The depth of the bench determines the height of the cup, and the Henan team can no longer try to "gamble on the use of people"

Reporter Lu Mi reports After this round of the league, the Chinese Super League will enter a small break, but Henan still can't relax, because they still have the FA Cup, and on the evening of the 21st, they will challenge Shandong Taishan.

If it weren't for the 2-0 defeat to the Cangzhou Male Lion, the schedule before the break would have been a perfect experience for Henan. Starting from the draw with Changchun Yatai, in the 13 games of the league plus the FA Cup, Henan team has achieved 8 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses.

In addition to losing to the Cangzhou male lion, Henan has only lost to the leader Shanghai Port at this stage. In the process, after the reinforcement of the summer window, the team has also returned to the right track from a slump. After this stage of the game, the Henan team accumulated 31 points, ranking 8th in the Chinese Super League, 9 points more than the relegation zone Qingdao West Coast, basically no relegation worries.

In the 2024 season, the trend of the Henan team will first decline and then rise. The pre-season training camp started from Qingyuan, Guangdong, Henan has a relatively complete preparation period, the overall quality of winter training is not bad, the only deficiency is that the warm-up games during the winter training are not enough, only two games with Guangxi Pingguo Hajiao. Perhaps, this is the reason why the Henan team did not find the game form immediately at the beginning of the season.

In the first 13 rounds of games, the Henan team only had 2 wins, and experienced 5 consecutive defeats, in the process, what once made fans desperate was that Nan Jiyi tried any lineup, and the style of play was also adjusted, but the passing and control style practiced during the winter training was not good, and it could only be turned back to the defensive counterattack of the five guards, which also brought a new problem, that is, how to win - in the first half of the season, the away game against Shandong Taishan, the Henan team used three central defenders, wingbacks and five defenders who were more involved in the defense, and forced the opponent to draw in the case of one less person. After tasting the sweetness, the home game against Nantong Zhiyun, the Henan team is still this set of methods, a game that should be won, and it ended in a draw.

The inability to solve the problem of personnel and tactical strategy is an important reason for the continued sluggish results in the first half of the season. After the change of the club's management and the corresponding adjustments, the internal situation was straightened out, and Nan Kiichi gradually found a solution to the problem. Since the draw with Yatai in the 14th round, the Henan team has experienced a wave of upward trend, and the standings have returned to the middle of the table.

The changes in the team, first of all, have achieved a unified tactics, determined the defensive counterattack style based on three central defenders and five defenders, and also made arrangements in counterattacks to improve efficiency. In terms of personnel, there have been changes in the goalkeeper position and the selection of wingbacks, and Huang Ruifeng has come out on top, giving the team more room for change in midfield and wing. With more defenders and more suitable personnel, and tactical changes, the defensive solidity has been greatly improved, and the goals conceded have been reduced, making the team more likely to score points.

Secondly, the team is more united and has a higher fighting spirit. In some games that seemed difficult and chaotic, veterans stepped forward to stabilize the situation, young players also tried their best, foreign players played with injuries, and domestic players fought until cramps continued to persevere, so that the team maintained enough competitiveness in the game.

The unity within the team is also reflected in the work of the Chinese coaches, after the arrival of the new team, they have further strengthened the communication with the foreign coaches, will point out the problems in the game and training in a timely manner, and give the first team the greatest help under the premise of respecting the decision-making power of Nanjiyi.

The Henan team, which maintains stability, is not weak in terms of comprehensive strength, and the current ranking is reasonable. At this stage, in the face of the last-class team, the Henan team played as strong as it should have and got the points it wanted; Facing a strong team, it also shows the spirit of Henan football not admitting defeat.

The final game before the break was lost at home to the Cangzhou male lion, which dealt a certain blow to Henan, and the home team faced opponents lower in the table, and the outside world believed that Henan could at least get points, and the club's 30th anniversary celebration was brought forward to this day, but in the case of more injuries, Nan Jiyi chose to let Denich, who had not played as a wingback, go to the position, and the position adjustment proved to be a failure. The Henan team needs to summarize and can no longer be affected by the "gambling employment" of the team's performance.

There is a lot of investment in the introduction of personnel this year, Denich, Nasario, Achimpeng, Xu Haofeng, Huang Ruifeng, Maidana, He Xi and other players have joined, the club shareholders put forward the goal of "eight for six" is actually quite reasonable, the team is currently in the "passing line", and the sixth Jinmen Tiger has a difference of 2 points, and it is entirely possible to surpass.

The club's main goal this season is to focus on a better table in the league and the FA Cup will try to get a good place, but it will depend on the depth of the bench. At present, the team has a lot of injuries, Xu Haofeng, Covic, Maidana are injured, and Achimpeng, who is suspended in the league, can play in the FA Cup, but the personnel are still a little stretched, and the FA Cup match against Shandong Taishan on the 21st, Nanjiyi needs to consider how to make appropriate personnel adjustments to ensure the overall vitality of the team.