Third Level. Instead of 4 Groups, now there were 6 Zones. Their winners played qualification tournament and three of them were promoted to Second Division. Here are few teams playing Third Level football in 1970:
Promoted from Third Level were: Shinnik (Yaroslavl), Kuzbass (Kemerovo), and
Second Division. The very first season of this league was strange in its make. Different aims collided: purely sporting aims and ideological/political ones, each aggrivated by geography. Combining both was not easy or satisfactory, in the long term the third level suffered most, but the new Second Level was to suffer too, at least the next season. No problem with 4 teams: Kayrat, Lokomotiv (Moscow), Krylya Sovetov, and Uralmash – these were relegated from First Division. The rest... there was no good reason , from sporting point of view, for most teams to be here at all. There was no good reason for those relegated at the end of the season either. Ideology stepped in to void reason: all republics had to be represented. This happened to be both unpractical and impossible... first of all, Baltic republics and the far East republics had weak football and fewer clubs than Russia and Ukraine. At the end five republics had no team in the new division. If Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan had teams in the First Divisionand that served as excuse for not including more teams in the Second Division, Estonia was entirely out of the two top leagues. Ideology is fine as long as reality bites on it: 18 clubs of the new league were selected from the 4 groups of former Second Level (which now was Third Level) and there was no Estonian club playing there in 1969. It wasn't fair to include a team from even lower level... fine, but it wasn't fair to include in the Second Division teams from lower half of 1969 final table of Group 4, which combined clubs from the weakest football regions of USSR – Stroitel (Ashgabat, 5th in 1969), Alga (Frunze, 9th), Daugava (Riga, 12th), Moldova (Kishinev, 6th). Add those who qualified normally: Zhalgiris (Vilnius, 1st) Shakter (Karaganda, 2nd), Lokomotiv (Tbilisi, 3rd), and Energetik (Dushanbe). The teams coming from the other three groups were more or less normally included: from Group 1 – the winner won promotion to First Division under the old system, so those bellow it joined Second Division: Dinamo (Leningrad, 2nd), Kuban (Krasnodar, 3rd), Tekstilshtik (Ivanovo, 4th). From Group 2: SKA (Khabarovsk, 1st), Rubin (Kazan, 2nd), Volgar (Astrakhan, 4th). Why Volgar was included instead of the third-placed team in the group? Never mind... From Group 3: Dnepr (Dnepropetrovsk, 1st), SKA (Kiev, 2nd), Metallist (Kharkov, 3rd), and Karpaty (Lvov, 6th). The reason Karpaty was included was kind of plausible – they sensationally won the Soviet Cup in 1969 and in 1970 played in the Cup Winners Cup. Anyhow, the new league was formed, championship was played and predictably at the bottom of the table were the weak teams from former Group 4. And as long as ideology ruled, they were not relegated – instead, the lowest placed teams from Ukraine and Russia plus the only representative of Georgia went down: SKA (Khabarovsk, Russia, 21st), SKA (Kiev, Ukraine, 19th), Kuban (Krasnodar, Russia, 16th), and Lokomotiv (Tbilisi, Georgia, 15th).
Class A - First Group (Second Level)
1.Karpaty Lvov 42 26 11 5 70-22 63 Promoted [UKR]2.Kayrat Alma-Ata 42 25 11 6 71-29 61 Promoted [-] [KAZ] --------------------------------------------------------3.Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk 42 26 9 7 58-25 61 [UKR]Sitting from left: Anatoly Napreev, Dmitry Dimitriadi, Zoltan Miles, Viktor Marenko – coach, Valery Sheludko, Vladimir Vaskovsky, Nikolay Goncharov, Vladimir Derkach. Top row: Anatoly Komkov, Vyacheslav Naumov, Aleksandr Kochetov, Vladimir Bassalaev, Aleksey Kuznetzov, Vladimir Belyakov, Yury Karnakhin, Vladimir Shalashov, Viktor Davidov, Mikhail Ermolaev, Viktor Kaplatzky, Rudolf Atamalyan, Yury Ivanov, Boris Podkorytov, Vladimir Zotikov, administrator. 4.Lokomotiv Moskva 42 20 10 12 53-39 50 [-] [RUS]5.Metallist Kharkov 42 15 19 8 43-26 49 [UKR] 6.Dinamo Leningrad 42 19 9 14 62-49 47 [RUS]7.Krylya Sovetov Kuibyshev 42 17 13 12 43-32 47 [-] [RUS] 8.Rubin Kazan 42 18 10 14 36-42 46 [RUS] 9.Shakhtyor Karaganda 42 15 15 12 49-43 45 [KAZ]10.Žalgiris Vilnius 42 15 11 16 46-40 41 [LTU] 11.Moldova Kishinev 42 13 15 14 40-34 41 [MDA] 12.Textilshchik Ivanovo 42 13 14 15 36-51 40 [RUS] 13.Volgar Astrakhan 42 14 11 17 38-45 39 [RUS] 14.UralMash Sverdlovsk 42 13 12 17 37-49 38 [-] [RUS] 15.Lokomotiv Tbilisi 42 14 9 19 36-43 37 [GEO]16.Kuban Krasnodar 42 11 15 16 27-45 37 [RUS] 17.Daugava Riga 42 11 11 20 36-50 33 [LVA] 18.Pamir Dushanbe 42 12 9 21 41-62 33 [TJK] 19.SKA Kiev 42 11 10 21 39-50 32 [UKR] 20.Alga Frunze 42 10 12 20 34-45 32 [KGZ] 21.SKA Khabarovsk 42 8 16 18 22-41 32 [RUS] 22.Stroitel Ashkhabad 42 6 8 28 22-77 20 [TKM] Note: Energetik Dushanbe changed name to Pamir.
USSR. Reorganization and to be continued. Class A, made of 2 leagues was announced, the former top level championship reduced to 17 teams and to be made of 16 teams from 1971. Second Division was organized, still belonging to Class A, but actrually a second level championship made of 22 teams. The former zonal championships were no longer second level, but third level. The First Level – the First Division, called Supreme Group, was easy to understand, but bellow there were complications eventually to be changed further. Curiously, very similar reorganization at the same time happened in the ice hockey championships and structure – to a point, the aim was to create more compact top leagues and increase the competitiveness and quality of the game. There will be more about the second level bellow; as for the top league the last three teams were relegated and replaced by the top two teams from the Second Division. The calendar was made with consideration for the coming World Cup, which somewhat affected performance. The championship was intriguing enough - two teams finished with same point and 'Golden Match', a final play-off, was staged to decide the champion. One match was not enough and a second match was played the next day, both scheduled in far-away city of Tashkent.
Class A - Supreme Group (First Level)
1.CSKA Moskva 32 20 5 7 46-17 45 Golden Match [RUS]Dinamo Moskva 32 19 7 6 50-22 45 Golden Match [RUS]3.Spartak Moskva 32 12 14 6 43-25 38 [RUS] 4.Dinamo Tbilisi 32 14 8 10 43-30 36 [GEO]5.Zarya Voroshilovgrad 32 10 14 8 27-25 34 [UKR]6.Torpedo Moskva 32 12 10 10 36-38 34 [RUS]7.Dinamo Kiev 32 14 5 13 36-32 33 [UKR] 8.SKA Rostov-na-Donu 32 9 15 8 28-29 33 [RUS]9.Dinamo Minsk 32 11 10 11 33-29 32 [BLR] 10.Shakhtyor Donetsk 32 11 8 13 35-50 30 [UKR] 11.Neftchi Baku 32 9 11 12 27-28 29 [AZE]12.Ararat Yerevan 32 10 9 13 31-34 29 [ARM]13.Pahtakor Tashkent 32 8 12 12 28-46 28 [UZB]14.Zenit Leningrad 32 10 7 15 30-40 27 [RUS] ---------------------------------------------------- 15.Chernomorets Odessa 32 8 10 14 25-38 26 Relegated [UKR] 16.Torpedo Kutaisi 32 6 11 15 24-42 23 Relegated [GEO]17.Spartak Orjonikidze 32 7 8 17 31-48 22 Relegated [+] [RUS] Note: Lugansk City were renamed as Voroshilovgrad. Championship Play-Off [Dec 5, Tashkent; Att: 60,000] CSKA Moskva 0-0 Dinamo Moskva Replay [Dec 6, Tashkent; Att: 40,000] CSKA Moskva 4-3 Dinamo Moskva [Vladimir Dudarenko 11, Vladimir Fedotov 71, 84, Vladimir Polikarpov 75 pen – Yevgeniy Zhukov 22, Gennadiy Yevryuzhikhin 24, Valeriy Maslov 28]Dinamo (Moscow) finished with silver medals. Perhaps the most significant about this season was that great Lev Yashin was nearing retirement: he was mere reserve in Mexico and didn't play in the decissive play-offs. The time of his talented replacement Pilguy was coming. Standing from left: V. Anichkin, V. Maslov, Yu. Avrutzky, V. Pilguy, V. Smirnov, V. Zykov, V. Utkin. Crouching: V. Kozlov, G. Evryuzhikhin, E. Zhukov, V. Eshtrekov, Yu. Semin.CSKA (Moscow) – the dramatic champions. Crouching from left: Yu. Istomin, V. Fedotov, A. Kuznetzov, V. Dudarenko, V. Starkov, V. Utkin, N. Dolgov. Standing: V. Kaplichny, V. A. Nikolaev – coach, M. Plakhetko, A. Shesternev, Yu. Pshenichnikov, A. I. Mamykin – assistant coach, B. Kopeykin, I. M. Bodnaruk – doctor, V. Polikarpov, V. Afonin.The Army team celebrated in their military uniforms the title they waited for almost 20 years – it was their 5th, but the 4th was won in 1951. In fact, CSKA didn't win a trophy since 1955, when they won their 4th Cup. So, a great moment, but... Who would had known what will follow: not only another 20 years of drought, but a terrible decline sunking the club to Second Division. Whatever praise the champions got, it was quite predictable if one took a closer look at the squad. Only 4 players were included in the national team for the 1970 World Cup – since the World Cup happened practically in the middle of the Soviet championship, one expects more players from the leading team to go to the World's finals. Dinamo (Kiev) had 5 players in Mexico and Dinamo (Tbilisi) also had 5 – perhaps that was why both teams were not title contenders this season and CSKA benefited from their weakening. Spartak (Moscow) had 4 players in Mexico, so it was weakened as well. As a whole, CSKA wasn't a great squad: the defensive line – Istomin, Shesternev, Kaplichny, Afonin – was the best line of the team . Except Istomin, all of them went to Mexico. The star in midfield was Vladimir Fedotov, often playing for the national team and having strong season, yet, he was not in World Cup national team, which questions his quality. The rest of the line was not at all national team candidates. CSKA played with only two frowards with hardly any back-up – both Boris Kopeykin and Vladimir Dudarenko were talented, but hardly first class players. Dudarenko was moody player, inconsistent, and generally not very dependable. There was nobody else – the only other striker was Vladimir Starkov, who shined in the second team, but failed to impress whenever was tried in the first. Misfortune hit CSKA the whole season – they had to use 3 goalkeepers. Yury Pshenichnikov practically missed the 1969 and half of 1970 season because of heavy injury. A national team player since 1966, he played only 15 games in 1970 (including the decissive play-offs against Dinamo Moscow for the title). He was dropped from the first team in 1971, which depressed him greatly and he disappeared for 2 months, only to come back and ask to be freed from the club. Amazingly, the very coach who dropped him from the squad asked him to play a game for the second team and see what happens. Pshenichnikov agreed, played well and was returned to first team. But he was done man and left CSKA in 1972 to join his original club Pakhtakor (Tashkent), where he played a little and quit due to injuries. Without injured Pshnichnikov the time of his back-up arrived: Leonid Shmutz, aged 22, yet with the team since 1967, was so far almost without first team appearances (and jumping ahead, for almost 10 years with CSKA, he played only 54 games), playing regularly for the second team. Now he had a chance and used it so well, he was included in the World Cup squad. He didn't play in Mexico and his only 2 national team appearances were in 1971, but his frist season as a starter was going great... until he got injured after 14 games and missed the rest. 1971 was practically the end for him – he made atrocious mistake during a game, scoring stupid own goal. He was unable to overcome mentally this moment, became shaky, lost form and never recovered, eventually disapperaing in the lower divisions. His injury in 1970 left CSKA with only one goalkeeper – untried to this moment. Vladimir Astapovsky joined CSKA in 1969, but so far had no chance to play for neither first, nor second team – Pshenichnikov and Shmutz were regulars in each formation. So, Astapovsky got his chance out of the blue and played 9 games, performing well enough. However, he was lacking experience and when Pshenichnikov got better, Astapovsky was benched again, Of the three he proved best – with time not only he established himself as regular, but became a national team player in 1975 and remained in it until 1977. Fortune-misfortune. Usually teams suffer such string of goalkeeper's injuries, but CSKA somehow survived and the three keepers played well – which may have been due to strong and stable defensive line. Yet, such changes and particularly the fate of both Pshenichnikov and Shmutz was perhaps strong indication that CSKA was not exactly a team to last and their victory was more or less incidental. In general, the Moscow domination ended already and CSKA's victory should be seen rather chancy.
FA Cup
Final 11 Apr Chelsea 2 2 Leeds [aet][Wembley] Final Replay 29 Apr Chelsea 2 1 Leeds [aet][Manchester U]
League Cup
Final
(Wembley, 7 March 1970):
Manchester City(1) - West Bromwich Albion(1) 2-1Losing finalist: West Bromwich AlbionLeague Cup Winners: Manchester City.
League Division 4 P W D L F A W D L F A Pts1. CHESTERFIELD 46 19 1 3 55 12 8 9 6 22 20 642. WREXHAM 46 17 6 0 56 16 9 3 11 28 33 613. SWANSEA CITY 46 14 8 1 43 14 7 10 6 23 31 604. PORT VALE 46 13 9 1 39 10 7 10 6 22 23 595. Brentford 46 14 8 1 36 11 6 8 9 22 28 566. Aldershot 46 16 5 2 52 22 4 8 11 26 43 537. Notts County 46 14 4 5 44 21 8 4 11 29 41 528. Lincoln City 46 11 8 4 38 20 6 8 9 28 32 50 9. Peterborough United 46 13 8 2 51 21 4 6 13 26 48 4810. Colchester United 46 14 5 4 38 22 3 9 11 26 41 4811. Chester City 46 14 3 6 39 23 7 3 13 19 43 4812. Scunthorpe United 46 11 6 6 34 23 7 4 12 33 42 4613. York City 46 14 7 2 38 16 2 7 14 17 46 4614. Northampton 46 11 7 5 41 19 5 5 13 23 36 4415. Crewe Alexandra 46 12 6 5 37 18 4 6 13 14 33 4416. Grimsby Town 46 9 9 5 33 24 5 6 12 21 34 4317. Southend United 46 12 8 3 40 28 3 2 18 19 57 4018. Exeter City 46 13 5 5 48 20 1 6 16 9 39 3919. Oldham Athletic 46 11 4 8 45 28 2 9 12 15 37 3920. Workington 46 9 9 5 31 21 3 5 15 15 43 3821. Newport County 46 12 3 8 39 24 1 8 14 14 50 37 22. Darlington 46 8 7 8 31 27 5 3 15 22 46 3623. Hartlepool United 46 7 7 9 31 30 3 3 17 11 52 3024. BRADFORD PARK AVENUE 46 6 5 12 23 32 0 6 17 18 64 23
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