Singapore National Football Team Saga: Straits Times article VS Avramovic’s subsequent clarification
Over the years, the Straits Times is not known to cover the S-League and the Lions extensively. Since the Malaysia Cup days, it is fair to say that our national paper had taken a scant interest at trying to sell local football to the public.
Some will argue that ST does provide match reports on selected S-League matches. When our national team plays away games, they do send journalists miles away to provide stories from the ground. However, on any given day, news articles on foreign football leagues outnumber those on local football by ten to one (at least).
Thus, it is with some interest when ST ran a report with the headline “No Wonder Lions Lost” on 10 Mar.[1]
In the report, journalist Wang Meng Meng lists ill-discipline and poor attitude of the players among the reasons why we lost 2-1 to Jordan in the final Asian Cup qualification group. Wang’s article contained several quotes from team coach Raddy Avramovic.
A day later, Avramovic found it necessary to call for a press conference to clarify comments and misconceptions in media report.[2] Clearly, Wang’s article on ST is the “media report” in question, as no other source contained original research on this allegation.
Avramovic’s statement to the media is firm, succinct and concise. The Sports editorial team had taken the liberty to summarise the stark differences between Wang’s news report and Avramovic’s rebuttal (they are quoted directly off both reports as referenced above):
| As reported by Wang Meng Meng on ST [1] | Avramovic’s clarification [2] |
| … two players oversleep and were late boarding the team bus | Avramovic confirmed that two players were seven minutes late boarding the team bus on match day. |
| … a couple of players were smoking in the dressing room (at half-time) | Avramovic commented, “In all my time as a coach, I have never seen any player openly smoke in front of me, especially inside the dressing room. On that day, none of us saw any player smoke at any time in the dressing room.” |
| Said Avramovic: “Certain players have become too big for their boots. They come with an attitude that their place in the national team is reserved for them. During the match, some players gave just 50 per cent effort.” | (quoted from Avramovic) “I was disappointed with our performance and the result on the day itself but I cannot fault the players’ attitude and commitment in training.” |
| Avramovic yesterday also lashed out at the poor attitude of some players during training sessions | (quoted from Avramovic) “The team conducted themselves well in difficult conditions with the weather and unprofessional treatment from the hosts and I was generally very happy. Nobody was late for any of the training sessions or team meetings.” |
| Said Avramovic:” Some players complained the training sessions were too tough. They forgot that it was hard work that got them into the national team in the first place.” |
The only thing the article got right was the fact there there were two players who were late for the team bus. However, they were just seven minutes late, according to Avramovic.
It does not take any more analysis to see how different Avramovic’s words to the media are to what ST had reported. It has to make you wonder if the words quoted by Wang Meng Meng are accurate in the first place.
This leads to several more questions:
- What is ST’s source of information? From what Avramovic told the media, it does not appear that ST’s information was reliable at all to start with
- If ST’s source of information has not been verified, what is the purpose of Wang’s article? It appears to be a blow to the morale of our national team at a time where they are still reeling from a disappointing defeat.
Even without Avramovic’s clarification, it is already clear that Wang had attributed the loss in Jordan (by a ONE-goal margin) entirely to unprofessional behaviour by our Lions. He had clearly ignored that fact that Jordan is a reputed Middle Eastern football side and the weather conditions in Amman were entirely different from that in Singapore. Oh, the Jordanians had a partisan 27,000 crowd behind them as well.
This editorial team will take this opportunity to reiterate our support for the Lions in this article and encourage the fans to get behind our national team by ignoring news reports which try to sway the crowd otherwise.
[1] http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Sport/Story/STIStory_500226.html
[2] http://www.fas.org.sg/default.asp?V_DOC_ID=3494
AFC Champions League MD2: SAFFC 0 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2
By MJ
After the commendable result against Chinese Super League side Henan Jianye away from home on Match Day 1, SAFFC approached tonight’s AFC Champions League Group G clash against South Korean giants Suwon Samsung Bluewings at the Jalan Besar Stadium with guarded confidence.
The Suwon squad was superior on paper in every department, featuring a host of current South Korean international players in their line-up. In the corresponding match last season, Suwon won the match 2-0 despite resting several of their regular first team players.
SAFFC started the match brightly, pressurizing their opponents and chased for every ball, keeping them pretty much at bay. As the match wore on, the quality of the Korean side showed as they settled into a possession game and began to test SAFFC’s defence with crosses in the box and neat one-twos through the middle.
From then on, it was always going to be a long night for SAFFC and it was evident that there will only be one winner in this contest.
To SAFFC’s credit, they managed to hold off with a combination of some outstanding saves from keeper Sharil Jantan and some poor finishing from Suwon. The tide only turned tremendously in Suwon’s favour in the last min of the first half when Brazilian import Vendrechovski Junior Anselmo struck an unstoppable free kick into the top corner of SAFFC’s goal.
The second half was very much the same story as Suwon looked to increase their lead to kill off the tie. SAFFC were left with a huge mountain to climb when Ivan Lovric was sent off for a second bookable offence. In the 73rd min, Suwon’s Brazilian forward Rodrigues Mota Junior Jose Roberto scored Suwon’s second of the night with a superb effort that gave Sharil no chance.
SAFFC did manage to break away occasionally throughout but were always out numbered by the solid Korean defence. Suwon did not look anywhere near their best, probably affected by the humid Singapore weather and the punishing artificial turf at the Jalan Besar Stadium. In the end, Suwon deserved to win perhaps by a larger score line with an accomplished and professional display.
Analysis from the sideline
This game provides a useful insight into SAFFC’s overall progress as a team, as they also played Suwon last season. A year ago, they were totally outplayed and couldn’t even get out of their own half to create chances.
Suwon also played much better than they did last year and their class was evident in the middle of park, where their players exchanged neat passes and kept possession well.
Despite an overhaul in personnel, SAFFC looked better prepared this season. They were certainly not overawed by the occasion and the players kept to their task and were more than a match for the Koreans. They were not content to just sit back and defend, creating a few good scoring chances of their own.
The final result may have been identical to last year’s, but SAFFC can take pride in this performance and understand that they should only get better from here. J-League giants Gamba Osaka are the next to visit Singapore and they will no doubt provide a stiffer challenge to SAFFC.
It will be easy to reiterate that the gulf between SAFFC and the rest of the East Asian club sides is still wide, but it can be said that this gap is closing slowly but surely. Yesterday, Indonesian club side Persipura Jayapura were hammered 9-0 in China. With this in mind, SAFFC’s performance here looks a whole lot more respectable.
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About the author – MJ has watched more S-League games than anyone he knows and hopes to see it blossom into one of the strongest leagues in the region. He is however annoyed by the lack coverage in the mainstream media and hopes to be the alternative voice.
Also by MJ
Lions on the verge of making history
FAS fails to learn from past mistakes
Should Bridge have built the bridge?
By Ray Ang
What a busy few weeks it has been for English paparazzi!
Firsly, news of John Terry “doing a number on” lingerie model Vanessa Perroncel (ex-girlfriend of Wayne Bridge) splashed all over major the newspapers. Days later, Ashley Cole’s infidelity resulting in his split from pop singer Cheryl Cole from Girls Aloud swiftly followed.
The former led to Wayne Bridge’s decision to withdraw from the England squad selection and also brought much more hype to Manchester City’s visit to Stamford Bridge over the weekend. The match, which saw Man City thrashed Chelsea 4-2, also witnessed the much talked-about handshake snub by Bridge.
Subsequently, all eyes fell on England’s midweek friendly against Egypt and whether the absence of Bridge will be missed. England won that game 3-1 and Bridge’s replacement Leighton Baines put in a commendable performance in his place and quelled pleas from fans to get Bridge to return to the England line up.
However, the big question remains on everyone’s mind. Should Bridge have behaved the way he did? Should he have “built the bridge”?
Fans Reaction
The response from the public to Bridge’s decision to pull out of the England squad has been mixed at best.
There were many who were generally sympathetic of Bridge and argued that people should respect his decision and be supportive of him through such tough times. Bridge’s teammate Carlos Tevez was more vocal with his support of Bridge and said that such behaviour from John Terry would not have been accepted in Argentina and he could have even been killed for his actions.
Others critical of Bridge however pointed to the fact that Bridge was letting his emotions get the better of him. Being a professional footballer, he should behave professionally about the whole matter and be able to separate football (which is his career) and his personal life. Some even commented that he overreacted since Terry was only sleeping with his EX-girlfriend.
Professionalism
Bridge - Preplexed
So how exactly should a professional footballer behave then?
One can argue that Bridge is an employee of Man City and gets his wages paid by the club. Hence, to be professional, Bridge will just have to give his all every time he dons the club jersey. In that aspect, his decision to pull out of the national team has no relation to his professionalism for the club.
However, one can also argue that if Mancini decides to purchase Terry to shore up his backline, will Bridge have behaved in the same manner? In that instance, will he be acting as a professional then? Bridge’s decision has effectively pulled the plug on any potential moves that Mancini can make for Terry (remember that Terry was top of Man City’s shopping list last summer) without him letting Bridge go.
Country over Club
Even though one can argue that Bridge might not have acted unprofessionally, the bigger question might have been whether he could have put his personal differences aside and answer the call to play for his country.
To be called up to play for one’s country is a matter of immense pride and this is especially so in football-mad England.
Bridge might feel let down by Terry but he is letting the whole nation down by not playing and giving England a better chance of winning the much coveted World Cup trophy. It’s akin to turning down the call for national service because he couldn’t stand being with one of his section mate?
This is likely to be Bridge’s last World Cup and the Three Lions’ best shot at winning the World Cup in decades, yet he is not committed to help the highly talented but grossly underachieving squad consisting of Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard and Ferdinand achieve their first win in a major competition.
Acting in Self Interest
Others looking at the matter in a totally different angle say that Bridge made a shrewd move by putting himself out of the running for the squad and sparing himself the embarrassment of being dropped subsequently from the final squad by Fabio Capello.
Capello, being the strict disciplinarian that he is, will not tolerate any dressing room unrest and will likely drop Bridge over Terry to achieve this. Hence, Bridge is essentially acting in his self interest and not really thinking of the bigger picture for his other national team mates or the country for that matter.
Given that the World Cup is still over two months away, there is still every chance that Bridge might overturn his decision and return to the England fold.
However, one might say that if Ashley Cole returns fit from his injury, then Bridge’s eventual decision will only create a ripple and not a wave since he will probably end up playing second fiddle again. In all, it is hard not to give some sympathy to poor Wayne since he is also not even first choice with his wife!
As for John Terry, we all know that he likes scoring at the Bridge but he has clearly taken the matter out of hands with his travesty!
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Ray is a proud product of a local university (the one furthest westwards) and is based in London after having completed his Masters there. He currently plies his trade in a research based function for a financial institution and lists sports and current affairs amongst his many interests.
Top 8 – Football Clubs with the largest debts
With Portsmouth entering administration and facing imminent relegation, the editors have decided to compile a top 8 list of football clubs with the highest amount of debt. The level of debt is by no means a good measure of the club’s sustainability, as shown by Pompey, which went under with about US$100 million worth of debts (much less than any of the clubs listed on this list).
The information collated is from Forbes and correct as of April 2009. For comparative purposes all figures are represented in US dollars, at exchange rates correct as of comparative period. We know the data is almost a year old and things might have significantly changed over time, but given the difficulty of data gathering on financial information, we have considered that this data as current. Bear in mind that most of these football clubs are not listed on exchange, thus gathering of information by Forbes would have been tedious.
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Ranking Methodology: 100% Statistics
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8 ) Schalke 04 (Debts of US$194 million) The first club on this list is Schalke 04, which is somewhat surprising. This German club is neither the biggest club in Germany nor have they competed in the Champions League regularly. However, this club boosts of the most fervent support in football-crazy Germany and the Board had been way too hungry for success over the years. Over the past few seasons, the club had spent heavily on players like Jefferson Farfan (€10m) andRafinha (€5m), but that has not been translated into success on the pitch as they finished 8th last season (and missed out on European club competition entirely).
7) Newcastle United (US$274m) Much like Schalke, Newcastle is a massive club in England which had not been successful on the pitch recently. Their last major honour was the FA Cup in 1955 and they had not won the league title since 1927. An extended stay in the top flight over the previous decade pushed wages over the top for the club and much of this debt is likely to be a result of that. Since Mike Ashley took over the club in 2007, he is known to have invested heavily to help the club clear its debt, thus a potion of the amount here is likely to be owe to Ashley. Newcastle is now of course a Championship side, but is expected to make a swift return to the top flight.
6) Internazionale (US$285m) Inter may be owned by Massimo Moratti, the Italian oil tycoon, but they have amassed nearly US$300m of debt nonetheless. However, it is worthy to note that the significant portion of this debt is not owed to external banks, but rather to Moratti and his various companies. As mentioned above, this fact puts Inter much less at risk than others. The club has also won the last four Serie A titles and is favourites to win the current campaign as well.
5) Real Madrid (US$311m) In terms of valuation and revenue, Real Madrid is the number one club in 2009 but they have considerable debt as well. This debt is likely to have been accumulated by the club’s lavish expenditure in the transfer market. In the past ten years alone, Real Madrid broke the transfer record four times, as they bought Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo on world record fees – this probably explained where the money had been spent on. Interestingly, Real Madrid’s debt-over-value ratio is 23%, the lowest amongst the eight clubs on this list – meaning that the Spanish giant would probably have little problems trying to clear their debt, should their creditors come knocking on the door tomorrow.
Liverpool fans protest
4) Liverpool FC (US$596m) Liverpool’s debt is mainly due to external banks. When co-owners George Gillet and Tom Hicks bought the club in February 2007, they took up a massive loan from various banks and secured it against the assets of the football club. This arrangement was never popular with the fans, as interest payments over time continued to hamper the club’s ambitions in the transfer markets. Last summer, it was widely reported that the club had negotiated with their major creditors to defer some principal repayments, suggesting that the burden of debt is weighing down the club already.
3) Chelsea (US$736m) Much like Inter, most of Chelsea’s debt is owed to their owner Roman Abramovich. Late last year (after this data was compiled), the Russian announced his decision to convert the amounts due to him by the club into equity, leaving Chelsea relatively debt-free. According to most reports, Abramovich is worth about US$13billion, thus Chelsea FC is about 8% of the man’s entire wealth.
2) Manchester United (US$1,010m) Like Liverpool, much of United’s debts had been amassed by their current owners (the Glazer family) who had borrowed heavily when they took over the club back in 2005. Just like the Hicks / Gillet saga at Anfield, United fans had staunchly opposed the Glazer buyout since Day One but all could be done was the staging of protests and chants. United is estimated to pay about S$100m a year to finance the loans, a situation which had almost necessitate the winning of trophies year in year out.
1) Arsenal (US$1,284m) When this set of data is compiled, it appears that Arsenal had the largest debt outstanding of any football club in the world. Also, their debt represented over 100% of the club value, a ratio considered risky by any measure. Arsenal is owned by several different parties and no one party has a simple majority on the ownership. The debt was accumulated over the years, as the club used leverage to finance the entire construction of their Emirates Stadium. However, in a latest financial statement released by the club, it appears that it had managed reduced this debt significantly, showing that the club has healthy cash flow. With that, it is likely to mean that Arsenal is actually in a much better financial position compared to Manchester United and Liverpool on this list.
Editors’ Note: It is by no coincidence that the top four clubs here are the “top four” in English football. It sums up the precarious financial situation English clubs are in and Portsmouth’s demise may be the tip of the iceberg.
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The editorial team will like to seek the opinion from all readers on what you think. Do you agree with the Top 8? Is there anyone that you feel is more worthy to be on the list? Leave a comment!
If there is something that you will like us to feature as part of this top 8 series please leave a comment and our team will try to accomodate!
If you want to speak to us, do drop us an email - sports@temasekreview.com
Heartbreak for Lions
By Brandon Lee
Jordan 2 Singapore 1
Lions outplayed as Jordan takes final qualification spot
A 27,000 packed stadium with Jordanian fans in Amman and harsh windy conditions were prelude to a technically challenging game for Singapore. Besides the unfamiliar weather conditions and a hostile crowd, the Lions came into this game less prepared than they would have liked to as the hosts had provided sub-standard training facilities.
The Jordanians always looked hungrier as they took first initiative in attack. They showed confidence in attack with delightful flick-ons in midfield to unlock a disciplined Singapore team that defended in numbers.
It took just eight minutes for their attack to pay dividends as striker Odai Yousef Ismail brought the home side ahead with a well placed header. Rising above Precious, he headed in from a cross on the right from winger Amer Deeb.
Singapore was quick to pile on the attacking pressure after conceding the goal. Two quick corners were won, but neither posed much danger to Jordan. The wave of attack fizzled out quickly, as the Lions were held captive in their own half by Jordan.
Another fast paced attack found Odai through on goal for a shot and it took by an excellent save by Lionel Lewis and an eventual clearance by Daniel Bennett to nullify the attack. Moments later, Deeb found Odai again with a pin-point cross from the right. Odai turned easily to beat Precious and unleashed a fearsome strike only for Lewis’ to brilliant reaction save to bail the Lions out once more.
It took 41 minutes, but Singapore finally had its first shot on target as Noh Alam Shah headed straight at the keeper from Qiu Li’s cross on the left. By that point, the match was fast turning into a target practice session for the Jordanians.
The Lions went into the break only a goal down and were perhaps a tad lucky.
Before the fans got back to their seats after half-time, Noh Alam Shah equalized with a very deft strike to the left corner of the Jordan goal. The goal breathed life into the Lions as they rediscovered confidence and piled on the attacking pressure.
Good times did not last long for Singapore as the Lions’ defence caved once more from a corner on the 57th minute. Anas Bani Yassein was completely unmarked at the far post as he headed home easily to bring the home side back on the lead. Jordan had a couple of chances before the end of the game but failed to capitalize on any of them.
Unmatched in every department, the Lions could only put in toothless spurts of attacks in the dying moments of the match. It did not matter in the end, but with Thailand losing in Tehran, any equalising goal from Singapore would have been enough for the team to qualify for the 2011 Asian Cup.
Campaign Analysis
Despite finishing bottom of Group E, there are a lot of positives to take away for the Lions in this qualifying campaign. The fact that the team was still in the qualification race before the final game of the Group bears testament to the resolve the team had shown throughout.
The gulf between ourselves and Asian powerhouse Iran was evident over the two legs (we lost 6-0 and 3-1), but we have proven to be a fair match against both Thailand and eventual qualifier Jordan.
Our match up against Thailand over two legs was interesting because of our regional rivalry and we proved that we can beat them, when Aleksander Duric’s goal sealed a famous victory in Bangkok in November last year.
In Hariss Harun, we have one of the most promising central midfielders of our time. He is only just 19 and is already a key player in the team. He was easily our best player against Jordan and he never looked overawed by the atmosphere. If FAS can provide support and opportunity for him for an overseas stint in the near future, it can only be a good thing for him and the national team.
Noh Alam Shah, who scored the goal, has three goals to his name for this campaign – an impressive return considering the quality on the display. At 29, he may not get any quicker, but by playing league football in Indonesia, he can only get more experienced in the next few years.
The overall performance, together with our respectable showing during the 2010 World Cup qualification, showed that all in all, as a proper national team, we had improved much over the years. Bear in mind that our other regional rivals (besides Thailand) had done a lot poorer at this stage, yet we have one of the smallest pool of professional players to choose from.
These two campaigns, albeit unsuccessful, can form the bedrock of our development. The next major pan-Asian campaign for the national team would be qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. That will probably kick off a couple of years from now, but this period of time is crucial in terms of personnel matters. Some senior players will opt for retirement, to allow young blood come through the ranks in the coming months.
Optimism (or blind faith, as some might say) aside, part of the success of the team depends on the support from local media and fans. Rather than lamenting the failure of the team, this editorial team had decided to stand behind the team and hope that our next qualifying campaign will eventually turn out to be successful.
About the Author – Brandon is a freelance writer who strives to be a model citizen. He likes Green Tea without the tinge of Jasmine.
Lions on the verge of making history
Jordan is up next for the Lions
Jordan VS Singapore: Match Preview
By MJ
It will not be exaggerating to say that the Lions face the biggest tie in recent history as they resume their AFC Asian Cup 2011 qualifying campaign with Wednesday’s final Group E clash against Jordan in Amman.
History beckons the Lions as they bid to become the first Singapore side to qualify for the Asian Cup Finals (we qualified as hosts in 1984).
Thailand play group leaders Iran in Tehran on the same day simultaneously and the Lions have to get a better result than Thailand to ensure that they will be in the hat for the main draw.
Singapore will be without dead ball specialist Shaiful Esah, midfielder John Wilkinson, forward Khairul Amri, all struck down by injuries. Midfield lynchpin Mustafic Fahrudin will also miss the tie due to a suspension and the Lions skipper Indra Shadan has pulled out of the game citing personal issues.
Veteran striker Aleksandar Duric and Indonesia-based Noh Alam Shah will almost certainly be given the task of getting the goals while the midfield will likely be patrolled by young Hariss Harun.
The central defence pairing of Precious Emuejeraye and Baihakki Khaizan together with keeper Hassan Sunny will have to be at their best to keep out the Jordan team who must win to stand any chance of qualifying at all.
Jordan presents somewhat of an unknown quality. They have a couple of Europe-based players, but none of them are well-known outside of their own clubs and country.
Judging by the team’s record in the group thus far, it is probably fair to say that they are a defensive-minded side that is tactically solid at the back. They had only scored twice in five games, but had only conceded three times (two of them against Singapore in the previous meeting). In their last competitive game in Amman, they did beat a strong Iranian side with a late goal, so their quality should not be doubted.
The positive thing for the Lions is that Jordan cannot afford to sit back for this game. They have to beat Singapore to have any chance at all of qualification, thus are likely to open up and try to get a goal at every opportunity. For Singapore, this is where we can break and hit them on the counter. Even without Shaiful, our set-pieces will remain a threat with the likes of Duric and Precious in the box.
The climate is another factor for the Lions to overcome. Temperature is expected to hover just above 10 degrees Celsius for the game and the air will be dry, presenting very different conditions for our players, all of which are based in the South-east Asian region.
However, let us not forget that SAFFC played under very similar weather conditions in China a week ago (in the AFC Champions League) and still managed to play out to a credible goalless draw. Perhaps Raddy Avramovic can take a few pointers from SAFFC coach Richard Bok on how he managed to get his team acclimatised to the conditions in such a short period of time.
In the corresponding fixture a little more than a year ago, the Lions won an ill-tempered contest 2-1 at the Singapore National Stadium.
Both sides accused the other with rough play and dirty tactics culminating in the Jordanians issuing a warning ‘You come to Jordan, you die!’ to the Singapore side. Raddy and his charges can expect hostilies on the pitch and on the stands.
Given this history and the importance of the match, we can be expected to be treated to a cracker of a game. 25,000 Jordanians may fill the Amman International Stadium to back their team, but thanks to support from MediaCorp, millions (hopefully) of Singapore fans can support the team in the front of their television sets.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Iran | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| Thailand | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Singapore | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 13 | −8 | 6 |
| Jordan | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 5 |
Singapore will qualify if:
Singapore beats Jordan AND Thailand draws or loses in Iran / Singapore draws Jordan AND Thailand loses in Iran (Head-to-head counts first before Goal Difference, hence Thailand will qualify as long as they match Singapore’s result)
This match will be telecast live on Channel 5 at 2355hrs on Wednesday 3 March, 2010.
About the author – MJ has watched more S-League games than anyone he knows and hopes to see it blossom into one of the strongest leagues in the region. He is however annoyed by the lack coverage in the mainstream media and hopes to be the alternative voice
Top 8 – Most successful clubs in the English League Cup
As a prelude to the weekend’s League Cup Final at Wembley, the editors have decided to review the top 8 most successful clubs in this competition, which many had often considered secondary.
The English League Cup was first competed in 1960, as grounds around the country erected floodlights, allowing games to be played on mid-week evenings. To earn more gate receipts, the FA organised this competition to fill up the gaps now available. Various sponsors had their name attached to the competition since 1982 and the current edition is called the Carling Cup.
The winners of the League Cup are guaranteed a spot in the Europa League, but the runners-up are not guaranteed the spot if the winners have already qualified for Europe through their league position.
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Ranking Methodology: 100% Statistics (ranked by outright wins, runners-up finish taken into consideration if tied)_________________________________________________________________________________________
8 ) Arsenal (2 times winner; 4 times runners-up) Just sneaking into this chart is Arsenal, with two wins and four runners-up finishes in the competition. Their 2007 Final against Chelsea will be remembered for the wrong reasons, as three players were sent off in injury time. The Gunners last victory in the competition was back in 1993, when an all-British/Irish Arsenal side beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1. How times have changed – current manager Arsene Wenger prefers to use reserves and youth players in this competition nowadays.
7) Leicester City (3;2) The League Cup is the only major competition the Foxes have ever won and they have done so on three different occasion. In the late 1990s, they were a dominant force in this competition, reaching the Final three times in four years and winning two of them under Martin O’Neill. However, since that 2000 victory, the furthest the club had gone was the Fourth Round.
6) Manchester United (3;4) This year’s Finalist Manchester United ranks sixth on this list. The Red Devils are also the defending champions in the competition, having won it last year to add to the two which they had previously won. Interestingly, Alex Ferguson had adopted a mix and match policy in terms of selection in this competition over the years – opting of youth in the earlier rounds and slowly introducing senior players towards the tail-end of the competition. A victory this year will help them move to third on this chart.
5) Chelsea (4;2) The West-London side first won the competition back in 1965 but have since added to that tally with two victories in 2005 and 2007. Over the last five years, Chelsea and United at the most successful sides in the competition, with two wins and one runner-up finish each.
5) Nottingham Forest (4;2) Forest chalked up four League Cup wins in the space of 13 years, between 1978 and 1990, all of which had been won with the legendary manager Brian Clough at the helm. Since then the club has gone through tough times, having spent a couple of seasons in League One. This season looks bright for Forest though, with promotion back to the Premier League a likely target.
3) Tottenham Hotspurs (4;3) Spurs won the League Cup two years ago, after Jonathan Woodgate found the net in extra time to secure a 2-1 win over London rivals Chelsea. They reached the Final again last year and were thoroughly unlucky to lose to United on penalties. This year, they were knocked out of the competition by United, who will overtake them on this chart should they win the Final on Sunday.
2) Aston Villa (5;2) This year’s Finalists Aston Villa was the most successful club in this competition between 1996 and 2001. They were also the first ever winners of the League Cup, when they defeated Rotterdam United over two legs way back in 1961. Martin O’Neill will be gunning for his tenth major honour as a manager – an impressive statistic by any measure.
1) Liverpool (7;3) The Reds are the most successful club in this competition, having reached a total of 10 Finals and winning on seven occasions. Over four seasons between 1981 and 1984, Liverpool won the trophy consecutively, a record which is very difficult to break. Not surprisingly, Liverpool legend Ian Rush is the joint League Cup goal scorer with 49 goals. However, the Reds have had very little success in this competition under Rafael Benitez, finishing runners-up in 2005 and not progressing beyond the quarter-finals since. Liverpool are guaranteed top on this chart, until at least the 2012 League Cup competition.
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The editorial team will like to seek the opinion from all readers on what you think. Do you agree with the Top 8? Is there anyone that you feel is more worthy to be on the list? Leave a comment!
If there is something that you will like us to feature as part of this top 8 series please leave a comment and our team will try to accomodate!
S-League Insight: FAS fails to learn from past mistakes
By MJ (S-League correspondent)
The 2010 S-League season has kicked off with two new foreign clubs in the fold, Etoile FC and Beijing Guoan (the latter styled as Beijing Guoan Talent FC).
The inclusion of the new clubs, especially Beijing Guoan Talent, has been hotly debated in the local football fraternity, as the FAS has omitted Yishun Reds in the process (a local club converted from Super Reds).
Many supporters of the local league have bemoaned the admission of yet another Chinese club as more local footballers are deprived of the opportunity to play in the S-League and hence the chance to play professional football.
To date, the track records of Chinese clubs in the S-League have been unimpressive, to say the least. Beijing Guoan’s predecessors – Sinchi FC, Dalian Shide Siwu FC and Liaoning Guangyuan FC – have all failed to provide a respectable challenge to the local sides and all of them had finished in the bottom half of the league.
China’s own domestic league (Chinese Super League) has been plagued with match-fixing scandals which they had struggled to eradicate over time. Recently, two Chinese clubs were relegated by the FA after investigations revealed that they had bribed oppositions.[1] Observers noted that this incident is by no means isolated and may be just the tip of the iceberg of a massive problem in Chinese domestic football.
This attitude of tolerance to match-fixing had spilled over to the S-League as several players and officials of Liaoning Guangyuan FC were charged and jailed after allegations of match-fixing surfaced in 2008.
There is no suggestion here that Beijing Guoan Talent FC’s parent club is corrupted, but the link is undeniable.
Beijing Guoan Talent are three matches into their maiden campaign and over 300 minutes of football, they had shown nothing on the pitch to suggest that they can live up to their management’s promise of good football before the campaign had started[2].
They only have earned a point from a goalless draw with Woodlands Wellington FC and lost their season opener with fellow debutant Etoile FC to a single late goal. They have also been knocked out of the Singapore League Cup by perennial underdogs Sengkang Punggol.
The bulk of their squad consists of players below the age of 21. To the parent club, this is just a reserve league to help their young players obtain some playing time. How can these young and inexperienced players be expected to provide a strong challenge to the local sides? When fatigue and homesickness kicks in as the season progresses, expect poorer performances from this side.
On the other hand, FAS may have a wider political agenda to include a Chinese team in the league to attract the large number of PRC immigrants here. What they had failed to realise is that football is never that popular a sport in China and domestic football hardly gets a mention in the Chinese media. As the first few Beijing Guoan Talent games had proven, large crowd of Chinese fans waving the PRC flag did not turn up at the stadia to back “their” team.
The FAS has made another poor decision in choosing Beijing Guoan Talent FC. The S-League is a local league and it should be provide local football players with the platform to play at the highest level possible. There is a danger here of the S-League becoming a feeder league to another domestic league.
There are a lot of reasons not to include this Chinese side and FAS seemed to have missed them all. Let us not forget that there are still several defunct ex-S-League sides (including Sembawang Rangers and Tanjong Pagar United) still waiting for financial support to make a return but they had been widely ignored by FAS.
About the author – MJ has watched more S-League games than anyone he knows and hopes to see it blossom into one of the strongest leagues in the region. He is however annoyed by the lack coverage in the mainstream media and hopes to be the alternative voice
[1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8527889.stm
[2] http://www.todayonline.com/Sports/EDC100119-0000084/Beijing-Guoan-start-with-a-clean-slate,-say-FAS
Top 8 Flop Signings of the Premier League Season
Top 8 will be a new regular Sports feature (published every Friday), where the editors will choose eight top persons/incidents and rank them in descending order, either by pure opinion, hard data or a mixture of both. Why eight? It is not because the editors are lazy but because top ten is getting boring and eight is a lucky number in Singapore!
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Ranking Methodology: 50% opinion; 50% statistics
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Ray Ang
As a follow-up to our previous week’s article, we shall look at the top 8 flops so far this season here.
8 ) Ross Turnbull Only 25 years of age, Ross Turnbull represented England U20 in the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship. After spending the 2008/09 season fighting for the number one position with Brad Jones between the sticks at Middlesbrough, Turnbull made a shock move to Chelsea in July 2009 when his contract with Middlesbrough expired. It came as a huge surprise then as Turnbull claimed that the reason he left was to gain more playing time. Despite his lofty ambitions, he was only expected to be an understudy to Petr Cech. However, after joining Chelsea, Turnbull has not only failed to unseat Cech, but is even losing out to veteran Hilario for the reserve goalkeeper spot!
7) Michel Salgado Veteran defender Salgado joined Blackburn on a free transfer after losing his position in the starting lineup to fellow Spaniard Sergio Ramos in the Real Madrid team for the past 2 seasons. The transfer was seen as a major coup for Blackburn as there were many other Premier League clubs vying for Salgado’s signature. The move to Blackburn was intended for him to get more playing time. Despite his pedigree and his vast experience, Salgado has played a bit part role at Blackburn so far, making only 3 starts in 25 league games.
6) Nikola Kalinic Having sold Roque Santa Cruz off to Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers badly needed a striker to fill the gap and bought highly rated young Croatian striker Nikola Kalinic for £6m. The 22-year-old came with good credentials, after having ended the 2007/08 season as the second top scorer of the Croatian league and picking up the coveted Swan d’or Award, (Young Player of the Year) from the Croatian Press Association. He was dubbed as the “Croatian Ibrahimovic” and Croatia manager Slaven Bilic also described him as the future of Croatian football. Despite all his accolades, Kalinic has struggled to live up to his expectations since joining Blackburn. He has appeared for Rovers 16 times in the league this season but has only scored 1 goal thus far.
A bad year for Benitez(s?)
5) Christian Benitez Christian Benitez, or “Chucho” as he is more affectionately known as, joined promoted Birmingham City in June 2009 for a club record £7.7m. Benitez started his football career with Ecuadorian club El Nacional and quickly gained a reputation as one of the best players ever to play in the Ecuadorian top flight. During his 3-year stint there, he was scouted by many top European clubs. Despite that, he made a surprise decision to join Mexican club Santos Laguna in 2007. During the 2 seasons there, Chucho also impressed and won an award in 2007 for the best Ecuadorian footballer playing outside Ecuador. Internationally, Chucho also have an enviable scoring record for Ecuador, finding the net nearly every other game for the national team. However, despite getting plenty of playing time at Birmingham, Chucho has so far only managed to score a meagre 2 goals in 22 appearances for them. A paltry return considering fellow teammate Kevin Philips has managed to score 3 goals in only 9 appearances for Birmingham!
4) Fabian Delph Aston Villa swooped to sign England Under-21 starlet Fabian Delph from Leeds United in August 2009 for a fee reported to be in the region of £6m. Having won the League One Young Player of the Year award in 2009 with his skilful play and lightning pace, Delph was heavily linked with a host of Premier League clubs including Everton, Manchester City, Fulham, Sunderland and Tottenham. Delph started the season brightly with Villa, starting 4 out of Villa’s first 9 games in all competitions. However, since then, Delph has only made 3 starts in the subsequent 25 games.
3) Yuri Zhirkov Zhirkov moved to Chelsea in July 2009 from CSKA Moscow in a deal worth to be in the region of £18m. He came highly rated and gained recognition for his impressive performances for CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Cup. His moment of international recognition actually came during Euro 2008 when he was named in the UEFA Euro 2008 Team of the Tournament. He was also one of the 30 nominees for the Ballon d’Or award for that year. He was expected to provide cover for left back Ashley Cole and also take over the left wing position from Florent Malouda. However, neither had materialized as Zhirkov has only managed 7 appearances for the Blues in the Premier League so far with the bulk of it coming off the bench. The jury is still out on whether Zhirkov has what it takes to cut it in the Premier League, but at £18m, he is one of the most expensive benchwarmer in the league this season.
2) Michael Owen Former Anfield hero Michael Owen made the shock move to bitter rivals Manchester United on a free transfer in July 2009 in a bid to revive his flagging England international career. Owen hoped that by linking up with Wayne Rooney, he can help convince Fabio Capello that he is worthy of a place in the England squad for the World Cup Finals. However, since joining the Red Devils, Owen has only managed 10 starts in all competitions and is behind Dimitar Berbatov in the pecking order. Despite impressing in the Champions League and scoring a hat trick in the away game against Wolfsburg, Owen has found playing time harder to come by. Ferguson’s decision to change to a 4-5-1 formation in recent games has not helped either. With the World Cup just barely 4 months away, Owen must hope for a major miracle for him to be able to catch that flight to South Africa!
Santa Cruz wonders what went wrong
1) Roque Santa Cruz We have finally arrived at the “cream of the crop”. The biggest flop of them all. Numero Uno. The accolade falls to none other than Paraguayan striker Roque Santa Cruz. After joining Blackburn Rovers on the cheap in the summer of 2007 from Bayern Munich, Santa Cruz went on to prove himself as one of the most fearsome strikers in the Premier League, netting 25 goals in 58 appearances for Rovers. After Mark Hughes made the switch from Rovers to the Eastlands, he brought his star striker Santa Cruz over with him to Manchester City for £17.5m. However, City’s summer purchases did not stop there and they also bought Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor to lead the front line. Santa Cruz had to vie for a spot in the starting lineup with Tevez, Adebayor as well as Benjani, Bellamy and Robinho. He has had a torrid season so far making only 11 appearances so far for Manchester City with the bulk of it coming as a substitute. His miseries have been compounded further with the dismissal of his mentor Mark Hughes. New manager Roberto Mancini has seemed to favour Benjani and Bellamy over Santa Cruz. We can only hope that the boyish looking Paraguayan able to find form in time for the World Cup where he is expected to lead the Paraguay national team, being their second-most prolific scorer in their history.
About the Author:
Ray is a proud product of a local university (the one furthest westwards) and is based in London after having completed his Masters there. He currently plies his trade in a research based function for a financial institution and lists sports and current affairs amongst his many interests.
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The editorial team will like to seek the opinion from all readers on what you think. Do you agree with the Top 8? Is there anyone that you feel is more worthy to be on the list? Leave a comment!
If there is something that you will like us to feature as part of this top 8 series please leave a comment and our team will try to accomodate!
Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0: Drogba double sinks Arsenal
Soccernet, 8 February 2010
John Terry’s life maybe in turmoil off the pitch but the disgraced England captain remains as inspirational as ever in a Chelsea shirt as the Blues put an end to Arsenal’s remaining title dreams with a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
Stripped of the England captaincy 48 hours earlier and the subject of more lurid headlines about his private life, Terry responded in a typically defiant manner as two first-half goals from Didier Drogba put Chelsea back on top of the Premier League.
It was perhaps inevitable that Drogba’s first goal in the eighth minute arrived courtesy of a glancing header from Terry.
Taunted by Arsenal fans throughout for his affair with French lingerie model Vanessa Perroncel, the former girlfriend of Terry’s one-time team-mate Wayne Bridge, the Chelsea captain produced a commanding performance at the heart of defence.
The victory restored Chelsea’s two-point lead over Manchester United at the top of the table and, more significantly, increased the gap over third-placed Arsenal to nine.
The outcome was never in doubt once Chelsea’s other talismanic figure had put them in front with a simple volley at the far post.
Drogba’s 21st goal of the season was the perfect start for Carlo Ancelotti’s side and with their confidence sufficiently rocked, Arsenal failed to respond before the Ivory Coast striker added his second.
When Arsenal did manage to get past the imposing Terry, they were woefully wasteful with Andrey Arshavin the main culprit.
In the 20th minute, A delightful chip from Cesc Fabregas found the Russian unmarked inside the penalty area, but he volleyed straight at Petr Cech.
Two minutes later Arsenal were handed a lesson in textbook finishing which was to ultimately leave their title dreams in tatters once more.
Chelsea thought they had put Wenger’s side out of the race when they defeated the Gunners 3-0 at the Emirates last November.
But Chelsea’s poor form in December, coupled with a resurgent Arsenal during the same month, all but wiped out an 11-point advantage.
However, Arsenal’s remaining title chances were dealt a killer blow by Drogba’s 22nd of the season in the 22nd minute.
Lampard was given the freedom of Stamford Bridge to run 30-yards before supplying the Ivory Coast striker with a simple pass.
The Arsenal defence continued to back-pedal and that was the invitation Drogba required to cut inside from the right and fire a left-foot volley beyond Manuel Almunia.
Chelsea could have increased their advantage, but Ashley Cole was denied by Alumunia after Lampard’s incisive pass had put him clear on goal in the 31st minute.
Arsenal were a different side in the second-half, but the task was just too much for them.
Chelsea defended too deep and that allowed Arsenal to press forward in numbers.
Terry was forced to play much of the second period with his thigh heavily strapped after a muscle injury, but there was little chance of him deserting his post.
Theo Walcott should have done better when clean through, but got caught in two minds and before he could get his shot away, Chelsea’s defence cleared the danger.
Cech, who had preserved Chelsea’s lead in the first-half, was in outstanding form and pulled off another great save to keep out a goalbound Fabregas free-kick.
But as Arsenal overstretched themselves, Chelsea looked for a third.
Michael Ballack was close with an angled drive that flashed beyond the far post on the hour, but Cech rescued Chelsea again 11 minutes from time by whipping the ball off the toes of Arsenal substitute Nicklas Bendtner.
Arsenal enjoyed plenty of possession but the final ball was poor and Chelsea, led by the unruffled Terry, were tigerish to the end.
Drogba should have completed a fine hat-trick, but his 83rd-minute free-kick from 20-yards cannoned back off the crossbar.
In the end, it was of little consequence, leaving Terry to enjoy a brief moment of elation in front of his adoring fans as Chelsea climbed back to the summit. – Soccernet
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