Monday, June 30, 2008
Can Super Reds Do It?
Nearly half way through the season and with Super Reds still snapping at the heels of the mighty SAFFC now seems as good a time as any to consider the impact of ‘foreign’ backed teams in the SLeague.
Albirex Niigata were the first side to enter the league and, to date, have been the longest running with the current SLeague 2008 being their 5th campaign to date. The Japanese side finished 5th in their first two seasons but have fallen away since then and the current campaign has seen on the receiving end of some right thumpings.
Backed by one of Japan’s best supported club’s with the same name Albirex Niigata are content with being a feeder club for it’s parent by providing up and coming talent with competitive football on a weekly level.
Sinchi were a Chinese backed club who spent three seasons plying their trade in the league before withdrawing ahead of the 2006 season. Their record saw them finishing 7th in their debut season then successive 9th placed finishes.
Sporting Afrique arrived in 2006 in a blaze of publicity but it was headlines of the wrong sort that led to their early demise as they ended the season 9th out of 11 and their application to continue in the league was rejected.
2007 saw two new foreign teams enter the fray. Liaonang Guangyuan were a feeder club for Chinese side Liaonang but their season also ended in ignominy as match fixing charges were leveled at several players and officials. They finished 10th in the 12 team league and were ceremoniously booted out of the league.
The other new team started life as the Korean Super Reds and while they avoided controversy off the pitch, on it they were woeful managing just three wins in that first season and finishing bottom of the table. In August they changed their name to Super Reds but results stayed the same and it was probably a relief for all when the season ended.
To replace Liaonang in 2008 the SLeague again looked to China and Dalian Shide. With established Albirex Niigata and Super Reds these three sides would provide the foreign element but would they just be whipping boys or would there be more to come?
As I write this Super Reds are joint top with SAF having amassed 35 points from their 14 games. Compare this with the meager 18 they managed all last season! Their 29 goals thus far has already exceeded last season’s paltry 24. On the other hand Dalian and Albirex are finding success hard. They have just three wins each and lie 10th and 9th respectively in the table.
Can Super Reds break the mould and win the SLeague? That of course remains to be seen but success in the domestic league would not mean they could play in any AFC Cup as SLeague regulations prevent ‘foreign’ teams representing Singapore.
What next for foreign teams in Singapore? We already have sides from Brunei, Thailand and Cambodia regularly competing in the Singapore resembling a surrogate ASEAN Cup. Local pride would no doubt prevent a Malaysian side playing on the other side of the causeway but an Indonesian side would be interesting. Tapping into the large numbers of Indonesians who work and study in Singapore they could break all attendance records.
For now though we have the sight of the cavalier Super Reds taking on the local powerhouses SAFFC and Home United and making the title race very interesting indeed!
Albirex Niigata were the first side to enter the league and, to date, have been the longest running with the current SLeague 2008 being their 5th campaign to date. The Japanese side finished 5th in their first two seasons but have fallen away since then and the current campaign has seen on the receiving end of some right thumpings.
Backed by one of Japan’s best supported club’s with the same name Albirex Niigata are content with being a feeder club for it’s parent by providing up and coming talent with competitive football on a weekly level.
Sinchi were a Chinese backed club who spent three seasons plying their trade in the league before withdrawing ahead of the 2006 season. Their record saw them finishing 7th in their debut season then successive 9th placed finishes.
Sporting Afrique arrived in 2006 in a blaze of publicity but it was headlines of the wrong sort that led to their early demise as they ended the season 9th out of 11 and their application to continue in the league was rejected.
2007 saw two new foreign teams enter the fray. Liaonang Guangyuan were a feeder club for Chinese side Liaonang but their season also ended in ignominy as match fixing charges were leveled at several players and officials. They finished 10th in the 12 team league and were ceremoniously booted out of the league.
The other new team started life as the Korean Super Reds and while they avoided controversy off the pitch, on it they were woeful managing just three wins in that first season and finishing bottom of the table. In August they changed their name to Super Reds but results stayed the same and it was probably a relief for all when the season ended.
To replace Liaonang in 2008 the SLeague again looked to China and Dalian Shide. With established Albirex Niigata and Super Reds these three sides would provide the foreign element but would they just be whipping boys or would there be more to come?
As I write this Super Reds are joint top with SAF having amassed 35 points from their 14 games. Compare this with the meager 18 they managed all last season! Their 29 goals thus far has already exceeded last season’s paltry 24. On the other hand Dalian and Albirex are finding success hard. They have just three wins each and lie 10th and 9th respectively in the table.
Can Super Reds break the mould and win the SLeague? That of course remains to be seen but success in the domestic league would not mean they could play in any AFC Cup as SLeague regulations prevent ‘foreign’ teams representing Singapore.
What next for foreign teams in Singapore? We already have sides from Brunei, Thailand and Cambodia regularly competing in the Singapore resembling a surrogate ASEAN Cup. Local pride would no doubt prevent a Malaysian side playing on the other side of the causeway but an Indonesian side would be interesting. Tapping into the large numbers of Indonesians who work and study in Singapore they could break all attendance records.
For now though we have the sight of the cavalier Super Reds taking on the local powerhouses SAFFC and Home United and making the title race very interesting indeed!
# posted by Me @ 5:44 PM 
