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clloyd
gaz12321
Hangzhou Lucheng
So i've landed the job at Chinese Super League outfit Hangzhou, after about 4 months out of the game, a number of jobs came and went including failed interviews with Seoul & A'erbin and also an approach strangely from the Canadian national team that I rejected, time to get back to business.
The club have been in the CSL now for 11 years so are an established top division side, their history is a short one having only been founded 20 years ago and they have never won a trophy so there is plenty of scope to become the clubs most successful ever manager, their highest ever league finish was in 2004 when they finished 4th. They play their home games at Huanglong Sports Center with a capacity of over 50,000 although their attendances average closer to 10,000. The finances looks comfortable with over £3m in the bank and a transfer budget of over £1m, although i'm reluctant to dip into that too much before I know how well they operate on a monthly basis.
So last season they finished down in 13th which lead to the sacking of their former manager, although they did experience success to a degree as they made the FA Cup Final but lost to Shandong over the 2 legs, i'm unsure at the moment if that means we qualified for continental football, I would assume it would go to 4th placed Fuli though.
The squad is in good shape if i'm honest, and there are a fair few youngsters with high potential as well. I'd like to invest in a quality central defender and will be looking to take advantage of the interest in 33 year old Xu Bo and move him on, a central midfielder would be nice as well to add some extra depth to the squad, other than that i'm happy to see how the current squad plays out to begin with, seems like a decent side to me.
Dan
gaz12321
I had already made the decision to leave before the bad form struck, the only thing tempting me to stay was the fact that I never won the League Cup.
Thanks, there are some decent young players at the club so not expecting immediate success but there is a good base to build for the future, one thing i'm noticing so far is Chinese clubs really over estimate their players worth, bang average players are in demand for £1m plus it's crazy!
gaz12321
Transfers
My first deal at Hangzhou was the sale of aging defender Xu Bo who left for almost £17k, 15 players then left the club following the expiry of their contracts. left back Zhang Chen was allowed to move to Yanbian for £80k and right winger Zhang Chiming was moved on for a cool £425k. I've brought in 5 players, first in was 19 year old defender Moussa Diakite, already better than the players we have and has potential to improve further, Ge Yifeng comes in from Yanbian for £240k, paying for potential here as the 16 year old looks like he could become a top player and can player in numerous positions. Experienced midfield Chen Zhechao comes in to provide some cover in midfield on a free, also on a free is Guatemalan forward Kendai Herrarte, he can play up front or just behind the striker and in center mid if necessary. Final signing Liu Kui is another player for the future at just 19 years old, he will also provide immediate cover at left back.
19 year old Moussa Diakite has already been capped 7 times by Burkina Faso and I have high hopes for him to succeed in China, already a very talented defender and has great potential for development, hoping to see a steady increase in his mental stats as he gains first team experience and grows older.
Ge Yifeng is just 16 years old and looks set to have a bright future, can play through the middle or on the right and already has solid stats, with the right treatment he could become one of the best midfielders in the country, not had the best of starts with his stats dropping but I will be looking at the quality of our youth staff shortly in a bid to improve this.
Chen Zhachao will provide competition in the center of the park and at just 23 years old he could still improve as wel, he already boasts some solid stats but we have some talented young players in his position, nice to have a bit of competition.
The best of the bunch for me, Guatemalan forward Kendei Herrerta, will most likely spend a lot of time playing behind the striker with great determination and teamwork stats he should provide plenty of chances for other, also a fantastic set piece taker, great finisher as well and has a good track record of goals for his former club in his home country, got high hopes for this one.
The final signing Liu Kui was a bit of a panic buy to be honest, our cover at left back won't be able to play much due to the foreign player rules and the fact we have better foreign options that will be registered instead of him, so i've swooped for this 19 year old to provide a bit of cover at left back, hopefully he can develop into a decent player and the scouts thought more of him than our coaches do, stats look quite solid for a young player and has great determination, we'll see how he develops.
There has been huge interest in our keeper Rongze with bids as high as £1.3m coming in but i've kept hold of him, mainly for fear of not being able to replace him with the same quality, we're fairly solid in defence but it is probably the weakest area of the squad and as you can see Diakite already stands out despite being just 19. We have plenty of quality in the center of midfield with 20 year old Xiaorui & 22 year old Xiuwei likely to start more often than not, also likely to us Trawally deeper due to Herrerta's arrival, In-Sung looks good on the right but we might be a bit light on the left wing and we have a quality striker in Louati with some good potential youngsters providing cover, the squad looks in decent shape.
The assistant took care of these and they went quite well, a draw against Korean side Jeju and a victory over Jiangsu the highlights, players should be in decent shape and ready to get going in the Super League.
Ipswich Knights
gaz12321
Results
We opened our league campaign at home to Fuli, who finished 4th last season, Feng Gang got the scoring underway in the first half, an own goal and a strike from Louati had us in control before 2 late strikes made it a nervy finish but we held on for the 3-2 win. Game 2 ended in a disappointing 2-1 defeat at Quanjian with our goal scored by Trawally, in the 3rd game we traveled to one of China's richest clubs Shanggang and came out on the right side of a 4-2 scoreline, Gang & Louati each netted a brace which sent us to Champions Shandong in high spirits and we got the perfect result, right winger In-Sung netted from a rapid counter attack and we held firm to pick up a 3rd win in the opening 4 games, excellent start for Hangzhou.
Beijing making the early running with 10 points just a single point ahead of us, Guangzhou back in 4th but are unbeaten and have 8 points while Shandong have started quite slowly with already having dropped 5 points.
Feng Gang has been in inspired form up the left wing and has already scored 3 and provided 3 in just 4 appearances, he had to fight off a number of high performing players this month with special mentions for Louati & Trawally who have also been in great form, as has the whole team really.
Early days but Gang pops up everywhere in the stats, joint top scorer with Louati, best performer and joint top of the assists with In-Sung the winger form the opposite flank, and most player of the matches too with 2, central midfielder Xiaorui has the highest pass completion so far. Finances looking good and we are operating a long way below our budget which is good to see, expect to be offering some wage increases to some younger players as they become more and more important to the team over the course of the season.
We start off by hosting the bottom club Yiteng who have shipped 14 goals in their opening 4 games, we then face a visit from A'erbin who flirted with the drop last season before a trip to Jiangsu and finishing the month at home to Renhe who have started slowly this season.
gaz12321
Results
We comfortably saw off Yiteng 3-0 with goals from Gang, Louati & Trawally but failed to score for the first time this season as we were held to a 0-0 draw at A'erbin. Our third game of the month was an entertaining 3-3 draw but a game that swung back and forth, we went behind early on but Herrarte sent us in to the break at 1-1, In-Sung put us ahead early in the second half only for 2 quick fire Jiangsu goals to turn the game on it's head, Trawally popped up with a leveler 5 minutes from the end to give us a point from a crazy game, the month was wrapped by beating Renhe 2-0 thanks to Herrarte & Trawally both on the score sheet for a second game running.
An excellent start with 17 points from the opening game sees us in 2nd behind Guangzhou who are looking to take the title back from Shandong, the latter have had a stuttering start and sit 5th in the early stages.
Our Gambian attacking midfielder Trawally has been in sparkling form in the 4 games this month scoring 3 and assisting 3 goals and has been instrumental in our successful start to the season.
Trawally has joined Gang & Louati at the top of the goals chart all with 5 showing a good share of goals throughout the side, our creative midfielder Zhang Xiuwei has impressed this month and this sees him take pole position in the average ratings, In-Sung is now out in front for assists with 5. Finances are looking stable with a loss of just £23k last month and remain in a healthy position.
Changchun at home is first up this month before a huge game with a trip to league leaders Guangzhou and finishing with a trip to the overachieving Beikong who are currently 4th in the league.
Dan
gaz12321
Results
Just 3 games this month and we were within a minute of winning them all, 4 different scorers in the opening game saw us pick up a comfortable 4-0 win over Changchun, we then faced a daunting trip to Guangzhou where Feng Gang fired u into an early lead, we were more than holding our own but let our lead slip early in the second half until the final minute when we countered and Trawally converted and In-Sung cross to give us all 3 points. We were unable to follow up on this impressive result when the surprise package so far Beikong came from behind twice to nick a point with a 93rd minute leveler, Xiaorui opened the scoring with a screamer early on and In-Sung grabbed our second goal.
Unbelievable! We have moved top of the table with just over a third of the season gone, my aim for the season is top 10 which will need around 42 points and i'm not getting carried away, but we have been superb so far. Shandong are back in the running and have notched 5 straight wins.
Right winger Kim In-Sung has put in some great performances in the 3 games this month notching 2 goals and an assist, he has been vital to our counter attacking success this season and always provides a pacey outlet on the right.
Gang's 2 goals this month moves him to top scorer on 6, Xiuwei continues to impress in the midfield and remains our top performer, In-Sung remains our best creator. The board absolutely delighted with the performance so far and so am I, just waiting for the annual FM collapse now. Finances haven't gone well this month with over £100k lost.
The board were persuaded to commit to a massive upgrade to our youth facilities which could be crucial to our development as a club, should be complete a couple of months in to next season.
A trip to Yongchang is first up in the league then we host Shenua, the FA Cup has drawn us away to struggling First Division side Chengdu and we finish the month with an away game at Huaxia.
clloyd
gaz12321
gaz12321
Results
For the second game running we threw away a lead, Gang had us ahead in the first half but we conceded with 20 to play and couldn't force a winner having to settle for a 1-1 draw at Yongchang, we returned to winning ways emphatically smashing Shenhua 5-1 with the goals all coming from different scorers, a number of changes were made for the FA Cup game at Chengdu but we progressed comfortably with Trawally at the center of everything bagging a brace, 17 year old Yifeng sealed the win in the 87th minute making it 3-1. Our final game of the month saw another 2 points dropped after our 18 year old striker Weijian had us in front early on we let in an 84th minute equaliser and had to settle for another draw, starting to become a habit!
Our 2 draws this month see us slip to 6th 4 points behind Guangzhou & Shandong but with a game in hand on them.
Trawally's form has been out of this world over the last 4 games, scoring 3 goals and assisting 4 with an average rating of around 8.8 over the 4 games, scarily good month from him!
Trawally's good form has seen him become dominant in our stats, top scorer with 8, best performer, most assists with 8 & most player of the match awards as well!
Busy schedule this month we face 5 league games with home ties against Quanjian, Beijing & Shanggang and also trips to Fuli & Yiteng, our FA Cup 4th round tie at home to Beijing is also on the horizon.
gaz12321
Results
Our good form continued in a hectic month, opening with a 0-0 draw at Fuli before winning 3 home league games in a row. Our attentions turned to the FA Cup and after going ahead a minute into the game at home to Beijing we had to settle for a draw but managed to squeeze through on penalties, our reward in the next round ... Shandong!! A disappointing collapse against the leagues whipping boys Yiteng meant we had to settle for a 2-2 draw from 2-0 up at half time and then we ran Shandong all the way in the FA Cup but crashed out on penalties after a 2-2 draw over 90 minutes.
Still flying high just 2 points behind leaders Shandong but they have a game in hand, we are currently holding off pressure from Guangzhou as the title race looks to be a three way scrap with over half the season played, to be fair i'll be happy with ACL qualification as my target at the start of the season was top 10! It's going well so far.
Our young central midfielder Zhang Xiuwei continued his excellent form this season and put in some great performances in his 6 games this month, unfortunately missed the FA Cup Quarter Final as did a few others on international duty.
Trawally remains top scorer but has been overtaken on performances by Xiuwei and assists by In-Sung, surprisingly our keeper Rongze has our best pass completion rate!
Only the league to concentrate on now we start with a trip to A'erbin and then a huge game as Shandong pay us a visit, our final game in home to Jiangsu.
clloyd
Ipswich Knights
gaz12321
Results
4 games this month as our trip to Renhe has been moved forwards, in the first game we saw off A'erbin thanks to an early strike from 18 year old striker Weijian on his first start, we then bottled our biggest game of the season so far, having beaten Shandong already this season I was hopeful at home but they ended our unbeaten run of 21 games in all competitions with a fairly comfortable 2-0 win, the game itself was very even but they took their chances and we didn't. We returned to form thanks to a Trawally brace at home to Jiangsu and then were held to a goalless draw at Renhe on the final day of the month.
Shandong have now moved 4 points clear with a game in hand and have been unstoppable for the past 4 months, hard to see them not retaining the title for a 4th time. We continue to hold off Guangzhou with a 2 point gap and 7 games to play, a nice gap back to Beijing in 4th as well although they have a game in hand, looking good for ACL football next season despite operating on the 2nd lowest budget in the league!
Xiuwei again, so consistent in the midfield and although he is rarely involved directly in our goals he is our play maker and keeps us moving forward nicely, really impressing this season, no surprise he had a stint at Lyon as a youth, quality player.
Not much to report here, pretty much the same as last month.
Changchun away is a game we really should be winning and then we face another huge game as Guangzhou pay us a visit, the 3rrd and final game at home to Bielkong won't be easy either as they are having a good season.
gaz12321
Results
We got the expected win against struggling Changchun thanks to 2 second half penalties converted by Trawally, unfortunately Guangzhou were just too strong for us and despite both sides creating chances it was a penalty in the 80th minute that handed Guangzhou 3 points. we bounced back against Beikong with a 2-0 win thanks to a brace from right winger In-Sung.
Despite the loss to Guangzhou we are still clinging on to 2nd, Shandong are 1 win away from clinching the title but we are looking good for ACL football next season.
Trawally put in excellent performances against Changchun & Beikong, unfortunately wasn't quite so good against Guangzhou.
Trawally has 14 goals now and looks nailed on for top scorer, everything else pretty much remains the same.
A tough trip to Beijing which could open up the battle for top 3 but we have to fancy our chances of making it with home ties against Yongchang & Huaxia to come and a trip to a struggling Shenhua side.
gaz12321
Results
Once again we bottled the big game as we fell to defeat at Beijing which left us just 4 points ahead of them with 3 to play as we looked to secure a top 3 finish. We ended the season in excellent form winning our final 3 games with back to back 2-1 wins over Yongchang and Shenhua and finishing a great season off with a 2-0 win over Huaxia.
So that's that, we managed to hold off Guangzhou and clinch a second placed finish securing Champions League football for next season, Shandong continued their domination of Chinese football with a 4th title in a row and also went on to win the FA Cup for a 6th straight year!!
Not much to choose from really as a number of young players were given games as the season closed down, left back Yue Xin was solid as ever and deserves some recognition, not sure why I cut the Beijing game off the screenie though.
Trawally claims the top scorer prize with 16 goals, Xiuwei was our best performer and In-Sung takes the prize of best creator. Finances have been fairly stable with a loss of jus £200k over the season, with the addition of ACL football next season we should be able to start turning a small profit.
Our youth academy is going to be key to maintaining our success, we have a number of high potential youngsters on the verge of the first team and now we have a few more to keep an eye on.
gaz12321
A great season for us finishing 2nd in the Super League and securing Champions League football at Hangzhou next season, considering the club finished 13th last season and I was targeting a top 10 finish this is incredible, the FA Cup wasn't such a success but understandably we were knocked out by a rampant Shandong team.
So many good performers in the squad this season, Hongquan was quality at right back despite his advancing years, Xin has been solid at left back and made some real progress breaking into the national side as well! Trawally was fantastic scoring 16 and making 10, Xiuwei probably our best player he was excellent in midfield and created 6 goals too, shame he didn't core any. Also got to give mentions to Diakite, Xiaorui, Gang & In-Sung who were all excellent as well. Just hope I can keep most of the squad in place for next year.
No surprise with Xiuwei winning player of the season and young player too, he has been that good! Diakite takes signing of the season.
The clubs highest ever finish!
We smashed the league awards ceremony with the following winners:
Other News
Bit random but i've taken the Paraguay job on the side.
Dan
gaz12321
Expectations
The board have been very fair and are probably wary of last season being a fluke, the media not so much expecting a top 4 finish and my squad are showing a lot of ambition, they weren't happy with my thoughts of a top half finish and want to challenge for the title, go for it lads!! My expectations are top half though, with a number of young players coming in to the squad this season it will be tough to maintain a run of form but i'm keen to see some of our exciting prospects develop, this is our best way of remaining competitive with such a small budget available.
Outgoing first, Yan & Lijun are sent out on loan to get some first team football, Feng Gang had a decent season last year but wanted to join Shandong who offered a fair chuck of cash for a fairly average player and we have some good young players in his position so he moves on, the sale of Fu Huan annoyed me a little as the board decided it was too good to refuse and accepted the offer, i'd been trying to keep hold of him for a season or two more as we have a couple of good young full backs but they are a bit raw and I don't want to bring in a new right back for the sake of a season. I did speak to the board about it but they wouldn't budge and Huan moved on.
The incoming deals, the three that we paid fees for are all youth players with great potential so i'd expect to see more of them in a few years. The other two signings are below:
Lebanese winger who can comfortably play either side, the plan is to directly rotate him and Korean winger In-Sung who's form dropped off at the end of last season, they are both foreign so will have to rotate. Saad has a great balance of attributes and his stats remind me of last seasons star player Trawally.
Experienced Argentine defender Varela joins on a free, we were vulnerable at the back last season and providing he settles quickly he will form a great partnership with Diakite, he agreed to join us months before the end of last season so has already started to learn the language, hopefully help him settle quicker.
As you can see we are lacking experience in a few areas especially at right back but we do have some exciting prospects, Yifeng, Jinshuai & Weijian look the brightest and will hopefully improve a lot as the season goes on, keeping Herrarte fit will be crucial to our chances as well as I see him as the spark in our side going forward, we have a good spine in the side but i'm worried we don't have enough cover for potential injury problems and the addition of ACL football.
Herrarte, Saad & Xiuwei were all particularly impressive pre season.
Tough group that, Jeju have won back to back Champions Leagues, Melbourne City will be tough to beat and again I face Saitama of Japan, faired ok against these with kitchee so hopefully shouldn't have any issues here with Hangzhou. We'll try our best but it's a tough task to qualify from this.
gaz12321
Results
A month that sums up my thoughts of an inconsistent season ahead, we started our competitive fixtures with a 4-2 defeat in the Super Cup to the dominant force in Chinese football, Shandong. There were some positives to take as we match them until the last 15 minutes when we just feel apart, Xiuwei put us ahead in the 10th minute but we were pegged back immediately, Diakite had us in front again with a header in the 24th minute, by half time it was 2-2 and remained this way until we conceded 2 late goals and lost 4-2. Next came a ridiculous match against Jeju in the Champions League, pretty much every shot in the match went in! I feared the worst when we went 2-0 down early on but Jinshuai netted before half time to make it 2-1, they scored again early in the second half but 2 quick goals from Saad leveled it up at 3-3. The last 10 minutes was incredible as we fell apart going 6-3 down before Saad completed hi hat trick and we still weren't done, another goal went in to complete a 7-4 win for Jeju, safe to say I wasn't impressed with our defenders! A poorly placed friendly against affiliate club Koln saw our youngsters get demolished 6-0.
We returned to Champions League action with a bang, Herrarte had us in dreamland with a goal either side of the break putting us 2-0 up against Melbounre City, they pulled one back with 15 minutes to play before a scrappy goal with the last kick of the game made it 2-2, gutted! The start of our league campaign and an early defeat as we fell to a 1-0 loss at Huaxia, the goal crazy start to the season returned after this as we recorded a club & league record 6-0 win against Yongchang with In-Sung, Jinshuai & Kui adding to a Weijian hat trick. Another eventful game as we threw away two leads and had to settle for a 2-2 draw at Guangzhou, our goals from Weijian & Saad, the frantic pace continued as Saitama visited us in the ACL, Diakite headed his second of the season but it wasn't enough as we surrendered another lead and had to settle for a point. We rounded off a mental month and a bit with a 4-1 thumping of rivals Jiangsu with goals from Herrarte, Jinshuai and a Weijian brace. 9 games played, 21 goals scored & 24 conceded!!
A very average start for a lot of sides sees us in 3rd despite picking up just 7 points from 4 games, Shandong or on fire already but they are being surprisingly matched by Huaxia.
Looking like we are out already! I knew it would be tough but we go to Korea to face Jeju next knowing a defeat could send us out, on the flip side a win would really open the group up nicely but we have just shipped 7 goals against Jeju...
Lebanese winger Soony Saad has made a fantastic start to his Hangzhou career, 4 goals and 5 assists in his 5 starts in competitive fixtures showing signs that he can fill the void left by Trawally he wanted too much money to renew his contract.
Weijian is showing his potential and leads the scoring charts with 6 goals, Saad has been the best performer so far and Herrarte has created most goals with 7. The finances are looking excellent, boosted by 2 players moving on for £1M plus in the summer, high gate receipts in the Super Cup & 2 ACL home games and the fact we are operating well below our already small wage budget.
6 games to come in April as the actions continues to come thick and fast, 2 crucial away ties in the ACL against Jeju & Saitama, 4 league games with trips to Beikong & Chongqing and home ties against Quanjian & Renha.
gaz12321
Results
Back to back 2-0 defeats, an awful start to my reign but it will take time to get used to the players and for them to get used to my style, there are some good players available so i'm not giving up hope of improving their fortunes.
We sit in a perilous position with just Bolivia keeping us off the bottom, however there are 11 games to go yet so we can still be hopeful of making the play off's. This is my first venture into full international football on FM so it's a nice little side project for me.
gaz12321
Results
A brace from young Jinshuai secured a 2-1 win at Beikong sending us into a huge game away to Jeju in good spirits, despite being on the back foot for much of the game we counter attacked incisively and found ourselves 2-0 p through Weijian & Saad in the first half, Jeju pulled one back late in the second half but we dug in and secured a win that gives us hope of qualification, even if it's slim hope. Back to league action and Weijian continued his impressive scoring form by netting in each half, Quanjian pulled one back but Xiuwei extended the lead, a late goal made it 3-2 before Jinshuai wrapped it up in stoppage time completing a 4-2 win. What happened next baffled me, Renhe have been performing above expectations but this was ridiculous, every shot they took went in as my keeper Rongze had a shocker! Weijian got a consolation but it meant nothing as we were humiliated on our own turf with a 5-1 defeat! The defense improved massively for the trip to Japan and kept a clean sheet, Yifeng netted the winner late in the first half to give us another 3 points in the ACL group and really make things interesting. Further disappointment in the league followed as we slipped up at lowly Chongqing, they were reduced to 10 men in the first half but come out and scored straight away after the break, we turned the game on it's head with goals from In-Sung and super sub Kui which should have been enough but a scrappy 86th minute goal saw us drop further points. Highlights the inconsistency of youth I guess!
Our form has been hit and miss, we sit 6th but it's early days and hopefully we can kick on over the next month or so, Shandong are absolutely ridiculous there is no chance of them being caught, 100% record and a plus 19 goal difference from 8 games!!
Back to back wins have put our fate in our hands, a win against Melbourne in the final game would take us through regardless of how Jeju get on at Saitama.
Weijian has been in good form again although it has dipped in the final couple of games, 4 goals and 2 assists in the 6 appearances this month from the young striker.
Weijian still leads the scoring charts and now has double figures, an impressive start to the season. A dip in form from Soony Saad sees the injured Herrarte move top of the ratings charts without kicking a ball, those 2 are also joint top of the assists chart with 7. Finances have stayed around the same this month and are looking healthy.
Just 4 scheduled games at the moment but if we beat Melbourne City we will have the 2 legs of the ACL 2nd Round to play at the end of the month. We face a trip to Fuli in the league as well as home games against newly promoted Cahoyue & high flying Beijing.
Ipswich Knights
gaz12321
Results
We opened the month with a comfortable away win at Fuli, a brace from young midfielder Yifeng and goals from Weijian & Saad in a 4-1 win, we then headed into our biggest match of the season so far and secured our progress in the Champions League, goals from Weijian & Saad in the first half had us in control, Melbounre gave us a scare late on but we held our nerve to qualify! Our return to league action was a 4-0 win over Chaoyue (Sorry about the screenie, poor mouse control!), Weijian completed his second hat trick of the season and Yifeng got himself among the goals once again. Saad grabbed the only goal of the game in our final league match this month as we saw off the challenge of high flying Beijing, our qualification in the ACL meant there would be 2 more games this month.
Guangzhou then ... they are struggling so it's a good time to play them but they're still a massive club with some fantastic players.
3 straight wins has propelled us up to 3rd in the league just behind surprise package Renhe, Guangzhou are really struggling this season but became the first team to take anything from Shandong with a 1-0 win, they are still hovering down in mid table though and Shandong remain well clear at the top.
The final table in the Champions League group, we go through as group winners along with Melbourne City in second thanks to Saitama's impressive victory over Jeju Utd which sees the back to back winners crash out early on.
A gutting way to lose, another failed penalty shootout for me not helped by our best 2 penalty takers being out injured! There was really nothing to split the sides, Guangzhou had the better of the first game but we converted a late set piece thanks to Diakite to give us hope, we shaded the second game and I thought we had done enough when Weijian netted 10 minutes from time, we threw it away 4 minutes later and after seeing out extra time headed in to penalties. Our keeper probably should have saved one or two of their kicks but it wasn't to be as they netted all 5, misses from Varela & Weijian saw us crash out 5-3!
A tough choice with Weijian in sensational goal scoring form but Saad has been excellent, scoring 3 and creating 2 he has been solid throughout, shame he had to come off with a hamstring injury in the Guangzhou game, it might have just been different if he'd have been able to take a penalty!
Incredible stuff from 19 year old Weijian who now has 16 goals with half a season still to play! Saad has pulled away in the assists charts with another 2 this month and Xiuwei is now listed as our top performer despite the fact it's actually still the injured Herrarte, strange. Almost £1m profit this month thanks to ACL home games against Melbourne & Guangzhou which was a sell out.
Investing our profits wisely, the board have agreed to improve our training facilities at a cost of £1.5m, the youth facilities upgrade is due to be completed at the end of next month.
gaz12321
Results
A very mixed month which kind of sums up our league form so far this season, Weijian put us ahead early on at Shenhua but we fell apart conceding either side of the break to go 2-1 down, a very rare strike from Varela earned us a point in the 81st minute but it can't hide the disappointment, especially with the rampant Shandong our next opponents, which saw another disappointing performance even though 3-0 flattered the visitors they deserved to win. A trip to A'erbin did nothing to restore my confidence in our wobbly defense shipping another 3 goals, thankfully In-Sung netted early on and Weijian scored a third hat trick of the season ensuring we would still take all 3 points! We secured back to back wins thanks to a penalty from Xiuwei, a 1-0 win that should have been so much more but we just weren't taking our chances. The disappointment returned as we were beaten by lowly Yongchang 1-0, once again we had plenty of the game but just couldn't put the ball in the net, a story that continued further still as Huaxia came to us and escaped with a 0-0 draw, despite domination for us from start to finish! I literally cannot wait for Herrarte to return, he's massive to our attacking capabilities.
Our stuttering form has seen us take a big hit in the league dropping to 4th with Beijing and Shandong rampant and starting to break away at the top we need to hope Renhe drop off the pace but also have to keep an eye over our shoulders, Guangzhou have found their feet at last winning 4 of their last 5 games and closing the gap from us to just 2 points, we face them soon too just as they're hitting form!
The ever impressive Xiuwei continues to sparkle, not sure how he remains so good while the rest of the side stutter, if we had 11 of this guy we'd be smashing the league he is that good!
Weijian has now hit 20 goals this season, 17 of them in the league! I knew the lad had potential but never expected anything like this!! Nothing else to report here.
Left winger Chen Binbin comes in on loan for the rest of the season from Beijing, he is unhappy at the lack of playing time and as Jinshuai has picked up an injury to keep him out for 3 months so we needed some cover, our backup left winger is also injured and although I have a very high potential 17 year old I don't feel he is ready so have swooped for Binbin to provide some cover.
A massive game to start things of as Guangzhou pay us a visit, they are in great form and with us stuttering they could very well take 4th place from us! We then travel to Jiangsu & Quanjian in the league before a trip to A'erbin in the FA Cup 4th Round, we end the month with a big game away to high flying Renhe which could have a big say in the race for continental qualification.
Wilko1988
gaz12321
Thanks for the comment, I'd love to stay and try to maintain the success that i've had so far, need to get back into the Champions League next season and with the facility upgrades hopefully the clubs reputation will start climbing cause at the moment i'm struggling to keep my decent players happy. It's strange in China though we are paying around £1.5k p/w for some quality players yet other teams are offering like £50k plus for bang average players, no wonder i'm struggling to keep these guys happy haha
Seoul & Suwon in South Korea have both come up recently and have to say I was tempted, but so far have resisted.