The Anzhi money train has ground to a halt

Chris_from_Sidcup

Anzhi Makhachkala's billionaire owner Suleiman Kerimov is planning to sell off his most expensive stars and drastically cut the club's budget, reports said Wednesday.

Kerimov took over the club at the heart of the restive Russian republic of Dagestan in January 2011 and ploughed huge funds into it, hoping to turn the side into serious contenders for European honours.

But Sport Express reported that after Anzhi's humbling 1-0 home defeat to Rostov on Friday, Kerimov experienced health problems and decided to make a drastic change.

It said that Kerimov held a meeting with Anzhi's players and promised them the club would meet its financial obligations and help them find new clubs.

The news will throw uncertainty over the futures of stars such as Cameroon captain Samuel Eto'o, Brazil's Willian and Russian international Yury Zhirkov.

The sudden about-turn by the owner of the pre-season title favourites also deals a blow to the image of Russian football as it prepares to host the 2018 World Cup.

According to Sport Express, Kerimov said he was not selling the club and that Anzhi's former manager Gadzhi Gadzhiev would take over in the near future.

Gadzhiev will replace Dutch manager Rene Meulensteen, a former assistant to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, who took over from countryman predecessor Guus Hiddink two weeks ago.

The club's president Konstantin Remchukov confirmed on his Twitter account that Anzhi will undergo serious reforms while saying that Kerimov would give further details later.

"The main news is that Anzhi will undergo a shake-up," Remchukov wrote on his Twitter account. "Many of our expensive stars will leave Anzhi, while the club's budget will be decreased to $50-$70 million a year.

"We failed to clinch rapid success. Now Anzhi will develop its academy according to the medium-term plans of club development."

Hiddink took over as manager in February 2012 and in June extended his contract with the club for another year.

But in mysterious circumstances last month, the 66-year-old former Russia manager suddenly stepped down leaving Meulensteen at the helm.

But he failed to inspire Anzhi rapidly and the club are without a win this season, sitting 13th in the table with just two points from four matches.

PragueAddick

This is Russia. I have learnt a clear lesson. Don't deal with Russia or in Russia unless you are yourself absolutely steeped in the country or have a business partner who is, and whom you'd trust with your life.

In the context of CAFC, be very careful what you wish for.

kentaddick

PragueAddick said:

This is Russia. I have learnt a clear lesson. Don't deal with Russia or in Russia unless you are yourself absolutely steeped in the country or have a business partner who is, and whom you'd trust with your life.

In the context of CAFC, be very careful what you wish for.

I feel the same way about nigerians

PragueAddick

And in case my comment is misinterpreted as racist, let me say that people report a new breed of young Russians is growing up in international companies, who want to do things properly, and by extension want to get rid of Putin and co and install a proper democracy.But it will take them at least another ten years to become seriously successful, and they will never be as rich as the current oligarchs, because in a proper civilised democracy the oligarchs could never have done what they did.

Boom

Love a sweeping generalisation. I work with Russians quite a lot. Whilst they have a certain way, you can't just write them all off. You've obvious been turned over by our friends from Moscow. No need to be bitter.

Bedsaddick

I work with Russians too and they seem to lack any form of emotion or sense of fun/Humour . They like to make a buck though.

Off_it

PragueAddick said:

And in case my comment is misinterpreted as racist, let me say that people report a new breed of young Russians is growing up in international companies, who want to do things properly, and by extension want to get rid of Putin and co and install a proper democracy.But it will take them at least another ten years to become seriously successful, and they will never be as rich as the current oligarchs, because in a proper civilised democracy the oligarchs could never have done what they did.

So how does that comment somehow make your previous comment not racist?

Not that I'm that bothered, it's just that you are the sort of poster who would be all over someone like a cheap nasty rash if they had said it about, say, the Czechs.

Boom

Bedsaddick said:

I work with Russians too and they seem to lack any form of emotion or sense of fun/Humour . They like to make a buck though.

Know what you mean but there are also some good time ruskies - the vodka sessions aren't a myth.

oohaahmortimer

I've been on holiday in the same place as Russians and you could not meet a ruder , zero personality group if you tried
I mean if you hold the door open for these robots 100 times at least one might look at you and nod and smile or say thank you but no they just nutdown and there is nothing there, they have less people skills than me and that's saying something
I just presume/hope that within time they will eventually find a personality and some basic human skills

se9addick

oohaahmortimer said:

I've been on holiday in the same place as Russians and you could not meet a ruder , zero personality group if you tried
I mean if you hold the door open for these robots 100 times at least one might look at you and nod and smile or say thank you but no they just nutdown and there is nothing there, they have less people skills than me and that's saying something
I just presume/hope that within time they will eventually find a personality and some basic human skills

To be fair I was at the bank the other day and coming out I held the door for some woman and her hundreds of children (I believe her to have been a chav) and not one even acknowledged let alone thanked me.

Plus I'd probably rather share a resort with Ruskies than Northerners.

PragueAddick

Boom said:

Love a sweeping generalisation. I work with Russians quite a lot. Whilst they have a certain way, you can't just write them all off. You've obvious been turned over by our friends from Moscow. No need to be bitter.

You'd be quite wrong to think that. However because of my exposure to the current Russian business environment, I have learnt a bit about how the Russian business environment has developed since 1990, and how it is that some 'business' people are unfeasibly rich. These are the type of people whose hands I would hope CAFC will not fall into. Like I said, in ten years time some good guys will become fairly rich by learning, developing and building proper businesses much in the way that people like Branson will have done. Such an entrepreneur would be as good as any British one for Charlton, but they don't generally exist yet.

I've been lucky enough to meet some younger Russian business people who support the anti-Putin liberal movement, and it is actually through talking to them that I've come to this conclusion. Unfortunately there are relatively few of them at this point in time, so the corruption and theft of money belonging to the Russian people will continue. As by the way it continues here in the Czech Republic.

Hastingsaddick

Boom said:

Bedsaddick said:

I work with Russians too and they seem to lack any form of emotion or sense of fun/Humour . They like to make a buck though.

Know what you mean but there are also some good time ruskies - the vodka sessions aren't a myth.

Ever been to Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, NYC....Never seen drinking like it before...or since for that matter.

AddickUpNorth

Cheeky fecker @se9addick ;o)

kentaddick

PragueAddick said:

And in case my comment is misinterpreted as racist, let me say that people report a new breed of young Russians is growing up in international companies, who want to do things properly, and by extension want to get rid of Putin and co and install a proper democracy.But it will take them at least another ten years to become seriously successful, and they will never be as rich as the current oligarchs, because in a proper civilised democracy the oligarchs could never have done what they did.

I think it's a given that the oligarchs are rich simply because they were in the Russian Mafia at the end of the Soviet Union and had an idea about how business worked and could beat people/kill them if they refused to give over the "stock" that was dispersed amongst the population after the fall of the USSR.

PragueAddick

kentaddick said:

PragueAddick said:

And in case my comment is misinterpreted as racist, let me say that people report a new breed of young Russians is growing up in international companies, who want to do things properly, and by extension want to get rid of Putin and co and install a proper democracy.But it will take them at least another ten years to become seriously successful, and they will never be as rich as the current oligarchs, because in a proper civilised democracy the oligarchs could never have done what they did.

I think it's a given that the oligarchs are rich simply because they were in the Russian Mafia at the end of the Soviet Union and had an idea about how business worked and could beat people/kill them if they refused to give over the "stock" that was dispersed amongst the population after the fall of the USSR.

That is one group. Another group of the Communist so called elite became quite familiar with how capitalism worked, and had worked out how to profit from the fall of communism.

GreenhitheRed

Does Kerimov fancy investing in a South East London club with decent infrastructure and fan base that with a small fraction of the investment he made at Anzhi could possibly be amongst the English elite?

Thought not!