Guangzhou City's performance in the just-concluded first phase of the Chinese Super League was up and down. With 1 win and 9 losses, they scored 8 goals but conceded 24, accumulating only 8 points and ranking second last in the table. If not for a judgment against Dalian Ren in the second round, Guangzhou City might still be behind Hebei in the table. Such a bad performance is enough to make Guangzhou City the most disappointing team in the first phase.
The reasons for Guangzhou City's slump this season are intricate. First of all, the team is not well organized. In the previous seasons, relying on low-priced foreign aid and excellent play of local players, Guangzhou City was able to navigate through the Chinese Super League. However, since the second half of last year, the team has suffered from a spate of injuries and absenteeism of key players. Coupled with budgetary issues and loss of foreign players, the team brought in Caldona only in the second half of the first phase. With this staffing, the team naturally underperformed. Although head coach Van Garst tried to rotate the young players, it had little effect. In addition, the team is also facing the problem of unpaid salaries brought about by the unsuccessful share reform. Currently, the team has only paid the salaries for the first four months of this year, and some of last year's salaries have not been paid. This has led to inadequate preparation for the team, and there was even a strike before the start of the league, and the team's morale and cohesion during the games were also affected. It is reported that the team will also face major changes next. Due to the poor performance and the obstruction of the share reform process, the state-owned enterprise consortium has stopped participating in the relevant work. Former chairman Huang Shenghua has been transferred out of the team, and former general manager Zhang Bin has returned to take charge of the share reform, negotiation of salary arrears and daily work. Huang Shenghua may leave the team and Fortune Group. This means that Guangzhou City will face a lot of variables in the future, and it is still unknown whether they can get through the interregnum successfully.
