The future of the Canton team has seen mixed news lately.
First of all, Boss Xu firmly committed to supporting the team going forward as always.
Secondly, Zheng Zhi's retention has injected a stabilizer into the team and the core strength remains.
However, an unfavorable piece of news has also surfaced: the Guangzhou team seeks to return to the Chinese Super League. In the past, a return to the Chinese Super League was seen as great news, but given the current state of the team, the goal seems challenging. Although the opportunity is rare, staying in the Chinese Super League seems to be better for the team's long-term development.
Current situation: the team's strength is not increasing but decreasing, and the road to relegation is becoming more and more difficult.
Looking back at last season, Guangzhou team has Wei Shihao, Yang Liyu, Yan Dinghao, Zhang Xiowei and other mid-generation players, supplemented by Rong Hao, Zhang Chenglin and other veterans, even if faced with relegation, facing other teams still have the power to resist. However, Wu Shaocong, Tan Kaiyuan left the team for further study, Yang Liyu, Wei Shihao, Zhang Xiuwei, Yan Dinghao and other core players may also leave the team, the team is only supported by veterans. If they stay in the Chinese Super League, I'm afraid they will only be reduced to the role of data brush.
Even if Boss Xu promises continuous support, the available funds are limited. Evergrande's current situation, even if they do their best, it is difficult to exceed last season's budget of 15 million dollars. This amount of money can barely cover the salaries and daily expenses of the current players, but is unable to bring in strong players. The overall strength has obviously declined compared to last season.
From the current situation of the team, even if they succeed in returning to the Chinese Super League, they may still face relegation crisis again. At this point, it seems more sensible to choose to directly challenge the Central League. However, if the Guangzhou team meets the conditions for returning to the Super League, but is unwilling to give up this opportunity, then what should be done? How to improve the strength of the team while maintaining the Super League status?
In response to Canton's financial situation, it may be possible to narrow the gap with the competition in two ways.
One, recall veterans to make up for the inexperience of young players.
In the past, when the team encountered difficulties, Zheng Zhi stepped forward, Rong Hao, Zhang Chenglin, Mei Fang and other veterans returned, and Gao Lin, Zeng Cheng and others also expressed their willingness to work with the team. On the one hand, it is the appeal of the old captain Zheng Zhi, on the other hand, it is the sincerity of the Guangzhou team. Although the veterans are past their peak, their experience can bring more depth to the team.
Take Gao Lin for example, he scored 4 goals last season, which is not an impressive statistic, but he made 20 appearances for Shenzhen and performed consistently. If not for Shenzhen's problems, his performance might have been even better. Although Gao Lin is no longer the impact force he used to be, he still has a knack for creating chances.
As long as Zheng Zhi is on the team, it is expected that these veterans will be recalled, even if it's only for one season, which will be of great benefit to the team.
