Dropping ALL players - Either Really Brave or a Real BIG MISTAKE!

To be fair, the FAS TOO NEEDS A MANAGEMENT SHAKEUP!

No Longer in the team......

I read to great horror and at the same time amused by the comments made by our footballing leaders. Let me just share with you a quote, from the Berita Harian from the interview with our president, already translated into English:

" Our group of players such as Noh Alam Shah and Khairul Amri were then in the early 20's, but are now reaching 30 years old. So after we lost in 2004, we build back our teams"

A quick check reveals that Noh Alam Shah and Khairul Amri were not from the same batch of players that came into the team and Khairul Amri is only 25 this year.

So, mistake number 1: You don't even know your players and team, Sir!


Secondly, it was said that they will be focussing on the 15, 16, 17 year olds and the current batch of cubs and young lions will make the step up. It was also added that it will take at least 5 years to see some fruits of labour. After 5 years, at the current state, these boys will be serving N.S. Nothing is done to give them some leeway. In a recent case, Izwan Mahbud was not given the green light to go for the AFF Suzuki Cup tournament. If things carry on this way and if noone gives some sort of special arrangement to these players, development will be hindered and how are these boys going to be core players afterwards?

Mistake number 2: Not understanding the culture and circumstances the players are facing!

Thirdly, which team in the world is successful when football technicalities are handled by personnel other than the coaches and the football experts? I can hardly find one. (please prove me wrong though!)

And so we see, that the national football senior team will be disbanded. But like many readers and fans have said, it is not just the team that is to be blame. In my personal opinion, players' behaviour are just a reflection of the whole management system. If you cannot control professionals, then who can you control?

Of course, I do not agree with players misbehaviour but then again, do you think any of these will surface if the Lions had met some expectations? NO! And owh, the hypocricy once again of the emphasis on building character and acting as role models.

In all fairness, as John Wilkinson had stated, if the team says they are in this together, then why won't the key management personnel accept blame in the way they have conducted things. Why have failed strategies in the past not being made to public but merely just renewed with even further extreme measures? And in these case, why are'nt the players informed of the drop before the media? Yes, discipline may be the issue but then again, this reflects poorly on the level of professionalism on the FAS part!

If they are to blood youngsters, have they forgotten that the under 23 team also performed badly in the Asian Games? So what difference can it make? And who is to say that the under 23 team are perfect in terms of discipline and have more passion than the senior team?

So I beg you FAS, please, conduct some reflection and soul searching before taking up extreme measures. I do hope you guys prove me wrong. In five years time, we do hope to see some improvement.

Well as for me, I still support whichever team that comes in because at the end of the day, they are doing the hardwork and dirty work most of the time. Remember, the main stakeholders in football are the fans, and in Singapore, they are very few and far between. You have to understand that we love the Lions and not the FAS. And if you lose us once, you will lose us forever............