Just been catching up that's a hell of a lot of money to bring in from a transfer and hopefully can be invested back in the first team. Hopefully Miljevic can fill the big shoes Vlasic
He looks like a fantastic replacement for Vlasic, no matter how big the shoes are to fill. His determination and technical ability look set to make him a star at CSKA, very shrewd business indeed.
He looks to be a decent replacement. Plenty left in the bank for the club to reinvest as well. Very shrewd indeed.
Back To It
23rd January 2021
“After CSKA Moscow returned to training on Monday, with an eagerly anticipated Europa League tie against Tottenham Hotspur in just under a month, manager Luke Hendricks is yet to be seen at the Vatutinki training ground.” the TV anchor babbled out in Russian.
Luke had been living in the country for fourteen years, having initially signed at Zenit St Petersburg in 2007, the South African had become fluent in the language. It was one of just seven languages the manager was able to communicate in. Having grown up in one of the world's most diverse cities, he had learnt Afrikaans as a child whilst brought up in an English speaking household. Luke had also learnt Zulu, Sesotho and Xhosa, through various means in his life, with the main learning experience coming from his time in South African national team dressing rooms. Luke had also been able to learn Dutch during his time with Ajax, with the language being very similar to that of Afrikaans. So learning Russian was simply another string to his bow.
“Despite the sad circumstances of his parents' untimely passing, can CSKA afford to not have their manager in and around the squad with some very important months coming up. In February, CSKA will play their two legged tie against Tottenham Hotspur in their first knockout round tie of the Europa League before three busy months domestically, which could also see European action if they manage to beat Spurs.” the anchor continued.
Viktor Petrov was a well known Zenit St Petersburg fan, despite never admitting it with a professional reputation on the line, everyone knew it. Much like the knowledge of Martin Tyler being a Manchester United fan, Petrov was Russia’s Tyler. This support of Zenit meant an instant dislike towards Luke with the player and club's history still seen even years after the acrimonious departure.
“As table toppers, and still with a chance of winning the Kubok Rossii, Luke Hendricks needs to decide whether his personal life is more important than his professional one. If he doesn’t decide that soon, his club will.” Viktor stated as he ended his rant.
He was right. Partly.
The club would do what was best by them and Luke knew that, and as a club he had come to love, Luke respected that. But what Viktor didn’t know was that the decision on Luke’s return to the side was known weeks before the team returned to training.
The idea was to always allow the players to get back to training with the rest of the backroom team and for Luke to arrive on the Saturday for a pre arranged mini tournament that was to round out the weeks first return to training. Luke didn’t want the team to be focused on him and what had happened in the winters break, he wanted everyone focused on the coming challenges his team would face.
Again, Viktor was right, they had a massive few months coming up with a tough test in the Europa League, playing against Tottenham Hotspur before a massive three months domestically, with the opportunity of winning the title come then end of the season. In their last thirteen games, Spurs had only lost once with ten wins. Focus on that challenge was imperative and Luke knew that. He was getting daily reports from his trusted backroom staff, whilst his good friends, Igor Akinfeev, Alan Dzagoev and Georgy Schennikov kept him updated on how the squad was feeling as a whole.
As Luke made the journey to the training ground, he was going over what he wanted to relay to the squad. Having been a leader in the dressing room for many a year and being a coach and now manager for over three years, Luke had given many speeches and team talks. This one though was one of the most important ones, he needed to relay the message to ensure the team knew what was ahead of them.
The journey wasn’t a long one and with Luke having a parking spot at the front entrance, it wasn’t long before he was in the dressing room. He had gotten there slightly early to ensure he could shake every player's hand when they walked into the room.
“Good morning boys” Luke began after shaking the final arrivals hand “Firstly, welcome back to everyone, I’m sorry I am late” Luke joked. “Also a big welcome to Matko, we are all delighted to have you here and I can’t wait to see what you bring to this team.”
With the formalities out of the way, Luke began the true point of this meeting.
“I want to thank everyone for the condolences you each sent during the winter break, I apologise for not replying straight away but I truly appreciate them. But now I don’t want anyone to focus on that. We have a massive few months ahead of us, and we can’t allow any distractions. Let's continue what we started in the first half of the season and let's go win ourselves this title.”
Replies
Justice:That's the plan!
tedbro:Some big shoes, but hopefully he manages it.
Eoin:I am happy with the signing on paper but he needs to impress to fill those boots.
Jack: Attributes alone, the two are very similar players and for the money we get in for Vlasic I was happy to go in for him.
Scott:Was very happy to get the deal done, looks like he has some potential and could be a good player straight away.
Griffo:Thats something I've never heard before
Thanks mate!
Straight back into action. Hopefully it’s not considered to be Luke Russian back to work and hopefully he claims Viktory over Spurs.
A brave Hendricks returns. He's bound to be extremely emotional given the lack of time to properly grieve for his beloved parents.
A very determined sounding Luke who seems to be using the hardship in his life as fuel, hopefully hisdrive can see the CSKA dressing room lift, and also...……….
Martin Tyler: OHHHHH YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
https://media.giphy.com/media/111feFJzkob5oQ/giphy.gif
Martin Tyler: OHHHHH YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
https://media.giphy.com/media/111feFJzkob5oQ/giphy.gif
Moving On
6th February 2021
Luke had been in football for as long as he could remember, starting from the very first time his late father Liam Hendricks had given him his first ball. A move into management was something Luke knew would be tough, but the last few months had been some of the toughest in his career.
Having lost his parents in a robbery gone wrong, as the police put it, Luke returned to Russia on December 24th having attended his parents funeral. In the following month and a bit, Luke had seen two of his key players, Nikola Vlasic and Ilzat Akhmetov, leave for pastures new. Whilst a multitude of offers came in for a number of different players. Mário Fernandes, Volodymyr Shepelev, Luis Olivera, Fedor Chalov and Lucas Santos all attracted a number of interested parties.
This interest meant players' values and worth increased and in the modern day, agents knew this and they took advantage. Following a rejected bid from Brighton, Volodymyr Shepelev demanded a new deal, which extended his time at the club until 2024. Whilst Mário Fernandes decided to leave his agent who had been wanting too much money in a new deal following a rejected offer from a number of Chinese clubs.
In reality, Luke would have paid the right back who in recent years had been one of the clubs greatest players. However, with the Brazilian born, Russian international, now aged 30, the player is well into his prime years. This has led to the acquisition of 22 year old Felix Passlack on a pre-contract agreement. The German, who has been at Borussia Dortmund since his youth days, saw his contract run down to its final six months and with this, CSKA swooped in. A German under 21 international will join the club in the summer upon completion of his Dortmund contract.
Passlack wasn’t the only incoming player for Luke’s squad either, with fromer wonderkid and Spanish under 21 captain, Jesús Vallejo being signed for £775,000. A player who was signed by Real Madrid in 2015 had many expecting great things from him, however, injuries have hampered his development. Starting in twenty-one games for Wolves in the Premier League last season, Vallejo showed his ability and potential is still there. These performances have convinced Hendricks to add him to a squad, whose defensive prowess has improved dramatically this season. Having conceded twenty-six goals in the league last season, CSKA have conceded just eleven this year in their eighteen games, a tighter defense has been key to their rise into 1st place.
With players coming and going and the first real loss of star players for Luke, a return to action would have been most welcome. That return came in a friendly against second division side, Dolgoprudny. The Russian winter break was a necessary one, the harsh winter conditions were tough for many to play football in let alone fans to enjoy the games. But with a big tie against Tottenham Hotspur coming up in just under two weeks, a couple of fixtures was needed to regain match fitness.
The game saw two debuts for CSKA, with Jesús Vallejo pairing Chancel Mbemba in the center of the defense, whilst Nikola Vlasic replacement, Matko Miljevic also made his debut. But it was the old guard who stood out, with Luis Olivera opening the scoring with a long range effort just two minutes into the game. The strike was an excellent effort giving the goalkeeper no chance at stopping CSKA taking the lead.
The game's final two goals followed very quickly with Arnór Sigurðsson wrapping up the game inside ten minutes with a quick brace. The game was nowhere near to a classic and the lack of gametime in the past few weeks was clear, but CSKA got much needed gametime under their belts.
A stressful couple of months for Luke Hendricks, but with the return to competitive football near, his focus will be on winning games at a team he has fallen in love with.
Replies
Justice:Punny.
Scott:Football can be a focus in tough times and potentially could be what Luke needs.
Griffo:Potentially or as mentioned to Scott, it could be exactly what Luke needs to have his mind focused.
Eoin:Disgraceful so called commentator
fingers crossed the new signings can bring future success to the club and give you the drive needed for the top of the table.
Passlack and Vallejo are two very talented young players whose stocks may not be as hyped as they once were, but still possess plenty of potential. They're bound to thrive in Moscow with Luke.
Work provides a good distraction from recent events in Luke's life, especially since he is succeeding in his role. Good on him and long may it continue without interruption.
This is Luke's crucible. If he can make it through this tough time, he will become a monster. Unstoppable. His biggest battles may be off the pitch, but he could prove to be the biggest on the pitch soon.
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