CHUCK Yiu-Kwok gives his reason on why he decided to move to FC Chiasso: “I’ve been playing professionally for a few years and I always wondered whether I would have a chance to play overseas and improve my skills as a footballer,” said Chuck on his fans’ Facebook page. “I want to see how far I can go.” “Every footballer wants to represent their national team. If we play well, it’s exciting to hear the fans cheering for you. We want more people to support the players. Even if the fans scold us it doesn’t matter, I want people to know who Chuck Yiu-kwok is and I’ll improve.” http://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong...-can-go-footballer-tommy-chuck-becomes-latest It will be very interesting to see whether he can really develop his skills with the FC Chiasso and hopefully he does well.
It sounds like he's gone there partly to improve himself for the benefit of the national team. I wonder if he'll be as eager to represent Hong Kong if he finds success in Europe and he's faced with the choice of leaving for international duty and potentially losing his place at the club or declining his call ups in order to focus on his club career.
Speaking of managers, which or what sort of coach would you want to guide the national football team? Either way it will be interesting to see who the HKFA chose as Kim's successor, but more importantly it has to be someone who can take the national team to the next level.
https://soundcloud.com/hk_football_podcast/episode-75-no-asian-cup-what-now I think at this point, everyone is going to be discussing what next for the Hong Kong National Football Team. How would you guys feel if Kitchee head coach Alex Chu Chi-Kwong became the national team's coach?
https://www.tv2.no/a/9769431/ According to Norwegian media Jörn Andersen (North Korea head coach whose contract ended after match against Hong Kong) is "close" to signing for Hong Kong. There you'd have a coach of high calibre who is already familiar with East Asia and Hong Kong.
I'm not sure someone without local HK league experience will know how to deal with the club financiers who can get difficult with releasing their players for the national team.
You have to give Tianjin credit. They created better chances than Kitchee and probably should've won by more. Alex was poor all night and should've been substituted off much earlier than the 76th minute. However, to take him off for Paulinho was troubling as he was never going to provide the quality that they needed in front of goal. It was almost as if Kitchee were playing for a draw. To not be aggressive and use their final substitution on an attacking player was disappointing as Chu seemed to be content to finish last in the group. Kitchee played fairly well last night. They've clearly learned how to play in Asia. They've earned a win against a 10 man squad but you wonder if they could've beaten an even strength squad if only they had the right amount of aggression.
HK FA Cup KC Southern District, Wofoo Tai Po, Kitchee and HK Pegasus have progressed to the semi-finals of the HK FA Cup.
Shocking rumours are spreading like wildfire at the moment: Yuen Long, this year’s Senior Shield winners, are expected to relegate voluntarily to the 1st Division. Some players have allegedly already been signed by Eastern and Lee Man #hkfootball— Football in Hong Kong (@offsideHK) April 10, 2018 At least, unlike South China and Metro Gallery, they won something before going down.
Chuck Yiu-Kwok scored a goal for FC Chiasso in a friendly against Lugano, which plays in the Swiss Premier League. The goal meant the two clubs drew 1-1.
Kitchee have maintained their crown as champions of the Hong Kong Premier League 2017-18 season, after defeating HK Pegasus courtesy of an early goal by Kitchee's Lucas da Silva. https://www.facebook.com/offside.hk...992023739649/2025631324375713/?type=3&theater With that, I believe they qualify for the 2018/19 edition of the AFC Cup.
Kitchee should qualify to play in the ACL preliminary round like Johor DT were this year? If they fail to progress then I believe they will go into the AFC Cup group stage. I think then it is a good idea that they attend the 25 April match in Macau between Benfica Macau and 4.25 Sports Club and learn about their potential opposition next year.
SunBus Yuen Long 1:0 Dreams FC Wofoo Tai Po 5:1 Biu Chun Rangers The results mean Biu Chun Rangers still has a slim chance to remain in the Premier League next season. But in honestly SunBus Yuen Long will probably relegate itself to Division One as SunBus is likely to withdraw its sponsorship.
http://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong...ong-premier-league-title-should-they-stick-or Should Kitchee go for a big name signing again next year? I think they should just stick with their squad, minus Forlan and maybe just a few changes, for next season. I believe in consistency. The more the players play together, the better they play.
They should only make a big name signing if that signing will improve the team. Forlan didn't improve the team. Absolutely 100%. Lack of continuity IMO is one of the biggest, if THE biggest reason why R&F, Dreams, Lee Man and Rangers are in the bottom four. You cannot bring together a group of players who have never played together and expect them to achieve results right away. Combine that with a lack of game changing talent, poor scouting and constant turnover, and you have a recipe for failure.
I did not like the way Kim Bong-Jin (#80) just stood there with his hand up while Jeonbuck scored their first goal. A player should never play referee. But in the end I think Hong Kong clubs do not have the quality to play at this level. I think it is better we go back to the AFC Cup and see how that goes, even though the AFC Cup is a poor competition organizationally speaking.
https://www.wswanderersfc.com.au/news/gombau-departs-wanderers Former Kitchee head coach Josep Gombau leaves Western Sydney Wanderers. I think he will be a very strong candidate to be Hong Kong national team head coach. He knows everybody and his experience in Australia will be very valuable.
http://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/ar...appening-hong-kong-says-soccer-chief-he-calls HKFA CEO Mark Sutcliffe said a "significant percentage" of football games in Hong Kong are fixed. These include games in HKPL, HK First Division and HK Reserve Division. Mark wants to meet the govt and talk about opening up the local league for betting and establish a fund to combat the illegal football betting syndicates.
The only way HKFA can combat the illegal football syndicates is with help from Hong Kong Jockey Club's money, and HKJC will need the local league's betting rights in order to provide funds. IMHO, the funding provided by HKJC must be in the form of prize money for winning league or cup matches. If the prize money is more than the money from the illegal betting syndicates, then the players will try to win, rather than throw the game away. If there is significant prize money, then that will also attract a lot of interest from club owners. HKFA must set a limit on the number of top level clubs so the money is not spread too thin.
I wouldn't mind Josep Gombau and he does seem to have credentials with what he did with Adelaide United a few years ago.
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...g-soccer-players-cleared-match-fixing-charges Kwok Kin-pong, Michael Cheng, Chan Pak-hang and Lee Ka-ho found not guilty. They are free. But I am not sure they will play professionally again. Will HK Pegasus take them back? We don't even know if HK Pegasus will continue next season... The whole trial actually put Wofoo Tai Po player Wong Wai in a dark light. He is considered by the judge to be a untrustworthy witness.
https://www.hk01.com/即時體育/178823/港超-梁孔德確認下季有10隊參戰-凱景有意升班-港會或留級+ The Board of Directors of the HKFA held a meeting on Monday to discuss the format for next year's HKPL. Afterwards, Brian Leung, who always has something to say, predictably had many things to tell the media. - There will likely be 10 teams in next year's league. Leung says it's unlikely for the league to expand to 12 due to stadium availability and scheduling - HKFA agreed to give Yuen Long until the end of May to seek new sponsorship - Rangers would like to stay up but that's conditional on sponsorship and Yuen Long's situation - Hoi King, currently 8th in the First Division, have applied for promotion. They will be promoted as soon as they meet financial and HKPL club licensing requirements - HKFC were interested in coming back up but the HKFA wasn't keen on it as long as they refused to sign their players to professional contracts. Leung implies that HKFC is no longer interested - It was rumoured that Albirex Niigata had interest in establishing an HKPL club in addition to their Singaporean satellite. Leung claims he's not heard anything about it ____________________ Disappointed to hear that the league won't expand to 12 due to venue ability. You can understand now why HKFC were allowed into the league last season as they own their own ground. Still, is it really that difficult to secure 10 stadiums for the 11 other clubs?
I am not interested in an expanded league myself. There were quite a lot of matches with very disappointing attendance last year. So much so that HKFA CEO Mark Sutcliffe said they have missed their attendance targets of 2017-18. More is not better. Also, Leisure and Cultural Services Dept controls all the football grounds and honestly quite a number of them are old with poor facilities. I really hope the HKFA and the govt can agree on a number of sports grounds that can be made "permanently" available for HKPL matches and re-develop them properly.