Kuban Krasnodar do have the more talented side and the tactical organization of Petrescu, so I’d personally rate them a bit higher. And Petrescu’s most recent Romanian acquisition, Gigel Bucur, is also a huge signing for them. A strong replacement for the loss of Dramane Traoré (who, by the way, is excelling in Lokomotiv’s camp–he can’t stop scoring).

But, as Martyn suggests, there is no real worth in arguing over who is more deserved. Restricting the question to who would be more successful next year in the top flight, I would think it would be the Toads.

If Alania are given the call-up, as the rules stipulate, it is still not clear if they would have substantial enough financial investment to bring in a couple of transfers to improve the squad. Though they were able to score goals in the First Division, it does not look like their younger attack-minded players (Bibilov, Gagloyev, Tsarikayev) could really make much difference in the top flight this year. The club’s relative success in 2009 stemmed primarily from their defense, but they’ve lost key players. The club is currently looking at Milovan Milović (currently with Serbian side Javor Ivanjica) to improve the defense, but not having Valentic (left for Sibir) and Proshyn (to Rostov) is a major setback. Their absence could be mitigated in the First Division but the club’s weaker back line would be difficult to overcome in the top flight.

I wouldn’t really get bogged down in the nationality issue—not just because of the club’s North Ossetian pride but because the club’s strongest players, in my opinion, are not Russian. With the exception of recently acquired Aslan Mashukov (from Spartak Nalchik), the aforementioned Dadu (Moldova) along with Paulo Adriano (Portugal) and Ibrahim Gnanou (Burkina Faso) are arguably the most adept members on the squad. Add the acquisition of Bosnia and Herzegovina midfielder Zajko Zeba, who will be a boost to the midfield, and it seems as though Alania could potentially be as reliant on foreign players as Kuban Krasnodar.

This is not to suggest that their Russian citizens are not decent. The Bazayev brothers have moments of excellence. But as they get older they have been able to benefit from the slower pace of the First Division. I’d love to be proven wrong, but I’m not entirely convinced they could really perform at the same level in the Premier-Liga. Alania has also lost the loan services of Dmitry Ryzhov (now with Ural) and Aleksandr Yarkin (to Krasnodar), leading them to transfer Georgiy Gabulov and Karen Oganyan. While their return has been welcomed, to all intents and purposes the attack still remains on the shoulders of Dadu.

But, first things first, we’ll need to see how the fiscal crises of Krylia and FK Moskva play out.

Alania finished 10th in 2008, so throwing context out of the window for a moment, finishing 3rd in 2009 can be heralded as a club moving forward. Obviously they have a far richer and more substantial history in the top flight too; thus making them a little more likely to contribute substantially to the division in future.

Nevertheless, Krasnodar can match the *name* with the Dan Petrescu factor. And money. Marketing and reputation wise therefore, both have a fair claim to warranting a space in the Premier League.

Ultimately though, I’ll base my decision (screw that stalemate) in terms of personnel. Now nationality may be a thorny subject when it comes to Alania given that the majority of the region wouldn’t class themselves as Russian. Nevertheless, Moldovan spearhead aside, more of their playing staff are Russian. So Alania, step on up!

Speaking of that trio and their canine, attendances in Russia are pretty low given the sizes of the cities that some of the teams represent, and those in Moscow are, relatively speaking, among the worst. Why do people think this is?

But the former of the two options is where Torpedo Moskva comes into the discussion. So, to partially answer Silvio, there seems to be a real possibility of a takeover/merger with Torpedo. At least there is a lot of talk surrounding that possibility given the very complicated history between FK Moskva and “Torpedo” (which is made more confusing given that there have been several clubs, of which the ZiL have been part owners). I’m going to try to write a piece over the weekend to sort out the complexities of the story (in part to make it clearer in my own head) and weigh the different options that both FK Moskva’s management and their current players have for the upcoming season.