Contours of the season: there was a knock from below

The participants of the play-out are the teams, which, figuratively speaking, knocked from below. We need to listen and take certain steps, conforming, by itself, with your own capabilities. Let's look at the steps and capabilities of those, who fought for survival last season.

When you mention the “Ural” of recent years, an old joke about AvtoVAZ involuntarily pops up in your head: "I'm saying, damn place". Whatever composition the Ufa residents assemble (and he was, usually, very impressive), the result is the same - the basement of the standings. Last season, it seemed, falling is impossible: Kovacevich, Ebadipur, Гуцалюк, Butko, Potaluk, Feoktistov, Fishermen, Yakutin... But in fact 13th place. A year earlier, firing another head coach, President Valery Bagmetov spoke, that “seventh place is not ours”. As it turned out, was right.

Not surprising, that almost all of the above players proceeded to the exit: who by his own free will, who by the will of the club. Ufa has once again been updated down to its name, Now the club is part of the all-Russian society "Dynamo". New (old) Main coach, Boris Kolchin, closed the season at the club as a consultant. New, again quite a good composition by names: Shkulyavichus, Krsmanovich, The place of the second central was taken by a native of Nizhnevartovsk Maxim Kosmin, Surmachevsky, Savin, Chanchikov.

Superleague will somehow survive on its own human resources, brother? / Strength, as is known from the Dynamo slogan, in move. What if another puzzle comes together?? On the one hand, the composition is experienced, on the other hand, almost everyone has something to prove. The strength of the new Dynamo-Ural should be found in the locker room, in creating new team chemistry.

Weakness. / Well, or we will again see a moderately sluggish Ufa. Bagnoli, Sidenko, Sidelnikov, Lissitzky, Malyshev, Shulepov, Voronkov and Shulepov again (I haven't forgotten anyone?) tried to do something with varying degrees of success, but no one could satisfy the management. The same Kolchin was Sidenko’s assistant... Uff, sorting out the coaching leapfrog in Ufa - how to read “One Hundred Years of Solitude”.

Questions? / New name, new faces... How to work together, what will they show? What is Kolchin’s carte blanche?? What motivation, allowable, at Surmachevsky and Shkulyavichus, more or less clear: finally play in the first team. And in Savina? At Ursov's? Krsmanovica? The question of motivation for Ufa is not idle, many “stars” here somehow went out on their own.

For the last season, the Orenburg team prepared thoroughly: invited Pavel Borshch, who had not practiced for a long time, as head coach, significantly improved the qualifications of performers: Sidenko, Samoilenko, Zemchenok, Spodobets, Makarenko, Joss, Tkachev, Kovalikov. Such, you know, "Ural" in a slightly lighter version. Nobody expected Neftyanik to fight for medals, but they were potentially capable of avoiding the playoffs.

Part of the problem was revealed by Samoilenko, who left in the middle of the season.: they say, difficult to work with authoritarian Borsch. The rest did not complain and worked out their contracts to the end, and in the literal sense: Of the entire fresh cohort in Orenburg, only Ilya Spodobets remains. Rotation by name is weaker for now, except that Alexey Safonov and Cheslavs Sventitskis are well known. The latter is a comrade “in misfortune” of many years of trampling the square in the capital’s “Dynamo”, his setter skills are pretty much forgotten, at least, fans. Safonov also fell out of the picture in St. Petersburg, but I personally have no doubts about his qualifications. However, the same Khlyakin from Kazan can pleasantly surprise.

Superleague will somehow survive on its own human resources, brother? / Judging by that, that Borsch remained at the helm after a less than stellar season, they trust him and it is he who will build Neftyanik “for himself”. Despite the mass exodus of players, in Orenburg there is someone to rely on: Rahmatullin, Andreev, Maksymenko, the same Panov players with character, real fighters. “Neftyanik” was often lacking in character, so there is a chance to improve the situation.

Weakness / I think, that Borsch, as a former setter, it won't be easy with Sventitskis and Chekmizov. Setter as goalkeeper, half the team, and in this half I see the main problems.
Questions? / Neftyanik will fight for survival again. Let's frame this as a question for now.

After the enchanting victory over Kuzbass in the playoffs 2023 Nizhny Novgorod residents were magically dismantled for parts last summer. After such a raid on the bins it was difficult to expect anything, except for frantic attempts to survive. Survived intense competition with Samotlor - so what now??

And now nine more players have left, showed themselves differently, also quite good. Pyatyrkin remains on active duty, Zahvatenkov da Antonov. The new ASK is Zheleznyakov, who returned from St. Petersburg, well known to us Makarenko, Nikitin, who played in Turkey, Russian champion with Kuzbass. Plus the Greek Dima Filippov will move from Switzerland, son of Enisey head coach Yuri Filippov. Obviously there will still be more to the center of the net, player and libero needed, for now like this.

Superleague will somehow survive on its own human resources, brother? / In the case of ASK, strength lies in the character of the team, carriers of whose DNA are Dranishnikov, Nikonenko, Pyatyrkin. About the same age, one of which is the head coach, the second yesterday's player is the current assistant, third captain. Young people on the other side of the grid can give a good segment with an emphasis on Babkevich with the support of Dineikin, DranishnikovNikonenkoCaptain, DNA.

Weakness / clear, that the level of performers is lower, than the teams from the “top”. But this is common place for half of the Super League. So far, in light of selection, this is a shortage for certain positions.

Questions? / In ASC, all other things being equal, the connector-diagonal pair solves. The level and capabilities of Zheleznyakov and Antonov are approximately clear, and here’s how Filippov will fit into the team? This could be a key factor.

Champion of Russia 2001 returned to the Super League and that's almost all, what can we say at the moment. Yuri Nechushkin is still at the helm of the team. Familiar faces: Captain Makar Bestuzhev, played for Gazprom-Yugra, setter Marat Gafarov, student of the capital's Dynamo school, featured in Dynamo-LO and Ugra-Samotlor, Ivan Piskarev, played for Yaroslavich.

The club has already lost diagonal Kirill Suprunov, graduate of the Gazprom-Ugra system, transferred to Kuzbass. In his place, however, they are wooing Dmitry Yakovlev. Sure, that the team needs to seriously strengthen before entering the Super League, however, there is no news on this yet. However, Moscow registration and the presence of a serious sponsor in the person of Rostec seem to tell us, that everything should be fine with students - at least, to fight to maintain a place in the highest society of volleyball.