What a game in store for us this afternoon. As was said earlier this week a barometer game. A resurgent Sunderland looking to continue their very surprising run against an Arsenal team confident as a result of last week's big win.

And yet, in my opinion both appear to be skating on thin ice.

Firdaus Idros being called up to LionsIn a media release announced just hours ago by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), national coach Raddy Avaramovic added two more uncapped players into the 21-men squad that are due to face Jordan (away) and China (home) next month in their upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

Our first trip to France since 2002 when we beat Auxerre 1-0. A similar scoreline tonight would see Arsenal in the box seat in the group.

Marseilles are in the same type of form as Arsenal, lying 15th in Ligue 1 and struggling to get back in touch with their last season's form. Their win over Borussia shows just what they can do when playing well – our esteemed manager stating he was "surprised and impressed.

In a media release by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) this afternoon, national coach Raddy Avramovic had named the squad of 18 players to represent the Singapore Selection in their annual fixture against the Selangor Selection in the Sultan of Selangor Cup this coming Saturday at Shah Alam.

How did our lads fare in the recent spate of meaningless important Internationals?

Well, first up was our shiny, new striker from Korea, Mr Young, who opened the week with a hatrick., and a fine one at that. The first being a quick run behind the last defender and a powerful volley. The second, a towering header from a corner (watch and learn Chamakh) and for the third he received the ball in the Theo position then struck a firm drive past the beleaguered Lebanese keeper.

Screen-grab of the livestreaming of the matchAs what Thailand's German coach Winfried Schaefer said before the game "Result doesn't matter" and so both his team and Singapore fought to a goal-less encounter in front a near empty gigantic Rajamangala Stadium.
Singapore coach Raddy Avramovic surprised many by naming just recovered Fahrudin Mustafic in the starting eleven for this Bangkok friendly.

That difficult start to the season continues for the Reds, although it has to be said upon seeing the starting line-up, it wasn't too difficult to divine the potential pitfalls we would encounter. Steve replaced the injured Reid with Lewis McGugan, and opted to drop Raddy for George Boateng [...] Read the original post on Through the seasons before us

Written by Gooner in Exile

Two days away from the start of the season and with Big Raddy set to make a triumphant return (I hope) for tomorrows pre match I thought it would be time to ask what the minimum we should expect from the first 6 games.

13th August Newcastle (PL) A

16th August Udinese (CLQ) H

20th August Liverpool (PL) H

24th August Udinese (CLQ) A

28th August Man Utd (PL) H

10th September Swansea (PL) H

So for me the bare minimum for us is qualification for the Champions League proper, in addition to 7 points.

{Media Information from the Football Association of Singapore}
The image of the Official Emblem of 2014 World Cup is obtained from the official 2014 World Cup site
SINGAPORE, 31 July 2011: Preliminary Draw for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™
The Preliminary Draw for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ was held in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday 30 July 2011.

Singapore will go into the Tiger's Den tonight holding a two goal advantage over Malaysia but Raddy Avramovic will know that for all his team's five goals in the first leg at Jalan Besar Stadium, the lead is paper thin.
Roared on by 90,000 Malaysians keen to rip a new one for their rivals Avramovic will be wary of a defence that shipped three goals including one that came about because of a comedy of errors at the back while many fans will still entering the stadium.

The crazy scoreline had protruded the leaky defensive woes facing both Singapore and Malaysia in this much-anticipated "Causeway Derby" for the ticket to the group stages of the Asian World Cup Qualification.
"Farra" scored in the 44th minute to make it 3-1 to Singapore It was virtually a game of two halves with Singapore shackled off the early scare for letting the Malaysians to score in the first minute through dangerman Safee Sali by walloped four goals in reply from Aleksandar Duric, Qiu Li, Fahrudin Mustafic and Shi Jiayi before the end of first half.

So we arrive at the hateful day when the approaching empty oceans of a no-football summer is at hand. Normally, it a day of deep depression but following the events post- Birmingham, there is a sense of relief that the disappointments of the past 3 months have come to an end. Such are the slings and arrows of supporting an Arsenal team in "development.

So we arrive at the hateful day when the approaching empty oceans of a no-football summer is at hand. Normally, it a day of deep depression but following the events post- Birmingham, there is a sense of relief that the disappointments of the past 3 months have come to an end. Such are the slings and arrows of supporting an Arsenal team in "development.

... after I posted the entry of the draw of the RHB Singapore Cup.
It's not quiet actually for the past few days, rather I think everyone, just like me, is concern about the yet-to-be-released "list of 30 or 32" national provisional squad by coach Raddy (pictured below).
I'm not sure where the sources were gathered from, but here was where I got my (pictured below from "Team Singapore" FB page) which supposed to be made known by yesterday, while other claim the papers were talking about it.

An article in Today about coach Raddy Avramovic looking ahead to a busy few months with World Cup qualifiers on the horizon.
This is an extract from a comment posted on the page.
It's a typical Singaporean. The government should do more, blame the government blah blah and blah. The game is what it is and none of it travails can be thrown at the feet of the government.

Another game we need to get 3 points from, however in this case we must be underdogs. Following a very poor run of results (too disappointing to discuss) the team have a choice either we settle for an underwhelming 3rd place or we fight to the end, I expect to see some fighting spirit.

Unfortunately, United are in excellent form having strolled through a Champions League semi-final on their way to Wembley, where most right minded people will be hoping for a Barca win.

The SLeague are at it again. So often they make decisions to appease the court of public opinion rather than for the good of the game.
Last year, after a brawl between players from Young Lions and Beijing Guoan, the FAS slapped heavy fines and lengthy bans on players from both sides in response to a media outcry.

Let's not kid ourselves here.
We were never looked comfortable with the ball, as compared to the Malaysians in the first half.
Midfielder Irfan Fazail (number 7) triggered the scoreboard in the 23rd minute
While some fans were hoping the plastic surface of Jalan Besar would give the Cubs some advantages, but it was never the case.

Was at the pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrow's friendly match between Singapore's Olympic squad and their Malaysian counterparts.
Making their presence were Singapore coach Raddy Avramovic and his Malaysian counterpart Ong Kim Swee, as well as Cubs' captain Afiq Yunos and Mohd Affize Faisal, the vice-captain of the Harimau Muda.

Written by Big Raddy

Elland Road mid-week in January, 40,000 noisy fans up for the Cup, a promising Leeds team looking to cement their reputations; the joys of the F.A. Cup 3rd round.

Being honest, we were fortunate to have the chance of this replay, the very late penalty saving Arsenal from the ignominy of an early Cup exit to a team from a lower division.

Written by Big Raddy

Can you feel the tension? Are you moist with excitement? Breathlessly fearful of the possibility of defeat? Come on .... it is Semi-Final day.

These days do not come along as often as they used to I recall getting Wembley fatigue followed by even worse Cardiff fatigue, but now a Semi-Final is an unusual event.