Representing A Continent

Maksim Smirov - Another month, and another disappointing end to what was looking like a positive month. October started off with four straight victories but a draw and defeat to end the month, once again puts a dent in our ambitions.




Maksim Smirnov - The month started off with two massive pieces of news. Firstly, Ilzat Akhmetov, has signed a new deal with the club. The 21 year old added an extra year to his deal whilst almost quadrupling his wages. The deal was reportedly offered to the midfielder due to interest starting to develop in the playmaker, with Luke Hendricks seeing, Ilzat as a key man to his future plans.



The second piece of news was also welcomed with open arms, as it was announced that Georgy Schennikov had begun his rehab from his broken ankle. The Russian international, had been out of action for five months and having gone through a successful rehab, he is said to be back in training tomorrow.


Vadik Vassily - Off the back of the exciting news surrounding the club, Luke took his side to Lugano to play in their second Europa League game of the campaign. The boys didn’t disappoint. Lucas Santos gave us the lead just a minute into the game, with last months, Player of the Month, Fedor Chalov scoring the second just a quarter of an hour into the game. Fifteen minutes later and it was three. Arnór Sigurðsson scored to put us into an unassailable lead. Ilzat Akhmetov celebrated his new contract with the fourth goal, before they grabbed a consolation in the 83rd minute.

Sergei Titov - That victory was followed up by yet another magical performance from our Icelandic star, Arnór Sigurðsson. The left winger scored his first hat trick of his career, including a 95th minute penalty. Luke following the game heaped praise on his young player.

Luke Hendricks:

---

“Tremendous, that is all I can say about him today, tremendous. He has adapted brilliantly to the way we are trying to play and has been so key to everything we do. I believe that is now goal number ten for him this season and it isn’t even November yet. That for a winger is an excellent return and nobody can doubt for one second how important he is to this team.”

The game wasn’t as runaway as the previous however, as Giorgi Chanturia equalised for Ufa after Ilzat Akhmetov had given us the lead. But Sigurðsson’s second half hattrick allowed us to take home all three points.

Maksim Smirnov - Then came what was supposed to be our first test of the month, a derby day against Lokomotiv Moscow. With just two places separating us, nobody would have expected the defeat we inflicted on them. Ten minutes in, Lokomotiv got off to the worst possible start, with full back, Dmitry Zhivoglyadov, gifting us the lead through an own goal. From then on the game was reasonably tight, but two late goals from Ilzat Akhmetov and Fedor Chalov, ensured the 3-0 victory, lifting us to a season high of second place in the table.

Vadik Vassily - A theme of the month seemed to be the side getting off to a flying start, the match against Maccabi Tel Aviv was no different. With ten minutes on the clock, Lucas Santos opened the scoring with an excellent strike from outside the area. In a dominant performance, we looked to go two ahead and were given the perfect chance when Fedor Chalov stepped up to take a penalty awarded on the 41st minute. However, the striker missed his second penalty of the month. That was quickly forgotten, when Ivan Oblyakov scored his second of the match, just sixty seconds after the penalty miss. Lassana N'Diaye capped off the game to score his first senior goal of his career, twenty days after his 19th birthday.

Sergei Titov - With what had been an incredible month so far, the Arsenal Tula game is one that many will want to forget about. In a game where many chances were created, we just couldn't finish them off. Nikola Vlasic came closest, hitting the post inside ten minutes, whilst on the twentieth minute, Ilzat Akhmetov forced a great save. But it wasn’t to be and for the first time in the month, we dropped points.

Maksim Smirnov - That disappointing result would only be compounded in the Kubok Rossii 6th round tie against Dynamo Moscow. With a place in the Quarter Final on the line, we were terrible from the get go. Sebastian Szymanski gave them a much deserved lead, before four minutes into the second half, Fedor Chalov slotted a penalty to tie the game. Then with seconds to go before extra time, substitute, Jaka Bijol shockingly gave the ball away on the edge of the area with a terrible touch, allowing Rifat Zhemaletdinov to put his side into the next round. A clearly animated Luke, wasn’t happy.

Sergei Titov - As he should be, it was terrible. Jaka needs to go out on loan somewhere, he isn’t good enough for this level yet and needs game time. That touch was just atrocious and cost us in the end. That Dynamo side isn’t even close to our level and where we should be aiming, but they completely outclassed us and I think Luke will be making that clear to the boys before Sunday's game.

Maksim Smirnov - Vadik, can we let the last couple of games deflect from what was a positive month overall?

Vadik Vassily - I think we can and we should in some ways, as we weren’t good enough in ⅓ of our matches this month. We need to be aiming for perfection and that is what Luke aims for. But we can’t knock the fact that we are still unbeaten in the league and currently sit 2nd with a game in hand. Whilst also winning all three of our Europa League games so far. We will see matches like this, it is still early in Luke's managerial campaign, but we should still acknowledge those disappointments.

Maksim Smirnov - Back on the positives, who has impressed you this month?

Vadik Vassily - There is one clear standout for me. Arnór Sigurðsson, July’s Player of the Month, hasn’t stopped impressing this season, particularly this month. Four goals and an assist in his three games is a ridiculous return and his presence was clearly missed following his injury against Tel Aviv. We missed him for the Tula and Dynamo games, and it was clear that our creativity wasn’t there.

Sergei Titov - 100%. It can’t be anyone but Arnór this month, for that hattrick alone he deserves it. Playing in that left wing role that Luke played for years, he has been spectacular all season and is at the moment my player of the year. But his performances are reportedly gaining interest from Brighton, in the Premier League and Wolfsburg from Germany. He still has four years on his contract but with interest rising, I hope we can keep a hold of him.


Maksim Smirnov - Once again well deserving of the award. We now head into November, with a further five games, four of which will be consecutive away games. We first host Krylya Sovetov before travelling to Maccabi Tel Aviv, Ural, Krasnodar and Dinamo Zagreb. Thoughts on the month ahead?


Sergei Titov - A tough tough month coming up here, especially with all the travel we will be doing. Sovetov have dropped off and haven’t won a league game in seven, so I expect us to beat them. Israel will be a tough place to go but again I will expect a win there, as well as at Ural who have been poor this year. Krasnodar could inflict our first defeat of the month on us and I expect they will be favourites for the game, whilst Zagreb, I expect will be another tough game and a draw would be a good result.

Vadik Vassily - It will be a tough one, no doubting that. I think we can expect seven points in the league, with wins against Sovetov and Ural. Whilst a win against Tel Aviv will secure us qualification so I wouldn’t be surprised if we rotated against Zagreb.

Maksim Smirnov - A month of travel is ahead, and we will have it covered for you here on our next monthly review, for now thank you for watching.

*Taken from CSKA Armiya Youtube Channel posted 31st October 2019*

Replies

Syb:Was wondering where you and your puns had got to.
Jim:It was a tough month but we managed to get through the majority, for some reason we just seem to stop playing football at the end of the month.
Jack:It is a beautiful sight indeed!

Ufa-ced some tough sides and it's a shame that the form of the start of the month wasn't able Tula-st

Asserting Russian dominance in your UEL group there Obviously gutting to go out of the cup but you're on the tail of Spartak and a big month coming up with an opportunity to push yourselves further away from Krasnodar. Still ahead of the Bastards as well

The Europa League campaign is looking very good. Domestically, CSKA are doing pretty well; although the occasional lapses could do with being addressed. Dropped points add up quickly.

Maksim Smirnov - Having ended October with our first loss in thirteen, we started November with a second loss in a row, for the first time in Luke Hendricks time at the club. But we bounced back, three wins and a draw, keeps us second in the league and qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League. Let’s take a look at the month in depth.




Sergei Titov - I don’t think the month could have gotten off to a worse start, a game everyone expected us to win, yet they deservedly took the points. Krylya Sovetov hadn’t won a league game in seven, but seemed up to it from the get go against us. They set up very defensively, with a back four as well as two sitting midfielders right in front of that backline. The six of them were brilliant and it allowed Sovetov to hit us on the counter twice, scoring both. Alexandr Sobolev, someone we are being linked with at the moment, opened the scoring, before Dentinho, who scored a brace in our first game against them, put the result to bed. A great performance from them in all fairness, and certainly wasn’t how we wanted to bounce back.

Vadik Vassily - But that bounce back did come in the next game against Maccabi Tel Aviv, the game that saw us qualify for the knockout stages. Lucas Santos scored the opener, just over half an hour into the game. It then took a while for us to grind out the game, we dominated all the way through but Tel Aviv did a good job in defense limiting us to long range efforts. But Danila Yanov was able to score two in quick succession on the 75th and 78th minute to give us the three goal lead. Maccabi did pull one back in the 87th minute but Lassana N'Diaye scored his second goal of his career, which also made it two in two against Tel Aviv, with the last kick of the ball, sending us through.

Maksim Smirnov - That Maccabi Tel Aviv game also saw the long awaited return of Georgy Schennikov. Having broken his ankle in early June, it took five month of specialist recovery for the left back to return, but we saw ten minutes of action from him that night and probably got the loudest cheer of the day. How important is his return?

Vadik Vassily - Huge. I’m not sure he will replace Luis Olivera in the starting eleven now, as Luis has impressed so far but having Georgy back means we have better cover at the position, as well as the experience he brings. He’s been here his entire career, with this being his eleventh in the first team, he will be massive to our second half of the season.

Sergei Titov - Let’s also not forget his relationship with Luke. He’s a massive influence in the dressing room and himself and Luke have a great relationship from their playing days together. I am sure it has been helping throughout the year, but having him in the dressing room 24/7 and fully fit will help Luke get his ideas across whilst also keeping the belief in the squad.

Maksim Smirnov - Luke continued to phase Georgy into the team in our next game, this time an away fixture against Ural. We kept our first clean sheet in four games and played very well to beat them 2-0. Goals from Lucas Santos and Mário Fernandes allowed us to take home all three points. That goal took Mário to two league goals this season matching the total in his previous seven seasons. It also took Lucas to six goals in all competitions this season. Recently he has been moved to left wing to cover for the injured Arnór Sigurðsson and still seems to be playing well.

Vadik Vassily - Then came our best performance of the month, despite the scoreline suggesting a tight game, we were dominant. Limiting them to just two shots, none on target, whilst having 24 shots of our own with 11 on target, we were unfortunate to not win by more. It took 71 minutes for Danila Yanov, who came off the bench, to finally give us the well deserved lead.

Seregi Titov - Following what Vadik quite rightly called our best performance of the month, came what looked like would be our worst, but became debatably the best comeback in a while. Mislav Orsic gave the home side a two goal lead, inside six minutes. The side looked shell shocked, as were we as the fans. But with thirty minutes on the clock, Fedor Chalov pulled one back. He then had the opportunity from the spot to equalise for us, following a foul on Danila Yanov. Chalov missed his fourth penalty of the season, raising questions if he should continue to take our penalties, as we went into the halftime break 2-1 down.

Luke gave his side just over ten minutes after the break, before making changes, bringing on Arnór Sigurðsson, who had returned from his three week injury break. It took him thirteen minutes to prove that was the right move, scoring the equalizer, sending the away end into raptures. We weren’t settled with a point though. Lucas Santos, who made it three goals in the month, put us ahead with just ten to play. Unfortunately we couldn’t hold on as Bruno Petkovic tied the game up once again with seconds to play, but a point gained rather than two dropped.

Maksim Smirnov - There was some bad news though, before the game, as it was announced Nikola Vlasic will be out of action for four weeks with cracked ribs following a challenge in training. We just can’t catch a break with these injuries this season can we.

Sergei Titov - It is a worry, since Luke has been in charge he has lost 30 players to injury at some point of the season. That’s not including Alan Dzagoev, who is still out injured, or Georgy Schennikov, both of whom were injured when he arrived.

Vadik Vassily - It’s an area we need to look at and hopefully limit some of those injuries going into the next half of the season. Moving onto player of the month. Lucas Santos has been incredible this season, but has been on top of his game this month. Without his left wing partner, Arnór Sigurðsson, for the majority of the month, he has taken on the reigns, scoring three goals in some key matches. I think Luke needs to do whatever he can to get the Brazilian on a permanent deal as soon as possible.

Sergei Titov - Seven goals and four assists this season so far for Lucas, a player I wasn’t convinced on at the start of the season. But he has been great and deserves to be named this month's Player of the Month.


Maksim Smirnov - Following a busy couple of months, we have just two games in December as we go into our winter break. We end the first half of the league with a game against Orenburg, who currently sit bottom of the table, before we welcome Lugano in the Europa League. Both games we should be winning?


Sergei Titov - It would be inexcusable to not win both in my opinion. You could say if we had games to follow the Lugano match we may rotate the team as we have qualified already, but with the winter break to follow it’ll be a full strength side and we should win both.

Vadik Vassily - Yes, two home games and it should be two wins without a doubt, I expect to see a few goals as well. Orenburg has the third most goals conceded in the league this season, whilst Lugano have conceded eleven goals in five Europa League games.

Maksim Smirnov - A month of victories expected, albeit just the two games, but we will leave you for now, thank you for watching.

*Taken from CSKA Armiya Youtube Channel posted 28th November 2019*

Replies

Syb:I have told you of my disappointment already...
Jack:A shame to go out in the cup in a real disappointing game in all honesty. League form is still strong despite dropping points against Sovetov who we really should be beating.
Scott:Europa League qualification secured is massive, especially with it looking likely that we will top the group!

A good recovery after an initially disappointing defeat. The signs of a good team.

Ural set for a good European campaign and with 2nd place in the league with a game in hand. It Lukes like CSKA has everything in control

A 2-0 win over Lugano, was enough for CSKA Moscow to secure top spot in Group A of the Europa League, whilst also maintaining their unbeaten run in the competition this season.

In a game that they were expected to win, CSKA Moscow didn’t disappoint, outclassing their opponents throughout. Keeping their Swiss opponents to just one shot throughout the ninety minutes, CSKA hit the woodwork a remarkable three times.

CSKA were awarded a penalty just a quarter of an hour into the game, when Danila Yanov was pulled down in the area. Fedor Chalov, who has had mixed results at the spot this season, converted to give his team the lead.

It didn’t take long to double their lead either. Ivan Oblyakov, who received the man of the match award, found a wide open Yanov on the left hand side of the box. The attacking midfield player, who has been replacing Nikola Vlasic following his injury, made no mistake in firing the ball back across the keeper into the far right hand corner, making the score 2-0.

But that is how it stayed for CSKA, who just couldn’t finish their chances, hitting the post three times, with Lucas Santos hitting the same post twice himself. The result was never in doubt, though, as the Moscow based outfit controlled the ball with class, keeping 71% of possession. Luke Hendricks, who has had a large amount of success so far this season with his side, had this to say following the game.

“Another good performance from the team. We controlled it well and gave them no chance and on another day it could have been five. There are still areas we need to focus on, in particular finishing those chances but I think we can be pleased with how this first part of the season has gone.”

They certainly can, sat second in the league following a 3-1 victory over Orenburg the game before their Lugano game, they are currently eight back on Spartak Moscow but with a game in hand. Hendricks’ side also sit second in terms of goals scored in the league and least amount of goals conceded, but top the average possession charts as well as tackles won percentage.

In terms of personal statistics, CSKA will be pleased to see that Arnór Sigurðsson sits top of the leagues goal scoring chart, with eight goals in thirteen games. Nikola Vlasic, who like Sigurðsson has featured in just thirteen league games, missing many due to injury, is fifth in assists with his tally of five. Not to be outshone, captain Igor Akinfeev has eight clean sheets to his name so far this season, tied top with Dynamo Moscow stopper Anton Shunin.

Looking ahead to the second part of the season, CSKA Moscow will find out their Europa League opponents in three days time, with the games due to take place on February 20th and a week later on February 27th. They then have a tough start to the second part of the season, playing league leaders Spartak Moscow before a massive clash against Zenit Saint Petersburg four days later.

The second part of the season is also likely to see the return of Alan Dzagoev, who has been out of action since February 2019. Having injured his cruciate ligaments, the midfielder has stated his desire to be back and in contention for what he called a ‘very exciting young side’.

“Yeah, the aim is to be back by the second half of the season, at least in my rehab by then. I can’t wait to get back and fight for my place. Luke and I obviously go way back but I know I won’t be put back into the team just because of that. We have a very exciting young side here and I’m looking forward to playing my role in it, whatever that is.” commented Dzagoev in a recent interview.

Luke and his team will now go on their winter break, reportedly returning to training February 7th, in preparation for their Europa League First Knockout tie.

Replies

Scott:It's certainly looking like a strong squad in terms of personality, I have been impressed so far with the lack of dropped points in a row.
Syb:CSKA certainly look in control at the moment. You on the other hand and these puns, no control

It doesn't Luc-as Santos was really lucky that game, luckily it didn't end up hurting you

Not bad at all. Hopefully the draw is kind to CSKA. The return of the league season isn't particularly welcoming for the team, but at least Alan isn't too far away from a return.

January 6th 2020

It was a relatively warm January day in Moscow, just -2° at a time of the year when it can hit -10°. It was also the day before Christmas celebrations would take place in Russia, who unlike the majority of the world, enjoy Christmas day on January 7th, with the church following the Julian calendar.

Luke and his wife Lada decided to spend Christmas Eve at the famous “Journey to Christmas” event that was held in the Russian capital with their daughter Anastasia, who was being pushed in her buggy.

The event was a massive occasion in the city, with Christmas markets and stalls seemingly on every street, whilst children could enjoy the fairground or visit Santa’s grotto. Street performances entertained crowds of people whilst many visited the theatre for the iconic “Nutcracker” performance. This year there was also the addition of a snowboarding competition adding to the excitement surrounding the city.

It was the first time in what felt like ages, where Luke had time to relax and spend time with the family he held dearly to his heart. He had always been a family man, it was something that his mother, Grace had installed in him from a young age, with the phrase “Family is everything” being used many a time. He had only learnt at the age of 14 that Grace had another son, Jacob, who had passed away in an accident years before Luke was born. It allowed him to appreciate what he had during his childhood, whilst he now appreciated just how much love a child could bring to you.

With the winter break starting late for Luke’s side, due to their participation in the Europa League, he had finally been able to take the break on December 13th. But with a two month break scheduled, Luke had decided in November to begin the year long process of gaining his UEFA Continental Pro License, something Chairman Evgeny Giner had agreed with. Therefore, with most of his players lapping up the sun outside of Russia, Luke spent the majority of his time studying away. It wasn’t that Luke didn’t enjoy it, in fact he loved it most of the time, however, to have time with his young family was something he realised was important.

Having taken an 18 month old Anastasia for her first visit to see Santa Claus, then collecting a beer for Luke and Lada to enjoy, the family walked towards the snowboarding competition. Luke wasn’t the only one of the couple who loved sport, with Lada following winter sports like many Russians across the country. With Lada enthralled by the skill on show, Luke couldn’t help but think about everything going on at his club.

Eighteen league games had passed already this season, with CSKA Moscow sitting in second place, behind local rivals Spartak Moscow. Despite a game in hand, Luke’s team sat eight points off first place, but that wouldn’t upset Luke. A title challenge had never been this season's aim, it was always about finishing in the top three to gain Champions League qualification. What had been key to the clubs overachievement, for many, was the two wingers, Arnór Sigurðsson and Lucas Santos. Sigurðsson had just been announced as the Russian Player of the Year, having led not just his team but the entire league in goals going into the break. His impressive performances also caught the attention of many clubs around the World. The likes of West Ham United and Crystal Palace, in England, Germany’s 1. FC Köln and China’s Tianjin Yili FC had all been linked to the Icelandic winger in the last few weeks. It was a worry for Luke, as losing his star player would set back his plans quite a bit, but he realised if one of Europe’s top clubs came in for him, he wouldn’t be able to turn the deal down, CSKA just weren’t in that level of teams yet.

On the other side of the pitch, Lucas Santos had also been highly impressive on his loan deal from Vasco da Gama. Having scored nine goals and creating five for his teammates, in all competitions, Santos was someone Luke had been aiming to bring back. With the loan deal ending on December 31st, an offer of £2,600,000 was accepted for the winger, allowing the Brazilian to sign permanently for the club. Santos would only join later in the month, when the Russian window officially opened, but the deal was massive for Luke’s side.

Having been deep in thought, Luke’s attention was caught by something strange. As a popular man with CSKA Moscow fans he was used to being looked at and watched from afar with people discussing whether it was actually Luke Hendricks, but this didn’t feel the same. For starters, Luke didn’t even see anyone looking at him, but he could feel it. He looked across at Lada to see if she had noticed anything, but she was too busy fussing over their young daughter, with the pair blowing raspberries at each other. Luke wasn’t one to drink often and he decided to put the strange feeling he had down to that as he continued to enjoy the limited family time he got.

Replies

Syb: 4/10 decent effort for you.
Scott:Alan being back will be massive, that extra quality in the midfield is certainly needed as well as the experience he will bring.

For a man who is used to a Lada people Luke-ing at him, it must be something extraordinary

Lovely update. Fantastic news in terms of Santos's move being made permanent, but the interest in Sigurdsson is incredibly worrying. It will be, as Luke recognises, incredibly difficult to keep hold of him if the interest materialises into a serious offer.

Lada and Anastasia provide the perfect distraction from the heavy day-to-day lifestyle that Luke deals with on the field and in his office at CSKA. A great piece of writing.

Maksim Smirnov - One incoming and six outgoing, it is February 23rd 2019 and the winter transfer window is officially shut, let's take a look at the window in review.

The window started off with a lot of interest in some of our key players with the likes of Ivan Oblyakov, Mário Fernandes and Arnór Sigurðsson attracting interest early on in the window. How well did we do to keep a hold of these players?

Vadik Vassily - Well if reports are to be believed Oblyakov had a bid from Real Betis rejected early on in the window. As the majority of the European market closes at the end of January, we got lucky in terms of not having to fend off many bids. Ivan has been class this season, so to be able to hold onto him is massive, but don’t be surprised if he has renewed interest from clubs in the summer.

Sergei Titov - Another man who received a number of bids was Hörður Björgvin Magnússon. The center back who has made thirteen appearances, five from the bench, in all competitions this season, attracted loan bids from three English clubs, namely, Derby County, Burnley and Brighton. All three offers were rejected, with Luke stating that “depth is something every side needs and Hörður provides excellent cover for a number of positions.” With that being said, he is now 27 and with a lack of playing time, I think Magnússon will be looking for a way out of the club in the summer.

Maksim Smirnov - Magnússon is also said to be on a relatively high set of wages, and for someone who doesn’t play very often, it might be beneficial for the club to offload him. With the emergence of Vadim Karpov, it wouldn’t surprise me if Luke puts more faith into the 17 year old next season.

Following the rejected Magnússon bids, reports started to circle that interest in Mário Fernandes had resurfaced. Having just a few months earlier signed a contract extension, Manchester United and Barcelona were said to be interested in the Brazilian born right back, however, despite these reports, we are told no formal contact was ever made about him.

Vadik Vassily - Which is fortunate, as I think we would have found it very hard to keep him had one of those two come in for him. As much as we are a big Russian side and doing very well at the moment, we can’t kid ourselves and believe we are in that elite selection of clubs. Had either come in with an offer, I can’t see Fernandes head not being turned slightly.

Sergei Titov - Amid all of the speculation with Mário, our only incoming deal was completed and a deal that made many of us happy. Lucas Santos’ loan deal was made permanent for just £2,600,000 giving him the opportunity to continue his magnificent form so far this season.

Vadik Vassily - That is a brilliant signing, for just over £2.5 million, we have got a steal there, especially if he continues to develop in the way he has over the last six months. Lucas is still only twenty and has shown just how talented he is, scoring ten goals in his 26 games this season so far. I look forward, like many fans, to see just how far he goes.


Maksim Smirnov - Then came a surprising and slightly saddening piece of news, as one of our longest serving players, Kirill Nababkin handed in a transfer request. Nababkin, who joined on a free in 2010 had been with the club for a decade, but decided he wasn’t getting enough game time anymore and wanted to move on. A deal worth £180,000 was agreed with Rostov for the 33 year old, and we here at CSKA Armiya wish Kirill the best of luck.

Sergei Titov - It was a shame to see him leave, but it was always going to happen as he is a determined player and having just three starts this season was never going to be enough. But he wasn’t the only player to be moved on this winter. Takuma Nishimura was signed last season before the arrival of Luke and never featured in a single game for the club. He was clearly someone Luke saw no future for and was placed on the transfer list, with the club receiving £250,000 up front rising to £300,000 in a year's time from Urawa Red Diamonds as Takuma moves back home to Japan.

Vadik Vassily - A good deal for the club, Takuma was someone I said in my Season Preview would struggle to get any game time and for the amount we have got in for him, I think we can be happy.

The next player to leave the club was Andrey Savinov, a 17 year old attacking midfielder, who was allowed to leave to Arsenal Tula for £19,750. A reported clause of 40% of any future profit made on Savinov was also included in the deal. It is a deal that makes a lot of sense as Andrey barely featured in any of the Under 18s games and looked unlikely to develop to under 21s quality let alone first team.

Maksim Smirnov - Another player to leave in similar circumstances, whilst also joining Arsenal Tula, was Vadim Konyukhov. The 18 year old was struggling to break into the under 21s side and was moved on for £45,000 whilst also having a clause stating 45% of future profits will be given to the club. Both deals make a lot of sense with the lack of opportunity the two would get with us, but if they do turn into capable players and make a move to a bigger club, we will receive some compensation for them.

Sergei Titov - We then loaned out two youngsters, Igor Diveev left to Rostov whilst a player I placed a level of blame on for his game against Dynamo Moscow, Jaka Bijol has gone to Sochi. Both players need and will receive a lot more game time at the clubs and assuming they put in the work, they have a good chance of becoming important players for the club in the future.

Maksim Smirnov - With what seemed to be the end of the window, in the final few hours of deadline day an offer of £6,250,000 was made for Arnór Sigurðsson from Tianjin Yili in China. The club was said to quickly reject the bid and thankfully the window was closed before anyone else could come in for the Russian Player of the Year. How important is keeping Arnór for the rest of the season?

Vadik Vassily - Unbelievably important. He has been by far the best player in the league this season and at times has carried us to where we currently sit in the league. When he missed those few games with injury, you could see a lack of creativity within the side and without him I think we may have dropped off big time.

Sergei Titov - He’s brilliant, still only 20 but he is playing at a very high level and is head and shoulders above almost everyone in the league at the moment. Interest is only going to get stronger in him as he continues to improve and don’t be surprised if we do lose him sooner rather than later, but as he continues to get better his value also rises and that can only be seen as a positive for us.

Maksim Smirnov - There was one more player who came back into the squad, effectively as a new signing, Alan Dzagoev is back from his injury, scoring in his first game back in a friendly against Slovan Liberec. A massive boost for everyone around the club.

But with that, we have run out of time, thank you for watching.

*Taken from CSKA Armiya Youtube Channel posted 23rd February 2019*

Replies

Syb:Thank You! It must be something or maybe Luke's lack of drinking has made him paranoid...
Scott:Brilliant to bring in Santos and potentially even better to keep a hold of Sigurdsson, despite a decent offer. We didn't lose anyone important to us which could be massive with the last set of games coming.
Jack:They certainly do and are clearly a big part of Lukes life despite not quite being able to spend as much time with them as he would like. Thank you!