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Don’t blame Sundram - problems in S’pore football run much deeper

The knives came out for national head coach V.Sundramoorthy after the Lions lost 1-2 to Indonesia on Friday. The result meant this was Singapore’s worst-ever showing at the AFF Suzuki Cup, as they finished last in the four-team group with just one point from three games.

V. Sundramoorthy's defensive approach was underlined as a reason for the Lions' poor showing in the Suzuki Cup. But the reality is that the 51-year-old coach was dealing with problems and constraints not of his making, and far beyond his control. TODAY FILE PHOTO

V. Sundramoorthy's defensive approach was underlined as a reason for the Lions' poor showing in the Suzuki Cup. But the reality is that the 51-year-old coach was dealing with problems and constraints not of his making, and far beyond his control. TODAY FILE PHOTO

The knives came out for national head coach V.Sundramoorthy after the Lions lost 1-2 to Indonesia on Friday.

The result meant this was Singapore’s worst-ever showing at the AFF Suzuki Cup, as they finished last in the four-team group with just one point from three games.

Unsurprisingly, local football fans immediately went online to blast the team, with a section pointing the finger at Sundram for the debacle, and calling  for him to step down or be sacked.

In particular, the 51-year-old’s insistence on playing a defensive strategy throughout the tournament was underlined as the chief reason for the team’s poor showing.

But it is unfair to pin the blame entirely on Sundram, who was only appointed to his position in May.

As the ex-Singapore international tersely said at his post-match press conference to a reporter who asked about his future, “After six months, (did) people judge your future?”

Sundram had to work with several constraints, many of which were beyond his control.

It started with his appointment on a one-year contract as a “caretaker” national team coach, which hardly inspired confidence in both Sundram and the players.

For Sundram, it meant he had little margin for error and that he had to focus on getting results, not playing attractive, exciting football.

For the players, it sent the message that the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) did not quite trust the former Tampines Rovers and LionsXII coach enough to give him the job on a permanent, long-term basis, and this perhaps undermined the authority that Sundram had on the team.

Given that his ‘soak-and-counter’ strategy worked wonders in helping the now-defunct LionsXII win the Malaysia Super League (MSL) title in 2013, it is hard to fault Sundram for resorting to this tried-and-tested tactic for the Suzuki Cup.

And to be fair, it nearly worked.

Against the Philippines, the Lions held their own with 10 men as they eked out a credible goalless draw. They used the same strategy against Thailand to great effect, and should have won the game with the number of gilt-edged chances they had, but were made to pay for their profligacy as the Thais eventually sunk them 1-0 with a 89th minute goal.

Sundram adopted a more attacking approach against the Indonesians which saw them finally end their goal drought. But while the team created a host of chances, they once again failed to convert them, and were punished once more for their wastefulness as Indonesia capitalised on two uncharacteristic defensive lapses to pull off a come-from-behind win.

Throughout all three matches, there was never any doubt that our national players players gave their 100 percent on the pitch.

But what was also clear was the stark difference in technical quality between our players compared to their Asean rivals.

Watching Thailand playmaker Chanathip Songkrasin trap a 30-yard pass under pressure with ease, or Indonesia’s Andik Vermansyah breeze past his markers with the ball seemingly glued to his feet, it becomes painfully obvious, especially after each misplaced pass and miscued shot, that Singapore’s players are still lagging behind in ability, finesse and even fitness.

It is therefore hard to imagine Singapore playing the sort of pass-and-move attacking football that everyone is clamouring for.

People calling for the return of Raddy Avramovic, who led Singapore to three AFF titles over a 10-year period, also need to remember that he did it with teams that featured naturalised key players such as Aleksandar Duric, Shi Jiayi, Qiu Li, Agu Casmir, as well as Daniel Bennett and Mustafic Fahrudin in their prime.

Simply put, this Suzuki Cup campaign – as well as the previous edition in 2014 where the Lions also crashed out at the group stage – has only served to highlight the problems in Singapore’s footballing ecosystem, especially in terms of both player and coaching development.

These two disastrous campaigns are the direct result of years of neglect on several levels – from youth and adult grassroots, to schools football, to local clubs’ centres of excellence (COEs) and even the S.League.

The FAS’ emphasis on concentrating their resources on select groups of ‘elite’ youth and senior players – such as those from the National Football Academy (NFA), Singapore Sports School (SSP) and the LionsXII – has led to a dearth of genuine footballing talent in the country.

According to renowned youth development coach Tom Byer, who is the Chinese Football Association’s Head Technical Advisor for schools and grassrootss football, the key to successful youth development is to develop the worst players, not the best.

He reasons that by improving the base, the better players will naturally push themselves to improve even more.

The fact that Sport Singapore, the national governing body for sports, had to start the ActiveSG football academies earlier this year is a sign that they recognise not enough has been done previously to try and widen the pool of players at the base of the pyramid.

The development of football coaches in Singapore also leaves a lot to be desired.

Opportunities for local coaches to go overseas and gain experience and exposure at a higher level are scant.

Former national coach Vincent Subramaniam, now a technical development officer at Fifa, also previously told TODAY that he felt there was a lack of mentorship and practical guidance for new coaches here.

These are problems that FAS technical director Michel Sablon, who played a key role in developing Belgium football’s golden generation, has sought to address with his comprehensive 11-point development blueprint which he presented earlier this year.

Some work is already underway. For example, the FAS are revamping the national schools football ‘B’ Division tournament next year in a bid to widen and better develop the pool of local youth footballers.

Better late than never perhaps. But what this all means is that it will take time for Sablon’s plans to take effect before Singapore can re-join the upper echelons of Asean football.

Till then, the Lions and local football fans need to brace themselves for several more years of pain and heartache.

TODAY Sports reporter Noah Tan covered the Lions’ Suzuki Cup campaign in Manila

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