tver

A goal on 89 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.

Player ratings

Yegor Ponomarev was the difference for Tver

Marked 7.93. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Tver

6 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.

Match

Honours even between Tver and Chertanovo

1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

In brief

4 Edition

The Tver Courier

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Tver bow out of the cup

Volgar go through and Tver go home, 3‑4 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.

Player ratings

Both of them Muslim Nabiev's — 8.39

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.39, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Kirill Zakharov at 19 — 7.91

The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Kirill Zakharov did not need any: 7.91, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Market

Nikita Oleinik 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 Tver can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Vyacheslav Shataev out for 30 days

The medical room confirms 30 days on the sidelines for Vyacheslav Shataev, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Player ratings

Kirill Dudkin runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

7 goals as Tver and Volgar go for it

Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Tver and Volgar, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Muslim Nabiev

At 19 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.

Match

Tver come up short against Zenit 2

Zenit 2 left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

In brief

3 Edition

The Tver Courier

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Kirill Dudkin says no to Kaluga

“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Kirill Dudkin had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.

Market

Muslim Nabiev has said yes to Rubin Yalta

The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Tver have lost him in all but the paperwork.

Transfer targets

Vladimir Semak due for a Tver medical

Everything agreed with Volna, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Squad

Kirill Dudkin 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 Tver this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

Too dear: Tver walk away from Ilja Glebov

$50.0K was the most the club would pay and Rubin Yalta were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.

The terraces

One of their own: Vyacheslav Shataev

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.

Transfer targets

Tver ask about Arseny Avvakumov

A loan enquiry to Dinamo Bryansk: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Kirill Dudkin

Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

The dugout

Prokhor Medvedev on the point

“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Prokhor Medvedev after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.

In brief

2 Edition

The Tver Courier

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Kirill Zakharov at 19 — 8.27

The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Kirill Zakharov did not need any: 8.27, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Market

Muslim Nabiev 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 Tver can pretend not to have heard.

Transfer targets

$700.00 settles it between the clubs for Yury Mozzhukhin

Saturn have accepted the money. What Tver do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.

Market

Eyes on Kirill Dudkin again

The phone has started ringing about Kirill Dudkin again, and this time the name on the line is Kaluga. Tver are listening politely and promising nothing.

Transfer targets

An offer of $50.0K for Ilja Glebov

Tver have gone to Rubin Yalta with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.

Squad

Words exchanged at Tver

Kirill Dudkin 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.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Nikolay Koserik

Tver asked and Orenburg said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Match

Tver see off Zvezda

Three points for Tver, 2‑1 the final word against Zvezda in a contest settled by the finer margins.

The terraces

One of their own: Kirill Dudkin

He is 23 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.

In brief

1 Edition

The Tver Courier

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Kirill Dudkin asks to leave Tver

“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.

Squad

Kirill Dudkin signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Kirill Dudkin commits to Tver for another 4 years.

Squad

A falling-out at Tver

Kirill Dudkin and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Tver come up short against Spartak Moscow 2

Spartak Moscow 2 left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Market

Uralets-TS join the queue for Islam Zangiev

Add another name to the list: Uralets-TS have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Islam Zangiev. The answer from Tver has not changed — yet.

Squad

7 new faces, and Tver 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 dugout

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 Prokhor Medvedev to a room that had heard them before.

Market

Nobody at Tver has picked up the phone to Anton Khomyakov

49 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Nikita Lyutikov

“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.

In brief