The truth may not be what everyone thinks, but rather the ill-fated Shandong Taishan team may not be the Shanghai seaport that lost the Chinese Super League title race. According to media personality Li Pingkang, Taishan seems to be ready to "strategically give up" in the layout of the new season. The Jinan Tourism Group has taken a negative attitude towards reinforcements in the winter transfer window, and many of the team's free agents will face the fate of leaving the team. Currently, Liao Lisheng has been transferred to Chengdu Rongcheng, and Tong Lei will soon return to Zhejiang. The aim of Taishan team in the new season is to strive for relegation, and on the basis of relegation to strive for the top eight in the Chinese Super League.
The reason behind Taishan's recent sluggish performance is mainly attributed to head coach Choi Kang-hee. Due to the controversy over the authority to attract reinforcements, the relationship between Cui Kangxi and the team management has become increasingly tense, and there are even rumors that he may face a crisis of dismissal. However, due to the high amount of liquidated damages included in Cui Kangxi's contract, Jinan Municipal Tourism Group could not afford the termination fee. In the end, they chose to respond with a "silent protest" and decided not to make any reinforcements in the winter transfer window.
Despite Taishan's luxurious lineup of international players such as Wang Dalei, Li Yuanyi, Xie Wenneng, Gao Junyi and Huang Zhengyu, as well as three foreigners in the front line, namely Cressan, Wako and Zeka, their performance in the second half of the 2024 season has not been satisfactory, with only 18 points. From the current situation, it seems that Taishan can only be relegated in the 2025 season, and the goal of fighting for the top eight in the Super League seems to be out of reach.
