From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 May 2027
Murad Omarov 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 Spartak Tambov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout24 May 2027
This is not rotation. Andrey Maloletov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Spartak Tambov is pretending otherwise.
Squad24 May 2027
Words at Spartak Tambov training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Shmarov 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.
Boardroom24 May 2027
Football clubs borrow; that is not the story. Borrowing more than the facility allows is, because from here it is the owner's money or somebody else's decision, and neither of those belongs to the board.
The dugout24 May 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Daniil Gurchenko trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout24 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Denis Nikittsev, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom17 May 2027
Wages eat 201% of everything Spartak Tambov earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad17 May 2027
Alexandr Shmarov 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 dugout17 May 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market17 May 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Dmitry Kuptsov signs something — a contract at Spartak Tambov or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market17 May 2027
1 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Spartak Tambov money.
The dugout17 May 2027
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Ilja Vostrikov has written the date down.
The dugout17 May 2027
Denis Nikittsev asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout17 May 2027
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Alexandr Shmarov has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market10 May 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartak Tambov is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Loan watch10 May 2027
“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 Spartak Tambov, and 6 appearances in 38 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout10 May 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout10 May 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market10 May 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Spartak Tambov know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market10 May 2027
2 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Spartak Tambov money.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 May 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartak Tambov is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Boardroom3 May 2027
$22.4K of the owner's money at Spartak Tambov
The shortfall was covered from upstairs again. Supporters are entitled to be relieved and entitled to ask what happens the month it is not, and both feelings usually arrive together.
Squad3 May 2027
Alexandr Shmarov 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.
Squad3 May 2027
Alexandr Bazhenov 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 dugout3 May 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Boardroom3 May 2027
The manager has a list and the board has a condition attached to it. That is not a crisis — half of football works this way — but it decides which of the two of them gets his way in August.
Squad3 May 2027
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Spartak Tambov than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
Market3 May 2027
2 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Spartak Tambov money.
The dugout3 May 2027
Andrey Bokovoy asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom26 Apr 2027
The numbers do not look good at Spartak Tambov
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
This is not rotation. Andrey Maloletov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Spartak Tambov is pretending otherwise.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Words at Spartak Tambov training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Shmarov 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.
Boardroom26 Apr 2027
The borrowing at Spartak Tambov reaches $2.1M
Past the limit the bank set, which is the line between a club being financed and a club being in trouble. $2.1M is now the number every conversation about this club will start with.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Andrey Maloletov 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 dugout26 Apr 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
Andrey Bokovoy 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 Andrey Bokovoy trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market26 Apr 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Pavel Khodeev’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market26 Apr 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Mikhail Osinov may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Apr 2027
Murad Omarov 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 Spartak Tambov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom19 Apr 2027
201% of the income goes out in wages at Spartak Tambov
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 dugout19 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniil Gurchenko, and the manager let it.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Alexandr Shmarov 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 dugout19 Apr 2027
Alexandr Shmarov asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
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.
Market19 Apr 2027
2 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Spartak Tambov money.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Apr 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ilja Tikhomirov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spartak Tambov the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Murad Omarov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Alexandr Shmarov 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.
Loan watch12 Apr 2027
“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 Spartak Tambov, and 6 appearances in 34 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Daniil Gurchenko trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market12 Apr 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Spartak Tambov, another week without a signature from Andrey Bokovoy.
Market12 Apr 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Daniil Gurchenko’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market12 Apr 2027
The clock does Andrey Bokovoy’s negotiating for him
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Spartak Tambov could ask drops and the wages Andrey Bokovoy can ask rise.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Spartak Tambov. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Apr 2027
Andrey Bokovoy has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spartak Tambov they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Murad Omarov 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Alexandr Shmarov 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.
Market5 Apr 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
Daniil Gurchenko asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market5 Apr 2027
3 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Spartak Tambov money.
Market5 Apr 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Maxim Levin’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout29 Mar 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Boardroom29 Mar 2027
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Spartak Tambov now.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
This is not rotation. Andrey Maloletov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Spartak Tambov is pretending otherwise.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Shmarov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market29 Mar 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Spartak Tambov know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market22 Mar 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Spartak Tambov can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom22 Mar 2027
Wages swallow 237% of the Spartak Tambov 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Spartak Tambov training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Shmarov 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 dugout22 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Airat Khabibulin, and the manager let it.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Spartak Tambov told Vyacheslav Puzikov something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Spartak Tambov, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market22 Mar 2027
The shop window has Roman Petrov in it
Spartak Tambov have let the market know Roman Petrov can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Market22 Mar 2027
3 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Spartak Tambov could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market15 Mar 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Spartak Tambov, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market15 Mar 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spartak Tambov they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Alexandr Shmarov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
Roman Petrov 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 watch15 Mar 2027
“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 Spartak Tambov, and 6 appearances in 30 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Alexandr Bazhenov 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 dugout15 Mar 2027
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Spartak Tambov told Anton Penchelyuzov something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
Andrey Bokovoy 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 Andrey Bokovoy trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 Mar 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartak Tambov is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market8 Mar 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Spartak Tambov can pretend not to have heard.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Alexandr Shmarov 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Marat Bogdaev 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Daniil Gurchenko is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marat Bogdaev, and the manager let it.
Squad8 Mar 2027
The division's best last weekend was a Spartak Tambov man
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Daniil Gurchenko was the best thing in any of them.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
Andrey Bokovoy 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.
Market8 Mar 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Maxim Levin’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market1 Mar 2027
The deal that would have taken Daniil Gurchenko to Arsenal Tula has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Spartak Tambov with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Market1 Mar 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Boardroom1 Mar 2027
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 2 gone
That is the business done at Spartak Tambov until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Murad Omarov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom1 Mar 2027
The numbers do not look good at Spartak Tambov
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
This is not rotation. Andrey Maloletov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Spartak Tambov is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets1 Mar 2027
Spartak Tambov ran out of time with Astrakhan. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Marked 8.21 — 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Spartak Tambov training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Shmarov 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Two goals and a mark of 8.57 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Market22 Feb 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Spartak Tambov have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market22 Feb 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Spartak Tambov can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
Daniil Chernobay: 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.” Spartak Tambov have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Murad Omarov 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 Spartak Tambov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets22 Feb 2027
Spartak Tambov asked and Alania said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match20 Feb 2027
Kvant made Spartak Tambov work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Boardroom22 Feb 2027
241% of the income goes out in wages at Spartak Tambov
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 terraces22 Feb 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market15 Feb 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spartak Tambov they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market15 Feb 2027
Roman Petrov 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 Spartak Tambov can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
Roman Petrov: 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.” Spartak Tambov have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market15 Feb 2027
The offer from Rodina M for Ilja Tikhomirov 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.
Match13 Feb 2027
No end in sight to Spartak Tambov's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Spartak Tambov has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Murad Omarov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Shmarov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
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.
Loan watch15 Feb 2027
“I watch every Spartak Tambov game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Strogino runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market8 Feb 2027
Only the photograph left for Andrey Bokovoy
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Andrey Bokovoy will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spartak Tambov the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market8 Feb 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Spartak Tambov, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Kaluga have kept their man, and Spartak Tambov go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Alexandr Shmarov 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 targets8 Feb 2027
A loan move for Yury Petrovskiy is in the works
Spartak Tambov have made the call to Volgar. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
A loan move for Amur Balkizov is in the works
Spartak Tambov have made the call to Kaluga. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
A loan move for Roman Torosyan is in the works
Spartak Tambov have made the call to Dinamo St Petersburg. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Spartak Tambov, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market8 Feb 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Spartak Tambov, another week without a signature from Andrey Bokovoy.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match30 Jan 2027
0‑3 to Metallurg, 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.
Market1 Feb 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Spartak Tambov people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market1 Feb 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
This is not rotation. Andrey Maloletov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Spartak Tambov is pretending otherwise.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Shmarov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Nobody left the Spartak Tambov 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.
Market1 Feb 2027
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
A loan enquiry to Kaluga: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market25 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Spartak Tambov can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Spartak Tambov have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Up for the corner, and Mikhail Osinov delivers — 7.46
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Mikhail Osinov scored, was marked 7.46, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Daniil Gurchenko has agreed terms with Torpedo Moscow for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
243% of the income goes out in wages at Spartak Tambov
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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Marat Bogdaev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market25 Jan 2027
Mikhail Osinov is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Spartak Tambov has been clear about where Mikhail Osinov stands, which is more than many ever get.
Match23 Jan 2027
It needed Mikhail Osinov to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Orel, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
In brief
-
The dugout
The manager’s verdict
-
The dugout
Somebody else is better right now than Alexandr Shmarov
-
Player ratings
Andrey Bokovoy beats them one at a time
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad18 Jan 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 18 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market18 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Spartak Tambov can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom18 Jan 2027
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Match16 Jan 2027
1‑2 to Dinamo St Petersburg, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Andrey Bondar'
“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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Spartak Tambov training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marat Bogdaev 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Andrey Maloletov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Marked 7.89 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Spartak Tambov had the best player on the pitch.
Loan watch18 Jan 2027
“I watch every Spartak Tambov game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Strogino runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad11 Jan 2027
25 days out for Alexey Shulgin after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Spartak Tambov will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market11 Jan 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartak Tambov is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market11 Jan 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Murad Omarov 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 ratings11 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 35 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
Match9 Jan 2027
Three points for Spartak Tambov, 1‑0 the final word against Rotor 2 in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Alexandr Shmarov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.97 on the card, and the Spartak Tambov support went home talking about one name.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad4 Jan 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 32 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad4 Jan 2027
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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Murad Omarov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
This is not rotation. Andrey Maloletov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Spartak Tambov is pretending otherwise.
The terraces4 Jan 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Maxim Sergeev 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.
Match2 Jan 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Dmitry Kuptsov. 2‑0 against Znamya Truda, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Ninety minutes of Maxim Levin at his very best
Marked 8.11. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Spartak Tambov.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
Roman Petrov 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.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 Dec 2026
40 days out for Alexey Shulgin after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Spartak Tambov will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Spartak Tambov may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Murad Omarov 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 Spartak Tambov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Wages swallow 340% of the Spartak Tambov 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.
Match26 Dec 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Marat Bogdaev 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.
Match26 Dec 2026
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 4 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Denis Dyachkov after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad21 Dec 2026
47 days out for Alexey Shulgin after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Spartak Tambov will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad21 Dec 2026
The match ball belongs to Dmitry Kuptsov, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
At 35 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 7.92, and nobody on the pitch better.
Match19 Dec 2026
Nobody wants to play Spartak Tambov right now
4 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.
Match19 Dec 2026
It finished 4‑2, and it was Dmitry Kuptsov’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Spartak Tambov.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Ninety minutes of Dmitry Kuptsov at his very best
Marked 9.36. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Spartak Tambov.
The terraces21 Dec 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Andrey Maloletov 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 dugout21 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 Dec 2026
54 days out for Alexey Shulgin after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Spartak Tambov will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 27. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match12 Dec 2026
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.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Andrey Bokovoy
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
7.44, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Spartak Tambov had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
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.” Denis Dyachkov, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Market14 Dec 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Bookings catch up with Maxim Levin
One yellow too many, and a match watched from the stand. The most avoidable absence in football, and Spartak Tambov will feel it on Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad7 Dec 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 61 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
At 35 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 7.88, and nobody on the pitch better.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
This is not rotation. Andrey Maloletov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Spartak Tambov is pretending otherwise.
Match5 Dec 2026
A 1‑0 win over Dinamo Bryansk, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Marat Bogdaev 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.
Match7 Dec 2026
19 points at the turn. The first half of a season is a promise; the second is a bill, and the town is about to find out which of the two this one was.
Market7 Dec 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Squad7 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Tambov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Alexey Shulgin out for 68 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Spartak Tambov will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages swallow 348% of the Spartak Tambov 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Marat Bogdaev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces30 Nov 2026
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.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Pavel Khodeev
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
7.96, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Spartak Tambov had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vyacheslav Frolov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑1, already talking about the next one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Nov 2026
75 days out for Alexey Shulgin after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Spartak Tambov will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market23 Nov 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartak Tambov is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Murad Omarov 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.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Roman Petrov, and the manager let it.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.63 on the card, and the Spartak Tambov support went home talking about one name.
Match21 Nov 2026
A 1‑1 draw with Zenit Penza leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout23 Nov 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.” Denis Dyachkov chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Spartak Tambov, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Alexey Shulgin out for 83 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Spartak Tambov will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market16 Nov 2026
“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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Murad Omarov 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Marat Bogdaev 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 dugout16 Nov 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Daniil Gurchenko trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Looking ahead16 Nov 2026
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Dmitry Kuptsov’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Spartak Tambov needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Market16 Nov 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Dmitry Kuptsov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Roman Petrov has been promised minutes
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Roman Petrov has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 90 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Murad Omarov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match7 Nov 2026
6 matches without a win, and then this, against Salyut. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
Match7 Nov 2026
Three points for Spartak Tambov, 2‑1 the final word against Salyut in a contest settled by the finer margins.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marat Bogdaev, and the manager let it.
Loan watch9 Nov 2026
“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 Spartak Tambov, and 10 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Spartak Tambov training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vyacheslav Frolov 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 dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Denis Dyachkov kept it short after the 2‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 13. 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad2 Nov 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 97 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match2 Nov 2026
Every point is an argument now for Spartak Tambov
Position 13 and 9 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Match31 Oct 2026
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Spartak Tambov are no longer polite ones.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
The instruction came from the boardroom and the dugout did not agree with it. Somebody will go, the fee will be called good business, and the manager will spend the season rebuilding around the space.
Match31 Oct 2026
Kvant left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages swallow 348% of the Spartak Tambov 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.
Loan watch2 Nov 2026
“I watch every Spartak Tambov game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Strogino runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Pavel Khodeev, and the manager let it.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad26 Oct 2026
Alexey Shulgin breaks a bone — 104 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 104 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Spartak Tambov may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match24 Oct 2026
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Spartak Tambov are no longer polite ones.
Market26 Oct 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ilja Tikhomirov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spartak Tambov the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Match24 Oct 2026
0‑2 to Ryazan, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Marat Bogdaev 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Too much change too quickly at Spartak Tambov
9 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Alexey Shulgin out for 111 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Spartak Tambov will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Spartak Tambov may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Spartak Tambov training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marat Bogdaev 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 dugout19 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Alexandr Bazhenov 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.
Market19 Oct 2026
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Alexandr Bazhenov has his answer from Spartak Tambov; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Market19 Oct 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Dmitry Kuptsov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
No place in the plan for Roman Petrov
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
The manager makes Marat Bogdaev a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Spartak Tambov. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Tambov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexandr Mironov, and the manager let it.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Andrey Bokovoy 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 Andrey Bokovoy trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market12 Oct 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alexey Shulgin signs something — a contract at Spartak Tambov or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
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.
Market12 Oct 2026
Spartak Tambov have let the market know Andrey Maloletov can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Squad12 Oct 2026
The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Airat Khabibulin is not doing himself any favours
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
Loan watch12 Oct 2026
6 starts and an average of 6.47. He went there to play and he is playing, which is the only thing a loan was ever for.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match3 Oct 2026
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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Murad Omarov 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 Spartak Tambov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
456% of the income goes out in wages at Spartak Tambov
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.
Match3 Oct 2026
Metallurg left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Pavel Khodeev
“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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Marat Bogdaev 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 dugout5 Oct 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Denis Dyachkov after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Maxim Sergeev 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.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market28 Sep 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartak Tambov is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Murad Omarov 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.
Match26 Sep 2026
Andrey Chasovskikh scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Orel, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad28 Sep 2026
9 new faces, and Spartak Tambov 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.
Loan watch28 Sep 2026
“I did not go to Strogino to sit and watch. I want to come back to Spartak Tambov and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 6 matches say the rest.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Denis Dyachkov to a room that had heard them before.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Alexandr Shmarov 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 dugout28 Sep 2026
Pavel Khodeev 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 Pavel Khodeev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets21 Sep 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Rodina keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Murad Omarov 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 targets21 Sep 2026
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Spartak Tambov will try again when the window opens; Spartak Nalchik may not be selling by then.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Ninety minutes of Maxim Levin at his very best
Marked 8.13. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Spartak Tambov.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Denis Dyachkov after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Looking ahead21 Sep 2026
Orel next, and one man in the Spartak Tambov dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Sep 2026
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Spartak Tambov have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
The clubs have shaken hands with Spartak Nalchik; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 11 signed and 3 gone
That is the business done at Spartak Tambov until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
The deal with Rodina 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.
Match12 Sep 2026
0‑1 to Rotor 2, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marat Bogdaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniil Chernobay, and the manager let it.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Sep 2026
Artem Mironov 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 Spartak Tambov can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Sibir keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marat Bogdaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Mikhail Osinov 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Andrey Bondar' named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Andrey Bondar' is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Spartak Tambov will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Two goals and a mark of 8.66 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Market31 Aug 2026
Roman Petrov 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 Spartak Tambov can pretend not to have heard.
Squad31 Aug 2026
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.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match29 Aug 2026
A 2‑1 win over Znamya Truda, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The terraces31 Aug 2026
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
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. 9 actions, 7.55, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Too much change too quickly at Spartak Tambov
9 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Alexandr Bazhenov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match19 Aug 2026
Dinamo Kirov ended it 0‑1. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Market24 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Spartak Tambov can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Tyumen is saying, and nobody at Spartak Tambov is enjoying the guessing.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Nart have kept their man, and Spartak Tambov go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match22 Aug 2026
A 2‑1 win over Strogino, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Daniil Chernobay and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Spartak Tambov training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marat Bogdaev 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.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A mark of 7.78, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A brace, and Dmitry Kuptsov takes the afternoon — 8.48
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Dmitry Kuptsov provided it, and the 8.48 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Murad Omarov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
He is 22 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.
Match15 Aug 2026
Rodina M made Spartak Tambov work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Spartak Tambov training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Shmarov 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 targets17 Aug 2026
Tyumen 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.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Denis Dyachkov kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match8 Aug 2026
0‑3 against Arsenal Tula 2, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Murad Omarov 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.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Bogdan Gusyev is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Yaroslav Borovikov 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Vasily Gagarin has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Sergey Sharapov has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Squad10 Aug 2026
100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 Aug 2026
0‑3 to Dinamo Bryansk, 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Maxim Levin and Spartak Tambov agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Murad Omarov 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 Spartak Tambov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Andrey Bondar', and the manager let it.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marat Bogdaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom3 Aug 2026
Nobody left the Spartak Tambov 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Squad3 Aug 2026
9 new faces, and Spartak Tambov 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
The clock runs on Maxim Levin's contract
49 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.