Hong Kong Football Club boss says sky is limit for young team, sets big target
Chancy Cooke preparing for second campaign in charge after huge summer overhaul, as youngsters replace departed veterans
After overseeing a calculated squad overhaul, Chancy Cooke has set Football Club an ambitious top-half target for the new campaign.
In the longer term, head coach Cooke said that should his wholehearted backing of young talent pay off, the “sky is the limit” for an aspirational club.
Since finishing bottom of last season’s local Premier League, the South African has waved goodbye to thirtysomethings Andy Russell, Jack Sealy, Freddie Toomer and Marcus McMillan. Talented left-back Callum Beattie moved to Kitchee.
Of 14 new additions, only three are older than 25. Nine are 24 or younger.
Cooke said Football Club had studied data-driven models applied elsewhere, as they targeted the “athletic and young players who will allow us to get at teams, be forward thinking, possession dominant and aggressive”.
“Recruiting those types of individuals works for our game model, as well as where we are financially and in our development process,” Cooke added.