Former Chinese international midfielder Li Ming, newly installed
general manager of Dalian Shide, believes the struggling giants can
get their championship challenge back on track.
Li, who is also an assistant coach of the national team,
replaced Lin Lefeng on Monday with the club in fifth place in the
China Super League four points adrift of leaders Shandong
Luneng.
"I will not give up. There is still another half of the season
remaining. I believe the team is capable of fighting for the
title," Li said.
The eight-time Chinese champions suffered a humiliating 3-1
defeat to newly promoted Zhejiang Lucheng at the weekend, and Lin
is believed to be carrying the can as expectant fans and club
officials grow impatient with the team's poor form.
"This season the club has failed to improve and has failed to
attract foreign players," said a statement on the club's website.
"The team has lost points to smaller clubs on many occasions,
including to a newly promoted, bottom ranked club."?
Li said the club would make extra efforts to keep the squad
competitive, including increasing investment and new overseas
players.
"Dalian has not shown any improvement over the past few years.
But we are on the rise from the beginning of the new season.
"I believe as long as we make the right adjustments, the team
will move to another level."
Although the most successful club since the league's inception
in 1994, Dalian's dominance has been broken by Shandong, Shanghai
and now an emerging Changchun team.
The departing Lin is considered a scapegoat for Dalian's recent
struggles.
"Someone has to take responsibility. Lin is in the position to
take charge of the club's decisions. So he has to go," a senior
official from the club told Titan Sports.
Some players, who refused to be identified, told the newspaper
the poor performances actually have nothing to do with the general
manager.
"Someone has to pay for the mistakes. Head coach Jo Bonfrere
just came to the team and also won some matches against strong
opponents. Li Ming was just a team manager. So there is no one else
to blame but Lin," a player was quoted as saying.
Lin, well known for his strong personality, is willing to accept
the decision.
"I am responsible for everything. I am the most appropriate
person to take all the blame," he said.
Lin's calm reaction is in contrast to some of his previous
outbursts.
In the 2003 Asian Champions Leagues semifinal, Lin went face to
face with a referee to argue his decisions and was banned for five
games.
On October 24, 2005, Lin asked the players to leave the field
against crosstown rivals Jinde after his team conceded a
controversial equalizer. He was banned from appearing in the
stadium for a year.
And he was banned for a year again and was fined 20,000 yuan
($2,500) in 2006 after describing the referee of the Chinese Cup
final as "a bastard" during a press conference.
(China Daily June 21, 2007)
