Why is the Lam River in Nghe An province declining?

(Baonghean.vn) -After a string of impressive wins at the start of the season, Song Lam Nghe An is now faltering with three consecutive losses and one draw. Although they are currently leading the V-League, everyone knows that the team from Nghe An is in a very precarious situation, and the goal of winning the championship seems very far-fetched if they don't make timely adjustments.

This season, SLNA introduced captain Trong Hoang to replace his senior teammate Huy Hoang after the "flailing arms and legs" incident in Thanh Hoa. As a young player with good physical fitness and technical skills, many believed that Trong Hoang would succeed his namesake. However, after 11 appearances as captain in the first half of the V-League season, Trong Hoang has not made much of an impact. He still shows great energy, running, shooting, and has scored some important goals, but he has hardly demonstrated any leadership qualities. Whenever he is on the field, Trong Hoang lacks (or hasn't dared to) the ability to shout, urge, and direct the players in the team like his senior teammate Huy Hoang did before.

I remember that in previous seasons, whenever the home team was nervous or at a disadvantage, Huy Hoang would stand out, rolling up his sleeves and shouting instructions to the players to ensure a smooth transition between attack and defense. The entire SLNA team would obediently follow his lead. Trong Hoang hasn't been able to do that yet. In many matches, the players, especially the young and inexperienced ones, played as if they were half-asleep, but Trong Hoang didn't take any action to command them on the field. Without the authority to instill fear in his players, Trong Hoang also lacks the necessary intensity to intimidate opponents and create a winning mentality for the home team. Coach Huu Thang has repeatedly affirmed his trust in and defended his captain, but what Hoang has achieved in his leadership role on the field hasn't been substantial. If SLNA wants to win the V-League, the coaching staff needs to quickly find a true leader on the field, something all the big teams in the V-League have already done.

In many matches, coach Huu Thang and his coaching staff lacked accuracy and timeliness in adjusting personnel and playing style.

In the early matches of the season, SLNA played with a defense composed entirely of young players like Mạnh Hùng, Văn Hoàn, Sơn Hà, Đình Hoàng, etc., while star player Huy Hoàng was past his prime and relegated to the bench. When playing at home in Vinh against weaker opponents, that defense held firm, but when facing big, powerful foreign strikers capable of strong runs and aerial duels, SLNA's defense was completely overwhelmed and suffered a heartbreaking defeat. The ability of these young players is undeniable, but in a fierce environment like the V-League with its already cunning strikers, SLNA's defense is simply too weak. In the second half of the season, SLNA needs to find a defensive leader like Huy Hoàng in the past, or someone of the caliber of Đình Luật, Phước Tứ, Quốc Long, etc., if they don't want to see their attack do the work while their defense fails, as seen in the recent matches.

In the forward line, just days before the V-League opening, Song Lam Nghe An promptly brought in star player Cong Vinh from the team owned by Chairman Kien. This addition helped the Nghe An team maintain their top position in the standings. Except for the time Vinh suffered from an intestinal infection and was unable to score, in the remaining matches, Cong Vinh consistently demonstrated his leadership role in the attack. In the last two matches against Da Nang and Dong Nai, Cong Vinh scored three goals; in all three opening matches of the season, the player wearing jersey number 89 scored impressively.

While Công Vinh is outstanding, his foreign partners are equally underwhelming. It seemed as though Kavin and Plaza were the lifeblood of Sông Lam Nghệ An this season, but the "good, nutritious, and cheap" philosophy is now costing the team dearly. In the last few matches, Plaza has played like a man possessed, constantly dribbling whenever he gets the ball, causing opportunities to be wasted. His individualistic personality, coupled with his weakness and lack of finishing ability, are the fundamental reasons why Sông Lam Nghệ An hasn't won a single game in the last four matches. This lack of finishing ability from the foreign players has caused the team to lose its strength; at times, fans feel like SLNA is playing with two foreign players in attack against their opponents… If the foreign players continue to perform so poorly in the second half of the season, who knows how much further Sông Lam Nghệ An will decline.

Plaza's overly individualistic approach in recent matches is one of the reasons for SLNA's decline.

One noticeable issue in SLNA's recent run of three losses and one draw is the coaching staff's tactical leadership. On numerous occasions, Coach Huu Thang made inappropriate and untimely personnel changes. In some matches, Trong Hoang was fatigued but wasn't substituted, and in the recent match against Da Nang, even when SLNA was leading, the coaching staff failed to instruct the players to maintain the tempo. Towards the end of the match, we lacked experienced players on the field to counter cunning strikers like Merlo and Quoc Anh. In the match against Dong Nai in Vinh in round 11, even though SLNA was leading, when Coach Tran Binh Su brought on his star player Henry, Coach Huu Thang made no changes, resulting in players like Son Ha and Manh Hung being clumsy in front of goal, making a draw inevitable. At the end of the match, coach Tran Binh Su even loudly asserted that he played with a second-string team and that Song Lam Nghe An was "just average" that day,...

The true test of a horse is on a long journey. After the first half of the V-League season, although SLNA is still leading the table, it seems the team from Nghe An is faltering. Without timely changes in personnel and playing style, it is feared that in the second half of the season, title contender Song Lam Nghe An will continue its freefall.

Nguyen Khoa