Such an interesting concept now that he has gotten so close to Luke after trailing him in secret for so long. I think Vallejo will be a star under Luke as well, a chance to rediscover form that everyone knew he always had.
Have to echo Jack's words there. Sergei has come full-circle in essence. The guilt must be nibbling away at him. Not only because of what he's done to Luke, but also the reason behind why he was forced to supply information on him!
2020-05-14 16:31#270992 Jack : Such an interesting concept now that he has gotten so close to Luke after trailing him in secret for so long. I think Vallejo will be a star under Luke as well, a chance to rediscover form that everyone knew he always had.
This makes it sound really creepy Jack haha
Maksim Smirnov - The first month of competitive domestic action has returned after our winter break. Games in both the Kubok Rossii and the league has seen us make progression in the cup and continue to stay at the top of the league having gone unbeaten throughout March.
Sergei Titov - An excellent month in reality despite that poor draw against Rostov where we really should have won. We kicked off the month, and our return to domestic action, with a Kubok Rossii quarter-final game against Krasnodar. A 2-0 win was sealed and set up a semi-final match against Rubin Kazan next month. Arnór Sigurðsson and Magomed-Shapi Suleimanov both got on the scoresheet, with the pair showing signs of things to come for them in the month.
Vadik Vassily - Our first game back in the league was against Arsenal Tula, a side who was comfortably outside of the relegation zone but miles from European places. Having powered past them early in the season in a 4-1 away win, we once again succeeded with Fedor Chalov scoring his first goal in ten games. Arnór Sigurðsson got himself in on the goals for the second game running as we comfortably put away Tula in tough conditions.
Maksim Smirnov - Following a good start back in domestic action, we had an incredibly frustrating fixture against Rostov. They opened the scoring early on and only had one shot on target after that. Magomed-Shapi Suleimanov equalised but with a combination of incredible saves and harsh luck, we just couldn’t find the winner. With a total of thirty-two shots it was a hard pill to swallow surrendering the two points.
Vadik Vassily - A select group of fans slightly turned on Luke following that draw, claiming Matko Miljevic wasn’t a good enough replacement for Nikola Vlasic and we lacked any creativity. Miljevic shut those fans up very quickly, dismantling Nizhniy Novgorod. Scoring a brace, Miljevic helped the side to a crushing victory earning himself his first Man of the Match award since his arrival. Magomed-Shapi Suleimanov also added to his impressive monthly tally, having not previously scored in his six league games up to that point.
Sergei Titov - The final league game of the month was against mid-table side, Krylya Sovetov. Fedor Chalov opened the scoring early, putting fans' minds at ease of another bad run of a lack of goals. The win was sealed by Icelandic star Arnór Sigurðsson, who is once again attracting interest from Premiership sides in England. Leicester City and Stoke City are said to be very interested in the winger and with performances like he showed this month, chances are it’ll be very tough to keep a hold of him.
Maksim Smirnov - The month was finished off with a friendly game for those who weren’t away on international duty. Luke Hendricks explained the importance of the match following the 9-0 win.
Luke Hendricks:
“Yeah we needed this game. With a large squad we need everyone ready and due to a lack of time for friendlies before the Tottenham games we had many struggling for match fitness. We are a team who likes to rotate and for that to be successful without injuries players need to be match fit so this game was a good opportunity for those who hadn’t featured much in the competitive games up to this point”
The game also saw a number of young players featuring for the first time with the likes of Denis Dvornikov and Igor Titov getting their first games for the first team. But the undoubted star of the show was Timur Zhamaletdinov who bagged six of the nine goals himself. Alan Dzagoev, who earlier this month signed an extended contract, taking a significant pay cut in the process keeping him at the club until 2023, scored a penalty. Whilst Alexandr Sobolev and Kirill Shekhov also added goals. Sobolev scored his first goal for the club having arrived on deadline day.
Vadik Vassily - With the month at an end we need to decide on our Player of the Month. For me it has to be Magomed-Shapi Suleimanov. Having struggled early on in the season having joined from Krasnodar, Shapi has been brilliant this month. Three goals and an assist have shown a marked improvement for the winger and I am very happy to see him playing this way.
Sergei Titov - I think it is very unlucky for Arnór Sigurðsson as we are starting to just get used to how brilliant he is but I agree. Magomed-Shapi Suleimanov has been a breath of fresh air this month and has seemingly taken Lucas Santos’ starting place from him. I really think Shapi is only going to continue this development and we might see a real star in the future something many fans doubted a few months ago.
Maksim Smirnov - A great month from him and we are going to need that to continue as we have a very tough month upcoming. We kick off with a home match against Dynamo Moscow before travelling to Krasnodar followed by a second meeting with Rostov. The Kubok Rossii semi-final will see us play Rubin Kazan and then to end of the month we have second in the table Lokomotiv Moscow.
Sergei Titov - Certainly a tough month ahead but one in which I see us extending our lead at the top. I think we can beat every team in that set of fixtures and if results fall our way we could potentially win the league if we beat Lokomotiv Moscow. I think we could be looking at a lot of celebrating come the end of the season and I hope that is set up nicely with a win over Kazan in the semi.
Vadik Vassily - A domestic double certainly sounds good to me Sergei, but I don’t think we should count our chickens just yet. Spartak can go five points behind if they win their game in hand and if Lokomotiv were to beat us they would be just four behind so we haven’t won it yet. I do think we should be beating those teams and I am interested to see how Luke sets up against Rostov, he certainly has a point to prove against them.
Maksim Smirnov - A big month which could see us crowned champions of Russia coming, but for now we say goodbye. Thank you for watching.
*Taken from the CSKA Armiya Youtube Channel 30th March 2021*
Replies
Jack: Vallejo is a player I am very excited to use having had him captain my FM15 Bournemouth side to a lot of success.
Scott:Seems like Sergei felt some of that guilt but that was quickly forgotten when his wife messaged!
Justice: A very perky player!
Griffo:Don't know when a stalker isn't creepy
Wolf:Unfortunately Europe is over for this season following the Spurs loss, hopefully we can do something in the future!
Another important set of results that see the team take another huge step towards the title and a domestic double. It's pleasing to see Chalov and Miljevic both impress when there's been some question marks surrounding them. Next month will be difficult but hopefully results in some pleasing progress or perhaps even a league title.
Maksim Smirnov - April, a month where we have taken another step towards winning the league title for the first time in five years. Twelve goals in five games was enough to see us go 100% in the month whilst also ensuring Champions League qualification, let’s take a closer look.
Sergei Titov - I said at the end of last month I expect us to win all of these games but I wasn’t expecting us to perform at such a high level. We dominated almost every game this month including the opening game against Dynamo. The scoring was opened by Man of the Match, Luis Olivera, who put away an excellent freekick from 25 yards. The freekick was given away by Charles Kaboré and was sent off for it, giving us a one man advantage for over eighty minutes of football. We made it count and had Fedor Chalov not missed two penalties in six minutes, the scoreline would look a lot more flattering. Chalov was quickly pulled off following his second penalty miss and has reportedly been removed from the penalty duties. The game was however, wrapped up when Magomed-Shapi Suleimanov continued his fine form from last month, slotting the winner in the seventy-seventh minute.
Vadik Vassily - The next game of the month was against Krasnodar, the side we beat last month in the Kubok Rossii quarter-final. Volodymyr Shepelev, who recently signed a new contract with the club, gave us the lead inside five minutes and once again we looked on our way to a comfortable win. But the goals weren’t coming and Krasnodar held firm. Then, with ten minutes to play Chancel Mbemba was sent off for a late challenge, putting everything in doubt. Thankfully the side held on and we came out as 1-0 victors.
Maksim Smirnov - We once again faced a team for the second time in two months in our third game of April as we faced Rostov. Led by Artem Gromov, Rostov held us to a 1-1 draw last month and it was clear that CSKA didn’t want that to happen again this time. Alexandr Sobolev, who started ahead of Fedor Chalov for the first time in the league, opened the scoring. Matko Miljevic then converted one from the penalty spot before Magomed-Shapi Suleimanov gave us the three goal lead just after the half hour mark. However, Rostov looked to spoil the party once again scoring just after the second half kick-off. Despite dominating the proceedings once again, CSKA struggled to score in the second half and with Rostov grabbing their second with fifteen minutes to go, it took a lot for the team to hold on.
Vadik Vassily - It was certainly a nervy end to the game but the boys held on and with a cup game next against Rubin Kazan, Luke decided to rotate the squad. A scoreless first half was forgettable but the second was an excellent performance. Konstantin Kuchaev scored the first before Fedor Chalov and Magomed-Shapi Suleimanov, who scored a brace, made it a four goal lead, within five minutes. A truly dominant performance in which many of the fringe members of the squad were able to impress.
Sergei Titov - The rotation allowed the usual starters a good rest before what could have been a title winning game. Had Zenit lost their match against Tambov, a win would have secured us the title. Zenit however, didn’t hold up their side of the bargain, running out 3-0 winners. But that didn’t stop us from impressing once again this month as goals from Alan Dzagoev, who started in place of the suspended Volodymyr Shepelev, and Magomed-Shapi Suleimanov gave us the 2-1 win. Shepelev, who picked up five yellow cards missed the game, but with the experience of Dzagoev, he was barely missed.
Maksim Smirnov - That’s a good point Sergei, this team seems to be a lot better at rotating of late. The system seems to be ingrained in the players and if one or two is missing, whether it’s through suspension, as we have seen with Mbemba and Shepelev this month, or through injury, there is always a replacement in waiting. How important is that for a winning team, Vadik?
Vadik Vassiy - It’s very important, we need to have options and depth can never be overlooked. Many teams have depth in certain areas but apart from right-back we seem to have depth all over the pitch, even at goalkeeper. Matvey Safonov, who was signed in the summer, is looking a very good signing and will be a great replacement once Igor Akinfeev leaves. In thirteen starts, the twenty-two year old has conceded just ten goals and kept eight clean sheets and he highlights the quality in depth we have here.
Sergei Titov - On options we have, once again Magomed-Shapi Suleimanov impressed this month. Having been a consistent member on the bench in the first half of the season, with Lucas Santos favoured, Shapi has managed to force his way into being one of the first names on the team sheet these last two months. Scoring five goals and an assist to his name this month, he’s once again my Player of the Month.
Vadik Vassily - I have to agree. Suleimanov has been a revelation this second half of the season and is now arguably one of our most important players. Still aged twenty-one, I for one am very excited about the future of Shapi and believe he deserves the Player of the Month award for the second month in a row.
Maksim Smirnov - As Shapi continues to impress, we enter the final month of the season with the possibility of winning two trophies. A point is all that is needed to ensure the title and a Kubok Rossii Final against Spartak Moscow it is an exciting month ahead. We start the month with an away fixture against Spartak Moscow before two home ties against Sochi and Zenit St. Petersburg. The league is then halted with the Kubok Rossii final against Spartak before the final game of the season sees us travel to Ural. Boys, surely we will be talking about a title win come the end of the season right?
Sergei Titov - You’d certainly imagine so, even if we lost every game this month we still win the title on goal difference as long as Zenit don’t make up twenty goals on us. It would truly take a Leeds level of bottlejob to lose it from here. In saying that, I want to wrap it up as soon as possible, that will take a lot of pressure off this team and will hopefully give us time to focus on the Kubok Rossii final. Depending on how Luke approaches the final games I believe we will take ten points from these fixtures.
Vadik Vassily - I agree, I think the title is all but confirmed from here and we will secure it with a point at the first time of asking. I do think we may then look to play some of the youngsters in the lead up to the final so we may drop a few more points than what would normally be expected. The league has to be the focus and I am certain Luke won’t be taking his eyes off of it.
Maksim Smirnov - Well, with that, we say goodbye and hopefully the next time we talk we will be Champions, thank you for watching, goodbye.
*Taken from the CSKA Armiya Youtube Channel 27th April 2021*
Replies
Scott:Chalov has probably been the most frustrating player this season. Very up and down and that was highlighted by the two penalty misses.
tedbro:If it wasn't ours to lose last month, it surely is now!
Justice:Titov seems to do that to many a person!
Brilliant month there yet again. Will be a massive uproar in Moscow I'm sure if the title ends up going to Zenit now
Not a Leed that can be easily lost. You are certainly Leeding this club to glory! But what shall Mr. Manager do once he wins the title? Stay or go? Bigger leagues will certainly be tempting!
A fantastic month by Lukes CSKA, CAPPED off with players giving some extra BOTTLE and extending the LEED(s) even more.
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