A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Irtysh will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Irtysh is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Alexandr Smirnov 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 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Irtysh training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aznaur Geryugov 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
Boardroom101% of the income goes out in wages at Irtysh
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Irtysh will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The deal with Chernomorets is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Alexandr Smirnov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Artemy Maleev 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.
Nobody at Irtysh 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Irtysh will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Irtysh people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Artemy Maleev 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ilja Krylov is on it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Irtysh will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Irtysh have done the hard part with Chaika, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Neftekhimik have kept their man, and Irtysh go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aznaur Geryugov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Irtysh will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
In brief
The dugoutNikita Zhustjev has become a man the manager trusts
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Irtysh will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Irtysh, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Artemy Maleev 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.
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.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 75 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Irtysh training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artemy Maleev 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.
Aznaur Geryugov 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Valery Titarenko is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Irtysh, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Irtysh will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irtysh this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
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.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Irtysh will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Irtysh had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
Alexandr Smirnov 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Danil Kapustyanskiy was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Irtysh will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Position 2, 22 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Alexandr Smirnov 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Irtysh training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artemy Maleev 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.
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.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Irtysh will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kouakou Adou trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Irtysh will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Irtysh training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artemy Maleev 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.
Nobody at Irtysh 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.
“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.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Irtysh will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Irtysh have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Artemy Maleev 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.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Irtysh can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Irtysh will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Position 2, 22 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Irtysh have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
Danil Kapustyanskiy and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Irtysh training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aznaur Geryugov 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.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Danil Kapustyanskiy trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Artemy Maleev signs something — a contract at Irtysh or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Alexandr Smirnov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Irtysh training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artemy Maleev 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.
Nobody at Irtysh 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Roman Yanushkovskiy signs something — a contract at Irtysh or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irtysh this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Irtysh training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artemy Maleev 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.
Alexandr Smirnov 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 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Irtysh, another week without a signature from Alexey Chaplygin.
Nobody at Irtysh 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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.05 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Irtysh can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artemy Maleev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Irtysh pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artemy Maleev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 dugout26 Oct 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Kouakou Adou
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.
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 dugout26 Oct 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.” Vladlen Yelizarov chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Georgy Makarov is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Roman Yanushkovskiy signs something — a contract at Irtysh or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Rodina 2 kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Irtysh will be asked about the last half hour all week.
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.
7.96, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aznaur Geryugov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
10 combined actions and 6.99. 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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Vladlen Yelizarov after the 2‑2 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
In brief
The dugoutPatryk Klimek asks for a word with the manager
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artemy Maleev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Alexey Chaplygin 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.
“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 dugout12 Oct 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Alexandr Smirnov's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ilja Krylov is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Irtysh, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Position 2 and 19 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
The terraces5 Oct 2026
A cup hiding at KAMAZ leaves Irtysh explaining themselves
0-3, and long before the end the away end had switched from encouragement to something considerably more pointed. Nobody rings a phone-in about losing narrowly.
Alexandr Smirnov 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artemy Maleev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
9.26. 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Irtysh training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aznaur Geryugov 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 board was up, the win was priced in, and then Avangard scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
It needed Roman Yanushkovskiy to find the net to bring anything home at all: 3‑3 against Avangard, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 3‑3, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
In brief
Player ratingsThe pass was always on for Ilja Krylov
The dugoutGeorgy Makarov has become a man the manager trusts
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.02 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Irtysh this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Irtysh asked and Rostov said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Irtysh training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artemy Maleev 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.
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 9 combined actions and a mark of 7.39, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
0‑3 to Kuban, 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.
7 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.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Irtysh close the window on a squad of their own making
23 in and 0 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.
The first defeat in 6 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Kuban; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Irtysh training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artemy Maleev 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.
Murom next, and the two sides the division is watching meet each other. Whoever wins will be told nothing is decided in the same breath as being congratulated.
“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 Irtysh, and it is not being withdrawn.
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 young player of the month award goes to a 19-year-old at Irtysh who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Artemy Maleev is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
6 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Irtysh can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Georgy Makarov, 19, 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 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Irtysh asked and Yenisey said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Artemy Maleev 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.
A 2‑0 win over Torpedo Miass, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Roman Yanushkovskiy provided it, and the 8.20 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Georgy Makarov, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.31
A mark of 8.31 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
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.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Yury Bavin scored, was marked 7.94, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
The offer from Zarya Lugansk for Matvey Zhustjev was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
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.
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 15 actions, 6.91, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Alexandr Smirnov 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.
6 goals in one match, Artemy Maleev on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Irtysh and Rodina 2.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Patryk Klimek has just signed for Irtysh, and for once the answer mattered.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.02 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Dinamo St Petersburg have accepted the money. What Irtysh do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
7.69, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Alexandr Smirnov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Irtysh training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Roman Yanushkovskiy 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Aznaur Geryugov. 2‑1 against Dinamo Vladivostok, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Aleksandr Bessonov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Two goals and a mark of 8.31 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“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 Irtysh, and it is not being withdrawn.
Alexandr Smirnov 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.
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.
Marked 7.59 on 9 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.