Still doing great!!!
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Russian To The Top?
An average footballers attempt to be an above average manager.
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Big game against Yenisey next month... Hopefully you can open up a gap between your own team and the other promotion contenders!
Keep pushing for that promotion and keep believing and it will happen! Shame about the winter break but hopefully your momentum will last!
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Brace Yourself; Winter is Coming!
Just as I feared, we saved our worst sequence of results for the lead up to the winter break. Our form reversal was as dramatic as it was devastating. Our defence, horrendous. Our attack, lifeless. We genuinely struggled to string 2 passes together & looked like a side that had never played together before!
There was some hope with a 3-1 win over Sibir in our last match, but we will have to double our efforts following the break if we are to get back amongst the race for promotion. In that regard, I suppose the break has come at the right time.
Table
For the first time in a long time, we find ourselves outside the top four on head to head results. With just 6 points separating 4th from 9th, we will need to hit the ground running after the break if we are any chance of making the 4.
Stats
Unsurprisingly, we drop out of the picture here. The board is understandably still delighted with our overall performance, though I've little doubt they share my concerns about our recent dip.
Awards
Despite our poor run, Azamat Gonezhukov continues to impress. Once again featuring in the team of the month. The news, a rare highlight in an otherwise depressing month for the club.
March Preview
Just the 3 matches to navigate upon our return to action in March. First up we travel to red hot Fakel, who have set the league alight with their goal scoring prowess, then return home to face a resurgent Zenit-2, who have been boosted by the arrival of some first team outcasts. Finally, we hit the road again to face a Sokol side, who themselves are not entirely out of the promotion race.
Its a deceptively tough return to competitive action & we will need to be on our game. No doubt we'll play a few friendlies in an attempt to regain some confidence between now & then but as yet, nothing is set in concrete. First we'll take a well earned break & gather ourselves for the final push. Wish us luck!
The Winter Break
I saw the winter break as the ideal time to start contemplating the future of the club. With only 3 players (Azamat Gonezhukov, Vadym Leschuk & Nikita Permyakov) confirmed starters for the following year, it was time to start evaluating our playing staff & coming to some decisions as to who was worth keeping around.
First off though was the little matter of my own future.
Despite being heavily linked to the now vacant Dinamo Moscow job, an approach was never made, nor would I have accepted if one was.
Baikal Irkutsk may not be the biggest club around but the hard work & dedication each & every player & staff member here puts in here is second to none & I thought it was important for everyone to see that I was committed to the cause.
With that out of the way, I could now turn my attention to the clubs on field future. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts to convince them otherwise, the board was adamant that no additional funds would be made available for the retention of our playing roster. Which left me in a bit of a pickle.
We were already well over budget, meaning any offers I could make would be an insult the guys who had worked so hard to take the club to the position it was in.
This meant I had to make the unenviable call to terminate all loan agreements, in which any percentage of wages were to be paid, in order to fund contract renewals for our more important players.
This would leave the squad short on both numbers & quality, but with other clubs sniffing around, & the threat of relegation all but gone, It was a decision that had to be made &, although the saved wages weren't enough to get us back in the black, It did allow us to tie up the futures of highly rated forward, Anton Kiselev, leading goalscorer, Dmitry Kortava, & midfield anchor, Maxym Mishnev. All important players for the club moving forward.
The winter break also saw the arrival of the next wave of potential stars at the club with the annual youth intake.
Unfortunately, it proved to be a bit of a let down, with the club failing to attract too many youngsters interested in plying their trade in the harsh Siberian winters. Here is the best of a distinctly average bunch.
& finally, just for anyone interested, the lead up to January often associated with some interesting manager movements, so here is a couple that caught my eye during our long winter break. Enjoy.
Just outside that top four spot which is a shame, but plenty of work in training over the winter break and the players will be back fit and ready to go take the league by storm!
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Free Falling
I arranged 4 friendlies (Which, for some reason, I've cropped out of the results image) against smaller sides to get the guys back up to speed & build some confidence before the resumption of competitive action. As expected, we breezed through them with minimal fuss, winning all 4 comfortably.
When the season proper swung back into action, I felt as though the boys were ready. I was wrong.
As if by magic, the side settled straight back into the poor form that haunted us before the break, putting in a lifeless display against Fakel before being soundly beaten by Zenit-2.
We did bounce back with a dramatic late win against Sokol, Dmitry Kortava again amongst the goals, but even that performance left a lot to be desired.
Table
Unfortunately, our slide down the table seems to be gaining momentum & we slip to 6th as the race for the playoff spots becomes ever closer. In our current form, we'll be lucky to hold onto a top half finish. At the start of the year, I'd have taken that, but now it feels very much like failure.
Stats
Meh!
Awards
I don't quite know how to explain this one. One of our poorest months on the field yields our highest ever representation in the team of the month? A lot of players must of sucked this month I guess!?
April Preview
The way we are playing, every match is tough but this month could be tougher than most & may even end our promotion push! If we are to stand a chance, we must get results against 7th placed, Arsenal Tula, with whom we are equal on points, top of the table Gazovik Orenburg & 10th placed Shinnik, who are still in the hunt themselves.
On current form, I don't rate our chances. Is this the month we finally give up the ghost? I hope not, but all signs point to yes I'm afraid.
Not that big of a fall really... you should be able to make your way back into the playoff spots
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