Seasons2019-20Everton News

Li Tie takes China reins

Thursday, 2 January, 2020 23comments  |  Jump to last
Former Everton midfielder Li Tie has been appointed as the new manager of the Chinese national team.

He takes over from Marcello Lippi who recently resigned his post as China's head coach.

Li spent four years with the Toffees and made 40 appearances in all competitions before leaving in 2006.

He had a spell with Sheffield United but only made one start for them before returning to his native China to represent Chengdu Blades and Liaoning Whowin before hanging up his boots.  

Reader Comments (23)

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Robert Tressell
1 Posted 02/01/2020 at 18:44:02
Great news. My favourite ever Chinese evertonian - just ahead of Li Weifeng. Great servants to the club. The chinese ossie and hibbo.
Jimmy Hogan
2 Posted 02/01/2020 at 18:49:03
I remember a stupid journalist asking him how he thought he would cope with the English Winter. Through his interpreter, he said that it got down to minus twenty in the winter where he came from, so he thought he would cope fine.
Mike Gaynes
3 Posted 02/01/2020 at 18:53:52
Congrats to Li Tie... very much enjoyed him as a player. He's been managing my father-in-law's hometown team Wuhan Zall, which won promotion to the Chinese Super League last year and finished a very impressive 6th this season.

China is currently ranked a dismal 76th in the world, behind such football luminaries as North Macedonia and Guinea and just ahead of Cuco Martina's Curacao, so Li has some tough work ahead of him.

Jimmy, yep, I've been to his hometown in the winter, and he wasn't kidding. It's located near the North Korean border.

Keith Harrison
4 Posted 02/01/2020 at 19:07:15
Mike, sure it isn't Wuhan F*** All, a bit like us of late??

Sorry, I'll get me coat!

Mike Gaynes
5 Posted 02/01/2020 at 19:22:19
No comment, Keith!
Keith Harrison
6 Posted 02/01/2020 at 19:45:06
Always a first Mike, hehe.

Oh by the way, any knowledge on my missing coat???

Justin Doone
7 Posted 02/01/2020 at 20:25:55
He is a great reminder of how bad things were under Moyes and what he achieved with us really was superb.

But more importantly how an average player can fit in and make a team tick by sheer effort, determination, self belief and keeping things simple.

Everton need to bring in a psychologist to help with determination and self belief. The club has missed the boat on this.

Liam Reilly
8 Posted 02/01/2020 at 20:56:19
He only played 40 games for Everton; I would've thought much more as he was on the books for a few seasons.
Dave Williams
9 Posted 02/01/2020 at 21:04:51
Looked a decent player but broke his leg I think and was never quite the same
David Donnellan
10 Posted 02/01/2020 at 21:27:08
I remember watching him play not long after he signed on loan for us. He looked a decent player in the game I watched. Never quite got his Everton career going.

Nice to hear he is making strides as a manager.

Howard Don
11 Posted 02/01/2020 at 23:17:51
Really liked Li, he had a great attitude and gave 100%. Was probably never going to make it to the very top but looked a really useful player for a while. After that serious leg break he was never quite the same - shame.
John McGimpsey
12 Posted 02/01/2020 at 23:23:49
We never exploited the fact he was the chinese beckham... thanks bill you total waste of space...sorry your sick (fuck off) but if you review that season he was so instrumental in creating goal making passes
Mike Gaynes
13 Posted 03/01/2020 at 02:09:07
The "Chinese Beckham"????
Kieran Kinsella
14 Posted 03/01/2020 at 03:38:53
“Chinese Beckham” more like the Chinese Scott Parker: diminutive, neat and tidy. One thing about him, like Tobias Linderoth before him, while neither were great, they seemed to be lucky charms. We never seemed to lose when they played. As I recall, it was suggested he was afraid of being tackled after his serious injury so was never quite the same. But personally I liked him, he did a job for us, best of luck to him.
Jack Convery
15 Posted 03/01/2020 at 04:22:51
Good to hear. He never gave less than 100% for the jersey.
Jim Bennings
16 Posted 03/01/2020 at 08:12:43
Played so many fantastic forward passes for Tomasz Radzinski during the early part of 2002/03 I recall, many more than the so-called big money midfielders we have now!
Ray Roche
17 Posted 03/01/2020 at 08:59:30
I remember reading at the time that he had a fan base that dwarfed Beckham, because he was the first Chinese player to transfer to the Premier so, yes, the Chinese Beckham.
Paul O'Neill
18 Posted 03/01/2020 at 09:07:21
Best of luck to him and any former Evertonian who is managing. Once a Blue etc!
Derek Knox
19 Posted 03/01/2020 at 10:07:04
Personally I liked the guy and he did try his best, but was unlucky with injuries. I wish him all the very best for the future and if he wants Schneiderlin, Niasse and Tosun plus a few others!

We can do a good deal! Old Everton Boy's Club and all that, we hopefully will have a spare Chairman too!

Francis van Lierop
20 Posted 03/01/2020 at 14:19:55
I remember him as he played on my first visit to Goodison.
There's me thinking that we were the first club to have Chinese players, we should have got a proper shirt sponsor from China, the emerging economic power-house. Still not too late.
We then got Chang for tuppence ha'penny.

Which leads to the next question, can we get a proper (paying) one next season, as Sports Pesa seems to be a bit dodgy.

Not since NEC have we had a global shirt sponsor.

Michael Stevenson
21 Posted 03/01/2020 at 18:51:17
Didn't we have the record for the most watched TV match ever at one point? It was us against City (before they were good) and we each had a Chinese player (Li Tie being ours). The whole of China tuned in to watch and we had a world wide audience of over 1 billion. It was an embarassing god-awful 0-0 draw if I remember right.
Dave Abrahams
22 Posted 03/01/2020 at 19:16:24
Frank Soo was the first Chinese ( mixed race)player to play in English football. Born in Buxton but brought up in Liverpool, he might have played for Liverpool Boys.

Scouted by Everton and Liverpool he signed for Prescott Cables and then signed by Stoke City, he was the first non white player to represent England, although it was in war time football. He became a very good coach in various countries and it was believed, by some football writers, that he was held back in his football career because of his colour.

Peter Roberts
23 Posted 04/01/2020 at 08:59:18
Lit Tie could teach a few of our midfielders how to pass a ball. He shone in the first season (when Rooney broke through) but then got a serious injury and hardly played again. One my favourite players that season.

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