‘Last place’ Suwon Samsung has drawn the knife. The team has decided to part ways with head coach Kim Byung-soo.
An official familiar with the K League Baseball situation told Sports Chosun on the 25th, “Suwon has decided to part ways with coach Kim Byung-soo. Suwon plans to appoint a successor coach as soon as possible.” The club and Kim talked about the move on the 25th, and Kim reportedly packed his bags. While it’s not impossible that the situation could change, Suwon has opted for “shock therapy” for now.
This means that Kim, 텍사스홀덤 who was appointed on May 4, will be out in disgrace in less than five months. Suwon, which has been battling relegation this season, has already had two coaches pack their bags, following the departure of Lee Byung-geun earlier this year.
Suwon is in the worst possible situation. They are in last place with 22 points. This season’s K League 1 is a ‘1+2’ system. The last place team is relegated directly, while the 10th and 11th place teams play a playoff. Avoiding the bottom of the table is a priority. But things haven’t been going well lately. They’ve lost four in a row, while 11th-place Gangwon FC (25 points) has been picking up points and widening the gap. After a series of lethargic games, including a 0-1 loss against Daegu FC despite having the numerical advantage, and a 1-3 defeat against Daejeon Hana Citizens due to a frustrating performance, the sense of crisis grew even more.
Starting with the 0-3 loss to Jeonbuk Hyundai on May 10, Kim sat on the Suwon bench and hasn’t been able to rebound since his appointment. In 22 matches since his appointment, the team has only won five, drawn five and lost 12. After an initial 2-2 start, Kim’s side fell into a nine-match winless streak (four draws and five losses), and while they seemed to come back to life with wins over Ulsan Hyundai and Gangwon FC, they soon slipped back into the doldrums. In seven games, they won one, drew one, and lost five. Recently, they have lost four in a row.
Kim switched to practical soccer instead of ‘bottle ball’ and chased results. Of course, he also tried to improve his squad. In the summer transfer market, he brought in Kazuki, Weric Pofo, Kim Joo-won, and Kim Gum-yeol to make changes. Although there were some improvements in performance, the expected results were not produced. There were problems with the squad itself, such as injuries and declining fitness, but there were also voices of disappointment with Kim’s mercenary tactics, such as lineup selection, substitutions, and strategy.
With relegation looming, there was no more time to wait. Suwon made another move, and it was a managerial change.