S.League 2009 Leaflet

The leaflet below was distributed with newspapers this week.

Immediately felt something wrong at first glance, as the list only featured 11 stadia out of 12 teams.

Did anyone noticed that Bishan Stadium is missing from the list?

Is this a mistake? If not, is it bacause Bishan Stadium will be shut down in 2009 for YOG expansion? And where will Home United play in the next season then?

Misc. Trivia Updates

Best Possible Finishes in 2008: (as at 10-Oct)
1) The top-3 are still anybody's guess.
2) Tampines, with no hope of catching the top-3, are now confirmed to finish 4th, after Geylang was held by Young Lions 1-1 on 9-Oct.
3) 5th to 9th placed teams are still mathematically within each other.
4) 10th-placed Dalian can't finish higher than 7th.
5) 11th-placed Senglang can't finish higher than 9th.
6) Bottom-placed Balestier can't finish higher than 10th.


All-time Table: (as at 10-Oct)
1) Young Lions/Gombak are now tied at 241 pts.
2) Albirex has overtaken Sengkang at 199 pts with a better G/D!
3) Super Reds (84 pts) have Sinchi (88) / Clementi (95) firmly in sight...
4) Dalian (21 pts) need to do very well in their last 5 games to overtake Afrique (24) & Liaoning (29).


Milestone Games in 2008:
1) Following the 1800th ever league game on 29-Feb, another milestone has passed this season as well: The 1900th game took place on 24-July, where SAFFC beat Young Lions 2-0 away.
2) The 2000th game will only happen in 2009 season as 2008 season will end with the 1985th game on 17-Nov, where the Gombak/SAFFC & Home/Balestier games playing simultaneously.


Milestone Goals in 2008:
Ever since the "A-Game-A-Day" initiative was implemented in 2006, usually no more than 2 games are scheduled on the same day.

However, on 4-Sep, we saw 3 games taking place in the same day, only for the 2nd time since 2006: (If I'm not wrong, the first time happened during the climax of 2007 season, where the 3 title-chasing clubs played at the same time.)

Super Reds 2 - Seo Su Jong 5', Kim Jung Ho 37'
Woodlands Wellington 1 - Lucian Dronca 82'(p)

Balestier Khalsa 1 - Faizal Amir 24'
Young Lions 3 - Fadhil Noh 12', Afiq Yunos 30', Firdaus Idros 61'

Home United 3- Shi Jiayi 38', Kengne Ludovick 47',71'
Gombak United 0

This unusual day has made it a bit more complicated to determine the scorers of the 400th goal of 2008 S.League season and the 6400th goal all-time.

Prior to this day, 6390 all-time / 391 season (2008) goals have already been scored. Base on the match details available, below are the timeline of goals in chronological order, leading to the two milestone goals: (assuming all 3 maches started at the same time, w/o considering injury time)

All-time / 2008: Scorer, Time, Club
6391 / 392: Seo Su Jong 5' (Super Reds)
6392 / 393: Fadhil Noh 12' (Young Lions)
6393 / 394: Faizal Amir 24' (Balestier)
6394 / 395: Afiq Yunos 30' (Young Lions)
6395 / 396: Kim Jung Ho 37' (Super Reds)
6396 / 397: Shi Jiayi 38' (Home)
6397 / 398: Kengne Ludovick 47' (Home)
6398 / 399: Firdaus Idros 61' (Young Lions)
6399 / 400: Kengne Ludovick 71' (Home)
6400 / 401: Lucian Dronca 82'(p) (Woodlands)

So there you go... Congrats to both!!

S.League 08 Projected Finish: 10-Oct

With the league taking a 1-week break & almost 85% of the season has passed, let's take a quick projection on how they will finish at the end of the season, base on the current standings.

As at 10-Oct:
# Team-------- P- W- D L GF - GA Pts GD
1 Super Reds-- 28 21 3 4 60 - 26 66 (+34)
2 Singapore AF 28 20 4 4 71 - 30 64 (+41)
3 Home-------- 28 20 3 5 64 - 27 63 (+37)
4 Tampines---- 28 17 4 7 56 - 30 55 (+26)
5 Gombak------ 28 10 9 9 33 - 33 39 (+0)
6 Geylang---- 28 11 6 11 44 - 45 39 (-1)
7 Woodlands--- 28 8 7 13 31 - 43 31 (-12)
8 Albirex---- 28 7 10 11 35 - 50 31 (-15)
9 Young Lions 28 6 10 12 26 - 39 28 (-13)
10 Dalian----- 28 5 6 17 23 - 60 21 (-37)
11 Sengkang--- 28 2 9 17 10 - 45 15 (-35)
12 Balestier-- 28 2 7 19 22 - 47 13 (-25)

Projected Finish:
# Team-------- P- W- D L GF - GA Pts GD
1 Super Reds-- 33 25 4 4 71 - 31 79 40
2 Singapore AF 33 24 5 4 84 - 35 77 49
3 Home-------- 33 24 4 5 75 - 32 76 43
4 Tampines---- 33 20 5 8 66 - 35 65 31
5 Gombak---- 33 12 11 10 39 - 39 47 0
6 Geylang---- 33 13 7 13 52 - 53 46 -1
7 Albirex---- 33 8 12 13 41 - 59 36 -18
8 Woodlands--- 33 9 8 16 37 - 51 35 -14
9 Young Lions 33 7 12 14 31 - 46 33 -15
10 Dalian----- 33 6 7 20 27 - 71 25 -44
11 Sengkang-- 33 2 11 20 12 - 53 17 -41
12 Balestier-- 33 2 8 23 26 - 55 14 -29

Highlights:
1. The top-3 is still tight, though Super Reds has a slight edge.
2. Tampines already locked-up 4th place, leaving Gombak/Geylang to fight for 5th.
3. Albirex/Wooslands & Young Lions are very close for 7/8/9.
4. Balestier & Sengkang are not going to win another match for the rest of the season? Come on!!

SLVC: Super Reds Crusher!!

While most expected a close fight, the Super Reds defied the odds to crush Home@home in stunning fashion & gained an upper hand in the 2008 title race, as well as winning their 3rd ever SLVC crown.

SLVC Record in 2008:
Super Reds: P9, W5-D2-L2, F20-A10, Pts 17
Home: P11, W8-D1-L2, F14-A7, Pts 25

SLVC Record all-time:
Super Reds: P14, W6-D2-L6, F24-A26, Pts 20
Home: P112, W67-D23-L22, F218-A138, Pts 224

With this win, the Reds remained 3rd in the SLVC mini-league 2008 behind Home/SAFFC, but still have a decent chance to overtake both, if they can stay unbeaten through their last 5 games of the season:
Oct 24 Albirex Niigata (A) - Draw? 5-3-2.
Oct 31 Sengkang Punggol (A) - Win? 6-3-2.
Nov 4 SAFFC (H) ------------ Draw? 6-4-2.
Nov 11 Balestier Khalsa (A) - Win? 7-4-2.
Nov 16 Tampines Rovers (H) - Draw? 7-5-2.

Super Reds' next game would be the 1st tricky test, as Albirex were the team that broke their previous SLVC reign. If the Reds can survive this, the next obstacles will mostly be vs SAFFC & Tampines.

Can Albirex inflict a 2nd defeat on Super Reds and win their 2nd SLVC crown in 2008? We'll see...

2008 Title Elimination Timeline (Updated 17-Sep)

1. Balestier: 31-July (Game 20: lost to Super Reds 1-2)
2. Sengkang: 4-Aug (Game 21: lost to Geylang 1-2)
3. Dalian: 6-Aug (Game 22: drawn with Young Lions 1-1)
4. Young Lions: 11-Aug (Game 22: drawn with Woodlands 0-0)
5. Gombak: 4-Sep (Game 24: lost to Home 0-3)
6. Albirex: 9-Sep (Game 24: drawn with Home 1-1)
7. Woodlands: 10-Sep (Game 23: lost to Gombak 0-2)
8. Geylang: 17-Sep (Game 25: lost to Super Reds 1-2)
9. Tampines? (Game 28?)

S.League 08 Projected Finish - 5 Sep

With the league taking a 2-day break & almost 3/4 of the season has passed, let's take a quick projection on how they will finish at the end of the season, base on the current standings.

As at 5-Sep:
# Team-------- P- W- D L GF - GA Pts GD
1 Home-------- 25 19 2 4 60 - 22 59 (+38)
2 Singapore AF 25 18 4 3 64 - 25 58 (+39)
3 Super Reds-- 24 18 2 4 49 - 24 56 (+25)
4 Tampines---- 23 13 3 7 41 - 25 42 (+16)
5 Geylang----- 23 10 4 9 36 - 37 34 (-1)
6 Gombak------ 24 7 8 09 25 - 30 29 (-5)
7 Albirex----- 23 7 7 09 31 - 43 28 (-12)
8 Young Lions- 24 6 8 10 24 - 31 26 (-7)
9 Woodlands--- 22 6 6 10 25 - 34 24 (-9)
10 Dalian----- 24 4 5 15 19 - 50 17 (-31)
11 Sengkang--- 25 2 8 15 09 - 40 14 (-31)
12 Balestier-- 24 1 7 16 19 - 41 10 (-22)

Projected Finish:
# Team-------- P- W- D L- GF - GA Pts GD
1 Home-------- 33 25 3 05 79 - 29 78 50
2 Super Reds-- 33 25 3 05 67 - 33 78 34
3 Singapore AF 33 24 5 04 84 - 33 77 51
4 Tampines---- 33 19 4 10 59 - 36 61 23
5 Geylang----- 33 14 6 13 52 - 53 48 -1
6 Gombak----- 33 10 11 12 34 - 41 41 -7
7 Albirex---- 33 10 10 13 44 - 62 40 -18
9 Woodlands--- 33 9 09 15 38 - 51 36 -13
8 Young Lions- 33 8 11 14 33 - 43 35 -10
10 Dalian----- 33 6 07 20 26 - 69 25 -43
11 Sengkang--- 33 3 11 19 12 - 53 20 -41
12 Balestier-- 33 1 10 22 26 - 56 13 -30

Highlights:
1. The top-3 remain as tight as ever, interesting title race!
2. Tampines still good bet for 4th, though Geylang's form has been hot of late.
3. Balestier has been free-falling for some time, can they at least give a good chase on Sengkang?

SLVC: Home Regain Crown Again

As expected, the SLVC title Gombak won just 5 days earlier made a swift "home return" as they surrendered it meekly to Home Utd 0-3 on 4-Sep.

This is Home's 2nd SLVC title in 2008 & 13th all-time, the most among all teams, level with SAFFC.

SLVC Record in 2008:
Gombak: P2, W1-D0-L1, F2-A4, Pts 3
Home: P9, W8-D0-L1, F13-A3, Pts 24

SLVC Record all-time:
Gombak: P27, W3-D5-L19, F30-A63, Pts 14
Home: P110, W67-D22-L21, F217-A134, Pts 223

With this win, Home is now level on points with SAFFC (albeit with an inferior G/D) at the top of SLVC mini-league 2008, having played a game less.

Home's next game will be against Albirex away on 9-Sep. Can Albirex keep up their recent good form to win back the SLVC title that they lost to Home earlier this season? We'll see...

SLVC: Gombak's 3rd Title

What comes around goes around, Tampines simply couldn't hang on to their 9th SLVC title (which they won rather fortunately from Home United on 11-Aug with an own goal) as they lost 1-2 to Gombak at JBS on 29-Aug, despite having taken a 3rd-minute lead in that game.

Coincidentally the match was also Gombak's only SLVC game this season. This is their 3rd SLVC title, the 7th-most among all teams, level with Young Lions & Balestier.

SLVC Record in 2008:
Gombak: P1, W1-D0-L0, F2-A1, Pts 3
Tampines: P4, W1-D0-L3, F3-A9, Pts 3

SLVC Record all-time:
Gombak: P26, W3-D5-L18, F30-A60, Pts 14
Tampines: P66, W28-D14-L24, F120-A108, Pts 98

Gombak's next game will be against Home United at Bishan on 4-Sep.

Judging by their past record in SLVC, the title should be making a swift return back "Home", as Gombak had always lost their 1st title-defense game right after winning it, :-o

Singapore Cup 2008 "Standings": 25-Aug

Singapore Cup 2008 "Standings" so far... (after semi-finals 2nd-legs)


# Team-------- P W D L F-A P GD NB
1 Sing. AF-- 5 4-1-0 10-1 13 +9 Final
2 Young Lions 5 3-1-1 6-4 10 +2 SF
3 Woodlands--- 5 2-2-1 6-4 8 +2 Final
4 Home-------- 2 2-0-1 6-3 6 +3 QF
5 Tobacco Mon. 3 1-2-0 2-1 5 +1 QF
6 Bangkok Uni. 3 1-1-1 4-2 4 +2 QF
7 Super Reds-- 3 1-1-1 3-5 4 -2 QF
8 Tampines---- 5 1-1-3 3-6 4 -3 SF
9 Sengkang---- 1 0-1-0 1-1 1 +0 1R
10 Geylang---- 1 0-0-1 1-2 0 -1 1R
11 Brunei DPMM 1 0-0-1 0-1 0 -1 1R
12 Gombak----- 1 0-0-1 0-1 0 -1 1R
13 Balestier-- 1 0-0-1 0-2 0 -2 1R
14 Phnom Penh- 1 0-0-1 0-2 0 -2 1R
15 Albirex---- 1 0-0-1 1-4 0 -3 1R
16 Dalian----- 1 0-0-1 1-5 0 -4 1R


SAFFC will mostly clinch the top spot of the 2008 cup table, unless they lose by a huge margin in the final, while Young Lions win big in the 3rd-place playoff.
(Again, they're the only host to win at home in the semi final)

The previously unbeaten Young Lions was unlucky to lose the semi-final 2ng leg having won the first leg away. Had they managed at least a draw at JBS, YL would have secured a top-2 finish in the cup table along with a place in the grand final.

Despite their low points tally at the moment, Tampines can still squeeze into the top-4 with a win against the YL in the 3rd-place match. Let's see if they can redeem themselves with this consolation prize by then...

Singapore Cup 2008 "Standings": 18-Aug

Singapore Cup 2008 "Standings" so far... (after q-finals 2nd-legs)

# Team-------- P W D L F-A P GD NB
1 Sing. AF---- 3 2-1-0 6-1 7 +5 SF
2 Young Lions- 3 2-1-0 3-0 7 +3 SF
3 Home-------- 2 2-0-1 6-3 6 +3 QF
4 Woodlands--- 3 1-2-0 2-1 5 +1 SF
5 Tobacco Mon. 3 1-2-0 2-1 5 +1 QF
6 Bangkok Uni. 3 1-1-1 4-2 4 +2 QF
7 Tampines---- 3 1-1-1 3-2 4 +1 SF
8 Super Reds-- 3 1-1-1 3-5 4 -2 QF
9 Sengkang---- 1 0-1-0 1-1 1 +0 1R
10 Geylang---- 1 0-0-1 1-2 0 -1 1R
11 Brunei DPMM 1 0-0-1 0-1 0 -1 1R
12 Gombak----- 1 0-0-1 0-1 0 -1 1R
13 Balestier-- 1 0-0-1 0-2 0 -2 1R
14 Phnom Penh- 1 0-0-1 0-2 0 -2 1R
15 Albirex---- 1 0-0-1 1-4 0 -3 1R
16 Dalian----- 1 0-0-1 1-5 0 -4 1R

SAFFC is now back at the top of the "cup table", having just surrendered the lead in the league to Super Reds, :-)
Note that Super Reds could have achieved a double lead in the league / cup table, had they beaten SAFFC in the cup q-final 2nd leg, but it was not to be...
(If the League Cup "Standings" was also taken into account, that would have been a triple lead!!)
By the way, SAFFC's 3-0 win over Super Reds was also the only victory for the host teams in the q-fianls.

S.League 08 Projected Finish - 16 Aug

With 2/3 of the fixtures completed & the league taking a 1-week+ break for Singapore Cup actions, let's take a quick projection on how they will finish at the end of the season, base on the current standings.

As at 16-Aug:
# Team-------- P- W- D L GF - GA Pts GD
1 Super Reds-- 22 17 2 3 46 - 21 53 (+25)
2 Singapore AF 22 16 4 2 60 - 22 52 (+38)
3 Home-------- 22 16 2 4 50 - 21 50 (+29)
4 Tampines---- 22 13 3 6 40 - 23 42 (+17)
5 Geylang----- 22 9 4 09 34 - 36 31 (-2)
6 Gombak------ 22 6 8 08 23 - 26 26 (-3)
7 Albirex----- 22 6 7 09 29 - 42 25 (-13)
8 Woodlands--- 21 6 6 09 24 - 32 24 (-8)
9 Young Lions- 23 5 8 10 21 - 30 23 (-9)
10 Dalian----- 23 4 5 14 19 - 47 17 (-28)
11 Sengkang--- 23 2 8 13 08 - 35 14 (-27)
12 Balestier-- 22 1 7 14 17 - 36 10 (-19)

Projected Finish:
# Team-------- P- W- D L- GF - GA Pts GD
1 Super Reds-- 33 26 3 04 69 - 32 81 37
2 Singapore AF 33 24 6 03 90 - 33 78 57
3 Home-------- 33 24 3 06 75 - 32 75 43
4 Tampines---- 33 20 5 08 60 - 35 65 25
5 Geylang----- 33 14 6 13 51 - 54 48 -3
6 Gombak------ 33 9 12 12 35 - 39 39 -4
7 Albirex----- 33 9 11 13 44 - 63 38 -19
8 Woodlands--- 33 9 09 15 38 - 50 36 -12
9 Young Lions- 33 7 11 15 30 - 43 32 -13
10 Dalian----- 33 6 07 20 27 - 67 25 -40
11 Sengkang--- 33 3 11 19 11 - 50 20 -39
12 Balestier-- 33 2 11 20 26 - 54 17 -28

Highlights:
1. Super Reds has regained the "projection championship" for now.
2. Geylang has consolidated its position at 5th-place following some good results.
3. Sengkang is finally out of the bottom, the race to avoid wooden spoon is heating-up... :-)

SLVC: Lucky Tampines won Title #9

Home United's perfect record in SLVC this season came to an abrupt halt after the extremely lucky Tampines stole the title back on 11-Aug with an own goal from their opponent.

This is Tampines' 9th SLVC title, the 4th-most among all teams, behind SAFFC (13), Home (12) & Geylang (10).

SLVC Record in 2008:
Home: P8, W7-D0-L1, F10-A3, Pts 21
Tampines: P3, W1-D0-L2, F2-A7, Pts 3

SLVC Record all-time:
Home: P109, W66-D22-L21, F214-A134, Pts 220
Tampines: P65, W28-D14-L23, F119-A106, Pts 98

Tampines' next game will be against Gombak away on 29-Aug.

S.League 08 Projected Finish - 26 July

With the league taking a week's break for S.League Selection - Brazil Olympic Team friendly, let's take a quick projection on how they will finish at the end of the season, base on the current standings.

As at 26-July:
# Team-------- P- W- D L GF - GA Pts GD
1 Singapore AF 19 16 2 1 56 - 17 50 (+39)
2 Home-------- 19 14 2 3 47 - 19 44 (+28)
3 Super Reds-- 19 14 2 3 38 - 18 44 (+20)
4 Tampines---- 19 12 2 5 37 - 20 38 (+17)
5 Geylang----- 20 8 3 09 30 - 33 27 (-3)
6 Woodlands--- 19 6 5 08 22 - 28 23 (-6)
7 Gombak------ 19 5 7 07 21 - 24 22 (-3)
8 Albirex----- 19 5 5 09 23 - 38 20 (-15)
9 Young Lions- 19 4 5 10 18 - 29 17 (-11)
10 Dalian----- 20 4 3 13 16 - 41 15 (-25)
11 Balestier-- 19 1 7 11 16 - 32 10 (-16)
12 Sengkang--- 19 1 7 11 06 - 31 10 (-25)

Projected Finish:
# Team-------- P- W- D L- GF - GA Pts GD
1 Singapore AF 33 28 3 02 97 - 30 87 67
2 Home-------- 33 24 3 06 82 - 33 75 49
3 Super Reds-- 33 24 3 06 66 - 31 75 35
4 Tampines---- 33 21 3 09 64 - 35 66 29
5 Geylang----- 33 13 5 15 50 - 54 44 -4
6 Woodlands--- 33 10 9 14 38 - 49 39 -11
7 Gombak------ 33 9 11 13 36 - 42 38 -6
8 Albirex----- 33 9 09 15 40 - 66 36 -26
9 Young Lions- 33 7 09 17 31 - 50 30 -19
10 Dalian----- 33 7 05 21 26 - 68 26 -42
11 Balestier-- 33 2 12 19 28 - 56 18 -28
12 Sengkang--- 33 2 12 19 10 - 54 18 -44

Singapore Cup 2008 "Standings": 12-July

Singapore Cup 2008 "Standings" so far... (after q-finals 1st-legs & 2 concluded 2nd-legs)

# Team-------- P W D L F-A P GD
1 Young Lions- 3 2-1-0 3-0 7 +3
2 Home-------- 2 2-0-0 6-1 6 +5
3 Woodlands--- 3 1-2-0 2-1 5 +1
4 Tobacco Mon. 3 1-2-0 2-1 5 +1
5 Bangkok Uni. 3 1-1-1 4-2 4 +2
6 Sing. AF---- 2 1-1-0 3-1 4 +2
7 Super Reds-- 2 1-1-0 3-2 4 +1
8 Sengkang---- 1 0-1-0 1-1 1 +0
9 Tampines---- 2 0-1-1 1-2 1 -1
10 Geylang---- 1 0-0-1 1-2 0 -1
11 Brunei DPMM 1 0-0-1 0-1 0 -1
12 Gombak----- 1 0-0-1 0-1 0 -1
13 Balestier-- 1 0-0-1 0-2 0 -2
14 Phnom Penh- 1 0-0-1 0-2 0 -2
15 Albirex---- 1 0-0-1 1-4 0 -3
16 Dalian----- 1 0-0-1 1-5 0 -4

Notice that the Young Lions have still yet to concede a goal in this tournament, :-)

S.League 08 Projected Finish - 3 July

With half of the season gone (99 games played out of 198 fixtures) & the league taking a 2 week break for Singpaore Cup matches, let's take a quick projection on how they will finish at the end of the season, base on the current standings.

As at 3-July:
# Team-------- P- W- D L GF - GA Pts GD
1 Singapore AF 16 13 2 1 47 - 14 41 (+33)
2 Super Reds-- 17 13 2 2 34 - 17 41 (+17)
3 Home-------- 16 11 2 3 44 - 19 35 (+25)
4 Tampines---- 16 9 2 05 31 - 19 29 (+12)
5 Woodlands--- 16 6 5 05 20 - 20 23 (+0)
6 Geylang----- 16 6 2 08 26 - 31 20 (-5)
7 Gombak------ 16 4 6 06 19 - 21 18 (-2)
8 Young Lions- 16 4 4 08 18 - 26 16 (-8)
9 Albirex----- 17 4 4 09 21 - 38 16 (-17)
10 Dalian----- 17 4 3 10 16 - 37 15 (-21)
11 Balestier-- 17 1 7 09 14 - 27 10 (-13)
12 Sengkang--- 18 1 7 10 06 - 27 10 (-21)

Projected Finish:
# Team-------- P- W- D L- GF - GA Pts GD
1 Singapore AF 33 27 4 02 97 - 29 85 68
2 Super Reds-- 33 25 4 04 66 - 33 79 33
3 Home-------- 33 23 4 06 91 - 39 73 52
4 Tampines---- 33 19 4 10 64 - 39 61 25
5 Woodlands-- 33 12 10 11 41 - 41 46 0
6 Geylang----- 33 12 4 17 54 - 64 40 -10
7 Gombak------ 33 8 12 13 39 - 43 36 -4
8 Young Lions- 33 8 08 17 37 - 54 32 -17
9 Albirex----- 33 8 08 17 41 - 74 32 -33
10 Dalian----- 33 8 06 19 31 - 72 30 -41
11 Balestier-- 33 2 14 17 27 - 52 20 -25
12 Sengkang--- 33 2 13 18 11 - 50 19 -39

With another 0-0 draw with Woodlands on 24-June, Sengkang set a new mark of 6 goal-less draws for a team in a season, it is likely that the "record" can be extended further in this campaign. :-)

For now, SAFFC is projected to remain top, 6 points clear of Super Reds who unexpectedly lost to Albirex on 21-June. Home/Tampines are still fighting it out for 3rd-place & others trailing in their wake...

SLVC: Home regained Crown

Albirex's joy of winning its first SLVC just 5 days ago was indeed short-lived as expected, as they were dispatched 0-2 on 26-June & surrendered the crown to Home Utd.

This is Home's 12th SLVC title, the 2nd-most among all teams, behind SAFFC's 13 wins...

SLVC Record in 2008:
Albirex: P3, W1-D0-L2, F4-A6, Pts 3
Home: P1, W1-D0-L0, F2-A0, Pts 3

SLVC Record all-time:
Albirex: P11, W1-D2-L8, F10-A23, Pts 5
Home: P102, W60-D22-L20, F206-A131, Pts 202

With this win, Home has became the only 2nd team (behind SAFFC as well) to amass more than 200 points in the all-time mini-league.

Home's next game will be against Geylang away on 1-July.

SLVC: Albirex the New Champions!

On 21-June, apparently still suffering from the "League Cup Hangover", Super Reds handed the SLVC title they held for 6 games to Albirex, who finally broke their SLVC jinx after 10 attempts!

However, Albirex's joy could be short-lived, as they will play Home Utd @ Bishan on 26-June. Let's see if they willl be able to hold on to the title for more than a game following this upset win...

SLVC Record in 2008:
Super Reds: P7, W4-D2-L1, F17-A9, Pts 14
Albirex': P2, W1-D0-L1, F4-A5, Pts 3

SLVC Record all-time:
Super Reds: P12, W5-D2-L5, F21-A25, Pts 17
Albirex': P10, W1-D2-L7, F10-A21, Pts 5

Singapore League Cup 2008 "Final Standings"

Singapore League Cup 2008 "Final Standings":

# Team-------- P W D L F-A P GD
1 Super Reds-- 6 4 1 1 11-3 13 +8
2 Balestier--- 6 4 1 1 10-5 13 +5
3 Gombak------ 5 3 2 0 09-4 11 +5
4 Young Lions- 6 1 2 3 10-14 5 -4
-------------------------------
5 Tampines---- 2 1 0 1 3-3 3 +0
6 Albirex----- 3 1 0 2 2-6 3 -4
7 Woodlands--- 1 0 1 0 3-3 1 +0
8 Home-------- 2 0 1 1 1-2 1 -1
-------------------------------
9 Geylang----- 1 0 0 1 1-2 0 -1
10 Dalian----- 1 0 0 1 0-1 0 -1
11 Sengkang--- 1 0 0 1 0-3 0 -3
12 Sing. AF--- 2 0 0 2 1-5 0 -4

In the end, each of the top-4 teams achieved some breakthroughs in this tournament:

Gombak won its 1st title (great progress since returning in 2006)
Super Reds contested its 1st final (great turn-around from bottom place in 2007)
Balestier finished 3rd for the 1st time in a cup (having ended-up 4th several occasions before)Young Lions made the semis of a domestic cup for the 1st time (remember they did made the semis of Malaysia FA Cup in 2006)

All-time table so far:

# Team-------- P W D L F-A P GD
1 Gombak------ 8 4 4 0 12-6 16 +6
2 Super Reds-- 7 4 1 2 11-5 13 +6
3 Balestier--- 7 4 1 2 11-7 13 +4
4 Woodlands--- 4 3 1 0 11-3 10 +8
-------------------------------
5 Young Lions- 6 1 2 3 10-14 5 -4
6 Tampines---- 3 1 1 1 4-4 4 +0
7 Sengkang---- 4 1 1 2 2-8 4 -6
8 Home-------- 5 0 3 2 3-6 3 -3
-------------------------------
9 Albirex----- 4 1 0 3 3-8 3 -5
10 Geylang---- 1 0 0 1 1-2 0 -1
11 Dalian----- 1 0 0 1 0-1 0 -1
12 Sing. AF--- 2 0 0 2 1-5 0 -4

Coincidentally, as compared to the 2008 "standings", the all-time table has better reflected the final positions of the top-3 teams in 2008, :-)

Singapore League Cup 2008 Updates (14-June)

League Cup 2008 "Standings" so far... (up to s-finals 2nd legs)

# Team-------- P W D L F-A P GD
1 Super Reds-- 5 4 1 0 10-1 13 +9
2 Balestier--- 5 3 1 1 07-3 10 +4
3 Gombak------ 4 2 2 0 07-3 8 +4
4 Young Lions- 5 1 2 2 8-11 5 -3
-------------------------------
5 Tampines---- 2 1 0 1 3-3 3 +0
6 Albirex----- 3 1 0 2 2-6 3 -4
7 Woodlands--- 1 0 1 0 3-3 1 +0
8 Home-------- 2 0 1 1 1-2 1 -1
-------------------------------
9 Geylang----- 1 0 0 1 1-2 0 -1
10 Dalian----- 1 0 0 1 0-1 0 -1
11 Sengkang--- 1 0 0 1 0-3 0 -3
12 Sing. AF--- 2 0 0 2 1-5 0 -4

Super Reds & Gombak will contest their first ever domestic cup final on 16-June, while Young Lions will host Balestier in the fight for 3rd-place on the same day as well.

All-time table so far:
# Team-------- P W D L F-A P GD
1 Super Reds-- 6 4 1 1 10-3 13 +7
2 Gombak------ 7 3 4 0 10-5 13 +5
3 Woodlands--- 4 3 1 0 11-3 10 +8
4 Balestier--- 6 3 1 2 08-5 10 +3
-------------------------------
5 Young Lions- 5 1 2 2 8-11 05 -3
6 Tampines---- 3 1 1 1 4-4 4 +0
7 Sengkang---- 4 1 1 2 2-8 4 -6
8 Home-------- 5 0 3 2 3-6 3 -3
-------------------------------
9 Albirex----- 4 1 0 3 3-8 3 -5
10 Geylang---- 1 0 0 1 1-2 0 -1
11 Dalian----- 1 0 0 1 0-1 0 -1
12 Sing. AF--- 2 0 0 2 1-5 0 -4

Balestier can also overtake Woodlands in the all-time table by getting at least a draw in the 3rd-place playoff.

Singapore League Cup 2008 Updates (11-June)

League Cup 2008 "Standings" so far... (up to s-finals 1st legs)

# Team-------- P W D L F-A P GD
1 Super Reds-- 4 4 0 0 10-1 12 +9
2 Balestier--- 4 3 0 1 07-3 9 +4
3 Gombak------ 3 2 1 0 06-2 7 +4
4 Young Lions- 4 1 1 2 7-10 4 -3
-------------------------------
5 Tampines---- 2 1 0 1 3-3 3 +0
6 Albirex----- 3 1 0 2 2-6 3 -4
7 Woodlands--- 1 0 1 0 3-3 1 +0
8 Home-------- 2 0 1 1 1-2 1 -1
-------------------------------
9 Geylang----- 1 0 0 1 1-2 0 -1
10 Dalian----- 1 0 0 1 0-1 0 -1
11 Sengkang--- 1 0 0 1 0-3 0 -3
12 Sing. AF--- 2 0 0 2 1-5 0 -4

Super Reds & Gombak look likely to contest their first ever domestic cup final.

All-time table so far:
# Team-------- P W D L F-A P GD
1 Super Reds-- 5 4 0 1 10-3 12 +7
2 Gombak------ 6 3 3 0 09-4 12 +5
3 Woodlands--- 4 3 1 0 11-3 10 +8
4 Balestier--- 5 3 0 2 08-5 09 +3
-------------------------------
5 Young Lions- 4 1 1 2 7-10 04 -3
6 Tampines---- 3 1 1 1 4-4 4 +0
7 Sengkang---- 4 1 1 2 2-8 4 -6
8 Home-------- 5 0 3 2 3-6 3 -3
-------------------------------
9 Albirex----- 4 1 0 3 3-8 3 -5
10 Geylang---- 1 0 0 1 1-2 0 -1
11 Dalian----- 1 0 0 1 0-1 0 -1
12 Sing. AF--- 2 0 0 2 1-5 0 -4

Super Reds & Gombak have also overtaken Woodlands at the top of the table.

Singapore League Cup 2008 Updates (8-June)

League Cup 2008 "Standings" so far... (up to q-finals 2nd legs)

# Team-------- P W D L F-A P GD
1 Super Reds-- 3 3 0 0 9-1 9 +8
2 Balestier--- 3 3 0 0 7-2 9 +5
3 Gombak------ 2 1 1 0 2-1 4 +1
4 Young Lions- 3 1 1 1 6-6 4 +0
5 Tampines---- 2 1 0 1 3-3 3 +0
6 Albirex----- 3 1 0 2 2-6 3 -4
7 Woodlands--- 1 0 1 0 3-3 1 +0
8 Home-------- 2 0 1 1 1-2 1 -1
9 Geylang----- 1 0 0 1 1-2 0 -1
10 Dalian----- 1 0 0 1 0-1 0 -1
11 Sengkang--- 1 0 0 1 0-3 0 -3
12 Sing. AF--- 2 0 0 2 1-5 0 -4

Note that the "Big-3" of 2007 are all knocked-out in the quarter-finals!
Super Reds & Young Lions will contest their first domestic semi-finals,
while Balestier & Gombak will try to reach their first ever cup final...

All-time table so far:

# Team-------- P W D L F-A P GD
1 Woodlands-- 4 3 1 0 11-3 10 +8
2 Super Reds-- 4 3 0 1 9-3 9 +6
3 Balestier--- 4 3 0 1 8-4 9 +4
4 Gombak------ 5 2 3 0 5-3 9 +2
5 Young Lions- 3 1 1 1 6-6 4 +0
6 Tampines---- 3 1 1 1 4-4 4 +0
7 Sengkang---- 4 1 1 2 2-8 4 -6
8 Home-------- 5 0 3 2 3-6 3 -3
9 Albirex----- 4 1 0 3 3-8 3 -5
10 Geylang---- 1 0 0 1 1-2 0 -1
11 Dalian----- 1 0 0 1 0-1 0 -1
12 Sing. AF--- 2 0 0 2 1-5 0 -4

Notice that Woodlands still tops, Gombak still unbeaten & Home still winless...

Singapore League Cup 2008 Updates (5-June)

League Cup 2008 "Standings" so far... (up to q-finals 1st leg)

# Team-------- P W D L F-A P GD
1 Super Reds-- 2 2 0 0 6-0 6 +6
2 Balestier--- 2 2 0 0 5-1 6 +4
3 Tampines---- 1 1 0 0 1-0 3 +1
4 Albirex----- 2 1 0 1 1-3 3 -2
5 Woodlands--- 1 0 1 0 3-3 1 +0
6 Gombak------ 1 0 1 1 1-1 1 +0
7 Home-------- 1 0 1 0 1-1 1 +0
8 Young Lions- 2 0 1 1 3-4 1 -1
9 Geylang----- 1 0 0 1 1-2 0 -1
10 Dalian----- 1 0 0 1 0-1 0 -1
11 Sengkang--- 1 0 0 1 0-3 0 -3
12 Sing. AF--- 1 0 0 1 0-3 0 -3

You might have realized that last season's champs (Wlds), runners-up (Skng) are all knocked out, while the 3rd-place team (Gbak) could be on the way out too...

All-time table so far:
# Team-------- P W D L F-A P GD
1 Woodlands-- 4 3 1 0 11-3 10 +8
2 Super Reds-- 3 2 0 1 6-2 6 +4
3 Balestier--- 3 2 0 1 6-3 6 +3
4 Gombak------ 4 1 3 0 4-3 6 +1
5 Tampines---- 2 1 1 0 2-1 4 +1
6 Sengkang---- 4 1 1 2 2-8 4 -6
7 Home-------- 4 0 3 1 3-5 3 -2
8 Albirex----- 3 1 0 2 2-5 3 -3
9 Young Lions- 2 0 1 1 3-4 1 -1
10 Geylang---- 1 0 0 1 1-2 0 -1
11 Dalian----- 1 0 0 1 0-1 0 -1
12 Sing. AF--- 1 0 0 1 0-3 0 -1

Notice that Woodlands still tops, Gombak still unbeaten & Home still winless...

Singapore League Cup 2008 Updates (2-June)

League Cup 2008 "Standings" so far... (after 1st round)

# Team-------- P W D L F-A P GD
1 Super Reds-- 1 1 0 0 3-0 3 +3
2 Balestier--- 1 1 0 0 2-1 3 +1
3 Albirex----- 1 1 0 0 1-0 3 +1
4 Woodlands--- 1 0 1 0 3-3 1 +0
5 Young Lions- 1 0 1 0 3-3 1 +0
6 Gombak------ 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 +0
7 Home-------- 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 +0
8 Sing. AF---- 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 +0
9 Tampines---- 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 +0
10 Geylang---- 1 0 0 1 1-2 0 -1
11 Dalian----- 1 0 0 1 0-1 0 -1
12 Sengkang--- 1 0 0 1 0-3 0 -3

You might have realized that last season's champs (Wlds), runners-up (Skng) are all knocked out by now...

All-time table so far:

# Team-------- P W D L F-A P GD
1 Woodlands-- 4 3 1 0 11-3 10 +8
2 Gombak------ 3 1 2 0 3-2 5 +1
3 Sengkang---- 4 1 1 2 2-8 4 -6
4 Super Reds-- 2 1 0 1 3-2 3 +1
5 Balestier--- 2 1 0 1 3-3 3 +0
6 Albirex----- 2 1 0 1 2-2 3 +0
7 Home-------- 3 0 2 1 2-4 2 -2
8 Young Lions- 1 0 1 0 3-3 1 +0
9 Tampines---- 1 0 1 0 1-1 1 +0
10 Sing. AF--- 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 +0
11 Geylang---- 1 0 0 1 1-2 0 -1
12 Dalian----- 1 0 0 1 0-1 0 -1

Notice that Woodlands still tops, Gombak still unbeaten & Home still winless...

SLVC - All Time Statistics up to 2008, 28-May

All Time Table up to date:
# Team---- GP- W- D- L- F-- A-- Pts G/D
1 SAFFC--- 121 76 26 19 283-136 254 +147
2 Home-----101 59 22 20 204-131 199 +73
3 Geylang-- 73 32 17 24 136-100 113 +36
4 Woodlands 72 27 19 26 124-133 100 -09
5 Tampines- 64 27 14 23 118-106 095 +12
6 Tan.Pagar 42 15 11 16 67-65 56 +02
7 YngLions- 26 11 02 13 53-61 35 -08
8 SuperReds 11 05 02 04 19-22 17 -03
9 Sinchi--- 15 04 03 08 18-29 15 -11
10 Clementi 20 02 09 09 26-50 15 -24
11 Balestier 36 3 05 28 42-98 14 -56
12 Gombak--- 25 2 05 18 28-59 11 -31
13 Sembawang 21 2 05 14 20-52 11 -32
14 Jurong--- 18 2 03 13 18-38 09 -20
15 Sengkang- 20 0 03 17 15-61 03 -46
16 Afrique-- 04 0 02 02 03-07 02 -04
17 Albirex-- 09 0 02 07 07-19 02 -12
18 Liaoning- 02 0 00 02 03-05 00 -02
19 Dalian--- 02 0 00 02 01-07 00 -06
20 P.Lebar-- 02 0 00 02 00-06 00 -06

Statistical Summary:
Matches-: 342
Home Win: 152
Draw----: 75
Away Win: 115
Goals---: 1185
Home Goals-: 653
Away Goals-: 532
Freq Scores: 1-1 (33 times), 2-1 (27 times)

Highlights:
1.Woodlands have broke into the 100-point clubs.
2.Super Reds have jumped to 8th-place from 14th in 2007!

SLVC 2008 - All Matches Played as at 28-May

It's the right time to revisit the SLVC stats again in 2008,
as the league takes a long break from 28-May to 17-June:

2008-02-22 Albirex SAFFC 1 3
2008-02-26 SAFFC Geylang 3 1
2008-02-29 SAFFC Sengkang 3 0
2008-03-06 Dalian SAFFC 1 6
2008-03-14 Tampines SAFFC 1 2
2008-03-29 SAFFC Woodlands 3 0
2008-04-06 Balestier SAFFC 0 2
2008-04-10 SAFFC YoungLions 4 0
2008-04-13 SuperReds SAFFC 3 2 **
2008-04-18 Balestier SuperReds 1 1
2008-04-24 SuperReds Tampines 5 0
2008-04-28 SuperReds Dalian 1 0
2008-05-23 Woodlands SuperReds 2 2
2008-05-26 SuperReds YoungLions 3 1

** Title changed hands

Consolidated Table:
# Team-------- P W D L F--A Pts G/D
01 SAFFC------ 9 8 0 1 28-7 24 +21
02 Super Reds- 6 4 2 0 15-6 14 +9
03 Balestier-- 2 0 1 1 01-3 1 -2
04 Woodlands-- 2 0 1 1 02-5 1 -3
05 Gombak----- 0 0 0 0 00-0 0 0
06 Home------- 0 0 0 0 00-0 0 0
07 Albirex---- 0 0 0 1 01-3 0 -2
08 Geylang---- 0 0 0 1 01-3 0 -2
09 Sengkang--- 0 0 0 1 00-3 0 -3
10 Dalain----- 2 0 0 2 01-7 0 -6
11 Tampines--- 2 0 0 2 01-7 0 -6
12 YoungLions- 2 0 0 2 01-7 0 -6

Statistical Summary:
Match-ups-: 14
Home Win--: 8
Draw------: 2
Away Win--: 4
Goals-----: 51
Home Goals: 31
Away Goals: 20
Most Frequent Scores: 3-0, 3-1 (2 times each)

Note that Dalian, Tampines & YoungLions have identical records,
having suffered heavy beatings at the hands of SAFFC & Super Reds...

All-Time S.League Table - 2008 (up to 28-May)

With all teams (except Balestier & Sengkang) completed 14 games each & the league taking a 3 week break for World Cup Qualifiers, let's take a quick look on how the S.League all-time has evolved since 2007.

# #07 Teams------ Sesn Pld W-- PK D L-- F-- A-- Pts GD-- PPG #PPG #PPG07
01 01 SAFFC------ 12.5 339 225 2 61 051 841 406 740 +435 2.183 01 01
02 02 Home------- 12.5 338 188 2 61 087 723 469 629 +254 1.861 02 02
03 03 Tampines--- 12.5 338 161 3 68 106 664 489 557 +175 1.648 03 03
04 04 Geylang---- 12.5 339 155 3 71 110 588 447 542 +141 1.599 04 04
05 05 Woodlands-- 12.5 338 130 4 78 126 574 555 464 +019 1.373 09 09
06 06 Balestier-- 12.5 339 093 2 78 166 495 682 361 -187 1.065 11 10
07 07 Tjg. Pagar- 09.0 234 100 2 46 086 399 385 350 +014 1.496 05 05
08 08 Jurong----- 07.0 179 070 7 29 073 261 274 253 -013 1.413 06 08
09 10 Young Lions 05.5 164 064 1 34 065 280 287 228 -007 1.390 07 07
10 11 Gombak----- 08.5 207 056 0 49 102 281 381 217 -100 1.048 12 11
11 09 Sembawang-- 07.0 207 053 5 47 102 256 405 216 -149 1.043 13 12
12 12 Sengkang--- 08.5 241 044 8 45 144 264 529 193 -265 0.801 17 16
13 13 Albirex---- 04.5 131 048 0 36 047 215 202 180 +013 1.374 08 06
14 14 Clementi--- 04.0 110 022 0 29 059 150 261 095 -111 0.864 16 15
15 15 Sinchi----- 03.0 087 022 6 13 046 109 166 088 -057 1.011 14 13
16 18 Super Reds- 01.5 047 014 0 11 022 053 093 053 -040 1.128 10 18
17 16 Liaoning--- 01.0 033 008 0 05 020 033 063 029 -030 0.879 15 14
18 17 Afrique---- 01.0 030 005 0 09 016 036 058 024 -022 0.800 18 17
19 NA Dalian----- 00.5 014 003 0 02 009 012 027 011 -015 0.786 19 NA
20 19 Paya Lebar- 01.0 027 001 0 01 025 023 078 004 -055 0.148 20 19

If interested, any of you can help update this in Wikipedia as well... :-)

S.League 08 Projected Finish - 28 May

With all teams (except Balestier & Sengkang) completed 14 games & the league taking a 3 week break for World Cup Qualifiers, let's take a quick projection on how they will finish at the end of the season, base on the current standings.

As at 28-May:
# Team-------- P- W D L GF - GA Pts GD
1 Singapore AF 14 11 2 1 39 - 14 35 (+25)
2 Super Reds-- 14 11 2 1 29 - 13 35 (+16)
3 Home-------- 14 09 2 3 40 - 18 29 (+22)
4 Tampines---- 14 08 2 4 28 - 18 26 (+10)
5 Geylang----- 14 06 2 6 24 - 27 20 (-3)
6 Woodlands--- 14 05 4 5 17 - 20 19 (-3)
7 Gombak------ 14 03 6 5 17 - 19 15 (-2)
8 Young Lions- 14 04 3 7 17 - 24 15 (-7)
9 Albirex----- 14 03 3 8 18 - 34 12 (-16)
10 Dalian----- 14 03 2 9 12 - 27 11 (-15)
11 Balestier-- 15 01 6 8 12 - 22 09 (-10)
12 Sengkang--- 15 01 6 8 05 - 22 09 (-17)

Projected Finish:
# Team-------- P- W- D L- GF - GA Pts GD
1 Singapore AF 33 26 5 02 92 - 33 83 59
2 Super Reds-- 33 26 5 02 68 - 31 83 37
3 Home-------- 33 21 5 07 94 - 42 68 52
4 Tampines---- 33 19 5 09 66 - 42 62 24
5 Geylang----- 33 14 5 14 57 - 64 47 -7
6 Woodlands--- 33 12 9 12 40 - 47 45 -7
7 Gombak------ 33 7 14 12 40 - 45 35 -5
8 Young Lions- 33 09 7 17 40 - 57 34 -17
9 Albirex----- 33 07 7 19 42 - 80 28 -38
10 Dalian----- 33 07 5 21 28 - 64 26 -36
11 Balestier-- 33 2 13 18 26 - 48 19 -22
12 Sengkang--- 33 2 13 18 11 - 48 19 -37

Though still rooted at the bottom, Sengkang finally earned their first win of the season against Young Lions. However, they also set a new mark of 5 goal-less draws for a team in a season, it is likely that the "record" can be extended further in this campaign. :-)

For now, SAFFC is back on top, but only on G/D. The title race seemed to be fast becoming a 2-horse affair, with Home/Tampines fighting it out for 3rd-place & others trailing in their wake...

Singapore League Cup 2007 Recap

Just a recap of what happened in League Cup 2007 (many thanks to Leon's Archive):

Quarter-finals -
Sengkang 2 -1 Balestier
Gombak 2 - 1 Albirex
Super Reds 0 - 2
WoodlandsTampines 1 - 1 Home Utd (Home Utd won on PK)

Semi-finals -
Sengkang 0 - 0 Gombak (Sengkang won on PK)
Woodlands 2 - 0 Home Utd

3rd-place -
Gombak 1 - 1 Home Utd (Gombak won on PK)

Final -
Sengkang 0 - 4 Woodlands

"Standings":
# Team----- P W D L F A P GD
1 Woodlands 3 3 0 0 8 0 9 +8
2 Gombak--- 3 1 2 0 3 2 5 +1
3 Sengkang- 3 1 1 1 2 5 4 -3
4 Home----- 3 0 2 1 2 4 2 -2
5 Tampines- 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 +0
6 Albirex-- 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 -1
7 Balestier 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 -1
8 SuperReds 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 -2

Gombak 1-0 Home: finally overtaken Sembawang!

Beside putting a huge dent on Home's 2008 title hopes, Gombak have finally overtaken Sembawang in the all-time S.League table, :-)

Gombak already had Sembawang in sight at the start of the 2008 season, but they were struggling to reach the target due to their indifferent form since.

Prior to the Home game, Gombak actually went 6 games winless, but they managed to pull-off the upset at the right time in their 207th game (co-incidentally the same number of games Sembawang have played all-time!!):
#- Team ------------ Pld W PK D- L-- F-- A-- GD-- Pts
10 Gombak United --- 207 56 0 49 102 281-381 -100 217
11 Sembawang Rangers 207 53 5 47 102 256-405 -149 216

It must have been the force of destiny, wasn't it?

Prime League All-Time Table: 2001

2001 Table:
# Team------ P- W- D L F- A- Pts GD
1 Home------ 24 18 4 2 79 31 58 +48
2 SAFFC----- 24 16 4 4 78 20 52 +58
3 Tampines-- 24 15 3 6 56 31 48 +25
4 Woodlands- 24 15 2 7 49 45 47 +4
5 Sing.U-18 24 11 3 10 49 33 36 +16
6 Tjg.Pagar- 24 10 6 8 40 38 36 +2
7 Sengkang-- 24 8 7 09 43 37 31 +6
8 Sembawang- 24 8 5 11 41 55 29 -14
9 Geylang--- 24 8 4 12 29 36 28 -7
10 Balestier 24 8 3 13 45 47 27 -2
11 Clementi- 24 5 8 11 31 53 23 -22
12 Jurong--- 24 2 7 15 38 89 13 -51
13 Gombak--- 24 2 4 18 16 79 10 -63

2001 All-Time:
# Team----- P-- W- D- L- F-- A-- Pts GD PPG #PPG
1 SAFFC---- 106 80 09 17 313 085 249 +228 2.349 1
2 Home----- 106 73 16 17 280 103 235 +177 2.217 2
3 Geylang-- 106 56 17 33 186 120 185 +066 1.745 4
4 Woodlands 106 48 17 41 191 169 161 +022 1.519 5
5 Tampines- 106 50 10 46 185 176 160 +009 1.509 6
6 Balestier 106 44 15 47 187 175 147 +012 1.387 8
7 Tjg.Pagar 106 41 17 48 183 208 140 -025 1.321 9
8 Sengkang-- 90 39 15 36 147 134 132 +013 1.467 7
9 Sembawang 106 27 21 58 130 216 102 -086 0.962 10
10 Sing.U-18 48 26 07 15 098 059 085 +039 1.771 3
11 Jurong-- 106 19 17 70 122 317 074 -195 0.698 12
12 Clementi- 70 15 20 35 086 144 065 -058 0.929 11
13 Gombak--- 90 10 15 65 082 284 045 -202 0.500 13

Highlights:
- The 5th season of Prime League.
- Singapore Under-18 team have been doing very well in terms of PPG, only behind the Big-2 of SAFFC / Home.

Prime League All-Time Table: 2000

2000 Table:
# Team------ P- W- D L F- A- Pts GD
1 SAFFC----- 24 20 0 4 79 14 60 +65
2 Home------ 24 15 6 3 50 17 51 +33
3 Geylang--- 24 15 5 4 42 21 50 +21
4 Sing.U-18- 24 15 4 5 49 26 49 +23
5 Sengkang-- 24 14 3 7 42 31 45 +11
6 Tampines-- 24 12 3 9 37 30 39 +7
7 Clementi-- 24 7 9 08 34 40 30 -6
8 Woodlands- 24 7 6 11 35 34 27 +1
9 Tjg.Pagar- 24 7 5 12 39 52 26 -13
10 Balestier 24 4 6 14 27 41 18 -14
11 Sembawang 24 3 9 12 19 40 18 -21
12 Gombak--- 24 3 5 16 26 69 14 -43
13 Jurong--- 24 2 3 19 25 89 09 -64

2000 All-Time:
# Team------ P- W- D- L- F-- A-- Pts GD-- PPG #PPG
1 SAFFC----- 82 64 05 13 235 065 197 +170 2.402 1
2 Home------ 82 55 12 15 201 072 177 +129 2.159 2
3 Geylang--- 82 48 13 21 157 084 157 +073 1.915 4
4 Balestier- 82 36 12 34 142 128 120 +014 1.463 6
5 Woodlands- 82 33 15 34 142 124 114 +018 1.390 7
6 Tampines-- 82 35 07 40 129 145 112 -016 1.366 8
7 Tjg.Pagar- 82 31 11 40 143 170 104 -027 1.268 9
8 Sengkang-- 66 31 08 27 104 097 101 +007 1.530 5
9 Sembawang- 82 19 16 47 089 161 073 -072 0.890 11
10 Jurong--- 82 17 10 55 084 228 061 -144 0.744 12
11 Sing.U-18 24 15 04 05 049 026 049 +023 2.042 3
12 Clementi- 46 10 12 24 055 091 042 -036 0.913 10
13 Gombak--- 66 08 11 47 066 205 035 -139 0.530 13

Highlights:
- The 5th season of Prime League
- Singapore Uuder-18 was the new entrant.
- This was the first time that there're more teams in the Prime League than S.League.

Prime League All-Time Table: 1999

1999 Table:
# Team------ P- W- D L F- A- Pts GD
1 SAFFC----- 22 21 1 0 75 13 64 +62
2 Home------ 22 16 2 4 62 20 50 +42
3 Balestier- 22 14 1 7 47 30 43 +17
4 Geylang--- 22 11 6 5 41 19 39 +22
5 Sengkang-- 22 12 3 7 42 31 39 +11
6 Jurong---- 22 9 2 11 28 54 29 -26
7 Woodlands- 22 8 4 10 38 36 28 +02
8 Tampines-- 22 6 3 13 24 42 21 -18
9 Tjg.Pagar- 22 6 3 13 25 49 21 -24
10 Sembawang 22 5 5 12 25 42 20 -17
11 Gombak--- 22 4 1 17 23 64 13 -41
12 Clementi- 22 3 3 16 21 51 12 -30

1999 All-Time:
# Team----- P- W- D L- F-- A-- Pts GD- PPG #PPG
1 SAFFC---- 58 44 5 09 156 051 137 105 2.362 1
2 Home----- 58 40 6 12 151 055 126 +96 2.172 2
3 Geylang-- 58 33 8 17 115 063 107 +52 1.845 3
4 Balestier 58 32 6 20 115 087 102 +28 1.759 4
5 Woodlands 58 26 9 23 107 090 087 +17 1.500 5
6 Tjg.Pagar 58 24 6 28 104 118 078 -14 1.345 6
7 Tampines- 58 23 4 31 092 115 073 -23 1.259 8
8 Sengkang- 42 17 5 20 062 066 056 -04 1.333 7
9 Sembawang 58 16 7 35 070 121 055 -51 0.948 9
10 Jurong-- 58 15 7 36 059 139 052 -80 0.897 10
11 Gombak-- 42 05 6 31 040 136 021 -96 0.500 12
12 Clementi 22 03 3 16 021 051 012 -30 0.545 11

Highlights:
- The 3rd season of Prime League
- SAFFC finished the season unbeaten!
- Clementi was the new entrant.
- All 12 teams fielded their reserves.

Prime League All-Time Table: 1998

1998 Table:
# Team----- P- W- D L F- A- Pts GD
1 Geylang-- 20 16 0 4 56 19 48 +37
2 Home----- 20 14 2 4 56 17 44 +39
3 Woodlands 20 13 3 4 51 26 42 +25
4 Tampines- 20 13 1 6 47 39 40 +08
5 SAFFC---- 20 11 2 7 47 30 35 +17
6 Tjg.Pagar 20 9 0 11 40 41 27 -01
7 Balestier 20 9 0 11 34 38 27 -04
8 Sembawang 20 6 2 12 25 41 20 -16
9 Sengkang- 20 5 2 13 20 35 17 -15
10 Jurong-- 20 3 3 14 20 55 12 -35
11 Gombak-- 20 1 5 14 17 72 08 -55

1998 All-Time:
# Team----- P- W- D L- F- A- Pts GD PPG #PPG
1 Home----- 36 24 4 08 89 35 76 +54 2.111 1
2 SAFFC---- 36 23 4 09 81 38 73 +43 2.028 2
3 Geylang-- 36 22 2 12 74 44 68 +30 1.889 3
4 Woodlands 36 18 5 13 69 54 59 +15 1.639 4
5 Balestier 36 18 5 13 68 57 59 +11 1.639 5
6 Tjg.Pagar 36 18 3 15 79 69 57 +10 1.583 6
7 Tampines- 36 17 1 18 68 73 52 -05 1.444 7
8 Sembawang 36 11 2 23 45 79 35 -34 0.972 8
9 Jurong--- 36 06 5 25 31 85 23 -54 0.639 10
10 Sengkang 20 05 2 13 20 35 17 -15 0.850 9
11 Gombak-- 20 01 5 14 17 72 08 -55 0.400 11

Highlights:
- The 2nd season of Prime League
- Gombak & Sengkang were new entrants
- All 11 teams fielded reserves

Prime League All-Time Table: 1997

Table:
# Team----- P- W- D L F- A- Pts GD
1 SAFFC---- 16 12 2 2 34 08 38 +26
2 Balestier 16 09 5 2 34 19 32 +15
3 Home----- 16 10 2 4 33 18 32 +15
4 Tjg.Pagar 16 9 3 04 39 28 30 +11
5 Geylang-- 16 6 2 08 18 25 20 -07
6 Woodlands 16 5 2 09 18 28 17 -10
7 Sembawang 16 5 0 11 20 38 15 -18
8 Tampines- 16 4 0 12 21 34 12 -13
9 Jurong--- 16 3 2 11 11 30 11 -19

Highlights:
- This was the first season of Prime League.
- SAFFC also won the S.League.
- All 9 S.League teams fielded reserves here.

S.League 08 Projected Finish: 6-May

With all teams completed 12 games & the league taking a 2 week break for Singapore Cup matches, let's take a quick projection on how they will finish at the end of the season, base on current standings.

As at 6-May:
# Team-------- P- W D L GF - GA Pts GD
1 Super Reds- 12 10 1 1 24 - 10 31 (+14)
2 Singapore AF 12 9 2 1 35 - 13 29 (+22)
3 Home-------- 12 8 2 2 34 - 17 26 (+17)
4 Tampines---- 12 6 2 4 25 - 18 20 (+7)
5 Geylang----- 12 5 1 6 17 - 24 16 (-7)
6 Young Lions- 12 4 3 5 14 - 18 15 (-4)
7 Woodlands--- 12 4 3 5 12 - 17 15 (-5)
8 Gombak------ 12 2 6 4 16 - 18 12 (-2)
9 Albirex----- 12 3 3 6 16 - 26 12 (-10)
10 Dalian----- 12 3 2 7 11 - 18 11 (-7)
11 Balestier-- 12 1 4 7 10 - 18 07 (-8)
12 Sengkang--- 12 0 5 7 02 - 19 05 (-17)

Projected Finish:
# Team-------- P- W- D L- GF - GA Pts GD
1 Super Reds-- 33 28 3 02 66 - 28 87 38
2 Singapore AF 33 25 6 02 96 - 36 81 60
3 Home-------- 33 22 6 05 94 - 47 72 47
4 Tampines---- 33 17 6 10 69 - 50 57 19
5 Geylang----- 33 14 3 16 47 - 66 45 -19
6 Young Lions- 33 11 8 14 39 - 50 41 -11
7 Woodlands--- 33 11 8 14 33 - 47 41 -14
8 Gombak------ 33 6 17 10 44 - 50 35 -6
9 Albirex----- 33 8 08 17 44 - 72 32 -28
10 Dalian----- 33 8 06 19 30 - 50 30 -20
11 Balestier-- 33 3 11 19 28 - 50 20 -22
12 Sengkang--- 33 0 14 19 06 - 52 14 -46

Sengkang actually almost beaten Albirex at Jurong East on 5-May, if not for a disallowed penalty. So the first win will wait...

On top of that, 4 of the 5 points they managed this season were goal-less draws, already a record jointly shared with a few other teams. Should the goal drought continue, they're likely to "improve" upon it, :-)

S.League 08 Projected Finish - 27-Apr

With all teams completed the 1st round of 11 games, let's take a quick projection on how they will finish at the end of the season, base on current standings.

As at 27-Apr:
# Team-------- P- W D L GF - GA Pts GD
1 Super Reds-- 11 9 1 1 23 - 10 28 (+13)
2 Singapore AF 11 8 2 1 32 - 11 26 (+21)
3 Home-------- 11 8 2 1 32 - 13 26 (+19)
4 Tampines---- 11 5 2 4 21 - 16 17 (+5)
5 Geylang----- 11 5 1 5 15 - 21 16 (-6)
6 Woodlands--- 11 4 3 4 11 - 15 15 (-4)
7 Young Lions- 11 3 3 5 12 - 17 12 (-5)
8 Gombak------ 11 2 5 4 14 - 16 11 (-2)
9 Dalian------ 11 3 2 6 11 - 17 11 (-6)
10 Albirex---- 11 3 2 6 16 - 26 11 (-10)
11 Balestier-- 11 1 3 7 08 - 16 06 (-8)
12 Sengkang--- 11 0 4 7 02 - 19 04 (-17)

Projected Finish:
# Team-------- P- W- D L- GF - GA Pts GD
1 Super Reds-- 33 27 3 03 69 - 30 84 39
2 Singapore AF 33 24 6 03 96 - 33 78 63
3 Home-------- 33 24 6 03 96 - 39 78 57
4 Tampines---- 33 15 6 12 63 - 48 51 15
5 Geylang----- 33 15 3 15 45 - 63 48 -18
6 Woodlands--- 33 12 9 12 33 - 45 45 -12
7 Young Lions- 33 9 09 15 36 - 51 36 -15
8 Gombak------ 33 6 15 12 42 - 48 33 -6
9 Dalian------ 33 9 06 18 33 - 51 33 -18
10 Albirex---- 33 9 06 18 48 - 78 33 -30
11 Balestier-- 33 3 09 21 24 - 48 18 -24
12 Sengkang--- 33 0 12 21 06 - 57 12 -51

The previous anomalies resulted from the "zeroes" entries in the league table are mostly gone now, mainly thanks to Balestier's shock win against Home, which took out 2 such "zeroes" (Home unbeaten & Balestier winless).

The only "zero" remaining comes from Sengkang, which is still winless after the 1st round, and is thus projected to finish the entire season without a win.

Such scenario has never happened before in S.League history (the closest being 2005's Paya Lebar with a single win), though I wonder if Sengkang could be the first side to "achieve this feat" (as they have serious problem upfront, having scored just 2 goals so far, even the 2005's Paya Lebar have managed 6 in their first 11 games), :-p

We will see, if Sengkang can break the duck in the next 2 projections, when the S.League takes longer breaks after Week 12 (2 weeks) & Week 14 (3 weeks). The 3 matches Sengkang will play until then are:
2008-05-05 Albirex (A) -
2008-05-21 Young Lions (H) -
2008-05-24 Singapore AF (H) -

Can it be Albirex or Young Lions? I wouldn't bet it on SAFFC though...

Woodlands Corner: Follow-ups

Just some follow-ups on Woodlands progress this season, base on my previous post "Woodlands Corner: Difficult timess ahead":


After the Sengkang game their record reads: 2W-2D-1L. Then:
2008-03-29 Singapore AF (A) 0-3
2008-04-01 Tampines (H) 1-1
2008-04-09 Home (H) 0-3


After the games against the Big-3: 2W-3D-3L. Then:
2008-04-15 Gombak (A) 1-0
2008-04-20 Geylang (H) -
2008-04-24 Albirex (A) -
2008-05-02 Young Lions (A) -
2008-05-23 Super Reds (H) -


Now they already have 1 win against Gombak.
Assume they manage 1W (Albirex), 2D (Geylang, YL) & 1L (Super Reds) in the next 4: 4W-5D-4L.

Maybe I'm just being over-worried, hopefully that's the case.

S.League 08 Projected Finish - 16-Apr

With all team finally having played the same number (9) of games (after a few weeks of imbalances) & the league taking a quick break on 16-Apr (for AFC Cup), it's a good time (though maybe a bit too early, you'll know why later) to project how the teams will finish at the end of the season base on current standings.

As at 16-Apr:
# Team-------- P W D L GF - GA Pts GD
1 Home-------- 9 8 1 0 29 - 09 25 (+20)
2 Singapore AF 9 8 0 1 28 - 07 24 (+21)
3 Super Reds-- 9 8 0 1 17 - 09 24 (+8)
4 Tampines---- 9 4 2 3 18 - 10 14 (+8)
5 Woodlands--- 9 3 3 3 08 - 12 12 (-4)
6 Young Lions- 9 3 2 4 11 - 14 11 (-3)
7 Dalian------ 9 3 1 5 10 - 15 10 (-5)
8 Geylang----- 9 3 1 5 11 - 20 10 (-9)
9 Gombak------ 9 2 3 4 11 - 13 09 (-2)
10 Albirex---- 9 2 2 5 13 - 23 08 (-10)
11 Sengkang--- 9 0 3 6 01 - 16 03 (-15)
12 Balestier-- 9 0 2 7 05 - 14 02 (-9)

Projected Finish:
# Team-------- P- W- D- L- GF- - GA Pts GD
1 Home-------- 33 29 04 00 106 - 33 91 73
2 Singapore AF 33 29 00 04 103 - 26 87 77
3 Super Reds-- 33 29 00 04 062 - 33 87 29
4 Tampines---- 33 15 07 11 066 - 37 52 29
5 Woodlands--- 33 11 11 11 029 - 44 44 -15
6 Young Lions- 33 11 07 15 040 - 51 40 -11
7 Dalian------ 33 11 04 18 037 - 55 37 -18
8 Geylang----- 33 11 04 18 040 - 73 37 -33
9 Gombak------ 33 07 11 15 040 - 48 32 -8
10 Albirex---- 33 07 07 19 048 - 84 28 -36
11 Sengkang--- 33 00 11 22 004 - 59 11 -55
12 Balestier-- 33 00 07 26 018 - 51 07 -33

Saw anything weird with the projecttions? Well, there's a few things, top-down:
1. Can Home really remain unbeaten all season? I doubt so...

2. Will SAFFC & Super Reds both drawing none of their games? Highly unlikely for 1 team, let alone 2.

3. Will both Sengkang & Balestier remain winless all season? Again unlikely lah...
Even the Paya Lebar of 2005 could get a win out of 27 games, surely these 2 can do betrter?

4. Sengkang scoring just 4 goals all season?
The lowest number of goals scored by any team in any season was 15 by Jurong in 1997,
with just 16 games! Sengkang should achieve at least that figure with double the games.
(For the lowest Goals per Game, Balestier in 2000 "took the honors" with 16 goals in 22 games, a ratio of 0.727.)

Perhaps the projection will make more sense, when all the "zeroes" entries in the league table are gone. We'll see if that happens after the first round of games, :-)

Finally, a new SLVC champion: Super Reds!!

SAFFC's superb start (8 opening wins) to season 2008 was ended abruptly after a 2-1 away loss to Super Reds on 13-Apr, & in the process relinqiushed the SLVC title it held for 21 games.

More on this later...

Dalian 3-1 Geylang: Good run continues

It might be hard to imagine just a few week earlier (whey they lost the 4 opening games), but here're the facts:

1. Dalian is now 5th in the league, just behind the big-4 at the top!
2. Dalain has now gone 3 matches unbeaten after the Tampines loss.
3. During this unbeaten run, they have conceded just 1 goal (against Geylang).

With Albirex & Young Lions coming up next, they may be able to entend this sequence, although it will probably end when they play Super Reds on 28-Apr.

Base on their current form/PPG, they should expect to overtake Afrique (24pts) & Liaoning (29pts) by the end of their first season.

As for sorry Geylang, now in dismal 9th-place (just 1 win in the past 7 games), they need to buckle-up against arch rivals Tampines in the next match, or risk getting brushed aside again...

Despite a loss, Super Reds still stood tall.

Eventhough they were unlucky to lose to the ever lucky Home side (remember last season?) due to a '90 goal (again!) on 30-Mar, which ended their 100% record, Super Reds could still pride themselves as the foreign team with the best start to a season (6 opening wins) so far.

This remarkable achievement would be the 2nd-best all time, tying with SAFFC in 2000 & Woodlands in 2004, behind SAFFC in 2002 (7 opening wins).

It could become the 3rd-best soon though, if SAFFC can managed 2 more wins to surpass their own record (with the next 2 opponents being Balestier & Young Lions, this is quite likely).

Nevertheless, it's another record-breaking feat for the Super Reds, who has a few more records in its sights this season:

1. The most significant improvement as compared to last season, in terms of position:
The current record holder is Young Lions, who jumped from 12th/12 to 3rd/10 in 2004 (9 places).
To break this record, Super Reds need to finish at least 2nd in 2008 (10 places).

2. The most significant improvement as compared to last season, in terms of points per game:
The current record holder is Woodlands, who jumped from 0.727 (24/33) to 1.758 (58/33) in 2002 (1.030).
To break this record, Super Reds need to finish with at least 55 points in 2008 (from 21pts/33games in 2007).

3. The highest points total in a season for foreign teams:
The current record holder is Sinchi (surprise!) in 2003, who had 50 points from 33 games(mainly helped by the extra PK points, otherwise Albirex in 2006 would be best with 45).
To break this record, Super Reds need to finish with at least 51 points, :-p

4. The highest points per game in a season for foreign teams:
The current record holder is Albirex in 2004 & 2005, who both had 44 points from 27 games (1.630).
To break this record, Super Reds need to finish with at least 54 points, :-)

Record #1 may be a tall order, with Home United also competing strongly. But targets #2, 3 & 4 should be highly achievable, base on their current form (18pts/7games = 2.571ppg, which could be projected to 85pts in the end)...

Keep it up, Super Reds!!

Dalian has overtaken Paya Lebar, but how?

At first glance, you may wonder: How did Dalian overtake Paya Lebar, who're not even in S.League 08! Here's how:

On 25-Mar, Dalian earned their 2nd win of the season by beating Sengkang 2-1 at Queenstown.

With this win, Dalian has collected 6 points so far, thus allowing it to move above Paya Lebar (4 pts) in the S.League All-time Table. That's how, :-)

Ironically, the Sengkang Punggol side they beat was the merger of Sengkang Marine & Paya Lebar Punggol back in 2006. What a coincidence!

Super Reds 6-out-of-6!

Another 1-goal win, another 3 points, and another record in the bag for Super Reds, as they extended the best start by foreign teams to 6 wins.

This remarkable achievement is also the 2nd-best all time, level with SAFFC in 2000 & Woodlands in 2004, behind SAFFC in 2002 (7 opening wins).

The win would put some pressures on the only other perfect team, SAFFC (5-out-of-5), to keep pace at the top. SAFFC will play Woodlands on 29-Mar.

Until then, Super Reds will enjoy their lone stay at the top as much as possible, although their next opponent on 30-Mar, Home United, will be a serious test for them (by then, SAFFC could have already regained top-spot if they beat Woodlands).

This season's title race is getting really exciting!

Woodlands Corner: Thrashed by Henan 0-4 at home!

How could Woodlands lose so heavily to the visitors while Super Reds managed to beat them 2-1?

Really hopeless (eventhough it's just a friendly & both teams fielded some reserves)... Did anyone see the match personally?

Official Report at: Singapore tour ends satisfactorily for Henan.

Woodlands Corner: Difficult times ahead after Sengkang draw

Quote:
Originally Posted by henryo
TodayOnline:Muddy stalemate in WoodlandsFriday • March 14,
2008NTUC Income-Yeo's S-League 2008Woodlands 0 Sengkang Punggol 0

Woodlands is now in big trouble after failing to beat Sengkang in the rain, as their next 3 opponents read:
2008-03-29 Singapore AF (A) -
2008-04-01 Tampines (H) -
2008-04-09 Home (H) -

It's possible that they will not get a point in these 3 matches. The next 5 matches are not less daunting:
2008-04-15 Gombak (A) -
2008-04-20 Geylang (H) -
2008-04-24 Albirex (A) -
2008-05-02 Young Lions (A) -
2008-05-23 Super Reds (H) -

Should they failed to get a least a win from these 5 matches, the coach can find himself under fire pretty soon.

After the Sengkang game their record reads: 2W-2D-1L.
Assume they lose the next 3 against the Big-3: 2W-2D-4L.
Assume they manage just 1 win/draw in the next 5: 3W-3D-7L.

Good luck to them... :-(

Super Reds' Dream Start Continues...

After beating Gombak 3-2 at Yishun on 12-Mar-08, Super Reds could potentially end the round alone at the top of the table, if SAFFC fail to beat Tampines later this week.

Although all their victories so far were by a single goal, they could well break into the top-4 anyway. What an achievement for a team finishing dead-last during the last season!

By the way, Super Reds' 5-wins-out-of-5 this year is the best ever start by a foregin team. The previous record was Albirex's 3-wins-out-of-3 in 2004, their first season.

SLVC Preview: Tampines vs SAFFC on 14-Mar-08

SAFFC's next SLVC opponent on 14-Mar-08, Tampines Rovers, has won the SLVC title 8 times & currently ranked joint-4th all-time (with Woodlands, out of 20 teams), behind SAFFC (13), Home (11) & Geylang(10).

Tampines Rovers's all-time record in the SLVC mini-league is 5th best (out of 14 teams), having played 62 macthes, won 27, drew 14 & lost 21, amassing 95 points in the overall standings, behind SAFFC (242), Home (199), Geylang(113) & Woodlands (99).

In this exciting clash, several things will be at stake:
1. SAFFC (currently tie with Home in terms of longest SLVC reign) will hope to beat Tampines and set a new record for themselves.
2. Tampines will be keen to exact revenge on SAFFC who have beat them in the 2007 Singapre Cup final.
3. SAFFC will hope to maintain their 100% start so far & catch-up with Super Reds at the top of 2008 S.League (how irony it is to see that happens, :-).

If Tampines win this contest instead, it will not only take a big step towards the 2008 title, but also increases its SLVC titles won (9 overall) & move closer to Woodlands in the all-time SLVC mini-league (98 vs 99)!

Tampines has met SAFFC 13 times in the SLVC so far; it won 3, drew 2 & lost the other 8; scored 16 & conceded 32 in the process, not exactly a favourable record.Base on their 20 league meetings since 2001, Tampines has won 7, drawn 4 and lost the remaining 10 (though it has not lost to SAFFC in 4 games since late 2006).

If only the 10 games where Tampines played host were counted, Tampines are evenly match with SAFFC with 4 wins, 2 draws & 4 losses.

I would say this could turn out to be another draw (this game will play at JBS, thus not much home advantage for Tampines). What say you?

Super Reds & Young Lions moved up in all-time table

The past 2 matches has seen the winning teams moving-up in the all-time table:

1. 7-Mar-08: Super Reds 1-0 Geylang:
Super Reds (30 pts) has now overtaken Liaoning (29 pts) into 16th-place!

2. 8-Mar-08: Gombak 0-1 Young Lions:
Young Lions (218 pts) has now overtaken Sembawang (216 pts) into 9th-place!
11th-placed Gombak (206 pts) should catch-up with Sembawang pretty soon too.

Meanwhile, let's congrats Dalian for finally chalking-up their first win of the season on 10-Mar-08 by beating Balestier 2-1. They (3 pts) should be able to overtake 19th-placed Paya Lebar (4 pts) anytime as well, :-)

SLVC Report: Dalian 1-6 SAFFC, next-up Tampines!

Dalian's first ever SLVC game on 6-Mar-08 ended in disaster as they were soundly trashed 1-6 by SAFFC, while the latter has now equalled the all-time record of 17-game SLVC defense first set by Home in '99!

The result also meant that SAFFC continue to top the table with 100% win, while Dalian continue to stuck at the bottom with 4 losses out of 4. The contrast of respective fortunes can't be more stark than that!

However, for SAFFC to finally surpass Home's record further, they will have to do it the hard way by getting a result against Tampines @ JBS on 14-Mar, which should be a close contest. More preview on this mouth-watering tie later...

Interesting Trend in S.League 2008: Away Teams Rule!

Following the thrashings of both Albirex & Dalian on 6-Mar-08, it's worth noting that the home teams (for simplicity sake, games at JBS included) have not won a game since SAFFC beat Sengkang on the Leap Day, a run of 8 games!

As at 6-Mar-08, the overall S.League record reads (stats thanks to SoccerDB):

Matches played: 22

Won by home team: 6 (27.3%)
Draws: 5 (22.7%)
Won by away team: 11 (50.0%)

Goals scored: 68 (3.09)
Goals by home team: 27 (1.23)
Goals by away team: 41 (1.86)

While it's still too early to conclude that this season will end-up like 2002, where more games were won by away teams, the on-going trend does suggest that a season like 2005 & 2007 is possible, where the home team won just 3 more games (approx. 2%)!

Can the so-far 100% Super Reds reverse this bizarre trend on 7-Mar? We'll see...

Woodlands Corner: How did Jorg. fared as compared to Karim?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Harvley
Karim was doing better than this and he left half way. As a
Woodlands supporter, I am really dissapointed with the team. Jorg is not up to
standard yet to actually bring a club with alot of wealth forward to challenge
for the title. The defence is abit crappy right now. And he didnt bring in
anyone to actually improve on that.I'll say, replace Jorg. Get a more
experienced coach to bring the club forward and fight for at least the top four
of the league.

Actually, base on results alone, both coaches were strikingly similar & each had their fair shares of ups & downs:

Karim (in charge from 2005-Apr-14 to 2006-June-15):

Ups:
1. Guided the team from 4th-place (when he took over) to 3rd (at one stage 2nd) in 2005 with an impressive 13-match unbeaten run (of 8 wins & 5 draws).
2. Guided the team to 2005 Singapore Cup final.

Downs:
1. His team ran out of steam towards the end of 2005 season, both in league (lost 3 of the last 5 games) & cup (lost the final), to finish trophyless.
2. A slow start to 2006 season, including winless in the first 4 games & losing 4-straight subsequently ended his reign at the club.

Jorg (in charge since 2006-June-16):

Ups:
1. Guided the team from 8th-place (when he took over) to 5th (at one stage 3rd) in 2006 with an equally impressive 13-match unbeaten run (of 9 wins & 4 draws).
2. Guided the team to 3rd-place in 2006 Singapore Cup.
3. Guided the team to victory in the (inaugural) 2007 Singtel League Cup, the first-ever silverware of the club!

Downs:
1. His team also ran out of steam towards the end of 2006 season, both in league (lost the last 3 games straight) & cup (lost to Tampines 2-7 in semi-final 2nd leg), to finish trophyless.
2. A slow start to 2007 season, including a demoralising 0-6 loss to SAFFC at homeground, wasted the good momentum he built-up from Singtel League Cup & opening-day win against Tampines.
3. And of course, who can forget THAT walk-out incident? Though it's more of the chairman's fault than his...

Dalian's First SLVC Match vs SAFFC on 6-Mar-08!!

Come 6-Mar-08, Dalian will host SAFFC at Queenstown Stadium in what is going to be the Chinese side's first ever SLVC game!

As expected, SAFFC have easily dispatched Sengkang in the previous SLVC match on 29-Feb-08 (which is co-incidentally the only S.League match ever played on a leap day) to extend its hold on SLVC to 16 games.

SAFFC's current SLVC run is made up of 13 wins & 3 draws (good for 42 points), already surpassed Home's previous record haul (12 wins + 5 draws = 41 points).

Should SAFFC (expectedly) win or get at least a draw (which would be a huge upset), they will match Home's record of 17-game SLVC defense as well!

Can Super Reds surpass Liaoning on 7-Mar-08?

Having just beaten Young Lions 1-0 away at JBS on 2-Mar-08 to maintain their 100%-start & finally moved above Sporting Afrique in the all-time table, Super Reds will aim to overtake Liaoning as well with another win against Geylang on 7-Mar-08 to keep chasing SAFFC at the top of the league.

Over their 3 meetings in 2007, Super Reds & Geylang are evenly matched, with 1 win, 1 draw & 1 loss apiece, although Geylang did score more goals (5 to 2) over the series.

Can Super Reds continue their fairy tale run? Or will Geylang be the first team to deny them full points in 2008? We'll see...