BoLASEPaKO•COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

In my private email to a group of friends not long ago, regarding the setting up of the trial Singapore football forum at the mass-appealing HWZ . I told them we cannot depend entirely on the mainstream media to publicize the S.League. It is certainly hard to face the fact that mainstream media are not doing much to raise the awareness of the local game, as much we would like them to like in the old days. A picture (below) here should more or less tell the story. A small obscured space on the papers Given such a small slot on the back pages and featured under the appropriately named as "Soccer Shorts", it hardly raised the eyebrows of any readers. Although, we can gather some S.League info from the likes of "TODAY" , "Shin Ming Daily News" 's Tuesday edition (one of the two SPH Chinese evening papers) and etc., still, I felt a large part of the folks out there are still ignorant of the league because of the lack of participation from the rest. Prepare ...

The Good Times - Singtel League Cup winners 2007 The saga began... The punters' complaints Blasted by the media as well... The verdict The aftermath - inputs from all quarters A fine of $30,000 in total... Ok, end of the story full stop Just to say that it's pretty odd to react in this manner when you still had 30 minutes to rescue the game. By walking out of it, totally made no sense and gave an impression of "giving up too easily". What a letdown.. :(

Prelude : "Ok, ok... Let's just say if I'm resident staying in western part of the island, I'll find it FAR too , to travel to Toa Payoh, if the national team choose to play in the central region... Fair?" So, Jurong West here I come... Fear the idea of getting stuck in the train jam, so I thought it was a safer option to book a cab (oh well, sometime you really need to spend to avoid any mishap.) Hmm... Your typical SSC stadium, which is not always football priority. The MRT viaducts (or commonly called "tracks") should serve as a good marker, if you intend to make your way to and fro Boon Lay MRT station. (P.S: the tracks are meant for the Boon Lay line extension, which scheduled to be ready in a year time) Both teams warming up for the fixture.... Crowds were streaming in slowly... The cameras getting ready...The handshakes prior the start, after the national anthems played. The western folks certainly appreciated what they saw (at least we drew again...

"Come back to Liverpool, leh !" he said. "Not in the near future or never at all..." I said as I bid farewell to a new friend who I met at a pub near Suntec City. (Picture)The pub's plasma was showing the live telecast of an EPL match between Liverpool and Derby County. This new friend is a Liverpool supporter, while yours truly USED TO be an Anfield faithful. "Used to be" in a sense that I am not longer have that "feel" or "attachment" towards the most successful English football club since early 90s'. It was an awakening call when I realized what the Reds mean to me? - NOTHING... Nothing at all... They don't actually know who we are, where we are from, but when to pay rise we "contribute generously" to them via the high cable TV subscription charges we need to fork out every month. Bah! As I recalled months back the cable operator was going to increase the sports channel subscription that I wasted no time and run...

(Sorry for the slight delay....) As mentioned in the previous entry , it's up to the players and the clubs' administrators to build up from where, if they are to elevate to by those marketing stunts. Having missed out on two previous occasions (i.e.: (1) the launch of the league in 1996 and (2) the start of the legalized betting) that saw the surge in attendance, we must not let the third to slip through our fingers, if there's even going to be a third miracle. I can't advise on how the players to improve their plays and skills as I'm not qualified, neither how to run the clubs as I thought there are qualified managing gurus. Having observed the way things handled after a decade, I thought I should input some of my "unproven" ideas to alter how the things should run. Some ideas to share Isn't a waste to have those unoccupied seats at the enclosed area during the matches (above)? To this day, only holders to the relevant passes or invited guests are al...