Much has been said in recent years about the impatience of Arabian Gulf League clubs in hiring and firing managers, which in recurrence causes instability among the teams.
Those analyses overlook another important aspect of too much change in the domestic top flight: the steady churn of foreign players, which likewise undermines the ability of clubs to reach their potential. It may be more damaging than the coaches merry-go-round.
Grafite, the Al Ahli captain and striker, said that changing the foreign players too often affects a team's dynamics and tactics, especially if the expatriates man key positions in the side.
"I think it's very important to have a stable team," he said. "It's good to add one or two players every year to strengthen the team; everyone does that. But to change two or three players every year who are the spine of the team, then that affects greatly.
"Time should be given to these foreigners as they come in from another country, league and culture and they need to settle in."
He cited as an example Ricardo Quaresma, the Portuguese forward who joined Ahli in January and remains under contract with the club, but is not playing.
"People say that he was not a good buy for Ahli," Grafite said, "but we should not forget he was injured for six months before he joined us mid-season, so you have to be patient for him to settle in."
In the past three seasons, many teams have changed two or three of their foreign players – only four can be in a side according to league rules– citing their failure to settle or a lack of talent.
The run-up to the 2013/14 season, which begins today, has seen Al Wahda and Dubai change all four foreigners since the end of last season. Baniyas, Al Dhafra, Al Nasr, Al Shaab, Al Wasl and Baniyas replaced three.
Only Al Ain, Al Shabab and Ajman retained three of their four expats, and it perhaps is no coincidence that those clubs are regarded among the best-run clubs in the country.
The question is, how many of these players will be around come next season?
Al Jazira's Brazilian striker, Ricardo Oliveira, is beginning his fifth season with the same club, the only expat who can make that claim. He says constancy in the team is as important as the stability of a manager.
"It affects you as a player, especially as a striker," he said. "You have to build a relation with the midfielders on how you make your movement and runs. The midfielders have to understand your game and you have to understand their game.
"Changing the midfielders who are here, whether foreign or Emirati, it affects the team and I have to quickly adapt as we at Al Jazira fight for trophies and it's not thinkable to end a season without a trophy, as the club has high ambitions."
Baniyas can explain their switching out of three expats as being an expression of their push for young foreigners: the Chilean forward Carlos Munoz, is 24; the Argentinian Luis Farina, 22; and the Omani Abdulsalam Al Mukhaini, 25. That sort of change makes more sense, if those players are to grow with the club.
The Al Wahda defender Ahmed Essa has a slightly different outlook on foreign players in the UAE. "My point of view is that professional players are a good back-up plan for some positions that locals can't find, to cover them," said Essa, a UAE native.
"As you know, it's rare to find in our league a very good striker who can give you 90 minutes or more, with all my respect to the local strikers in our league.
"Also, there is a lot of experience we get from foreigners in their performances or even their lifestyle in football. Because, to be honest, we all wish to play abroad and be like them, travelling from a country to another. So I believe it's a motivation for us, as well.
"Our new foreign players are good this year and better than last year's, and so far in camp we saw their qualities and performance, so they will be a good addition for us this year and hopefully we support them to get to our target."
He has a favourite, among Wahda's expats: Marco Estrada, because the Chilean midfielder reminds Essa of a key player in the side's 2010 league championship: Andre Luciano da Silva, better known as Pinga.
And where was Pinga, in the season following the championship? At Al Ahli, where he never settled. In the same campaign, Wahda went from first to fourth.
sports@thenational.ae
