In this SailorFanTalk special, we have guest writer Ernest contributing yet another article! Ernest returns to share about his experience travelling with the Crew for yet another away game, this time a familiar city just across the border. He quips about the journey there, the sights and scenes, the hospitality and ultimately, lessons we can learn from our footballing neighbours.
Friendly Neighbours
Johor Bahru. Singaporeans often cross the border to enjoy the benefits of a superior exchange rate – 3.51 at the time of writing. From affordable (and arguably tastier) food, groceries to heavily subsided petrol, we love to patronise their offerings. With a gradually weakening currency, Malaysians have been the subject of some light-hearted jokes.
However, Johor Darul Ta’zim are no laughing matter. In the span of a decade, they have managed to establish themselves as the best Malaysian football club (by some distance) and a regional powerhouse. The slogan Decade of Dominance is well deserved, such is the success of the team. Being an ambitious team ourselves, we can surely take some lessons from their meteoric rise. We took the opportunity of a pre-season friendly to visit their ground.
Gathering at Home
The club were kind enough to charter a coach for ardent fans. We even received extra jerseys and scarves to look the part for this away day. I have to applaud the club’s constant effort to engage the Crew. The invitation was extended to non-members, which I’m sure will go a long way in expanding our fanbase. It is a good look for the club to start such initiatives, not just for LCS but for local football.
We were soon on our way. The coach was comfortable and spacious, leaving enough room for some pre-match chats and snoozes. It rained in the afternoon, the skies had cleared by this time and it set the stage for a great day ahead.
A Stadium Fit for Royalty
Yeap, that’s half of us marvelling at the behemoth that is the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium. As the name suggests, it was named in honor of Johor’s current ruler, Sultan Ibrahim ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar. He was also recently sworn in as the seventeenth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia. All this is to say that this venue is a glorious sight.
Everyone was in high spirits, the journey here was pleasant and we had tons of free time before the match. We took some pictures and proceeded to check out the amenities the stadium had to offer.
I headed excitedly to the new megastore JDT Direct first. The last time I was here, the merchandise was sold in booths located near the outdoor parking lots. It was refreshing to see a brand new retail space that attracted even opposition fans. There was a feature wall at the entrance showing JDT memories through the decade, before leading to the main store itself. It reminded me of stepping out onto the pitch from the player tunnel, which may have been the inspiration behind this concept.
We happened to visit on the day of their 24/25 3rd kit launch. They were going at a lower price than last season’s jerseys and many of us Crew left the store with shopping bags in hand. They also offered name printing services. There were tons of accessories on sale, even a cute angpao set that I was reluctant to leave behind. The staff were ever so helpful, and greeted us at the door when we left the store.
This leaves me excited for the upcoming LCS kit launches. The new SPL season will be upon us very shortly and I’m sure fans will be clamouring to get their hands on the kits. The new signings have also garnered much interest and there will be many requests to print their names on their new kits.
Currently, most of us get our jersey fix through the Shopee store, matchday merchandise booth and the vending machine at Mattar Road. The only way to print names would be through The Sporting Edge website, but ask a random fan and he/she wouldn’t have a clue. The fans would prefer to print their jerseys on matchday itself, which I’m sure the club will be looking into. HINT HINT.
Matchday Grub
With retail therapy out of the way, we proceeded to survey the food options. There were plenty, with chains like Starbucks, KFC, Subway and my personal favourite, Woodfire Burgers. It was the second last day of Ramadan for our Muslim friends, understandably the queues were a little long. The prices were lower than you would expect even at local standards. I understood from a JDT fan that the club’s owner, Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Idris (also known as TMJ) subsidised prices so that the local fans would find it affordable and choose to dine in at the stadium. This is a great way to address the needs of the fans whilst boosting matchday revenue and numbers.
LCS have taken a step in the right direction, with the home leg of this friendly featuring a few food trucks including the beloved Old Chang Kee. It was a nice sight to see many fans having their meal at the stadium before the match kicked off. Moving forward, it would be wise to continue such initiatives, encouraging fans to reach the stadium early and possibly increase match attendances.
Boys of Straits
The famous JDT fan group or Ultras if you will, Boys of Straits. I have always been in awe of their drumming and chanting routines, executed with surgical precision and military unison. They are in my eyes a vision of what the Crew can be one day, if we continue growing.
Eddy, Joseph and Charmaine had the opportunity to speak with Adam, the admin of the BOS Instagram account. He reached out earlier to meet at their very own merch store, MARKAZ. It’s really surreal to see the BOS have a dedicated space not just to sell their merchandise, but also to celebrate the journey of the fans together with the club. There is a wall in MARKAZ plastered with players’ matchworn shirts, willingly given to the BOS by the players themselves, in recognition of the support
They spoke at length with Adam, exchanging ideas on how the Crew can grow our numbers and foster a positive community of Sailors fans. It is always heartwarming to meet other fans and we wish nothing but the best for the Boys of Straits. Pleasantries were exchanged but we had a match to attend soon after.
Red, Blue and Bold
That’s a magnificent sight. Sultan Ibrahim Stadium lit in JDT’s home colours. We have seen our share of pyrotechnics and screen graphics in our own stadium but this was something else. The Crew were allocated the away section which gave an excellent bird’s eye view of the pitch. Even though we were furthest from the pitch we made sure to give our all to contribute to the atmosphere.
Our friends the BOS came out all guns blazing. From minute one they were LOUD and the stadium felt like an echo chamber for their positive noise. We were small in numbers and had to wait for their sporadic breaks to start our own chants.
One distinct feature was their infallible drumline, which has been through thorough training and hours of practice. One JDT fan told me there were workshops held to help them hone their craft. Another was their ability to keep going for 90 minutes. From my own experience it is unrealistic to expect everyone to do so, there is clearly some coordination involved to maintain volume and intensity levels. A goal of mine would be to create such an atmosphere at Bishan one day. Below are some ways I believe we could work towards achieving it.
Firstly, we can hold drum workshops at Mattar Road for those interested to become drummers on matchdays. It could be as simple as playing rudiments on a practice pad, before moving on to the snares and basses. We currently lack toms in our arsenal, perhaps we can add it to our routine soon.
Next, we have a group of dedicated fans at every matchday who chant for our beloved Sailors. Unfortunately, it is only a small proportion of the crowd that are constantly engaged. We have a set of chants that are easy to follow along, the lyrics can be found on both @sailorfantalk and @thecrew.sg instagram story highlights.
We could also display the lyrics on the screen at Bishan Stadium, similar to what Chin Heng’s article mentioned when he visited KLeague 2 side Anyang FC. This would greatly encourage the fans to join along when previously they may have been unfamiliar with the chants. Remember guys, chanting is free!
Lastly, we could create more interactive chants to engage the entire crowd. There was one at JDT where the adjacent section fans echoed back at the BOS, which gave a similar effect to our familiar Kallang Wave. There are definitely fans who are keen to only watch the game, doing such specific chants can lead to more inclusiveness and a better atmosphere.
Second Half Woes
We lost the first leg of this friendly by a narrow 2-1 at Bishan Stadium, but the gulf in class was clear. We were under no illusions of the task presented to us, it was going to be a tough game. So when El Sicario put the ball in the net early doors, the Crew went mad. Unfortunately, the incompetent linesman wrongfully flagged the goal offside. Unconvinced? Here, take a look.
Notice how Toni Datkovic is at least an entire leg onside when the ball is played by Song. Be your own judge. Anyway, we never truly recovered from this farce, with our next notable attempt from Toni (again!) hitting the post from a free kick delivery. He is looking like a real threat from set pieces already. I alluded to how he is a great Pedro Henrique replacement, it is exciting to see this side of his game too.
JDT then went up the other end and got a penalty right in front of the away fans, which from our angle looked like a dive – Izwan got the ball before the man. It was duly converted and the half ended 2-0 to the hosts. We then saw Maxime and a few others come on in the second half but by then the momentum had already gone. Goals change games and I wonder what might have been if the first legitimate goal was allowed to stand. A 4-1 result in my books.
Post-Match Thoughts
As far as pre-season friendlies go, this was a great one for our players to increase match sharpness and face off against stronger opposition. I wouldn’t read too much into the results and permutations, other than looking into the possible tactics that we might employ in the new season. These 2 matches have been the first for us to see glimpses of the first team squad playing together (bar Rui Pires who was away on paternity leave, congratulations). Personally I have been impressed by both Bart Ramselaar and Obren Kljajić, who continued where they left off from the first game. We now have a berth of attacking options, which along with Song’s return, will hopefully fire us to the SPL title.
Signing off with the fans who made their way to Sultan Ibrahim Stadium. Defeated in result but not in spirit, we will continue to make our voices heard at every home and away game.
Win Lose or Draw, You’ll Always Hear Us Roar.
Lion City Sailors All The Way!
Written by Ernest Cheong (with huge thanks to Jerome for some of the photos! Check him out at @eurosnobjerome on Instagram!)
Edited by Eddy Hirono
If you’d like to support the work we do here at SailorFanTalk, you may want to visit https://ko-fi.com/sailorfantalk and leave us a tip!
