Thursday, June 23, 2011
Naughty, Naughty Boys
A good all in brawl on the field among the players is an essential part of the SLeague experience. In fact given the lack of atmosphere at most games a free for all is about all there is that can get players’ adrenalin pumping.
It was felt that once striker Noh Alam Shah had gone to play overseas things would quiet down in this regard but, fortunately, there have been others ready to step up to the plate.
Last year for example we had Young Lions against Beijing Guo’an go for it in the field. This year Etoile and Hougang United who managed to get the game stopped before it had even started.
Unfortunately the suits at the FA don’t look too kindly on these boyish rucks. Prompted to act by the media and egged on by anonymous messages on internet forums the FA wheel out all the old clichés about zero tolerance, disgusting, blah blah bloody blah.
Anyway both Hougang and Etoile have been deducted five points.
Ice hockey is a dull old game where people chase round a puck. Nobody would be interested if it weren’t for the regular flare ups between the players. The FA have, as usual, missed a trick here. The SLeague should be promoted as some kind of NHL where brawls are interrupted by the occasional bit of football. Who knows, it may even pull in the fans.
They could film the fights, post them on You Tube and allow other outraged netizens to let off steam. That would generate more interest,’ I was there’, and we could see attendances rise accordingly.
Let’s face it, it’s gotta be worth a try. Free ice cream, three points for a win and loud music pre match don’t work, do they?
