Kitchee 2018/2019 - Half Term report

Kitchee SC - Half Season Report Card – 2018/2019 Season

The first half of the Hong Kong Premier League season has come and gone and, with 9 of the 18 league fixtures now completed, Kitchee find themselves sitting in a lowly 5th place, behind Tai Po and Southern and 4 points behind current leaders Guangzhou R&F. 

Despite a recent upturn in fortunes, Saturday’s disappointing result against Southern saw Kitchee lose for the second time this season and casts serious doubts on the the Bluewaves’ ability to challenge for a third successive league title.  If they do want to retain the title and win a 10th top division title then they really cannot afford to drop any more points.

Angry Boundary Street regulars, Charlie Markillie and Anthony Lam, along with, guest writer, Patrick Au Yeung, take a look at how each of Alex Chu's squad has performed so far this season...

Disagree? Let us know your thoughts!

Overall summary:

Anthony -  No doubt the first half of the season will see a mixture of emotions from Kitchee fans.  After the first six games, the Bluewaves were languishing in mid-table but following a strong finish to the first half of the schedule we have now moved up to 3rd in the league.  All along, the fans knew that the mid-table standing didn't reflect the truth strength of the team  or their ability and undoubtedly team injuries and the Kitchee Centre disaster also played into those early poor results.  A swift reaction from management in bringing back Vadocz and strengthening the centre back position shows that they acknowledge that the league is tougher this year than the last few seasons and along with this the team has gradually gelled and started to play more as a cohesive unit.  Hopefully this will continue as the season progresses and the team will be able to go onto retain the league title.

Patrick - The Bluewaves experienced a roller-coaster first half-season as they struggled with the burden of defending 2 successive league titles. Even though they managed to stay unbeaten midway into November, the two late draws with second-tier Yuen Long and Tai Po were not impressive at all.  Part of the problem was caused by the recruitment of Sissoko, who took on the impossible job of filling Krisztian Vadocz's boots.  Once Kitchee re-signed the Hungarian in November, performances had started to improve but this was undone by an extremely poor result against Southern. As well as some below-par recruitment, there were other events that have factored into Kitchee underperforming so far this season.  Notably the Kitchee Centre being ruled unusable following typhoon Mangkhut (leaving the team without a stable home or training ground) and also multiple injuries to key players such as Fernando, Helio Gonsalves, Recio Comi, Jared Lum, Cheng Chin-lung.  With less strength in depth than previous years, Kitchee will hope that key players can stay fit in the second half of the season.  

Charlie - Many fans had predicted a difficult season this year after the summer saw  a number of established first 11 players and back-ups depart (Alex, Sandro, Lo Kwan Yee, Lam Ka Wai, Lam Zhi Gin, Krisztian Vadocz) with little or no replacement and those players that were recruited were arguably of lesser quality.  However, not many fans would have believed you if you'd said that at the half way stage of the Season Kitchee would lie in 5th place in the table, beneath both Tai Po and Southern, having dropped more points this season than they had in both of the previous seasons combined.  If Kitchee hope to improve in the second half of the season then it will be crucial for them to strengthen in this transfer window - particularly as the threadbare squad will be especially put to the test when AFC/ACL qualification starts in February alongside league commitments and domestic cup competitions.  Matt Smith is a good start (however, its a shame that he isn't fit and ready to play) but we also need to add another midfielder and a striker if we hope to be able to compete on all fronts.

Player Ratings

Wang Zhenpeng	7 games
CM: The lack of any competition for places may be effecting Wang as we've started seeing mistakes creep into his game - particularly disappointed by the goals conceded against R&F.  Only 3 clean sheets in 9 games is a long way from his normal standard but he hasn't been helped by an unsettled defence in front of him.	6.5 out of 10
PA: Wang hasn't had as many clean sheets as in the previous two seasons but most of the goals conceded have been from close range and can be put down to poor defensive errors. However, his prowess at penalties remains unaffected, saving 2 spot kicks in 2 different matches.	7 out of 10
AL: Wang is the only player that has consistently delivered so far this year and has put in some solid performances.  Wang is showing a new level of maturity this season and has also introduced some new skills to his game, such as long ball assist to our strikers.	8 out of 10
Li Ngai Hoi	9 games 1 goal
CM: Breakthrough season for the young HKer which has seen Li Ngai Hoi play more minutes for the Bluewaves than any other player so far this season. However, I think he has struggled playing as cover for Helio at CB rather than in his preferred full back position. Very happy to see him score his first goal for the team.	6 out of 10
PA: Appearing in more games this season, Li was quite solid as left back but his lack of experience at center back made the team missed injured Helio more. He still had problem controlling his temper, which needed to be addressed.	6 out of 10
AL: With the absence of Nando and Helio this season, Hoi has had plenty of chances to prove himself in the first team. However, whilst he has improved since last season, he needs to be more consistent - particularly when playing at CB. However, scoring his first senior goal is a real highlight.	6 out of 10
Fernando Recio	5 games
CM: Shame that injury has prevented him from playing as much as he would have liked as a prolonged run in the team would have helped him. Despite his experience, i’m still not completely confident with him playing at CB and would see him as cover only.	6 out of 10
PA: His season has been slightly derailed by injury, which has meant he has struggled to find form and perform to his maximum potential.	6 out of 10
AL: Nando is pivotal in Kitchee’s defence. However, he has too many injury preventing him from maintaining his efficiency in the high tempo game. His sharpness in tackling can still be seen but injury greatly reduce his game time.	5.5 out of 10
Tong Kin Man	6 games
CM: Filled a hole at right back and has done well despite missing some games through injury. With the change in style, we haven't seen him pushing forward as much as in previous seasons which is a shame.	6 out of 10
PA: He managed to fill Alex Chu’s needs of manning the right back in the first four-and-plus months. However, he has not reached his best performance from last year.	6 out of 10
AL: Struggled with injuries and staying fit and because of this is a target for teams when playing Kitchee. He seems to have lost some sharpness compared to last season. Hasn’t played as much in his preferred wing back position.	5 out of 10
Dani Cancela	8 games
CM: Done the best out of the defenders so far this season.  Despite his advancing years and now having to combine national team duties with premier league matches, Dani still manages to give 100% every game and is a great influence to the younger members of the team.	7 out 10
PA: At age 37, he continues to give all he has left in his tank. However, it is understandable that he has begun to struggle at times, particularly when combining busy schedules for both Kitchee and Hong Kong national team	7 out of 10
AL: Dani probably is the regular defender whom can maintain his efficiency in defence for the team despite his age at 37. He has been continuously displayed high level of performance in defence and he still can spare his body for counter attack.	7 out of 10
Huang Yang	7 games
CM: Responded well to the new challenges he’s been faced with this year (team captain, frequently filling in at CB, playing a more advanced CM role following Vadocz’s departure) and performed admirably throughout. At 35, he shows no signs of stopping - would be nice to see him add some goals this season.	7.5 out 10
PA: His overall situation was very similar to Dani Cancela and his workload has increased when Sissoko failed to fulfill Vadocz’s duty.	6 out of 10
AL: Huang is Mr. Consistency and his work rate hasn’t reduced due to age. This year his new role as captain and for some games as center back also sharpen him to be a more rounded player.	7 out of 10
Cheng Chin Lung	2 games 1 goal
CM: Injuries have meant that Dragon hast made as much of an impact as we’d hoped he might so far this year. Scored in the 8-1 rout of Hoi King.	6 out of 10
PA: Cheng has so far been unable to keep fit this season. However, even if he could, it would be unlikely that Alex Chu could find a spot for him at starting XI.	6 out of 10
AL: He has not much game time to show his ability although he has some injury for large part of first half season. He is a gifted player and he shall 5.5 out of 10 be given game time should he recovered from injury. High amount of playing time shall help him to regain the match fitness as well as moulding him to fit into the high tempo of the game so as to contribute effectively to the success of the team	5.5 out 10
Kim Bong-Jin	6 games 1 goal
CM: Given the opportunity to nail down a spot at CB, Bong failed to make the step up and found himself lacking in a number of games this season. Scored in the 2-2 draw with Tai Po but has also contributed to Kitchee conceding a number of goals.  A fan’s favourite but now replaced by Matt Smith.  We’ll also have the memories of his goal in Ulsan…	5 out of 10
PA: “Bong” has arguably been our inconsistent defender. When he was good, he was good. But at times, he showed a real lack of focus and cost Kitchee dear with a number of mistakes. Eventually, he lost his spot with the team and will be shipped out as loanee.	5 out of 10
AL: Bong like other defenders struggles to find the tempo of the game and defensive unit is not so water-tight as in last season	5 out of 10
Jared Lum	8 games 1 goal
CM: I think Jared would admit that he hasn’t made the best start to the season.  The departures of Alex and Sandro have meant that he has played in a more advanced position and despite him putting in 100% it hasn’t quite clicked for him.  Sure things will come right in the second half of the season - we miss his goals!	6.5 out of 10
PA: Lum’s changing role to play more right forward might make him not quite comfortable, or maybe he just struggled to find his last year's form. His scoring dropped quite considerably.	6 out of 10
AL: Jared this season appears to have more injury problem. He has shown his high work rate and he has to improve on his consistency and scoring touch	6.5 out of 10
Matt Lam	6 games
CM: I was very excited to see Matt back in a Kitchee shirt following his unceremonious departure to make way for Diego Forlan last season.  However, I think it’s fair to say, that Matt has struggled a little bit settling back into the team and has been dropped in favour of Ju as a result. Look forward to seeing him improve in the second half of the season.	5.5 out of 10
PA: Lam has never been the same since returning from loan. He seems to have lost his “playmaking touch” and hence lost his starting position several times.	5 out of 10
AL: Matt continues to display his high work rate whenever he is given chance to play. He displayed a stable performance.	6.5 out of 10
Ju Ying Zhi	5 games 2 goals
CM: Scored his first two goals in the recent win over Dreams. A hardworker but not entirely sure what extra he offers us – looking forward to seeing more improvement in the second half of the season.	6.5 out of 10
PA: Ju slightly improved compared to last season when he was with Eastern. There were a few times he took matters in his hands to give Kitchee a chance to win.	7 out of 10
AL: Creative and ever ready player that the coach can rely on. He has been hard working enough and dishing out some fine performance in term of scoring, assist and creative passes/dashes.	7 out of 10
Robert	3 games 3 goals
CM: A real shame that he hasn’t been able to get up to full match fitness yet - have to question whether this is down to training or attitude? A waste of a valuable foreign place at the moment. However, his 20 minute hatrick against Hoi King was one of the highlights of the season so far.	5 out of 10
PA: His best performance for Kitchee was probably the preseason friendly against Burinam. However, in the games where it really counts, he has failed to make an impression. Maybe injury was the main reason for a difficult season.	5 out of 10
AL: A brilliant skilful player but has struggled to stay fit. It has been six months since we signed him and he still can’t hold down a starting position. Yes, he has some magic moment such as the skilful one two with Tadic against Burinam and the hatrick against Hoi King but the limited appearances make us question whether it is worth using a foreign quota on him?	4 out of 10
Momo Sissoko	3 games
CM: Not what the doctor ordered at all as far as the Hong Kong Premier League is concerned - far too defensive and seemingly not capable of passing anywhere other than backwards. May have been a good option for ACL games but we won’t get to find out now.	5 out of 10.
PA: Although he was a star in early career, his brief time in Hong Kong was very mediocre, and was not even close at filling Vadocz’s role as Kitchee initially hoped.	5 out of 10
AL: A classy player in executing timely tackle, however, it is unfortunate that he has to match unreal expectation when he is misinterpreted as a replacement for Vadocz. He never fell short in his defensive contribution but he is neither a box to box player nor an attacking midfielder as Vadocz was last season.	4.5 out of 10
Kristian Vadocz	5 games 1 goal
CM: Hasn’t quite hit the highnotes of last season yet but Kitchee’s upturns in fortunes has largely coincided with his return to the squad - not a surprise they lost to Southern without him.  Great both defensively and driving forward and a real goal-threat too. So glad to have him back!	6.5 out of 10
PA: The returning of former Hungary international has given hope to the Bluewaves but it took him a few games to get in game shape. As a key piece for the team, he could still have space to improve in the second half.	6.5 out of 10
AL: A bit below par performance as compared to last season probably due to lack of competitive matches for the period from August to the date of rejoining Kitchee in November. He has gained little weight and hopefully shall be able to regain full fitness and contribute to the team at least as effective as last season if not better.	6 out of 10
Fernando	8 games 2 goals
CM: Fans favourite and talisman of the team. If Fernando plays well, Kitchee play well. However, maybe the Brazilian has often found himself man-marked and targeted throughout games and this has led to him being less effective this season.	7 out of 10.
PA: While the fans were so used to see him dominating at left side, his performance seemed to drop quite a bit. Although keeping up in speeds, both of his passes and crosses were most missing pin-point accuracy.	6.5 out of 10
AL: Fernando has performed well despite there were more injury sustained than usual. He always run tirelessly in games and is able to dribble past opponents whether he is on his usual left side or made the shift to the right.	7.5 out of 10
Lucas	8 games 7 goals
CM: Splits the fans (as can be seen in these ratings) but, for me, Lucas has come on leaps and bounds this season.  Ok, he still misses more than he scores, but he is more clinical than previous seasons and is often having to play on his own upfront, carving out his own chances through his own strength and creativity. Would benefit from having a strike partner alongside him more often.	8 out of 10
PA: In his second season with Kitchee, the Brazilian striker had to work even harder to find opportunities. However, he fared seemingly well in that aspect. And his hardworking paid off for his goals this season.	7.5 out of 10
AL: Yes, Lucas is so far the leading scorer for the team in this season, however, he must have missed at least twice as many as he has scored.  This inconsistency could jeopardise the team’s chances of making it through Asian Champion League qualifying or the group stage of AFC Cup. Despite that, his work rate has improved and his cooperation with teammates has also got much better this season - resulting in 3 assists so far.	6.5 out of 10
Yuto Nakamura	8 games 1 goal
CM: The adopted Hong Konger has quickly been embraced by the Kitchee faithful and is fast becoming a fan’s favourite. Would be good to see him add more goals to his game in the second half of the season.	6 out of 10.
PA: It was a mystery how he played quite well for Tai Po but not here with Kitchee. However, he showed he has never settled down. Having similar functions, he and Ju took turns to start, and the latter looked like a more valuable signing.	5.5 out of 10
AL: Yuto as usual possesses the never say die attitude of a Japanese player. He is versatile in different positions the coach placed him. He has been doing just fine however, he needs some consistency and needs to find his way to contribute more to the team.	6 out 10
Tadic	7 games 4 goals
CM: A times he can be brilliant but at others he can be absolutely infuriating. For me, he hasn’t really taken the chances he’s been given and so far has failed to live up to his billing. Saturday vs Southern he gave an absolutely abject display where he barely looked interested.	5 out of 10
PA: It’s been a difficult season for him so far. When getting used to Hong Kong football, he struggled considerably in half of his appearances, and fail to establish as a consistent scorer.	5 out of 10
AL: It appears a longer time is required to gel with the team as coaching team is placing him in a winger or secondary striker position more often than his prime center forward position. He has been adapting just fine and at times sprinkle some magical and creative moves/strikes/dashes and even helps out in defence. He can show some real class but he has to do this consistently.	6.5 out 10
Jordi	6 games 1 goal
CM: A useful option to have coming off the bench but at his age he will never be more than a option.  It says a lot about the decreasing strength of our forward line that we’ve had to revert to using Jordi - notwithstanding his legendary status at the club.	4.5 out of 10
PA: Injury and losing his starting role should be his summary of his season's first-half. However, it would still be an uncertainty on how he performed when given more chances.	5 out of 10
AL: Jordi has much less game time this year and whenever being called on he gave all he has and run tirelessly to create chances for the teammates. He is less sharp as in previous year in term of scoring but probably due to his shift in position from a center forward to a winger and truly his experience added to the depth and benefit of the team.	6 out of 10

The Coach

Alex Chu

CM: Hasn’t done well with recruitment following the departure of a large number of key personnel in the summer (but its unclear whether or not his hands were tied).  Hasn’t seemed to adapt his tactics to the squad that he now has at his disposal and doesn't ever seem to have a Plan B.  Fail to improve in the second half of the season and fans will be starting to ask serious questions (if they aren’t already).

PA: The season has been disappointing under his leadership. While his team was efficient last year, Chu tempted to repeat the success with same tactics, which, unfortunately, have been seen through by most of the opponents, who seemingly found ways to tame them. In other words, Chu and his coaching staff urgently need to think of some new strategies in the upcoming months. Things will only get more difficult for the team as it tries to repeat the treble, as well as AFC Champions League qualifiers and at least AFC Cup group matches.

AL: Rather stubborn in not fielding young players despite the fact that some of them are up to the challenge. Strategically we do not seem to have a Plan B, let alone a Plan C when we are struggling to breakdown an opponent. He seems to stubborn to change his style of play or to give new players an opportunity rather than just playing his favorites - which, I believe is resulting in a negative effect on morale.