Mao Jianqing spilled the beans or was he just plain drunk? Shanghai Shenhua quickly announced his punishment, announcing a suspension, but not for the second half of the season. With Wu Jingui's congratulations to Wu Lei running parallel to the controversy over Shenhua's third place in the league, there seems to have been subtle changes within the team. Wu Jingui's position seems to be in jeopardy, and new faces may be coming to the coaching table next year. Regardless of whether Mao Jianqing's words are true or not, the outside world is questioning the coaching team more and more sharply.
After a short break, Shanghai Shenhua reorganized their team into training. Despite recruiting 11 new players, Shenhua were unable to play regular matches due to quota restrictions and had to promote eight players from the U21 league. The return of foreign aid player Malelai has been delayed, but this will not affect the league in September. Shenhua's September fixtures are intensive due to the Asian Games call-ups, and the FA's compensation rules are still unclear. Eight players were called up at the same time, creating history in the Chinese Super League. How to compensate, how to deal with the intensive schedule, domestic players are difficult to rotate, eight U21 players can only train with the team, can not participate in the Super League. For players such as Liu Ruofan, this is both an opportunity and a challenge. Although Liu Ruofan has not scored a goal this season, Malelai has a stable debut, and young players Fernando and Zhang Wei are performing well. Liu Ruofan's contract expires at the end of the year, with hopes of renewal pinned on key matches in September. Rumors of Zhou Junchen resurfaced and Shenhua were quick to dispel them. Zhou has been penalized for violating team rules, and if the rumors are true, it could have a major impact on his career. Selected for the Asian Games, he has a chance to prove himself. Liu Ruofan and Zhou Junchen were the hope of Shenhua's offensive line, but with Jiang Shenglong and Zhu Chenjie on the defensive side having left the team, the center back problem remains. The offensive side relies on veterans, and the new stars are not performing well. four key matches in September, the FA Cup semi-final against Qingdao Hai Niu, is the only hope for Shenhua this year, to enter the final is a "dead order", can not afford to make any mistakes.
