Fan Support Drives Football!

We may be misunderstood, but we still fight for what is only right...

The LATW Crew is made up of strangers united by passion. Every one of us supports our own clubs in the S.League. We have fans from Tampines Rovers to Woodlands to Hougang to Tanjong Pagar to SAFFC and many more. Yet, when it comes to donning the national colours, crew members will unite in RED to support our beloved Lions.  

The above has been our belief from the very beginning of the LATW Crew, a period of uncertainty, a period way before the memorandum of understanding was announced. And will continue for as long as we are alive to support our passion.

In all our stance in general as a crew, we have never, never once, stated that we are against the LionsXII. In fact, we have encouraged every Singaporean to go and support this team as they face Malaysian State teams.

But sometimes, perceptions can be different and of course, our intentions may have been misunderstood. Some may label us as "cowards" or "hypocritical" but you have gotten our stance all wrong. Some say we have no respect for the past but if that's the case, why do we sing and chant "Fandi" and "Dollah" in our songs or even greet the legends of the Malaysia Cup days with songs of appreciation when we bump into them?

We are here to promote the S-League because we believe in it and we feel that it is the high time to do so.

Why?

Take a good look around you and in the papers. Our league is being overshadowed. Clearly.

Imagine this:

If u see one of your son being overshadowed by his sibling, obviously, you will do something to help him out. To make him feel safe. To make him feel needed. To make him feel wanted.  Right?

And because you see that fan power and media power can really drive up support for the M-League, you believe that it can be done the same for the S-League.

That is basically it. Don't get us wrong but all we are here for is to support the S-League and not criticize the LionsXII.

And with fan power, the S-League can be great once again......

And to all, Happy New Year and see you on Sunday!

Because support should be selfless.....

these players need YOUR support too......

Do what you can, worry about the management later.....

Look, everyone is frustrated that the league seems to be getting no where. Everyone including me and you. What we see, read and hear is nothingbut comments from fans and people like you and me on how things can be much better if it is done this or that way. What we hear every single day is for people to be sacked, people to apologize and people that do not deserve to don the Lions jersey or deserving enough to be supported in the S-League.

Well, these people have every right to do so as a paying customer.

But what about your god given right to do something about it? What about your own mentality and mind that you control? What about the money, time and effort that you yourself can excercise and make use off to make your football and your league a much much better league?

You, the fans, have the choice.

Lets show the world and the rest of Singapore our selflessness. Our willingness to go the extra mile for the sake of every other Singaporean. For the sake of the future joy our children and future generations will experience when one day, our football truly succeeds.

Only then, you will have no regrets. At least you know, you did your part, you tried and you gave hope to the game and nation you very much love......

The last time I checked, I am a Singaporean!

We fight for what we believe in and we believe in the S-League!

As the clock ticks closer to "Don't Forget Your S-League Day", we will countdown three reasons why you should support the S-League.

Every great league in the world is keenly supported by their own people first. Everywhere, the natives will get behind the team that represents their city, state, company or in worst possible scenario, the team that is the closest in terms of proximity to where they stay. That is thus the first criteria for the selection for their local team. Ultimately , if you are of a certain nationality, you will tend to support your own league and club first, alongside your national team.

But somehow, that is not the case in this region, or in our sunny Singapore, at least.

The last time I checked, we are not English. We are not Spaniards. We are not Germans nor are we Italians. But more importantly, are we Malaysians? Certainly not

The last time I checked, my identification card is Pink. My passport is Red. And yes, the last time I checked, I am a Singaporean. A proud Singaporean.

And for that alone, the S-League, deserves my support.

So what if it has been "failing"? So what if the "quality" is not there? So what?

Don't get the LATW Crew wrong but everyone would love to support something that is successful, something that what people have said "something worth supporting".

But then again, isn't supporting your own league and your own people enough motivation for that "worth"?

Don't get us wrong as well. Personally, deep down, we do hope that the players donning the Lions XII jersey will  do themselves proud and play their hearts out. Many crew members too have stated their desire to come down to Malaysia Cup and League games to throw their personal support to the team.

But as far as our priorities lie, we will concentrate out efforts on saving Tampines Rovers, Home United, SAFFC, Albirex Niigata, Hougang United, Gombak United, Woodlands Wellington, the Young Lions, Balestier Khalsa, Geylang United and Tanjong Pagar!

Why, because my league comes first!

DON'T FORGET YOUR S-LEAGUE DAY!

LATW DECLARES 1/1/2012 AS A DAY TO SAVE YOUR S-LEAGUE!

To many others, the S-league is a joke. An accidental product. A league that is about to reach 17 years old but has been nothing but a waste of their time.

To some, the S-League is our pride. The S-League  made us proud to stay in Tampines, Bedok, Woodlands or Bishan.The S-League is a gem, a factory that produces our national heroes and our future legends.

And so, we stand our ground, despite all the attention and hype surrounding our return to the Malaysia Cup. We stand our ground against all those that have labelled our league a joke. We stand our ground against anyone that is ashamed to be part of Singapore football and bow down to the Imperial English League.

On the First of January 2012, join up in arms with the LATW Crew as we spread the word of the S-League to the public at the heart of the busiest district, Orchard Road. Dress down in your LATW CREW TSHIRT or Singapore National Team Jerseys or, if you are fortunate to have one, an S-League jersey of your choice as we give out flyers and talk to the public about the S-League and why we should be proud of it!

The event details are as follows:

Meeting place: SOMERSET MRT
Meeting time: 11.30 am
Attire: Singapore National Team Jerseys, LATW Crew Tshirt
Date: 1/1/2012 , Sunday (Public Holiday)

(more details to be released closer to the date...)

No point grumbling about the state of the S-League if you are doing nothing about it. Here's your chance to save the S-League. Here's your chance to proudly call the S-League as OUR PRIDE!

* the Police have been informed about this event and have given us their approval. So, do be on your best behaviour. No Vulgarities/ No improper conduct is allowed. We are here to save the S-League and not to go against anything else*

All we want for Christmas (and the New Year) is.....

Let us all hope that Singapore football will see a better year ahead , on all fronts!

A kick about session was all that we asked for but we got more than that. The lads from LATW who turned up had fun, solidified our friendship and continue our journey to spread the good word of Singapore football as we rocked East Coast Park and Sports Planet on boxing day.

Owh, we were also lucky enough to be playing beside the Warriors (yes, SAFFC), who were having their training session there as well. Heroes like current national players like Hassan Sunny and Shukor Zailan, long time S-League legends like Shahril Jantan, Rezal Hassan and V.Selvaraj were there training for their upcoming season as well!

Every local club has thus far been represented by at least one member in LATW Crew and the solidarity was evident when we just went mental towards the end, singing songs in support for our beloved National Team and anything to do with Singapore football.

That meaning, we hope that our S-League will prosper and not be overshadowed by the return to the M-League, we hope that our national team will succeed at the senior level and hope the junior teams do themselves proud as well in their respective tournaments this year. And lastly, although the LATW will not officially be there to support the Lions XII, we would like to convey our greatest hope to them that the players will do themselves proud and bring in the crowd back to support Singapore football.

Too much to ask for?

Lets keep the faith and belief...

And one more last thing. To those "guys up there", the government, the ministers the MPs and those handling budget issues, take a good look at these pictures if you stumble upon our LATW website. What do these pictures say?

It certainly shows that no amount of National Service, National Education in Schools, community songs in National Day parades or any propaganda film can unite people of all ethnicity, ages, educational backgrounds and socio economic status like the way football does. And if little is done to invest on anything to do with football, then, you are missing out on many things. It is not all because of results that we love and support our own football. It's more to that. It's brotherhood!


Untuk Bangsa dan Negara

Do you really need the money ?

stumbled upon this "distant dream" in a recent trip to istanbul

Reports of Tanjong Pagar being quoted a rental rate on top of the space they use in their home stadium to set up a store to earn extra income but more importantly sell merchandise to improve fans' experience sounds a little bit too ridiculous.

Another Spanner in the Works for Tanjong Pagar

Not only does it sound ridiculous but more of hypocritical. Here we have a club trying their very best with whatever resources they have to make their football more successful and yet, the Sports Council seems to try to make things difficult.

The question then begs, if Tanjong Pagar Utd doesn't wish to take up that offer, what will the space be used for then? An empty space to collect dust and insects?

Lets just leave the case as it is and hope our dreams of achieving a League to rival that of the best will be fulfilled.

Sure the limited land space may prevent clubs from owning their own grounds in Singapore. But with whatever space we have, lets just make use of it. Everyone knows that if we want success, we need investments and that means, parting with opportunity to make more money here and there. The S-League clubs don't have all the money in the world. But as owners of the ground, you, the SSC, have the power.

Do us all fans a favour.

We support our local league!

Tales of Season Passes and Jerseys.... (for the LionsXII)

"I can't wait to get my hands on them...."

The demand for tickets/season passes, jerseys and other merchandises and yes, even more seats in the Jalan Besar Stadium (on top of the additional stand proposed) is heating up online.

In the papers, there is news on local football or Malaysian football at the very least, finally.

Interestingly, we can do this for our return to the Malaysia Cup. Signs of interests towards local football is slowly creeping back and hopefully, this romance will last long, for those longing for the return.

But wait, the all usual interesting transfer merry-go-round is also happening in the S-League. Champions Stags are retaining most of their key players and signing new foreign players, SAFFC have again overhauled their entire squad, Albirex have lost key players while Home United too is having a massive overhaul, losing some key players in the process.

Owh wait, some of us want season passes, jerseys and merchandises for our S-League clubs too.

Geylang United marketing and media team is slowly but commendably generating more interest and printing scarfs for their fans. Hougang United have done so last year and hopefully they can strengthen their fanbase as well. Young Lions did it fairly well at the start of last season. And hopefully, all the other clubs will follow suit!

It's all about mentality right?

If u can create so much hype as stakeholders and fans for the return to the Malaysia Cup, then surely, you can create that hype for the S-League too right? :)

[OFFICIAL STATEMENT] ; Where our priorities are......

LATW supports the LIONS XII but our S-League Clubs come first.....

the Lions XII are no more or no less important than our local S-League clubs

In light of the recent announcement and the understandable hype surrounding the launch of Lions XII, it would be a good time to remind everyone, especially LATW Crew members that LATW exists to support the national team and local football. Up till now, by this we mean that we endorse foremost our National Team and we endorse any attempts to support our local league which serves as a feeder to our national team.

But now that the M-League is in the picture, it is important to bear in mind that the sole reason LATW thrives is because people from various local clubs of the S-League support the national team without prejudice to others. To that end,  the Lions XII is no more or no less important than any S-League club, insofar that it is just another club team to serve as a feeder to the National Team. Thus, LATW Crew cannot throw our weight officially behind the Lions XII because that will be unfair and detrimental to the clubs in our league and as a further consequence, our National Team.

That said, patriotism will inevitably colour our support for the Lions XII, and quite rightly so. Though LATW are not formally behind the club, we encourage people to support the Lions XII on top of their S-League clubs because those players come from our country. LATW as an entity will not be there because it is not our purview but we do encourage Singaporeans to be there. LATW will not be there but we encourage our members to go, BUT NOT under the umbrella of LATW Crew.

Think of it this way; on a weekday our home club plays and we cheer them on. Then come Saturday, our fellow Singaporeans come together to support the Lions XII.

And then there are those special nights when Singapore play their internationals and that is when regardless of their support for the Lions XII or Tampines Rovers or what have you, come together to fly the nation's flag with the LATW banner together.

Whatever is the case, continue to contribute to local football in whatever way whether it is through the Lions XII or our own S-League clubs. Just don't give up and start losing faith again, if the Lions XII are not up to your own expectations.


Untuk Bangsa dan Negara,
MAJULAH!

Thank You, LIONEL LEWIS!

picture courtesy of FAS facebook page

A hero in every right.....


After 73 caps for our beloved nation, Lionel Lewis has decided to hang his gloves from the international scene.

We at LATW Crew would like to show our appreciation to undoubtedly one of the best goalkeepers we ever had, through this video tribute.

All the best Lionel and thank you for all you have done for the Lions and for giving us fans many memorable moments.

And for one last time,

LIONEL LEWIS HE IS HERE,
KEEP THE FAITH AND HAVE NO FEAR.
NOTHING'S GONNA GET PAST HIM,

THEY CAN'T DO A F**KI*G THING!