Motlhen

Thanks! The name is from my favourite player from CM03/04 And yep, I agree. Here's some of the best ones imo:

It wasn't to be. Hougang were too much for us as we pushed for an equaliser they ran away with the game. I've been sacked and it feels a bit unjust. But the challenge is not over! There are still 2 other teams that have never won a league title in Singapore. I'll be waiting for one of these jobs to become vacant and attempting to win the league at a club which has less transfer restrictions.

We have signed an O23 player who will be swapped in to one of the 4 registration places for our current right-mid. Our unbeaten run is over as Albirex out-play us. The pressure is all on the final game of 5 where I need to not lose to keep my job. We have had another promise of a golden generation youth intake, but will I be around to see it?

A win was necessary and a win is what we got. Just about. We've gone unbeaten in 3 since the board meeting to discuss my future but I still need 1 point from the next two games which are against Albirex & Hougang to keep my job! The transfer window has opened and we have re-signed Rahmat, this time permanently rather than on loan. + another cover option in centre-midfield.

Jun 2025 We have fought back against Tanjong Pagar for a consecutive 2-2 draw. I felt this was one of the winnable matches so it's mixed emotions at the end of this game. We need 4 points from the next 3 games. Next up is the must-win game against Balestier.

May 2025 continued.. The first of our 5 fixtures came against top of the league. ...and we have done incredibly well to come away with a point! Which takes us off the bottom of the table. We need 5 points from the next 4 games.

May 2025 I have been a lot happier with our performances this month, despite the results. We led against Hougang until a reckless challenge took us down to 10-men & we fell apart. In the other two matches this month we've played brilliantly until around the 75th minute where tiredness and lack of quality in squad depth meaning the subs are not able to protect the result and we have ended up losing. But like I said, it is a lot more positive than losing without putting up a fight! Unfortunaley though, with Balestier winning a game and us dropping to the bottom of the table, the board are not happy without results and points on the board. The next 5 games include a winnable game against Balestier. We did also beat Tanjong Pagar last season. And Hougang have dropped points to Balestier a couple of times over the last few seasons. The 6-point total is definitely attainable, but I am acutely aware that my time at Young Lions could be coming to an end if we don't find a way to see out the full 90 minutes.

Mar - Apr 2025 We've started as I guess is expected. We nicked a draw against Hougang and have managed to beat Balestier to stay off the foot of the table. Mahadi Baharom has not been playing anywhere near as good as he was last season & it's looking unlikely he'll sign a new contract with us. Losing him will be a big blow at the end of the season. Finances

Awesome! Which team do you support? Cool yeah, I saw they were in the cup irl. They're an interesting club. It's going to take a while to build up the facilities to get to a point where we are producing enough quality players each intake to be able to have a good full squad of players who are U23.

Pre-Season 2025 The board agreed to a couple of improvements. Transfers In I feel we've brought in some strong players in key areas. The only issue is their ages. Two of our signings being 22 mean we only have them for this year, unless they out-perform one of our four O23 players. We have had a much better set of results in pre-season. Although we did play teams more at our level than last season. Our odds of winning the title have gone down for a 3rd year in a row. And we'll have a tough start with long-term injuries picked up by key players. Thankfully we still have our key player & 2nd favourite for top scorer in the league. Finances have been getting gradually better and better. (At least we're losing money at a slower rate each season.) Fingers crossed this can lead to some more facility improvements.

Thanks! Oh really? Thanks for the heads up. How did you find that out? I wasn't aware of that & I would've liked to have had some time in the continental competitions on the way to my main goal which is to win the league. I guess without the continental comps, I will just have more of a focus on the league. We also don't compete in the Singapore Cup (although Young Lions do irl) which is another shame, but neither absences will stop me from continuing with these guys.

SEA Championship 2024 Thailand won for a record 7th time, demolishing Singapore over the two-legged final and smashing the previous record for the biggest win in the final which was 6-2 over two legs. Laos did not qualify for only the 2nd time since the competition began (1996). Brunei were the surprise package, after failing to qualify on the previous 8 attempts, they made the semi-finals in only their 2nd appearance in the competition.

Tanjong Pagar winning the title this season means that the number of eligible teams for me to complete the challenge with is down to 3: & Balestier are after my services.

Sep 2024 We were much better this month, battling to a tight loss against LC Sailors & then grabbing another win to stay above Balestier in the final game of the season! Overall, a position and four points better off than last season and we'll be looking to improve on this again next season. Youth Intake We've got another good Goalkeeper and striker, two positions I was pretty comfortable with. I'll never complain about solid backups and might change tactic to 2 up front next season to accommodate for our two young forwards. Baharom made the difference this season. I'll have my work cut out to keep him around.

Aug 2024 A very poor month, but luckily Balestier have lost all of their games too. The board have finally allowed me to try and get my first coaching licence.

July 2024 We managed hit our target of 4 points over the next 8 games in only the next 2 games!!! The win against Balestier was brilliant, but it was even more incredible to pick up a draw against top-of-the-league Tampines. We still have a way to go and we'll probably have to beat Balestier in our last game of the season (gameweek 21) to avoid bottom of the table. But we're sitting pretty, off of the bottom of the league as we approach the business end of the season.

June 2024 Transfers In I have been slowly recruiting over the past few months and the transfer window opened after the first game of this month so we had an influx of players - hopefully they can help us end our run of bad form. Youth Intake Preview With all of the new signings lined up against Tanjong, it took Wong Qing Wei 15 minutes to get a straight red card whilst giving away a penalty. The salt in the wound in that game was that the other two goals were scored by players I released at the beginning of the season. But then we managed a deserved win against LC Sailors!!! Yes, they had a man sent off. But we were solid in the game up until that point (55mins) and I'm ecstatic with the 3 points. Last season we got 10 points. We've got 8 more games to get 4 points to beat that total. That's the aim for this season! ..and we still do have to play Balestier twice. I feel we'd have to beat them twice to have any chance of finishing off of the bottom of the league.

May 2024 Losing a lead against Balestier was a blow to our chances of finishing off the bottom of the league. We had a higher xG against Tampines, we just aren't putting our chances away as clinically as other teams & we keep conceding so many headed goals! We have produced over triple the number of Premier League players compared to the next highest team.

Apr 2024 We've picked up our first points!!! & we are not bottom!!! A great win and a draw against two teams who finished mid-table last season. LC Sailors went unbeaten last campaign so it was no surprise that they stopped our good run. This is the current tactic I have been starting games with. This is an incredible stat. Hopefully we'll be able to keep up these sorts of numbers! Finances are still looking better than last season.

March 2024 Despite picking up no points, the performances have been much better than they were at the end of last season. After being out for 3 months over the summer with broken ribs, one of our star prospects has had an even bigger blow in our first game this season. Our next game is against Tanjong Pagar, where we have loaned quite a few first team starters from. So I have quickly loaned in another midfielder from another club to plug one of the holes we'll have when we face Tanjong. I have been pestering the board at every possible moment for facility improvements and it's paid off!

Feb 2024 Friendlies We managed a couple of draws against weaker teams & only a single-goal loss against Hougang who are in our league. I'm taking this as an indicator of progress - any game that we aren't shipping six goals would be! Despite my view of progress, we are considered even further rank outsiders Finances The board have rejected all of my requests so far, but to be fair to them they have kept us afloat financially. We seem to be losing money at a slower rate than last season too, which is positive!

Gutted Good luck for this season. Have you ever been to a LC Sailors game?

(Catching up on past major events) 2022 World Cup Messi lifted the World Cup in what could well be his last major tournament. USA making the semis the biggest shock with their best performance since 1960. Qatar didn't make it past the group stage hosting & appearing in their first World Cup. AFC Asian Cup 2023 Japan continued their dominance, winning for a record 5th time. Philippines made the knockout stages in only their 2nd appearance in the competition. & Indonesia were the surprise package, reaching the Quarter Finals after making it past the Group Stage for the first time in 14 attempts.

Off-Season 2023 Our U18's finished dead last in their league too. I'll be trying to fill out their squad for next season too. Transfers Out I managed to shift a couple of players that were earning more than me. There are still 6 players that we are offering out though. I'd much prefer not to pay the wages of these players that will be rotting in the reserves if they don't move on. Transfers In I've not managed to get in as many strong replacements as I had hoped. I've brought in a few loanees and tried to flesh out with some backups in our weaker positions. Our backup goalie might not make the registration places, but he's a decent GK coach so he'll definitely play a role at the club. Finances We've been slowly losing money so reducing our wages by releasing the dead wood in the reserves is doubly important. Youth Development - we have produced twice as many top level players as the next club.