Shanghai Shenhua’s slide down the table sees them looking up at their newly-promoted visitors this Saturday – will the blue faithful’s suffering continue against Shijiazhuang?
Surrender Mk. IV
The trip to a resurgent Shandong provided yet another example of Shenhua’s place in the current CSL pecking order; a valiant first half falling apart with Shandong creating a number of chances and strolling to a 2-0 win courtesy of some second-half defending veering between the slack and the comical. Yet again the Hongkou side struggled to trouble a top-four side’s defence; their combined record against the CSL’s elite is now a sobering 0-12 in 2015.
Trouble off the pitch
It’s been quite the week for dramatic football administration corruption investigations; with the removal of anonymously-posted details of Shenhua official Zhou Jun’s alleged behavior, the club are apparently soldiering on in solidarity with their big brothers in Switzerland.
Fans have also begun turning on a couple of imports who’ve been questioned lately by NTN — frustration with coach Francis Gillot is beginning to mount, along with a wish to see the hapless Avraam Papadopoulos replaced by a higher-caliber foreign player in the summer. While Papa is more of an open-and-closed case, there is some defence for Gillot given the circumstances he inherited — there is little evidence of the Frenchman’s ability to graft Shenhua out of their slump however, either by bunging up a leaky defence or exploiting the weaknesses of opponents — this is a side which look like they can barely buy a win at the moment.
Trouble on the pitch
Paolo Henrique is expected to continue to be absent; in his stead either a misfiring Gao Di or out-of-role Tim Cahill will be expected to continue to lead a limp forward line. While Shijiazhuang’s impressive start to CSL life has been built primarily on a safety-first approach, the side are almost guaranteed a goal at Hongkou, with the returning Mao Jianqing likely to once again put in the effort against his former side which has been a hallmark of an otherwise inconsistent journeyman career. Question marks remain also over the defence — while options may be limited, Li Jianbin and Stoppila Sunzu fail to convince as a center-back pairing, potentially being two players who are too similar. While both are committed and win plenty of body-on-the-line challenges, they have a tendency to over-commit and get turned — and, in Li’s case, increasing question marks over his temperament following anohter hot-headed display in Jinan. The days of the boy turning into a man alongside the regal, more experienced sweeper figure of Rolando Schiavi in 2013 feel a long time ago.
Players Returning
Zhang Lu made a welcome substitute return last week, and Cao Yunding has returned to training — whether either are fully fit to start remains a question mark however, and Gillot may be cautioned by his experience of rushing back a patently-unfit Henrique earlier in the season. The temptations are obvious — Shenhua’s early-season first XI looked markedly stronger and more coherent than any of their deputies have since managed, with Cao in particular excelling on the left and demonstrating a great understanding with his fellow former Shanghai East Asia youth product Bai Jiajun.
Prediction & Reality Check
On the one hand, facing a newly-promoted team should be exactly what the doctor ordered for an ailing Shenhua, with an opportunity to emerge from their tough recent run into some more winnable fixtures. However, this is also the type of game in which Shenhua have habitually struggled of late — expect Shijiazhuang to be happy to sit deep and hit a flaky Shenhua defence on the break. The blues struggle to break down massed defences, often relying on moments of brilliance from the talismanic Gio Moreno to break the deadlock. Expect a fraught game, with something of a competition to see if Shenhua’s squad or their supporters look nervier and more frustrated as the first half wears on. While Shenhua should have enough in their locker to see this one through, the visitors enter this match on a better run of form, higher in the league table, and much happier with their season to date. A 1-1 draw as the wait for the next win continues.
Shenhua in 2015 according to North Terrace News:
P 11 W 5 D 1 L 5 GF 16 GA 13 GD +3 Pts 16
Shenhua in 2015 according to the CSL table:
P 11 W 4 D 2 L 5 GF 14 GA 19 GD -5 Pts 14
Steve Crooks is ’s Shanghai Shenhua correspondent. Check his North Terrace News column each week for the latest club developments.
Although at least two key players will likely still be missing, I think this is a good time for Shenhua to change things up. Using Wang Yun and Moreno in central midfield, Gao Di on the left and Cahill up top has simply not been working.
Moreno tends to wander, which means he’s abandoning his post and leaving Wang to run things in the center on his own—a burden it’s unfair to expect him to carry. If Moreno were in a more advanced position, he could get away with that.
Gao on the left is the most blatantly out-of-position player lately—being a winger is difficult enough for him even without the added misery of being expected to use his left foot.
Cahill huffs and puffs but can’t blow defenses down on his own. He’s been starved for service, especially with paucity and poor quality of the crossing from Gao and Lü Zheng. And what’s with one of the best headers of the ball in the history of the game taking free kicks?
I have my own ideas about what I might try, but I almost don’t care what I see tomorrow so long as it’s something different, and these three in particular need altered roles. Despite Shijiazhuang’s strong start, Shenhua can probably afford to gamble with a new approach and have just as much a chance at three points as stubbornly sticking with what sort of works. Goals can be found—probably through set pieces—but it’s a long season and there’s no point counting on an Henrique return or a Moreno moment working the wonders to see the team through.
Come on, Gillot, let’s see some new ideas.