KO-ed!

Ramblers SC will NOT, for the first time in 4 years, feature in the Chinese League Quarter-finals after a shock 1-0 defeat to Nibong Tebal United.

After 4 successive campaigns culminating in 3 quarter-finals and 1 semi-final appearance, the boys in blue failed to live up to their reputation in a difficult group comprising CRC, Timuran, Anak Malaysia, Bintang Baru, PYFC, Inpro SC & NT United. And I was devastated as anyone with the loss.

This year we had a good blend of youth and experience as we racked up 10 points from the first 5 games & sitting pretty at the top. So what went wrong? I am not here to find a scape-goat or to point fingers and create a hugeeee fuss but this is just my take on the entire tournament:

1. Formation & tactics - the essence of any team. Did we get it right? What were they in the first place? We didn't seem to have a style of play nor did we have any idea of what to do when we had the ball. Players were too static and the on-field movements weren't enough. We just didn't move as a unit from the back to the front. Too many loose balls were lost to the opposition as well. We played a 4-4-2 but we didn't understand how to play with the formation, to use its' strength and deal with its' weakness. All we knew was to fight and pump the ball forward. We were a good team because of it, but sadly we never looked like champions. Poay and Chien were the central cogs in a good machine but they struggled to impose themselves at times because the players around them couldn't adapt. That limited their creativity. There was no pass-and-move game( which they were more suited to). Brian Clough once said "Football is a simple game. You get the ball, pass and then move" We were definitely lacking that. 
2. Wing play - The absence of Ming on the wings was another deciding factor as he provides us with electrifying pace on the sides. The wingers seemed short of ideas and were mostly lost. In a 4-4-2, the wingers are to tuck in when we're defending and then move out wide when we attack. They also have the option to cross or cut in and shoot or pass but the decision to do so must be made prior to receiving the ball. There wasn't a change of pace or turn as well as they didn't know how to utilize their power, often wasting it on chasing lost causes and then burning out when we lost the ball. Their recovery was slow to say the least and this left the fullbacks exposed on many occasions. We conceded too many goals because of attacks from the sides. We lacked awareness, had poor anticipation & no creativity from the wings.
3. Blooding youth - the youth players came in to the team as champions of their Youth League. However, there was just 1 highlight - this wasn't the Youth league, this was the SENIOR league. The game, the demands, the pace, everything was just different. We had standouts like Ti Wei, Benson & Li Yoong. They deserved they're place (even if it was, at times, because there were no other standouts in their position). I am confident the experience will do them good & they will mature as better players in time. But did we rely too much on youth? Especially when it came to subs? We had seasoned campaigners on the sidelines. Seniors who fought together for the past 5 years. I personally thought they should have been given a chance - utilized. Yesterday I saw a moment which kinda p*ssed me off: A senior player (with very good control and game smarts) had control of the ball on the byline but as he made his move, he was shouted from the sidelines to pass the ball to a junior player eventhough the senior had total control of the situation. Do we have so little faith on our seniors?

We lost the game and the tournament - that is a fact. But we can still build for tomorrow and come back stronger. We fight as a team, win as a team and we lose as a team as well. We can be stronger, better... The decision rests on the team.