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Based on those " recommendations ", it is not hard to tell a thing or two where and why our SEA Games footballers failed to perform up to expectations. Coach Raddy was the last coach to guide Singapore to success • SPL NOT UP TO MARK When one of the findings mentioned 'tournament (SEA Games) was played at an intensity “beyond that of the” SPL.' , it has proven that SPL (Singapore Premier League) does not provide the necessary environment and pace to gear our players to play at a higher level usually demanded at the international levels, be it the SEA Games or any international tournaments. • RADDY ALREADY SAID SO Which the reason why former national coach Raddy Avramovic once said the importance of our clubs to do well in regional tournaments such as the AFC Cup, as players would gain the necessary exposure at club levels by playing in those tournaments and would adapt the pace easily when they came to play for the national team, if selected. • POOR FUNDAMENTALS   On...

1965 Malaya Cup Final match programme It was a blessing to get my hands on the souvenir match programme of the 1965 Malaya Cup Final, a piece of football history that is so meaningful to Singapore's football history. The significance of it is that this was the last time Singapore won the esteemed tournament as a member of the Federation of Malaysia before the Separation on 9th August 1965, and it was barely less than two weeks before the expulsion took place when the match was played on 31st July at Merdeka Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. In his foreword, Tengku Azman Shah, the then regent of Selangor, wrote that this booklet should not just serve as a guide for the match itself, but also allow future generations to appreciate and understand the history and development of the game in Malaysia (which included Singapore at the time of publication). Foreword by Tengku Azman Shah (from programme) Besides the Selangor prince, other dignitaries who penned their forewords in this souvenir progr...

 SGPL - Lion City Sailors 3-2 Albirex Niigata (S) 210523 LCS' GK Zharfan Rohaizad got ahead of ALbirex's Tadanari Lee Lion City Sailors came back from a two-goal deficit at half-time to beat reigning champions Albirex Niigata (Singapore) 3-2 at the Bishan Stadium. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES SGPL - Lion City Sailors 1-1 Tampines Rovers 070623 Stags' Kopitovic refused a helping hand from LCS' Lopes A draw was not what Lion City Sailors and Tampines Rovers wanted in their Singapore Premier League title race, with the former missing out on narrowing the gap with the second-placed Stags and league leaders Albirex Niigata (Singapore). PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES International Friendly - Singapore 2-2 Papua New Guinea 160623 Hariss Harun (14) made sure he got it covered Both Adam Swandi and Shawal Anuar found their first-half efforts being cancelled out by the visiting Papua New Guineans in the Lions' homecoming ma...

I was flabbergasted when I realised how many sectors the organisers are going to open up for the Singapore national team 's upcoming friendly matches against Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Solomon Islands at the National Stadium (check out yourself at the SISTIC site ). Worth the effort for having games here? Gven such a small fraction to be opened up, it would be a challenging task to create the kind of atmosphere most accustomed to an international friendly, especially the spot where some of the most passionate supporters usually congregate is not one of those to-be-opened sectors. HAVING A WHITE ELEPHANT IN THE HOUSE Based on the seating plan, only a few sectors surrounding the "players' tunnel" are open for sale, and mind you those limited slots are located at the lower tier of the 55,000-seat facility. While there is a desire to see more of the Lions' matches to be staged at the National Stadium , the limited seats available for sale will make the place look lik...

The biography of "Uncle" Choo Seng Quee I was thrilled when I first came across the Facebook group posting by Reynold Godwin Pereira on his plan to write a book about Choo Seng Quee, the late legendary Singapore football coach whose name still awes everyone by merely mentioning his moniker "Uncle Choo". After all, we are talking about an individual who, through his no-nonsense, tough disciplinary methods, uplifted game standards not just in Singapore, but also in Malaysia and Indonesia. PRESERVE UNCLE CHOO MEMORIES BEFORE THEY'RE GONE A biography like this one came just at the right time to inform the current young generation of the great things the man did before all those memories would fade away after the passing of one generation. With "Uncle Choo" passing away in 1983, Pereira had to rely on the accounts shared with him by those who knew him, including players who trained under him and became national players like Quah Kim Song , etc. The book aut...

The recent statements by both Eric Chua and Philippe Aw on the current state of local football is a sign which I sincerely hope we are on the right path. Right after Singapore U22's recent Merlion Cup campaign that saw them finish last in the quadrangular, the multi-tasking Coach Aw, who is concurrently the Young Lions head coach in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) and assistant technical director of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), admitted the arduous task ahead as he and his boys are preparing for the upcoming SEA Games. “It is no secret we have been struggling in age-group competitions for some time now as other countries have improved. The SEA Games will not be a simple assignment and we have to be realistic and manage expectations.” said Aw, as quoted by The Straits Times (ST), after the Cubs' 2-1 defeat to their Cambodian counterparts at the Jalan Besar Stadium. NOT TO MAKE INSTANT NOODLES BUT DOUBLE-BOILED TONIC SOUP: CHUA In the meantime, in an extensive...

Led by English entrepreneur Reg Lambourne , the contingent comprised of English powerhouse Arsenal, Scottish giants Celtic FC, and Yugoslavian titans Red Star Belgrade arrived in Singapore to give local football fans one unforgettable experience in the Metro 20th Anniversary Tournament back in July 1977. I doubt scenes like this would ever happen today when I prowled and read what I gathered from newspapers archives for details on the Metro 20th Anniversary Tournament which took place in July 1977, when three groups of footballers descended together at the old Paya Lebar Airport for the abovementioned quadrangular which was part of the "World of Soccer Cup" friendly tournament played in both Singapore and Australia. "$24-MILLION WORTH OF TALENT" Was how it was labeled by The Straits Times in their report when renowned footballers such as Malcolm "Super Mac" MacDonald, Liam Brady, Danny McGrain, and Vladislav Bogicevic were part of the contingent welcome...

 AFF ME Cup 2022 - Singapore 3-2 Myanmar 241222 Referee taking the control in the box A hard-fought battle saw Singapore get off to a good start in their AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup campaign against Myanmar at the JBS. Ilhan Fandi, Shah Shahiran and Shawal Anuar scored in the Lions' 3-2 win over the Myanmarese. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES AFF ME Cup 2022 - Singapore 0-0 Vietnam 301222 The extra scoreboard at Jalan Besar Stadium A half-turbo Vietnamese side found themselves up against a determined Singapore team to see the hosts maintain their unbeaten record in the ongoing AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 with a goalless draw at JBS. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES

One of the headlines on the stampede ( NLB archive ) The build-up to the match was intense. After all, it was between the two biggest sides of the tournament that saw them being the first finalists of the competition first known as the HMS Malaya Cup back in 1921. To make the showdown even more mouth-watering was the fact that Selangor, widely known as the Malaysian "second national team" back then with the likes of Mohktar Dahari, Soh Chin Ann, Santokh Singh, etc., had already beaten Singapore twice on a roll in the final to win the coveted Malaysia Cup in previous two years (1975 and 1976). The blogger speaking to Dato' Soh Chin Ann in 2010 (Gale Gan) Instead of making the arch-rivals face each other for the third consecutive time in the ultimate fixture in 1977, the script was changed to see both Singapore and Selangor in the semi-final instead. The young republic, coached by the legendary "Uncle" Choo Seng Quee, topped the South Zone undefeated with eight wi...

Mr Lim Teng Sai in his younger days (as credited) The story was shared by former Singapore national defender Mr Lim Teng Sai during the launch of the book "ROAR: Football Legends of Singapore" at the Jalan Besar Stadium (JBS) days ago. The former center-half approached a group of us during the friendly match between Singapore ex-internationals, which featured some of his former teammates, and their Malaysian counterparts, as he would like to peruse the book that documented the football history of Singapore. The friendly match, which was won 2-0 by the hosts, was part of the launch of the book authored and edited by long-time Singapore football supporter Mr A Thiyaga Raju and sports writer Mr Gary Koh respectively. The blogger with Mr Lim at the JBS Elated to see his name being featured in the list of the players in the book, he went on to oblige a fan's request to sign on a few pictures of his taken during his playing days in the 1970s. Pointing towards the direction wh...

I hope everyone already woke up from a bad nightmare for what it was never meant to be in the first place. It was a bitter pill to swallow to see some of our neighbours (see links below under RELATED NEWS at the foot) qualified for the Asian Cup, while we could only lick our wounds and keep thinking about what went wrong. The emotion of Shah Shahiran (20) sums it up Many things were said about the preparation, process, etc. leading to the trip to the Kyrgyz Republic for the qualifiers of the continent's most prestigious tournament (i.e.: the late appointment of Takayuki Nishigaya as the national team coach , short preparation period , etc.) And when things did not go according to the script, it inevitably triggered an outcry, as seen on the platform's Facebook page lately. MOVING FORWARD It does not help the situation anymore if we keep harping on those hotly debated issues when we should be looking forward after the post-mortem period. When Coach Nishigaya insisted the Lions ...