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4/06/2011
Talking football in Sin
The aspiration to be in the 2010 World Cup withered away in a limp. An embarrassing suggestion that was best described as a naïve dream of school boys. I think by now no one who wants to be taken seriously will ever talk about the World Cup dream.
Singapore’s football is not only third class, but fourth or fifth class today. The pathetic condition of this game is really amazing given the amount of financial and govt support for the game, and the infusion of foreign talents.
Football in general is no longer the football of the past. It has been privatized into a business making concern. Its main interest is making money. The players are international, can be bought and sold, with no attachment or loyalty to any team. Even the whole team can change name if the price is right. The manager of a national team can also be a foreign talent.
What is bad about football is that it is a game of kelong and match fixing with no qualms about morality. Anything goes as long as it makes money. The goal keeper can score its own goals when he is paid right by another team. So can the other team players, or even the captain. And sometimes, in order to lose a game, all the good players will get themselves a red card or fall sick, not attend training. Then the reserves or newbies will be field to throw away a game.
Football is not the same as before. Who wants to be associated with football, be called a goal keeper or a sweeper, or the last man, in a game of kelong and game fixing?
We dun even have a proper stadium for 50 000 for the next few years!!!
ReplyDeleteWhen the rewards are good for the players, like what we do to the Ministers and MP & PM, MM, XM.... whatever, NO KELONG or match fixing will take place...
Perhaps have a Asean Super League, all the major cities around Asean have their best teams in this league, will be at least 30 teams good enough to compete, and for Singapore, for its good location, have 2 or 3 teams.
Can perhaps work like the American NFL or NBA or NBL, with regular and post season ... instead of European style.
Then perhaps we can target world cup 2018 or 2022.
As with the "Singapore" table tennis team, can't we just buy a dream team of foreign talents handpicked from each of the best clubs in the UK or Europe?
ReplyDeleteIf we are so stupid and self deprecating as to do it with table tennis, what's stopping us from doing the same to football?
The quick fix way to instant glory or infamy depending on how you look at it.
I will not agree with the dream team or A team for whatever shit. To me, comparing any team with football is already a loser.
ReplyDeleteOk, after what had happened in Fukushima, maybe there is hope. Just feed the young footballers with more sashimi and sushi from Japan. Then they could double their physical sizes, from ikan bilis to little sharks. Maybe then there will be some chances for the world cup.
Whatever programmes, whatever high quality coaches, whatever foreign imports, we just don't have what it takes to be a good footballing nation. All those so called past achievenemts? what achievements? Gone are the days when we can take on our fellow Asean nations in the game. They are bigger, have more resources, and now they have the desire to come up tops. Singapore in World Cup finals?
ReplyDeleteOur politicians are the greatest football fans till all want to be footballers, to be goal keeper, to be sweeper, to be backs.
ReplyDeleteLooks like football and politics are the same cup of tea.
The first dream team that we should buy is a team to run this country. Very likely to be much cheaper, maybe only 30% of what we are paying now.
ReplyDeleteWe can then cast the net very wide and every angmoh can apply also.
After an aeon of gwailou subjugation, I don't relish the idea of them running the country again albeit this time as mercenaries. After hours, you might find all of them either in the SCC, the American or the Tanglin Club drinking Singapore Slings and singing little ditties on what a bunch of stupid Sinkapooreans we are hiring them to run not only our banks, our sovereign wealth funds, other financial institutions and now, the crown jewel, the friggin' country for fuck sake.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting if the opposition were to run the country at one tenth of the costs with the incumbents standing by in case everything goes down the tube. Even nondescript "businessmen" and drop outs can take a shot at the job. Talk is cheap. Let's see whether these eager beavers can do a better job.
If they can't, then let's scrape elections and live under a benevolent "dictatorship" with Sinkaporeans First as the slogan.
In the past we were colonised without knowing what happened as the people were migrants and had no nationalities except their broken home countries.
ReplyDeleteToday we are supposed to be citizens of our own countries, independent, but we were colonised without knowing what happened and without knowing why.
Yes, the tuans are enjoying their takings in the comfort of Tanglin clubs, SCC and SRCs and the likes, laughing at the silly subjects who foolishly believe that only the tuans are able to run their country and corporations. They trusted the tuans more than the locals who have proven to be lacking in talents.
Being an 'expat' in S'pore rocks and rules!
ReplyDeleteAs long as Singaporeans hold to the view that 'foreign is better', the market for expat 'ex-spurt-ease' will remain hot.
If these exotic imported 'brains' were left alone to do their job and not have their club-centered lifestyles 'disturbed' by cranky locals, the situation will be much better.
Unfortunately, the kiasu Singaporean culture is to 'micro-manage' people. So these 'ex-spurts' are too often being treated like naughty children -- always some stupid local 'superior' busting their balls.
I like expats. They make excellent tenants.
"Our politicians are the greatest football fans...."
ReplyDeleteAgree. So fanatical are they that they resort to moving the goalpost whenever they think the opposition will score a goal against their side.
And to add the icing to the cake, they are even known to assist in scoring own goals, many a time. In fact, several own goals were scored over the last few days.
Great fans!
Haha...
ReplyDeleteour political leaders are football players? My foot! They are the Bookies, sure win and pao chiak.
patriot
What bookies? Bookies only fixed games illegally. Have you heard of winning games legally by changing the rules?
ReplyDeleteYou never heard of PM having to spend time fixing the Oppositions?
ReplyDeleteInstead of looking after national affairs?
ReplyDeleteOMG, looking after national affairs?
ReplyDeleteHe obviously can't even look after his job himself and needs a whole office full of retired old roosters to carry out his duties.
Laughable.