A One Way Ticket to Asia ... and Beyond!

March 2016


Results



A return to Super League action saw us fall to a 1-0 defeat to Kelantan before match day 2 in the ACL group where we were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Naypyitaw which was very disappointing as it was a game I felt we needed to win really but our impotence shone through again! A huge surprise followed as we headed to Super League title favourites Johor and snatched a 1-0 win, Kadri calmly finished off a lovely counter attack early on which allowed us to camp in our own half and somehow shut Johor out, a fantastic result. Another tricky tie followed as we hosted the Singaporean Champions, Tampines, Saad was on target for us early on but unlike the Johor game we were unable to keep them out and were pegged back to 1-1, still a very positive result though. Our return to league action saw us race into a 3-0 thanks an own goal and strikes from Saad and the returning Zamri, in a frantic first half we then conceded 2 in a minute before the break to head in at 3-2!! The second half never got going and ended 3-2, have to say I feared the worst at half time though. We rounded off the month by progressing in the FA Cup with a 2-1 win at Felda Utd, Chajtur had us in front after 5 minutes but we were pegged back, Yusof headed the winner 2 minutes from time.


League Table



2 wins from 3 games has seen us up in to the top half of the table, our win at Johor has also opened the door for Selangor in the title race.


Star Performer



Muhd Fazrul Hazli Mohd Kadri - The right winger impressed again this month, scoring 1 and getting 2 assists in his 6 appearances and putting in consistent performances he was the stand out player once again.



Upcoming Fixtures



A busy schedule this month with 7 games, 3 league fixtures as we host leaders Selangor and travel to Felda Utd & Sarawak. 2 more ACL group games which sees us host Kaya who have lost their opening 3 ties before a trip to Myanmar to face Naypyitaw, we also face a 2 legged quarter final against Perak who we recently beat 3-2.

April 2016


Transfers

April has arrived and the long awaited transfer window, thankfully my board decided not to be a bunch of muppets and let me offer average wages to potential new players, and so they should as we were operating at 50% of the allocated budget! Here's the new additions:



Mohd Faizal Muhamad comes in having been without a club since the end of last season, he will provide cover at center back but unlikely to break in to the side despite us playing a youth product that the coaches don't rate, the young lad has been excellent and it would be harsh to drop him now. This guy will provided some much needed backup though as we're very light at the back.



Mohd Syuhiran Zainal comes in as a left back and will probably get in the side ahead of Ismail to be fair, i've had an eye on this guy since his contract expired last season and now he has made the move, will need to work on his fitness but should provide some extra stability at the back for us and has potential to improve as he's only 23.



Tarik El Janaby, an experienced Moroccan playmaker comes in to provide competition for our young prospect Chajtur, he brings an added bit of quality to our side and has been training with us and getting involved with the U21's for almost 2 months so i'm hoping he will be able to hit the ground running.



Muhd Akram Asidi comes in as a potential replacement for our lackluster strike force but is a raw talent, will probably not see much action this season but has great potential and is just 19.


Results



A 1-0 defeat against leaders Selangor doesn't appear to be bad, but they were down to 10 men for 80 minutes and still battered us, we were lucky to get away only losing by 1, very frustrating, the home leg of our FA Cup Quarter Final ended 0-0 with Perak, great that we kept a clean sheet but again we have failed to find the net and it is a real worry, thankfully our defence has tightened up massively this season. Another 0-0 draw was to follow in our league games against Felda Utd, relief came in our next ACL game as we secured a 2-0 home win against Kaya meaning a draw against Naypyitaw would see us through, goals came from Chajtur & Kadri. Back in the league and our lack of goals seems to have disappeared, another 2-0 win this time over Sarawak with goals coming from Saad and new signing Muhamad. A few changes were made to the side for the second leg of our quarter final and one of them paid off early as young striker Asidi put us in control, Perak got level and forced a nervy finish but we held on for an away goals win to setup a Semi Final tie against Terangganu. Important games just keep coming as we head to Myanmar in the ACL, we secured our place in the ACL Knockout stages with a great 2-0 win thanks to second half strikes from Yusof & Dany Kayya who has been disappointing in front of goal this season. Unbeaten in 6 games and kept clean sheets in 5 of them, decent form.


League & ACL Group Tables



We remain 6th in the league and in a good position to secure a top half finish, 3 points off of the magical 25 point mark although I doubt that will be required to stay up this season, look at poor PBDKT at the bottom, 2 points from 15 games and a -34 goal difference!!



Qualification is secured and the final game will decide the group as we head to Tampines knowing we need a win to top it.


Star Performer



It's that guy Kadri again, the right winger has again been consistently our best player, another goal and 3 assists to his name and a very solid run of form.



Upcoming Fixtures



The big games keep coming as we continue fighting on all fronts, The ACL group decider lies between the two legged FA Cup Semi Final with Terangganu, 4 league games are scheduled although the Pahang game will be replaced with our ACL Second Round game, so three league games will see us host Lions XII and travel to struggling Negeri Sembilan and another tie against Terangganu.

May 2016


Results



More of the same in the first 2 games of the month, a 0-0 draw at Terangganu in the FA Cup Semi Final was not a great result and was a game we should have won, leaves us needing to win the second leg realistically. Numerous changes were made for the Tampines game with none of our new signings registered and the game against Teragganu on the horizon, we held Tampines to a 0-0 draw which was actually a decent result. The return leg of the Semi Final ended in disappointment despite Tarik El Janaby's first goal for the club we were eliminated on away goals and Terangganu grabbed a second half equaliser, I desperately threw everything at them but they stood firm to deny us a Cup Final appearance. Super League action resumed and Saad bagged a brace against Lions XII but despite going in front twice we had to settle for a 2-2 draw, the draws kept on coming as we managed a 5th in succession thanks to a 1-1 draw at Negeri Sembilan, Jusoh put us ahead in the first half but yet again we let a lead slip and had to settle for a single point again, however that was our 11th game without defeat, a run that ended abruptly in the Confed Cup 2nd Round when we traveled to Hong Kong and were absolutely destroyed, South China raced into a 3-0 lead against our under strength side by half time, they made it 4 early in the second half before Jusoh at least put us on the score sheet, a result that leaves us demoralised and out of another tournament. With our focus solely on the league we were handed another battering, a bang average Terangganu side ripped us to shreds, i'm lost for words on this one as we were smashed 4-0!!


League Table



We have dropped in to 7th with 24 points, just 1 point short of our minimum target and 4 games left to play so it's not all doom and gloom, unless you compare it to last season! Remarkably PBDKT are still on just 2 points with just 3 games remaining, can't remember ever seeing such a shoddy season from a team.


Star Performer



Abdul Shukur Jusoh - Hard to really pick anyone out in a poor month for ATM, the defenders were all in with a shout until the final 2 games of the month but I guess it should go to Jusoh, shown good versatility switching between positions, grabbed a couple of games and was huge in keeping the scoreline down in the second half of the South China game having bolstered the midfield when he came on at half time.


Upcoming Fixtures



The final 4 league games, hopefully be able to push ourselves back into the top half place that the board wanted from me, home games against Pahang, Johor & whipping boys PBDKT and a trip to Kelantan, hoping to take a minimum of 6 points from these games.

June 2016


Results



A comfortable 2-0 win over Pahang with goals from Saad & Chajtur moved us up into 6th place before our trip to Kelantan, which was another baffling defeat as we were thrashed 3-0, the less said about it the better. With 2 games left in the league campaign that is all she wrote ... my time at ATM has come to an end! following the 3-0 defeat at Kelantan I handed in my resignation with immediate effect and put pen to paper on a deal with a new club!!


League Table



So this is where it ends, I leave ATM in 6th place and in pole position for the top half finish that the board expected. This season has been tough given the lack of resources available and with signs that the wage budget was set to be slashed massively at the end of the season and the inability once again to try and snare talented players on pre contract agreements I have to feel this is the correct move for me, having taken ATM to new heights during my short time at the club I can only thank the board for giving me the opportunity to gain a foothold in to football management, but the time is right for me to spread my wings...


So Where To Next??

Well folks, that's another story for another time. Stay tuned for my next adventure...

The Second Adventure



Kitchee SC




For my next adventure i'm traveling north east to Hong Kong to join their most successful club in recent years, Kitchee. They failed to live up to expectations last season finishing 3rd in the league and failing to qualify for continental football, also ending without a trophy, this was just the second time in the last 6 years the club have failed to win Hong Kong's top flight which highlights their recent dominance, with a number of trophies in their cabinet already the pressure is on me to succeed here.


About The Club







The club is in good financial shape at the moment with over £1M in the bank which i'll be hoping to convince the board to invest in our facilities once I have my feet under the table, my feeling is that our youth setup could be crucial to sustaining the recent success of the club.

Pre Season


Expectations



Board expectations, clearly they are interested in taking back our league title and absolutely nothing else bothers them this year, makes me feel that if I don't win the league my job will be in jeopardy, I personally would obviously love to win the league but would also be nice to win a cup competition.



We have been made favourites to win the league, with Eastern predicted to be our closest challengers just ahead of our rivals South China. No pressure then!


Transfers



A busy summer trying to reshape the squad ready for a title challenge, we paid a combined total of £10.25k to bring in right back Jack Sealy from South China, who had impressed me when I played them with ATM, and 22 year old center back Brian Fok who had been playing in China for Shenhua. The other 7 players come in on free transfers, one of the (Xu Deshuai) actually was released and then re-signed for us when I realised Hong Kong doesn't have anything better to offer and he could do a job for us! In terms of players going out we released about 25 players which trimmed our reserve squad back and cleared space to re-shape the senior side to my liking.


The Squad




This is the squad at my disposal as we start our preparations for the season ahead, I would like to improve DC & MC but there is very little talent in our sights at present so I will have to continue searching for now. One thing that pleases me is that we look very strong going forward, Akande looks to be our best player but will be under pressure from Fernando so hopefully be kept on his toes, Tarres provides a lot of quality from the right wing and Lam also looks like a cracking player and will operate behind a lone striker. My initial judgement and preparation in terms of tactics is to play a 4-2-3-1, i'd like to play a high tempo and possession based style of football but not sure the side will adapt to it so will see how things go.


Friendlies



A busy schedule for pre season starting with visits from Real Madrid & Chinese giants Gaungzhou in which we were predictably destroyed by both, can't read too much in to pre season but it didn't go as well as it could have.


Cup Draws



The League Cup draw has put us up against 2 sides predicted to finish in the bottom half this season which gives us an excellent chance of reaching the Semi Finals. With only 10 teams in Hong Kong things may get quite repetitive, there is also 4 cup competitions that run throughout the season so plenty of chances to win silverware.

The Senior Shield has handed us a tie against South China in the 1st round, a tough tie, I have no idea how the format of this works it looks like a mess! Just have to see how it goes.

Our Sapling Cup group consists of Pegasus, Yuen Long, Citizen & again Southern District. This also seems to be a favourable draw for us avoiding our main title rivals Eastern & South China.

September 2016


Results



The perfect start to our league campaign with 3 wins from 3, and as you can see from a glance we have Akande to thank for it, the only player to score for us this month and had he got all 5 of our goals! A first half brace powered us to victory at home to Pegasus, we conceded with 5 minutes to play but held out comfortably for the win. In our 2nd match we picked up a tight 1-0 win thanks to a strike just before half time away at Wong Tai Sin, our final league match of the month followed the trend with a first half brace from Akande handing us a win at home to Metro Gallery who grabbed a second half consolation but again we held out. The performances have been quite disjointed so far as I tweak with tactics and instructions but thankfully Akande has exploded into form, strangely though all our goals have been scored in the first half which i'll need to keep an eye on. To round the month on we got thrashed by rivals South China dumping us out of the Senior Shield at the first hurdle, I made a few changes but the performance was embarrassing! This prompted a couple of panic buys before the window closed strengthening our central midfield and added a left winger so we don't have to rely on a 16 & 17 year old, both guys are foreign based though which will give me a headache.


League Table



We may only be 3 games in to the season but that is almost 20% complete so it's not as pointless as it might seem, we're top of the pile with a 100% record. Surprisingly Akande isn't the leading scorer in the league despite scoring 5 in 3, Tarres deserves a mention for us as well with 2 assists from 3 games.


Star Performer



Alexander Akande - You all knew this anyway, 5 goals in 3 games in the league and despite his poor performance against South China he has still been our best player by a mile!


Awards



Our central defender Chung managed to make the team of the month alongside the obvious Akande.


Upcoming Fixtures



A league cup tie against Wong Tai Sin at home and a trip to Citizen in the league, there are 2 Sapling Cup games scheduled during October as well once the fixture list for the groups has been finalised.

October 2016


Results



The response to our humbling defeat at South China was good, despite a scare against Pegasus going in to the half time break 1-0 behind but after a swift kick up the backside new signing Wellingsson got us level pretty much straight from the kick off, the first player other than Akande to score for me in a competitive fixture! It was Akande of course that grabbed the win for us slotting home to make it 2-1 after an hour. The League Cup tie at home to Wang Tai Sin was a frustrating one, struggling to create any chances of note until Akande popped up yet again to save the day with a stoppage time winner, we then return to Sapling Cup action and made it 2 wins from 2 in the group with another 1-0 win away to Citizen, Akande hitting another winner for us mid way through the second half. A few days later and the same fixture but in the league, we traveled to Citizen and picked up a 2-0 win through an Akande brace, opening the scoring early on and wrapping things up in the final minute. Results have been going our way but the performances are concerning me, we have a lot to thank Akande for already!


Tables & Stats



It's been a perfect start to our league campaign with 4 straight wins opening up an early 4 point lead at the top. Akande leads the way in the scoring charts after his brace at Citizen moved him on to 7 league goals and he also has the highest average rating so far at 8.32, Tarres is still in the top 3 for assists having now created 3 goals showing a decent link up with Akande.



Our win in the League Cup puts us in a good position but we probably still need to beat Southern District to get through.



We're looking good in the Sapling Cup group with 6 points from 2 games, winning 1 of our remaining 2 group games should be enough to progress to the Semi Final.


Club Stats



Akande predictably leads the way in most of the players stats, having netted 10 times already with an average rating of 7.59, Tarres leads the assist charts with 5 and left back Shay Spitz is leading the way for passing accuracy with an 84% completion rate. There's little to say regarding board confidence this early in my reign and the finances currently look solid however we are turning a consistent loss month on month which is a concern.


Star Performer



Alexander Akande - The striker gets it again of course, continuing his scintillating form netting another 5 goals this month and scoring in each fixture, there's little I can say to sum up Akande's start to the season, if it wasn't for him I think the board and fans would be very concerned, as would I!


Upcoming Fixtures



2 league games early in November as we travel to Sotuh China with revenge in mind after the shoddy performance against them in September, we then host Southern District in the league a few days later and then a couple of weeks off before we travel to Southern District in the League Cup.

November 2016



Never learnt my lesson from our battering against South China and got battered again, went in with a mentality that we are the better side and the first game was a one off, we'll smash them this time, 3-0 down at half time! Made tactical changes during the first half and steadied the ship but the damage was already done, Wellingsson grabbed a late consolation but it meant little. Think i'll have to keep the team trained with a South China specific tactic for future use!! We took our frustrations out on Southern District a few days later after i'd given a few player a kick up the arse, early goals from Lam (Which won goal of the month, great strike) & Tarres put us in control, Akande wrapped it up early in the second half handing us a 3-0 win, played some cracking football as well. The cup game was a little bit tighter with our main man Akande netting the only goal of the game just before half time securing our qualification for the League Cup Semi Finals, although there's a 4 month wait for them as they take place in March.


Tables & Stats



South China's win over us has seen them leapfrog above us to the top of the league, although we can return to the top if we win our game in hand against HKFC, Citizen are surprisingly keeping pace with us despite being tipped to finish bottom. Akande has pulled away as the league's top scorer and now has 8 goals in 6 league games, also leading the average ratings. Tarres sits 3rd in the average ratings and joint second in the assists charts with 4, clearly the 2 stand out players for us so far.



Nothing much to see here but we are through to the Semi Finals having won both of our group games.


Club Stats



The only change to our player stats in Matthew Lam now leading the pass completion chart with 85%, Akande remains top scorer with 12 goals now and highest average rating although it's dropped slightly to 7.51, Tarres remains our top creator with another assist added to make it 6. Confidence remains good at this early stage but the big concern is the finances, although they are healthy we are turning a rapid loss having lost around £110k last month, we aren't really bring any income in at all so it's concerning.


Star Performer



Jordi Tarres - The Spaniard takes November's crown ahead of our goal machine Akande, the right winger has been in great form again and grabbed a goal and an assists in his 3 competitive games, even managed an excellent performance in a friendly against Lucky Mile too creating 2 goals.


Upcoming Fixtures



Our game in hand at home to HKFC is the first of 3 league games this month, we also face Eastern at home and a trip to Yuen Long. another game against Southern District also approaches as we face them in the Sapling Cup knowing a win would see us progress from the group stage.

December 2016


Results



A comfortable win at home to HKFC got the month started for us, Fernando, Yang & Wellingsson all on target wrapping up the 3 points before half time. Our second game of the month saw us make it 3 wins from 3 in the Sapling Cup group, another 3-0 win this time against Southern District, a first half brace from Tarres and Akande struck early in the second half to make it comfortable. We saw off the challenge of Eastern, who were predicted to be our closest challengers, thanks to an early strike from Akande. The final game of the month saw us drop points away to Yuen Long, we were behind 3 times in the game but managed to battle back each time and claim a draw thanks to goals from Tarres, Lam & Fok.


Tables & Stats



We lead the way by 2 points but South China could go top if they win their game in hand thanks to our draw at Yuen Long, Citizen are managing to keep pace with the leaders despite predictions of relegation at the start of the season and the surprise so far is Eastern struggling in mid table, not that i'm complaining. I accidentally got the full table not the overview so no player stats this month for the league.



Our win over Southern District secured qualification from the group stage, Akande leads the way in the scoring with 3 goals, Tarres impressive performances have him as the 3rd highest rated player in the competition and Fernando & Wellingsson are joint top of the assists table with 2 each.


Club Stats



Akande remains top scorer of course having added a further 2 goals to his tally which is a slip by his standards, his lesser performances have allowed the in form Tarres to move to the top of the ratings chart and he continues to be our best provider as well with another 2 assists this month taking his tally to 8, Huang Yang is the best passer in the side at the moment with an 87% completion. The board's confidence levels are good and they're impressed with the solid start this season so no issues there, Finances continue to head south with a loss of around £64,000 this month and I can't see this changing any time soon which is a concern.


Other News



Wellingsson, Lam & Tarres made the team of the month in a Kitchee dominated midfield selection.



The board randomly set this link up with South Korean side Jeonbuk, will have to wait and see if anything comes of it, not going to actively seek players from them just yet as they will count towards our foreign count and we already have too many.


Upcoming Fixtures



A short month with just 3 games, we host bottom side Wong Tai Sin in the league before our final Sapling Cup group game away to Yuen Long then end the month with a visit to Metro Gallery in the league.

January 2017


Results



We comfortably saw off basement side Wong Sai Tin thanks ot a first half header from Brian Fok and a brace in the second half from the lethal Akande, with our progress secured we made a number of changes for the Sapling Cup game at Yuen Long which saw us fall to a narrow defeat despite a goal from Akande we lost 2-1. Our final game of the month saw us pick up our biggest win of the season as we smashed Metro Gallery 4-0 on their own turf, left back Spitz grabbed a rare goal early on before a Wellingsson brace put us in control, Fernando made it 4 with a late strike after coming on as a sub.


Tables & Stats



We have started to pull clear of South China as they only picked up 1 point from their 2 games this month giving us a 7 point advantage although we have played a game more, going well so far. Our players are storming the stats too with Akande leading the scorers, Tarres with most assists and Akande, Wellingsson & Tarres currently the top 3 performers in the division.



We topped our group to progress to the Semi Final along with Southern District, South China will join us from the other group along with either Metro Gallery or HKFC who meet in the final game of the group stage, effectively a knockout tie. Akande is joint top scorer with 4 alongside Robbie Stamp, who is on loan at Southern District from us.


Club Stats



Little has changed in the player stats apart from the numbers, Akande now has 17 goals, Tarres still leads the ratings despite a small decline and still leads the assists charts now on 9, Merson remains the teams top passer. Confidence remains at a good level and I can't figure out the finances as we lost around £140k this month!! We just have no money coming in and losing money fast.


Star Performer



Brazilian winger Wellingsson has impressed this month, contributing an assist and 2 goals, despite a quite poor display against Yuen Long.


Transfer News



The only signing during the transfer window for us is Han Qingsong who comes in to add some steel to an already solid backline, displays solid attributes pretty much all round and has a good aerial presence, despite being foreign he won't effect our limits as he is from an Asian nation, you can have 3 non Asian plus 1 Asian in the line up so he can slot straight in to the side.


Other News



We've dominated the league team of the month and no wonder really, six of our players are in the side! Fok in defence and Akande up top plus the entire midfield 4 of Wellingsson, Pong, Lam & Tarres.



Fa Cup Quarter Final has drawn us away to South China, not a nice draw but theoretically should be the toughest challenge, so if we can get through it i'll fancy our chances, would be nice to eliminate them as well.



This announcement was a nice littler change, if we win the league we will avoid having to qualify for the Champions League Group Stage, excellent news as the chances of a club of our size getting through qualifiers is slim.


Upcoming Fixtures



Our FA Cup tie at South China is first up before 2 away league ties against Pegasus & Eastern, another short month.

February 2017


Results



Got them this time! Han Qingsong scored the only goal of the game just before half time to ease us through against South China, finally getting the better of them at the third attempt and earning a place in the Semi Final, returning to league action we picked up another win with a narrow 1-0 win at Pegasus, Fernando has come into the side in place of Akande who's form has slipped and he has refused to renew his contract, so i'm trying to increase Fernando's game time as he will likely become my main striker when Akande's gone, he repaid my faith by netting the winner here. Our trip to Eastern saw us comfortably run out 2-0 winners with Fernando on target again after an early penalty had been tucked away by Huang Yang, giving us a 2-0 win.


League Table & Stats



The gap remains at 7 points over South China but they lost their game in hand which puts us withing touching distance of winning the title, Citizen remain in the race just a point behind South China in 3rd but interestingly the side predicted to be my closest challengers, Eastern, continue to struggle and look in real danger of taking the plunge! No change with the scorers and with Fernando in good form and having taken Akande's place in the side the latter may well miss out on the top scorer award, Matthew Lam has joined the party as we continue to dominate the average ratings and Tarres remains the league's best creator with 8 assists now to his name.


Club Stats



Goals remain the same but a dip in form (sort of) for aging winger Jordi Tarres has seen Akande become our highest rated player despite not playing this month, Tarres of course is still our top creator while young Merson continues to be our best passer of the ball with 88% completion. The board are very pleased with my work so far given that the league title is within our grasp and have also been impressed with my transfer dealings, especially Wellingsson who has been impressive on the left wing this season. Finances tumble again with a loss of around £85k this month!


Star Performer



Matthew Lam - It was tight between him and Fernando but the attacking midfielder just shaded it, averaging 7.5 over the 3 games, creating one and impressing in his general play he has become a key member of the side this season.


Cup Semi Final Draws

League Cup


A trip to struggling Eastern in the Semi Final of the League Cup, not much quality left in this competition so have to fancy my chances of winning it.


FA Cup


Home to Metro Gallery, happy with that and should be a fairly straight forward tie for us.


Sapling Cup


South China again! Another chance to prevent them winning a cup I guess, will be another tricky tie.


Other News



Four players in the team of the month, Chung in the defence and again dominating the midfield with Pong, Lam & Tarres featuring.


Upcoming Fixtures



We start with 2 home games in the league against both our closest challengers, firstly South China then Citizen, in the knowledge that 2 wins would secure the title with a few games to spare, we then begin our Semi Final ties with Eastern in the League Cup and then South China in the Sapling Cup, both at neutral venues.

March 2017


Results



The curse of South China is finally lifted, Fernando, Lam & Naves all bagged in an 11 minute spell that put the game beyond doubt just 30 minutes in marching us one step closer to the league title, heading in to the Citizen game we knew we could clinch the title officially in front of our fans and did exactly that, Fernanod continued his excellent form with a goal either side of the break, Citizen grabbed one back and threatened to spoil the party but the day was ours, the title was officially ours! A week after such joy we faced disappointment in the League Cup Semi Final ,despite battering struggling Eastern for 120 minutes we ended up in penalties, Spitz missed our 5th spot kick allowing Eastern to progress to the Final! This only fired the players up more as we heaped misery upon South China with a blistering start, Akande was restored to the team to give us a bit more edge and bagged a brace inside 7 minutes before getting injured midway through the first half, his replacement Fernando bagged a third goal before a late consolation for South China, we are through to the Cup Final!








League Table & Stats



10 points clear of South China with 3 games to go means we've won the league and can full focus on the cup competitions that we are left in, Akande still leads the scoring charts by 1 but with his limited game time and recent injury it's hard to see him staying there, Tarres has broken away as the best creator in the league and with his retirement announced i've got a tough job on to find an adequate replacement, we continue to dominate the ratings too with Akande, Lam & Tarres occupying the top 3 spots.


Club Stats



Only changes of note player wise is that Tarres has joined Akande with 5 man of the match awards and Naves has overtaken Merson as the most successful passer. Confidence obviously remains high and finances continue to worsen with a loss of £60k.


Star Performer



Fernando - The Brazilian striker had a stinker against Eastern like most of our players did but his other 3 performances were excellent bagging 4 goals and 1 assist.


Other News



A new one year deal was signed after fulfilling the boards expectation.


Upcoming Fixtures

Our Semi Final of the FA Cup at home to Struggling Metro Gallery is first up then we head into the Sapling Cup Final looking to pick up our 2nd trophy of the season against HKFC. We end with 2 meaningless league games against Southern District & Yuen Long.

April 2017


Results



We progressed to the FA Cup final thanks to a goal from Pong just before half time seeing off Metro Gallery 1-0, but it should have been more comfortable. In our second game of the month we picked up our second trophy of the season lifting the Sapling Cup thanks to a 2-0 win over HKFC, goals from Fernando & Lam separating the sides in a comfortable cup final for us, the third and fourth game meant little to us seeing as we had already won the league we were looking to continue a run of straight wins in the league currently standing at 6, Lam's goal against Southern District made it 7 straight wins but the run was halted when we failed to see of Yuen Long, Lam sent us in to half time at 1-1 after we went behind early on but we couldn't finish the job, it has extended our unbeaten league run to 12 games though.




League Table & Stats



Akande somehow still leads the scoring charts with one game to go, he has been removed for the average ratings list though which is really weird cause he should be at the top ... Tarres & Lam remain in the top 3 and Tarres still has most assists with 10. Pre season title hopefuls Eastern's worst fears have come true, they can match Southern District for points but will still go down through a worse head to head record, they will be accompanied in relegation by Wong Tai Sin, who I face in the FA Cup Final next month.


Club Stats



Matthew Lam';s impressive performances this month have taken him to the heights of being our best performer this season and has seen him pick up the most MotM awards with 6, everything else remains the same. Confidence levels remain high of course and finances continue down the same path, another £90k gone this month!


Star Performer



Matthew Lam - Of course he had to get it this month, excellent form for our attacking midfielder. He has really stepped up in front of goal with Fernando misfiring and Akande out injured he has scored in 3 games running as well as creating 2 goals, by far our star player this month.


Other News



Another Kitchee dominated team of the month with 6 players in it, Fok & Sealy get in the backline while the midfield is all our players with Wellingsson, Pong, Lam & Tarres all making it in.



Some great potential in the youth candidates this year and the main potential coming in areas of the squad that i'd like to improve in the near future, so i've got high hoes for some of these guys and i'm sure they will feature soon.


The Final Fixtures



We see the season out with a trip to HKFC before the FA Cup Final against relegated Wong Tai Sin gives us a shot at winning a treble.

May 2017


Results



Our final league game of the season was fairly dull, Matthew Lam netting for the 4th game running gave us a 1-0 lead before half time that we held on to, rounding off a very satisfying league campaign. We wrapped up a great season by completing a treble, a comfortable 2-0 over Wong Tai Sin although it took longer to make the breakthrough than I would've liked, Sealy finally made it 1-0 from the penalty spot and Lam netted just 3 minutes later to secure the win, with his 5th goal in 5 games.


League Table



A record points tally for Kitchee this season dropping just 7 points saw us finish up as champions with an 8 point winning margin over South China, who put up a solid fight this season and take 2nd place to secure a place in the AFC Champions League preliminary round. FA Cup Finalists take the drop alongside Eastern who were tipped to finish 2nd, a terrible season for the latter.


Player Stats



South China striker Jaimes Mckee claimed the top scorer award on the final day matching Akande's tally of 11 but in fewer appearances, Jordi Tarres sees out his career by supplying more key passes and creating more goals than anyone else in the league this season and he will be tough to replace, a mention for our defence as well with Kit keeping the most clean sheets in the league with shut outs in 50% of our games which is impressive.




Matthew Lam - Our stand out player this season, especially in the second half of the season and ended it on a scintillating run of form.
Jordi Tarres - The aging Spaniard had to play in an unfamiliar position and role for much of the season to fit our tactic, still oiur second best player and a vital part of our success, fair play to him.
Wellingsson - The fans love him, tricky Brazilian winger who has put in some excellent performance since signing, hopefully more to come from him in the near future.
Han Qingsong - Chinese center back has been solid in the 12 games he has played since signing mid season, settled instantly and become a vital part of the team.

Akande deserves no praise despite his awesome first half of the season, wouldn't sign a new deal and is leaving the club so I didn't give him much playing time in the second half of the season, yet still ...



He wins the footballer of the year award!! This should have gone to Lam, the shortlisted 5 players were all my players


League Best XI



3 of our lads in the league team of the year, Brian Fok for his solid defensive performances, he has really improved as the season has advanced. Lam makes the central midfield pairing deservedly and Tarres of course takes the spot on the right. Surprisingly no place for footballer of the year Akande.