March 15 (Xinhua) -- At the beginning of the two rounds of the new season, Barton assisted twice, especially in the match against Shenzhen Xinpengcheng in Shenzhen. Ivankovic led the national soccer coaching staff to watch the game from the stands, and Barton assisted Grant's goal from a corner kick. For Barton, who was named to the new national soccer training roster, Sporting New Horizons released a document stating that Barton could be reused under the account of Ivankovic, who focuses on attacking wingers.
Ivankovic's last job was coaching Oman. Oman's quick defense and counterattacks put pressure on the national soccer team. Now, this style of play is likely to be transplanted by Ivankovic to the Chinese team. The international players, who have just started training for a few days, have a deep understanding of this. At the training site, "speed and accuracy" is a key concept that Ivan emphasizes, and one that he demands of all players on all three lines. "Full of confidence and bold breakthroughs" is another encouragement from Ivan to his players.
Referring to the previous Omani formations, 4-4-2 and 4-3-1-2 are the formations Ivan often uses. Ivan likes to field breakthrough wingers on both sides. This is why Ivan recruited a large number of wingers, including Barton, during this period. As many as 8 players, including Wu Lei, Wei Shihao, Fernando, Xie Pengfei, Lin Liangming, Chen Pu, Xie Wenneng and Dai Weijun, were the competitors that Barton had to face in the winger position.
Wu Lei, Wei Shihao and Fernando should be "exempt" players. They could be a lock for Singapore's roster for the two matches. Barton's competitors are Xie Pengfei, Lin Liangming, Chen Pu, Xie Wenneng and Dai Weijun. With reference to the first two rounds of the new Super League season, Barton has the advantage of more playing time and better competitive form.
In the first two rounds of the season against Nantong Zhiyun and Shenzhen Xinpengcheng, Barton averaged 84 minutes of playing time after they provided assists for Ademi and Grant. Among Barton's rivals, Lin Liangming, Xie Wenneng, Xie Pengfei and Chen Pu also made two appearances, but their average playing time was far from Barton's, and these players did not score or assist.
Barton also has a distinct advantage over the offensive numbers of those six players. He has attempted 12, which ranks fourth in the CSL and is the only local player in the top ten. In terms of passing, Barton has completed 15 passes in two games, six successful and four key passes. Of those passes, Barton ranked third in the CSL behind Shanghai Seaport's Oscar and Chengdu Rongcheng's Andrigo. The number of successful passes is tied for first in the league with Shenzhen Xinpengcheng's Zhu Baojie, and the number of key passes is also higher than other competitors. In terms of performance and form for the new season, Barton could compete in both competitions.
On the other hand, in terms of the technical characteristics of the players, Barton scored comprehensive victories in both offense and defense. The tactical characteristics of Jinmen Tigers require him to strongly support the wing-backs. Players such as Lin Liangming, Xie Pengfei and Dai Weijun have more individual characteristics in terms of breakthroughs and linking up, but Barton's ability to get up and down the pitch is stronger.
