Prediction of 2011 championship race

Yes, up to this point in time, there are still teams that have not finalised their team but let be honest, the four team that mattered have finished it so let not delay it any longer. 

Here are my prediction of the 2011 championship race (so that I can be slaughter at the end when it goes wrong)

Home United (40%)
SAFFC (30%)
Etoile FC (20%)
Tampines Rovers (10%)
Rest (0%)

Here are the reasons starting from the lowest

Rest (0%)
Virtually all of them have been weaken having lost their best locals and for some their best foreigners. Gombak United, the most consistent of the lot of the past two seasons, have suffered as their forward line is gone while their midfield and defence have been decimated. While Geylang United, Hougang United and Balestier Khalsa have kept a number of their players, they can be described as decent but they are no championship winners. As for the reminder - Courts Young Lions, Albirex Niggata (S), Woodlands Wellington and TPUFC aka Young Lions B, they can be described as youth teams.

Tampines Rovers (10%)
It may seem ridiculous to give last year best performing local side the lowest percentage but they are one year older. Yes, their average age have come down over the years but it has resulted in a lost of quality. Now other than Duric, who can get the goals? And the veteran biggest problem is, over the couple of seasons, his goals have been restricted to teams in the bottom to middle half. Last season, not a single goal came against the championship challengers and the Stags suffer; dropping 16 points out of 18 points against Home United and Etoile FC. Against top quality sides, the margin are that close and without goals, they cannot hoped to gain anything.

Etoile FC (20%)
Again it is ridiculous to give a side who have released no information about their side such a high rating but thanks to one of their most loyal fan, there have been bit and part of news and it seem the players that have been retained are something the champions can build on. But they are no championship winners so the new players are important and that is why I ranked the champions lower than the uniformed teams for they are an unknown quality. Also, the new team will need time to adjust and last season, the Big 3 never got going as SAFFC crumbled while Home United took too long to get going with Tampines Rovers always stalling when they looked to have got going. One cannot always expect this to happen every season. So this time around, they may have less time to adjust before they are pushed to the limit. 

SAFFC (30%)
Wanted to put the Warriors level on percentage with Home United but believed their season depend much on how their new recruit Mislav Karogla adjust to the team and the S-league. Yes, there are other forwards like Indra, Fazrul, Taisuke and Erwan but the most important one is surely the Croatian. And he does look great on youtube but so was Federico Martinez. The Uruguayan inability to replace Duric's goals meant the Warriors season was over before it began. However this time round, the Warriors have taken less risks as their defence and midfield have been set up with players - Hammond, Savic, Jerkovi and Taisuke - who are already familiarise with the S-league so it is not the total overhaul of last season. Therefore they should have no problem challenging for honours but whether they win it is another matter as I say before - the margin are that close and without goals, they cannot hoped to gain anything. 

Home United (40%)
Goals should not be a problem for this championship challenger. They have a combined 36 goals upfront from their two main forwards - Qiu Li and Mendy - last season for their respective clubs then. And Sufian Anuar may pop in with a goal or two like last season and if they get Khariul Amri, as they hope to, then the stage is set for them. The rest of the team is not that far off in quality either with their midfield boasting the likes of internationals like Shi and Isa alongside 2002 Korean MVP Kim Dae-Eui while their defence have Hiek, Kenji, Jumaat and Shahril with Lionel keeping goal. It does not look too bad, right? That why they got the biggest share of the pie but whether they get to enjoy it, we will know at the end of the season.