Now, the Start.

So... the verdict is out.

We're in Div 11 for the coming season and we will be facing 6 other teams (4 Chinese-based and 2 Malay-based). There is a good mix of students, NSF and people in their late 20s. This means that we will face opponents who will be fit and hungry. Basically, these teams are also 'new' to ESPZEN and hence we will not know much about their style and history too. For now, I will not delve deep into our opponents yet because my belief is that we should focus on ourselves first.

I guess people will question why are we in div 11 when we thrashed the div 10 champs(for your info, they will be in div 8 for the coming season) and were in div 4 back in 2008? Well, my answer to this will be based on the statistics provided by ESPZEN.

The verdict is that we are not as good as what we think of ourselves to be.

Based on 2 seasons and a cup game (Champions Cup 2008), we have the following:

They do not show much except we have a positive goal difference which goes to show that we're quite an attacking team.

Next:

What this shows is that we tend to score more goals in the first half than the second half. Although 24.53% of our goals were scored in the last quarter of the game, it is pertinent to note that it did not matter much. Why?

This is the reason. We conceded most goals during the last quarter. In fact, overall we conceded about 53% of our goals in the second half! This is quite a worrying trend that had stopped us from winning games.

This is also what I have observed in our last game at Tampines Secondary. We were strolling just after the hour mark and our opponents fought back with two goals. Maybe we can blame it on tiredness or a lapse in concentration but statistically, albeit it was two years ago, it is evident that something must be done to address this enduring issue.

I do not see this as a defensive problem because we have incredible players in that department. What I see is that we are not working as a team to prevent the opponents from coming back into the game. For instance, there were complaints of a huge gap between the midfield and defense which our last opponents exploited to great effect.

Here, we need people to take up the responsibility to lead the team both on and off the pitch. Sometimes, some decisions might not be to your liking but please let go of your personal ego and think of the team and the bigger picture. We will make unpopular decisions with regards to substitutions or change some players and formations that will change the dynamics of the game.

Noh Mihi Solum. This is the unspoken motto for our team and I hope everyone will fight for one another in the games because everything is, "not for myself alone." We all contribute in one way or another so make the most out of it by helping the team to win the games.

Finally, take this season as a gauge of our standards before we argue for a higher division in ESPZEN. I believe that we have the potential to be the best team in ESPZEN but the statistics and results have shown otherwise. Although some might argue those statistics are not accurate because it only shows 2 out of the 6 seasons that we have played since our inception. However, we have not really played well in the other seasons too. Furthermore, those were against "weaker" opponents. Let's do ourselves some justice in this and the coming seasons okay?

I look forward to this exciting journey with you lads.

P.S: Peng was also our top scorers in those 2 seasons. Taupok anyone?

P.P.S: So far, we got 2 red cards in ESPZEN. Guess who got em' ? Hint: One potato and Curry.