October 6, 2004
Four-time S-league Champion SAFFC have
parted ways with coach Jimmy Shoulder & he have left Singapore last week
after he was told that his one-year contract would not be renewed.
The 55-year-old Englishman will be replaced
despite leading the Warriors to fourth position with a squad many considered to
be lower table material.
SAFFC general manager Kok Wai Leong
said the Warriors are a result-oriented club & finishing fourth is not good
enough. While Jimmy Shoulder is an experienced coach with the highest standards
in terms of character, commitment & attitude, changes are needed to prepare
for next season because the club want the title back.
Therefore it is back to the drawing
board & it is a challenge for the management to bring in the right people
& the right changes so that the Warriors can challenge for the title next
year
But Shoulder disagrees with the club's
assessment that this season has been a failure as with the team he had, he
thought they overachieved as at points they were near the top of the table
& the players have worked hard all season. Also he lamest the fact his
hands were tied with the playing squad was chosen before his arrival.
However LTC (RET) Kok felt it was no excuse & said Jimmy would not have
been the first coach to have worked within these constraints. He knew the
situation & came in with his eyes open
Meanwhile, the former Australia &
Wales U-21 coach Shoulder will be looking for employment in Europe after
shifting his family to England nut he stated he enjoyed his stay in Singapore
He said the S-League was like a big
family & every one from the players to the fans to the media have been
great. He thoroughly enjoyed this year in the S-League but he made the
decision in July to leave at the end of the year unless SAFFC were going to
offer him a long term contract.
On who will be the new coach Kok said they were looking for a coach who is familiar with
the local scene. They prefer a coach who is proven in the S-League, although
they could never ever rule out anyone.
As for what went wrong with the
Warriors, Kok said that the biggest problem was
inconsistency.
While they recorded some fine wins,
they were also guilty of some shabby displays. In August, the Warriors suffered
their worst defeat in the club's history when they were humiliated 1-8 by
Kok said the team failed to show consistency in
teamwork, cohesion & fighting spirit in every game. They did not reflect
the quality in the team.
Despite their dismal finish this
season, Kok said that there will be no major overhaul of the squad but still
unconfirmed reports claimed up to half the squad will be gone. Already only 6
players were retained from the squad that finished champion 2 seasons ago.
To this Kok
said as much as they want to sign the star players, we have to be mindful of
the salary caps that are in place. That is why they had to release players such
as Mirko Grabovac &
Ahmad Latiff, who command big salaries.
Also he is confident that the Warriors
can relive the glory days again as he believed football clubs have their ups
& downs & he is confident that they will bounce back.
Another S-league parting way with
their coach is Sinchi. They have sacked coach Li Hu'en & the entire
S-League squad after finishing second from bottom this season but the 20-strong
Prime League squad will be retained.
Sinchi vice-chairman Wang Jinhui
warned that the Chinese club will quit the S-League (Or more the case the
contract not renewed with S-league) if they do not perform better than in the
past 2 years.
In their first season, they came in
seventh out of 12 teams, falling short of their top-four target. This season,
they fared worse finishing second from bottom in the 10-team league, beating Tanjong Pagar United only on goal
difference. Their target was a top-six finish.
Wang said they have failed in the last
2 years & it is not good enough for their sponsors & fans back home.
The tough-talking Wang did not set any
target but expects a much better showing from his charges next season as they
will choose their squad from four Chinese teams that they have shortlisted – 2 of them are China Super League clubs, who
will send their feeder squads to the S-League if selected & the other 2 are
a top youth team & a Division 2 team.
Sinchi have also appointed a new coach, a former
national player who has coached in the
Wang said the China Football
Association & the Chinese clubs have now realised
that the S-League is not a piece of cake & that is why they are giving more
support to Sinchi. They see Sinchi
as the bridge between
Therefore that is why Wang is
confident that the S-League will see a very different Sinchi
next year.