22 Nov 2027
Monday
Process
68 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

15 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Boardroom

The Volgar debt reaches $5.9M

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.

Squad

Dmitry Lesnikov is carrying Volgar

6 goals and a season average of 7.26. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Squad

Alexey Pavlishin left out for the big one

A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Alexey Pavlishin will call it something else in private.

In brief

Back issues
67 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

8 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Yury Petrovskiy: 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.” Volgar have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Boardroom

The owner puts $18.7K into Volgar

This is money that keeps the lights on rather than money that buys a centre-half, and the difference is the whole story. A club funded by its owner rather than by its football has exactly one conversation left ahead of it.

Match

Dinamo Moscow 2 take the points off Volgar

Beaten 0-1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

In brief

66 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

1 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Boardroom

Wages eat 187% of everything Volgar 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.

Match

Tyumen take the points off Volgar

Beaten 0-1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Ivan Litvenok 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.

Boardroom

Volgar have to sell first

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.

Squad

Mikhail Strelnik has to sit this one out

A booking nobody needed, on a night the game was already won. Volgar lose a player for the most avoidable reason there is.

Market

Kirill Kolesnichenko linked with a move away

The name of Kirill Kolesnichenko keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

65 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

25 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Yury Petrovskiy has one foot out of the door

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

Match

Volgar cannot stop winning

3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.

Squad

Vsevolod Yermakov out for 36 days

The medical room confirms 36 days on the sidelines for Vsevolod Yermakov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Ilja Zuev out for 31 days

The medical room confirms 31 days on the sidelines for Ilja Zuev, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Match

Volgar find a way past Textilschik

Textilschik made Volgar work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Market

Danil Pelikh linked with a move away

The name of Danil Pelikh keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

64 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

18 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Volgar up to position 3

20 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.

Match

9 unbeaten for Volgar

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 9 matches without defeat is a foundation Volgar did not have in the autumn.

Match

Volgar get the job done against Sibir

A 2-1 win over Sibir, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Boardroom

The Volgar debt reaches $5.6M

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.

Squad

Dmitry Lesnikov is carrying Volgar

6 goals and a season average of 7.24. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Vyacheslav Krotov

“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

63 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

11 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Vsevolod Yermakov decides it from twelve yards

2 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.

Match

Volgar march on in the cup

Pari Nizhniy Novgorod are out and Volgar go through, 0-0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.

Match

8 unbeaten for Volgar

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Volgar did not have in the autumn.

Boardroom

Volgar counting the cost

The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Volgar now.

Match

Volgar get the job done against Leningradets

A 2-0 win over Leningradets, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Yury Petrovskiy

“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.

Squad

Vladislav Adaev is off the mark for Volgar

The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.

Market

Vladislav Morozov linked with a move away

The name of Vladislav Morozov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

Kirill Kolesnichenko wants a proper job in this side

Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — Kirill Kolesnichenko has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. Volgar know, and have known for weeks.

In brief

62 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

4 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Volgar are in real trouble now

Position 8, 14 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Match

5 matches without a win for Volgar

The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Volgar are no longer polite ones.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Volgar

The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Squad

Ilja Zuev signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ilja Zuev commits to Volgar for another 2 years.

Boardroom

196% of the income goes out in wages at Volgar

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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Danil Pelikh

“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.

Match

Honours even between Volgar and Alania

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

Squad

Yegor Proshkin finally opens his account

He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Volgar have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.

Market

Kirill Kolesnichenko linked with a move away

The name of Kirill Kolesnichenko keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

61 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

27 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Yury Petrovskiy has one foot out of the door

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

Match

4 matches without a win for Volgar

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

Squad

Ilja Zuev out for 59 days

The medical room confirms 59 days on the sidelines for Ilja Zuev, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Ivan Litvenok

“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.

Squad

Daniel Herrera out for 33 days

The medical room confirms 33 days on the sidelines for Daniel Herrera, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Match

Volgar and Mashuk take a point apiece

It finished 2-2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

Squad

Alexey Pavlishin knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Volgar, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Danil Pelikh linked with a move away

The name of Danil Pelikh keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

Market

Daniel Herrera joins Volgar on a free

No fee and no drama: Daniel Herrera has signed at Volgar, and the wage bill is the only line that moved.

In brief

60 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

20 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Boardroom

The Volgar debt reaches $5.3M

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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Yegor Proshkin

“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.

Match

Volgar and Dinamo Kirov take a point apiece

It finished 1-1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

Squad

Danil Poluboyarinov finally opens his account

He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Volgar have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.

Squad

Alexey Pavlishin 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.

Market

Oleg Dmitriev linked with a move away

The name of Oleg Dmitriev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

59 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

13 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Mikhail Strelnik 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Volgar turn down Zvezda for Yury Petrovskiy

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Market

Danil Goryaev’s move to Chernomorets falls through

The deal that would have taken Danil Goryaev to Chernomorets has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Volgar with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.

Boardroom

Volgar counting the cost

The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Volgar now.

Match

Honours even between Volgar and Veles

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

Squad

The manager makes an example of Danil Goryaev

“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.

Market

Vladislav Adaev linked with a move away

The name of Vladislav Adaev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

Yury Petrovskiy knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Volgar, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Squad

The wait is over for Dmitry Lesnikov

It went in off him and he did not care in the slightest. 2 for the season now, and a forward who has scored is a different footballer by Tuesday.

In brief

58 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

6 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

The Al-Faisaly deal is off

Everything was agreed until it was not, and Vladislav Morozov reports back to Volgar with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.

Market

Yury Petrovskiy attracts admirers

The name of Yury Petrovskiy has come up in conversations Volgar were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Boardroom

Wages eat 185% of everything Volgar 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Vyacheslav Krotov

“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.

Match

Volgar share the spoils with Dinamo Moscow 2

A 1-1 draw with Dinamo Moscow 2 leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Market

Kirill Kolesnichenko linked with a move away

The name of Kirill Kolesnichenko keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

57 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

30 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Vsevolod Yermakov

There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Market

Danil Goryaev 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Al-Faisaly watching Vladislav Morozov

The interest is real enough to have reached print. Volgar have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Squad

Volgar lose Kirill Kolesnichenko

18 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

Ilja Zuev out for 87 days

The medical room confirms 87 days on the sidelines for Ilja Zuev, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Match

Volgar find a way past Tyumen

Tyumen made Volgar work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Yury Petrovskiy

“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.

Market

Danil Pelikh linked with a move away

The name of Danil Pelikh keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

The terraces

Supporters make their feelings known about Vladislav Morozov

The speculation has reached the stands, and the stands have answered. Volgar would like this settled before it becomes the only thing anybody asks about.

In brief

56 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

23 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Cup progress for Volgar

A 1-0 win over Kosmos, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?

Market

Volgar turn down Torpedo Vladimir for Danil Goryaev

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Squad

Maxim Abakumov: 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.” Volgar have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Match

Volgar come up short against Textilschik

Textilschik left with the points after a 0-1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Danil Poluboyarinov

“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.

Market

Torpedo Vladimir expected to open talks for Yury Petrovskiy

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Volgar will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

In brief

55 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

16 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Mikhail Strelnik 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Boardroom

Volgar counting the cost

The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Volgar now.

Market

Yury Petrovskiy attracts admirers

The name of Yury Petrovskiy has come up in conversations Volgar were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Ivan Litvenok

“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.

Match

Volgar draw a blank against Sibir

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

Market

Vladislav Morozov linked with a move away

The name of Vladislav Morozov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

54 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

9 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

152% of the income goes out in wages at Volgar

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.

Squad

Vyacheslav Krotov stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Vyacheslav Krotov and Volgar agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Yegor Proshkin

“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.

Match

Volgar share the spoils with Leningradets

A 2-2 draw with Leningradets leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Squad

Alexey Pavlishin 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.

Market

Kirill Kolesnichenko linked with a move away

The name of Kirill Kolesnichenko keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

53 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

2 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Kirill Volkov says Volgar went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Vsevolod Yermakov

There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Squad

Volgar lose Kirill Kolesnichenko

46 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

Ilja Zuev out for 115 days

The medical room confirms 115 days on the sidelines for Ilja Zuev, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Market

Danil Goryaev attracts admirers

The name of Danil Goryaev has come up in conversations Volgar were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Match

Volgar find a way past Alania

Alania made Volgar work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

In brief

52 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

26 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Volgar turn down Spartak Nalchik for Danil Goryaev

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Match

5 matches without a win for Volgar

The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Volgar are no longer polite ones.

Match

Mashuk take the points off Volgar

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

Squad

Ibragim Umarov gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Ivan Litvenok 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.

Market

Oleg Dmitriev linked with a move away

The name of Oleg Dmitriev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

51 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

19 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Volgar turn down Cesar Vallejo for Vladislav Morozov

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Match

4 matches without a win for Volgar

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

Market

Andrei Lopatin comes home

The shirt still fits. Andrei Lopatin is back at Volgar, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.

Market

Danil Okulov comes home

The shirt still fits. Danil Okulov is back at Volgar, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.

Market

Stanislav Tolstoy is a Volgar player again

He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.

Boardroom

Volgar counting the cost

The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Volgar now.

Squad

Danil Pelikh 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.

Match

Volgar and Dinamo Kirov take a point apiece

It finished 2-2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

Squad

Dmitry Lesnikov finally opens his account

He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Volgar have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.

In brief

50 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

12 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Danil Goryaev attracts admirers

The name of Danil Goryaev has come up in conversations Volgar were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Boardroom

178% of the income goes out in wages at Volgar

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.

Squad

Yury Petrovskiy stays put

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

In brief

49 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

5 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Mikhail Strelnik 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Volgar lose Ilja Zuev

144 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Market

Vladislav Morozov linked with a move away

The name of Vladislav Morozov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

48 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

28 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Volgar sell Vladislav Yampolskiy for $200.0K

Vladislav Yampolskiy has left for Rodina in a $200.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.

Market

The Danil Pelikh talk will not go away

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

Squad

Oleg Dmitriev loses a friend at Volgar

The move was somebody else's story. What it left behind was a dressing-room stall nobody has taken and a player who keeps looking at it.

In brief

47 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

21 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Vladislav Yampolskiy 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Volgar turn down Spartak Kostroma for Vladislav Yampolskiy

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Squad

Vladislav Morozov stays put

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

Boardroom

Volgar counting the cost

The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Volgar now.

Market

Zvezda watching Magomed Nasibov

The interest is real enough to have reached print. Volgar have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Squad

Vladislav Adaev gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

46 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

14 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Kirill Kolesnichenko stays put

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

Boardroom

214% of the income goes out in wages at Volgar

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.

Squad

Yury Petrovskiy gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

45 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

7 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Mikhail Strelnik 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Ibragim Umarov out for 23 days

The medical room confirms 23 days on the sidelines for Ibragim Umarov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Ibragim Umarov knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Volgar, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

44 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

31 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

The Danil Pelikh talk will not go away

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

Squad

The manager comes out for Vladislav Yampolskiy

Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Vladislav Yampolskiy has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.

43 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

24 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Vladislav Yampolskiy 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Boardroom

Volgar counting the cost

The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Volgar now.

Loan watch

Kirill Volkov wants to come home

“I did not go to Irkutsk to sit and watch. I want to come back to Volgar and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 14 matches say the rest.

In brief

42 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

17 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Enrique Céspedes 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Boardroom

Wages eat 229% of everything Volgar 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.

Loan watch

Magomed Nasibov wants to come home

“I did not go to Veles to sit and watch. I want to come back to Volgar and fight for my place.” 9 appearances in 39 matches say the rest.

Market

The Danil Poluboyarinov talk will not go away

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

Squad

Enrique Céspedes is starting to look at home

The language is arriving, the jokes are landing, and there is somebody at the next peg to talk to. None of it appears in a scouting report and all of it shows up on the pitch.

Squad

Vladislav Adaev keeps his manager's vote

The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Vladislav Adaev plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.

In brief

41 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

10 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

The Mikhail Strelnik talk will not go away

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

Market

Ruslan Buriak leaves Volgar for nothing

No fee, no negotiation, no argument: Ruslan Buriak moves on to Fakel with his contract settled and the wage bill a little lighter.

Squad

Kirill Kolesnichenko keeps his manager's vote

The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Kirill Kolesnichenko plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.

In brief

40 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

3 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The manager makes an example of Ruslan Buriak

“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.

Market

The Danil Pelikh talk will not go away

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

Squad

Ruslan Buriak has company in his position

The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Ruslan Buriak keeps the shirt for now, at Volgar's convenience rather than his own.

In brief

39 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

26 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Vladislav Yampolskiy 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Ruslan Buriak is on his way

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

Squad

Danil Goryaev signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Danil Goryaev commits to Volgar for another 3 years.

Boardroom

Volgar counting the cost

The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Volgar now.

Loan watch

Kirill Volkov wants to come home

“I did not go to Irkutsk to sit and watch. I want to come back to Volgar and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 10 matches say the rest.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Yury Petrovskiy

“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

38 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

19 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Enrique Céspedes asks to leave Volgar

“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.

Boardroom

217% of the income goes out in wages at Volgar

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.

Squad

Enrique Céspedes out for 28 days

The medical room confirms 28 days on the sidelines for Enrique Céspedes, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Loan watch

Magomed Nasibov has seen enough of Veles

“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 Volgar, and 9 appearances in 35 say he has earned the hearing.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Artem Yuran

“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.

Market

Ruslan Buriak placed on the list

Volgar have made Ruslan Buriak available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.

Market

Danil Poluboyarinov linked with a move away

The name of Danil Poluboyarinov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

Yury Petrovskiy knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Volgar, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Loan watch

Ibragim Umarov first choice at Kolomna

22 starts and a season average of 7.01. The loan is doing exactly what it was arranged to do.

In brief

37 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

12 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Artem Yuran 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.

Market

Mikhail Strelnik linked with a move away

The name of Mikhail Strelnik keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

The manager comes out for Kirill Kolesnichenko

Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Kirill Kolesnichenko has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.

In brief

36 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

5 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Volgar lose Vladislav Yampolskiy

14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

Ruslan Buriak 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.

Boardroom

Volgar are $3.4M in the red

The borrowing is past what the bank agreed, which is the line where a debt stops being how football is financed and starts being a problem. Every phone-in in this town will quote the figure for the next five years.

Squad

The armband comes off Oleg Dmitriev

Volgar 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.

Market

Danil Pelikh linked with a move away

The name of Danil Pelikh keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

Vladislav Adaev handed the armband

The captaincy goes to Vladislav Adaev. It is not a job that wins matches, but a dressing room always notices who is given it.

In brief

35 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

29 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Vladislav Yampolskiy asks to leave Volgar

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

Ruslan Buriak has one foot out of the door

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

Boardroom

The numbers do not look good at Volgar

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.

Loan watch

Kirill Volkov has seen enough of Irkutsk

“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 Volgar, and 0 appearances in 6 say he has earned the hearing.

Market

Oleg Dmitriev linked with a move away

The name of Oleg Dmitriev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

Market

Still no signature from Ruslan Buriak

4 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Volgar could get for him.

In brief

34 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

22 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

Wages eat 244% of everything Volgar 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Vladislav Yampolskiy

“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.

Loan watch

Magomed Nasibov has seen enough of Veles

“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 Volgar, and 9 appearances in 31 say he has earned the hearing.

In brief

33 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

15 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Enrique Céspedes 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Yury Petrovskiy gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Ruslan Buriak knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Volgar, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

32 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

8 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Vladislav Yampolskiy out for 43 days

The medical room confirms 43 days on the sidelines for Vladislav Yampolskiy, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Oleg Dmitriev signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Oleg Dmitriev commits to Volgar for another 3 years.

Loan watch

Danil Goryaev wants to come home

“I did not go to Kuban Holding to sit and watch. I want to come back to Volgar and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.

Market

Volgar sign Murad Amirbekov, one for the future

Murad Amirbekov is 20, and Volgar have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.

Squad

Ruslan Buriak 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.

Squad

Vsevolod Yermakov gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

31 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

1 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Ruslan Buriak has one foot out of the door

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

Boardroom

The numbers do not look good at Volgar

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.

Squad

Artem Yuran gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Alexey Pavlishin 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.

Market

Oleg Dmitriev linked with a move away

The name of Oleg Dmitriev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

Market

Ruslan Buriak runs his contract down

5 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Volgar money.

In brief

30 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

22 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Vladislav Yampolskiy 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Boardroom

284% of the income goes out in wages at Volgar

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.

Loan watch

Magomed Nasibov has seen enough of Veles

“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 Volgar, and 9 appearances in 27 say he has earned the hearing.

In brief

29 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

15 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Enrique Céspedes 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Vyacheslav Krotov

“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.

Squad

Dmitry Koverov asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief

28 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

8 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Volgar turn down Druzhba for Kirill Volkov

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Squad

Volgar lose Vladislav Yampolskiy

72 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Market

Inal Dudaev comes home

The shirt still fits. Inal Dudaev is back at Volgar, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.

Squad

Inal Dudaev signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Inal Dudaev commits to Volgar for another 3 years.

Market

Danil Pelikh linked with a move away

The name of Danil Pelikh keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

Dmitry Lesnikov has company in his position

The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Dmitry Lesnikov keeps the shirt for now, at Volgar's convenience rather than his own.

In brief

27 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

1 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Volgar turn down Rodina for Vladislav Yampolskiy

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Market

Kirill Volkov attracts admirers

The name of Kirill Volkov has come up in conversations Volgar were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Squad

Yury Petrovskiy 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.

Boardroom

The numbers do not look good at Volgar

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.

Market

Oleg Dmitriev linked with a move away

The name of Oleg Dmitriev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

Market

Still no signature from Ruslan Buriak

6 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Volgar could get for him.

In brief

26 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

25 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Vladislav Yampolskiy 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Volgar turn down Metta/LU for Vladislav Morozov

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Boardroom

348% of the income goes out in wages at Volgar

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.

Squad

Ruslan Buriak 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.

Market

Ruslan Buriak placed on the list

Volgar have made Ruslan Buriak available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.

Market

Danil Poluboyarinov linked with a move away

The name of Danil Poluboyarinov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

25 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

18 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Alexey Pavlishin says Volgar went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Market

Enrique Céspedes 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Ruslan Buriak knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Volgar, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

24 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

11 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Yury Petrovskiy: 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.” Volgar have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Volgar lose Vladislav Yampolskiy

102 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

Volgar lose German Utkin

29 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

In brief

23 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

4 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Ruslan Buriak: 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.” Volgar have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Boardroom

The Volgar debt reaches $2.2M

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.

Loan watch

Magomed Nasibov has seen enough of Veles

“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 Volgar, and 9 appearances in 20 say he has earned the hearing.

Squad

Mikhail Strelnik 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.

Boardroom

The numbers do not look good at Volgar

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.

Market

Oleg Dmitriev linked with a move away

The name of Oleg Dmitriev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

Market

Ruslan Buriak runs his contract down

7 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Volgar money.

Loan watch

Ibragim Umarov wants to stay at Kolomna

“I am playing every week here and I feel like a footballer again.” 17 appearances and 1 goals on loan, and a decision waiting in the summer.

Market

Volgar put Enrique Céspedes up for sale

The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Enrique Céspedes may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.

In brief

22 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Vladislav Yampolskiy 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Vyacheslav Krotov says Volgar went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Boardroom

780% of the income goes out in wages at Volgar

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.

Market

Ruslan Buriak placed on the list

Volgar have made Ruslan Buriak available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.

Squad

Dmitry Koverov knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Volgar, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Loan watch

1 goals on loan for Ibragim Umarov

16 appearances at Kolomna and the goals keep coming. Volgar are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.

In brief

21 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Enrique Céspedes 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Dmitry Koverov says Volgar went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Ruslan Buriak

“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

20 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Ruslan Buriak asks to leave Volgar

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

Mikhail Strelnik: 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.” Volgar have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Alexey Pavlishin

“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

19 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Danil Goryaev says Volgar went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Kirill Volkov

“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.

Squad

Ruslan Buriak knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Volgar, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

18 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Vladislav Yampolskiy 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Boardroom

Wages eat 983% of everything Volgar 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.

Squad

Ruslan Buriak asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief

17 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Volgar bow out of the cup

Krasnodar go through and Volgar go home, 0-1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.

Market

Enrique Céspedes 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

The terraces

The boos come down from three sides

“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 6 of the 24 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.

Squad

Bogdan Hagi says Volgar went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Danil Pelikh

“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.

Squad

Bogdan Hagi out for 30 days

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

In brief

16 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Ruslan Buriak asks to leave Volgar

“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.

Match

6 unbeaten for Volgar

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Volgar did not have in the autumn.

Squad

Vladislav Morozov gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Ruslan Buriak left out for the big one

A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Ruslan Buriak will call it something else in private.

Match

No goals between Volgar and Veles

Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Veles will be the happier side with the point.

Market

Danil Pelikh linked with a move away

The name of Danil Pelikh keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

15 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The manager makes an example of Vyacheslav Krotov

“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.

Squad

Vladislav Yampolskiy 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.

Match

Volgar draw a blank against Dinamo Moscow 2

The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Dinamo Moscow 2 defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.

In brief

14 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Vladislav Yampolskiy 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Boardroom

Wages eat 983% of everything Volgar 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.

Match

Volgar find a way past Tyumen

Tyumen made Volgar work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Squad

Ruslan Buriak gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Loan watch

Magomed Nasibov wants to come home

“I did not go to Veles to sit and watch. I want to come back to Volgar and fight for my place.” 8 appearances in 11 matches say the rest.

Squad

Vladislav Yampolskiy knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Volgar, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

13 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

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

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

Squad

The manager makes an example of Danil Poluboyarinov

“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.

Match

No goals between Volgar and Textilschik

Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Textilschik will be the happier side with the point.

Market

Volgar put Ruslan Buriak up for sale

The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Ruslan Buriak may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.

Squad

Dmitry Koverov 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.

Market

Mikhail Strelnik linked with a move away

The name of Mikhail Strelnik keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

12 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Enrique Céspedes asks to leave Volgar

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Alexey Pavlishin

“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.

Match

Volgar and Sibir cancel each other out

Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Sibir came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.

In brief

11 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Ruslan Buriak 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Vladislav Morozov

“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.

Match

Volgar share the spoils with Leningradets

A 1-1 draw with Leningradets leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Squad

Ruslan Buriak knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Volgar, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Squad

Vladislav Adaev finally opens his account

He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Volgar have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.

Market

Oleg Dmitriev linked with a move away

The name of Oleg Dmitriev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

10 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Cup progress for Volgar

A 1-0 win over Rotor, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?

Market

Vladislav Yampolskiy 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Boardroom

1713% of the income goes out in wages at Volgar

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

Match

A bad afternoon for Volgar against Alania

0-1 to Alania, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Ruslan Buriak 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.

Boardroom

Volgar counting the cost

The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Volgar now.

Squad

A first senior shirt for Bogdan Hagi

Every debut is a small story about the future: Bogdan Hagi, 20 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.

Squad

Ilja Zuev knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Volgar, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Talks stall between Volgar and Vyacheslav Krotov

“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.

In brief

9 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The manager makes an example of Danil Pelikh

“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.

Match

Volgar and Mashuk take a point apiece

It finished 1-1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

Squad

Dmitry Lesnikov unhappy with how he is being used

Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Dmitry Lesnikov has let it be known that he does not like the way Volgar are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.

In brief

8 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Volgar up to position 3

11 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.

Match

Volgar get the job done against Dinamo Kirov

A 2-1 win over Dinamo Kirov, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Squad

Vyacheslav Krotov gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Dmitry Lesnikov finally opens his account

He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Volgar have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.

Market

Danil Pelikh linked with a move away

The name of Danil Pelikh keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

Market

Volgar put Danil Goryaev up for sale

The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Danil Goryaev may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.

Squad

Vladislav Adaev has taken the shirt

At 30 he is in the side on merit and somebody else is watching from the bench. Places at Volgar are won quietly and lost loudly.

Squad

Bogdan Hagi knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Volgar, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

The window shut and Vladislav Yampolskiy is still in the building

Volgar spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.

In brief

7 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Danil Goryaev’s move to Kosmos falls through

The deal that would have taken Danil Goryaev to Kosmos has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Volgar with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.

Match

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

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

Squad

Vladislav Yampolskiy 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.

Match

Honours even between Volgar and Veles

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

Squad

Vyacheslav Krotov knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Volgar, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Oleg Dmitriev linked with a move away

The name of Oleg Dmitriev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

6 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Inal Dudaev is a Volgar player

The fee is $46.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Alania drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.

Market

Mukhamed Mizaushev is a Volgar player

The fee is $8.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Spartak Nalchik drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.

Boardroom

1482% of the income goes out in wages at Volgar

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.

Market

Talks stall between Volgar and Ruslan Buriak

“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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Mikhail Strelnik

“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.

Market

Danil Goryaev is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Volgar has been clear about where Danil Goryaev stands, which is more than many ever get.

In brief

5 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Vladislav Yampolskiy asks to leave Volgar

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

Nosta come back empty-handed

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

Squad

The manager makes an example of Ruslan Buriak

“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

4 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Volgar march on in the cup

Tver are out and Volgar go through, 1-0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.

The terraces

The ground has had enough

“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 8 of the 24 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.

Market

Veles come back empty-handed

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

Market

Artem Yuran 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Danil Pelikh 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.

Match

Volgar come up short against Textilschik

Textilschik left with the points after a 0-1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Danil Goryaev knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Volgar, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Squad

Alexandr Pomalyuk is off the mark for Volgar

The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.

Squad

The shirt belongs to Kirill Kolesnichenko now

At 26 he has made the position his own, and the man he took it from has to find something to say about it. Volgar have a decision that made itself.

In brief

3 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Enrique Céspedes stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Enrique Céspedes and Volgar agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Market

Veles watching Ibragim Umarov

The interest is real enough to have reached print. Volgar have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Market

A long bet from Volgar on Enrique Céspedes

He is 20, and nobody at Volgar signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Vsevolod Yermakov

“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.

Match

No goals between Volgar and Sibir

Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Sibir will be the happier side with the point.

Squad

A first senior shirt for Enrique Céspedes

Every debut is a small story about the future: Enrique Céspedes, 20 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.

In brief

2 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Volgar tear Leningradets apart

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

Squad

The manager makes an example of Vyacheslav Krotov

“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.

Market

Volgar and Ruslan Buriak are talking past each other

“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.

Squad

Bogdan Hagi out for 14 days

The medical room confirms 14 days on the sidelines for Bogdan Hagi, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Market

Volgar sign Bogdan Hagi, one for the future

Bogdan Hagi is 20, and Volgar have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.

Squad

Bogdan Hagi stays put

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

Market

Vladislav Yampolskiy placed on the list

Volgar have made Vladislav Yampolskiy available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.

Squad

Vladislav Morozov finally opens his account

He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Volgar have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.

Market

Oleg Dmitriev linked with a move away

The name of Oleg Dmitriev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Volgar say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

1 Edition

The Volgar Sentinel

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Vladislav Yampolskiy 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 Volgar can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Oleg Dmitriev stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Oleg Dmitriev and Volgar agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Vladislav Morozov 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.

Market

Talks stall between Volgar and Vyacheslav Krotov

“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.

Market

Nobody at Volgar has picked up the phone to Danil Pelikh

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

Market

Artem Yuran is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Volgar has been clear about where Artem Yuran stands, which is more than many ever get.

In brief