Stags approach for Pipat held up
Tampines Rovers have hit a snag in their bid to sign Thailand star
Pipat Thonkanya (above, front row, third from left), even as they
continued to add to their attacking options ahead of the upcoming
NTUC Income-YEO'S S.League season.
The 29-year-old was earlier said to be on the verge of moving to
Tampines from Thai powerhouses BEC Tero Sasana.
Pipats arrival would have seen him link up with compatriots Sutee
Suksomkit and Santi Chaiyaphuak, who together with Sead Muratovic
have already agreed to don the Stags colours for the 2008 S.League
season.
But they have now been told they would have to wait to complete the
switch, after BEC Tero withheld the players international transfer
certificate.
Tampines team manager Syed Faruk confirmed the delay in Pipats
transfer.
Its true that the move hasnt worked out yet, he told
sleague.com on Monday.
There is a slight problem Pipat is facing back in Thailand with
his club. That is one of a few reasons why the move has been left
hanging.
But we are still keeping contact with Pipat, and there is still a
bit of a waiting game we have to play. We might still be able to
pull the move off.
Should Pipat be able to eventually complete his move, it will be
the second time he is plying his trade away from his
homeland.
The striker, who started his career with Thai side Rajapacha, had
turned out for Vietnamese side Dong Thap Cao Lanh in 2005 and 2006,
before moving to BEC Tero.
He was Thailands top scorer in the ASEAN Football Championship in
2007 with four strikes, including both of his teams goals in a 3-2
aggregate defeat to Singapore in the grand final.
He also scored both goals in his countrys memorable 2-0 victory
over Oman in the 2007 Asian Cup, which Thailand had co-hosted with
three other Southeast Asian countries.
While Pipats proposed move has been put on hold, Tampines have
nonetheless expanded their arsenal of frontline threats by making a
shock swoop for Chinese forward Qiu Li.
Qiu had been struggling to fit into the Home United system for much
of the past season, after joining the club from the Young Lions in
late 2006.
Despite featuring in 34 matches in all competitions for the
Protectors, Qiu managed a return of just eight goals a sharp drop
from what he had managed a year earlier.
The burly hit man nonetheless attracted interest from Tampines, who
moved quickly to clinch his signature on Monday morning.
Qius arrival sees him fill the void left behind by veteran
Brazilian Peres de Oliveira, who had moved in the opposite
direction in December after serving the Stags for two years.
Apart from Qiu, the RHB Singapore Cup finalists have also acquired
the services of Imran Sahib, who has left Woodlands Wellington
after one season.
Imran is expected to provide cover for Singapore international
Ridhuan Muhammad, who has inked a new deal over the weekend that
will keep him at Tampines.
Former Singapore centreback Razif Mahamud, out of favour at double
winners SAFFC, has also moved east to provide defensive cover for
the Tampines squad following Nazri Nasirs decision to
retire.
Also off the Stags roster are evergreen striker Mirko Grabovac
who has moved to Sengkang Punggol and reserve goalkeeper
Ahmadulhaq Che Omar who rejoined Woodlands after leaving them
early last year.
Meanwhile on the youth front, highly-rated striker Ahmed Fahmie and
versatile midfielder Naufal Omar Ashiblie, who had joined the club
in 2006, have been enlisted for National Service and will not turn
out for Tampines in the Prime League this season.
Road to South Africa: Provisional Lions squad for Saudi
date named
Lions coach Radojko Avramovic has named his provisional 22-man
squad ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Asian Zone Qualifying
Tournament Third Round match against Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, 06
February 2008 in Riyadh.
Singapore have been drawn in Group 4 together with the 2007 AFC
Asian Cup runners-up as well as Uzbekistan and Lebanon with the top
two teams in the group going through to the next round.
The travelling team will depart for Muscat on Monday, 21 January
for a training camp where they will play at least two friendly
matches against Kuwait and Oman before departing for Riyadh on
Sunday, 03 February.
The squad features thirteen players from the team that returned
home with a bronze medal from the 2007 South East Asian Games in
Korat.
Young Lions goalkeeper Jasper Chan is the only uncapped player in
the squad.
Goalkeepers: Lionel Lewis, Hassan Sunny, Jasper Chan
Defenders: Precious Emuejeraye, Sevki Sha'ban,
Juma'at Jantan, Noh Rahman, Daniel Bennett, Baihakki Khaizan,
Ismail Yunos
Midfielders: Shahril Ishak, Shi Jiayi, John
Wilkinson, Mustafic Fahrudin, Ridhuan Muhamad, Hariss Harun, Isa
Halim
Forwards: Agu Casmir, Indra Sahdan, Aleksandar
Duric, Fazrul Nawaz, Khairul Amri