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Monday, August 31, 2009

 

Yangon United

As the soccer season nears, soccer observers are talking about Yangon United FC’s owner, Tay Za, who is known to be close to the ruling generals and the owner of Air Bagan, who reportedly invested more than 500 million kyat (US $500,000) into his team this year, according to a source at the Myanmar Football Federation.Some observers questioned how a Burmese soccer club could expect to recoup such a large investment.

Tay Za told the First Eleven journal that he will pay higher salaries to some players this year, and he plans to distribute 10,000 free jerseys. He also plans to offer free transportation for fans who wish to attend games in Mandalay, about 383 miles north of Rangoon.

Yangon United Club has been scheduled to play a friendly match with Thailand Port FC, Pattaya United and Tero Sasana FC on August 20, 24 and 26 in Thailand. The team will fly in sports reporters from Burma to cover the match.

According to soccermyanmar, an online magazine, Sai Khin Maung Aye, the CEO of Yangon United, said the match against Tero Sasana FC has been canceled because the Thai club will begin league competition in August.

After the league competition in Burma, promising youth players will be sent to Tero Sasana FC of Thailand to improve their skills, according to soccer sources.

Tero Sasana FC’s managing director, Brian Marcar, is American-Burmese, according to sport journalists in Burma.

Salaries for players with Yangon United FC reportedly range from $200 to $1,200 a month. Each game’s best performer is awarded a Man of the Match award of 500,000 kyat ($500).

The president of the club, Pyae Phyo Tay Za, the son of Tay Za, said a shop selling football club products will open soon on Sule Road at Rangoon.

The new professional clubs were formed with a minimum investment of 200 million kyat ($180,000). Some clubs have spent more than 1,000 million kyat ($900,000) to cover costs of salaries, players’ contract fees, transportation, advertising and equipment, according to local sports journalists.

Taken from Democracy for Burma

 

Thai Premier League club websites

Bangkok United
Bangkok Glass
BEC Tero Sasana
Chonburi
Chula United
Muang Thong United
Nakhorn Pathom
Osotsapa
Raj Navy Rayong
Samut Songkram
Sri Racha
Thai Port
TTM Samut Sakorn
TOT

 

Persiba lose key players

Persiba Balikpapan impressed me on the two occassions I saw them last season, narrowly losing 2-1 to Persija despite taking the lead, and putting on a show against Persitara.

This time round however they have lost some key players. Argentinian Adrian Trinidad has, I understand, been released, while Mushafry is keen to move to another club. He seemed all set to sign for newly promoted Persebaya but backed out and is now being linked with Persija.

Australian midfielder Robbie Gaspar has also left, he moved to newly promoted Persema.

 

Semen Padang

IPL side Semen Padang have appointed the experienced Moldovan coach Arcan Iurie to lead them to the ISL. Iurie has previously coached Persib, Persik and Persebaya.

Meanwhile their former striker Edward Wilson Junior has been trying out with Persik but it appears the 2006 champions would prefer to have Patricio Morales.

 

Sriwijaya fancy Malaysian opposition

With the Inter Island Cup cancelled, don't ask, Sriwijaya are scouting round for possible friendlies and are looking to line up a game against Selangor from Malaysia. Earlier in the month of course Sriwijaya defeated another Malaysian side, Perlis, 3-0 while last month Selangor beat Persib 2-0, albeit with goals from guest Indonesian Bambang Pamungkas.

 

New Indonesian season

2009/2010 kicks off in Indonesia on 4th October with the Community Shield between champions Persipura and Copa winners Sriwijaya at the Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta. This of course is a rematch of the Copa final when Persipura walked off and saw the game awarded to Sriwijaya.

A week later the Indonesian Super League gets under way. Fixtures should be, could be, out in the second week of September. The second tier Premier League will begin a couple of weeks later.

 

PSM Chase young Aussie

It's been reported locally that PSM are interested in signing 24 year old Aussie striker Robert Younis. The striker is currently in his second spell with NSW state league side APIA Leichhardt. In his first two seasons with APIA he hit 38 goals in 43 games, form which saw him snapped up by A League side Adelaide United. He wasn't able to replicate that form at a higher level and has since returned to APIA.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

 

Weekend results

Thai Premier League

Chonburi v PEA 3-0
Bangkok Glass v Samut Songkram 2-1
Chula United v TOT 1-1
Raj Navy v Thai Port 1-2
Osotsapa v BEC Tero 0-3
Pattaya United v Bangkok United 2-0
Sri Racha v Muang Thong United 0-1

1 - Muang Thong United 22 14 5 3 35-15 47
2 - Chonburi 22 14 4 4 37-22 46
3 - Bangkok Glass 22 12 7 3 32-21 43

Singapore Cup

Geylang United v Home United 2-1 (Noor Ali, Baihakki Khaizan; Valery Hiek) 899

 

Reid saga degenerates into farce

The latest tale from Bangkok has Peter Reid doing two jobs at the same time. The Bangkok Post is reporting that Reid wants to be assistant manager at Stoke City and then returning to Thailand after the TPL season has ended to take charge of the Thais in their crucial Asian Cup qualifying games against Singapore.

Because Guus Hiddink did it last year, the logic goes, Reid can do it this year. Of course I don't recall Hiddink have any important international dates on his calender. Reid does. Well, inportant for Thailand.

Thai culture of course is very accommodating on this matter. The mia noi concept is deeply ingrained in society there and the fact that Reid's mistress would be based in England would only add to his status.

But. The story says Reid won't return till the end of the Thai season. Why? Doesn't he need to see the players play? Doesn't he need to see he is carrying knocks? Doesn't he need to see who is in form or out of form?

'Cos if he doesn't then seriously what can he bring to training sessions if at the end of the day he is only doing half the job? Imagine the outcry if some Italian side side like Verona Hellas wanted Fabio Capello to help out for a few weeks? Would the English media be so accommodating? Why not just send Steve Darby the training schedule and have him get on with it.

The Thai FA needs to get tough. They should say to Reid you either work for us, on what we pay you for a full time job, or you work for Stoke. Juggling both jobs is unacceptable.

UPDATE - now we have this! Let's just wait until Peter Reid says something himself. Interesting though that Stoke have been looking active all of a sudden in the transfer window...

Saturday, August 29, 2009

 

Thai teams dominate Singapore Cup

It's been a torrid season thus far for Singapore. The national team has struggled, even Liverpool beat them, the Young Lions preperations for the SEA Games are floundering without a recognised goal scorer and DPMM (from Brunei) won the League Cup.

Last night in the Singapore Cup Thai side TTM Samut Sakhorn defeated DPMM 3-1 in front of 1,506 fans at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

Paul Bekombo gave the Smokers the lead on 16' before adding a second on the hour mark. Abu Bakar Mahari pulled one back for DPMM but Aly Camara made it safe for TTM on 89'.

That means both Thai teams, TTM and Bangkok Glass take leads into the 2nd legs.

Tomorrow night sees Geylang United take on current in form team Home United. Nothing tonight 'cos Manchester United are playing.

Friday, August 28, 2009

 

Two national team coaches

One is Peter Reid. Stoke City say the Thai manager is as good as theirs. The man himself has said nothing but one story has quoted him as saying he is happy to be the number two with Stoke.

The other is Benny Dollo in Indonesia. In a wonderful example of compromise the FA said that no, he could not become the coach of Persija while he was still working with the national team. Fair enough with vital qualifiers coming up in November and January for the Asian Cup. However if he wants to be techincal director or summat like that...

Reid is obviously keen to return to English football and has always said so. But to quit as the manager of a national team to line up the cones for someone else's training sessions? Which looks better on the resume?

 

Sarawak have no money

ERIC SAMUEL
Sarawak have conceded that they will merely be making up the numbers in the Malaysia Cup competition.

Caretaker coach Abdul Wahet Uji said that with the limited financial resources, the Crocs would have to look at ways to fulfil their obligation to complete their fixtures in Group B.

“We are in no position to talk about plans and ambitions or hiring players on loan. We are living on a day-to-day basis and we are still struggling to get funds to pay the salaries of the players and other payments owed to them,” said a disappointed Wahet.

Sarawak have been drawn in Group B with Johor, Negri Sembilan and Tereng­ganu.

Wahet said that the team had yet to commence training as they were still trying to find ways and means to pay up the outstanding salaries since March.

He added that the FA of Sarawak (FAS) were also unsure of their position in the Premier League next season as they have yet to pay up the RM377,132 owed to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).

The FA of Malaysia (FAM) have set Nov 30 as the deadline and teams who fail to do so face expulsion from the Malaysian Super League (MSL) next season.

For next season, the FAM have also laid down mandatory conditions for participating teams.

Teams in the Super League must have a minimum budget of RM2.5mil and be able to deposit RM150,000 with the FAM by Oct 14 while teams in the Premier League need to have a budget of RM1.5mil and a deposit of RM100,000.

We still owe the players about RM400,000 in salaries alone since 2007. It is hard to see how the team will be able to survive next season if we are unable to find any sponsors to bail us out,” said Wahet, who is also the executive secretary of the FAS.

“I’ve to juggle my time doing adminis­tration work at the office and also as a coach. This is the third time they have call­ed me to assist the team after the previous coaches resigned because of non-payment of salaries. This is nothing new here.”

Wahet had replaced David Mitchel in 2006, Pengiran Bala in 2007 and Robert Alberts this season after the Dutchman left the team after barely three months.

Sarawak’s total gate collections (13 home matches) this season came to about RM30,000. But their travelling expenses alone was about RM260,000. It costs them RM20,000 each time the team fly out of Kuching for matches.

In the 13-team Premier League this season, Sarawak finished one rung off the basement.

COMMENT - umm, what can you say?! Are the FA brave enough to say enough is enough?

 

Robbie Gaspar

Australian Robbie Gaspar seems to have been around for ages. The 28 year old midfielder has been playing in Indonesia since 2005 when he lined up with Persita. But even before then he had had a colourful career.

He started his career as a 16 year old in Croatia with Hajduk Split before returning to his home land with Sydney Olympic. In 2001 he joined Perth SC in the city of his borth but he was never able to make a breakthrough into top flight football downunder and so in 2002 he tried his luck in Asia.

His forst team was QAF in Brunei before moving to Sabah in 2003 while 22 years old. Perhaps under the tutelage of St George old boy Scott Olleranshaw?

After Persita he packed his toothbrush and moved to Persiba where he spent three years before now landing in East Java with Persema.

(source - Bola!)

 

Home back in familiar territory

SLeague

Albirex Niigata v Home United 1-2 (Kenji Adichahara; Peres De Oliveira, Valery Hiek) 1,131
SAF v Woodlands Wellington 1-0 (Park Tae Won) 1,639

SAF remain 11 points clear at the top of the SLeague after a narrow victory over the Rams who have been proving a tough opponent this season for the big boys. Meanwhile Home United continued their recent fine form climbing to 3rd and look back on four wins in their last five games including tricky opponents like SAF, DPMM, Tampines and Albirex.

Srivaji's men looking good for the final run in. Champions, no way, but a top four finish could be on the cards and that hasn't been said all season.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

 

Sayonara, Persikad?

There aren't many 'Asian' players doing their thang in Indonesia. Robbie Gaspar, Aussies are the new Asians, has just signed for Persema after a few seasons with Persiba is perhaps the best known.

Then there is Yusuke Sasa. The Japanese midfield player last season played with Persikad Depok in the Premier League. And while the club are making the right noises about retaining him there rumours that Persiba may be looking at him.

 

ISL new boys fancy Kosin

Persisam Samarinda, nicknamed the Borneo Eagles, have expressed an interest in Chonburi's international keeper Kosin Hathairattanakool.

The newly promoted side already have former Persita keeper Wawan Darmawan plus a couple of others but coach Aji Santoso is keen to bring in one more.

I would humbly suggest however Persisam do some homework about Thailand. Previously they had intended going to see the Thais take on Iraq in a friendly that the Thais knew nothing about.

Now they admit they don't know much about Kosin, ie his contract status. The article likewise is in the dark about him as the headline says 'mantan' which means former.

For their information the Thai Premier League ends in October. After that the Thais have a couple of Asian Cup qualifiers against Singapore in November. So probably the earliest he could arrive, if he was interested, would be late April.

I was over in Thailand back in June and Kosin told me then that he would be open to a return to Indonesia, we discussed his former club Persib, but you never know if he was just being polite!

 

Singapore Cup

Phnom Penh Crown v Bangkok Glass 1-2 (Chan Chaya; Chatree Chimtail, Mathee Pungpo) 1,095

TPL challengers Bangkok Glass came from behind to defeat Cambodian side PPC last night at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore in front of a crowd that was bigger than any recent SLeague games.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

 

The not so vulgar Bulgar

Having been spurned by Indonesian national team coach Benny Dollo, Persija are now focussing their attention on former national team coach Ivan Kolev.

The Bulgarian with the 80s style coiffured hair has previously worked with Persipura and had interested Arema until they went cloggy.

 

Sriwijaya close in on old man

Sriwijaya are hoping to bring 35 year Liberian striker Oliver Makor to Indonesia next month. The old guy, recommended by his compatriot Zah Rahan, would complete their allowance of three foreigners.

Makor, who has recently spent time in Greece, the country not the musical which is spelt differnt anyway, is a Liberian international.

What's the point? Kieth Kayamba Gumbs is another old git the wrong side of 35. OK, they have Mostafa Aji who is about 24 but their other striker, Rahmat Rivai, is also pushing the big 3 zero. The Indonesian game can be a bit pysical at times, by putting all his eggs into the hands of these old buggers coach Rahmad Darmawan may well be looking at a few sick notes at crucial times in the season.

 

My my my, Delilah

TOR CHITTINAND

The Peter Reid saga took another twist yesterday when the Englishman was quoted as saying that he will be happy to become assistant to Stoke City manager Tony Pulis.

Football Association of Thailand (FAT) president Worawi Makudi said on Monday that he had talked to national team coach Reid.


He said Reid dismissed as speculation earlier reports that he would become Pulis' assistant.
Worawi reiterated yesterday that Reid had promised that he would see out his contract with the FAT which expires in 2012.

"I am going to England and I will discuss the matter with him," Worawi said.

The Thai football chief is visiting England as a guest of the English FA. He will see England play Slovenia in a friendly on Sept 5 and meet Croatia in a World Cup qualifier on Sept 9.

Worawi's latest comment came after The Sentinel newspaper reported yesterday that the 53-year-old former Manchester City and Sunderland manager, whose family home is in Lancashire, hopes to be unveiled soon as talks continue to amicably end his 11-month stint as Thailand's national coach.

"The weather is a bit colder back home but it will be great to be back in English football and at the top level," Reid was quoted as saying.

"I can't wait to work with a true football man like Tony. We haven't worked together before, but we have spoken plenty of times over the years about players.

"His record here is fantastic and I just hope I can play a small part in helping him continue the work done during an absolutely brilliant two years for Stoke City.

"I have worked as a number two under Howard Kendall at Everton and Howard Wilkinson with the England under-21s, so the role isn't foreign to me."

Reid, who also had managerial spells at Leeds and Coventry, intends spending plenty of time working with the players on the training pitch and joining in sessions.

"I will help Tony wherever he wants," he told the paper. "But the best thing about being a number two is that you have the time and opportunity to get out there on the training pitch."

The popular Scouser, whose playing career is best remembered at Everton, Manchester City and for England at the 1986 World Cup, also believes he will fit in perfectly in the Potteries.

"I know what the fans are like here from the past and I'd like to think I am from a similar working-class background," Reid said.

"I played at the old Victoria Ground and managed at the Britannia Stadium, so I know they're fanatical and love their football club.

"I just hope I can help them and Tony to carry on improving the stature of this club."

One source claimed there was even a chance he could be in the dugout for Stoke's Carling Cup clash at Leyton Orient tonight.

COMMENT - to be fair it matters not a jolt what Worawi thinks. Employers are usually the last to know anything in these situations. But to go from being the head of the national team to a nodding assistant at a team sure to be fighting relegation or mid table oblivion at best shows someone keen to return home at almost any price.

 

971

Tampines won the East Coast Derby last night, defeating Geylang United 1-0 in front of another shite crowd of less than 1,000.

It is worth bearing in mind the AFC will soon be requiring leagues to have an average attendance of 5,000 before they will allow teams to enter the Champions League. And that would be bye bye Singapore.

 

Deco to play in V League!?

Chelsea’s Portuguese midfielder Deco is likely to play for V-League club T&T Hanoi after the World Cup 2010 in South Africa, said the local team’s president on Tuesday.

Speaking to Thanh Nien from Portugal, club President Do Quang Hien said football broker Jorge Mendes had helped him contact Chelsea’s management board and the English Premier League club had given Hien the green light for the transfer of Deco.

Deco’s contract with Chelsea expires at the end of the 2011 season.

Additionally, Hien also said he had contacted Spain’s La Liga club Real Madrid’s Director General Jorge Valdano to discuss transferring veterans Guti and Rudd Van Nistelrooy.

If things go well, Guti and Nistelrooy could also play for T&T Hanoi in the 2010 V-League season, Hien said.

COMMENT - umm, yeah, right!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

 

Persib Bandung

First the Persib Cafe & Resto. Now comes the Persib Card. The side from Bandung are looking forward to an era when they will be self financing and will not need to go cap in hand to the local government.

The Persib Card comes in four varieties

Blue Card (10 USD)

Silver Card (100 USD)

as above plus original Persib shirt

Gold Card (500 USD)

as Blue + Silver plus one VIP ticket to every home game

Platinum Card (1000 USD)

as Blue + two original shirts plus two VIP tickets to every home game.


 

No go Dollo

The Indonesian FA have said their national team coach Benny Dollo will not be joing Persija. So there.

Now Persija have to start all over again. They have no coach and no team while the rest of the ISL are in training and preparing friendlies. This new era of professionalism...tell me again when it starts!

 

SLeague

Home United v Gombak United 1-1 (Juma'at Jantan; Ruhaizad Ismail) 762

Shit crowd but not when you consider Liverpool were playing later the same night. And as we all know Liverpool, and indeed anything English, trumps the local stuff. Psst...wanna rejoin the empire?

Monday, August 24, 2009

 

The Real Johor FC

Riizal Abdullah

JOHOR FC may not have won the Super League title, or the prestigious Malaysia Cup or for that matter the FA Cup but the club hold a proud record in the M-League.


For one, they are the longest-serving club in the M-League — 12 years to be exact — since making their debut in 1997.

Three years later Johor FC won the Premier League title and earned promotion to the Super League. The same year Johor FC became the first club to reach the Malaysia Cup quarterfinals.

Last year they achieved their best result in the Super League with a third-place finish behind champions Kedah and runners-up Selangor. In the Malaysia Cup, Johor FC narrowly lost out to “kingpins” Selangor in the two-leg semifinals.

This year, Johor FC slipped a rung in the Super League to finish fourth behind champions Selangor, runners-up Perlis and third-place Kedah.

This year’s Malaysia Cup is yet to be played and Johor FC’s chances of going far in the country’s premier football tournament are left to be seen. The Johor club have been drawn in Group C with Perak, MyTeam and Kuala Lumpur.

Like previous club teams, MyTeam are facing financial difficulties and intend to quit the M-League — a move which was shot down by the FA of Malaysia. There are others who have come and gone in the M-League but Johor FC — thanks to “good governance and professional management” are still there plying their trade.

Last Wednesday night, Johor FC reached another milestone by becoming the first club team to win the President’s Cup with a thumping 4-0 win over Terengganu in the final at JCorp Stadium in Pasir Gudang.

Johor FC president Ahamad Mohamad said: “Good governance and good management are vital in running a football team. The development programmes we started five years ago are now bearing fruit.

“I’m proud that despite being only a club team and with limited funds we have been able to achieve where others have either failed or struggled to do.”

Ahamad added that Johor FC will embark on producing “quality local coaches”.

“Azuan Zain (President’s Cup coach) brought a wealth of knowledge and this was reflected in the team’s success. “He shared that with the young boys. I was impressed with what I saw in the final,” said Ahamad.

COMMENT - Johor FC are a football club, privately owned I believe as opposed to Johor who are the state run monolith

 

Tampines Rovers v Kedah?

THE GOOD old days of the Lions taking on their neighbours across the Causeway in the Malaysia Cup may never be relived, but there are plans in the pipeline to revive the rivalry on a regular basis.

The Young Lions were invited to take part in the Malaysian FA Cup in 2006, where they qualified for the semi-finals.

There's also the annual Sultan of Selangor Cup in October when reigning Malaysian champions Selangor will take on a Singapore Selection side.

If that is not enough, there are ongoing talks between the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to create a league involving top teams from the S-League and the M-League.

'There have been talks between the FAS and the FAM to create a new league featuring the top clubs in Malaysia and Singapore,' Dato' Azzuddin Ahmad, general secretary of the FAM, told The New Paper.

'The idea was proposed by the FAM. So far, we've had two meetings and nothing is finalised yet, but it was well received by the president of FAS (Zainudin Nordin).'

The New Paper understands that the proposed league is not a season-long league and will comprise the top teams from the S-League and the M-League.

It is likely to take place in between breaks of the two leagues or in the off-season.

When asked about this, Winston Lee, general secretary of the FAS, said: 'We're in talks with our FAM counterparts to look at ways to have more matches for the national team and the clubs.'


Even if the proposed league between S-League and M-League teams does not materialise, Singapore fans can look forward to the creation of the Asean Super League.
The initial idea is for two Singapore-based clubs to form part of a regional 16-team competition.

 

Malaysia's mediocre league

MSL in such a pathetic state it badly needs a revamp
ERIC SAMUEL
NO wonder the Super League is being labelled the Super Flop.

On May 23, only 11 fans paid to watch UPB-MyTeam FC play out a drab 0-0 draw with Police in a Super League match.

This is the pathetic state of affairs of the Malaysian Super League (MSL), which will be going into its seventh season next year.

One need not look hard to know that the standard of football in Malaysia is languishing in the abyss.

Just look at our so-called treble winners Kedah. The Canaries were the laughing stock in the AFC Cup competition recently when they were thrashed 8-2 by Vietnamese outfit Binh Duong in a round of 16 match in Ho Chin Minh City.

Vietnam have raised the bar by taking their professional football league seriously – something which caught the attention of Kedah coach Mohd Azraai Khor Abdullah.

Azraai said the following in Vietnam was so big that fans even bought tickets to see their own teams in trainings.

Here in Malaysia, it’s the opposite – we have a professional league but with no foreign players.
UPB-MyTeam’s total attendance for the recently-concluded season (13 home matches) was a mere 17,635 fans and their total collection was a meagre RM180,000 – which is barely enough to settle their players’ one-month salary.


Premier League side Felda United’s total collection for their 13 home matches was less than RM4,000 (at RM5 per ticket).

If you think the state teams are doing better than the clubs, then think again. Sarawak’s total gate collection at home this season was slightly more than RM30,000 while the cost for travelling to one away match is about RM20,000.

In the 14-team Premier League, Sarawak travelled to 13 away matches, which means they would have paid a whopping RM260,000 – and that’s just for travelling expenses alone. What about food and accommodation?

Sarawak are not alone. Except for Kelantan and Selangor, all the other teams – be it in the Super League or the Premier League – have been struggling to attract their fans to fill the stadiums.

Although Selangor are the most successful state in Malaysian football, they too suffered a drop in gate collections – managing only a total of RM1.3mil this season (16 home matches).

Kelantan proved to be the most exciting of the lot, with at least 12,000 fans going through the turnstiles for each of their home matches.

The only saving grace for the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) is the FA Cup final between Selangor and Kelantan, which saw the biggest turnout in the history of the knockout competition since 1990 with an almost capacity crowd of 80,000.

Even the Harimau Muda team, the other bright spark of the season when they emerged champions of the Premier League, failed to ignite the fans’ interest. Although the Harimau Muda home matches were free of charge, the fans stayed away.

Football, to quote English Premier League CEO Richard Scudamore, is all about entertainment value, competitiveness and fans.

And that, in a nutshell, is what the MSL should be all about.

So, it was shocking to see the FAM competitions committee deciding to keep the same format – the tried and tested (and failed) Super League and Premier League – for the next five seasons.
Most of the state FAs are in the red because they are unable to generate any revenue from gate collections.


The fans have voiced their displeasure with the state of affairs of Malaysian football (by staying away) and the media are down-playing the coverage of the MSL.

Yet, FAM are contented to stick with their dull and boring format.

Looks like FAM president Sultan Ahmad Shah’s call to revamp Malaysian football in a bid to lift the standard of the game has fallen on deaf ears again.

But then, it’s not just the format of the competition that FAM should revise.
The governing body should also reconsider their decision to ban foreign imports as this would surely help to raise the quality of the game.


And this is a fact that has not been lost on Perlis FA president Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim and Kelantan’s English coach Peter Butler.

Shahidan said they had been struggling to attract the fans since Zambian imports Phillimon Chepita and Zachariah Simukonda left following the FAM’s ruling to ban foreign players this season.

Butler too strongly believes that good, quality foreign players would make a difference in raising the standard of the game in Malaysia.

Even national striker Norsharul Idlan Talaha of UPB-MyTeam had only good things to say about foreign players.

“I picked up valuable tips and skills by playing alongside Keita Mandjou when I was with Perak,” he said.

Enough said. Now, if only FAM will listen.

COMMENT - The potential is there. The FA Cup final proved that with 80,000 fans attending. But the current format, with its daft 8.45 pm kick offs is a failure (is there a more inconvenient kick off time anywhere in world football?). Don't take my word for it, check out the numbers given above. The fans have spoken. But the FAs aren't up to it.

Every year they have brainstorming sessions and every year nothing changes.

There is a promising crop of young players coming through the system in Malaysia but it is the system that will chew them up and spit them out, worthless and spent. Time perhaps for players like Norsharul to head overseas and try their luck rather than stagnate in the dull pond that is Malaysian football watched over by political appointees and the odd fan.

 

Reid to Stoke City?

Thailand national team coach Peter Reid is being linked with a move back to the English Premier League. Stoke City are said to be keen to appoint him as number two to manager Tony Pulis.

Pulis is quoted as saying "There is a minor issue about securing his release from his job with the Thailand FA but we don't believe that will present a problem for us."

Minor issue indeed. Much as when Chelsea I think it was tried to secure Sven Goran Ericsson as their manager even though he was contracted to the English FA.

Then again here in Indonesia just last week Persija were strongly linked with Indonesian national team coach Benny Dollo...

 

Arema go Dutch

Arema Malang have appointed Dutch man Rene Alberts to be their next coach. Alberts was previously working in Malaysia with Sarawak and the Malaysian national team.

Any Arema fans reading this maybe interested to know that during his spell with Sarawak the Borneo side didn't win in eight games!

The side from East Java have announced they have signed former Persik and PSMS keeper Markus Horison

 

Nwokolo heads to Portugal


Former Persija striker/attacking midfielder Greg Nwokolo has landed himself a two year deal with newly promoted Portuguese side Olhanense. The power of google eh?
Who knows, he may even come up against Vietnamese striker Le Cong Vinh who is spending a couple of months on loan in Portugal.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

 

Weekend results

SLeague

Geylang United v DPMM 4-3 (Masrezwan Masturi 2, Baihakki Khaizan, Hafiz Rahim; Abdelhamid Berguiga, Suhaime Yusof, Safari Wahit)
Woodlands Wellington v Young Lions 0-0
Super Reds v Balestier Khalsa 5-1 (Kim Shin Yui, Kim Yoon Sik, Yu Hyun Koo, Kim Shin Yui, Seo Su Jong; Jamie Pitt)

Thai Premier League

Chonburi v Sri Racha 3-2
Nakorn Pathom v Chula United 2-2
Samut Songkram v TTM Samut Sakorn 1-0
Thai Port v Osotsapa 2-1
Bangkok United v TOT 1-1
BEC Tero v Raj Navy 2-1
PEA v Muang Thong United 1-2
Pattaya United v Bangkok Glass 2-2

Muang Thong United remain a point clear of Chonburi who lost a two goal lead only to thank Ekkapon (?) for an injury time winner. Bangkok Glass and Osotsapa lost ground on the two leaders.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

 

KL Plus sign Haris

Zainuddin Muhammad

IT'S family first for Premier League top scorer Mohd Haris Safwan Mohd Kamal who has decided to don KL Plus colours instead of Terengganu's for the Malaysia Cup campaign.

The 27-year-old T-Team striker, who scored 24 league goals, said he agreed to be loaned to KL Plus only because his wife Mazlina Mohamad and their only child Nur Saiyidah are in Kuala Lumpur and he wants to be closer to them.

"I did not spend enough time with my wife and our one-year-old child during the league and now that I have received an offer from a team based near Kuala Lumpur, I am going to take this opportunity to make up for lost time.

"I am only doing this because T-Team are not involved in the Malaysia Cup," said the Dungun-born goal poacher who admitted to feeling bad for turning down Terengganu.

Haris, whose previous teams were Selangor MPPJ, Selangor and UPB-MyTeam, said he realises that some Terengganu fans might not be happy with his decision.

"But several of them, including Terengganu FA president Datuk Che Mat Jusoh, do understand and they have given me their blessing as they know that I will be back with T-Team soon enough to prepare for our debut in the Super League.

"Some of them also know that I have rejected offers to play for Sabah, Kelantan, Kuala Muda Naza, Negri Sembilan and Kedah because none of these teams are based in Kuala Lumpur," said Haris.

Joining him at KL Plus are T-Team teammates Rosdi Talib and Muhamad Fakhrurazi Musa.

"We are also relieved that KL Plus are in Group A with Perlis, Pahang and Malacca. At least, in the preliminary round, we can avoid Terengganu (who are in Group B with Negri Sembilan, Johor and Sarawak.

"But if we have to meet Terengganu at a later stage, I have no choice but to make sure we win as I just do not like to lose."

 

TPL Preview

TOR CHITTINAND

Chonburi will be trying to stop the rot when they meet relegation strugglers Sri Racha in a derby of the East in the Thai Premier League today.

Second-placed Chonburi have only secured one point from their last two games and have been overtaken by Muang Thong United at the top of the table.

Coach Kiatisak Senamung is confident that his men will beat their neighbours at Sirindhorn stadium and get their title hunt back on track.

"We were off form in the last two matches but I am confident we will beat Sri Racha," said Kiatisak.

"I hope our strike force of Kone Mohamed, Pipop On-mo and Arthit Sunthornpit will regain form."

Bottom side Chula United travel to fellow relegation contenders Nakhon Pathom in a do-or-die clash for both sides.

Chula coach Narong Suwannachote knows that anything less than a win will send his team into deeper trouble.

"Time is fast running out," Narong said. "We are at the same level. If we can't get three points, it will be highly likely that we will play in the top flight next year."

Leaders Muang Thong face a tricky assignment against defending champions Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) in Ayutthaya tomorrow.

FIXTURES
Playing today: At Sirindhorn stadium - Chonburi v Sri Racha (6pm); At Kamphangsaen stadium - Nakhon Pathom v Chula United (5pm); At Samut Songkhram - Samut Songkhram v TTM-Samut Sakhon (4pm)


Playing tomorrow: At PAT stadium - Thai Port v Osotspa (5pm); At Thai-Japan stadium - Bangkok United v TOT (6pm); At BEC Tero ground - BEC Tero Sasana v Navy-Rayong (4pm); At Ayutthaya stadium - PEA v Muang Thong (5pm); At Nong Prue ground - Pattaya United v Bangkok Glass (6pm)

COMMENT - dig deep in the Singapore printed media and you may just find the day's fixtures. But wow, fixtures, stadiums, preview...read it and weep. Does the Bangkok Post have the best local football coverage in the region? Or will Jakarta Globe, who have always tried to feature a local story, match them. Is there any hope for Singapore? And as for the Jakarta Post?

 

Home upset in Uniform Derby

SAF v Home United 0-2 (Rosman Sulaiman, Kengne Ludovick) 3,658

Well, well, hows about that then? Two goals either side of half time saw Home United delay SAF's title hopes for another few weeks. Should we be surprised? In their last four games on the road Sivaji's men have taken maximum points from DPMM, Tampines and now the Armed Forces and now they sit just outside the top 4.

But the Champions next three games are at home and coach Richard Bok will be pushing for maximum points from the visits of Woodlands Wellington, Geylang United and Albirex Niigata as he seeks to wrap up that 4th consecutive title.

Friday, August 21, 2009

 

TPL Standings

1 - Muang Thong United 20 12 5 3 32-14 41
2 - Chonburi 20 12 4 4 31-20 40
3 - Bangkok Glass 20 11 6 3 28-18 39
4 - Osotsapa 20 11 5 4 28-19

This weekend sees another Eastern Seaboard Derby with Chonburi hosting Sri Racha hoping to end a poor run of form that has seen them lose the lead of the TPL in recent weeks. Fourth placed Osotsapa are hanging on in there but they face a tricky trip to Klong Toey when they take on Thai Port at the PAT Stadium.

Last season's champions PEA find themselves at the opposite end of the table this time round, in 11th, and they won't look forward to playing a cock a hoop Muang Thong United. Third placed Bangkok Glass can have a weekend in Pattaya before playing the home side on Sunday.

 

SLeague table

Top 3

1 - Singapore Armed Forces 24 18 1 5 64-23 55
2 - Tampines Rovers 24 12 8 4 37-23 44
3 - Brunei DPMM 24 12 7 5 34-28 43

Bottom 3

10 - Sengkang Punggol 25 5 6 14 22-45 21
11 - Balestier Khalsa 24 3 6 15 18-41 15
12 - Young Lions 23 3 6 14 18-42 15


Top Scorers

23 - Duric (SAF)
19 - Obatola (Gombak United)
14 - Kegne Ludovick (Home United)
13 - Kenji Adachihara (Albirex Niigata)

Out of the 16 players who have scored 6 goals or more in the SLeague only two, Noh Alam Shaha and Indra Sahdan Daud, are Singaporean. No wonder national team coach Raddy is worried. Where's the goals coming from?

 

Midweek results

SLeague

Sengkang Punggol v Geylang United 0-3
Gombak United v Albirex Niigata 1-1

Thai Premier League

PEA v TOT 0-2

 

Some Indonesian transfer gossip

Some reports state Robertinho has signed for Persiba who are also interested in former PSIS striker Julio Lopez.

Sriwijaya have expressed an interest in Brazilian Alberto Goncalves. The former Persipura striker had been banned for three years after his role in the disturbances in last season's Copa, ironically against Sriwijaya, but after appeal his sentence was reduced to one game! However Persipura remain confident he will be with them next season.

Persipura are also interested in Erol Iba who had interested some side in Australia.

Persela have signed Dwi Yulianto Kurniawan.

Persebaya are looking at paying PSM about 30,000 USD to secure the services of Djayusman. The Under 23 international is locked into a muli year contract but the Surabaya side are keen to go ahead and pay a transfer fee while securing the youngster on a three year deal.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

 

Indonesia's opener

Indonesia's new season will open with a Community Shield pitting ISL champions Persipura against Copa winners Sriwijaya. The game will take place in October and the plan is to hold it in Jakarta.

The same two sides ended last season in the Copa final with Persipura sulking in the dressing room after the ref rejected their appeals for a penalty.

 

Results last night

SLeague

Balestier Khalsa v Tampines Rovers 0-1 (Edward Tan)

Friendly

Sriwijaya v Perlis 3-0 (Rahmat Rivai, Oktavianus, Mostafa Aji)

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

 

T Team get Umroh bonus

ZAINUDDIN MUHAMMAD

THE Umrah trip to Mecca is on for T-Team players and officials now that their place in the Super League next season is secured.

Assistant manager Rosdi Awang said the trip, as promised by Terengganu Youth and Sports Committee chairman Datuk Abdul Rahin Mohd Said, who is also team manager, would be honoured by the team management.He said it was a fitting reward for the players, coaching staff and management after they won promotion to the Super League in their first attempt.

"After the formation of T-Team four years ago, we have emerged champions in the FAM League, earned promotion to the Premier League, finished runners-up in our first season and now claimed our place in the Super League," said Rosdi.

"We have come a long way indeed and before we embark on a new journey alongside the big boys of Malaysian football, it would be good to go to Mecca to perform the umrah during the fasting month."

On their preparation for the Super League, Rosdi said they would request the state government to help them meet the financial requirement of the FA of Malaysia.

"Now that we are about to play in the big league, we are keeping our eyes on several new players to strengthen our squad although the majority of our current players will be retained.

"We do have a good squad of players, and seven or eight are being pursued, on loan, by several teams for the Malaysia Cup," he added.

 

Show us the money

ALMOST RM1 million! That is how much is owed to players and coaches by just six State FAs in the M-League. The FA of Malaysia (FAM) have ordered teams to pay up before the end of November or risk being kicked out of the domestic leagues.

However, it is yet to be seen if the States can pay off their debts and start the new season on a clean sheet. The new season is expected to start in January.


This is in addition to the whopping RM6,291,481 owed by State FAs to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF). Malacca top the list of errant employers, owing players and coaches RM286,378.99.


Perak aresecond with RM272,000, followed by Penang (RM46,216.25), Kelantan (RM63,400) and Sarawak (RM48,500). Negri Sembilan, meanwhile, have yet to settle their dues to former Slovakian import Marian Juhas totalling US$60,500 (RM214,321).


Juhas played for Slovakian Super League club FC Kosice and Perak before plying his trade with the Deers last season.


Perak, Penang and Kelantan played in the Super League this season while Malacca and Sarawak are in the Premier League. Perak still owe skipper S. Subramaniam two months wages totalling RM12,000.
The Kinta Valley side are also struggling to pay their former players, including Hardi Jaafar (RM28,000). Hardi now plays for Super League champions Selangor. All teams must clear all outstanding payments (wages and EPF), place a deposit of RM150,000 and at least RM2.5 million in their accounts.


Teams in the Premier League, meanwhile, must have a minimum of RM1.5 million and deposit RM100,000 with FAM.


“While it’s good that FAM are finally being strict about money matters, we hope they will not cave in to the demands of the States which will definitely ask for a relaxation of the rules,” said an official who declined to be named.


Another official claimed that such mismanagement will only result in more players looking for “dirty” money, implying rampant match-fixing.


“What is so professional about our league when the States are not even paying the players and coaches on time? Why don’t those running the teams take a pay cut for two months and see how they manage,” said a former player.


“People tend to ask why players get involved in matchfixing. Well, isn’t it obvious now?”


From Malay Mail

COMMENT - will anything change? There is a lot of exciting young talent in Malaysian football but I fear they will never get to realise their quality all the time the status quo remains the same

 

Persib start a new trend

Persib Bandung have opened a cafe. I know cafe conjours up images of some greasy spoon or a caravan alongside the A34 serving bacon butties but here in Indonesia a cafe is seen differently. Almost a trendy place to see and be seen.

The Persib Cafe & Lounge opens today at 10 am and can be found at Jl Sulanjana 17 in Bandung. Fair play to Persib for looking to tap into alternate revenue streams, I believe it is the only one of its kind in Indonesia and possibly throughout the region.

For those interested there is also a Manchester United Cafe in Bandung as well as Jakarta. Next will be a Persib Cafe & Lounge opening in the Arndale Centre, Manchester.

 

SAF closer to yet another SLeague

Young Lions v SAF 0-5 (Duric 3, Therdsak Chaiman, Kenji Arai) 1,369
DPMM v Super Reds 3-2 (Helmi Zambin, Abdelhamid Berguiga, Safari Wahit; Yu Hyun Koo, Choi Dong Soo)

SAF now need just 16 points from their final 9 games to clinch yet another SLeague title after a convincing performance against the Young Lions proved, yet again, Richard Bok's aging veterans are no match for the best the city state can produce.

DPMM came from behind with two late goals to defeat the Koreans. They stay 10 points behind SAF in the race for second.

Tonight sees Tampines Rovers, now in 4th, take on Balestier Khalsa who have been getting some results recently with the addition of their new new Korean signings. Victory for the Stags could see them climb back to 2nd.

 

Sriwijaya increase attacking options

Copa winners Sriwijaya have added former Persikota and Persitara striker Mostafa Aji to their squad. Since losing Claude Ngon A Djam and Budi Sudarsono they have been looking lightweight up front but now the promising Aji has joined Keith Kayamba Gumbs and fellow former Persitara forward Rachmat Rivai.

They are also very close to signing a Singaporean international striker while they will use today's friendly against Malaysian side Perlis to have a gander at their striker Niaruddin Yusof.

Meanwhile despite recent reports suggesting Sriwijaya had signed Persija defender Abanda Herman his future remains unclear after squabbling over an up front sum paid to his agent.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

 

Weekend results

SLeague

Albirex Niigata v Sengkang Punggol 2-1 (Kenji Adachihara, Kunihiro Honda; Raymond Kwa) 1,171

Thai Premier League

Chula United v BEC Tero 1-2
TTM Samut Sakorn v Sri Racha 0-0
TOT v Chonburi 0-0
Bangkok Glass v PEA 3-1
Thai Port v Bangkok United 0-0
Muang Thong United v Nakorn Pathom 3-1
Raj Navy Rayong v Pattaya 3-2
Osotsapa v Samut Songkram 2-1

MTU came from behind to secure three points against Nakorn Pathom and return to the top of the table after earlier leaders Chonburi were held 0-0 at TOT. Apparently there was some crowd trouble when the Pattaya assorted grizzlies and ladyboys mix it with the old sea dogs in ayong and yes there was some poetic licnese in there)

International Friendly


Malaysia v China 0-0

Friday, August 14, 2009

 

DPMM trio face the music

SINGAPORE, 13 AUGUST 2009: The FAS Disciplinary Committee convened on Thursday 13 August with regard to the charges against Brunei DPMM FC players Pg Sallehuddin Damit, Yusof Salleh and Rene Komar.

Pg Sallehuddin, Yusof and Komar had been charged for violent conduct against the match referee during the Great Eastern – YEO’S S.League match between Brunei DPMM FC and Home United at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Brunei on Sunday 2 August.

Yusof Salleh has been banned from playing or participating in the S.League and all FAS-sanctioned matches and tournaments for 6 months and fined S$1,000.

Pg Sallehuddin Damit has been banned from playing or participating in the S.League and all FAS-sanctioned matches and tournaments for 12 months and fined S$2,000.

Rene Komar has been banned from playing or participating in the S.League and all FAS-sanctioned matches and tournaments for 15 months and fined S$3,000.

The three players admitted to the charges against them which were:

Yusof Salleh: Of violent conduct when he confronted match referee K Kalimuthu and manhandled him in the 39th minute of the match.

Pg Sallehuddin Damit: (i) Of violent conduct when he confronted match referee K Kalimuthu in an aggressive and threatening manner, manhandled and shoved him in the 39th minute of the match.

(ii) Of aggressive behaviour when he attempted to confront the match referee K Kalimuthu in an aggressive and threatening manner along the touchline.

Rene Komar: Of violent conduct when he confronted match referee K Kalimuthu, manhandled and punched him in the 39th minute of the match.

The bans will take effect immediately.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

 

Budi teams up with Gonzales again

Budi Sudarsono is to join Persib. The Indonesian international who last season played half the season with Persik, alongside Christian Gonzales, and half on loan with Sriwijaya where he struggled to make an impact.

Now he will team up again with Gonzales at Persib as the Bandung side look to end a long period without success.

 

Results 12/8

International Friendlies

Singapore v China 1-1 (Noh Alam Shah; Yang Hao) China won 4-3 on pens
Malaysia v Kenya 0-0

Thai Premier League

BEC Tero v Samut Songkram 2-0
Bangkok Glass v Chonburi 1-0
Chula United v Osotsapa 1-2
Nakorn Pathom v Thai Port 2-0
Bangkok United v Muang Thong United 1-2
Pattaya United v TTM Samunt Sakorn 4-0
Sri Racha v Raj Navy 0-1

International striker Teerasil Dangda scored 13 minutes from time to give Muang Thong United a crucial three points yesterday afternoon. All the more crucial as leaders Chonburi had lost 1-0 at Bangkok Glass. Osotsapa scored twice in the last 10 minutes, (Pattiphol?) to turn defeat into victory and stay in the hunt. Chonburi still lead the TPL but the gap is just one point ahead of Muang Thong United

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

 

International Friendlies

Couple of friendlies tonight with Singapore playing China and Malaysia taking on Kenya at the Shah Alam Stadium hoping and praying that this time they will be playing a real national team and not reliving their embarassment against Zimbabwe.

Singapore against China and apparently fans are whining about the prohibitive cost of tickets ($15 & $10 SGD). Them Singaporeans love a good whine.

The Singapore game at the National Stadium is being billed as the National Day Challenge and it is envisaged the game will be played every year against powerful nations in the region.


 

Persipura need striking options

Last season Perspiura's three pronged strikeforce of Alberto Goncalves, Ernest Jeremiah and Boaz Solossa tormented clubs across Indonesia as they powered their way to the ISL title. But now, with the new season just a couple of months away coach jacksen Tiago is in need of a whole new attack.

Imports Goncalves and Jeremiah received three year bans from Indonesian football after their role in the fracas that interupted the Copa final in June while Boas will be on national team duty for Asian Cup qualifiers and possibly even the SEA Games which means he may not be available until January 2010, halfway through the season.

There was talk they were interested in Singaporean striker Noh Alam Shah but I don't know how far that has developed.

 

No news is good news for Persija?

A couple of weeks back Persija suddenly found themselves being 'taken over' by a private investor. At the time I spoke to a couple of people close to the club and they were reluctant to say too much, preferring to bide their time.

Now the investor has pulled out after internal conflicts that refused to die down, he has taken his money to Persikad, and Persija must now go cap in hand to the local government.

All this uncertainty has meant that no coach has been installed and no players signed up. Meaning other clubs circling, hoping to take advantage of the mess in Jakarta. Abanda Herman has already moved on, joing Ponaryo Astaman and Hendro Kartiko at Copa winners Sriwijaya and, perhaps not coincidentally, knocking a fair whack off the wage bill.

But all eyes have been on Bambang Pamungkas and Ismed Sofyan, both long time servants of Persija. Both Persib and Sriwijaya have been interested in the Indonesian internationals but they have been reluctant to commit themselves.

Perhaps they have been biding their time and waiting for offers from Persija? Certainly were they both to leave the Jakmania would be none too impressed. Both players are icons within the club and Bambang has gone so far as to say Persija are 'like family'.

 

Stripping the A League

There was much nashing of teeth recently in Australia after Gold Coast United midfielder Adam Griffiths ditched the A League new boys, and a three year contract, after just one game to move to Al Shabab in Saudi Arabia.

The 30 year old is swapping the delights of life on Surfer's Paradise for a different type of sand in Saudi where the season begins on 19 August. He will certainly be in for a culture shock when he hits Ramadhan, the Islamic fasting month, which will begin shortly after his arrival.

Back down under before Christmas?

Now another Aussie is attracting interest but much closer to home. Joel Wood is five years younger and was with Newcastle Jets but now I understand is trying his luck in Indonesia. One report said he has already trialled with PSM and is now being looked at by Persela.

If he is seleted then Wood would become the second Australian, joing Robbie Gaspar who has spent a few seasons here. The former Persiba midfielder has now moved to Persema Malang, shortish drive from Lamongan in East Java.

Monday, August 10, 2009

 

Phaitoon returns home

Phaitoon Thiabma, Persijap's Thai import, is returning to Thailand with his former club Osotsapa, now known as Osotsapa Saraburi. He says he wants to stay fit and said he will return to Jepara when the Thai season ends.

 

Noh Alam Shah - victim or villain?

In England there is a breed of fan that seeks to visit all the grounds in the top four divisions. They're called ground-hoppers and they aspire to join the 92 Club.

Other fans collect football programmes, badges, match tickets...just do some research on eBay to find the lengths people go to to keep their hobby going.

Singaporeans tend not to bother about such trivialities. There are no programmes, there are no badges and there's only a few stadium.

But there is still a club that certain people in the game aspire to join. But a club only available to a few lucky souls.

It's called the I Sent Noh Alam Shah Off Club (ISNASOC). Membership is easy. All a ref has to do is wave the fiery striker a red card and hey! They're in. It's that simple.

Admittedly Alam Shah (NAS) does make it easy for budding wannabes to join. His aggressive, in your face style sits uneasily in the polite, twee world of Singapore football where politeness is the norm and tackles best avoided.

Like any good club there are various degrees of membership.

First is the Basic Membership. Any red card, any time. This level is easily reached as it doesn't take long for the Tampines forward to start racing along the opponents back line, chasing lost causes and hoping to force a nervy defender into a mistake.

For the keen there is Advanced Membership. This requires a keen ref to send him off when he's playing against SAF. A case in point came in yesterday's meeting at Tampines Stadium when he went for a ball that had yet to be collected by SAF keeper Shahril Jantan.

Both players went to ground and the ref showed a straight red. But the ball was still in play, the keeper was alone in the penalty area. As a striker NAS was surely duty bound to put pressure on the keeper?

Then we have the Premium Membership. This is truly the peak of reffing in Singapore. To join, a whistler has to send off NAS in an incident involving SAF defender Daniel Bennett.

What this means is that refs are watching NAS's every move on the field and they queue up to officiate the only game that can bring them Premier Membership.

So what do members get for waving that red card? Respect. As they prowl the corridors of power, as they ride the 67 bus, people in hushed tones point and say 'he sent off Noh Alam Shah.' Teachers in rowdy classes around the island invoke club members names as they seek to impose discipline on spotty teenagers.

Of course where it leaves the finest striker of his generation is less clear. Perhaps the time is ripe for Noh Alam Shah to try his hand overseas where he will be just another face on the pitch and not a free pass to notoriety for enthusiastic officials.

 

Results 8/9 August

Thai Premier League

Samut Songkram v Raj Navy 0-3
Bangkok United v PEA 0-2
Sri Racha v Bangkok Glass 2-0
BEC Tero v TTM Samut Sakorn 3-0
Thai Port v Chula United 1-0
Chonburi v Pattaya United 2-0
Osotsapa v Nakorn Pathom 3-1
Muang Thong United v TOT 3-0

An absolute avalanche of goals in the TPL over the weekend. Arthit, who has been linked with Persija over recent weeks though the interest seems to have cooled somewhat with their internal bickering, and Kone Mohamed gave Chonburi the points in the Eastern Seaboard Derby at the Srindhorn Stadium against new boys Pattaya. The Sharks are now four points clear of 2nd placed Muang Thong United.

Teerathep Winothai may have struggled to make an impression in Belgium with 2nd Division side Lierse but back in Thailand he proved what he could do by netting for his new club Muang Thong United. They ended the game with 10 men but it was still enough to beat TOT.

1 - Chonburi 18 12 3 3 31 19 39
2 - Muang Thong United 18 10 5 3 27-12 35
3 - Bangkok Glass 18 9 6 3 24-17 33


SLeague

Gombak United v Super Reds 1-1 (Bah Mamadou; Chang Jo Yoon) 2,350
DPMM v Woodlands Wellington 2-0 (Drazen Govic, Safari Wahit) 4,372

The battle for 2nd place hots up with perhaps four clubs vying for the runners up spot behind SAF. No games yesterday or indeed for the next few days. It was National Day on the 9th and the national team is preparing to take on China on 12th August.

For Gombak, despite taking an early lead they now look back on four draws in their last five games as their chances of winning the SLeague for the first time in their history recede.

1 - Singapore Armed Forces 23 17 1 5 59-23 52
2 - Gombak United 24 11 8 5 42-28 41
3 - Tampines Rovers 23 11 8 4 36-23 41
4 - Brunei DPMM 23 11 7 5 31-26 40
5 - Home United 23 11 4 8 40-25 37


Friendly

Kedah v Malaysia U23 1-3 (Syafiq Jamal; Zakuan Adha, Amirulhadi, Norshahrul Idlan)

Yet another goal for the highly rated Norshahrul Idlan. Last season he played for My Team, not sure if they will be competing in the Malaysia Cup next month or not, but he has impressed for both club and country. Next up the Malaysians play Kenya and China on 12/08 and 15/08 before heading to Saudi Arabia at the end of the month for a couple of friendlies.

Friday, August 07, 2009

 

Teerathep in a hurry

Thai international striker Teerathep Winothai has returned to Thailand saying he was not happy with his Belgian club Lierse SK.

"I was not happy with K Lierse SK. The coach gave me only a few chances to play. I want to play regularly as I am older now," said the 24-year-old national striker.

The striker, nicknamed Leesaw, joined the Belgian 2nd Division back in January but he only played a handful of games netting just a single goal.

Two sides of course to every story and it would be interesting to know the Belgian side.

 

Tampines & DPMM in the dock

SINGAPORE, 7 AUGUST 2009: Tampines Rovers chairman Teo Hock Seng and Brunei DPMM FC players Pg Sallehuddin Damit, Yusof Salleh and Rene Komar have been charged by the Football Association of Singapore for bringing the game into disrepute.

Teo faces two charges of misconduct for his touchline behaviour in the Great Eastern – YEO’S S.League match between Tampines Rovers and SAFFC on Sunday 2 August at the Tampines Stadium.

DPMM FC captain Pg Sallehuddin, Yusof and Komar face charges for violent conduct against the match referee during the Great Eastern – YEO’S S.League match between Brunei DPMM FC and Home United at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Brunei on Sunday 2 August.

The FAS Disciplinary Committee will convene on Tuesday 11 August and Thursday 13 August to hear the cases of Teo and the Brunei DPMM FC players respectively.

 

Khairul Amri withdraws from Singapore squad

SINGAPORE, 7 August 2009: Khairul Amri has been withdrawn from the Singapore squad that will take on China on 12 August after he came down with a high fever.

Home United’s Itimi Dickson has been called up to replace the Tampines Rovers striker who also missed the Stags’ 3-2 defeat to Home United last night in the vital Great Eastern – YEO’S S.League match due to the fever.

Dickson last played for the Lions in the 1-1 draw with Thailand in the 2nd leg of Asean Football Championship Final in 2007. Incidentally, Khairul Amri replaced him early in the second half and scored the equaliser nine minutes from time to help the Lions to win their third AFF Championships.

 

Singapore overcome Cambodians

SINGAPORE, 7 August 2009: The Singapore Under-18 team battled back from a goal down to secure a crucial 3-1 win over Cambodia in their second match of the AFF Under-19 Youth Championship at the Thanh Long Sports Centre in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on Thursday 6 August.

The Singapore team found themselves a goal down 17 minutes into the first half after a lapse in concentration allowed Cambodian striker Prak Mony Udom to get on the score-sheet.

Slight changes to the team formation and a half-time pep talk later, Singapore started the second-half of the match with decidedly more focus, evidenced when striker Syafiq Zainal capitalised on a rebound to slot in the equaliser in the 57th minute.

The equaliser rejuvenated the Singapore team, who then raised their game to increase pressure on the Cambodian side. Two corner-kicks in the 79th and 91st minutes were converted into goals by skipper Safuwan Baharudin and midfielder Zulfahmi Arifin respectively to seal the win.

Coach Salim Moin commented after the match, “The first half was difficult for us because Cambodia stayed very compact in their half, making it difficult for us to get through. We changed our tactic at half-time to capitalise on Khairul Nizam’s height in the attacking third, and using two other players to collect the loose balls. That was how our three goals came about.”

While happy with the result, Coach Salim Moin warned that the match against Thailand will not be easy, with both teams gunning for all three points to ensure their semi-final berth.

“The Thais are disciplined and strong in technical ability. On our end, we will play our normal game, although with some tactical adjustments to try and nullify the threat from the key Thai players we have identified.”

“Hopefully, Cambodia can also do us a favour by holding Australia to a draw or keeping the deficit to just one goal, and in doing so automatically ensuring the semi-finals berth for Singapore and Thailand. If Cambodia plays Australia the way they did against us during the first half today, I won’t be surprised if they manage to hold the Australians to a draw.”

Singapore will next take on Thailand at the Thong Nhat Stadium tomorrow, 8 August at 5.45pm. (6.45pm Singapore time)


Singapore v Cambodia 3-1 (Syafiq Zainal 57’, Safuwan Baharudin 79’, Zulfahmi Arifin 91’; Prak Mony Udom 17’)

Singapore U-18: Neezam Abdul Aziz (gk), Azfar Zainal Abidin, Fariss Haiqel, Safuwan Baharudin (c), Eugene Luo, Haziq Azman, Nazrul Nazari (Faiz Ronedin 80’), Raihan Abdul Rahman, Safirul Sulaiman, Khairul Nizam (Muhaymin Salim 75’), Syafiq Zainal (Zulfahmi Arifin 88’)

 

Thais kicked out of Nehru Cup

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India have thrown Thailand out of this month's six-nation Nehru Cup tournament in New Delhi for planning to send a junior side despite initially promising to send the national team.

"They confirmed entry but when we checked the players' list we found it was an under-19 side," Indian football federation secretary Alberto Colaco told a news conference.

"We told them we cannot accept it but they did not respond favourably, so we scratched them."
Palestine will replace Thailand and join Syria, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan and holders India for the Aug. 19 to 31 event, which is part of the home team's build-up for the 2011 Asian Cup.

 

More bad news for Tampines

Tampines Rovers v Home United 2-3 (Fahrudin Mustafic, Seiji Kaneko; Peres De Oliveira 3) 2,723

Three straight defeats for Tampines Rovers has effectively ended their title dreams. And to think just a week ago they were looking longingly at first place after leaders SAF had slipped up drawing 0-0 at home to DPMM.

For Home United this was a third successive win on the road after collecting three points at DPMM in recent weeks and coach Sivaji's men now sit 4th ahead of the Brunei side

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