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Article from Uralican Football Weekly - "Previewing 2010"


Uralica

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PREVIEWING 2010

- Matvey Yuvanov

Now sure, it's a bit early yet to be saying who will win the 2010 Bolakliiga or Kanslerinkilpi, however even now, with the indoor training season beginning soon, Uralican football fans can get a hint of what 2010 will bring. Even just by looking at the rosters, we can see certain patterns developing. Of course, with pre-annexation teams dominating the upper two tiers, the post-annexation teams will have to claw their way up through the ranks over the next two or three seasons. However, it should make for good football to be seen at every level of the Uralican pyramid.

The Bolakliiga

So, will SiPS finally lose this season? It's not like they win every single game, but the "Sinimustat" have won both Bolakliiga titles and the lone Kanslerinkilpi thus far. They do have a lot in the way of competition though. At least Gazovik Izhevsk, Dinamo Kirov, and Dinamo Arkhangel'sk should be expected to challenge them this season. I wouldn't count Mashinostroitel Kirov out either with the goalkeeping tandem they have. Amkar Perm' was the victim of some bad luck last season. The top of the table could be quite the dogfight.

There could be a dark horse or two to pop up out of the mid-table crop from last season as well. Having seen Kirovin JK's team this season, I'm not entirely convinced they will be one of them, especially not after having the floor mopped with them 5-1 in a recent friendly against last season's Ykkönen champs, Trátyi TK. With Tuukka Lehtonen and Tapani Karjalainen both being free agents on 1 January 2010, they could lose the best part of their offensive core. I would actually not be surprised if they finished a fair bit lower than they did last season.

People are also wondering when Spartak Ukhta's luck is going to run out, because let's face it, that's the only reason they finished eighth last season. Luck. With Harkany Molnar looking like being moved to Trátyi TK, one can't help feeling that they might be closer to the lower mid-table this time around.

And how about Dinamo Vologda? How's that spelt again? How about O-V-E-R-R-A-T-E-D. A couple lucky breaks kept them mid-table.

On the other hand, you have teams like Telekom Pazhga, who caught a couple unlucky breaks last season, but the "Mighty Mennonites" are looking to really make a splash this season. The late-season acquisition of Ruslan Nikolishin really strengthened their defence, while Diedrik Siemens and Hans Henriksen are looking as sharp as they've ever looked. These guys just might be one of those dark horses.

MetaFraks Gubakha played a very disappointing season last season given their longer-than-average history relative to other Uralican teams, however from what I've seen from their training sessions, they are looking far more composed. Their real strength is in defence, so don't expect any Brazilian-style beauty-football from them, but don't expect them to roll over either.

Zavod Ural Solikamsk may have finished better than their dismal first Bolakliiga season, but they still have much to do before they can call themselves proper contenders. To their credit they did finish fifth in their first season in the top flight of Siberian Trophy, however they performed half-assedly in Bolakliiga and brutally in the start of their Siberian Trophy season, which they have just managed to squeak out of the relegation zone of quite recently. I don't expect much from these guys this season.

Another couple of dark horses one might not expect come in the form of two of the three promoted teams - Trátyi TK and Transit Sosnogorsk, who looked like they were in a league of their own last season, absolutely crushing their opposition, and with TraTK only edging Transit in their lone meeting in Trakt. They are probably better suited to the Bolakliiga in terms of talent-level, and I expect both teams to finish in the top half of the league. TraTK may even push for a place in the top 5. Who knows? With a perfect record last season, anything is possible.

In terms of who will be relegated, it is going to be close. FK Inta are damn lucky to still be in the Bolakliiga after last season, and from what I've seen in their training sessions, they aren't that much better now. They'll really have to pour some effort into training if they're going to avoid it this season. FK Kirov is in the same position even though they got four more points out of last season, but FK Syktyvkar has shown a fair bit of improvement, which is bad news for CSKVC Kirov and FK Kotlas, two other teams I think could be good for the drop.

The Golden Boot race - same people as last season with maybe one or two new faces from the promoted clubs. Dinamo Kirov's Khavkuk Shlomov and SiPS' Joni Rasimus are going to be at each other's throats again for sure, but there are several other challengers that could make the grade - Gazovik's Yaro Trifanov, Telekom's Justin Wiebe, Dinamo Arkhangel'sk's Timofey Rakhmatulin, Amkar's Sevi Cherepanov, Mashinostroitel's Yefim Grishuk, TraTK's Janos Korsos, and even ZavU's Fedor Poustovoitov could challenge. Tapani Karjalainen and Yoel Pankov might get into the race as well, but I don't know where either is gonna end up, with a tired Pankov putting a transfer request in at the end of last season, frustrated with his teammates in Vorkuta.

The Sasja Rodionov Award - a fitting name for the goalkeeping trophy, as Rodionov is indeed the best goalkeeper to ever walk Uralican soil. And his heir apparent Mattias Hammevik has finally begun to show world-class talent - he did frustrate Bolakliiga strikers last season, but it was his performance with post-Rodionov SiPS in Liga Mundo last season that really began turning heads. But he will have competition. One of the biggest strengths Zavod Ural has going for it right now is the goalkeeping of Kolya Gogniev. Then there's last-year's winner, Achim Tsyplakov from Dinamo Kirov, and Yevgeny Kudymov from cross-town rivals Mashinostroitel. National team members aside, Semyon Yefimov from Gazovik Izhevsk, Teppo Suhonen from Amkar Perm', Anton Boyarintsev from Dinamo Arkhangel'sk, and Parfeny Shestalov from Transit Sosnogorsk have potential in this regard.

The Ykkönen

If anyone's likely to repeat Trátyi TK's perfect season, it's going to be Mordovia Saransk for sure. These guys are light-years ahead of everyone else in terms of skill and class. Milan Shestopanov in particular is one every football fan should keep their eyes on. He's Bolakliiga calibre for sure, but he wants to play in his hometown. Honestly, from what I've seen from training, it would be a grave disappointment if Mordovia finished anywhere but top of the table.

I find it somewhat troubling that not one of the three relegated teams is, in my opinion, in line to get an automatic promotion spot. They just don't have it in them. Best I can see any of them doing is a playoff spot, and that would be Spartak Yoshkar-Ola. Lokomotiv Kotlas played pathetic football for the last two seasons, and I fear one more season like that could just wind them up in the Kakkonen West. FK Ukhta, I figure will be a mid-table team.

So who will step up to the plate then?

If anyone, I think ÖPK. The Öskölömi club could have won the final against CSKVC, I figure, had two key players not been injured in the final, and I'm going to go out on a limb and say they're pretty pissed about how Pechora played against them in that playoff semi, for which I don't blame them. Shocking stuff really. Doesn't belong in football.

Bumazhnik proved that they were choke artists when it really counted last season, but I've been rather impressed by their work in training recently, so perhaps lightning will not strike twice this season. They could challenge for the second auto-promo spot as well. Turan Ukhta and CSKA Syktyvkar should also do well. I figure Pechora is butthurt about all the negative press they got in the off-season for being so rough and for their manager's "we're not changing the way we play just because some fairies tell us to" remark, so they won't do anything of substance this season, because they're gonna keep playing like troglodytes just to spite everyone, get everyone sent off, and they're gonna lose games. This is football, not rugby!

Probably the most improved team I've seen this season in the top two levels is Khimik Koryazhma. They didn't play that impressively last season, but this season they're looking like bona fide playoff contenders, if not better.

Ural Yekaterinburg should make a good run as well. They were good before the Cataclysm, and they've been good since. Wouldn't be surprised to see them grab a playoff spot.

Now as for the five other new teams this season - Olimpia Kirovo-Chepetsk, Krylyja Uralikov, FK Berezniki, Fortuna Nizhny Tagil, and Spartak Kirov - I'm not expecting huge success from any of them, but I do think Fortuna, a team that's been around the block a few times, has a chance of making the playoffs, most likely in the last spot.

So you ask, "Matvey, who's gonna drop this season?" Well, it's too bad Arsenal Syktyvkar took the voluntary drop because they played so poorly last season, because they would be a shoe-in. But this is gonna be close. There are two drop spots and one forced playoff spot, with five teams I think could indeed go down - Krylyja Uralikov, UJK, IPK, Rossia Krasnokamsk, and JK Trakt. It is going to be very close at the bottom just as it was last season, with the exception of Arsenal, who were just plain brutal.

The Kakkonen

Here is where things get interesting. In the Kakkonen, the first set of teams is fixed by county, and after this season the divisions will be shifted according to geographic relativity.

West

Sever Murmansk is going to absolutely slaughter the rest of these guys. I know it's not the Liiga's fault for putting them in the Kakkonen, because the top two leagues were already fixed into place. But Sever is a solid team, no question about it, more so than any other team in the division. Them not finishing first would be a grave disappointment.

Second in my opinion, from what I've seen, will be a five-or-six-team logjam right to the end. I'd give Eesti JK from Vaahruše the slightest of advantages in this, but this will probably change by the time training ends in late February.

East

Mark my words, this will be FAR closer than the West. Relative to the field of play, there is no one team that is light-years ahead of any other team, and it should make for a lot of close matches and nailbiters. I'd favour Octane Perm' overall because of their experience. As for second, that's anyone's guess.

No sense looking at the Kolmonen this early, but there are some teams that will tear it up in that division because it's way too low for them anyway.

Anyway, that's my two cents. Take from it what you will.

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