Reliving glory days of 1994?

In what must be good news to most Singapore fans, we are heading back to the Malaysia Super League.

While the rest of Singapore celebrates the announcement, here is one camper who is not entirely convinced.

To be brutally honest, Singapore going back to the Malaysia Cup is like a desperate attempt to revive interest in local football again. FAS must have realised that the S League has reached a point so low, we need to return to where we ended it off. And the truth is, any move to revive the football scene will yield something. We are so low on crowd attendance in our stadiums, even the local "getai" at our neighborhoods draw larger crowds.

A Singapore Under 23 team with possibly 3 foreigners and 5 full internationals... perhaps we can relive the days of Fandi and Abbas. Maybe we can ignite the passion of our local footballers again, that they will think about playing and impressing in front of big crowds again.

Maybe the competitive rivalry that stems between our neighboring states will bring about the passionate Kallang Roar we sorely miss.

Can we relive the glory days of 1994? I am not sure we can ever revive that old magic. I just know we can go no lower than what we have now, so why do we care where we go?

When you have no idea where to go and have nowhere to go, any road will lead you somewhere.

We are proud of you Singapore Cubs !!

A big congratulations to CR Flamengo for having won the 23rd Lion City Cup. Deservedly crowned champions, the Flamengo team was always the favourites, having come all the way from the land of joga bonito. Nearly every kid on the streets and beaches of Brazil play football by the way, so it wasn't a surprise to see the Flamengo players dance and play football with such comfort and style amongst their fellow peers from Singapore, England and Italy.

But the biggest winners of this tournament must be Singapore. We have witnessed entertaining football on our shores, not least coming from our very own Singapore cubs. After watching the Singapore cubs clinich 3rd place at the last Youth Olympics, I was frankly not the most excited of Singaporeans. I refuse to be carried away by the media attention. The Lion City Cup has however revealed that we have a future in football, yes... Singapore has a future in football, our young boys can play football. If they are given a chance, and if they are coached properly.

We might not have won the tournament, but the Under 16s and the Under 15s clinched 2nd and 3rd spots respectively, no mean feat considering the opposition of Juventus, Everton and Newcastle. What has impressed me most is that our boys played positive football, attacking and inventive football. Most notably, we had young boys who are skilful and determined i.e. Hanafi Akbar and Adam Swandi and we also had strong and steady players who work extremely hard for their teammates, i.e. Dhukilan, Aaravin and almost everyone else on the team roster.

Well done Singapore Cubs, you've shown that you are worthy of wearing the national colors on your jersey. You've taught the Singapore fans (a hard bunch to please by the way) that you are worthy of their support, that you can be something more than your seniors. While this might be a loss today, let it spur you on to be even better players. Who is to say we cannot beat the Brazilians. We nearly did today.

So FAS, please continue your good work with the Cubs, pour resources into these teams, send them overseas for trials, expose them to European and South American football, build a Singapore team that is going to do Singapore proud in 5 years time. Perhaps we could have a go at the World Cup then, but instead of cubs, we will see the Lions roar.

Patrick Kinghorn bites co-host

Hannibal Kinghorn !! Maybe Patrick should consider having his own action figure if he loses his job at Singtel.

What kind of a full-grown man bites another in the face?

Apparently, Kinghorn (with the tie) bit his co host (red polo-tee) in the face... He must have taken the challenge "What're you gonna do? Bite me?" too seriously...

Poor Kui Jien, I hope he is not disfigured too badly, he is afterall the cute commentator on TV. Not too sure if the bite mark Kinghorn left on his face will quite add to that pretty face now.

To Singtel Mio, may I please suggest keeping Patrick Kinghorn around on local TV? I mean seriously, we NEED Patrick to be around. He is so "different" from the rest of the boring, boring entertainers we have on TV these days...

....unlike Patrick Kinghorn, the others just lack bite.

FAS axes the whole National Team ?!?!

Excuse me, are you kidding me?

In what is a thinly veiled desperate attempt to "resuscitate" the FAS's reputation and maybe save a few "rice bowls", the FAS has decided to drop ALL current National Team players a.k.a the Lions...

I think this is the lamest piece of news I have ever seen in local football, other than of course the unveiling of the pathetic animal mascots they use for the S-League.

If the FAS think that making a publicity act of and shaming the now ex-Lions will save them the wrath of the Singapore fans, they are sadly mistaken...

For all the bad publicity about lax discipline and true to a good extent; poor performances from the Lions, I don't think the players are all to blame. I mean its been a whole year of dismal results in 2010, surely the man who picked the team Mr Raddy Avramovic and his coaches must take some blame? Surely, the FAS which did not "plan" ahead for the Suzuki Cup, thus leaving us with a bunch of oldies for the tournament should deserve a smacking too?

Anyway, Singapore fans, no matter how die-hard they may be are really just fans of Man Utd, Liverpool and what have you... we are part time Singaporeans when it comes to football. And that is a sad fact; but one that just reflects the dismal state of local football since the days of Fandi Ahmad, Abbas Saad and Sundramoorthy...

Malaysia Boleh !!

A hearty congratulations to Malaysia for an undeniable victory at the AFF Suzuki Cup.

An incredible feat considering Malaysia has done it with mostly younger players in their early twenties. They played with heart and resolute defending to deny the tournament favourites Indonesia.

Winners overall at 4-2 aggregate, more than convincing in my opinion. With the decline of Thailand and Singapore, Malaysia's golden generation looks set to dominate South East Asian football for a few more years. (they also won the gold medal at the recently concluded SEA Games)

Special mention must be given to the Malaysian football federation for boldly turning the M-League into a 100% local tournament, with no foreign players involved. Their efforts clearly paid off, having built a solid team of Malaysian born and bred footballers. I am particularly impressed by their chief striker and tormentor Safee Sali and the bravehearts at the centre of their defence.

It wasn't long ago when Singapore thought they were better off than their neighbors. The Lions need a wake up call, the S-League needs a major revamp and fans need to demand that the FAS get their act together. Time to rid the league, the national team of slackers, wannabes and arrogant players. We need players who believe in playing as a team.

For that matter, I think our medal winning youth Olympic team is a good team to pour our resources into. Today, the moment belongs to Malaysia.

Toothless Lions in AFF Suzuki Cup

I have always wondered why I will sit and watch the Lions a.k.a the Singapore National Football team on TV.

They frustrate the commentators (and audience), make schoolboy errors you only see at void deck soccer and sometimes just give the impression that they could not care less.

Luckily for all Singaporeans, the Lions put up a more gutsy performance in the 2nd half to overturn a one goal deficit against Myanmar and win 2-1; anything less will see them all but likely kicked out of the tournament.

A last minute goal does little to mask the lacklustre performance from a Singapore side that looked lost and clueless in front of goal. For long periods in the match, the Burmese looked hungrier. The "white angels" as they are called had more heart than the Lions. What an irony.

Contrary to belief... Lions don't really bite. Meow...

Peter Lim to take over Liverpool?

The biggest news at the start of the week must be the proposed takeover bid by Peter Lim, a Singaporean billionaire of Liverpool FC.

To have a piece of English history owned by Singapore is quite a staggering thought. To take it away from the Yankees (Hicks and Gillet) who know nothing about soccer must a double bonus, not least for the loyal Liverpool fans who have been yearning for a white knight. The last thing Liverpool fans want to see really is sell their club to another group of Yankees (NESV).

I can't say Singaporeans really understand how massive this might be; if the projected takeover goes through. Liverpool is HUGE, but wasn't the Formula One night race in Singapore once a distant dream too? Now, the Singapore GP has become one of the crown jewels on the F1 racing calendar. Having a Singaporean owner at Liverpool Football Club will forever etch this tiny nation called Singapore into the history of the English Premier League, arguably the league with the longest history and possibly the greatest following worldwide.

One thing I admire about this little red dot of an island we come from is that we dare to challenge the big boys, albeit in a wise and calculated manner.

I presume Liverpool fans will be stoked at the chance of seeing a local Singaporean son own their football club. Imagine the fanfare ?!?!

Oh well, I just hope we all get free EPL if Mr Lim does succeed... Get rid of Singtel mio for god's sake.

Letter to Mr Winston Lee: S-League CEO.

Dear Mr Winston Lee,

I don't watch the S League too much, for reasons too obvious to mention here. Most of the matches resemble "volleyball matches". The ball goes from one end to the other.

But, if I had a regret for not watching one whether live or on TV, it must be missing the "free-for-all" a.k.a streetfight, flying kungfu kicks in an otherwise typical S League match (cue Young Lions vs Beijing Guoan)

Lest to say, ugly scenes are disturbing, especially when one involves the Young Lions.

But I must agree that football is a contact sport and sometimes, tempers are hard to manage in the heat of the moment.

It is embarassing but at least it brought some well-needed (dare I say) entertainment value to the S League.

By the way, who is the marketing executive at the S League committee? Can I suggest that the fella be sacked/deduct his pay because for so many years now, the S League is still NOT attracting anbody to watch the teams play. In a city which I consider to be football mad, it is hard to comprehend why that might be the case.

Mr Lee, I think you should really, seriously consider doing some well needed soul-searching to reach the Singapore masses. Actually, it isn't that hard to spot potential viewers, they are all around us. All it needs is some creativity which obviously this league lacks. Don't say I never help:

1.) The uncles sitting at the kopitiam (offer free Tiger beer.)
2.) The void deck soccer boys (give chance to play with some pros and make them part of the "abang" circle.)
3.) The SPGs (bring in more angmohs and create "meet-the-angmoh player" nights. Etoile the French team can lead that initiative.)
4.) The soccer geeks watching BPL at home (subsidized Singtel mio if they come and watch a fixed number of live matches.)
5.) The girlfriends and spouses of football mad Singaporean men etc. (create a WAGs club per team; who will take in female members and go spa-ing, shopping and have high teas together.)

Mr Lee, I don't want to be impolite but please be sensible and stop wasting taxpayers money on something so chui that it CANNOT even attract Singaporeans. Very lau kui you know.

Yawn... I am bored just writing this. Ok, back to my Engrish Premier Reague.

Yours sincerely,
Fisheye