Topic: Saudi Professional League 2023/2024 - page 407. (Read 131684 times)

One instant way to create consistency for Al Shabab is to recruit new players. I don't think it has to be from the top European leagues, what is important is that the quality meets the qualifications as a player who can have an immediate impact, and the January transfer window is the right solution. There are lots of quality players that Al Shabab can recruit from the Brazilian League, for example, because we know there is a lot of young talent there that can be developed even better. I think the price will be cheaper, according to existing finances.

Indeed, in terms of image, players who appear outside the European League rarely receive the spotlight. If Al Shabab plans to recruit players with a complete package, they must prepare a budget like the clubs under the PIF. On the other hand, I think Ronaldo presence alone is enough to attract a lot of attention, and now is the time for the SPL to look for quality players to slowly increase the competitive level. The rules for adopting and maintaining the number of local players must also be maintained properly, so that they can have an impact on the progress of the Saudi national team in the future.

Current season is the biggest disappointing for them, and now they are having the worst time with going down and staying near relegation zone if they want to have some better ending then surely in coming transfer window they also needed some investment which can give them help and avoiding in relegation as well because if they are not going to increase their performance then most chances we will have them down.

After huge success in last transfer window by few clubs now in coming days we can expect good invest which will surely increase challenges and performance as well which is good for this league which is now turning into good way for the long run and having targets beyond limits in this region which is rich but having nothing in last few decades but now doing good changes for the bright future.

Indeed, Al-Taawoun is a team that is rarely talked about or whose performance we look at, but the results are always satisfying. I quite regret that I never bet on the match they played because they were quite consistent and recently they also managed to beat Al-Ettifaq who actually have European players in their squad. I think Al-Taawoun is like a dark horse team that will repel any team that tries to compete with them in the top 4 and they can do that this season.

I wonder what would happen if a team like Al-Taawoun got the budget to buy star players, wouldn't they become a new threat in the Saudi league? and maybe other strong teams will start to worry about Al-Taawoun.

These SPL clubs no longer depend on their main players, they're more interested in bringing European players to do the dirty job in the club, I called it divided attentions for European players. The standings, we have promising clubs that have cleared out their formulation this season, they basically know how to control their capacities and aiming at their ultimate targets this season. Al-Shabab current stats, 4W 6D 7L and currently ranking 12th position on the table. This is will be one of the league that Al-Shabab will find to be struggling. Al-Shabab headcoach, Igor Biscan struggles to elevate the club this season and I don't see anything improving regarding the club's stats and performance. The club have suffered this season, these humiliating defeats have ruin their chances of grabbing a good spot in the SPL competitive title run and this have also classified them as mediocre clubs in Saudi Arabia Pro League.

Al-Taawoun is one of the most under-rated clubs in the Saudi Professional League. Last season they finished at the 5th place and at the moment they are at the 4th position in points table (they have the same number of points as the third placed Al Ahli, but the latter is ahead in goal difference). Unlike some of the other Saudi clubs, Al-Taawoun doesn't have any superstars. All they have is Musa Barrow from Gambia and Álvaro Medrán from Spain. But despite all that they have performed above the expectations.

But if Al-Shabab has club assets that are quite large and have a budget that is the same as the clubs in the PIF, then of course Al-Shabab can also participate in the competition to bring in top European players. But the problem is that it is not easy to get top European players. In fact, Al-Nassr also has to make an approach from now on to bring in one of the Atletico Madrid defenders who Al-Nassr plans to bring in in the transfer market next summer. So Al-Shabab also has to make the same preparations and take the same approach as the big clubs currently taking in the SPL.

But another step could be that Al-Shabab could bring in quite good players from Europe. No need for top players. But just ordinary players will also be enough. As long as the trainers at Al-Shabab can make good use of it. Because the role of the coach is also very important in football. Because without a good coach, a club that has many quality players will still have difficulty competing in a league. Because game strategy also plays an important role.

It must be admitted that this is a big factor because the crazy transfers of several Saudi teams can affect the existing competition, but if you look at Al-Taawoun's performance, which did not bring in a single European player last summer, shouldn't they also not be able to compete at the top? So I think this is not entirely a factor in the transfer of the star player and more about how a team can adapt to a different competitive level.

Talking about Al-Ittihad, they have lost their consistency so far and that is due to their lack of preparedness this season as well as the problems with coaches and players which were previously rumored to have also affected the results. Al-Ittihad will likely be able to return to the top flight and that is not to occupy 1st or 2nd place but rather finish in 3rd place in the standings this season.

Al-Shabab faces an interesting challenge in the upcoming season, with the potential difficulty in recruiting top European players. Learning from the experiences of Al-Fateh and Al-Taawoun, who have performed well without relying heavily on European players, or considering the approach of Al-Ettifaq, which actively competed for top European talent despite mixed results, could offer valuable insights. The adaptation period for European players, as exemplified by Cristiano Ronaldo last season, also raises important considerations. What strategic approach do you think Al-Shabab should adopt to navigate these challenges successfully in the next season?

Yes, you are right, the difference in the composition the player squad is also very influential, maybe Al Shabab is still using the same performance as last season, but this season many Saudi Arabian club are recruited players from Europe who have good potential, so this is what causes Al Shabab to appear difficulty to compete in 5th position big against clubs thats have top European players so I hopes Al Shabab can do the same thing in the transfer market that opens laters if they want a decent position like last season.

Yes, Ittihad, which has Karim Benzema, a striker who is really relied on by Real Madrid, failed to compete with Al Nassr and Al Hilal this season at the top of standings, even though last season Ittihad was able to win the Saudi Pro League, so yes, I thinks even if it had European players, it wouldn't be able to win hone it well and it will be the same as they will have difficulty competing in the Saudi League. Currently, Ittihad is no longer the favorite as a strong candidate to win the title again like last season.

In fact, even talking about next season could still be difficult for Al-Shabab even if they start bringing in European players next season. Because teams under PIF ownership will always be superior in recruiting top European players. But at least Al-Shabab can learn from Al-Fateh and Al-Taawoun who also don't recruit many European players but still have good performance. Or Al-Shabab could also take steps like Al-Ettifaq, which took part in the competition to recruit top European players. It's just that Al-ettifaq doesn't seem to have shown good effectiveness. Because usually European players have to adapt first for at least one season before they can really play well. Because Cristiano Ronaldo also did that last season.

So the solution might be to participate in the hunt for top European players and it is hoped that this can help their team's performance in the following seasons.

Al-Shabab is facing a challenging season, experiencing a higher number of defeats compared to the previous one. The increased competition has put a strain on their performance. Bringing in more European players could potentially strengthen the team, but it's essential to consider various factors such as team dynamics and adaptation. What strategic changes do you think Al-Shabab should implement to improve their standing in the SPL next season?

not only from last season but from the previous 3 seasons Al Shabab was able to achieve very good achievements in the SPL and all that changed after many talented players from europe joined one of the SPL teams and this greatly influenced Al Shabab performance to achieve achievements like 3 last season and the main thing Al Shabab had to do was just transfer european players like other teams to strengthen their performance. If not, Al Shabab will only achieve unstable achievements and the fans will be very sad to see it, but several times Al Shabab has not shown that they want to target european players, but we'll see if Al Shabab can bring in european players.

In this case, I dont really think that european players are very special, it's just that european players have much more football experience so they can really give a big boost to an SPL team to achieve success like Al Nassr and several other teams that are currently in over Al Shabab.
but there are also several teams that rely on native players without having many european players but still have a comfortable ranking, such as Al Taawon which is currently ranked 4th in the SPL standings.

They spent money to buy some star players but the most anticipating star player in the club is Karim Benzema. The player got so many problems with his body and fitness so that he has less appearances and contributions for Al Ittihad than initial expectation.

They are defending their title in Saudi Professional League but are falling too far behind Al Hilal and Al Nassr. The fifth position is so shame for Al Ittihad as a current champion of the league and with big money they spent for transfers recent months.

Saudi Professional League has changed a lot since a transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo to it from Manchester United. The massive support from PIF to top four big clubs in Saudi Arabia and appearances of many star players are contributing to make the league more exciting and more unpredictable. The ranking of Al Ittihad shows that the league this year is more challenging than last season.

Al Nassr got Cristiano in January last year after World Cup 2022 and it's realistic to think of new star players will join the league in January 2024 that is only a few days ahead.

Al-Shabab doesn't seem to have prepared well enough for this season. Considering that the competition is getting tougher this season, it is natural that Al-Shabab will lose its good position last season and become worse this season. Last season, Al-Shabab only suffered 8 defeats throughout the season. But now Al-Shabab has suffered 7 defeats even though the season has only reached the middle of the season. I think this season will indeed be difficult for Al-Shabab. Because it looks like Al-Shabab must have the courage to compete more fiercely next season by bringing in more European players like other teams. Because if we don't do this, Al-Shabab will only lose further in the competition in the SPL.

But why do you say that money isn't everything when in the end you admit that they go to Saudi Arabia because they can make more money? I don't care if someone is open about it and says he wants to make a lot of money and that is one reason why he is going to Saudi Arabia, but do you know these moments when something feels awkward when a player gives an interview telling the world that he loves the country and everyone knows it is about the money only? Ronaldo would have declined any offer paying him less than 100 million. I am pretty sure about that. I think he himself has never imagined to sign a contract with that salary. Of course he loves the country. If any sheikh decides to pay me 200 million a year, I am in love with Saudi Arabia as well.

Last season Damac only ranked 8th with 36 points. I think this season Damac is starting to develop in terms of play and I see G.N'koudou always playing well and always being a hero for Damac against Ittihad and Al-Raed, he also scored goals and I didn't expect last season's champion Ittihad to lose to Damac with score 3-1 for Damac's win. It seems that Ittihad has to be careful because the difference in points between Damac and Ittihad is not much different. Ittihad has now only collected 28 points while Damac has 27 points. and I'm sure that in the near future Damac has the potential to shift Ittihad's position because tomorrow Damac will compete against Al-ta'ee who is ranked 13th and I'm sure Damac will easily beat Al-ta'ee because I'm sure Damac's performance is good and I saw that Al-ta'ee's performance was declining, so when they faced Al-okhdood, Al-ta'ee lost with a score of 1-0. and I want to bet Damac wins, I hope my prediction is correct this time. Yes, we'll see because Laurentiu Reghecampf can make a good strategy to achieve victory for his team because Laurentiu Reghecampf is an experienced coach. That's why when facing Al-Hilal in the previous match, even though Al-Ta'ee lost, the goal difference was not far, namely 1-2.

Lewandowski must get the benefit when he moved to SPL. He will get a higher salary, Saudi clubs want to pay a huge salary for European star players. Moreover, Lewandowski is still a popular striker and still performed quite well in Barcelona. Although he couldn't play as well as in the last season, he still has a great skill as a striker.

I think you are wrong to say money is everything for Ronaldo. If money is everything, he will choose the team that wants him a huge salary since he started his professional career as a footballer. In fact, he prefer to choose the team that can optimize his potential to be the best player in the world. He just came to SPL because he is almost 40 years old.

Indeed. Lewandowski is better to move to SPL. He must enjoy his career before he retired from professional footballer. Sure, many teams in Saudi will be ready to accept him and offer a huge salary. I'm sure it is the right time to leave Barcelona and join the SPL with other star players like Ronaldo, Mane, and Benzema. Lewandowski is no longer in his prime era, specifically after he got a serious injury.

Al Ittihad are suffering, they're not earning points as Al Hilal and Al Nassr this season, they're totally different from other elite clubs this season. This is challenging for other clubs and  its clearly coincidence to watch top clubs underrated performance this season. Marcelo Gallardo, the head coach of Al Ittihad, is attempting to link up his club to become one of the most substantial clubs to hook up with the current team's performance this season. Everyone understands the SPL is challenging, yet these clubs haven't sent any signals that they will be competitive this season for an important position. Al Ittihad did not sign the expected players to strengthen their club, but they will add more players in the January transfer window for the purpose to improve the team's performance in league matches.

At the moment when they bought many famous and well-experienced superstar players for Al Ittihad, they were expecting to see their team racing for great achievements such as the Saudi League title or the AFC Champions League. But currently, the situation of Al Ittihad is not good in the Saudi League and they are in the 5th place of the table with 28 points.

Al Nassr is a team that has the most competitive depth compared to all existing teams, including their rival teams Al Hilal and Al Iithad. as for Al Shabab, this season this team seems to be drowning in competition. moreover, finishing in the top four of the Saudi Pro League seems to be something that is difficult for them to achieve this season. like it or not, in the following season Al Shabab must participate in strengthening their squad if they want to remain one of the elite teams in this competition. well, for Al Nassr, they should be at the top of the standings with the depth of the team they have. unfortunately, Al Nassr stumbled in 3 matches with defeats. finally, Al Nassr lost in an away match against Al Hilal. now, the two teams are separated by 10 points. the difference is, Al Nassr has 1 match postponed. actually, this competition still has a lot of matches left, even half of the season is not over yet. so, as one of the elite teams and has a competitive squad. they will not stop until this, there are still many opportunities and they will even be increasingly challenged to show their best game. well, the problem now is in Al Hilal. if Al Hilal slips in their 3 matches, Al Nassr has the opportunity to reduce the points gap between these two teams. let's just wait and see, there are still a lot of matches left.

Talking about the match against Al-Ettifaq, so far I don't dare to speculate. moreover, there is a break for Steven Gerrard to work on his strategy so as not to lose points in the match against Al Nassr. even though Al-Ettifaq didn't win in their 5 matches, Gerrard can now rely on Moussa Dembele again in their front line. on paper and based on betting odds, Al Nassr is far superior. however, to be sure we have to wait for this match to be held.