lfcforever95
Member
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2012
- Messages
- 108
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 0
Using Raikan007's layout.
Club Name:
Zenit Saint.Petersburg
Affectionately known as 'The Blue-White-Navys'
League:
Russian Premier Division
Last years League position:
Champions
Founded in:
1925
Rivalries
Spartak Moscow, CSKA Moscow, Petrotrest, Dinamo Moscow
Stadium Name:
Petrovsky (22,025 capacity)
Due to move into Gazprom-Arena In 2015 (69,051 capacity)
Start of season expectations:
You are given 2 options, title challenge and title Winners. I would suggest title challenge as there is only 800k change in transfer budget and there is some tough competition in the Russian premier League (CSKA, Spartak, Rubin). you are given £3.1m transfer budget and £950k per week wage budget for title challenge. The reason it is quite low is due to huge spending in the Summer on Hulk and Witsel, though due to some of the bargains in this years game it isn't such a drawback.
This is the clubs weakest point and you WILL need to improve training and youth facilities every season because in russian football, it is incredibly important to stay on top of all the young talent the country can find due to foreign player limits. It is also very important to stay on top of your finances or the board will end up cancelling all the facility upgrades. you should also upgrade your junior coaching as it is only at 'adequate' currently. Zenit also have above average youth recruitment which is vital when managing in Russia.
Zenit St.Petersburg squad and tactics:
As you may have noticed, Zenit's Strengths lay in the final third. when used correctly the combined force of Danny, Hulk and Kerzhakov can produce a ridiculous amount of goals, especially when using Hulk on the right and Danny on the left as inside forwards. But don't be fooled into thinking that these are the only strong positions of the team.
STRIKERS:
Kerzhakov
Your main man, he will bang in the goals all season and Is vital due to his russian nationality for foreign player limits. despite his advancing years, I tend to keep him until he retires because he is great for tutoring. Only drawback with this goal machine is that he appears to be quite injury prone so use him wisely.
Bukharov
Signed for Zenit for over 12m and never established himself in the first team. I reccomend selling him, unless you play with a target man. If you do sell him, you can normally get over 4m for him but be careful, if you sell him to another russian club (CSKA normally come in for him) he can come back to haunt you.
Lazovic
I normally keep him as cover but he is expendable and foreign.
Kannunikov:
A player with good potential. retrain him as an AML and he can become a fine replacement for Danny and hill will bang in the goals just the same.
Djordjevic:
A good back-up with decent potential. a natural goalscorer.
MIDFIELDERS:
HULK:
This guy is a beast at AMR. he will cut in and score goals and he will cut in and make goals, maybe not worth every penny of £43m but will tear opposition defences to shreds.
Danny:
I would strongly recommend downloading lfcmarshall's winter update otherwise you'll be waiting a few months for him to recover from an injury. He may be getting older but he is still a class player and played on the left will create and score goals.
Bystrov:
Surplus to requirements in my opinion and southampton normally come in for him if you offer him.
though you may want to keep him for foreign player limits.
Faizulin:
I normally play him at AMC though you may want to sell him or just keep him as cover. but he always seems to do a good job for me.
Witsel:
A good playmaker who will do the job for years to come. although i usually sell him in a few years time when his transfer value increases.
Zyranov:
An ageing player who can pass really well, and makes a good cover for Witsel.
Shirokov:
Another ageing playmaker, although he is a better player than Zyranov he won't get a regular spot in the first team.
Denisov:
Works well as a ball winning midfielder and due to his Russian nationality, a first team regular in my squad.
Semak:
Criminally underrated in this game, I suggest just seeing out his contract and keeping him as cover in the meantime.
DEFENDERS:
Lombaerts:
The man at the heart of your defence, a great central defender who can hold the position for years to come.
Bruno Alves:
Despite his age, I always keep him until the end of his contract as he is a good force in the air and is my first choice centre back.
Hubocan:
A decent player who can play anywhere in the defence, his contract is up soon so you can choose to renew his contract but i normally let him leave on a free due to his foreign status.
Criscito:
The italian international LB and a key player for the Zenit team, An incredibly consistent player who will hold the LB position down for many years to come.
Lukovic:
Surplus to requirements and foreign, I suggest you sell him but you may want to keep him for cover.
Anyukov:
Russia's no.1 RB, a good consistent player who should be your first choice at RB. despite his age, he's normally good for a couple of seasons.
Yanbaev:
A decent back up who can play at rb/lb. on loan from Lokomotiv Moscow, I usually terminate the loan because Zenit pay his wages but can be kept for cover.
GOALKEEPERS:
Malafeev:
Should be your no.1 goalkeeper, very consistent and still has a few seasons left.
Zhevnov:
A good back-up.
Tactics:
Very simply, i would suggest any tactic that uses inverted wingers, my personal choice is goals galore with full backs. it works very well and is a great suit to your players.
Suggested transfers:
Due to Zenit Splashing the cash on Hulk and Witsel In the Summer you don't have a lot of cash to play with. I would in fact just focus on your youth and training facilities as it is very easy to overspend in the russian premier league with yearly sponsorship money being poured into the club. however, if your financial position is still good in the winter, I would suggest buying Arseny logashov from anzhi, a player with great potential and can play anywhere on the back line and will help with foreign player limits, can usually be signed for under £8m ( I know it's a lot but good russian players are hard to find for under £10m ). another player who you should look to sign at some point Is Kokorin of Dinamo moscow, another player with great potential and can be your long term replacement for kerzhakov. If you don't have the winter update then I suggest signing wellington nem in the first window due to Danny's injury.
you should already have a good idea of who to offload from the club but i always sell Lukovic, Brystrov and Bukharov just to keep the club going financially (see the finance section)
Staff members:
I'm not great with staff but i know that zenit have some of the best backroom staff in russia, you need to fire most or all of your scouts and bring in scouts on low wages like tosh farell and luciano moggi. Russian scouts are also important so try and find some with decent potential and ability judging. you should also fire any physio's who's physiotherapy attribute is below 15. Daniele baldini is a good assistant manager and you may want to take a look at some of the coaches as some may need replacing.
Finances:
Do not be deceived by the projection, it will take years of success to make a monthly profit at Zenit, but for the meantime you'll have to rely on the huge amounts of sponsorship money that you get. but this creates a problem. Each year the board will give you £30m plus in your budget but if you spend it all, you will bankrupt the club. you must be prudent and keep an eye on your finances and find out how much money you are losing each month and times it by 12 and you have your yearly losses, so you should set your own budget by those figures. there is good news however, because as long as you keep the club playing well and winning trophies, by the time you move into your new massive stadium you should be making a monthly profit and still be raking in sponsorship. And eventually you will fill up the stadium week in week out, after all, Saint.Petersberg is one of the most populated cities in the world. this will make your club one of the richest in Europe and when managed correctly, one of the best in Europe.
I hope this guide inspires someone to make a save with Zenit or any team in Russia, as i find it the most fun league to manage in
Good luck!