Football Season Guide

Fakel Voronezh are right back in the top flight after just a season down in the second division. They proved very consistent and effective across the season as their attacking pair and a three-man defence were too difficult for the rest of the competition to work out and experienced and solid players like Igor Yurganov and Yuri Zhuravlev at the back and Butta Magomedov and Nikolai Giorgabiani in midfield had impact week in, week out. The major surprise was Albanian striker Belajdi Pusi, scoring 16 goals up front and leading the team on the front foot. It was a case of meeting expectations and getting the job done and the only slight disappointment at the end was not holding on to the league title and letting Rodina Moscow get ahead of them for the top spot. But Oleg Vasilenko secured what was expected from him and now has some credit in the bank as he tries to make this team a more durable presence in the Premier Liga. No new additions to the squad have been made so far and the assumption is that the Blue and Whites keep the same squad that secured promotion. Some new additions could be expected later in the window but whether they are going to be key players or not is very much up for debate. Most of the current squad played for Fakel when they were last in the top-flight and are well acquainted with the expectations and the level of opposition on a weekly basis. The style is likely to be an attritional one to the extreme as the team will be packing the defence and limiting the chances in front of their box while relying on long throws, corners and balls over the top to do damage. It will be a case of working around the edges and making the most of every game as the team is set to scrap for safety at the bottom end of the standings.