Last Updated:	Saturday, 20 January 2007
	Page:	Premiership Comment & Features

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Premiership Comment & Features

Premiership News & Gossip

By Harvey Browne,

China Monitor (UK) Sports Division

Solid First Season in the English Premier League for Chinese Duo.

With two thirds of the season complete, it is a good time to reflect on the contributions made by the first two Chinese footballers to appear in the English Premier League.

Li Tie.

After appearing in the World Cup for China in the summer, Li Tie joined Everton on a one-year loan deal from Liaoning Bodao and has gone on to make a big impact at Goodison Park with some solid displays playing in a central midfield role for the rejuvenated club.

Under the guidance of one of the most promising new managers in the Premiership, David Moyes, Li Tie has appeared in 24 of Everton’s 26 league games. He has made a big contribution to the clubs rise up the table, which sees them challenging for European qualification with 12 games to go. He has made a midfield position his own with some sterling and creative displays for the club. No mean feat in England where competition is intense and the standard so high.

The club are currently 5^th in the league table and Li Tie has made an important contribution to the improvement in the clubs fortunes. This was in evidence on Saturday 1^st February, when he created the two goals that ensured victory over Leeds United at Goodison Park. His Man of the Match display helped to win the midfield battle for the Toffeemen and epitomised the progress he has made since arriving in England. This was the first time for 50 years that Everton had beaten Leeds home and away in the same season.

It seems certain that Everton will seek to extend the loan agreement for Li Tie, arranged through the clubs sponsorship deal with the Chinese Electronics Company, Kenjian

He is currently preparing to return to China, to take part in a prestigious International Friendly match against the current World Champions, Brazil.

Sun Jihai

Sun Jihai also appeared in the World Cup for China, although he only made one appearance after suffering an ankle injury in the first game. He returned to his Club side, Manchester City, looking forward to his first season in the English Premier League after he had helped them gain promotion in 2002. He joined the club in March 2002 from his home club Dalian Wanda. This is Sun Jihai’s second spell in England, having played in the English First Division previously with Crystal Palace.

In England, the gulf between the Premier League and the First Division is immense, and promoted clubs have great difficulty adjusting to the new standards they must maintain in order to survive.

Sun Jihai has made a big contribution to Manchester City’s achievements so far this season, which has seen the club establish itself in mid-table, with a possibility of making a challenge for a European place. This must be seen as a big success in light of the fact that the other promoted clubs, Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion, can currently be found struggling to avoid a return to the lower division, a pattern that is usually repeated every season.

He became the first Chinese footballer to score in the English Premier League when he found the net with a header in the 2-0 victory over Birmingham in November. He scored a second goal for the club in the 3-0 December victory over Sunderland. He has appeared in 22 of Manchester City’s 26 league games, although he was relegated to the substitutes bench in the recent surprise 2-1 home defeat to West Bromwich Albion. Manager Kevin Keegan has recently introduced a new signing to the squad, French defender David Sommeil, and on this occasion it was Sun Jihai who made way to allow the Frenchman to make his debut for the club.

His ability to play well in several different positions ensures he will continue to be regarded as a valuable member of Manchester City’s first team squad.

So both players can look back on the season so far with pride in the knowledge that they can be truly regarded as established Premier League players, having successfully adapted and integrated into English football.

It would be no surprise if their triumphs were to lead to English scouts paying the fullest attention to Chinese football, with the result that many more Chinese players will be invited to join English Premier League clubs in the future.