'Wake up', S-League
Alam Shah wants FAS to win the fans back and fill the stadiums
again
NOH Alam Shah, who will leave Singapore on Monday to join
Indonesia Super League (ISL) side Arema Malang, has a parting shot
for the S-League - wake up. In his most candid interview yet, the
29-year-old Tampines Rovers striker poured his heart out on his
reasons for leaving the country:
WHY ALAM SHAH IS LEAVING?
The sterile crowds in
the S-League
The poor treatment of
players
The perceived poor
refereeing standards
The logic of having
the mandatory fitness evaluation called the Beep Test.
Alam Shah began by moaning about the S-League's poor average
attendance of 2,500 last year compared to Arema's average gates of
30,000.
'It's terrible to see empty stadiums. The standard of football
has dropped. The quality of the foreign players has dropped. No
disrespect to some of the younger players, they are really not
there yet. I have lost all motivation.
Despite being capped 72 times and scoring 32 international
goals, Alam Shah feels he is not getting enough recognition at
home. 'When I arrived in Indonesia, the customs officer recognised
me even before he looked at my passport. In Malang, I'm mobbed by
fans everywhere I go. I feel like a millionaire, a proper
footballer.
'Here, nobody seems to be doing anything. Singapore is still a
footballing nation and the fans love football. ... 'It's time for
the S-League to wake up and win the fans back.'
One of Alam Shah's gripes is the Beep Test, the multi-stage
shuttle run which all S-League players must pass annually before
they can be registered. 'It's unfair to determine a player's rice
bowl with a fitness test. Some players have the skill but cannot
run like machines,' Alam Shah argued.
Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits
Times
Source: The Straits Times
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Sport/Story/STIStory_428347.html
