S.League Virtual Championship 2008

If the exclusive source at KR is accurate, SAFFC will begin the defense of its S.League Virtual Championship (SLVC) against Albirex @ JBS on 22-Feb-2008.

What a fitting curtain raiser it will be, given that the game will be televised nationwide!

Quick Stats on SLVC title defense at the beginning of each season:

1996: NA
1997: Geylang (1996 year-end winner) won away at Home Utd 2-0
1998: Tampines (1997 winner) won away at Gombak 3-2
1999: SAFFC (and so on...) won as host against Sengkang 6-1
2000: Tanjong Pagar won as host against Home Utd 1-0
2001: Clementi drew away at Woodlands 1-1
2002: Tampines lost away to SAFFC 1-2
2003: SAFFC lost away to Home 1-2
2004: SAFFC lost as host to Woodlands 0-2
2005: Tampines won as host against SAFFC 3-2
2006: Home lost away to SAFFC 1-2
2007: Gombak lost as host to Geylang 0-1
2008: ?

Altogether the defending year-end winners have won 5, drew 1 & lost 5 in 11 seasons.

In terms of defending the title as the away team, the record is 2 wins, 1 draw & 3 losses.

Interestingly, in the early years, title defense were mostly successful; in recent seasons, however, only 1 out of 7 defending champions have managed a win in the opening game!

Not so good omen for SAFFC in 2008 arh...

Biggest Win(s) / Heaviest Loss(es) for Each Team

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Team------ Biggest Win(s)-------------------- Heaviest Loss(es)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SAFFC----- 2002-06-15 Sing. AF Sembawang 9 0- 2004-08-18 Home Sing. AF 8 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Home------ 2003-09-26 Home Sembawang 9 2 ---- 1996-10-05 Home Tan. Pagar 0 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tampines-- 2004-03-16 Tampines Tan. Pagar 9 0 1997-06-28 Tampines Balestier 2 8
---------- ---------------------------------- 2001-08-18 Sing. AF Tampines 8 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Geylang--- 2002-07-18 Sengkang Geylang 0 9 -- 2005-05-31 Tampines Geylang 7 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Woodlands- 2002-04-25 Woodlands Gombak 6 0 -- 1999-04-17 Sing. AF Woodlands 7 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Balestier- 1997-06-28 Tampines Balestier 2 8- 2002-08-24 Balestier Home 0 6
---------- ---------------------------------- 2004-07-23 YngLions Balestier 6 0
---------- ---------------------------------- 2004-08-19 Balestier Tan.Pagar 0 6
---------- ---------------------------------- (1998-07-18 Tampines Balestier 8 3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tan.Pagar- 2000-07-21 Sengkang Tan. Pagar 0 7 2004-03-16 Tampines Tan. Pagar 9 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jurong---- 1999-04-28 Jurong Sembawang 5 0 -- 1997-06-14 Jurong Sing. AF 0 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sembawang- 2002-06-15 Sing. AF Sembawang 9 0- 2002-03-14 Clementi Sembawang 2 6
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
YoungLions 2004-09-23 YoungLions Sinchi 7 1 - 2003-08-17 Geylang YoungLions 10 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gombak---- 2007-06-06 Gombak Super Reds 6 1 - 1998-07-18 Home Gombak 9 3
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sengkang-- 2000-04-15 Sengkang Woodlands 4 1- 2002-07-18 Sengkang Geylang 0 9
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Albirex--- 2007-05-10 Super Reds Albirex 0 5- 2004-07-07 Tampines Albirex 5 1
---------- ---------------------------------- 2006-04-14 Albirex Woodlands 1 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clementi-- 2001-04-05 Clementi Sembawang 4 1- 1999-05-19 Clementi Balestier 0 6
---------- 2002-03-29 Clementi Tan. Pagar 4 1 2001-06-30 Geylang Clementi 6 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sinchi---- 2003-07-03 Sinchi Tan. Pagar 5 0 - 2004-09-23 YoungLions Sinchi 7 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Liaoning-- 2007-04-19 Super Reds Liaoning 1 4 2007-11-01 Gombak Liaoning 5 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afrique--- 2006-07-19 Sengkang Afrique 0 3 -- 2006-07-16 Afrique Sing. AF 0 4
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Super Reds 2007-09-26 SuperReds Balestier 3 2 2007-04-03 Sing. AF Super Reds 6 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paya Lebar 2005-08-03 Paya Lebar Geylang 3 2- 2005-06-29 Paya Lebar Tampines 0 5
---------- ---------------------------------- 2005-10-01 Tampines Paya Lebar 5 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The "Best" Wooden Spoon (Bottom Team)!

Having ranked the past champions on PPG (Points per Game) to identify which title wins were most/least dominant, I felt that it would also be interesting to see which wooden spooner fared the "best" as compared to the fellow bottom teams from other seasons:

# Year: Team-------- P- W-D-L- Pts PPG Remarks
1. 2003: Young Lions 33 6-6-21 25 0.756 *PK
2. 2001: Woodlands-- 33 5-9-19 24 0.727
3. 1996: Tampines--- 28 5-5-18 20 0.714
4. 2000: Balestier-- 22 3-5-14 14 0.636
5. 2004: Tjg Pagar-- 27 4-5-18 17 0.630
6. 2006: Sengkang--- 30 4-6-20 18 0.600
7. 1999: Sengkang--- 22 3-3-16 12 0.545 *GD
8. 2007: Super Reds- 33 3-9-21 18 0.545 *GD
9. 1998: Sengkang--- 20 2-3-15 09 0.450
10 1997: Home------- 16 2-1-13 07 0.437
11 2002: Gombak----- 33 2-6-25 12 0.364
12 2005: Paya Lebar- 27 1-1-25 04 0.037

Young Lions "tops"!

As for the sorry Paya Lebar, this is just another way to bash them...

"Round Leaders" Since 2001!

Having posted about halfway leaders & their title chances earlier on, I'm also keen to find out who were the "round leaders" as S.League adopted the current triple-round-robin format since 2001, and how they fared eventually:

Year: Rd 1- (Lead) - Rd 2- (Lead) - Rd 3- (Lead) - Eventual Positions
2001: Geylang- (5) - SAFFC--- (0) - SAFFC--- (4) - Geylang 1st, SAFFC 2nd
2002: SAFFC--- (7) - SAFFC--- (2) - SAFFC--- (5) - SAFFC 1st, of course!
2003: Home---- (6) - Home---- (3) - Geylang- (0) - Home 1st, Geylang 2nd
2004: Woodlands(5) - Home---- (0) - Tampines (8) - Tamp. 1st, Home 2nd, Wood. 6th!
2005: Tampines (2) - Tampines (3) - Home---- (4) - Tampines 1st, Home 4th
2006: Yng Lions(7) - SAFFC--- (5) - SAFFC--- (2) - SAFFC 1st, Young Lions 3rd
2007: Home---- (1) - SAFFC--- (4) - SAFFC--- (3) - SAFFC 1st, Home 2nd

"Round Leaders" Subtotal Stats: (total 21 rounds)
SAFFC------ 8 rounds, 32 points (avg 4.00), 3 titles
Home------- 6 rounds, 14 points (avg 2.33), 1 title
Tampines--- 3 rounds, 13 points (avg 4.33), 2 titles
Geylang---- 2 rounds, 05 points (avg 2.50), 1 title
Yonng Lions 1 rounds, 07 points (avg 7.00), 3rd once
Woodlands-- 1 rounds, 05 points (avg 5.00), 6th once

Note:
- A lead of "0" (zero) points meant the leadership was achieved on G/D & Goals For.
- 2002 was the only season the same team (SAFFC) swept the leaderships of all 3 rounds.
- 2004 was the only season 3 different teams lead in each round.

How Fast Were Titles Won?

As SAFFC won the league on the last day of 2007 season, such exciting race were actually rare in S.League history, as most titles were decided ahead of time with games to spare, as shown below:

1996: Geylang (won on the last day - PO)
1997: SAFFC (won with 2 rounds to go - 9 pts)
1998: SAFFC (won on the last day - GD)
1999: Home (won with 1 round to go - 5 pts)
2000: SAFFC (won with 3 rounds to go - 11 pts)
2001: Geylang (won on the last day - 1 pt)
2002: SAFFC (won with 5 rounds to go - 17pts)
2003: Home (won with 5 rounds to go - 16 pts)
2004: Tampines (won with 1 round to go - 7 pts)
2005: Tampines (won with 1 round to go - 3 pts + massively superior GD)
2006: SAFFC (won with 4 rounds to go - 13 pts)
2007: SAFFC (won on the last day - 1 pt)

Fastest: SAFFC in 2002.
Closest: SAFFC in 1998.

All-Time Subtotals:
SAFFC - 6 titles, 14 rounds (avg 2.33), 51 pts (avg 8.5)
Home - 2 titles, 6 rounds (3), 21 pts (10.5)
Tampines - 2 titles, 2 rounds (1), 10 pts (5)
Geylang - 2 titles, 0 rounds (0), 3 pts (1.5)

The 3-peat or the treble?

Inspired by a post of the same name on BigSoccer (for USA's MLS):

Now that SAFFC has won 2 straight league titles, they will surely hope for a 3rd successive win next season, something no teams has ever done before.

(97-98 champs SAFFC themselves were denied by Home in 1999, while 04-05 champs Tampines were pipped by SAFFC in 2006)

The question: which is a greater achievement? Winning 3 league (or cup) titles in a row or winning 3 different trophies (the Treble) in the same year?

Another question is: what consitute a Treble? Domestically it would mean SingTel League Cup + S.League + Singapore Cup. If international tournaments are considered, it would be S.League + Singapore Cup + AFC Cup or ASEAN Clubs C'ship (though it doesn't happen every year).

(Of course it would be even more impressive if the same team manage to win all 4, or even 5! )

What's your take?

S.League Title Defense Successes!

With SAFFC becoming the only 3rd team to defend the league title, let us look back on how the other defending champions fared in the next season:

1996: NA
1997: Geylang (lost title with 3 rounds to go, finished 5th out of 9)
1998: SAFFC (defended title on last day on GD)
1999: SAFFC (lost title with 1 round to go, finished 2nd out of 12)
2000: Home (lost title with 4 rounds to go, finished 4th out of 12)
2001: SAFFC (lost title on last day, finished 2nd out of 12)
2002: Geylang (lost title with 6 rounds to go, finished 3rd out of 12)
2003: SAFFC (lost title with 6 rounds to go, finished 3rd out of 12)
2004: Home (lost title with 2 rounds to go, finished 2nd out of 10)
2005: Tampines (defended title with 1 round to go)
2006: Tampines (lost title with 4 rounds to go, finished 2nd out of 11)
2007: SAFFC (defended title on last day)

Geylang of 2001 & SAFFC of 2002 were the most dismal defending champs, sureendering their titles with 6 rounds to go in the next season. In terms of finishing position, Geylang of 1996 was the worst though, managing just 5th in 1997.

2005's Tampines was the most comfortable holder, having won the title with 1 round to go. The other 2 successful title defenses (by SAFFC) only happened on the last day of the season (one of them even on G/D!).

My Favourite RSSSF.Com's Article: Negative Champions

This is Great Stuff worth reading in detail: Negative Champions, who were either outscored (conceded more than scored) or outmatched (lost more than won) in their title winning season!

While such cases has never happened in the S.League so far, the weakest champions in terms of Points Per Game would be Geylang in 1996, with a PPG of 1.793 (in fact the only champs below 2.000).

However, it doesn't necessary mean that their playing level was the weakest, just that they did not dominate the other teams so much during that season. (The 2-series format which guranteed grand final spot for series winners also allowed them to coast thru the 2nd series, having already won the 1st)

On the other hand, the strongest champs is Home Utd in 2003, with a PPG of 2.576.2006's SAFFC, though only lost 2 games all-season, surprisingly ranked just 10th!

Current S.League champ SAFFC is 3rd best all-time, with a PPG of 2.394...

Ranking of every season's champs by PPG:

# Season Champs-- W D L PTS PPG
1. 2003 Home---- 26 5 2 85 2.576 (2 extra points from PK wins)
2. 2002 SAFFC--- 26 6 1 84 2.545
3. 2007 SAFFC--- 25 4 4 79 2.394
4. 2000 SAFFC--- 16 4 2 52 2.364
5. 2004 Tampines 20 3 4 63 2.333
6. 1999 Home---- 15 6 1 51 2.318
7. 1997 SAFFC--- 12 1 3 37 2.313
8. 2001 Geylang- 23 7 3 76 2.303
9. 1998 SAFFC--- 14 4 2 46 2.300
10 2006 SAFFC--- 20 8 2 68 2.267
11 2005 Tampines 18 3 6 57 2.111
12 1996 Geylang- 16 4 9 52 1.793

S.League 2005: What Ifs?

1) We all know that one of the closest S.League title races has just concluded in 2007, where 3 top teams finished just 2 points apart.

Did you know that same thing could have happened in 2005, if Woodlands did beat Tampines in the final game that season?

That game ended up as Woodlands 1-2 Tampines. Let's just assume that if it had been the other way round, the final table would have looked like:

# Teams---- P- W- D L F- A- GD Pts
1 Tampines- 27 17 3 7 76 36 40 54
2 Woodlands 27 16 5 6 58 43 15 53 (3)
3 SAFFC---- 27 15 7 5 54 41 13 52 (2)

What a great opportunity lost for Woodlands to clinch 2nd-place!


2) With Paya Lebar earning just 1 win & 1 draw from 27 games in 2005, the league should have done away with this team for the sake of its competitiveness / creditability. (Super Reds was in similar situation during the first half of 2007, thank god it improved siginificantly afterwards)

How would the league table have looked like if all games involving Paya Lebar were ignored? Here you are:

# Teams------ P- W- D L- F- A- GD Pts
1 Tampines--- 24 15 3 06 65 35 +30 48
2 SAFFC------ 24 12 7 05 46 37 +09 43
3 Woodlands-- 24 12 5 07 47 43 +04 41
4 Home------- 24 11 4 09 52 40 +12 37
5 Albirex---- 24 09 8 07 43 31 +12 35
6 Young Lions 24 10 5 09 37 34 +03 35
7 Balestier-- 24 07 6 11 35 50 -15 27
8 Geylang---- 24 05 5 14 30 53 -23 20
9 Sinchi----- 24 04 3 17 21 53 -32 12 **3 pts deducted


Basically almost every team parted away with 9 points (from 3 wins against Paya Lebar), except Geylang & Young Lions. The position of each team also remained the same, although Tampines had the most GD (+12) written-off due to that...

S.League 2003: What Ifs?

This is the Official S.League 2003 Table that we know of:

#- Teams------ P- W PK D L- F- A- GD- Pts
1. Home------- 33 26 2 3 2 104 42 +62 85
2. Geylang---- 33 21 3 2 07 75 30 +45 71
3. SAFFC------ 33 20 2 5 06 68 37 +31 69
4. Tampines--- 33 17 3 2 11 63 40 +23 59
5. Woodlands-- 33 14 4 8 07 65 47 +18 58
6. Jurong----- 33 12 7 1 13 35 34 +01 51
7. Sinchi----- 33 11 6 5 11 46 48 -02 50
8. Sengkang--- 33 07 8 1 17 32 66 -34 38
9. Sembawang-- 33 06 5 7 15 37 56 -19 35
10 Tjg Pagar-- 33 08 2 0 23 36 78 -42 28
11 Balestier-- 33 05 2 6 20 37 76 -39 25
12 Young Lions 33 06 1 5 21 33 77 -44 25


Just wondering how would the table have looked like, if any of the following scenarios had occured?


1) There were no PKs after draws?

#- Teams------ P- W- D- L- F- A- GD- Pts
1. Home------- 33 26 05 2 104 42 +62 83
2. Geylang---- 33 21 05 07 75 30 +45 68
3. SAFFC------ 33 20 07 06 68 37 +31 67
4. Tampines--- 33 17 05 11 63 40 +23 56
5. Woodlands-- 33 14 12 07 65 47 +18 54
6. Jurong----- 33 12 08 13 35 34 +01 44
7. Sinchi----- 33 11 11 11 46 48 -02 44
8. Sembawang-- 33 06 12 15 37 56 -19 30 (9)
9. Sengkang--- 33 07 09 17 32 66 -34 30 (8)
10 Tjg Pagar-- 33 08 02 23 36 78 -42 26
11 Young Lions 33 06 06 21 33 77 -44 24 (12)
12 Balestier-- 33 05 08 20 37 76 -39 23 (11)

Advantage to Sembawang & Young Lions!


2) PK losses after draws were treated as losses with no points awarded, while PK wins were awarded just 1 point rather than 2? (like what's done in '96-99 MLS)

#- Teams------ P- W PK L- F- A- GD Pts
1. Home------- 33 26 2 5 104 42 +62 80
2. Geylang---- 33 21 3 09 75 30 +45 66
3. SAFFC------ 33 20 2 11 68 37 +31 62
4. Tampines--- 33 17 3 13 63 40 +23 54
5. Woodlands-- 33 14 4 15 65 47 +18 46
6. Jurong----- 33 12 7 14 35 34 +01 43
7. Sinchi----- 33 11 6 16 46 48 -02 39
8. Sengkang--- 33 07 8 18 32 66 -34 29
9. Tjg Pagar-- 33 08 2 23 36 78 -42 26 (10)
10 Sembawang-- 33 06 5 22 37 56 -19 23 (9)
11 Young Lions 33 06 1 26 33 77 -44 19 (12)
12 Balestier-- 33 05 2 26 37 76 -39 17 (11)

Now it's Tanjong Pagar & Young Lions who reaped the benefits!


3) 3 points (& 1 extra "goal") were awarded for PK wins as well, like FT wins? Basically the league table can be arranged with number of wins alone. (like what's done in '93-94 J-League)

#- Teams------ P- W- L- F- A- GD- Pts
1. Home------- 33 28 5 106 45 +61 84
2. Geylang---- 33 24 09 78 32 +46 72
3. SAFFC------ 33 22 11 70 42 +28 66
4. Tampines--- 33 20 13 66 42 +24 60
5. Jurong----- 33 19 14 42 35 +07 57 (6)
6. Woodlands-- 33 18 15 69 55 +14 54 (5)
7. Sinchi----- 33 17 16 52 53 -01 51
8. Sengkang--- 33 15 18 40 67 -27 45
9. Sembawang-- 33 11 22 42 63 -21 33
10 Tjg Pagar-- 33 10 23 38 78 -40 30
11 Balestier-- 33 07 26 39 82 -43 21
12 Young Lions 33 07 26 34 82 -48 21

Jurong is the biggest winner here!

"Relegation" from S.League

While browsing RSSSF.Com for S.League info, I found that "Relegation" were being mentioned there during 1996, 1999 & 2003 seasons:

1996: "Apparently Police were relegated, Jurong and Home United promoted."
1999: "Marine Castle United's relegation apparently annulled."
2003: "Gombak United were demoted."

Apparently both comments above were wrong, as Police was renamed Home United after 1996, while no relegation has ever been instituted in S.League, including 1999 & 2003.

However, if we go through the past standings carefully, a number of teams that finished last (or near the bottom) did pull out of the league afterwards (mainly due to financial constraints), as if they were relegated:

2002: Gombak (last), Clementi (3rd-last)
2003: Sembawang (4th-last)
2004: Tanjong Pagar (last)
2005: Paya Lebar (last), Sinchi (2nd-last)
2006: Sporting Afrique (3rd-last)

The interesting question now is: Will that happen again to Super Reds (last) or Liaoning (3rd-last) in 2007?

It seemed more likely that Liaoning may face the fate, as it may lose its main sponsor soon... What do you think?

S.League All-Time Rankings Changes Table

The following shows the movement of S.League ranking for each team season-to-season:
(a positive value indicates that there's a fall in the ranking as compared to previous season,
while a negative indicates that there's a rise in the ranking instead)

-----------------------------------------------------------
#.Team Join Sn 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 Ttl Avg
-----------------------------------------------------------
1. YLN 2003 05 xx xx xx xx xx xx xx NA -9 +3 -3 +2 -7 -1.40
2. GBK 1998 07 xx xx NA -5 00 +5 +2 xx xx xx -4 -4 -6 -0.86
3. HOM 1996 12 NA +2 -2 -6 +3 -1 -1 -1 +1 +2 00 -2 -5 -0.42
4. TMP 1996 12 NA -2 00 +4 -3 -1 -2 00 -3 00 +1 +1 -5 -0.42
5. CMT 1999 04 xx xx xx NA -3 +1 +1 xx xx xx xx xx -1 -0.25
6. JRG 1997 07 xx NA -2 +1 00 -1 +2 -1 xx xx xx xx -1 -0.14
7. SAF 1996 12 NA -1 00 +1 -1 +1 -1 +2 +1 -2 -1 00 -1 -0.08
8. SKG 1998 08 xx xx NA +1 -1 00 -3 00 xx xx +3 00 00 00.00
9. PYL 2005 01 xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx NA xx xx 00 00.00
10 AFR 2006 01 xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx NA xx 00 00.00
11 LNG 2007 01 xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx NA 00 00.00
12 SPR 2007 01 xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx NA 00 00.00
13 WLD 1996 12 NA -1 +6 00 +1 +2 -7 00 +1 -3 +2 +2 +3 +0.25
14 SBW 1996 08 NA +2 00 00 +1 -1 -2 +3 xx xx xx xx +3 +0.38
15 GYL 1996 12 NA +4 -2 +1 -1 -2 +2 -1 +5 +1 +2 -4 +5 +0.42
16 BLT 1996 12 NA +1 00 +3 +5 -5 +4 00 -3 -1 00 +2 +6 +0.50
17 TPG 1996 09 NA -3 00 +1 -1 +2 +5 +1 00 xx xx xx +5 +0.56
18 SCH 2003 03 xx xx xx xx xx xx xx NA +2 00 xx xx +2 +0.67
19 ABR 2004 04 xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx NA 00 +1 +2 +3 +0.75
-----------------------------------------------------------

Note that the teams that have played for just one season so far (e.g. 2005's Paya Lebar & 2006's Sporting Afrirue) would have had no movement, thus putting them in the mid-table, ahead of other teams that have played more seasons.

Base on the table above, we can also notice that:

1. Young Lions & Gombak are the "most improved" teams over the years!

2. On the other hand, Albirex is surprisingly the "most declined" teams thru 2007.

3. SAFFC is only 7th in the table, mostly because it don't have much "room" to improve, :-p

4. Inaugural S.League Champion, Geylang U, also don't have much "rooms for improvement"...

S.League All-Time Rankings Table

The following table listed the S.League ranking each team achieved every season:

----------------------------------------------------------
#.Team Join Sn 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 Ttl Avg
----------------------------------------------------------
1. SAF 1996 12 02 01 01 02 01 02 01 03 04 02 01 01 21 1.75
2. HOM 1996 12 07 09 07 01 04 03 02 01 02 04 04 02 46 3.83
3. GYL 1996 12 01 05 03 04 03 01 03 02 07 08 10 06 53 4.42
4. TMP 1996 12 08 06 06 10 07 06 04 04 01 01 02 03 58 4.83
5. TPG 1996 09 05 02 02 03 02 04 09 10 10 xx xx xx 47 5.22
6. YLN 2003 05 xx xx xx xx xx xx xx 12 03 06 03 05 29 5.80
7. JRG 1997 07 xx 07 05 06 06 05 07 06 xx xx xx xx 42 6.00
8. ABR 2004 04 xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx 05 05 06 08 24 6.00
9. WLD 1996 12 04 03 09 09 10 12 05 05 06 03 05 07 78 6.50
10 BLT 1996 12 03 04 04 07 12 07 11 11 08 07 07 09 90 7.50
11 GBK 1998 07 xx xx 10 05 05 10 12 xx xx xx 08 04 54 7.71
12 SBW 1996 08 06 08 08 08 09 08 06 09 xx xx xx xx 62 7.75
13 SCH 2003 03 xx xx xx xx xx xx xx 07 09 09 xx xx 25 8.33
14 AFR 2006 01 xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx 09 xx 09 9.00
15 CMT 1999 04 xx xx xx 11 08 09 10 xx xx xx xx xx 38 9.50
16 PYL 2005 01 xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx 10 xx xx 10 10.00
17 LNG 2007 01 xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx 10 10 10.00
18 SKG 1998 08 xx xx 11 12 11 11 08 08 xx xx 11 11 83 10.38
19 SPR 2007 01 xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx 12 12 12.00
-----------------------------------------------------------

Not surprisingly, SAFFC topped the table, having won 6 titles & 4 runners-up in 12 seasons...

Its average ranking is an amazing "1.75", i.e. they expect to finish in the top-2 every season!

In contrast, our dear Sengkang's average is "10.38", easily among the worst in the league, :-p

S.League All-Time Tables Summary

Ranking History By Points:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year ABR AFR BLT CMT GEY GBK HOM JRG LNG PLB SAF SBW SKG SCH SPR TPG TPN WDL YGL
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1996 xxx xxx 3-- xxx 1-- xxx 7-- xxx xxx xxx 2-- 6-- xxx xxx xxx 5-- 8-- 4-- xxx
1997 xxx xxx 5-- xxx 4-- xxx 8-- 9-- xxx xxx 1-- 6-- xxx xxx xxx 3-- 7-- 2-- xxx
1998 xxx xxx 4-- xxx 3-- 10- 7-- 9-- xxx xxx 1-- 8-- 11- xxx xxx 2-- 6-- 5-- xxx
1999 xxx xxx 4-- 12- 3-- 10- 6-- 9-- xxx xxx 1-- 8-- 11- xxx xxx 2-- 7-- 5-- xxx
2000 xxx xxx 5-- 11- 3-- 10- 4-- 8-- xxx xxx 1-- 9-- 12- xxx xxx 2-- 7-- 6-- xxx
2001 xxx xxx 5-- 12- 3-- 10- 4-- 8-- xxx xxx 1-- 9-- 12- xxx xxx 2-- 7-- 6-- xxx
2002 xxx xxx 7-- 12- 2-- 10- 4-- 8-- xxx xxx 1-- 9-- 11- xxx xxx 3-- 6-- 5-- xxx
2003 xxx xxx 8-- 12- 2-- 11- 3-- 7-- xxx xxx 1-- 9-- 10- 13- xxx 4-- 5-- 6-- 14-
2004 15- xxx 8-- 12- 2-- 11- 3-- 7-- xxx xxx 1-- 9-- 10- 14- xxx 4-- 5-- 6-- 13-
2005 14- xxx 7-- 13- 3-- 11- 2-- 8-- xxx 16- 1-- 9-- 10- 15- xxx 6-- 4-- 5-- 12-
2006 13- 16- 7-- 14- 3-- 12- 2-- 8-- xxx 17- 1-- 9-- 11- 15- xxx 6-- 4-- 5-- 10-
2007 13- 17- 6-- 14- 4-- 11- 2-- 8-- 16- 19- 1-- 9-- 12- 15- 18- 7-- 3-- 5-- 10-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ranking History By PPG:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year ABR AFR BLT CMT GEY GBK HOM JRG LNG PLB SAF SBW SKG SCH SPR TPG TPN WDL YGL
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1996 xxx xxx 3-- xxx 1-- xxx 7-- xxx xxx xxx 2-- 6-- xxx xxx xxx 5-- 8-- 4-- xxx
1997 xxx xxx 4-- xxx 5-- xxx 9-- 6-- xxx xxx 1-- 7-- xxx xxx xxx 3-- 8-- 2-- xxx
1998 xxx xxx 4-- xxx 3-- 10- 8-- 6-- xxx xxx 1-- 9-- 11- xxx xxx 2-- 7-- 5-- xxx
1999 xxx xxx 4-- 11- 3-- 8-- 7-- 6-- xxx xxx 1-- 10- 12- xxx xxx 2-- 9-- 5-- xxx
2000 xxx xxx 5-- 11- 3-- 7-- 4-- 6-- xxx xxx 1-- 10- 12- xxx xxx 2-- 9-- 8-- xxx
2001 xxx xxx 6-- 12- 3-- 8-- 4-- 5-- xxx xxx 1-- 10- 12- xxx xxx 2-- 9-- 7-- xxx
2002 xxx xxx 8-- 11- 2-- 10- 4-- 5-- xxx xxx 1-- 9-- 12- xxx xxx 3-- 7-- 6-- xxx
2003 xxx xxx 9-- 13- 2-- 11- 3-- 6-- xxx xxx 1-- 10- 12- 5-- xxx 4-- 7-- 8-- 14-
2004 4-- xxx 11- 15- 2-- 13- 3-- 7-- xxx xxx 1-- 12- 14- 10- xxx 5-- 6-- 8-- 9--
2005 4-- xxx 10- 15- 3-- 13- 2-- 7-- xxx 16- 1-- 11- 14- 12- xxx 6-- 5-- 8-- 9--
2006 4-- 16- 10- 14- 3-- 13- 2-- 9-- xxx 17- 1-- 11- 15- 12- xxx 6-- 5-- 7-- 8--
2007 6-- 17- 10- 15- 4-- 11- 2-- 8-- 14- 19- 1-- 12- 16- 13- 18- 5-- 3-- 9-- 7--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Legends:

ABR = Albirex, AFR = Sporting Afrique, BLT = Balestier, CMT = Clementi,
GEY = Geylang, GBK = Gombak, HOM = Home, JRG = Jurong,
LNG = Liaoning, PLB = Paya Lebar, SAF = SAFFC, SBW = Sembawang,
SKG = Sengkang, SCH = Sinchi, SPR = Super Reds, TPG = Tanjong Pagar,
TPN = Tampines, WDL = Woodlands, YGL = Young Lions

Notes:

1. SAFFC has been running away in the lead since 1997!

2. Sinchi had an amazing start in 2003, ranking 5th(!) out of 14 base on PPG, but fell to 10th in 2004 (which is the largest year-to-year fall).

3. YoungLions started from bottom in 2003 as well, ranking 14th out of 14 base on both PPG & Points, but improved to 9th in 2004 base on PPG (which is the largest year-to-year jump).

4. Albirex's ranking since inception has been impressive, ranking 4th from 2004 to 2006.

5. Defunct Clubs Tanjong Pagar & Jurong's PPG / Points since respective inceptions are also respectable, even until 2007 (which is already 3/4 years after they dissolved).

6. Original Clubs Balestier/Woodland's PPG has steady declined from 3rd/4th in 1996 to 9/10th in 2007.

7. Meanwhile, Home/Tampines have moved from 7/8th (which was bottom then) in 1996 to 2nd/3rd in 2007!

All-Time S.League Table - 2007 (Final Version)

Here you are: (this is also updated on Wikipedia: S.League: All-time records by clubs)

# #06 Teams- Season P-- W- PK D- L-- F-- A-- Pts GD-- PPG #P #P05
01 01 SAFFC----- 12 325 214 2 59 050 802 392 705 +410 2.169 01 01
02 02 HomeUnited 12 324 179 2 59 084 683 451 600 +232 1.852 02 02
03 04 Tampines-- 12 324 153 3 66 102 636 471 531 +165 1.639 03 05
04 03 Geylang--- 12 325 149 3 69 104 564 420 522 +144 1.606 04 03
05 05 Woodlands- 12 324 125 4 74 121 557 535 451 +022 1.392 09 07
06 07 Balestier- 12 324 092 2 72 158 483 660 352 -177 1.086 10 10
07 06 Tjg. Pagar 09 234 100 2 46 086 399 385 350 +014 1.496 05 06
08 08 Jurong---- 07 179 070 7 29 073 261 274 253 -013 1.413 08 09
09 09 Sembawang- 08 207 053 5 47 102 256 405 216 -149 1.043 12 11
10 10 YoungLions 05 150 060 1 31 058 263 263 213 +000 1.420 07 08
11 12 Gombak---- 07 193 053 0 43 097 264 362 202 -098 1.047 11 13
12 11 Sengkang-- 08 226 043 8 39 136 259 507 184 -248 0.814 16 15
13 13 Albirex--- 04 117 045 0 33 039 197 168 168 +029 1.436 06 04
14 14 Clementi-- 04 110 022 0 29 059 150 261 095 -111 0.864 15 14
15 15 Sinchi---- 03 087 022 6 13 046 109 166 088 -057 1.011 13 12
16 NA Liaoning-- 01 033 008 0 05 020 033 063 029 -030 0.879 14 NA
17 16 Afrique--- 01 030 005 0 09 016 036 058 024 -022 0.800 17 16
18 NA Super Reds 01 033 003 0 09 021 024 080 018 -056 0.545 18 NA
19 17 Paya Lebar 01 027 001 0 01 025 023 078 004 -055 0.148 19 17


Quick Stats:
----------------------------
Matches Played-: 1786
Home Wins------: 774 (43.3%)
Draws----------: 389 (21.8%)
Away Wins------: 623 (34.9%)
----------------------------
Goals Scored---: 5999 (3.36)
Home Goals-----: 3200 (1.79)
Away Goals-----: 2799 (1.57)
----------------------------
Frequent Scores: 1-1(180 times), 2-1(142 times)

Remarks:
* SAFFC & Geylang played an extra title game in 1996.
* Total Points of each team included PK wins in 2003.
* Sinchi FC was deducted 3 points at the end of 2005.
* Woodlands was deducted 6 points for walkout in 2007.

Highlights as compared to previous season:
1. SAFFC has reached 700 points and 800 goals!
2. Home has reached 600 points right at the end of 2007!
3. Tampines has overtaken Geylang into 3rd-place.
4. Balestier has overtaken Tanjong Pagar into 6th-place.
5. Young Lions has reached 200 points.
6. Gombak has also reached 200 points & overtaken Sengkang into 11th-place.
7. Liaoning has overtaken Sporting Afrique into 16th-place.
8. Super Reds has (easily) overtaken Paya Lebar into 18th-place, :-)

SLVC Mini-League Winners Summary

At a glance:

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Season Winner -- Runner-Up - Remarks
-------------------------------------------------------------------
1996 - SAFFC --- Home ------ SAFFC's 1st Title
1997 - Geylang - Tampines--- Geylang's 1st Title
1998 - Tj. Pagar Geylang --- Tj. Pagar's 1st Title
1999 - Home ---- SAFFC ----- Home also won the league
2000 - Tj. Pagar Home ------ Tj. Pagar's 2nd Title
2001 - Geylang - Tampines--- Geylang also won the league
2002 - SAFFC --- Geylang --- SAFFC also won the league
2003 - SAFFC --- Home ------ SAFFC back-to-back winner
2004 - Woodlands Tampines--- Woodlands' 1st Title
2005 - Woodlands Tampines--- Woodlands' 2nd Title
2006 - Woodlands Young Lions Woodlands' 3rd Title
2007 - Home ---- SAFFC ----- Home's 2nd Title
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Woodlands is the only team to have won the title 3-seasons-in-a-row!

SLVC Season-end Winners Summary

At a glance:

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Season Winner -- Runner-Up - Remarks
-------------------------------------------------------------------
1996 - Geylang - SAFFC ----- Decided in Title Playoff.
1997 - Tampines- Jurong ---- Title changed hands just twice.
1998 - SAFFC --- Woodlands - SAFFC also won the league!
1999 - Tj. Pagar Home ------ Home already won the league.
2000 - Clementi- Gombak ---- Upset Winner #1
2001 - Tampines- Geylang --- Geylang won the league later on.
2002 - SAFFC --- Woodlands - SAFFC also won the league!
2003 - SAFFC --- Geylang --- The only back-to-back winner!
2004 - Tampines- Sinchi ---- Tampines also won the league!
2005 - Home ---- Young Lions Home's 1st season-end win.
2006 - Gombak -- Home ------ Upset Winner #2
2007 - SAFFC --- Home ------ SAFFC/Home are also Champ/2nd!
-------------------------------------------------------------------

SAFFC has the most number of season-end wins (4), followed by Tampines (3)!

S.League Media Coverage on 30-Nov-2007

Sivaji's new Home
Bennett's public bashing of Alam Shah leaves a sour taste
Shamsul hangs up his whistle for good

SLVC - All Time Statistics up to 2007 (Final Version)

All Time Table up to the end of 2007:

# Team---- GP- W- D- L- F-- A-- Pts G/D
1 SAFFC--- 112 68 26 18 255-129 230 +126 *
2 Home-----101 59 22 20 204-131 199 +73 *
3 Geylang-- 72 32 17 23 135-097 113 +38
4 Woodlands 70 27 18 28 122-128 099 -06 *
5 Tampines- 62 27 14 21 117-099 095 +18 *
6 Tan.Pagar 42 15 11 16 67-65 56 +02
7 YngLions- 24 11 02 11 52-54 35 -02
8 Sinchi--- 15 04 03 08 18-29 15 -11
9 Clementi- 20 02 09 09 26-50 15 -24
10 Balestier 34 3 04 27 41-95 13 -54
11 Gombak--- 24 2 05 18 28-59 11 -31 *
12 Sembawang 21 2 05 14 20-52 11 -32
13 Jurong--- 18 2 03 13 18-38 09 -20
14 SuperReds 05 1 00 04 04-16 03 -12
15 Sengkang- 19 0 03 16 15-58 03 -43
16 Afrique-- 04 0 02 02 03-07 02 -04
17 Albirex-- 08 0 02 06 06-16 02 -10
18 Liaoning- 02 0 00 02 03-05 00 -02
19 P.Lebar-- 02 0 00 02 00-06 00 -06

* (updated since 13-Oct)

Statistical Summary up to the end of 2007:
Matches Played: 328
Home Win------: 144
Draw----------: 73
Away Win------: 111
Goals---------: 1134
Home Goals----: 622
Away Goals----: 512
Most Freq Scores: 1-1 (32 times), 2-1 (27 times)

Highlights since the last post on 13-Oct:
1.SAFFC has moved 31 points clear after being briefly over taken by Home.
2.Home/Woodlands are just 1 point away from 200/100 points, & both were denied by SAFFC!

S.League Media Coverage on 29-Nov-2007

Thursday, November 29, 2007
NTUC Income-YEO'S Awards Night in pictures
We look back at the images that best described the NTUC Income-YEO'S S.League Awards Night on 23 November, including some the papers missed.

Thursday, November 29, 2007
SEA Games: Baihakki praises SEA Games set-up
Baihakki Khaizan says he is pleasantly surprised with the training facilities at the Korat Sports Complex ahead of Singapore’s opening match in the SEA Games Men’s Football event against Laos on Saturday.

Thursday, November 29, 2007
FAS Technical Director P N Sivaji steps down to join Home United
The Football Association of Singapore has accepted Technical Director P N Sivaji’s decision to step down at the end of the year.

P/S:
Balestier's Record under P N Sivaji:

--------------------------------------------
Year Pos/#T G- W- D- L- F-- A-- G/D Pts PPG
--------------------------------------------
1998: 04/11 20 09 04 07 047 043 +04 031 1.55
1999: 07/12 22 06 08 08 025 027 -02 026 1.18
2000: 12/12 22 03 05 14 016 042 -26 014 0.64
2001: 07/12 33 08 11 14 043 057 -14 035 1.06
--------------------------------------------
Total:30/47 97 26 28 43 131 169 -38 106 1.09

So, can he lead Home United to greater heights?