Sorry for the delay, here are what I have compiled from you. Apologies too if I missed out any points but you may raise them here. Please do not take this post the wrong way and have an open-minded approach, it's for the team and no personal attack and disrespect intended:
Ask yourself but not limited to:
- Why are you playing soccer?
- What do you want from this team?
- Do you see yourself with this team in the long-run?
Myself, it is obvious. i am here because I co-found this team, together with Rahman, Yazier and Kelvin. I want us to play in a league more than a friendly (a little competition will keep the team together, I feel). And having experienced moderate success before (with quite a good share of upsets and memories along the way - Samalongkok 2-1 win @ Bishan Pk, Macheda 3-1 win @ Fuchun, 3-wins-in-a-row in our 3rd league season, Huat massive 11-1 win), i am keen to experience it again. If it is with you, the more exciting that would be. Playing destressed me, even in defeats, because it is that feeling of kicking a ball. Because i am taken away from my work. Only missed 2 games so far, and scored 34 goals in 157 games now (don't forget, I was GK and defender probably in half of those games), those are quite special moments for me, even more so when it is an assist from you (I have gone to the assist of the scorer first more often than the scorer himself) and i hope I get more such moments. Soccer is also my main way to keep fit, yes i have a bulging tummy, but I can probably still outrun half of you in a long-distance run (lol). Long-term, I can see my kids playing in this team too, yes i have seen it in my future.
For me, I am ok with a defeat, as long as I know I have played my best and I feel the team has done ok to compete. So ask yourself the questions above. Hopefully, I create/enhanced an awareness with the points raised below. Moving on now.
*Friendly vs League*
Feedback I gathered: Opinion among the team was divided between opting out of league to play friendly and staying competitive. Most times, we cannot even beat teams in friendlies. If we stayed in Div 3, and kept losing, it will be demoralizing.
Solution: I thought I found a compromise; a lower div and possibly equal standard teams.
So far: 3 games into the new season and I will say that we have been close in the first 2 games but were finally overmatched in the last one. There are still 4 other teams we have yet to play starting this Sun (17 June 2012) and they are all an unknown lot. I admit we should have pressed harder to play in lower divs in the last 2 seasons but i did not have the foresight to anticipate the current state we are in. Now, let's try to make things right.
Long-term: If results are still poor come end of season (3 - 4 months away), we will probably drop out and stick to friendly. Meanwhile, I hope I have your support.
*Personnel*
Feedback: Lack of creativity, quality and technical ability etc. Fitness and stamina are definite problematic issues. Playmaker/midfield maestro; read Muhammad. Rotation
So far: Honestly, the only safe positions are GK, CBs (if Azmi, Azman Azmi and Ariel are playing) and to some extent, DM (Kelvin). The rest are all up for grabs and open to rotation, yes this includes myself for the sake of the team, over the last few games, we have also definitely lost out on fitness, stamina, pace and simply being outclassed.
Solution: Genuinely, and ideally, I want the core players to remain intact. So, working on the current roster, I aim to improve our defensive shape for now (see long-term). Improve fitness and stamina are individual efforts to me.
Long-term: In the past 3 games, we do not have a quality defensive competency at this level. So, as I have smsed some of you, I am aggressively pushing for strong defensive reinforcements for the remainder of this season. No offense intended, but I am looking for defs and defensive mids in the mould of our best defenders namely Shahril, Ariel and Azman Azmi. To some extent, like Kelvin too, a ball-playing DM but with better stamina. However, ***I emphasize***, this does not mean there is no place for our current players potentially losing out such as Shafi, Farid, Ernest (fbs), Azmi (cb) and Kelvin (dm). I aim to strive for balance and defensive solidity first given the last few results. A short-term measure and hopefully we are moving forward.
I have also not been able to call on our better players more often than i wanted to for a single match. Players like Farhan, Nas, Shahril, Andrew, Syafiq Othman, Sheikh, Aidil (latter trio of whom I do not call upon anymore because I feel it is unfair to both them and the team). What about the players who disappeared, Fazli, Syafiq Shahmi etc… Imagine your best First XI playing from the roster. Will it be enough to win games and compete with the best? I would like to think so. Unfortunately, this is not full-time, we have our own lives to lead.
Fitness-wise, and stamina, look at our fittest players, how many of us are there honestly? I think I can count them by the fingers of my one hand. So, I do not ask much from you but I appreciate a good team mentality and attitude (especially on pitch). At the same time, we have to stop this awful run of form. Bear with me as I ring the changes.
We have also missed Muhammad, who imho, is the best player to have played for this team. We have generally had a dearth of creativity since he left. But again, as of today, i look to address the defensive issue first, not so much on attack.
Rotation, I always have an issue with this. It is hard to leave any player out. I am glad I got a good feedback on this though. Thanks.
*On-pitch*
Feedback: Tactics, communication & basic understanding, punctuality. Training. Delegation of set-piece takers. A strong midfield that can make or break goals. Full-backs can try to be adventurous.
So far: I am generally okay with how we are doing. But I must admit I feel down for the team especially in the past 2 years or so when we should be enjoying much more and winning a bigger portion of our games than we should. Let's try to improve it this season though.
Solution: Tactic will be a standard 4-5-1, or 4-4-1-1 (defensive variant usually), but overall, we lacked quality throughout, at this level anyway (tie in with *Friendly vs League*). See *Personnel* too, I will work on the tactics and defensive reinforcements together. With this in mind, I hope to address the feedback on strong midfield and full-backs.
Penalty taker 1) Myself 2) Shafi 3) I will see who is available
Freekicks: As much as possible, I am giving Azmi, Farid and Rahman a go.
Corners: Game-by-game.
Communication, you need to talk to make people around you aware, you play soccer, you want the ball. As for punctuality, I think it is simple basic courtesy and consideration for the team, not only me. i just don't get it why some of you still cannot make it on time. If you do not know the pitch and its your first time there, the more you should try to come earlier to locate it. Even worse if no prior notice was given to me. But this is up to you, as of now, we have only suffered at least 2 ugly incidents when we started with less than 11 men, including one when we had to start with 4 debutants in a league game.
It was suggested to have a pre-match training session. If anyone is willing to take lead to arrange, tell me. One suggested to have futsal training, however I know we usually cannot make time for it. In future, who knows? Bottom-line, let's try to enjoy football and find our groove back.
Long-term: See *Personnel*. Continue to communicate. Talk it out. Want the ball, play the ball, ask for ball.
*Enjoyment & Commitment*
Feedback: Enjoy playing with the team, for whatever reasons. I certainly hope you feel that way when you play. This was our main motivation from the start and i hope we try to have that feeling each game. 100% commitment, I think there is no surprise who feedback-ed this. Again, it boils down to attitude and the end-product; what you want from the team.
*2nd team/rotation*
I seek your feedback on how to improve the rotation. As i have mentioned, I hate the issue of having to leave out players because I can only accommodate so much. And now, with the leaner rotation and strong defensive reinforcements possibly on the way, my task got harder. At the moment, this is the list of players whom I will normally call first because of regular availability.
GK: Bobos
Defs: Azmi, Shafi, Farid, Azman Azmi, Ernest
Mids: Myself, Rahman, Azman, Kelvin, Huang, Khairul Zhafran
Str: Syaifudean, Sashi, Rafeeq/Farhan (as I cannot call so many strikers also)
As a result, I plan to get back to basics and set up a 2nd team that will play in a casual, non-competitive atmosphere just like back in the day when we first started out. There is a strong core for this. Yongsheng and I, and now possibly Azman, can call upon players from at least 3 different teams. The only problem is I need someone to manage it as I am already tied up with Kambing FC. Who knows, someday we can play in the same league together? :-)
Thanks all for your feedback. Again, i apologize for the delay and if I had missed out any points. Again, also, my apologies if any offense taken. Whatever reasons I have said or carried out, it is with the team in mind. After all, no player is bigger than a team. Cheers all.
