Fix The Fixture

This is an example of the stupidity of the artifacts at FAM. You KNOW ahead of time that you will be hosting the Asian Cup. It's not like the AFC told you about it last week. You KNOW that a season should run an x amount of time. But noooooo....they cannot even fix the M League and FA Cup fixtures right. Two, three weeks before the biggest tournament in this continent that you as the HOST will be participating and yet you still arrange the fixtures in such a way that the state teams will lose their key players. Selangor is losing 6 players to the Pasukan Kebangsaan and they are trailing 0 - 2 going into the second leg of the FA Cup semi-final. Of course lah they won't be happy. Don't know how to plan is it? (Oh yeah, we forgot, of course they don't. Otherwise the state of football in this country would not be this bad.)

We admit, to be fair, they probably can come up with the excuse that the JFA (Japan Football Association) is doing the same boo-boo with their fixtures in the J League with relation to their own Asia Cup participation. But JFA is #40 in the world. While Malaysia is like 109 rungs lower.

Would it be cheaper to sack the entire honchos at FAM than to send them to train at England? Or can we use some of the new fundings (see below) for good brain transplants all around?


Brain Transplant. Probably cheaper

Remember that one weekend, when the EPL had the FA Cup Final between United and Chelsea? Guess what? FAM decided to have games that night too. Not surprisingly, when we saw the update of the M League games on TV that night, most of the games were played to empty stadiums. It was already poor attendance before! But this is like playing behind closed doors. Of course your average Malaysians are watching the FA Cup on TV? Takkan tak tahu tahu lagi? We are so sure the bosses of FAM were watching it too instead of going to the M League games. Again, EPL releases their fixtures early. So does the La Liga. Can someone from FAM who handle the fixture cross-check this make sure there are good attendance of the M League games with no distraction from major EPL games?

S'gor to FAM: Please release our players

By S.SIVABALAN

PETALING JAYA: Selangor have appealed to the FA of Malaysia (FAM) to release six of their players from the national team. Selangor face the return leg of the FA Cup semi-final match against Kedah at the Shah Alam Stadium on Saturday. Selangor lost the firt leg 0-2 in Alor Star last Saturday.

Goalkeeper Syed Andey Syed Hussain, midfielders Shukor Adan, Fadzli Saari and Amirulhadi Zainal, as well as strikers Akmal Rizal Rakhli and Mohd Safi Sali, are undergoing their final phase of training with the national team for the Asian Cup Finals which start on July 7.

"It would be extremely difficult for us to play a team like Kedah without our regular players," said Selangor coach Dollah Salleh. "Having one or two missing from the line-up is something I can handle, but missing six first choice players is too much for any team.

"It's a very crucial moment for us in the FA Cup. A two-goal deficit is something we can turn around but it would difficult without our top players," he said. Kedah would also be missing three players on national duty -- defenders V. Thirumurugan and Mohd Fauzi Saari, and striker Mohd Khyril Muhymeen
Taken from The Star