Friday, December 9, 2016

SPH throw weight behind but cancelled launch tell us the turth

Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) continue to throw it weight behind the ASEAN Super League (ASL) project headed by former PAP Toa Payoh-Bishan man Zainduin Nordin with their paper The Newpaper (TNP) reporting FIFA president Infantino support the plan.

However in the age of the internet, where one no longer have to take the facts of a story from only one source, the turth appear otherwise.

Indeed in the link, Football magazine Four Four Two tell us a different story as they report The worthless one Zainduin Nordin had cancelled a launch to officially kickstart the ASL project this week as ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) officials have got cold feet and noises are being make to cancel this project as support is at best lukewarm if not ice-cold.

Worse is there is much resistance from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), who is AFF head, as they continue to refuse to give any approval and AFC is somebody who AFF do not wish to clash with.

Also the former FAS president, who is seeking to become ASL CEO, admitted to FFT ASL may not make it to launch even by October 2017, let alone the September date TNP keep mentioning.

Why are such facts ignored by the SPH media and they wonder why readership of their papers are falling.

Who want to get such baised news and refusal to tell us the entire story just because  the worthless one is a former PAP man and it is well-known SPH backed them to the end no matter the facts.

ASL is far from ready and that is a fact everybody, other than the former Bishan-Tao Poyah MP and You SPH, acknowledged.

Friday, December 2, 2016

Elitism by any other name is still elitism

The newly revamped, and now free, The Newpaper (TNP) reported Fandi Ahmad project with Football Association of Singapore (FAS) is taking shape and frankly nothing I've read tell me it is not yet another 'elite squad project'.

No doubt they tell us the newly recruited players are outside of the system so they are 'expanding' youth development.

If it was so easy to develop players at such late age after the system had failed them when they were much younger then a number of Asian countries namely China, Indonesia and Malaysia would be kingpins now.

Why did I precisely named these 3 nations?

Because they have attempted similar schemes and with even bigger budgets; China sending them to Brazil, Indonesia twice with the first in Italy and second Uruguay and Malaysia with their idol project and their elites in Slovakia but may I asked if anybody's can named the success story.

Even a hardcore fan of football like me have a hard time finding names I can define as success and their careers is nothing like those with well-established youth development from Japan and S.Korea while in ASEAN, nobody is even near Thailand who have the help of sport schools system (They are unlike Singapore Sport School who are alone and only trained elite so they have the numbers advantage)

And numbers are important as once again I see Fandi Ahmad project is for only 30 players so how is it not elitism.

If it was really a youth development expansion then they should have started with the Under-8 to Under-10 etc like many have told them before but how can I expect any different as those in charge only know elitism squad system and this project is no different no matter what they call it.

Only the small number of elite players need the best with $4millions for them while the rest should just be happy with whatever leftover they can get like the $70 k.