Incredible density and unexpected failure of the Torpedo
This season in the lower half of the RPL standings there is an extremely confusing situation. As a rule, by March there is always an obvious outsider who is rapidly sinking to the bottom. And a year ago, long before the end of the tournament, the fate of two participants was immediately determined: the Yenisei and Anji, which had serious financial difficulties.
This time there are no such teams in the Premier League. At first it seemed that Tambov would not have too many chances to escape, but the team, after changing the coach, won three victories in a row and substantially improved their position. Then another rookie of the Sochi RPL dropped to the last line. However, in the new year, southerners were transformed and also achieved three consecutive victories.
Thus, the density in the table increased to the limit. At the moment, Arsenal and Spartak, located in seventh and eighth places, are only five points from the butt matches, and the tenth Urals are two. For survival right now, not only immigrants from the FNL “Wings of the Soviets” and “Tambov” are fighting, but also such old-timers as “Akhmat” and “Rubin”. Moreover, Grozny residents completely dropped to the last line.
An increased density is also recorded in the leading group of FNL. In almost every season, in the sub-elite division one or even two teams are identified that set themselves the highest goals, strengthen the composition of players with experience in the Premier League and quickly leave behind competitors.
In autumn, the Torpedo looked like a clear hegemon. Muscovites, after joining the club of billionaire Roman Avdeev, were strengthened by high-quality performers for the FNL (Roman Shishkin, Igor Lebedenko, Alexander Ryazantsev) and invited Sergey Ignashevich to the post of head coach.
In the first part of the season, black and white calmly stamped victories and confidently led. But in the fall, the team began to have problems, and in the last four matches of the year, she scored only two points. After the winter break, the situation has not changed. “Torpedo” broke the world with “Vanguard” and “Tekstilshchik” and suffered a painful defeat from “Khimki” in the quarterfinals of the Cup of Russia - 1: 5.
Black and white fans well-known for their abrupt temper quickly lost their nerves, and even before the game in Kursk they attacked a club bus. At the same time, in the winter Ignashevich received a solid reinforcement in the person of one of the top scorers of the tournament, Alexander Rudenko. The attacker was leased from Spartak. Ahead, he composed a duet with the main sniper “Torpedo” Ivan Sergeyev. And the center of the field was strengthened by Ravil Netfulin (Khimki) and Astemir Gordyushenko (CSKA).
The financial problems of Khimki and the serious attitude of Chertanovo
“Khimki”, on the contrary, did not seem to be eligible for promotion in the class after the unpleasant events that occurred in the club in the winter. In January, it was announced the departure of head coach Andrei Talalayev and “a change in the development vector,” which usually does not bode well.
“The emphasis will be on youth. We do not have a serious sponsor, so Andrey Viktorovich decided to leave. We parted by mutual agreement of the parties. I can’t say for the new coach. There are proposals on a number of leading players, negotiations are underway, ”said Vasily Ivanov, Director General of Khimki.
It was also reported that a search is underway for a new investor, but they were unsuccessful. In addition, the team left the lead defender Alexander Filin and the already mentioned Netfulin. But the majority of the leaders from the Moscow region still managed to save. And Sergey Juran, who headed the team, managed to convey his fighting spirit to the wards. As a result, Khimki not only knocked out the Torpedo from the Cup, but also scored four points in the first two matches of the year in the FNL.
It seems that the red-blacks are not going to refuse to upgrade in class, and Juran, after defeating the “Torpedo”, said that the goal of Khimki is to enter European competitions.
Another metropolitan team - Chertanovo continues to fight for access to the Premier League, although many still do not believe that the club is able to financially pull participation in the elite division. However, the leadership said they were ready for an upgrade in class if it happens.
“Presumably we will play in Luzhniki if we leave. The city is watching with great interest whether we will succeed or not. There are chances to enter the RPL, why not? If we go out on a sporting basis, then we will be ready, ”the director of Chertanovo Nikolai Larin R-Sport quotes.
The team quickly recovered from the loss of three leading performers at once (Nail Umyarov, Maxim Glushenkov and Anton Zinkovsky) and this season shows much more convincing results than in the past. According to the results of 27 rounds, Chertanovo already scored 54 points, while in the past a total of 61 points.
New leaders also appeared. First of all, it is Vladislav Sarveli. But the 22-year-old striker deserved popularity with his game, because he already scored 16 points for performance (10 + 6) in the sub-elite league. And at the last frontier Ilya Abaev, a 38-year-old pupil of the club, is reliable. He has ten matches to zero, and for the whole season the team conceded only 19 goals, and this is the best indicator of the tournament along with Khimki. For comparison, last season Muscovites conceded 53 goals (almost three times more).
We must not forget about the talented midfielder Kirill Kolesnichenko, who does not enter the field this season due to a conflict with the leadership. In winter, a young football player tried to find a job at CSKA, but eventually returned to Chertanovo. It is possible that the athlete will nevertheless solve all his problems and help his team in the final phase of the season.
Leadership of "Rotor" and the next change of coach
The leader in the standings at the moment is “Rotor”. This did not come as a surprise for most fans and experts, because Volgograd residents set themselves the highest goals. The team plays in the new stadium, built for the World Cup, and collects on average about 20 thousand fans per game.
Excellent staffing and composition. Moreover, in winter, Volgograd rented Beku Mikeltadze and Nikolai Kipiani from Rubin. And from "Rubin" experienced Vitaly Denisov moved to the banks of the Volga. The only loss for Rotor was the departure of defender Maxim Nenakhov in Akhmat.
Not without the traditional change of coach. In December, the place of Igor Menshchikov was unexpectedly taken by a Belarusian specialist Alexander Khatskevich, known for working with Dynamo Kyiv and the Belarus national team. He became the team’s fifth mentor in three years. Officially, Menshchikov himself decided to leave the club, and the leader in the FNL team exchanged for acting in the PFL "Tyumen".