Stags, Protectors and Cheetahs aim to dethrone Albirex
Since 2015, no local team have won the Singapore Premier League (previously known as the S-League), and no team have broken the Albirex Niigata monopoly since 2016.
But a trio of regular contenders and dark horses have emerged in a bid to end the Japanese team's dominance this season.
Five-time champions Tampines Rovers and two-time winners Home United have already beaten the White Swans this year, and kept the bulk of their respective squads.
With chairman Desmond Ong handing out multi-year contracts since coming on board in 2017, the Stags are benefiting from stability and continuity as their players show understanding of their roles and responsibilities on the pitch.
The young and talented - such as 19-year-old Singaporean Joel Chew and 20-year-old Serb Zehrudin Mehmedovic - are complemented by seasoned campaigners such as Canadian Jordan Webb, 30, and 41-year-old centre-back Daniel Bennett, into his 21st season.
"Having kept the bulk of players from last season definitely helps in terms of chemistry," said Webb, who has 79 goals in 208 league games over nine seasons. "I would be selling us short if I say we are not going for all the trophies. We have good atmosphere, good ideas and the energy levels are high."
His coach Gavin Lee added: "We want to be effective in and out of pre-season. If we can win and entertain with attractive football, that would be the ideal scenario."
The Protectors were the best local side last season, finishing as SPL runners-up and winning the AFC Cup Asean zonal final.
Like Tampines, they have retained 17 of 24 players, including South Korean linchpin Song Ui-young and the evergreen Shahril Ishak, who combined for 40 goals in all competitions last term.
They boast the impressive Under-23 trio of forward Adam Swandi, central midfielder Hami Syahin and central defender Taufiq Muqminin.
With their last major trophy coming in the Singapore Cup in 2013 and their last league title in 2003, Home coach Saswadimata Dasuki said it is time to end the drought.
"We want to build on our successes last season and go one better," said Saswadimata, whose side beat Albirex on penalties in the season-opening Community Shield last Saturday.
"It should be one of the most open seasons in recent years, but we won't write them off. They can only get better training full-time, without national service or school commitments (like local clubs).
Meanwhile, the dark horses in the nine-team SPL appear to be Hougang United, who added considerable firepower to a team who scored a league-low of just 22 goals in 24 games last season.
While they have never finished in the top half or won any major titles, the Cheetahs are gunning for history, with coach Clement Teo declaring that "third would be an underachievement".
Retaining forwards Iqbal Hussain, Shahfiq Ghani and Fazrul Nawaz, they signed Faris Ramli and welcomed back Croat Stipe Plazibat and captain Zulfahmi Arifin.
They initially secured the services of 2015 and 2016 top scorer Rafael Ramazotti, only for the Brazilian to go missing and sign for Mexican club FC Juarez. Instead, they have shored up their defence with South Korean centre-back Kong Ho-won.
Teo said: "Afiq Yunos was our only natural centre-back... The Ramazotti incident allowed us to sign Kong and it was a bonus we picked up Faris. He will give us a different dimension with his ability to take on players.
"With the team we assembled, we feel we need to be in the title race. Among our players, the mindset is, even a draw is underachieving."
Zulfahmi, who has returned after one season with Thailand's Chonburi, added: "Any team can win the league this season and Albirex are beatable. It depends on who are the most consistent across 24 games.
"We now have quality attackers and a great team, so we got to be more adventurous and clinical than before to fight for our targets."
Feb 14, 2019 · Alexandre Lacazette sent off as sloppy Arsenal see Bate Borisov seize Europa League first-leg advantage football calendar, BATE had not played a match since December 13. Such was the muddy
Bate Borisov 1-0 Arsenal: Gunners suffer defeat in Belarus
Report Ad
Free Shipping Available. Buy on eBay. Money Back Guarantee!
Chelsea 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt (2-2 agg, 4-3 pens) : Blues reach Europa League final after penalty win. Chelsea will face Arsenal in the Europa League final on May 29 after knocking out Eintracht
Chelsea beat Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties to reach Europa
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists the Premier League title race is something to get excited about rather than stressed about despite seeing his side overhauled by Manchester City in the past
FIFA research says record audience watched 'best World Cup ever' 5 months ago ZURICH: A record audience of more than 3.5 billion people watched this year's World Cup in Russia, with the final between France and Croatia attracting 1.12 billion viewers, world football's governing body said on Friday.
Record 3.57 billion watch FIFA World Cup 2018, 1.12 billion
On the other hand, there is no limit to the amount of money that you can keep in your bank account after a Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing. This is because the terms of Chapter 13 bankruptcy generally prohibit creditors from seizing your assets outright.
How Much Overage Can My Bank Keep in My Escrow Account
Sarri refused to talk to the press after being sent off during Chelsea's draw with Burnley, with his assistant Zola claiming he was 'offended' by something said from the visitors' bench.
Chelsea report Burnley over insults aimed at Maurizio Sarri
RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - Neymar "cried for two days" after injuring his right foot for a second time in January, he told Brazilian television according to an excerpt of an interview broadcast on
PSG star Neymar cried for two days after foot injury - myKhel
Makeshift Barcelona side beaten at Celta and lose Dembele to injury Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were among a number of high profile players to be rested ahead of the trip to Anfield, where the Catalans are aiming to book their place in the Champions League final for the first time since 2015.
Football: Makeshift Barca side beaten at Celta and lose
Football: Holders USA shrug off weight of Women's World Cup
U.S. businesses optimistic on China growth, bemoan unfair treatment January 30, 2018 | BEIJING (OnNewsToday) - U.S. companies are more confident China will further open up to foreign investment in coming years, a top business lobby said on Tuesday, but it cautioned that an "astounding" three-quarters of its members do not feel welcomed by
China-US Trade Ties: US businesses optimistic on China growth
Manchester City's Spanish manager, Pep Guardiola, holds up the Premier League trophy as he's surrounded by his team after their 4-1 victory in the English Premier League football match between
Soccer Football - Premier League - Burnley v Crystal Palace - Turf Moor, Burnley, Britain - March 2, 2019 Burnley's Ashley Barnes scores their first goal Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
Crystal Palace climb away from trouble with 3-1 win at Burnley
Hello Web Admin, I noticed that your On-Page SEO is is missing a few factors, for one you do not use all three H tags in your post, also I notice that you are not using bold or italics properly in your SEO optimization.
Corpus of articles from the English newspaper 'The Financial
watch live streaming soccer manchester united
watch soccer live stream hunter
watch soccer online free streaming live app
watch coppa america live streaming portugal
watch coppa america live streaming barcelona
watch champions league live streaming canada
watch premier league live streaming xbox
watch coppa america live streaming spain
watch champions league simulcast live stream
watch premier league live streaming quality
watch live stream soccer games online free
watch premier league live stream hd
watch coppa america live streaming hotstar
watch premier league live streaming online - soccer portal
live ipl live streaming- watch indian premier league 2013 online
watch soccer games live stream free
watch soccer online free streaming live in english
how to watch uefa champions league live streaming
watch premier league live streaming online
watch champions league live streaming xbox one
watch live soccer streaming on android
watch uefa champions league live streaming free online youtube
watch uefa champions league draw live streaming
watch soccer aid live stream
watch uefa champions league live streaming sportek
watch the champions league live stream
watch premier league live streaming yify
watch soccer game live espn
watch live streaming soccer world cup
watch premier league live streaming qatar
watch coppa america live streaming eng
watch coppa america live streaming without cable
watch coppa america live streaming pc
watch english premier league live streaming hd
watch champions league live stream gratis
watch soccer am online live streaming
watch us soccer live stream
watch coppa america live streaming philippines
watch premier league live streaming xbox one
watch coppa america live streaming jamaica
watch coppa america live streaming quality
watch champions league live streaming xfinity
watch soccer live stream app
watch champions league live streaming now tv
www.watch premier league live stream.com
watch soccer online free streaming live iphone
watch everton vs tottenham live soccer streaming
watch champions league draw live stream total sportek
super soccer tv live streaming napoli vs juventus
watch champions league live streaming zee5
watch coppa america live streaming online
watch champions league live streaming vk
watch uefa champions league live streaming youtube
watch premier league live in stream
watch champions league live streaming cricfree
watch epl live streaming free no sign up
watch uefa champions league live streaming free online reddit
watch premier league games live stream
watch premier league stream reddit
watch tamil nadu premier league live streaming
watch soccer live streaming xbox one
watch coppa america live streaming mobile
watch coppa america live streaming game
watch english premier league live streaming free
watch soccer world cup live streaming
watch soccer aid live stream online
apps to watch live streaming soccer
watch champions league live streaming crictime
watch coppa america live streaming vf
watch live soccer streaming on iphone
tv soccer live stream sky
watch indian premier league live stream online
watch sky sports premier league live stream
watch champions league soccer live streaming
soccer tv live football streaming portugal
watch uefa champions league quarter final draw live streaming
watch soccer games online free streaming live
watch coppa america live streaming reddit
watch coppa america live streaming indosiar
watch indian premier league live streaming
watch soccer online free live streaming livetv ru
watch coppa america live streaming ronaldo 7
watch champions league live streaming pc
watch champions league soccer live streaming
watch real madrid vs juventus live streaming of champions league
watch bangladesh premier league live streaming online free
watch premier league live streaming youtube
watch soccer online free streaming live cricfree
how to watch soccer live streaming free
watch live soccer streaming free android
watch uefa champions league live streaming free online
watch coppa america live streaming yify
watch champions league final live streaming online
watch soccer online free streaming live south africa
watch coppa america live streaming hd free
watch coppa america live streaming xbox one
watch soccer online free streaming live bbc
watch premier league live streaming video
watch soccer live streaming zee tv
watch epl live streaming on iphone
watch coppa america live streaming vivo
watch coppa america live streaming usa
watch coppa america live streaming bola
watch soccer live stream links
watch coppa america live streaming english
watch coppa america live streaming cricfree
watch champions league live streaming jamaica
watch coppa america live streaming tv
super soccer tv live streaming piala dunia
free watch soccer live streaming
watch soccer live streaming xbox
watch coppa america live streaming australia
watch uefa champions league draw live streaming free online
watch sky sports premier league online free streaming live
cpl 2018 live streaming watch caribbean premier league t20 2018
#livestreams #romania #manunited #alissonbecker #manchesterunited #oasisengland #Sunday #battuteepiche #soccer #golf #sunderlandafc #visubal #crossfit #championship #Liamgallagher #footballschedule #24x7 #myfootballuniverse #england #Fcb #bundesliga #leomessi #tokyo #bestshishacafedubai #meunier #liverpoolcity #kopisusu #gunners #mancity #kickoff #cr7 #risate #henderson #league1 #roadtrip #realmadrid #trollfootball #copaamerica #oudmehta #portsmouthfc #commentimemorabili #coutinho #elcasico #ronaldo #football #londoncity #rugby #messi #JUVENTUS #realmadrid #ballondor #neymar #barcelona #conference #kroenkeout #Barca #zidane #boxing #GarageCafeDxb #adidasslipon #soccermemes #calciatoribrutti #sixtimes #liverpoolfans #coffeebreak #klopp #linkstreaming #midnight #comics #liverpool #hoffenhiem #uefanationsleague #sumbertv #footballmemes #fut #gooners #noelgallagher #girlsniteout #firmino #freekick #oasisofficial #americanfootball #acmilan #leicestercity #chocolate #freekickerz #lovefootball #freekicks #commento #cappucino #villarealcf #insegreto
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment