The Winners and losers of the First Round of the Russian Premier League.

Isn't it unbelievable to think that we have already completed half of the 2013/14 Russian Premier League? The eternally long winter break is now upon us after the completion of Game week 19 and we must now wait three months until Russian Football action returns with Zenit St. Petersburg. Here I shall take a look at who will go into the winter break in a positive mood and those that will face a bleak Russian midwinter.





Winners: 

Stanislav Cherchesov: 
The current manager of Amkar Perm was appointed in the close season after spending a relatively successful two years at Terek Grozny. Amkar were extremely lucky to avoid the drop last season and the appointment of Cherchesov has so far proved to be a master stroke. The club sit in 7th place in the league and Cherchesov has improved his team massively. He has also handled the transfer market well, releasing 9 players and replacing them with more able players. Two defeats in Amkar’s last two games without scoring should not take the shine off Amkar’s start to the season but the challenge now for Cherchesov is to maintain the clubs lofty league position.

FC Krasnodar:
Another surprise package from this season is FC Krasnodar. After only being formed in 2008 it is amazing to think that Krasnodar are taking part in their 3rd season in Russia’s top flight and the story of the club is remarkable. Some have said that Krasnodar over achieved in their first two RPL seasons in surviving in the top tier and still considered them minnows. This season  though Krasnodar have exceeded even their own lofty expectations and currently sit in an incredible 6th place, sitting just one point behind CSKA in the final Europa League place. They will now look to replicate city rivals Kuban and achieve a Europa League place. A victory over CSKA on Friday proves that they should be taken seriously.

Lokomotiv Moscow:
Lokomotiv are now back as one of the power houses of Russian Football. Over the last couple of seasons Lokomotiv have been extremely disappointing and endured a disastrous campaign last season under former Croatia manager Slaven Bilic, finishing in 9th place. Leonid Kuchuk has come in and going into the winter break Lokomotiv will be firmly involved in an exciting title race which few expected them to be a major part of. Loko are level with Zenit on 40 points at the summit of the RPL and with Zenit not playing at their best in recent weeks, you would be fool to write of Lokomotiv’s title chances.

Losers: 

Anzhi Makhachkala:
Where do we even begin with Anzhi? In summer they were title favourites and seemingly had money to throw away as local billionaire Suleyman Kerimov tried to bankroll Anzhi to a Russian league title under the guidance of Guus Hiddink and an array of star names. In December the reality could barely be different. Kerimov slashed the budget, Hiddink jumped ship and the star players left (or were forced out) in their droves to be replaced by players that few outside of Russia had heard of. The club sit rock bottom of the league and relegation is almost a nailed on certainty. One positive thing for the club is reaching the knockout stages of the Europa League but that cannot paper over the cracks of their wretched form domestically. Who knows what will happen next?

Aiden Mcgeady:
After staring for Celtic, Mcgeady headed east in 2010 for a hefty price tag of £9.5 million. In his first few season’s Mcgeady went a long way to paying off that price tag as he transferred his impressive performances in Scotland for Celtic to Spartak. This season though has been a nightmare for Mcgeady though as a reported falling out with Spartak coach Valeri Karpin is being touted as the reason Mcgeady has found himself out of the starting line up. It’s clear that Mcgeady still has the talent to play football at a top level but it is also clear that his career at Spartak is over. He needs to get himself out of Spartak as soon as he can.

Rubin Kazan: 
Continental regulars Rubin have go in to the winter break in 11th place and will be very disappointed with their start. Soloman Rondon has been out injured and this seems to have had a much bigger effect on the club than expected. Rubin have not been able to find the goals that Rondon would have provided for them in his absence and the season has been marred with inconsistency, with the team unable to string in a run of results together. Many expected Rubin to be in a Europa league place come the end of the season and they have some serious catching up to do after the winter break in order to be involved in European completion again next season.

By James Richmond.