Shanghai Shenhua’s end of season collapse is thankfully almost complete; is more pain in store as they travel to newly-safe Liaoning Whowin to wrap up the 2014 campaign?
Five-Star Comedy
Despite occasional flashes of competence, last Sunday’s home collapse against Tianjin was the kind of performance which had been coming all season — all Shenhua’s key players showcasing their worst sides. A goalkeeper too pudgy to dive, tired old men in the center of defence and midfield, out-of-position reserves stuck out wide, and a front three of two wasteful egotists and an immobile statue. It was the kind of eye-opening shellacking which Brazil received in the recent World Cup; Shenhua fans can but hope that their side heeds these lessons better than the Brazilian FA did.
Last Sightings?
Amidst the repercussions of a crushing defeat, two players received particularly notable call-outs — Jiang Kun receiving an ovation for his (relative) Indian summer of a season, and controversy’s own Wang Changqing taking a rather ill-advised bow in front of Hongkou’s north terrace. While last season (that R&F game aside) Wang did a solid journeyman job patching up at right-back, his sporadic appearances this year have ranged from the poor to the spectacularly bad; has any Shenhua player been directly responsible for more goals conceded this year? Wang predictably received pelters for his little curtsy. Fans can but hope that this send-off proves a fitting end to both players’ Shenhua careers; neither should be relied on in 2015.
How Low Can They Go?
Depending on results elsewhere, it’s possible that Shenhua’s late-season collapse might see them finish as low as 13th, and, crucially, as the third-ranked side in Shanghai. The fall from grace continues — finishing below a side which turns up only once or twice a season and plays the most unimaginative, sterile brand of football imaginable, should be calls for wholesale change at the club — to rub salt in the wound, rumors suggest that poaching the ageing captain of said anti-football local rivals is near the top of Greenland’s shopping list.
Significant changes must be afoot; in addition to close-season investment, the position of an Olympic-winning manager is also under closer scrutiny than ever. While stability is usually to be treasured in a football club, given the ravages of recent years, Shenhua fans will be hoping for as many changes as possible over the coming close-season.
Preview & Reality Check
It’s difficult to see an upbeat end to this slide into mediocrity; Liaoning will be on a high having secured another season of top-flight football, and couldn’t really ask for more accommodating guests than a dispirited Shenhua rabble. 3-1 home win and time to draw a line under 2014.
Shenhua in 2014 according to North Terrace News:
P 29 W 10 D 4 L 15 GF 28 GA 43 GD -15 Pts 34
Shenhua in 2014 according to the CSL table:
P 29 W 8 D 10 L 11 GF 32 GA 44 GD -12 Pts 34
