This week the pod reviews a couple of high-drama CFA cup semi finals, and looks forwards to the prospect of a high-stakes Shenhua – Shandong final. How impressed are we by Shenhua’s mid-season resurgence, and does Li Xiaopeng get enough credit for the progress his Shandong side are making? There’s plenty of time to prepare for the final – we talk through the scheduling issues along with just why so few clubs take the early rounds seriously before the cup bursts into life from the quarter finals onwards.
We then follow-up on last week’s discussion of where it went wrong for Roger Schmidt and Beijing Guoan, and what this means for the short-term future of Guoan and their new coach. Job security and the risks and benefits of CSL management – along with the relative stability enjoyed by Vitor Pereira at the reigning champions – all come under scrutiny.
Host Steve Crooks is joined by the regular panel of Chinese football experts Cameron Wilson in Shanghai and Brandon Chemers in Beijing.
Steve hosts the Chinese Football Podcast, having joined the WEF team as correspondent for Shanghai Shenhua, the side he has followed since moving to Shanghai in 2010. Exiled from the Victorian town-centre idyll of Feethams along with his childhood football team, Steve spent many an (un)happy year on Hongkou's North Terrace along with the Shenhua Element Crew and Blue Devils before relocating to Sydney from where he continues to follow the Chinese game from afar.
Join in the discussion on #chinafootypod
Previous Podcasts
The pod is back from a brief mid-season break and jumps straight into business by asking whether Guangzhou Evergrande have the title sewn up already after some prolonged patchy form …
Beijing Guoan’s surprise loss to a struggling Jiangsu is the lead story this week – with Evergrande back at the top and just a couple of points covering the top …
With fan protests escalating in Nanjing, the pod takes a deep-dive into the story to understand more. What are the key issues and why has the club’s response left fans …
The transfer season is in full swing – the pod gets stuck into how Marko Arnautovic will fit into the red quarter of Shanghai, and what to make of El …
We’re back with a discussion on the soul of Chinese football – are naturalized Brazilians the answer to World Cup qualification woes, or yet another example of the governing bodies …
We’re back with a discussion on the soul of Chinese football – are naturalized Brazilians the answer to World Cup qualification woes, or yet another example of the governing bodies …
In our latest “fan journey” special, we take the term literally – host Steve Crooks and regular pod expert Cameron Wilson are joined by a packed sleeper train compartment of …
We continue our series of in-depth explorations of the personal journeys taken by WEF’s leading contributors – this week host Steve Crooks speaks one-to-one with Brandon Chemers to learn more …
This week we wait until the dust settles on the AFC Champions League group stage before reflecting on the last-day drama – how disappointed will Guoan be to exit the …
This week’s pod opens with a review of Beijing Guoan’s ninth straight win, and more goals for Cedric Bakambu – begging the question of why some fans are still dissatisfied …
You must be logged in to post a comment Login
You must log in to post a comment.