Room for improvement, Etoile FC

First, congrats to Etoile and their fans on clinching the league title.

I know many in the local football fratenity would have preferred a local team to win it, myself included. I can understand their allegiance since we are Singaporeans and this is our league. The only thing I am disappointed is that the $100,000 prize money is not kept within a local club for bonuses or improving its finances.

Etoile have brought a new brand of football to the local league and challenged the teams here to do better, which is great for the league on the whole. If this allows local clubs, league/FAS top managment to crack the whip and strive harder to improve, I am sure local fans would gladly give up the 2010 SLeague trophy to Etoile.

Now to the not so nice things.

Why do Singapore football followers generally dislike Etoile so much as it seems?

(This section is really for Etoile fans, players, Johan, Patrick and now Jorg. I am not throwing cold water at your celebrations. But to seek your cooperation in improving our league)

From the start, it is easy to say bcos Etoile have been winning games, beating teams that we support, thats why we dislike you. This is definitely not true, at least for me.

To me, there is 1 CLEAR REASON why Etoile have not gathered the respect of Singapore fans and followers like Albirex have done.

Its the behaviour of players and coach.

So much that Etoile's football in general is impressive, there have too many an incident of dissent happening on the pitch and off the pitch.

Yes, refereeing standards sometimes, or most time sucks. But all teams suffer from it, not just you. I am not sure if its the language issues, but I doubt so when I watch Etoile games.

Recall the 1-1 with Tampines in March or April at Tampines Stadium. Etoile spent much time chasing the game after going down to sublime Qiu Li freekick. In the process of it, I saw players losing their heads, overly rough tackles and a ball boy getting f***** literally by Patrick. It was not still injury time that Patrick was sent to the stands and Michelini had equalised. Initially i put that down to a typical Frenchman's passion and emotions, especially when they were on the losing end. But having it too frequent is too convenient an excuse.

There you have it, u made your first enemies at Tampines.

What was to follow during the season were issues like arguing with referees, complaining, acts of dissent and diving.

When decisions go against Etoile, it was the same players who would be making noise. From rightback, you can bet Julien Delatraz will be the first at the scene, having a go at the officials. Leclerq, Lakehal, Vershave are the others.

Diving - there is only 1 culprit. So much so a new chant of "Frederic Mendy's falling down, falling down" came by.

Patrick needs to stop his incessant arguing on the sidelines. I do agree that the 'closing of one eye' by the officials sometimes encourage him to go on and on. There are proper ways to lodge complaints. But do we expect higher standards for a professional who hails from Europe?

Talks now are that there will be major reshuffle of the team, but whoever that comes it, Etoile need to do better in their behaviour, Patrick included, especially now that Etoile will be the defending champions in 2011. You got to show some standards. I challenge you to be in the top 4 in the 2011 Fair Play table.

Soccer Marathon 7 & 8 Nov

Started with the Asian Games soccer where the Cubs played Qatar in the opening group game.

Izwan, Safuwan in defence and Nazrul on the left wing impressed me aided by the more experience Shahril who led the line. The Asian handicap was around +1.25 but the Cubs did well to overcome it.

Was hoping to see the boy I tout as Singapore's version of Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere - Hafez Abu Sujad (above) in action. Too bad he didnt appear. I have watched him a few times and have been thoroughly impressed by this boy.

Overall a good team performance by the Cubs despite a difficult last 25 mins where the Cubs were under absolute intense pressure. We actually had the Chinese crowd behind us for much of the game. Cries of 'Xing jia po jia you!' (Come on Singapore!) could be heard during attacking set piece situations.

Current Chinese coach and ex-Tiong Bahru CSC striker Gao Hongbo was also in attendance.

Dutch Co Adriaanse, the Qatar coach, quoted in Lianhe Zaobao criticised the Cubs performance, he commented that we should have stayed in the hotel had we wanted to play tat way.

Wait a minute, didnt Bert Van Marwijk stifle Spain in the WC final too?

But hey, a result is a result, when you support your HOME COUNTRY, that is all it matters! Play is secondary to me when I support my nation. As a club supporter u can choose, but u don't go around choosing a home country to support right?

Come on Cubs, continue to play as a team and try progress as far as possible and gain the exposure to big stage games. This will definitely help in future.

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Summary:

Big guns in Europe generally faltered their handicaps except in Spain
- Bayern, MU, Chelsea, Arsenal, Ajax, Inter, Lazio
-Resolute Magpies performance hindered Gunners
-Ranieri completes a week of turnaround in fortunes as his twin strikers on-loan Borriello and Vucinic converts a pair of penalties
-Zenit falls 2 behind in 11mins, equalises by 15min, and go on to score 3 in the 2nd half to win 5-2.
- Twin terror Falcao and Hulk leads Porto to 5-0 thrashing of Benfica

Excerpts from Patrick Barclay's 2005 book: Mourinho - Anatomy of a Winner

1. Why did Mou behave the way he did on his 1st return to Barcelona as Chelsea mgr?
The answer came from conversation with Van Gaal. Although Mou will not admit it, he had unfinished business with the Catalan club. For all his years there gave him the perfect grounding for a top coach, he was often treated dismissively in Barca, referred to among the club's large media entourage (& even some within the club) as "The Translator". Thats why he boasted about having won as many titles as Barca (as of 2005).

2. After the league cup final with Liverpool:
He did smt different from other mgr. He toured the dejected Pool ranks. By grativating towards the pitch, was he seeking the share of limelight he never had as a player?
In essence, answer is yes. There is a passage in the book he produced with his journalist friend Luis Lourenco about how when he returned to Benfica as Porto coach, he milked the abuse of a huge crowd before the match: 'I made a point of walking on alone, before the team... It was fantastic, an amazing feeling. I had never been a first class player who could feel, for eg, what Figo had felt upon returning to Barcelona (with RM), ans so i had no idea what it would be like to have 80,000 people whisting and jeering at me. I believe tat when we are mentally strong, pp who seek to intimidate and disturb us wd have exactly the opposite effect. Upon hearing he whistles and jeers... I felt as if I were the most important person in the world.'

3. Poor marks in Maths disqualified him from entering uni at the first attempt

4. He listened intently to philosophy lectures of Manuel Sergio, whom he began to derive a fascination for playing with people's emotions. The prof remembers him as a voracious student: 'He looked like a cat catching birds.'

5. Hello Mister, Im Jose Mourinho - this was his introduction to Sir Bobby at Lisbon
About his translation, Sir Bobby said, 'I always had the feeling that he was saying it the way i would have said it. That was his knack. The players responded as if I told them. I could see. It was the same reaction.

6. He advised Sir Bobby to take up an offer from Porto.

7. He split his UEFA coaching licence into 2 parts in 1988 and 2000 (normally a coach does 2 parts in consecutive summers) as he was spending the rest of the years learning at football's university of life, and he worked daily with the likes of Figo, Rivaldo & Ronaldo. It were the 2 years he was between jobs.

8. He never bragged abt his achievements in 2000 when he did the second part, even in the pubs with his mates after finishing the day. He listed in his application he had been "assistant coach" to Robson at Porto and that was not taking too much of a liberty, though techincally he was not. But his work actually emcompassed more than that.

9. Key figures in Barca's dressing room came to accept he had a lot to offer when he was Sir Bobby's assistant. eg skillfully edited videos showing opp's strengths/weakness. This was appreciated among those, by Pep Guardiola. Jose built up a relationship with Pep knowing Pep's status at the club.

10. He got along well with Hristo Stoichkov too.

11. He was pissed when Barca moved Sir Bobby upstairs to make way for Van Gaal. Sir advised LVG to keep him, and Mou benefitted bcos LVG got him to do more work as LVG was one of those who like to stand back, unlike Sir Bobby who was totally hands on.

Overhaul of 2011 S-League Season

[dated 9 Sep, updated 23 Dec] edits are in blue

Today's editor Leonard Thomas has said it right. "Zainudin can invite current and potential sponsors, ex-players, officials, fans and even members of the media, among others, for a brainstorming session. It wouldn’t hurt — it could throw up some interesting suggestions, maybe even a masterstroke. Whatever conclusion the decisionmakers at football headquarters come to after the last week, it is clear something decisive needs to be done, before the SLeague does slip into a crisis."

Yes these stakeholders will be the one who will tell you the problems, not those in the JBS office.

It seems that every September/October the past few seasons, we are always discussing how to solve problems and discussing forever.

Thats why this time, I am putting my head on the chopping board - to come up with solutions for the main problems.

The Crux Issue: Dwindling attendance/lack of support/awareness

The biggest problem we are facing now is the situation of a lack of support/awareness of the league. In the event of this, I say changing just the league's software is not enough. A $500K/month 'star player category' Park Ji Sung will still be mistaken as the $5k/month 'normal foreigner' Park Kang Jin at Orchard Road.

We need some change in the hardware of the league.

Proposed Solution (A) : Change of match schedule

Assuming 12 team, average 6 matches/week

Proposed kickoff times:
1 x Wed – 730pm
1 x Fri – 730pm (live)
2 x Sat – 515pm, 730pm
2 x Sun – 515pm, 730pm (live)

Why?
It is simple logic. We already have limited fan support for the local league. Why further limit this supply of fans by playing so many games on weekdays when Singaporeans live their hectic lifestyle? Which bloodly league in the world plays every day throughout the week?

My idea of 2 games on Sat & Sun each. This would give chance for people to catch games on wkends. Families can watch games together before or after dinner, providing options than to throng shopping malls or showflats. Have cheaper packages for family of 3,4 or 5 perhaps.

We should not contest with the EPL for fans since its going to be a one-sided affair. Hence the option of 515pm games. This allows a 2 hr break for a 10 or 11pm EPL game on telly, assuming you give up the early kickoff EPL game. Anyway not all EPL games on telly are good right, so OUR league will offer another option - a REAL 'LIVE' experience.

515 game save floodlight costs too as game should end at 7pm. Should be bright enough still.

Telecast game on Sunday live on Ch 5. People who laze around at home on Sundays can watch it, rather than some lousy movies.

Keep the Friday night live games. Its the end of the week and more likely to attract students/working population.

Sat games, after the increased media exposure measures stated in the next section, should be the benchmark to test if they have yielded results. They MUST draw crowds, especially if there are no big EPL games.

A game on Wednesday to make up the quota, which allows for teams to have enough rest between each round of games.

Live games must be meant to publicised the league and get crowds to the stadium eventually.

Proposed Solution (B): A 'fireworks' Curtain Raiser to kick off the season on a Sunday

515pm: YOG team vs Singapore U17 or U18
730pm: S-League East vs S-League West

Why?
Aim is to use the fame of the YOG team as an attraction, introduce crowds to the U17/U18 team. This will draw their friends, families and Singaporeans who followed the YOG football games. After that game comes the main show, splitting the SLeague club teams evenly into a East vs West matchup, just like in year 2000 at Bishan Stadium.

Introduce the 'star' players before the East v West game ala NBA finals style - Player run out waving to fans.

Make Straits Times have a 1 page coverage of the curtain raiser evening.

Proposed Solution (C): Teams to adopt a few neighbourhoods towns as in 1996

Why?
To get residents to back the team that plays in the vicinity of their homes. Make it THEIR team. There is a reason why hardcore Tanjong Pagar and Sembawang Rangers fans exists that call for their return. Its because they identified with THEIR clubs. This take time to build and must be cultivated.

In 1996, clubs were somewhat set a geographic sector to try reach out to fans. But this was not closely followed.

Get players out to shopping centres of all their neighbourhood towns/bus/mrt interchanges to raise awareness before the season kickoff, and maybe once or twice more along the season.

Have tie-ups with neighbourhood shopping centres within the vicinity. Liase with landlords like AsiaMalls (Hougang Mall) or sports related tenants like Sportslink. Advertising efforts could be put up in within the tenant space or centre itself to publicise upcoming fixtures and posters of certain more established players who can be used as 'ICONs' for the football team.

In return, billboards of these brands and shopping malls can be put up or even be attached on the team's jersey.

Players must realise the importance of raising their own profile and reputation. That is the way that they can attract potential brands to engage them as ambassadors and perhaps to increase their own playing income as they become more well known.

CCCs and RC leaders and members could be rope in to help, rather than just wasting time having useless meetings and enjoying catered buffets afterwards.

Proposed solution (D): Ticketing issues

Recently, there have been calls for free entry to be given to the public for Sleague games. I feel that this should not be so.

WHY?
This also cheapens the Sleague and make people think lowly of it. Singaporeans have the mentality that things which are free means not tat good. SO it only spoils the image.
My suggestion is to perhaps reduce the $5 entry to $3. Since clubs have said that income from this source is not major, I think that lowering it slightly can perhaps motivate masses to give it a try. As mentioned earlier, FAMILY PACKAGE could be made available for wkend games.

My reason is that sometimes, even I admit that you go to matches not sure of what kind of quality you will get. With respect to a $7 movie ticker, Singaporeans might think $5 is kind of expensive if there is not much entertainment value. Thus, I would think lowering the tickets first, try improve things on the pitch, and raise the pricing as we continue OUR local league.

Additional amendments to current measures:
i. shift Highlights programme to say weekday night 10 or 11pm
ii. work harder to bring in better foreigners, improve pitches
iii. identification of the 12th team as 'Somebody' must go

Mr Zainuddin, if you let the media and fans out there know that you are willing to set up a meeting with the matchday Sleague media and fans to discuss our suggestions with you personally (since we are people on the ground). I have no doubts your meeting room will be filled. Let us know the time and venue. We do not need catered buffet, light refreshments will do.

*Opinions are welcomed.

S-League Foreign Review - Albirex, ETOILE, X

I think creative juices of many have been stirred following the fighting fracas and the reports of low attendences.

Fish out of the water has done a summary of the foreign teams @
http://fishoutofwaterspfc.wordpress.com/2010/09/08/s-league-foreign-clubs-walk-of-shame/

Totally agree that Albirex has been the benchmark for foreign teams with their colourful fans, innovative website, community involvement and marketing. But this season's Albirex give me the impression that they don't really have any real stars among them, which is the only problem I can think of about the Japs considering names like Wakui, Okayama to Takase used to flow out of me in the past.

Etoile, which many fans love to hate, have been great too. Challenging for the title, nice football, good marketing, colourful Johan, chubby Patrick with some French babes. They have added new ingredients to our league which were not there previously. Even bad press about their $ issues are good media exposure too. So too news of $10 tickets, fireworks and clubhouse.

The French flair have influenced the league so much that some local fans hate them cos they are winning, some hate them bcos of their colourful characters, some hate them bcos the players sometimes show too much of their French passion on the field that they do certain things which we dun like to see. But man, have we missed our Venga & Simunic don't we? others miss their Jose M..

Cyril Bagnost & Kevin Yann impressed me the most with their play and professionalism. Good players to watch, so too Karim Boudjema.

I hope Albirex and Etoile will stay in the league going forward.

Earlier in the season, I said 'X' will do better than its previous counterparts as they have good credentials in China and they were the feeder team, unlike the previous ones. No doubt their play have been good at times with their decent technique, but with the fighting incident and the other 'niggling' things I have read and observed, I say good riddance to Chinese teams for OUR local league.

I say boycott Yishun Stadium till end of the season to make our point to FAS.


** Monsieur Vallee, if you are reading my blog, drop me a msg below! I will be happy that you are reading it! HAHA

Sg Pools staff to work overtime tonight!

Abandoned match between Young Lions and Beijing tonight?

Ticket holders pray hard. Sg pools will probably be busy accessing the bets it received for the match before they decide which decision they can take to make most $.

As usual i bring u guys back to history:

2007: Woodlands Wellington vs Tampines Rovers (refer previous entry)
http://dreamteamsteam.blogspot.com/2010/07/2007-walkover-woodlands-v-tampines.html


2010: The way they set the top scorer rules for WC 2010 Top scorer

YOG - Local Football Fever

(delighted Hanafi, while Kadir was teary and proud of the boys in his interview)

The young cubs have now secured a bronze for Singapore. A good win which confirmed that many of them, especially defender Dhulkilan Jeevamani will indeed be stars in the making. Without discrediting the rest of the backline, I think this youngster is the best defender among all, even better than Lightfoot.

Pity the boys could not test themselves against Bolivia and gain some experience playing South Americans opponents. I would have them lose the final and gained that bit for their footballing career. But finishing on a high by winning a game is also not too bad lah.

Perhaps its the 'curse' that has struck Singapore football teams in recent years - that is losing to teams when we are the 'favourites', and playing at home with the 'OCCASIONALLY STRONG' support.

Lets hope that going forward, the local crowd will provide good support to our Lions and Cubs alike in all their games.

Untuk Bangsa Dan Negara, Majulah!