Chin Heng Tan – SailorFanTalk

[Preview] Singapore Cup Final – Lion City Sailors vs Tampines Rovers

Leave a Comment / Match Previews / Chin Heng Tan

After being awarded byes into the Cup semi finals based on ‘sporting merit’, there was never any doubt that the Singapore Cup Final was going to be between the 2 biggest clubs in Singapore. Tampines will be looking to ride the momentum from their near-perfect record in the ACL2 and Shopee Cup, while the Sailors can accept nothing less than a trophy in their hands this Saturday night after getting knocked out of the ACL2 group stage last month. Form Both teams are heading into this cup final on the back of a decent run of results, with the Sailors unbeaten in 6 (scoring 14 and conceding 7 during this run), with the last loss more than 2 months ago on 6th November to Bangkok United, which eventually proved to be the result that knocked us out of the ACL2. Tampines meanwhile fell to their only defeat in the last 10 games during the semi-final 2nd leg against Albirex, when they were already 4-0 up from the first leg. They averaged 2.4 goals scored per game during this period, which included the famous victory against Pohang Steelers at Bishan and the draw during the reverse fixture in Pohang. Tampines’ Signings Tampines have announced a number of new additions to their squad in the past week, including 3 young signings in Ong Yu En, Raoul Suhaimi, and Rae Peh from Young Lions, though none of them are expected to walk straight into the starting lineup. The big announcement that would have caught everyone’s attention though, was the addition of Japanese midfielder Yuki Kobayashi. On paper, Kobayashi is a signing from the 4th tier of Japanese football, the typical level from which we SPL clubs generally scout their Japanese players. However, if we go a little further back, Kobayashi actually arrives with an impressive resume (and equally impressive tattoos), as a former Japanese international with 8 caps to his name, as well as spells in the Eredevisie, J league, and K league, last featuring for J1 side Consadole Sapporo as recently as 2024. You don’t pick up a handful of caps for Japan by accident, and Kobayashi will surely be a quality addition looking to hit the ground running is his first game in Tampines colors. In his first interview for Tampines, he acknowledged the pressure that comes with joining a new team, and will be looking to ‘score as soon as possible’ to take some of that pressure off. If you can’t beat them, sign them The signing of Luka Adzic from the team that has been giving us nightmares appears to be an opportunistic move, with the Serbian winger arriving at the Sailors without much fanfare after a mutual agreement to part ways with Bangkok United. Given his profile as a European winger with Eredivisie experience, as well as the timing of his arrival, there will inevitably be comparisons with our Belgian club legend. Luka will surely be eager to ditch the label of ‘Maxime’s replacement’ and establish himself as a great attacker in his own right, and perhaps even earn a contract extension beyond the initial 6 months. Much like Yuki Kobayashi, Luka will be looking to win silverware in the first competitive game at his new club. If rumors are to be believed, Luka Adzic will not be the only player to swap a red and black shirt for the blue and white this January. Incredibly exciting news if true, since there are very few quality local players that don’t already play for Sailors at this point, and Kyoga is one of them. Conclusion After such a dominant season in 2024/25, winning the Singapore Cup and the SPL was always going to be the bare minimum for this Sailors team. I still remember the emotions at the final whistle during the last Singapore Cup final, it was a feeling of relief, rather than joy. Unfortunately, we are up against a Tampines side that has put together an excellent team this season, with a perfect blend of youth and experience, and they will be hoping that their unstoppable form in continental competitions will translate into results in domestic fixtures as well. This Cup final is very much about getting the job done, and it is definitely going to be a close one. Written by Chin Heng 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!

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[Post-Match Thoughts] Bangkok United vs Lion City Sailors – A Point to Prove

Leave a Comment / Uncategorized / Chin Heng Tan

Photo Credit: Lion City Sailors FC BG Stadium has been home to memorable visits for the Crew, including an unfortunate postponed fixture due to inclement weather. Interestingly, we have yet to face BG Pathum United here, although that might still happen in the Shopee Cup semi-finals. To keep ourselves in the running for qualification, we had to get a positive result against the co-tenants. Easier said than done, we’ve lost 4 times on the bounce against Bangkok United. Friendly Foes Many of the Crew recently travelled to Hong Kong to witness our historic Asian Cup qualification, and one important player during the campaign was Kyoga Nakamura. Despite his past endeavours with our rivals BG Tampines Rovers, his amicable personality has endeared himself to all local football fans. Some of us ended up purchasing Kyoga jerseys at the merchandise store, such was his popularity. We even sang his name post-match as a show of appreciation. The friendliness was largely extended to our opponents, whom we have to rely on for ACL Two progress as well. Lest we forget, we need Bangkok to beat Persib in Bandung for us to have any semblance of hope. This resulted in light-hearted banter throughout the evening, requesting the home team to do us a favour next week. Deep down, we wanted a competitive match to ensure both teams were sharp and raring to go for the next fixture. The home fans were not particularly interested in this fixture, with a meagre 500+ pax in attendance. This paled in comparison to the previous ACL Two match at the same ground, which had double the amount of fans present. I discussed this on A Thai Football Podcast post-game, and it appears the Shopee Cup is low on their agenda. Hopefully this improves over time as it is in our interests for ASEAN football to be successful in its own right. Foreign Firepower The much-maligned Shopee Cup has had several criticisms, with some attributing lower attendances to the foreign quota that is similar to SPL rules. Despite missing key players like Lennart Thy and Bart Ramselaar for various reasons, it was our foreign attackers that put us 2-0 up within 21 minutes. We had not scored more than 1 in each of our 4 previous meetings, which made the fast start all the more sweeter. Discussion about Maxime Lestienne’s looming exit has been rife, but his quality on the night proved yet again why the Sailors are going to miss him. In typical fashion, the Belgian cut in on his stronger left foot, unleashing a dipping far-post effort that caught out Patiwat Khammai. His ball striking technique is unmatched in our squad and I hope we get to see a few more magical moments from him this month. Can we deliver a capacity crowd for the Singapore Cup semifinal home leg? It will only be fitting for our best ever player. It was even more encouraging to see Anderson Lopes extend the lead with a measured run and finish after receiving the ball from deep. Despite some initial wobbles, it seems Anderson has been able to deliver on the continental stage, following his winning goal against Persib. Our no.18 looked sharp on the ball, and was unfortunate to be withdrawn with a knock in the second half. It remains to be seen if Anderson or even Lennart would be available for our final ACL Two group stage game. Familiar Frailties Unfortunately, chants of ‘Oh Anderson Lopes’ were marred by a quick response from the hosts. Jakkaphan Praisuwan picked up the ball in a fairly innocuous position, but managed to deceive Ivan Sušak who did not react to his near post finish. From then on both sides had plenty of goal mouth action, but it would prove to be in vain for the Sailors come the 77th minute. Former Stag Seia Kunori pounced in the box to equalise in front of the away fans. It was a hard pill to swallow, and continued a recent trend of defensive fragility. I have to sympathise yet again with Coach Rankovic for the lack of options off the bench to see out this game in a proactive manner. We did not even manage to fill the bench, only naming 7 substitutes compared to Bangkok’s 12. Among those 7, only 1 was an attacker in the form of Abdul Rasaq. The rest of the slots were 4 fullbacks and 2 goalkeepers, hardly what is required in a high stakes regional game. One notable omission was Safuwan Baharudin, who has not been seen since his contributions at Kai Tak Stadium. We know of his obvious quality especially when starting for the national team, but those levels have not been matched in a Sailors shirt since the start of his loan stint. The curious absence has not been helped by cryptic social media activity, with keen observers pointing out the removal of LCS content from his Instagram profile. Some have even speculated he would be returning to his parent club. This situation is not ideal for both club and player and hopefully it gets sorted out sooner rather than later. Edit: In the hours after this paragraph was written it has been officially announced that Safuwan has requested to prematurely terminate his loan. He didn’t look settled in our colours and has since returned to Kuala Lumpur to settle personal matters. Rather surprisingly, it has also been revealed he was on a 6-month loan after all. Anyway, it would be best for all parties to move on and we wish him all the best. Speaking of Selangor… Final Fantasy It would be accurate to say everyone has had an eye on the next game for the past few weeks. Fans need no reminder of the bleak permutations we face to continue our ACL Two journey. In lieu of a preview article, which would be a mere repeat of points, here’s a small segment that would suffice: Lion City Sailors beats Selangor. Bangkok United beats

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[Preview] Bangkok United vs Lion City Sailors – Not Sian Meh?

Leave a Comment / Uncategorized / Chin Heng Tan

Sian. While regular games against high-quality foreign opposition is certainly a privilege, this is our 3rd time playing against Bangkok United in 5 games so I’m not even sure what to write about anymore. The only new development since the last time we met is that Bangkok United secured their place in the ACL2 knockout stage on Matchday 5. There are still some interesting facts that I wish to highlight though, so to avoid too much repetition, I’ll try out a new article format with this preview. We’ll be highlighting some key information in point form for yet another must-win game against Bangkok United (of which we have won none so far☹). Key Facts Conclusion Bangkok United’s progression to the ACL2 knockout stage last week will allow them to turn their focus to the Shopee Cup and the Thai League for now, although they will also be thinking about getting a result against Persib to secure their position as group winners. The Sailors will have to take advantage of their extra rest days and good recent form in Thailand if we want to pick up our first ever win against Bangkok. Most of us at Sailorfantalk will either be in Bangkok for the game or at the watch party at Mattar, so join us as we back our Sailors to finish an incredible 2025 on a high! SFT Score predictions Chin Heng – 2-1 Ernest – 1-2 Bryan – 1-2 Reuben – 1-1 Joseph Chin – 1-0 Joseph Jireh – Phelan – 1-2 Anatolii – 2-1 Written by Chin Heng 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!

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[Preview] Lion City Sailors vs Persib Bandung

Leave a Comment / Match Previews / Chin Heng Tan

6%. Our ACL2 hopes are fading fast, and that’s all that’s left of our continental chances this season, according to FootyRankings on X. We’ve seen worse After 2 consecutive losses, our hopes of advancing to the ACL2 knockout stage are hanging by a thread as we move from one bogey team to another on MD5. Very much like how the Sailors have never beaten Bangkok, we have also struggled against Persib in our recent continental meetings, with 2 draws and Persib winning 1. In particular, the 2-3 loss last season at home remains a painful memory for many fans, where we almost let a Round of 16 slot slip from our grasp in the dying moments of the game. Some Persib fans have not stopped blabbering about LCS on social media since last November, presumably because they didn’t have much else to do after getting knocked out at the group stage. Permutations Both Persib and Bangkok need only 1 point from the last 2 games to advance to the knockout stage, meaning the Sailors would have to beat both Persib at home and Selangor away, and hope that either Persib or Bangkok lose both their final 2 games, an extremely unlikely scenario given how the other games in the group have panned out so far. If Bangkok secures their qualification against Selangor this week while Sailors beat Persib, Persib would be going into MD6 needing only a point at home against a Bangkok side that has already qualified and does not have much to play for. Even in the unlikely scenario where both Persib and Bangkok lose on MD5, the 2 teams will play each other on MD6 fully aware of the fact that a draw would send both of them through. Should the game still be level with 15-20 minutes to go, I find it very hard to imagine either team taking any risks to get the win, with both teams likely to happily square pass their way into the Round of 16. TLDR: We have to win both of our last 2 games and hope for a Hiroshima-level miracle to advance. Mentality With the above permutations in mind, I think it is very difficult for the Sailors to find the right mindset to approach this game. I’m sure that as professionals the players will do all they can to win, but with advancement being such a remote possibility, they’ll just have to take it one game at a time and focus on staying in contention and putting Persib in their place for now. We’ll be without Bailey for this game, who misses the match through suspension, and give-the-ball-to-Maxime-and-pray also doesn’t quite work when Maxime is injured. Fortunately, many of our local players will be buoyed by that legendary night at Kai Tak, and will hopefully try to carry that winning momentum back to the club. The rest of the squad who stayed in Singapore have no doubt been hard at work during the international break as well, where they played a friendly against Cong An Ha Noi. The Opponents Persib have been defensively solid this season, conceding only 9 goals across 14 league and ACL2 games, and keeping 8 clean sheets. We will (as usual) be heavily reliant on getting the ball to Bart to break down this Persib defence, given the absence of Maxime Interestingly, half of Persib’s Indonesian Super League games this season have featured a red card for either team, and their combative nature is very much reflected in their fanbase as well. With so much at stake for Persib, this game may well end with a red card or two, hopefully for the away team. Conclusion While the later kickoff time should encourage more fans to turn up, many of the home seats in the sold-out stadium have (allegedly) been snapped up by Persib fans, which prompted the club to post a match advisory on social media to remind match attendees that wearing away colours and cheering for the away team are strictly prohibited in the home section. However, considering some Persib fans decided to start a fight in the away stands during their last ACL2 game and their players had to walk to the stands to calm the fans down, I am not sure how useful this advisory will be. It has been a difficult continental campaign so far, and the Sailors may well be eliminated from the competition by the end of this game, but hopefully the home fans can ignore the barking noise and focus on getting behind our boys, who will surely be doing all they can to push the race for the knockout stage all the way to the last matchday. SFT Score predictions Chin Heng – 1-2 Ernest – 1-1 Bryan – 3-2 Reuben – 1-0 Joseph Chin – 1-0 Joseph Jireh – 1-0 Phelan – 3-1 Anatolii – 1-2 Written by Chin Heng 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!

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[Preview] Lion City Sailors vs Bangkok United

Leave a Comment / Match Previews / Chin Heng Tan

The good news – Despite losing to Bangkok United away on Matchday 3, the Sailors’ progression into the ACL2 knockout stages is very much in our own hands, and two of our final three Group G games are also at home. Not-so-good news – After that loss in Bangkok, there is no longer any room for error if we want to make the round of 16. Permutations Group G table As it stands, the Sailors are 3rd in Group G, but the permutations for advancing to the knockout stages are fairly straightforward, keeping in mind that the tiebreaker for teams tied on points is the head-to-head record. If we win all 3 of our remaining games, we are guaranteed to advance as group winners with 13 points. Even if Persib also get to 13 points, they would finish 2nd due to the head-to-head record. If we beat Bangkok by at least 2 goals this week and beat Persib in the next game, we are guaranteed to advance to the knockout stages regardless of the result of our final away game against Selangor. These 2 potential home results would give us superior head-to-head records against both Bangkok and Persib, ensuring we cannot finish below 2nd. Fail to win either (or both) of our remaining home games, and our ACL2 fate is no longer in our own hands, with an early exit a very real possibility. In this scenario, other results would have to go our way for any chance of advancing. TLDR: We have to beat Bangkok by 2 goals this Thursday. Sporting Merit? The Sailors have been perfect in the league so far, sitting 5 points clear at the top of the table, scoring 22 and conceding only 2. The FAS has also done LCS (and Tampines) a huge favour by giving us byes into the Singapore Cup Semi-finals on ‘sporting merit’, effectively allowing the two teams to spend the next 1.5 months focusing on their continental campaigns. (While this greatly benefits us, I am not a fan of this arrangement in general. Winning a trophy by playing just 3 games doesn’t hold much meaning to me, and if we go further down this rabbit hole, why not just award us the 25/26 league title right now based on sporting merit too?) On the continental front though, our form is a little bit worrying as we have lost 2 of our 4 matches across the ACL2 and Shopee Cup with no clean sheets, scoring 6 and conceding 7. We’ll also be missing Hariss through suspension and presumably Maxime through injury. However, it is worth noting that 3 of these 4 games have been away matches due to works at Bishan stadium, and we won our only home continental game so far this season. We will have to bank on our home advantage this week, as we take on a Bangkok United side that have beaten the Sailors by a 1-goal margin on all 3 of our previous meetings. The Bogey Team Bangkok United have similarly been in good form in the league where they are currently best of the rest behind Buriram, and considering their perfect record over the Sailors so far, will be confident of getting a result at Bishan Stadium. However, Bangkok have also struggled in continental competitions, having already lost to Persib and JDT. Their schedule has not been kind to them as well, having played 3 games since our last meeting in Bangkok (while Sailors only had to play 1 league game against Albirex). They just lost to relegation candidates Uthai Thani over the weekend after having a man sent off, with several key players playing the full 90 while chasing the game, and now also have an eye on the tough league fixture against Port FC coming up this weekend. Our opponents will also be missing a key man in Richairo Zivkovic, who has not played any football since coming off injured in the first half in our 1-0 loss on 23rd Oct, and I think it is fair to assume that he will not be playing any part in this Thursday’s game as well. With so much at stake and Bangkok United’s recent results showing that they are very beatable, there is no better time to claim the first win over our bogey team. Conclusion This is a massive month for Singapore football, with Sailor and Tampines fighting to advance in the ACL2, and that huge clash for the national team against Hong Kong on the 18th in Asian Cup qualifiers. Despite the horrible 6pm kick off timing, hopefully we can pack the stadium and get behind our boys! SFT Predicted Line-up Ivan Safuwan – Bailey – Toni – Diogo Tsiy – Rui – Song Lennart – Anderson – Bart SFT Score predictions Chin Heng – 1-0 Ernest – 1-0 Bryan – 3-1 Reuben – 2-1 Joseph Chin – 2-1 Joseph Jireh – 2-0 Phelan – 3-1 Anatolii – 3-1 Written by Chin Heng 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!

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[Preview] Return to Bishan – Lion City Sailors vs Selangor

Leave a Comment / Match Previews / Chin Heng Tan

While they do not have the latin flair of their rivals JDT, Selangor has traditionally been a powerhouse of Malaysian Football. However, with their struggles on and off the pitch, there may not be a better time to take on the Red Giants this season. Crunching The Numbers Selangor have not started their season well, with a strong opening to the Shopee Cup being the only bright spot in their campaign so far, after holding Buriram to a 1-1 draw away and beating Tampines 4-2 at home. In the ACL2, Selangor fell to an opening day loss to Bangkok United at home, while 2 wins from 5 in the Malaysian Super League leaves them squarely in mid-table. Sailors, on the other hand, are top of the SPL table with 3 wins from 3 and rescued a 1-1 draw late on away to Persib on ACL2 Matchday 1 (as well as a 3-1 loss against an ineligible JDT lineup in the Shopee Cup). However, the underlying numbers of the respective league seasons so far suggest that this match will be a very close affair. The two clubs are currently only separated by 0.1 points on the Opta Club Rankings with Sailors on 66.7 and Selangor on 66.6. Both teams have also had no problems scoring goals so far, with Selangor’s attack, spearheaded by former Buriram forward Chrigor Moraes, creating 2.21 xG and scoring 1.8 goals per game, while Sailors averaged 1.94 xG (….and 4.67 goals hahaha) per game. Nothing separating the 2 sides in the Opta Club Rankings The glaring weakness for Selangor though, seems to lie in their defence. They have conceded 1.63xG and 1.6 goals per game on average in the league so far, vs Sailors who have conceded 0.50xG (and 0.33 goals) per game. Selangor have also averaged lower possession, passes and shots than their opponents in the MSL this season. A Club in Crisis? After a bad start to the season, Selangor sacked their coach Katsuhito Kinoshi last week after less than a year on the job, despite guiding the team to Silverware last season. As a result, several former players and analysts have stepped forward criticizing the Selangor management for this questionable decision. Selangor U23 head coach Christophe Gamel has taken on the role of interim head coach while the club looks for a permanent replacement, and as Selangor had no league game last weekend presumably due to the Sultan of Selangor Cup, the ACL2 game against Sailors represents Gamel’s first competitive game in charge. The Quicktime TeamViewer As usual, I’ll leave this section to Joseph Chin who takes us through the key figures in this Selangor side —————————- Man on the Hot Seat – Christophe Gamel is typical of the modern day managers with undistinguished senior careers to boast of. With exposure at various levels of youth and women’s football (including a stint at the PSG Women’s Team), the journeyman manager has earned diverse cultural exposure and passport stamps having coached in Hungary, Fiji, Algeria, Belgium, Vietnam and even Malaysia with Sri Pahang under the legendary Dollah Salleh. Having been part of the Selangor hierarchy soon after his assistant manager role at MacArthur, the former reserve team boss will look to stabilize the ship after the sacking of their previous manager, and a decent tenure as one of the better Fiji managers of the modern era would have served the Frenchman in good stead. As mentioned previously, both Mohammad Abdulnadi and Noor al-Rawabdeh bring big game experience and World Cup qualification as mainstays for both Selangor and the Jordanian National Team. But having played a 532 last matchday against Bangkok United, a good few members of their team cannot be ruled out as threats in the ACL Two GK: While half-Malaysian Englishman Samuel Somerville makes for a good backup in goal, the goalkeeping duties seem to be shared unequally between Kalamullah al-Hafiz and Sikh Izhan, with the former being more consistently used in goal. Azim al-Amin has been capped at youth level so the competition for the one slot seems to be intensified. DF: Quentin Cheng was on the bench during the recent Causeway Derby, and remains an option in defence alongside another familiar face in Kevin Deeromram. The latter played against the Sailors with Port last season and both fullbacks may feature alongside Abdulnadi and centrebacks Ghanaian Richard Ankrah and Malaysian national team stalwart Harith Haiqal. Academy talents Zikri Khalili and Shahrul Nazeem and former JDT returnee Fazly Mazlan round off their loaded lineup, and with even all these backups being capped for the Harimau Malaya at times, their defence will look to offer a better effort at resistance as compared to their previous match. MF: Nooa Laine started against our Lions in September, and the half-Malay Flying Finn will look to dictate the pace from midfield alongside al-Rawabdeh. Having been at the receiving end of a major thrashing from us last season, Picha Autra will have something to prove after arriving from Muangthong United (although he will have to make do as an impact substitute) while also competing for places in the congested Thailand midfield. Both Aliffs of Selangor (Izwan and Haiqal, who happen to be native sons of the state) remain wildcard options from the bench, as is the experienced Mukhairi Ajmal. FW: Faisal Halim’s recovery to regain his place in the starting lineup after a horrific acid attack by unknown assailants in 2024 has seen the supremely talented flanker being rewarded with the club captaincy after Safuwan vacated his post. That same fighting spirit will be key in galvanizing both himself and his team mates in tackling one of their toughest opponents in the ACL Two. Zach Clough brings high level experience from the English Championship and the A-League Men, and as much as he can flit between the flanks or overload the attacking midfield, the well travelled Alvin Fortes (Cape Verde) and Omid Musawi (Afghanistan) are experienced options with experience for both club and country. Former Buriram man Chrigor

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[Preview] JDT vs Lion City Sailors

Leave a Comment / Match Previews / Chin Heng Tan

Trying to bounce back from a painful defeat is always difficult. This time round though, things are particularly challenging as we look to recover while going into arguably our toughest fixture of the season. While fans and players alike are still hurting because we hate losing to Tampines,as Ernest alluded to in his post match article, perhaps we need to let our emotions settle down and avoid the knee jerk reactions and placing blame on the coach or specific players. Sure, it would have been incredibly enjoyable to beat Tampines en-route to silverware, but we need to remember that this game was still essentially a pre-season game. The underlying numbers at the Community Shield also pointed towards a solid performance and a closer game than the scoreline suggested, with the xG simulations showing that Sailors would have won the game 44.5% of the time (with Tampines winning 31.5% and a draw 24.0% of the time). While this was perhaps skewed by the fact that Tampines took a comfortable lead early on and sat back a little and thus conceding more xG, it still showed that we were very much capable of creating an attacking threat going forward, and standout performances of new boys Tsiy and Safuwan were also positives to take away from the game. Will these positives be enough against one of the best teams in Southeast Asia? The JDT lowdown As usual, I’ll leave it to Joseph Chin to take us through the latest about our rivals from across the causeway: ————————————————- The Sultan Ibrahim Stadium ticks all boxes for a modern European experience, at an impressive scale and size that few teams in the region are willing to surpass, and a fairly successful pre-season in Spain has brought a fresh crop of Spanish players who will form the backbone of their foreign contingent, with enough personnel to ensure squad rotation. Accordingly the likes of Farizal Marlias, Izham Tarmizi and Safiq Rahim has opted to retire on a high, while MSL teams are awash with JDT alumni on loan terms. The popular Jordi Amat has also been put to pasture at Persija Jakarta, which means there will be even more foreign players on ever increasingly shorter term contracts where competition will be intense and even bigger names like Jonathan Viera missing out. Players to watch While Jese has since been filed under the flop section together with the likes of Aaron Niguez, the Spanish manager has decided to inject a particularly Spanish flair into the team. Samu Castillejo is the obvious marquee player here since the former AC Milan winger and current captain is a versatile flanker in the mould of his manager (more on that later). But most of this Spanish bunch are players who have stepped out into their first overseas stint for the first time in their careers, where the expectations rise a notch and multiple continental actions keep them busy. Iker Undabarrena (DM), Antonio Glauder (CB) and Nacho Mendez will be expected to form the backbone when called upon to complement the likes of Eddy Israfilov, Bergson, Jairo and the naturalized Romel Morales. Meanwhile for the locals, a small but fine selection of players have been stalwarts for quite a few seasons, with little change in the makeup of core team comprising of the likes of Hong Wan, Arif Aiman, Shahrul Saad and La’vere Corbin-Ong, making for multiple permutations to slot in when needed against ASEAN opponents of varying abilities Andoni Zubiaurre will be challenging current Malaysia no1 Syihan Hazmi for the goalkeeper role. While it is unlikely Syihan will be dislodged anytime soon, the trend of top ASEAN teams looking to field foreign keepers might be an interesting subplot in calls for teams and league authorities to restrict foreign talent for goalkeeping (as is customary for most of the Asian leagues until recent market liberalizations). Man on the hot seat Xisco Munoz. At once both a household name and an unknown, the La Liga and UEFA Cup double winner in 2003 with pre-Peter Valencia was an underrated, if reliable winger for the Spanish teams he played for (Valencia, Betis and Levante). But his true destiny lay outside of the big time in the top European leagues, starting from being Dinamo Tbilisi’s marquee signing (and future title winning manager) in the Georgian league, to managerial spells at places as diverse as Watford, Cyprus and Slovakia While TMJ would expect high standards from Pablo Aimar’s former team mate, dealing with limited resources in Tbilisi and Anorthosis, and trigger happy owners who preside over short-termism in Watford and Sheffield would stand in good stead when blessed with more generous resources to maintain their domestic domination. ——————— Form While the Sailors have never played against JDT in a competitive game, we have played a few friendlies in recent years, but have never beaten them. JDT have also started their season in ominous form, with 2 wins in the league as well as a 5-0 thrashing of a University team in the Malaysia FA Cup. The manner of one of their victories though, may give us some insight to a potential route to an upset, as Joseph suggests: “The recent 5-3 win over Negeri Sembilan flattered themselves given how their opponents were able to race into a 2-0 lead inside 12 minutes before the normal economic order resumed with a powerful second half performance led by Arif Aiman and Bergson. Their ability to start badly but end strong will require our defence to be kept on their toes while keeping their constantly rotated XI wondering using a fluid game plan to win individual battles. A dominant midfield is also needed to ensure that excessive space is not needlessly exposed and exploited.“ Conclusion With this much talent at their disposal and a great start to their domestic season, JDT will surely be odds-on favorites to win the tie. However, many fans will be making their way up North, either on their own transport or with the bus organized

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[Specials] The 2025/26 SPL Preview

Leave a Comment / Specials / Chin Heng Tan

The SPL season finally starts in a few days with the Community Shield, and just like most teams in the SPL, the SailorFanTalk squad has had a bit of a revamp too, with several writers, editors, and interviewers coming onboard. To kick off the SPL season, I invited each of our new writers to weigh in with their own SPL preview, including a short writeup discussing each team and their end-of-season SPL table prediction. Let’s hear what Ernest, Joseph Chin, Bryan, and Reuben have to say! Ernest The 25/26 season will witness many firsts, none more prominent than the foreigner matchday quota being increased to 7. This leaves 4 starting spots for our local players, and it remains to be seen how this change will impact the league and National Team set up. That being said, taking a look at how the squads are shaping up, we can make an educated guess as to how the season will pan out. Below are my thoughts, in the order of my predicted 25/26 table: 1st: Lion City Sailors FC No surprises here. The team with the most resources are likely to run away with the title, perhaps with an even bigger gap to the nearest challenger. The marquee signing on everyone’s radar is Anderson Lopes. His CV trumps most, having been the top scorer in J1 for the past 2 seasons and helping Yokohama F. Marinos to reach the 2024 ACL final. He would likely repeat his scoring antics in Singapore, but I do not foresee Tomoyuki Doi’s frankly ridiculous golden boot record being broken any time soon. LCS are less reliant on a focal centre forward to score goals, and we could well see Lopes deployed on the wings at times (with a certain Maxime Lestienne leaving in January as things stand). He can also rotate with Lennart and Shawal, more than capable of wrecking havoc in the league. We are competing on multiple fronts and minutes will inevitably have to be shared. The signing that really excites me is Tsiy Ndenge. It is acknowledged that football games are won and lost in the midfield. With Ndenge’s arrival, we have secured a player profile that promises to be game-changing. A quick google search of his name will pull up YouTube highlight reels of his time at Grasshopper Club Zurich. Capable of performing multiple roles, the German has played down Pogba comparisons. I am sure we will be proud of having our very own Ndenge. LCS should aim to be the best defence in the league again, and let our attacking talents do their thing. An expected professional job, nothing less. 2nd: Geylang International FC No Doi, no problem. Despite losing their scoring talisman, Geylang have strengthened on multiple fronts, and will likely benefit from their Eastern rivals having a transitional year. Noor Ali’s team have gone from strength to strength, finishing a respectable 3rd last season, something that has not been achieved by the club for some time now. The reason I see them pipping Tampines this year? The Eagles have chosen to recruit tried-and-tested SPL stalwarts who are upgrades on their previous personnel (bar the magnificent Doi). In comes Riku Fukashiro, Shodai Yokoyama, Kaisei Ogawa and Shuhei Hoshino. Sure, they are not capable of scoring 44 league goals each, but with the new foreigner rule in place the team should see an increase in quality on the pitch. Geylang will surely benefit from a shorter season, no continental nor regional football to contend with. Their thin squad will likely survive the season and mark an improvement on last season. 3rd: BG Tampines Rovers FC Perhaps I’m bold for predicting a bronze medal for Tampines, which essentially constitutes another trophyless season for them. Yes, LCS are sweeping the domestic treble. But why third? Transitions rarely go well at the start, and losing their head coach and marquee foreigners will hurt immediately. Even the most fervent of haters will acknowledge Gavin Lee is one of Singapore’s best coaches. Reappointing Akbar Nawas seems to be taking a few steps backward. Add to the unsavoury mix the foreign core being dismantled and I foresee a long season ahead for the Stags. Tampines really trailed off during the new year, and that was after their unceremonious ACL2 elimination. With the added distraction of the ACC Club Championship – affectionately known as the Shopee Cup, this new squad will likely struggle to perform right out the blocks. Is my bias speaking against them? Probably. But logic dictates fundamental changes will take some getting used to, and by the time this happens the other 2 clubs would have pulled clear. Trent Buhagiar would be a familiar name to A-League observers, and will definitely add a new dimension to their fresh attack with his pace and dynamism. Looking elsewhere, they have recruited from the Japanese football ecosystem to plug the gaps left by Seia, Kyoga and Milos. Quality players they might be and become, but the multitude of factors mentioned above will contribute to their slight regression this year. 4th: Albirex Niigata (S) It was not too long ago that the Japanese feeder club dominated Singaporean football. Then they went “local” and went through a slump and drop in standards, even culminating in the dismissal of the popular Kazuaki Yoshinaga. It has been an entire season since, the dust has settled, and the foreign outfit has learnt the effects of parity. The additional foreign starting spot next season should provide a welcome boost to the six-time SPL champions, who have once again recruited from Japanese outfits. This formula has worked wonders for them throughout their prolific stint in Singaporean football, and the White Swans seem to be one of the teams that would benefit most from the rule changes. A competitive Albirex can only be a good thing for the league. 5th: Tanjong Pagar United FC Disclaimer: this preview was written after Aaron Evans’ feature on Sports Minutes. He spoke of the Jaguars’ ambitions to finish second

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[Specials] All Hands on Deck, we’re Running It Back – ACL2 Group Stage Draw

Leave a Comment / Specials / Chin Heng Tan

While Sailors won the domestic League and Cup double just a few months ago, there is no doubt that it was our fairytale ACL2 run that captured the imagination of football fans in Singapore, and perhaps even in the rest of Asia as well. Could we defy all odds yet again to run it back and make another final, or even go one step further in this year’s edition? As we approach the ACL2 group stage draw happening on 15th Aug, I thought this ACL2 preview article would be a good time to run through our potential opponents in this tournament, as well as the draw mechanics and rules for newer fans who may not be familiar with how this competition works. ACL2 Tournament Rules and Draw Mechanics Previously known as the AFC Cup, the second-tier AFC continental competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions League Two (ACL2) in 2024. Unlike the AFC cup, the ACL2 includes clubs from the top nations in Asian Football such as Japan and Korea, and features 32 teams, the most number of teams across AFC club competitions. The tournament is split into East and West regions, with 16 participating clubs each, and the competition remains separated by region until the final where the East and West finalists will meet. The 16 clubs of each region will be seeded into 4 Pots, and 4 groups of 4 teams will be drawn with each group having 1 team from each Pot. 14 of the 16 teams in the East have been confirmed, with the last 2 slots going to the losing team in the ACL Elite qualifying playoff (between Chengdu Rongcheng and Bangkok United) and the winner of the ACL2 qualifying playoff (between Manila Digger and Persib), to be played on 12th and 13th August respectively, just before the ACL2 draw on 15th August. Sailors are rumoured to be in Pot 3 despite our heroics in last season’s ACL2, as the seedings are mostly based on AFC club competitions rankings, which assigns points to each country based on results in the last 8 years, with more recent seasons holding a higher weightage. While Singapore outscored the likes of Vietnam, China, and Australia last season, the lack of success in previous years mean that we are still ranked 15th among AFC member associations. Hopefully, with consistent performances in the coming seasons, we’ll be able to see Sailors in a higher seeding or even get an ACLE slot in the not-too-distant future. For now though, Sailors will probably be the team every other team is looking to avoid out of Pot 3. The full (rumoured) Pots are as follows: Country protection is in place for the group stage draw, meaning no 2 teams from the same country can be drawn into the same group. This has some implications on our chances of drawing certain teams in other Pots, as we’ll cover in the next section. Upon completion of the ACL2 draw on 15th Aug, our 6 group stage games will be played on the following dates: According to the AFC Competition Operations Manual, our match sequence for the 6 matchdays should be: vs Pot 2 (H), vs Pot 4 (A), vs Pot 1 (A), vs Pot 1 (H), vs Pot 2 (A), and vs Pot 4 (H). However, take this with a huge pinch of salt as there seems to be some discretion in the scheduling, and AFC does not always follow this format. Furthermore, Straits Times also recently reported that FAS is in discussions with AFC for our first group stage game to be an away game, since Bishan Stadium would not be ready in time. Potential Group Stage Opponents Our potential group stage opponents are listed below, sorted by Pots and listed according to their Opta ranking, which should give a rough sense of the relative team strength. Tampines as well as teams from Pot 3 are excluded as it is not possible to draw them in the group stage. For reference, LCS are currently ranked 1172 in the Opta rankings (as of 2 Aug 2025), with a rating of 69.9 (nice), and an estimated team value of €9.15 million according to Transfermarkt. Pot 1 The Pot 1 teams represent the biggest threat to our knockout stage hopes, not just because they are the strongest teams in the competition, but partly also due to potentially harsh weather conditions of away games in China/Japan/Korea. This is especially so if the game happens to be on Matchday 4/5/6, when the weather starts to get cold in these countries as winter approaches. If Bangkok United ends up losing their ACLE qualifier, the probability of us drawing them will be marginally higher compared to the other teams in Pot 1, as they cannot draw Ratchaburi in Pot 3 due to country protection, so Sailors are 1 of their 3 possible opponents out of this Pot. Gamba Osaka On paper the hardest team we can possibly draw for the group stage, Gamba Osaka will be heavy favorites to make the ACL2 final on the East side of the bracket (although the favorites to win ACL2 will no doubt be Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr. Yes, playing in the same tournament as LCS).Currently mid-table in the J League and already knocked out of the Emperor’s Cup, winning the ACL2 represents their best chance of getting back into continental competition next season. The club has 2 J1 titles and an Asian Champions League win, and has an experienced squad featuring several players that have made the step up to the Japanese National Team, including forward and club captain Takashi Usami, center back and vice-captain Shinnosuke Nakatani, and 39-year old veteran goalkeeper Masaaki Higashiguchi. Avoiding Gamba Osaka in the draw will significantly boost our chances of getting out of the group, although drawing them also represents an opportunity to benchmark ourselves against the best in East Asia (and also a fantastic away day destination, heh). Pohang Steelers The Steel Yard is home to former

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[Player Profiles] Four The Win – New Season, New Signings

Leave a Comment / Player Profiles / Chin Heng Tan

It has been a quiet few months here at Sailorfantalk and for fans of local football, but the 2025/26 season is finally upon us! Behind the scenes, the Sailors have been far from quiet, working on a number of astute signings to strengthen key positions, as we look to once again challenge on multiple domestic and regional fronts. As the dust settles, it looks like we have 4 new players coming into the squad this season: Safuwan Baharudin A stalwart for the national team for well over a decade with 124 caps, Safuwan was one of the best local players that we could have signed in this window, given that many of the top locals already play for Sailors. Safuwan was the first Singaporean player to appear on the modern FIFA game when he was playing for Melbourne City in 2015. After a short loan spell there, he spent close to 10 years in the Malaysia Super League, amassing over 130 appearances, and this marks his first return to the local league since his Young Lions stint in 2011. In his last season at Selangor, he kept 7 clean sheets and recorded 1.40 interceptions and 3.83 aerial duels won per game. Given Coach Ranko’s tendency to play 3 centrebacks, additional depth in this position would go a long way in helping us compete effectively in four different competitions. Ivan Susak Becoming the tallest player to ever play for Sailors at 2.03m, Ivan Susak had an impressive season in the Croatian top tier, getting 10 clean sheets and a 73% save percentage from 35 games. There will no doubt be some concerns over Izwan’s minutes this season, but Ivan’s experience in Europe will surely complement the 2 solid keepers we already have in Izwan and Adib, to bring our goalkeeping unit to another level. Tsiy Ndenge Not a name most local fans are familiar with, but if his youtube highlights are anything to go by, Tsiy adds another dimension to our midfield as a physical box-to-box midfielder who also provides a goal threat from outside the box. In the last 3 seasons, he recorded a pass accuracy of 82.3%, with 0.32 key passes and 0.61 successful dribbles per game. A youth product of Borussia Mönchengladbach, Tsiy brings plenty of experience from several European leagues, and it was rumoured that Sailors had to fend off interest from some clubs playing in UEFA competitions to secure his signature. Anderson Lopes For those familiar with Asian football, the headline signing of the window needs no introduction. Anderson Lopes has scored so many goals that the goal compilation video posted by Yokohama F. Marinos is 45 minutes long. The Sailors had no problems scoring goals last season, netting a whopping 145 goals across all competitions, and to add to that firepower we’ve somehow managed to get the J League top scorer for the past 2 seasons to grace the sunny shores of Singapore. Lopes recorded 0.67 goal contributions per game in his time at Yokohama F. Marinos, and scored with 18.2% of his shots. Huge expectations are inevitable with his reputation and price tag, and I hope he hits the ground running once the SPL season kicks off. I’ll admit that I don’t have much more knowledge on our new signings, other than having watched Safuwan play for the national team, and the occasional Marinos J League game on youtube, so I’ll leave it to our foreign football correspondent Joseph Chin to take us through his thoughts on each of them: ——————————————————————- 2 months to catch a breather, after 2 of the most intense months in Q2 of 2025, and here we are kickstarting the real festival of football in August. Apart from keeping the core of our squad and also sending some players with potential out for game time and experience, we are looking forward to seeing some of our new signings come in to help build on the progress of last season. If “this is Home truly, where I know I must be.. Then Mattar is where dreams are waiting for him, where the river always flows. Putting aside the obvious Kit Chan references in the lead up to National Day, seeing Safuwan Baharudin kitted out in a Sailors jersey is a nice change of scenery from Selangor. While the deal was framed as a loan from the Malaysian Super League club, and whom we might potentially meet in this season’s AFC Champions League Two (ACL2), it is very likely that this return home will be a permanent one in the end. As much as Selangor has become a stepping stone for the likes of Yazan Al Arab to eventually go on to greater things for club and country with Jordan, who are debuting in the upcoming World Cup 2026 (and where two other Jordanians who played key roles in this historic qualification still play at), staying in the Super League would feel like a step back for Safuwan given the way he was made to train with the reserves towards the end of last season, on orders of the management. The faded Red Giants would have also taken the chance to renew their squad with a defence built around Jordan’s World Cup hero Mohammad Abualnadi and the eye-catching captures of promising youngsters Chrigor (Buriram United) and Thai international Picha Autra up front to complement the other Jordanian in midfield, the newly minted vice-captain Noor al Rawabdeh. That said, with the vast international experience on offer for the Sailors via Safuwan, the defence is poised to take a step up where additional options to initiate attacks from deep will go hand-in-glove with the invaluable leadership of the well-travelled centreback who has excelled at home with LIONSXII and abroad in the A-League and MSL. What I would envision is Safuwan excelling in a sweeper role as the last man, or a libero in between defence and midfield with his elegance on the ball mixed with the typical steel of a centre back. As

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Author name: Chin Heng Tan