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#185078 From Rags to Riches
gaz12321
#185058 Where Can Football Take Me?
gaz12321
#184836 Where Can Football Take Me?
gaz12321
#184784 Where Can Football Take Me?
gaz12321
May 2021
We opened the month with a comfortable and routine 2-0 home win over Qingdao ...
Then this happened, absolutely gutted as not only did we deserve at least a draw from this game, this all but put us out of the Champions League again! We matched Suwon for the whole 90 minutes but for some reason our defenders forgot how to deal with crosses and suddenly they hit us for 4! Mental!
What?? A struggling Beijing side then smashed 4 past us as well, I have no idea what has happened here nothing has changed in the way we are playing, the players fitness ,levels and morale are all good, I am honestly dumbfounded about this!
I have to admit I started to dream when we went 2-0 up inside 15 minutes but then the defending like a bunch of clowns kicked in again and we found ourselves facing the mountain again! Their second goal was a cross that literally hit my keeper and went in off the post, no idea why he didn't just catch it! Thought we had lost the match again late on but rescued a meaningless draw! So 7-4 on aggregate and out we go again.
My Shandong days are over, I feel like i've performed really well for them and managing to overhaul Guangzhou was a massive achievement but the lack of quality Chinese players is hindering my Champions League chances and I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, I might regret this though. We currently have 6 of the Chinese regular starting xi and our 4 foreign additions are as good as we can attract so i'm struggling to see where we can make the required improvements to challenge in the Champions League.
For now it's time to search for the next chapter in my career.
#184775 From Rags to Riches
gaz12321
#184438 Chinese SL Players
gaz12321
Out of curiosity, getting the Guangzhou job in season 4 is incredible, what club was you at before that? Also did you start as unemployed with sunday league reputation?
#184125 Where Can Football Take Me?
gaz12321
An almost perfect month in the league, 5 wins from 6 denied only by an 85th minute equalizer away at Rizhiquan which was a massive disappointment given that we should have won comfortably. Mario Garcia's form has been disappointing this month with just 2 strikes but thankfully we have goals coming in from all areas of the pitch at the moment, Yan Baoxiang, our young recruit from Sao Paulo, hit an impressive 4 goals in 6 league games.
The 3-2 win over Renhe was impressive in the manner of it fighting back from a losing position twice to snatch a late win thanks to a brace from super sub Shen Tianfeng, other than that results pretty much as expected but the away win at Shenhua who were one of the league's form sides was a great performance too.
A goalless draw at Saitama secured our passage and a solid 1-0 win at Chonburi despite rotating the first xi completely put us through as group winners, a very satisfactory start in the ACL with 4 straight clean sheets to end the group stages too.
And of course this is our reward, Suwon first up in the knockout rounds, this won't be easy!
#184122 Where Can Football Take Me?
gaz12321
Was a great start, cheers.
Korean sides are much stronger, that's why I have their league open in case any top jobs come up.
#184101 Chinese SL Players
gaz12321
#183493 Chinese SL Players
gaz12321
Also keep a close eye on the national team squads I have found a few players of dual nationality that are playing away in other countries but are very good quality players for the Chinese League.
#183003 Where Can Football Take Me?
gaz12321
#182761 Where Can Football Take Me?
gaz12321
Only 2 league games this month to get the season underway, but what a fantastic start opening with a league and club record biggest win with an 8-0 demolition of Shenzhen. Mario Garcia continuing where he left off from last season bagging a brace and second half sub Xu Haiyang coming on to score a hat trick being particular highlights. The next game away at Jiangsu is one that I expected to be a bit tougher with them being the closest challengers to us and Guangzhou in recent seasons but it wasn't to be. Garcia again on the score sheet and his effort was added to by young super sub Zhang Xu and centre back Velazquez. Only 2 games in but top on goal difference as we are one of 4 sides that have opened with back to back wins.
3 Champions League group games this month and we have shown excellent form here too, opening with a 2-1 win over Japanese side Saitama before seeing off Chonburi as expected with a comfortable 2-0 win. The final game ended goalless at home to Chunnum which was a slight disappointment as I felt we deserved to win but our forward players forgot their shooting boots, and the Chunnum keeper was incredible. A very positive standing in the group though with 2 games to go, a draw at Saitama in the next game or a victory at Chonburi in the final game would secure our place in the next round.
#182727 Switching Continent
gaz12321
#182631 Switching Continent
gaz12321
Now the issue, I am starting to become bored of Asia and am looking to move on to a new challenge however despite my reputation being continental it is exactly that, I keep getting laughed off by average clubs in Europe and South America so my question is: How do I enhance my reputation enough in another continent to get a half decent job?
It would be frustrating to have to start at the bottom again in a new continent despite all the work and trophy wins I have on my CV.
Any thoughts?
#182630 Switching Continent
gaz12321
Now the issue, I am starting to become bored of Asia and am looking to move on to a new challenge however despite my reputation being continental it is exactly that, I keep getting laughed off by average clubs in Europe and South America so my question is: How do I enhance my reputation enough in another continent to get a half decent job?
It would be frustrating to have to start at the bottom again in a new continent despite all the work and trophy wins I have on my CV.
Any thoughts?
#182629 Switching Continent
gaz12321
Now the issue, I am starting to become bored of Asia and am looking to move on to a new challenge however despite my reputation being continental it is exactly that, I keep getting laughed off by average clubs in Europe and South America so my question is: How do I enhance my reputation enough in another continent to get a half decent job?
It would be frustrating to have to start at the bottom again in a new continent despite all the work and trophy wins I have on my CV.
Any thoughts?
#182613 Where Can Football Take Me?
gaz12321
Transfers
This young Brazilian full back comes in on loan from our parent club Santos and will provide back up to Maio, even though he is already a better full back he is our 5th foreign player and the other 4 are vital to the team so Alexi will see more reserve action than first team, but provides excellent cover.
Jaqi comes in for a measly £55k from Swiss Super League side Sion, despite spending his football career to date in France and Switzerland he has seen very little first team action and with his contract soon to expire Sion snapped my hand off to get a fee for him. His physical stats along with his work rate are very impressive.
Pre Season 2021
Friendlies are tough in China as there are very few teams willing to travel long distance and my board won;t allow me to travel so they are far easier games than I would have hoped for. Still satisfying to win all 6 without conceding any goals while banging in plenty ourselves.
Super Cup 2021
A very impressive performance and an unexpected easy trophy win to kick start the season, makes the Cup Final loss last season even more painful though! Mario Garcia was, as usual, outstanding scoring one and creating the other 2 for Charles Aranguiz & Yang Chengbin.
Champions League 2021
Here is the draw for the group stage, again i'm not sure what to expect and it could be tricky. Chunnum do not strike as much fear into me as some of the Korean sides would and I would anticipate Thai side Chonburi to be this year 'whipping boys' but being drawn with Japanese side Saitama who eliminated us in last season's first knockout round will make this group very challenging for us.
If I would have been offered a 2-2 draw away at Chunnum pre match I would have gladly accepted, however, given the circumstances of throwing away a 2 goal lead it's bitterly disappointing. We were looking comfortable at half time thanks to Charles Aranguiz & Mario Garcia's 2nd goals of the season but 2 horrendous errors from keeper Wang Dalei allowed Chunnum a share of the spoils. The first goal was a cross that Dalei strangely decided to palm into the net and in the final minute he decided to come running out of his box with the ball in his hands! A free kick was awarded and Dalei somehow got away with a yellow card but Sanchez stepped up and curled the ball into the top corner to make it 2-2. gutted!
#181483 Where Can Football Take Me?
gaz12321
Having done a double (Of Sorts) with the Super League win and the All Stars win I am fairly satisfied but as you could probably tell the manner in which we lost the FA Cup Final really put a downer on a very progressive year. The Champions League exit was also something of a disappointment given our performances in the competition the previous year but not exactly unexpected. One thing I am delighted to say however is that Guangzhou's only trophy win was the insignificant Super Cup when they beat us at the start of the season but having pipped them to the league title and knocked them out of the FA Cup I certainly had the last laugh and can feel the sticking with Shandong was the right choice.
Here is the stats for the squad over the season, this is the squad that I am planning on beginning next season with plus the 2 signings i;ve lined up rather than the actual squad i've used. As you can see Mario Garcia & Shen Tianfeng are the real key figures for the year, sharing a staggering 59 goals between them with Garcia responsible for 39 of them! Tienfeng was also a creative force with 13 assists closely followed by the wide men Yeng Chengbin & Jin Hu. Charles Aranguiz has also been very solid in the centre of midfield or wherever he's been asked to play.
#181480 Where Can Football Take Me?
gaz12321
So we managed to win the All Stars game, no idea what purpose it serves but a wins a win I guees, had to come from 2-1 down but ended up with a 4-2 victory thanks to a brace each for Shen Tianfeng & Mario Garcia.
Secured the signature of this guy who will be my second signing of the pre season window, didn't really have any competition for my exciting young left winger Jin Hu and have probably splashed a little over the odds on this lad at £300k but he has had an impressive season at Jiangsu and is one of the best left wingers China has to offer at the age of just 21, so he has potential for further improvement too.
Will have a fair few players moving out at the end of their contracts so there may be further transfers to come, depending on my assessment of some youth players at the club.
#181248 Where Can Football Take Me?
gaz12321
#181237 Where Can Football Take Me?
gaz12321
All I can say is that the Chinese FA screwed me out of a cup win! The second leg was scheduled during an international break leaving without 9 of my first team squad and having to dip into my youth squad just to fill the bench! Absolute joke and to be honest i'm tempted to resign and get out of China after that. I'm furious!
#181223 Where Can Football Take Me?
gaz12321
Don;t really know what to say!! I think my players felt like giving me a heart attack before the season ended and they certainly did, needing just 5 points from our last 4 games they decided to wait until the 86th minute of the final game of the season before securing the title thanks to the legend that is Mario Garcia! The 1-0 win over Shenxin was our 7th straight in the league so the back to back 1-0 losses shocked me, I reverted back to a counter attacking formation for the final game but ended up piling everyone forward desperately before Garcia struck the title winning blow.
So that's the league dealt with, and I honestly thought we'd bottled it! November brings us the two legged cup final against Renhe which secures their Champions League place coupled with their 4th place finish. Then randomly towards the end of December we have this ...
#181024 Where Can Football Take Me?
gaz12321
A new 2 year deal, things are looking promising at Shandong I feel but if the right opportunity to move comes along it will be considered.
Youth Intakes
There is the new intake of youth into the club, i'll let the head of youth development deal with who stays and who don't, but these guys I will be making sure that they are tied down to the club as they look to have the best potential:
#180991 Where Can Football Take Me?
gaz12321
3 More games played and 3 wins including the huge win I posted against title rivals Guangzhou, Mario Garcia & Shen Tianfeng have been an incredible strike force all year and this month no different with 4 goals each in the 3 games. Fantastic form at the vital time of the season!
Thanks to us beating Guangzhou and them losing away at Chengdu our lead has extended to 7 points and a better head to head, with 4 games to go we require just 5 more points to secure the title! Unbelievable stuff!
We should have had this tie wrapped up easily with many chances but a sensational Wu Lei free kick sent the game to a penalty shoutout which ended with a dramatic 9-8 sudden death win for us, Huang Quan keeping his cool to smash us in to the cup final for the second year running. Finally got the better of Guangzhou!!!
So a final against Renhe after the conclusion of the Super League, not an easy final by any stretch of the imagination but i'm looking forward to it!
#180977 Where Can Football Take Me?
gaz12321
Couldn't resist getting this one up straight away, what a result and what a performance, Mario Garcia is a legend!! Gives me one defeat or 2 draw buffer with just 6 games to play! 4 points clear and with a better head to head record. Buzzing!!
#180962 Where Can Football Take Me?
gaz12321
7 games in August in the Super League and we got off to a horrific start with a run of 4 games without a win and some really bad results, we were missing a lot of players thanks to the Olympic Games but it's no excuse, the form wasn't good enough, the loss at home to Chengdu was a particular disappointment for me. We managed to resurrect our month with 3 straight wins at the end scoring 8 without reply putting a bit of belief back in to the side.
Thankfully Guangzhou decided to mirror our bad form over the month leaving us in the same position as we were at the start of the month, the league is still wide open and still looks like the head to head game will be the decider.
A positive result in the FA Cup Semi Final First Leg with an away goal and going in to the home game on level terms, if we can manage to shut out Guangzhou (Unlikely) we will have a great chance of winning a trophy.
Should be an intriguing end to the season.
#180876 Where Can Football Take Me?
gaz12321
Just 2 league games this month and another 2 wins taking our run to 6 straight wins and 10 games unbeaten, we remain just 1 point clear of Guangzhou who are matching our frantic pace stride for stride. Jin Hu hit a late winner with his second goal against high flying Liaoning with right winger Yang Chengbin on target as well. Another tricky game for us as we hosted Renhe but we fairly comfortably claimed 3 points with a brace from Shen Tianfeng, Renhe pulled a goal back but young Zhang Xu made sure the 3 points were secure with a goal from the bench.
So it remains very tight between us and Guangzhou but the gap continues to increase back to 3rd which is now occupied by Jiangsu.
Our first FA Cup game this season and an absolutely incredible game, the game swung back and forward in the first half and we eventually went in to the break 3-2 down but managed to make our superiority count in the second half to score a dramatic 6-4 victory and unsurprisingly smashed our record for goals in a game! Unbelievable stuff.
We were drawn against Jiangsu in the Quarter Final and saw them off comfortably despite a late scare, goals from full back Tang Miao and the prolific Mario Garcia securing our passage but the victory marred by an injury picked up by Charles Aranguiz. Thankfully it was just a knock and he won't miss any games. Into the Semi's to face ...
Guangzhou of course, but at least if we can get past them we should have an easier final than last year, rather meet them now than in the final again I guess. Gonna be tough though.
To finish of the month we managed to secure the signing of this guy who will join at the end of his contract at Sao Paulo, one of the best Chinese AMC's around and will give us an extra element of squad rotation with the expectancy of battling on 3 competition front's again next season. Scouts have very high opinion's of this lad and he looks pretty good too.
#180490 Where Can Football Take Me?
gaz12321
#180268 Where Can Football Take Me?
gaz12321
Another short month and a perfect one as well, we have now notched 4 straight wins and are unbeaten in 8 league games as we continue to scrap it out for the title with Guangzhou. Mario Garcia again in fantastic goalscoring form with 4 goals in the 3 games. The lack of Champions League games should help us maintain our excellent Super League form. So how does that leave the league?
Well ... thanks to a surprising slip up from Guangzhou who were held to a 1-1 draw by lowly Qingdao we have taken top spot, but it's mighty close up there! Liaoning have struggled to keep up their early pace as predicted and almost half way through the season it looks like a head to head between us and Guangzhou.
#180228 Cleansing Europe - One nation at a time.
gaz12321