Gyeongnam FC Season Review

In all honesty, in all my time following Gyeongnam since the 2008 season.  The season just past has to go down as an absolute disaster on and off the field of play.

We finished 3rd bottom on 43 points and finished the season by scoring the lowest number of goals. We found the net a measly number of only 30 times in 40 games. I truly shocking stat. Granted, and I've said this all season, our defence was very good and we only conceded 43 goals all season and we had in my opinion one of the best keepers in the league.  He pulled off some wonderful saves all season and kept the scoreline down to a respectable score at times.

The problems started way back in the latter half of last season when we lost our long term sponsor in STX and sure enough our relegation to the Challenge league just added to the misery.

Obviously with relegation, the books have to be weighed up and cuts in certain areas are going to be made.  We made cuts to the staff and more so the players left, right and center.  Having the heart of our side ripped out and all of the coaching staff finding pastures new it left us fans wondering and truly pondering the future of Gyeongnam football club.  A club that I cried at when we lost a last minute goal in extra time of the FA cup final in the Steelyard against Pohang.  A club that I've worked for and still do in a small capacity now, so to get to know the staff somewhat and see how the club is run from the inside.  This last season it had become a circus.  Players loaned in from other clubs, certain players loaned out to weight out the books.  High earners shipped elsewhere to save on money.

Of course the attendance dipped dramatically with us getting barely over 1500 through the turnstiles on any given match day.  It came to a stage with me when I would get up on match day and not want to go or be bothered to go anymore.  As many people on this site know me, I have a wife and two sons, 5 and 2 years old.  So getting to every game is near impossible with family commitments etc and when I do go now it's usually with one of my sons or on an occasion both.

The final straw for me was when Milos our only striker capable of finding the net if given the service was just axed and sent home with about 6 or 7 games remaining when on 9 goals.  Maybe he was injured, I know his wife was heavily pregnant, maybe he went home to be with her during the birth. But when I found out the reason he was fired I was gobsmacked.  If he scores 10 goals in the season he gets a huge goal scored bonus from the club.  But we weren't in a financial position to pay him the bonus so they just simply let him go back to Serbia.

Thereafter I think I went to just one more home game.  Our final home game of the season, a  0-0 draw against Goyang HI FC.  As the players came over to say thank you a large majority of the fans instead of clapping were shouting at the players and staff.  It had turned a bit hostile and it was about time.  Travelling up and down the country to watch such dross just got too much for some.

Now i'm reading articles that certain people at the club have been fixing games and getting in our previous foreigner players not by the book so too speak.  At the end of the day the president of Gyeongnam FC is a business man, end of.  Not a football fan or more importantly he doesn't care at all about Gyeongnam FC.  He just sees us as a business entity and nothing more.

The up and coming weeks we will see what sanctions we shall be facing.  I'm hearing from fans, huge money cuts again and no foreigners being signed for next season.

I for one am delaying my season ticket purchase until the dust has settled and the truth comes to light and we know as a club where we stand.

GYEONGNAM FC season grade-  C-

James Edrupt