FIXTURE CHANGES, AGAIN!!!!

even with money, it doesn't guarantee efficiency if you are just plain inefficient

photo by IMSG-NIKE

This is the second time that the SEA Games football fixtures have been changed, thanks to none other by the Indonesian FA. So here goes:

NOVEMBER 7 : SINGAPORE VS MALAYSIA (3PM)

NOVEMBER 9 : SINGAPORE VS CAMBODIA (6PM)

NOVEMBER 11 : SINGAPORE VS INDONESIA (1PM)

NOVEMBER 17 : SINGAPORE VS THAILAND (3PM)

* information taken from TNP on Saturday, 29 October*

Take this information lightly. With the rate at how things are going, it could be up for changes again.

Nothing is confirmed until it is confirmed!

Thank you Indonesian FA, we really appreciate this.

FIXTURE CHANGES, AGAIN!!!!

even with money, it doesn't guarantee efficiency if you are just plain inefficient

photo by IMSG-NIKE

This is the second time that the SEA Games football fixtures have been changed, thanks to none other by the Indonesian FA. So here goes:

NOVEMBER 7 : SINGAPORE VS MALAYSIA (3PM)

NOVEMBER 9 : SINGAPORE VS CAMBODIA (6PM)

NOVEMBER 11 : SINGAPORE VS INDONESIA (1PM)

NOVEMBER 17 : SINGAPORE VS THAILAND (3PM)

* information taken from TNP on Saturday, 29 October*

Take this information lightly. With the rate at how things are going, it could be up for changes again.

Nothing is confirmed until it is confirmed!

Thank you Indonesian FA, we really appreciate this.

Fighting for Pride, Playing for Glory

Competing on two fronts, both equally important!

The World Cup Qualifiers Campaign may be effectively over but nevertheless, the results just mean that we may not yet be good enough to beat the bigger boys. In spite of the defeats, the Lions have shown that they vow to give their best and we should give our support to these lads.

Revenge will definitely be sweet if we can get one over China, especially after one of the most "kelong" games in the entire history of football.


 Over in the region, the SEA Games draw saw us placed in the group of death with defending champions Malaysia, hosts Indonesia and traditional powerhouse, Thailand. Cambodia makes up the numbers in what seemingly is the group where you have 4 teams vying for two semi-final spots.

But think about it. We shouldn't fear so much of facing these "bigger boys" because we have shown that we can compete. In fact, the three other teams in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand too may have some doubts about their chances upon seeing Singapore in the group. This especially with the likes of Izwan Mahbud, Safuwan Baharudin and possibly Hariss Harun in the squad for the SEA Games.

Whatever it is, November promises to be a great month for Singapore football fans , especially those who will be behind the Lions whether we win, lose or draw.


Stay tuned for more details on LIVE GATHERINGS for the screening of these away matches as well as details for our home game against China.


LIONS ALL THE WAY!

Not tired of trying, Never sick of supporting

It doesn't hurt to keep believing!

photo taken from FAS facebook page

Outclassed ? Obviously.

Unlucky ? Perhaps.

Lack of trying ? Surely not.

And many who were there at the stadium could see there was that fighting spirit, epitomized by the team last night. Down three goals but they still tried to find a way past the Jordan defence and when they finally got the breakthrough, it was cruelly disallowed.

Majority of the supporters on the night were fantastic. At both stands, even at three-nil down, they did not leave the stadium unlike previous games and at least tried to make Jordan's last few minutes at the Jalan Besar a living hell. Kudos to you.

Nevertheless, this doesn't mean that the Lions were spared from any wrath of online criticisms from the pseudo players, pseudo coaches, pseudo FAS presidents and pseudo football experts.

In fact, even at half time, at the 7-eleven store near the stadium, there was a "fan" who was overheard saying that how he wished he came in his Manchester United jersey instead of his Singapore jersey because it is a "shit team". 

If you are that fan at the 7-eleven store during half-time and reading this, here is our message: "BRO, IF YOU ARE ASHAMED TO STAND BY YOUR COLOURS, THEN YOU BETTER SEEK ANOTHER FLAG!"

Honestly, they are all entitled to their opinions that quite frankly, not even worth 2 cents if the criticisms are not at all constructive but just out there to plainly insult and prove your point. Say what you want and blame the whole world for it. Up to you. It is your keyboard, your mouth, your words but jolly well live with it. 

With that being said, everyone knows that we do not deserve to win. But also, many will say that the Lions did gave their all, except that it was just not enough.

It was frustrating of course and even some have commented that the Lions did not deserve the support from passionate fans. To be honest, if you are a passionate fan, win, lose or draw, you will back the team! And in fact, if the team is not performing well, the true fan will start to question himself or herself whether they have done enough to inspire the team and give the players the extra adrenaline rush.

Sometimes, the definition of pride and passion (from the fans point of view) can be very subjective.

The line is never clear what playing with passion and pride is all about. But it is quite evident that if you win, "automatically" it means you are playing with pride and passion. Or so it seems. 

The LATW did pull off a massive project on Tuesday night but it would have been nicer if we got the win. But nevertheless, we will all keep believing. 

We will not get tired of trying and never get sick of supporting. We will continue what we do best and that is supporting and nothing else. The whole world can talk about the team and play the blame game. 

To us, we don't give a damn, anymore. Yes it is painful but it is something we have to live with it.

Singapore, we're behind you!

To the Lions, this is for you.

Singapura till we die!

[ ANNOUNCEMENT ] SINGAPORE vs JORDAN

WE'RE GONNA BOUNCE BACK BOTH ON THE PITCH AND IN THE STANDS!

picture by POHUI

Match: Singapore vs Jordan

Kickoff : 7.30pm


Meeting point : Wendy's at Lavender MRT Station  @ 4.45pm OR Gallery Entrance at 5.20pm

Attire: Anything red/ Singapore jersey (blue or red)/ Singapore tshirts / LATW Crew tshirt

Code of Conduct : Best of Behaviour, respectful of national anthems and with the Singapore Spirit in you.

THIS IS JALAN BESAR!

Braving the rain, holding OUR ground...

Filipinos proved a point, but we hold bragging rights

From one of those comments made prior to the game, to their credit, they did keep to their promises.

They did "embarass us at our home ground" on some levels.

What they did brilliantly was to teach us Singaporean "fans" to not take things for granted such as the purchasing of tickets. They taught us that when we are at home, we better make sure we make it our home. The sight of the grandstand at 7.20pm was appalling. It was as though the grandstand reserved for home fans had some kind of a wild animal running loose.

A friend told me that Singaporeans can blame all they want. Blame the "government's open door immigration policy for P.R and new citizens" and also the "FAS's practice to allow Filipinos to buy tickets at their own leisure".

Well, blame them all you want when in actual fact, the only people we can blame are ourselves.

Another can be quoted as saying "Local football doesn't need better players, they need their countrymen's belief!"

While the most eye catching came from a source who stated "Singapore football doesn't need better players now- standard on the rise now- but Singapore need much better citizens!"

All very valid after last night's game!

You have done it before queuing up overnight for tickets against Malaysia. So why can't you do it for this sort of games?

Is it because it is JUST a friendly? Is it because we have lost two games in a row? Or is it because realistically, it is just not practical and worth your time because this victory is meaningless to you as a fan.

But then strangely, we slam the FAS when we can't get the tickets and then the media for their uncertainties in their live telecast. But then we didn't stop there. We blame the media and FAS again for screening it on a Starhub channel and demand it to be screened on Channel 5 instead.

What's next? Asking FAS to offer courier service to your homes? Build bigger stadiums that will not be filled up 80% of the time?

What have we become?

An embarassment that is.

But that is not to say that all of us are in it. There were still a sizeable number, although not that many, that bothered and truly bothered.

Braving the rain, we put up our brave banners, we held on to our pride and cheered and sang our hearts out, leaving our voices in the stadium.

Sometimes, these people can be forgiven for thinking that they are themselves embarrassed by their own countrymen. Deep down, they knew but they choose to keep their spirits high for the team.

At the end of the day, before we choose to compare, complain and condemn our football, lets take a look at ourselves and compare our fans to fans from other nations.

And to the Lions, if you are let down by the turn up today, then really, we apologise. Obviously, from your goals celebrations, this friendly meant a whole lot to you guys.

It just did not mean enough to Singaporeans.

And to those fans that got wet and sang and stood for 90 minutes, on top of getting your tickets early, you are truly the pride of Singapore football.

Wind, rain or shine, WE'LL BE BLOODY HELL COMING BACK FOR MORE!

[ OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT ] SINGAPORE vs PHILIPPINES

THIS IS JALAN BESAR!

PICTURE BY POHUI

In the red corner, we have a team that has 3 ASEAN TITLES. 2 CONSECUTIVE 3RD ROUND WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS APPEARANCE..

In the blue corner, we have a team that qualified for ONE AFF SUZUKI CUP SEMI-FINAL APPEARANCE.

But before the Jalan Besar friendly, the blue half has scored goals in having the advantage of more fans and to add on to the fact, they have scored goals in trash talking.

"Embarass us at our home ground" . "The Azkals are coming".

Those warnings are well heard. Yes, we "fear". We "fear" their fans. We "fear" their European based players. And we certainly "fear" their one-time appearance in the AFF Suzuki Cup Semi-finals.

Don't worry. We heard those warnings and we'll be better prepared for it.

We, the LATW Crew, thrive on challenges. Bring it up to us. We'll quash it like our Lions who are preparing for a bigger game.

MEETING PLACE : 
WENDY'S AT LAVENDAR MRT STATION AT 4.45PM. OR DIRECTLY AT GALLERY ENTRANCE AT 5.20PM.

ATTIRE: 
RED/ SINGAPORE JERSEY (BLUE/RED)/ LATW CREW TSHIRT(for those of u in possesion)

THINGS TO BRING :
SCARFS, STATE FLAGS, CLUB SCARFS

CODE OF CONDUCT :
BE ON YOUR BEST BEHAVIOUR WITH THE SINGAPORE SPIRIT IN YOU


* IN ORDER TO BE MORE COORDINATED, DO FOLLOW THE LEAD FROM THE CONDUCTORS OF THE DAY AND REFRAIN YOURSELVES FROM STARTING YOUR OWN SONGS. WE NEED 100PERCENT COORDINATION AND COOPERATION ON THE DAY!*

Getting Ready for an "AWAY" game!

Early rumours of ticket sales domination by the Filipinos

A case of hitting the panic button has hit the Singapore football FANS fraternity.

Is it the recent win against Malaysia that hyped up the excitement?

Is it the interest after our announcement to join the Malaysia Cup?

Is it a case of jumping on the bandwagon?

Or is it a case of a better and more successful marketing strategy by the FAS with their better use of facebook as a tool to generate more interest.

Suddenly, people are queuing up for tickets long before matchday!

And when rumours of Filipinos buying their tickets in bulk and FAS' reports of sold out grandstand tickets, fans are a little worried that Jalan Besar will be turned into an away ground this coming Friday.

Well, let this be a wake up call.

Sure, there is the reason of the tickets being sold at noon on a working day. A valid reason for Singapore fans to "complain". But then again, if the away fans can do it, why can't we with our "kiasu DNA" in us do the same?

Sure, away fans should have been given only a limited number of tickets. But with over 150,000 Filipinos working and residing here with definitely a significant group of Permanent Residents, you can't fault them for buying up the tickets also.

But one thing is for sure, this is our test to see whether we can hold our ground at the Lions' den.

So what if there are 4,700 fans in Blue this Friday night chanting the names of the Younghusbands and the Etheridges.

So what?

300 Singaporeans armed with spirit, voice, desire, passion, flags, banners and yes, our favourite loudhailers will stand our ground and make sure that Jalan Besar remains Jalan Besar.

We will make sure that last year's heartbreaking 1-1 draw was nothing but a fluke.

Join up in arms with the LATW Crew as we march down from our favourite meeting place at Lavendar MRT down to the place we all feel at home, Jalan Besar Stadium.

Are you ready?

To not forget that the S-League is still our baby....

Only time will tell.....

In every facet of life, there are millions of ways to get what you want and succeed in it. One method may work for the other but the same method can destroy another. As we count down the days to a Singapore Lions team competing in the M-League and the Malaysia Cup, many are waiting to see the squad list that will try to revive the excitement that once became the common bond between Singaporeans.

On Saturday's TNP, it was reported that this Singapore team will be dominated by senior players of the national team. How much dominance remains to be seen but from the looks of it, quite a number of players who are undoubtedly the best in the S-League are shortlisted, including our national captain, Shahril Ishak who is now without a club. 

Is this good or bad? We might wonder and continue to ponder.

On one hand, if the best players of our very own S-League were to leave to compete, who then will attract the crowds in our domestic league?

On the other hand, if these best players were to leave, then it will open up opportunities for other youngsters and other players to come out from the shadows of the megastars and finally take prominence in the local football scene. And of course, in theory, it will be better chemistry for the national team for international tournaments. Again, that is of course, in theory. 

Well, to be fair, it is not as if the crowds are showing up in the league. It is simplistic to say also that the megastars are the ones key to attracting the crowds as well. Of course, it is down to the other factors with fixture issues being touted as one of the main possible reason.

Results will only tell whether which method will work.

Amidst all this excitement of our return to the Malaysia Cup, the fans who have been yearning for it are drooling at the prospect. They have vowed to support the Singapore Lions. Again, in theory, this sounds promising. Who wouldn't want to have exciting matches which offers bragging rights for fans if they were to be the best in a league and competition organized by our biggest rivals. 

But never forget that it is equally important to give support to the S-League. The league we can proudly call our own. The league that produced our current crop of players, some of whom are exceptionally talented.

We must also remember that by us supporting our own league, it will bring in sponsors which of course can create multiplier effects.

At the end of the day, the S-League is "still our baby".

It is a dilemma sometimes. 

On one hand, you would want to see the Singapore Lions play but on the other, you have to divide time as well in your busy schedule and Singaporean way of life for the club that you have devoted your attention to for the past 15 years. 

It is a choice, a tough choice. Will it be Tampines Rovers, Hougang United, Balestier Khalsa and what have you or the Singapore Lions? 

Nevertheless, nothing is yet confirmed on how the arrangements will be.

But one thing is for sure, just do what you can as a supporter. The rest, lets just say, we leave it up to fate and destiny to decide.