Saturday, June 2, 2012

You scratch my back and I scratch your

The 1-0 defeat against Hong Kong is sure to result in a number of emotions.

Like this one at Kallangroar Forum from civotarum 

Before you start thinking we are superior to hong kong, maybe you should take a look at past head to head records between the 2 teams. From fifa.com, 6 matches played since 2000, Singapore has won 2, drawn 3, lost 1, not exactly superior..

I feel that hong kong are decent opposition, not great, but decent. Recent results include thrashing chinese taipei 5-1 and 6-0. And this was a chinese taipei team, we struggled to beat 3-2 at jalan besar barely a year ago.

I guess we should be satisfied that there are decent opposition for our national team to play, as compared to none at all. It is a good chance to test out some younger players who have little or no international experience. I am not even confident if we can get a victory against hong kong.

I do not disagree with it but that is not the crux of the problem for me.

It is the fact we no longer play any decent international football team on a regular basis anymore to improve ourselves in the long run from any such experience.

So whatever positives like the fact it give our youngsters good experience will be useless the next time they need it as they will have forgotten about it.

No matter how people want to look at this result, we cannot run away from the fact this is only our 3rd international this year that is including our World Cup Qualifiers.

Half a year is gone and during this time who had we played of international class (even by Asia second tier standard)

So what can anybody learn from just 3 games let alone one game.

The good results of the TRUE LIONS of the mid 2000s under then FAS President Ho Peng Kee came because we played as many as 20 internationals a year for a number of years.

But now!

This is thus what give inspiration to my header as national coach Raddy and our current FAS President (Yes that man from Bishan-Toa Poyah GRC) is  more concern about scratching each other back.

For each has been praising the other to sky to the SPH & MediaCorp Media in the last few months since the end of the World Cup Qualifiers.

Raddy told us that man Malaysia Super League project (MSLP) was a 'success' and it has given Singapore football a platform to success as he claimed playing the likes of Selangor or Kelantan is as good as international football already. 

If that the case, let look at this match report from footballopod and look at Raddy comments for he can tell us now that for many it was their first true international and so they had no experience.

And the main problem was they played too much long ball football which was not not how he expected them to play. 

So where is the experience of your so-called gelling and the 'tough' teams they are playing now.

My view is Raddy should look at the MSLP and tell us the football which we had dished out last night is in any way different from the way many of his youngsters played once there.

Because the long ball is effective in the Malaysia Super League (and I have noted that many times even before this project came to life) so what do you expect.

The reason is simple because defending there is nothing like international standard so if teams pump the ball often enough into the danger area they will get a chance or two.

That is why Singapore forwards find it impossible to score in international football regularly as even Hong Kong are not that generous.  

And let not go into the tough teams who are, by international football standard, not even considered so for if they are that good they will be in Asian Champions League and be like J-league; which was able to send 3 of it 4 representatives to the knockout stages. 

But of course Raddy has to back that GRC man as he backed Raddy to the tills.

Remember Raddy is that GRC man Arsene Wenger and helping to develop the beautiful football (or in turth the ugly British long ball method as he is turning a blind eye to it)

So is what Raddy and our GRC FAS president saying a myth or the turth - one can think for oneself.

The fact is anybody who believed we will improve by playing as few internationals as in recent times under our Bishan-Toa  Poyah GRC President and still improve by just playing most of our national players in the MSLP is crazy.

The Hong Kong result, if nothing else, has already tell us preparing for Suzuki Cup and SEA Games through MSLP is a joke for we all know the players will go back and play in the Malaysia Super League the same way as before and nothing has change.

More like back to the past and getting out of group stage will be celebrated in this age and time (It is not 70s or 80s anymore)

There is nothing like international football but the men in charge of the national team is just too busy scratching each other back.