Couldn't hurt to throw cash at the problem

Shanghai Shenhua has raised its bonus rates to motivate its players during the new Chinese Super League season.

Under the revised scheme, the team, as a whole, will be rewarded with 1.5 million yuan ($24,000) for each CSL victory, up from 1 million yuan last season.

The amount for a home draw is 400,000 yuan, while a tie on the road earns 800,000 yuan. The club also scrapped its fine for defeats.

It is hoped these incentives will inspire the players and keep the team out of the relegation zone.

"The generous reward mechanism will boost players to perform better in the games," the Shanghai Youth Daily quoted an unidentified team insider as saying.

Because of the special difficulties the team faces this year, the significance of not being relegated is as important as being crowned," the insider added.

"I don't need the players to save money for me. Come and pick up the bonus if you can," said Zhu Jun, the club's largest shareholder.

The club has also abandoned its strategy of signing big-name internationals like Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka.

Apart from Colombian midfielder Giovanni Moreno, who joined the side last season, Shenhua's foreign stocks include Portuguese striker Eduardo Fernandes Pereira Gomes, Argentine halfback Rolando Schiavi, Argentine midfielder Patricio Toranzo and Syrian striker Firas Al -Khatib.

(China Daily 03/07/2013 page23)