Bizarre...

That's the ONLY word that came to my mind when I recounted the whole event that lead up to the World Cup Qualifier fixture on the 28th October 2007.

Much to dismay of some fans who felt being taken for a ride after it was made known that the National Stadium will be re-opened for this fixture, when it was already declared "CLOSED" on the 30th June 2007.

Nevertheless, the no-show by the Palestinians today, somehow or rather added a bit of that mysterious flavour onto the whole event.

Founded out from the Palestinians' FA website that the players and officials having some problems clearing the security procedure at the "Gate" (Don't get the wrong idea.. I don't read Arabic but using Google translator, somehow it did provided some sketchy translation into English.)

Anyway, before any changes that come along , Harry Kewell (pictured above ) is still be remembered as the last person to score a goal at Kallang (if he bothers..).

Strange....

Here's this very first attempt to be a comic artist.. actually, it's a comic strip generator from Stripgenerator (http://stripgenerator.com/create/).

Still in the process of learning the ropes by tried out the abovementioned strip.

It's about two guys having a chat over the re-opening of the "to-be-demolished" National Stadium on the 28th Oct fixture against the Palestinians.

This act somehow opening up another question - Where is the Singapore Cup Final to be staged?

Since the tender for the Sports Hub is still going on.. Anybody guess, I guess?

(P.s: Click on the comic strip to bring you to a larger resolution.)

Match Day Ritual (Jalan Besar)

This is the "replacement" version of the same named article which I deleted by mistake.

It's about the short write-up on what to expect around Jalan Besar Stadium on a matchday, when you still have some time to spare before the start of the game.

Some of the Pictures took

Sungei Road aka Thieves' Market, when bargain hunters gathered to hunt for some hidden treasures in the pile.

As you can, Jalan Besar is the hardware emporium of this island, thus you will find any fancy shopping centers within the walking distance (unless, you don't mind Sungei Road)

This sign put up by the National Heritage Board provided a detailed write-up of the history of the game's headquarters in Singapore.

..Although, sometime you wonder if there's all that necessary to have a swimming pool just beside a stadium like everywhere in Singapore?

Videocast: A "Closed Door" Event??

Was only aware of this AFC U16 qualifiers when a guy drop me a comment on one of the blog entries to enquire TV schedule of it.. (Thanks Barry :D)

Was aware that today is the last day of the qualifiers, I decided to head down to Jalan Besar for a double-header.

• 5pm - East Timor vs Australia
• 7pm - DPRK vs Malaysia

Much to my astonish.. the Timorese squad did not turn up for the qualifiers at all, so the 5pm game was scrapped!! (@#*&!!...)

Anyway, hang around Jalan Besar area to kill my time before went back to the ground.

Match pictures...

(Above) Both teams having their warming up prior the start of the game, I would say the Koreans were more well-organized in their work outs.

(Above) as the match went on.. it's not hard to tell which is the better of the two, as the Koreans were well-drilled in all aspects with the striped army struggled to keep pace..

(Above) Wondering how these guys got hold of the news that the game was scheduled on a lazy Sunday.. anyway, free admission.. who cares??

(Above) the Koreans saluted to their supporters.....

(Above) While the Koreans' supporters acknowledged in return...

The Videocast of the match...

Sorry the poorly-done video.. at least, someone bother to do.. enjoy.. especially the 3rd goal scored (Boy, was I lucky to have with it on clip??)

Cup game is so different....

There's always a tendency that Cup game is a much intensive affair as compared to league games.

No, no... don't get me wrong but it just that because of the "knock out" factor that Cup games offered, that we tend to see more passionate pace and aggressive games in Singapore Cup than in the league fixture (where promote/relegation is a long wait to go) I guess.

(Picture above: Woodlands coach Jorg Steinnebrunner spoke to the media after the fiery Singapore Cup semi-final (first-leg) fixture against SAFFC.)

Of course, luck do play a part too in such games as in many cases (but not all), we can't help but felt sorry for the guys who played well but just couldn't make it to the next stage of the competition.

(Picture above: Dejected Bangkok University players in their post-match warming down session, they fared well against the defending Cup holders Tampines Rovers in the second-leg of the semi-final but was knocked out the tournament.)

Remember Him??

Was aimlessly surfing around when I saw an "old friend" of Singapore football - one of our former national coaches - Douglas Moore.

Dougie is currently working as a head coach in one of the colleges (i.e:"Lock Haven University") in the States.

Here's a link to his current profile, which included these lines:

"Prior to his appointment at Lock Haven, Moore was the Chief Executive Officer and founder of the Singapore Professional Football League. He served as the national coach of Singapore, leading the team to unprecedented success including the national team’s first ever Malaysia Cup victory in 1994"

What a horrible mistake! Hope it was not Dougie who told those guys about that misleading fact.

Instant Reaction: Don't SCREW up Again!!

Well Done, Boys!!! We are proud of you..

I thought I still in dreamland when I first saw the score but hey, it's real..

IT - the way

In my private email to my associates not long ago, regarding the setting up of the trial Singapore football forum at the mass-appealing HWZ. I told them we can't depend on the mainstream media to publicize the S.League.

It certainly hard to face the fact that mainstream media such as The Straits Times, are distanced itself away for no apparent reason (at least as far as I concerned).

A picture (below) here should more or less tells the story.

Given such a small slot on the backpages and featured under the appropriately named as "Soccer shorts", it hardly raised the eyebrows of any readers.

Although, we can gathered some S.League info from the likes of "TODAY", "Shin Ming Daily"'s tuesday edition (one of the two SPH Chinese evening papers) and etc., still I felt large part of the folks outhere are still ignorant of the league because the lack of participation from the rest.

Prepare for the worst
I'm not sure if that reached to a stage that league itself is ready to throw in towel and embrace to an alternative media - the IT media (or some called it IT, cyberworld or whatsoever).

Below are some of the few examples I can think on tapping on such alternative.

- Avantgo

I been using "Avantgo" since my IPAQ days.

"Avantgo" is a useful software that allows users to read their desired news on their handheld devices (i.e.:"PocketPC" or "PDA") that are pre-loaded via the internet.

-Text messages (sms)

Although we have this service for quite a while, the only problem is only subscribers to one particular telco are able to use it.

Brush that aside, I think this is a good way to spread the news, info and whatsoever of the league.

The only drawback is the limitation of the 160 characters each sms can hold (unless, the subscriber willing to receive more than one sms of a particular info).

(P.S: the content in the SMSes are strictly fictional)

Now or never
Now, the critical task is to establish a link between the league and its potential "customer" (after all, the fans are main paymaster of the players and whosoever right?).

With the scarcity of media coverage on regular basis (unless we are in some big time tournaments), I think we will have to head straight into it fast.

There's nothing to lose anyway, if the league is to attract more youngsters (mostly EPL fanatics), by whom large number of them are IT savvy.

With the change of way that people are receiving their news, information nowdays (instead, of solely relying on newspapers or television), both league and clubs (especially, those with website) shall maximize their presence using the IT way.