Tourney finished, but work is just beginning, Latest Singapore Football News

The Suzuki Cup campaign of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) of Singapore ended Sunday in the group stage for the third consecutive year.

The new document examines four key points for Lions.

BETTER, BUT …

In most previous campaigns, the impossibility of reaching the round of 16 would automatically be considered a disaster, but this time, the barometer of success is not very clear.

To go from 16 months without a win, to a 3-2 win against the Maldives in March, tends to have this effect on expectations.

In 2014, under the direction of Bernd Stange, the Lions won one of their three Suzuki Cup group matches, all played on their own soil.

Two years later, under V. Sundram Moorthy, the team recorded a solitary draw of his three matches in the Philippines.

Acting national coach Fandi Ahmad finished his first campaign with two wins and two losses.

With the bar so low in the last two years, it is more difficult to determine if Lions have improved enough.

Based solely on the results, this represents progress. The mere fact of going in their last match against Thailand with the possibility, even improbable, to go to the semifinals was a cause for optimism.

A defeat at Rajamangala Stadium against the next two champions of the Suzuki Cup would not have much lessened the minimized optimism that Fandi had aroused.

But the sweet performance in the 3-0 defeat against a Thai team missing their top four players has become unbeknown to the asterisk of any evaluation.

Yes, in all respects – winning matches, goals scored, football mark played – this campaign was better than the previous two.

A foreign injection could be a good boost, if done wisely and sparingly Dilenjit Singh, TNP journalist

But since the bar has dropped so little in the last two years, it is more difficult to determine if Lions have improved enough.

WHO NEXT?

Fandi's six-month term has come to an end and the Singapore Football Federation (FAS) will now have to decide who should be Lions coach permanently.

The record of the 56-year-old friendship in a draw indicates a draw and three wins, with seven goals scored and two conceded.

In tournament, it's two wins and two losses with seven goals scored and five against.

Aside from statistics, Fandi has resurrected the conviction of a previously apathetic team, which seems to be clearly reacting to his management style.

The dismal results at the age group level suggest that anyone who will occupy the position permanently will have to largely work with the group of players he inherits. The motivation skills and the optimization of what he has to have to be key criteria of FAS.

Is it this man, Fandi, or do they want him to return to his daily work of youth head coach to help unblock the pipeline? of development?

Where are the attack options?

After the defeat against Thailand, Fandi said, "We have a shortage of aggressors, it's not easy and we have to deal with what we have."

So, what are the Singapore attack options?

On the front, Ikhsan Fandi has been imposed as the premier striker of Singapore. He has received praise from Philippine coach Sven-Goran Eriksson and former Thai midfielder Therdsak Chaiman.

After failing to score in his first two games, Ikhsan scored twice in the 6-1 victory over Timor-Leste and, despite minimal service, the 19-year-old has twice made good shots for worry Thai guardian Chatchai Budprom. .

But there is a worrying shortage of options beyond him.

Khairul Amri and Shahril Ishak, the two top scorers of the Singapore Premier League (SPL) last season, are 33 and 34 respectively.

Khairul Nizam, 27, who has not yet scored for the Lions, and Sahil Suhaimi, 26, struggled to get going after his decisive season with the Young Lions in 2014.

In the attack behind the attacker, there are at least more candidates to challenge Gabriel Quak and Faris Ramli.

SPL Youth Player of the Year Adam Swandi, who may have played 13 minutes in the tournament, is expected to play a bigger role in the future.

Iqbal Hussain played even fewer minutes, but he offers a crude and unpredictable option.

There was also the rhythm of Zulfadhmi Suzliman, who had just missed the selection, and Shawal Anuar, a late defender who made his entry into the national team before a cruciate ligament injury in July.

BOOST FOREIGN

For the second time only since 2002, the Lions have entered the Suzuki Cup without any player of foreign origin, which sets them apart from most of their regional rivals.

The last player born abroad to be naturalized was Qiu Li in 2010. However, the FAS announced in September that he was planning to resurrect the foreign talent program.

Given the small watershed and lack of local talent, a foreign injection could be a good boost, if done wisely and sparingly.

The obvious candidate is South Korean Song Ui Young, who last month rejected a three-year contract valued at more than 20,000 USD (27,500 USD) a month from Indonesian club Persija Jakarta , hoping to play for Singapore, where he has been operating for seven years. years.

The position of the 25-year-old player, as well as the prospect of a midfielder starring Hariss Harun, make naturalization an intriguing option.