I'll break away from tradition today and post an entry WAY before my self-imposed leave of absence(LOA)....Not in my style to post before LOA (haha sph3r3-fans will definetly attest to that!), but i've just read something that got on my nerves.


The Straits Times reported that Woodlands Wellington duo Goh Tat Chuan and Masrezwan Masturi have been axed from the national set-up, on the eve of the Asian Cup pre-qualifier against Iraq, for breaking a curfew. According to the report, the Lions were supposed to be back in their hotel rooms by 11.30pm last night (Monday, 20th February 2006) but Goh and Masturi were nowhere to be near their hotels room after the curfew, Goh attending to his sick wife at home while Masturi was in a team-mate's room. Both players were unhappy as they felt double-standards were being practised within the Lions' camp, relating to a somewhat similiar incident in the last training tour in the Middle East in early February 2006 where 2 players overslept and missed training, yet got dealt with privately. Goh "can't even describe how hurt I was when I was told to go home" while Masturi claims it's not fair.


When I read the article by Marc Lim(as well as a comment from Marc Lim, ST Sports Correspondent..a damn good one in my opinion), I had to write to the papers to publish how I felt at the entire situation. Here's what I wrote to the ST team:

"I'm writing in with regards to the article, "Masrezwan and Goh dropped", from sports correspondent Marc Lim on the 21st February 2006.

As an avid fan of the Lions, I'm appalled by the decision to axe 2 of our core players for the national team, Goh Tat Chuan and Masrezwan Masturi. Yes it is wrong to break a curfew, whether it's in the home setting under the jurisdiction of parents or that of the coach within the national team set-up. But to boot them out of the squad on the eve of arguably the biggest game so far for Singapore, ever since the Tiger Cup win back in 2004, leaves a sour taste in the mouth of local fans, more so when there's the cloud of controversy still hanging over us fans due to the revelation of a probable "double-standards" mentality in the squad.

When one thinks of players booted out of the national team, Roy Keane(World Cup 2002) and Edgar Davids(Euro 96), for constant disagreements and arguments with the coach, comes into mind immediately. But skipping a curfew, with a valid reason from and remorse felt by Goh Tat Chuan in my opinion, doesn't warrant a sacking, let alone on the eve of the start of the Asian Cup pre-qualifiers. That's not to say that indiscipline should be condoned, but compared to Davids' and Keane's expulsion, this issue looks minute.

Initially, I thought that we have a squad capable of beating Iraq on home soil and bag the 3 points to ensure a good start to the qualifying campaign. A holding player in the middle of the park is required to nullify the provision of ammunition to the deadly striking duo, Emad Mohammed and Yunis Mahmoud, of the Iraqis. With Goh absent from this game, it's hard to find any player in the current national team that can execute this role to perfection, judging from the Lions' recent performances.

Goh Tat Chuan and Masrezwan shouldn't have been sacked from the team. Yes they deserve punishment for their breaking of curfew, but only after the game is out of the way. Unlike powerhouses like, say Korea and Holland for example, we do not have the quality to replace players just with the snap of our fingers. With a big void to fill in our midfield, a potentially mouth-watering game between the reigning West Asian champions and South East Asian champions is now on the verge of becoming yet another humiliation, on home soil, to the national team.

The FAS urges fans to come out in support of the national team in build-up to international fixtures involving us, but with no proper reasons given for the alleged practice of "double-standards" within the camp, it's not hard to see why the fans are reluctant to come out in droves. How can we support our national team when we're shrouded in doubt over the control of the national team? Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against Avramovic or the FAS officials (in fact, I feel he's the best coach Singapore has had in a very long time, both tacitcally and discipline-wise), but the local fans deserve more than just a few line of comments from the officials.

With that said, good luck to the national team. I'll still be rooting for the Lions to try and pull off a victory against the Iraqis nonetheless as real fans do not abandon their teams no matter what. But the FAS should try to rectify this situation as soon as possible if they do not want players abandoning the national team in future. This incident is not over yet, in fact it's only just beginning."

I do hope Singapore can go on and win this pre-qualifier still. Iraq, though reigning West Asian champions, are there for the taking and if we put on a good show and grab wins against the Iraqis and Palestinians on home soil, it'll stand us in good stead for qualification if we can grind out AT LEAST a draw VS China on home soil.


For now, i'm disappointed with the FAS.