The Red Journey

Nice update
PROSINECKI IS AWESOME! (He played for Pompey and was class so he is liked a lot by the fans!)

Really enjoying these updates, keep them coming!

Great updates mate, I applaud you.. *applauds* Red Star have a great list of former players who became fookin' awesome, so you might wanna check your youth academy before making any signings

@Pompey - Ikr, didn't know he was an ex-Portsmouth player though
@Josh - Thanks, I'll do my best
@Pauker - Thanks, and yeah, they're youth team is pretty good, I have my eye on several players.

After attending my first training session, I met a few old faces, but the team was generally filled with young talent. I’m really excited about our chances this year, even if I’m not there for the whole season, I feel I can really help develop the side to be an even more dominant force in Serbian football. My assistant produced this report me for, to show how he rated each position.

From looking at his report, and from my views during the one training sessions I have hosted, I can see who will be key for me this season, and which position I may need to strengthen.

Key Players-

Nikola Mijailovic

The 31 year old left back will be the leader of our fairly unexperienced defence, and due to his wide range of potential playing positions, he can fill in if we have any gaps due to injuries. Hopefully, he can also lead the team off the pitch, with his age and experience vital for a team like ours, which is fairly young.

Nejc Pecnik

As one of the only foreign players in our team, and one with experience at fairly big clubs around the world, the 27 year old right winger will be vital to our season. His impressive well rounded stats coupled with his high work rate and determination make Nejc a dream not only to have on your team, but to work with in general.

Milos Ninkovic

The undoubted star of this team, Milos is a central attacking midfielder who can make things happen. Not only does he possess a great first touch, but his passing coupled with his creativity and flair make for the ideal playmaker, who I expect to be the difference between us and the rest of the league this year.

Positions to Strengthen –

Defensive Midfield

To fit in with my ideas, I feel we need more players in the defensive midfield area. While 21 year old youth prospect Aleksandar Kovačević is talented, he is more comfortable in the central midfield, and he also is fairly young. The only other option we have there is Goran Gogic, a 27 year old, who can be good on his day, but is very inconsistent, and Ii would not like to have to rely on him to start every match. As there is a lack of depth and a lack of experienced quality, I will be definitely look to buy one or two players in this role.

Striker

Despite the fact that we have two fairly competent options up front in 25 year old Abiola Dauda and 24 year old Filip Kasalica, neither of them stand out to me as a potential league’s top scorer at this level, which is something I think would be very useful for a team like us who are fighting for the top stop. However, due to the low amount of funds I have been given, I will not look to spend all my budget on a striker.

Ninkovic seems very versatile around the midfield area, will be a very important player for you

Milos. Fucking. Ninkovic.

Nice update, Ninkovic looks awesome so hopefully he will have a great season for you!

Good update, you've got some decent players in that squad, especially Ninkovic.

@Jack - yeah, I hope he is our main star attacking wise this season.
@Pauker - Ikr
@Pompey - Thanks, hopefully
@Josh - Thanks, its a good young squad all around, hopefully I can do well with it!

The first piece of big news has come out of Red Star Belgrade since their appointment of their new caretaker manager, Robert Prosine?ki. It has been confirmed by a statement issued by the club earlier today, that their captain, Nenad Milijaš, has not only been stripped of his captaincy role, but also has been placed on the transfer market. This comes as a great shock to Red Star fans, who’d had grown to love the Serbian central midfielder, who was currently in his second spell at the club.

Milijaš started his career at FK Zemun, a Serbian First League side, where he quickly broke into the first team, at the age of only 17. He soon became a vital player for the club over the next few seasons, and he was a key figure in their promotion, and their stay in the top flight. In the 05/06 season, he was excelling again, and had scored 8 times by Christmas from the center of the park. This attracted the attention of the biggest club in the country, Red Star Belgrade, who signed him in January 2006. The now 23 year old won the Superliga and the Serbian Cup in his first season, and was playing well in his first season at the club. His second season was less successful, as while the club still won those two competition for the 2nd year in a row, Milijaš’ playing time was severely limited.

However, under the guidance of new manager Boško Djurovski, he became a regular main stay in the Red Star first 11, and soon became a key figure to the club, not only pulling the strings in midfield, but his overall play added a new dimension to the club’s attack, and due to his impressive work rate, their defense. His personal best season came in the 08/09 campaign, where he scored an outstanding 16 goals (22 in all competitions), and he was the top scorer in the Serbian league, despite playing as a central midfielder. In that season, he won the league’s Most Valuable Player award, was part of the all-star team, was named the Superliga Player of the Year, and even broke into the national team. These outstanding performances were not to go unnoticed, as in the 2009 summer transfer window, he completed a £2.6M move to newly promoted Premier League side, Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Milijaš’ time at Wolves was rocky to say the least. His first offical game for the club was a match against West Ham, and despite Wolves losing 2-0, he was named the Man of the Match. He had an in and out spell in the first team for the next two seasons, making 19 and 23 appearances respectively, only scoring 2 goals in each campaign. He did feature however in their last game of the season, in a victory against Aston Villa, which narrowly kept the club in the top flight for another season. Unfortunately, the following season, they weren’t so lucky, as the club were relegated, and Milijaš barely featured after January under caretaker manager, Terry Connor. Milijaš didn’t want to play in the Championship and wanted first team football, and therefore, he mutually terminated his contract with Wolves. This allowed him to re-sign with Red Star, at the beginning of their 2012/13 season, in which he played a crucial part in their year, but he was unable to help the club break Partian’s run as the league winners.

His placement on the transfer list has caused some uproar with the fans, with many furious that a club icon could be treated this way by the new manager. However, some fans agree with Robert Prosine?ki’s decision, and cited his age and high wage as suitable reasons for this. Red Star will be trying to offload him as soon as possible however, to get in some much needed transfer funds. For more news about Milijaš, Red Star, or the Serbian League in general, remember to keep following.

Nice write up. Hopefully your new captain does a great job.

Crack in' job so far Tanaaaaay. Keep it up

NENAD MILIJAS!

Nice update!
Good to see you not afraid to make bold decisions as manager and not giving a fuck about the club captain