Football Season Guide

Lokomotiv Moscow are very much a club in limbo as they head for the new season. They suffered real disappointment at the tail end of the previous campaign as a late collapse in results meant that a potential title challenge went up in smoke and they even missed out on a place in Europe. As a result of the underachievement on the pitch, the club owners decided to hire a new board and it is all very much up in the air regarding the direction the Railwaymen are heading. Coach Igor Cherevchenko remains in charge but no one knows for how long and it seems like he may well be changed rather soon. It all seems to be frozen out for Loko for now and they have made no new signings as of yet. Only Delvin N’Dinga’s loan deal was turned into a permanent arrangement but otherwise no new players have arrived yet and there are no imminent expectations of anyone joining. Jan Durica is the only significant departure during the summer and as a whole it is more of the same for Loko compared to last season. Cherevchenko had sone strong periods last season but he showed his lack of experience in the second half of the season as their challenge faded. Now there is little reason for optimism as there is just not enough quality in attack, with Petar Skuletic and Ezekiel Henty both mediocre at best, and the midfield is too functional and relying on the young and inconsistent Aleksandr Miranchuk for creativity. The hopes are that the coming weeks will bring something fresh and new for this big club but Lokomotiv are in a difficult position right now and it looks like a challenging season ahead.