[FM22] Matryoshka

[_Ben_]

11 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Keep doing what your doing 

And you’re keeping your sheets clean too!

is there no option to select stats in a team for managers and all managers overall in the data hub to separate stats from each other? Should be included in there.

This is a great point! I'll stick it in the feature request part of the forum. The only data I have to run with is that generated from players I'd signed, such as Kuznetsov:

[_Ben_]

May 2026

Three games to end my first season in Russia and three games which will largely be forgotten about going forward. We did start, however, with a thoroughly deserved win over Chaika, being clinical in front of goal when the opportunities appeared. Rodin, scoring for the fourth time this season, but also the fourth time in twelve games under my management, opened the scoring before Shershnev sealed late on. The next two games were settled with late goals, as we threw away a lead against Legion thanks to failure to defend a free kick deep into injury time but then got our own back in the fifth minute of injury time at Spartak, scoring after a penalty area scramble from a corner.

---

I shall keep the analysis relatively short and sweet this season as these are a representation of the whole season, rather than the 50% that I have taken charge of. Everything is, roughly, in line with the rest of the league, except for our interceptions and clearances data. I would hope to see further work on those through my plan to move us to a team who play on the front foot and press a little harder and smarter, intercepting higher up the pitch. I cannot really fault the offensive stats as we have, on only one occasion realistically, been completely wasteful in front of goal. 

---

The remainder of the season cemented Markov as my first choice as he conceded just six times in fifteen games. I'm still really concerned at his ability to play out from the back but that's going to be hard to upgrade at this level. Chernikov hasn't featured for me and it's actually quite rare for me to have a second senior goalkeeper.

Grouping my defenders all in one, even though Sakharov and Khripkov have played very different roles to the rest of the more limited defenders. I'm a little concerned at the lack of strength that my defence has and will be looking to rectify that, with some added height, over the summer. On the pitch, there has been some nice performances - Filatov stepping in and performing quite well and Khagur being the only real rotational option in the team, mixing up my starting eleven between he and Kripkov.

Rodin has been a new player under me - two assists and five goals in fifteen games for a player who was utilised as a DLP and isn't natural going forward. He has been joined by the similarly impressive Kuznetsov, who ends as the highest rated player this season. One goal contribution in every other game is a great return for the youngster, although he has accumulated 3.45xG without finding the net. He often appears on the end of crosses but, with pretty poor heading, has struggled to find the net. It's been a tactic I've been looking at but I feel the whipped/low crosses I want are being limited due to the opposition crowding the area and my players lacking the technical ability. Ashinov is leaving this summer and, based on those performances, won't be missed.

Sergeev has been a bit of an unsung hero here, with ten goal contributions is just under thirty games. Timofeev, my record signing, has actually failed to impress a little bit, with only one assist and less than one in four crosses completed - significantly lower than Toboev and Sergeev, the men he came in to perform alongside. I'm lacking a lot of strength in depth here and long for an opportunity to replace these wingers in almost a like for like way on the hour mark.

Just one main striker and he was very good. Shershnev scored seven times in the second half of the season and averaged 7.11 over the course of those games - a significant upgrade on his early season form. He's limited but the only forward who actually knows where the net is.

Lot's of work to be done as I'm earmarking potentially eight or nine new players.

---

In order to continue this adventure, I've signed a new one year deal here. I don't know how long term this will be but I certainly am enjoying cutting my teeth at this level.

[MattyLewis11]

Wholesale squad changes on the horizon, really enjoying this save, as always I love how you really get consumed by the save and your documentation is spot on in my humble opinion. 

[Hootieleece]

Zakharov is coming for my job!   -Pyotyr Romanoff

[_Ben_]

June 2026

Absolutely nothing to report here...

Unsure of when the rollover date is in order to prepare my pre-match friendlies, I'm experimenting with some pre-season training:

We go all in week one before breaking the physicality down with team cohesion and tactical familiarity before slowly adding in more and more non-physical attributes. July will see friendlies interspersed between more match prep work.

---

I just can't help this...

Rotor - a top tier team just three years back - have been relegated to the third tier. I doubt I'll get the job but it has made me think about being on the lookout, at least, for higher reputation jobs. For context, we have one star reputation yet these are available right now:

I don't want to get attached to Mashuk but, at the same time, can't be changing jobs each summer!

[Matt_1979]

Ok….. how are you calculating PPDA? 😱

[Sonic Youth]

7 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

This is a great point! I'll stick it in the feature request part of the forum. The only data I have to run with is that generated from players I'd signed, such as Kuznetsov:

I guess we should record all data previously generated at the club to have a baseline, and see if there is a difference later on.

[Sonic Youth]

Good start to your Russian adventure, finishing 6th. Rotor would be an interesting move 

[_Ben_]

8 hours ago, Matt_1979 said:

Ok….. how are you calculating PPDA? 😱

Quite simply, actually!

I was assuming that possession won (located here) was an amalgamation of tackles, interceptions etc and then I just added fouls to that. I can watch the highlights and see that it seems to include turnovers and misplaced passes too, which does stretch the press idea a little. I've kept it consistent though and my line graph showed me that we were winning the ball more and losing the ball less so it's a win-win!

[Matt_1979]

36 minutes ago, _Ben_ said:

Quite simply, actually!

I was assuming that possession won (located here) was an amalgamation of tackles, interceptions etc and then I just added fouls to that. I can watch the highlights and see that it seems to include turnovers and misplaced passes too, which does stretch the press idea a little. I've kept it consistent though and my line graph showed me that we were winning the ball more and losing the ball less so it's a win-win!

Ahh perfect. I was on the right lines then with my thinking of completed passes divided by the total of tackles, interceptions, headers and fouls…. Hadn’t explored it more than that though. Good work. 

[Tommo_]

What a turnaround in form, great job, Ben!

I'm interested to see how your potential job goes. Seems like Rotor could be a good fit for the near future and bringing them back to the bigger leagues. 

PPDA - love that!

[john1]

I think you should go for Rotor!

[_Ben_]

5 hours ago, john1 said:

I think you should go for Rotor!

Not happening right now...

But this is:

[Hootieleece]

Vladivostok is a exotic location in the Far East.   Bryansk is somewhere west of Moscow!

Both could be interesting....

But at least interview at Rotor if the Board offers!

Volgograd would be a great city to put on the map. Imagine Rotor playing Bayern Munich in Champion's League!

 

 

 

[Shrewnaldo]

Vladivostok would definitely be good, as Hootieleece says, the location is really unusual - I don't think there are any clubs in the top two tiers who play that far east?

[DefinitelyTaylor]

Options on the table then! Certainly agree that the presentation of each post is what attracts me to this particular thread. 

44 minutes ago, Shrewnaldo said:

Vladivostok would definitely be good, as Hootieleece says, the location is really unusual - I don't think there are any clubs in the top two tiers who play that far east?

SKA Khabarovsk, I'm pretty sure, are quite Eastern? May be wrong!

[Dan1884]

Assume you noticed your equaliser at Nalchik denied them promotion? 

[_Ben_]

I see your Volgograd,  @Hootieleece, and raise you Vladivostok as per @Shrewnaldo and @DefinitelyTaylor. Just look at this stadium:

Indeed I did @Dan1884- it was such a tight league at the top last year, which also gives me some hope this time around.

[_Ben_]

July 2026 - Part 1

I've made a few very intentional dips into the market this summer, through a purposely realistic route. I have utilised scouting as well as open trials (arranged by me, following scouting, analyst or player recommendations). Whilst these players are, largely, from academy sides, and, as such, have barely featured in men's football, I still don't deem it too unrealistic for them to have moved to Pyatigorsk.

Kirill Musalov. Denis Kabanov. Ivan Blinov. Kirill Buranov. Hasan Murtazaev.

Hailing from the cities of St. Petersburg (2,200km away), Moscow (1,500km) and Grozny (300km) - these five youngsters all bring immense quality, potential and sell on ability to the team, whilst fitting my needs to a tee. Musalov, at 6'4", is the height that I craved at the back and will surely be a threat from corners and long throws this season, likely partnering Kabanov, who, despite terrible Dribbling ability, will bring the ball out from the back as we look to advance vertically. In front of them will be the impenetrable shield of Blinov, from the Zenit academy, who, too, is tall and imposing. He's ably backed up by another Kirill, this time Kirill Buranov - from Dinamo Moscow. Despite his unambitious nature, Murtazaev offers me pace and dribbling ability that, at worst, matches the top tier of this league, down the left hand side.

In reality, I'm down a striker, below, but there is growing quality within the squad and I look forward to seeing how they develop over the course of this season.

----

What is also clear is the identity that I am trying to build at the club.

By purposely choosing attributes that don't have much of an impact of player ability, I can pursue a high level even when the players themselves are of poor quality. When looking at my best XI, below, you can clearly see the progress I have made with these, even if six of those eleven have been recruited in the past eight months of my reign here. 

This group of players are considerably better at making decisions than the rest of the league - meaning we'll chose better when to press and when to progress the ball, if we take it back to my basic playing philosophy. We are also far more Determined and work much harder, meaning that we'll fight for everything and not give up if we go a goal down and we're also marginally fitter than the rest of the league - meaning we can do this for longer.

What this doesn't show, however, is the depth to our squad. This is my area for concern and why I, probably, won't be staying at Mashuk past the end of this season. We simply cannot attract the quality of player that I want to truly articulate my playing style. All the heart and all the passion, but lacking that quality.

---

I also lost my HoYD over the summer, and, after a lengthy advertising process, have appointed Sergey Silkin to work alongside me and the young players.

 

[SixPointer]

1 hour ago, _Ben_ said:

July 2026 - Part 1

I've made a few very intentional dips into the market this summer, through a purposely realistic route. I have utilised scouting as well as open trials (arranged by me, following scouting, analyst or player recommendations). Whilst these players are, largely, from academy sides, and, as such, have barely featured in men's football, I still don't deem it too unrealistic for them to have moved to Pyatigorsk.

Kirill Musalov. Denis Kabanov. Ivan Blinov. Kirill Buranov. Hasan Murtazaev.

Hailing from the cities of St. Petersburg (2,200km away), Moscow (1,500km) and Grozny (300km) - these five youngsters all bring immense quality, potential and sell on ability to the team, whilst fitting my needs to a tee. Musalov, at 6'4", is the height that I craved at the back and will surely be a threat from corners and long throws this season, likely partnering Kabanov, who, despite terrible Dribbling ability, will bring the ball out from the back as we look to advance vertically. In front of them will be the impenetrable shield of Blinov, from the Zenit academy, who, too, is tall and imposing. He's ably backed up by another Kirill, this time Kirill Buranov - from Dinamo Moscow. Despite his unambitious nature, Murtazaev offers me pace and dribbling ability that, at worst, matches the top tier of this league, down the left hand side.

In reality, I'm down a striker, below, but there is growing quality within the squad and I look forward to seeing how they develop over the course of this season.

----

What is also clear is the identity that I am trying to build at the club.

By purposely choosing attributes that don't have much of an impact of player ability, I can pursue a high level even when the players themselves are of poor quality. When looking at my best XI, below, you can clearly see the progress I have made with these, even if six of those eleven have been recruited in the past eight months of my reign here. 

This group of players are considerably better at making decisions than the rest of the league - meaning we'll chose better when to press and when to progress the ball, if we take it back to my basic playing philosophy. We are also far more Determined and work much harder, meaning that we'll fight for everything and not give up if we go a goal down and we're also marginally fitter than the rest of the league - meaning we can do this for longer.

What this doesn't show, however, is the depth to our squad. This is my area for concern and why I, probably, won't be staying at Mashuk past the end of this season. We simply cannot attract the quality of player that I want to truly articulate my playing style. All the heart and all the passion, but lacking that quality.

---

I also lost my HoYD over the summer, and, after a lengthy advertising process, have appointed Sergey Silkin to work alongside me and the young players.

 

Solid business. Would you consider it enough to mount a title challenge? 

[Dan1884]

I did a save a couple of versions ago as Luch-Vladivostok (who have now gone under sadly) with the idea that getting them into Europe would be hilarious. The comments from a Klopp or somebody after having to travel there midweek would be gold. The place is far nicer than I thought it would be though - actually really surprised me.

This is another superb read. Genuinely think you'll do well to find a better read for FM stories than these.

[MattyLewis11]

A good window, nice to see that you are ahead of the curve in relation to those key attributes as the physical presence (height) will also no doubt be of benefit with the good old near post corner routine and aid winning the ball back in the middle of the park. (No doubt quite a few long passes as teams look to get from A to B) 

[john1]

Fantastic recruitments you have done, I have to say Bilnov, have to looks decent!

[abulezz]

Some good acquisitions in the transfer market - they look ready to help immediately. 

[DefinitelyTaylor]

Have to say, I am quite impressed by those acquisitions.

[nie jem frytek]

Oooh, how did I miss out on this.

[_Ben_]

@nie jem frytek,@DefinitelyTaylor, @abulezz, @john1, @MattyLewis11, @Dan1884 and @SixPointer - thank you all for the comments!

---

In terms of my hopes and aspirations for this season? I really don't know!

We were predicted to be midtable last year and, as such, were vastly underperforming but, make the run I had last the full season and we'd have gone up. This season, we're predicted fifth but Rotor and Anji have dropped into this level and Chaika are in the second season of their spell here. The add in Krasnodar's youth side, which can always be an unknown (and half of the dream eleven is made up of their players), and you've got a really competitive league.

The first game of the season, a cup victory, summarises what I'm trying to achieve pretty well:

3-0 winners and never in doubt but just 23% of the ball. Clinical and highly effective.

[Sonic Youth]

37 minutes ago, _Ben_ said:

The first game of the season, a cup victory, summarises what I'm trying to achieve pretty well:

3-0 winners and never in doubt but just 23% of the ball. Clinical and highly effective.

23% possession, and winning 3-0? Talk about taking your chances well! Are you also keeping them at arms length too?

[SixPointer]

That’s taking clinical to a whole new meaning of the word!

[_Ben_]

21 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

23% possession, and winning 3-0? Talk about taking your chances well! Are you also keeping them at arms length too?

It's all about the compactness of the team and the clever pressing triggers that a combination of FM22 and my style has brought about. Chelyabinsk completed over 1,000 passes but only 175 in my half (left image). What is more, the only attempted 298 progressive passes (less than 30%), middle image,  and just 68 of them (7%) were in my half with just 211 of their 1154 touches were in my half, too. As I play withdrawn wingers and just one pressing forward, an AF on attack, my pressing comes centrally from the Mez(a), and, as you can see from the image on the right - we allow them to have the ball in the wider defensive areas. They completed nearly 40% of their passes down the wings.

  

21 hours ago, SixPointer said:

That’s taking clinical to a whole new meaning of the word!

That's what I'm after!

I haven't really got myself into any deep single match analysis in this save yet (as there hasn't been a big enough game really) but it is certainly part of my plans!

Edited November 22, 2021 by _Ben_

[SixPointer]

3 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

It's all about the compactness of the team and the clever pressing triggers that a combination of FM22 and my style has brought about. Chelyabinsk completed over 1,000 passes but only 175 in my half (left image). What is more, the only attempted 298 progressive passes (less than 30%), middle image,  and just 68 of them (7%) were in my half with just 211 of their 1154 touches were in my half, too. As I play withdrawn wingers and just one pressing forward, an AF on attack, my pressing comes centrally from the Mez(a), and, as you can see from the image on the right - we allow them to have the ball in the wider defensive areas. They completed nearly 40% of their passes down the wings.

  

That's what I'm after!

I haven't really got myself into any deep single match analysis in this save yet (as there hasn't been a big enough game really) but it is certainly part of my plans!

Love your passion for you style of play. I love getting caught up tactics especially when your vision start to play out exactly as you want and are paying off 

[Hootieleece]

I wish my players were half as clinical as yours are....

[_Ben_]

July (Part 2) 2026

We are making those marginal gains, each and every game.

As you'd expect with some wholesale changes over the summer, we have lacked a little bit of fluidity but, after working hard on the tactical identity over the summer, are beginning to reap the benefits. We started with a well documented hammering of Chelyabinsk - completely dominating them despite having less than a quarter of the game possession. We continued the domination of a game, again, not having much of the ball but this time, failing to break down the Kuban-D defence. A more rugged display was needed against Legion before we overcame Saransk, swamped by their 30,000 seater (yet empty) stadium, in the cup.

I'll dig into some developmental stuff next month.

[john1]

Definitely looking forward to your developmental stuff next post  Good start to the season, thing are slowly to start fall into place. I am surprised to see you giving away so much possession  

[13th Man]

Phew, somehow missed this for a minute but got in before it got too far. Think I got on your Swiss Army knife thread when you were already on page 7+ of the thread so I couldn’t ever quite take it all in. 
Great detail in the opening and, as always, enjoy reading your stats to tactics application analysis!

[_Ben_]

August 2026

Again, we are just working on getting a little bit better with each game.

That has largely been true in August as we opened up with a strong win over Druzhba, really restricting them. Both the Chaika and the Krasnodar-2 game saw us face an opponent with a style where we have struggled against in the past - one that plays wide. The former was an even affair and the latter, a game in which we gave them a two goal head-start within eight minutes and then succumbed to a late headed winner, was a tightly contested match. Krasnodar had three massive chances, equating to nearly 65% of their xG and managed to take them all - something that we must learn from. These poorer performances, and our first loss in fifteen, sandwiched an emphatic victory over bottom side Volgar-M. We were at our scintillating best for the entirety of the ninety minutes.

The remainder of the insanely busy month saw more cup progress before a scrappy win over Kuban Holding, a comfortable win over Yeisk and . The Kuban game is a great show of how poor we can look if we are unable to break down a defence. That possession stat, combined with that poor xG is relegation form, if I'm being honest - yet, here, we were on top, winning our duels, strategically pressing and moving forwards, yet the key stats don't show it.

The Druzhba game saw a real flicker of my tactical ideology, where we pressed strategically and then counter clinically:

---

You may notice that this is a slightly shorter, and less detailed update than I usually do, and here is the reason...

The Saturn job came up early in the month and I have been engaged in moves to try and make this happen. They play at the same level, albeit in another regional league, but are certainly a fallen giant kind of club - with a bigger reputation, better facilities and better players. I've been at Mashuk just 322 days but, already, I'm feeling the strain of being unable to have a squad - merely just eight or nine good players and a whole lot of rubbish. The summer transfer window, despite baring some fruit, left me a little sour due to the quantity of quality (if that's a phrase) that we could recruit.

If my interview is successful, I will certainly have a job to do on the outskirts of Moscow but they have a much higher ceiling that Mashuk and I'd have left this lot in a much stronger place than where we started.

[_Ben_]

September 2026

Back to the drawing board. Or are we...

Same division but much bigger infrastructure. 

[john1]

Wow, how fallen has Saturn  Would have been a great move, if you was successful!

Any good players in Anji squad?

[_Ben_]

23 minutes ago, john1 said:

Wow, how fallen has Saturn  Would have been a great move, if you was successful!

Any good players in Anji squad?

16 years now since they played in the top flight:

Anji were there even more recently and have just been relegated back to our level after one season in the second tier. I've got attribute masking on so not really got much idea but I guess that's part of the charm of a career in which I move around!

[SixPointer]

Anji would be a interesting prospect they never have really recovered from the meltdown. 

[Shrewnaldo]

Didn't Anji train in Moscow then travel 'home' to Dagestan for games? Do they still do that in-game?

[_Ben_]

28 minutes ago, SixPointer said:

Anji would be a interesting prospect they never have really recovered from the meltdown. 

Certainly! They've seemingly got a lot of kids in their first team at the moment, too, which is a huge draw!

14 minutes ago, Shrewnaldo said:

Didn't Anji train in Moscow then travel 'home' to Dagestan for games? Do they still do that in-game?

I really hope not but another thing that makes them a wonderful prospect - learning all about Dagestan and Chechnya!

[_Ben_]

September 2026

I wave goodbye to Pyatagorsk and travel 450km south-east to the Caspian Sea and to Makhachkala, home of Anji, among several other sides (Dinamo and Legion both play at this level, too; with the latter famous for recently signing UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagedenov following his fighting retirement - although he's not in the game!). Closer to Tblisi, Baku and Kazakhstan that it is to Moscow (1900km), we are in the absolute south of the country, in the region of Dagestan. Translated from Persian as the Land of the Mountains, 3.1m people call this place their home and it has a rich history of Mongol and Persian trade. However, most recently, it was subject to an invasion from an Islamist group from nearby Chechnya and, to my knowledge, has been a little wobbly since.

The contract that I was offered is what I expected. A club with more history, bigger budgets and bigger expectations, but, interestingly, not really this season. The club want me to finish in the top half this season and push on, establishing ourselves in each of the next four. That, combined with the plethora of talent I envisage I'll find and the likeminded board culture, meant that this was a no-brainer. My job, by the end of my current contract in June 2028 is to have Anji out of this league or, at least, in a position whereby they are certain to be by June 2029.

However, as I sign on the dotted line, I cannot forget the impact that I have had at Mashuk and the hard work that even made me considered for this job:

I leave Mashuk towards the end of September in a lofty fourth place in the league, scoring twenty times and conceding nine in their fifteen games. Our September fixtures were perhaps the weakest of my tenure but we still are overachieving according to all the media! Sitting 18th in possession with just 42%, I crafted a team that lay fifth in xG and top in xGa, with just 10.92 conceded - 0.73 per game. Mashuk won possession back (1199) more times than anyone else and intercepted the ball (316) more times, too, with the sixth best tackle rate (83%) in the league - meaning that they could do it if they needed to.

My own managerial profile looks promising, too:

A solid record over my thirty-four game managerial spell, ensuring a positive goal difference of +31, all for the minimal outlay of just £10k in transfer fees.

Perhaps my biggest accolade must be the playing staff that I have left behind. A total of seven players signed for Mashuk and, just by looking at the DNA of them, along with the strong existing core and the promising youngster in Filatov, there is clear cohesion with the style of recruitment and development (particularly with performance related warnings at this level):

This is certainly something that I will continue to push ahead with in my time at Anji and whatever future jobs follow it.

---

Anji is a BIG job and one that I want to continue my in depth analysis and work through. I have purposely left this quite brief because I want to do another deep dive into the club, backroom and playing squad!

[SixPointer]

Real good step up! With a serious fallen giant after the billionaire days. Do you plan to employ the same philosophy at anji or is it a case of seeing what you have at your disposal and working it from there?

[Hootieleece]

Moving on up! 

Is Anji playable in a standard database?

Best of luck!

 

[Koetzer]

4 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Is Anji playable in a standard database?

They aren't from the start, but often appear playable in the second season.

[john1]

Interesting move to Anji! Good luck  Have you taken any staffs with you?

[_Ben_]

September 2026 - Takeover report

The Club

Anji (or Anzhi) are a football club that are a victim, essentially, of their own greed. Once owned by Suleyman Keremov, Russian billionaire businessman, philanthropist, politician, investor in Gazprom, world's largest yacht owner and now on-an-American-watchlist Oligarch, they have since fallen on much more meagre times. Probably most famous for fielding an aging Roberto Carlos and then subsequently buying him a Bugatti Veyron for his birthday, paying Samuel Eto'o £25m a year and then only buying Yaya Toure a birthday cake - they are a club who haven't gone about things necessarily the right way of late.

From third place in the Russian Premier League, under Guus Hiddink, way back in 2013, to the 2020/21 season, their first in the third tier - it's been a rollercoaster

Since the game started, there has just been on foray into the second tier and it didn't go well. Eduard Demin, my predecessor, was the man to take them up and, eventually, bring them back down again, but, despite his revered status, it was him who has left them in this position and he moved on just a few short weeks ago. His 4-2-3-1 formation and his want to control possession may mean that there are some players within the team that aren't quite suited to the style I want to play. But, and in response to @SixPointer's question, I'm going to assess the squad and see how to best move forward with it. Ideally - we'll stick to my principles but that may not be the case if we have five great forwards, for example.

I take over at exactly the same point as I took over at Mashuk, with fifteen games played. As you can see from the table - promotion is off the cards as Chaika are running away with it but a top half finish, my second in a row, is certainly the plan here and I hope that I have the playing and coaching staff able to help me achieve that goal.

I left behind a solid foundation at Mashuk, on the pitch and in the bank. This makes this move a genuine risk as Anji are not blessed with money.

We're currently around £50k overdrawn and this is projected to deteriorate as the years progress. With no money available in this league and very little fruit to be harvested in the sales of assets, there needs to be some considerations made.

---

The Staff

To answer @john1's question - I was unable to bring any staff with me but want to put the wheels in motion for a staffing system that will follow me through my jobs and, hopefully, develop as I do as a manager. Here are the staff that I shall be working with, in the short term:

We're above average, when compared with the rest of the league, but there is little great here - except for the overall discipline that they possess. Sergey Shevchenko is my current number two but he isn't a member of staff I rate or even perceive to have potential. Seventy year old Isaev won't be around forever and, whilst not the most gifted and with a poor personality, at least knows how to work with youngsters. The board also don't want any more coaching staff and we are already over the big fat 0 limit on performance analysts, so I doubt I'll be able to retain him.

This is a risk, definitely, for me.

---

The Players

Whilst I have inherited a financial issue and a staffing worry - the playing squad is of my dreams.

The top nine players, rated by current ability, are under 24 and there is some serious talent, especially when compared to Mashuk. Arsen Kiselev is the maestro that I hope will run my midfield and he's a huge step up on Daniil Rodin and I have a young and exciting academy graduate in Raul Budunov up top. Martuzaliev and Kairalliev are also from the academy and possess real quality at a young age. Even in left back Gaidarov, I seem to have a player capable of playing as an inverted wing back.

Artem is the clear number one here. I'd like to see him improve his passing ability as we do play out from the back, but, at least, he's a little more competent on the ball than Markov, who I had at Mashuk. His Command of the Area is a worry though so I'll need to ensure that there are plenty of good defensive headers around him when we face corners. He's also made a couple of clangers this season so he's one to watch!

The difference in quality from Mashuk to now is immeasurable when you look at the defensive attributes. With Gaidarov looking a solid left back, I'm left with plenty of options for the other three roles - and it appears that Idrisov, the taller and best header, will probably pair with Bardybakhin even Zarutskiy, who, despite being a new signing and one of serious quality, was in the youth squad. 

Kiselev's quality is clear but I still think that his Work Rate and Natural Fitness mean that a Mezzala is an option for him, rather than an out-and-out playmaker. He'd compliment winger-cum-midfielder Smirnov, although I know I cannot get too attached to loanees!

Three really strong players here who can dribble and have pace, meaning there might be a slight change to my wider instructions - although I want to see what they can offer, first. All have chipped in with goals so I'll be expecting them to contribute there, too. 

It appears that Begun's quality has stopped Budunov from getting minutes - however, I see that they can both contribute, with the former starting out wider. He'll need to develop but would add another dimension to the wing allowing a more typical advanced forward in Raul to thrive. Puchkov looks a good finisher and will certainly be utilised off the bench.

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The Style

Lots of interceptions, dribbling and, therefore, moving the ball forward quickly, shooting lots. This could be a match made in heaven! Our passing and possession stats are remarkably similar to that of Mashuk, meaning that we shouldn't hugely need to deviate from my old style and my philosophy.

I absolutely want to use this opportunity to build upon it though and iron out some of the creases that it does have.

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I cannot wait to get started!

[13th Man]

Looks like you’ll have fun at Anji!

[bibird.]

Loving the posts, as always, but the Yaya Toure incident was over Man City only buying him a birthday cake. The Anji connection came about when Toure's agent kicked off to the press about Yaya being offended at being snubbed by City's owners on a trip and cited the (completely unrelated) example of Keremov buying Roberto Carlos the £800,000 car for his birthday.

Amusingly, Carlos' agent responded with "Toure has got enough money to buy 10 or 20 Bugattis. This is about egos."