Can we sing one single song, dance to the same beat and strike a common chord…?

•June 19, 2011 • 1 Comment

Last night, we had conducted a simple exercise to illustrate the diversification in our taste for music. It looks simple, however, the underlying point is that our taste differs, some like jazz fusion, some prefer rock, other Hindustan and dikir barat for a few. Whilst our taste in music widely differs, our common ground is our undying support for the Red Warriors. One common thing that bring us together is the banner of The Red Warrior,

This bring me to the issue in hand. Can we have a common voice in supporting our team? 2 or 3 common songs that can unite 20,000 or even more die hard warriors into one formidable force, the 12th player, song or chant that can put fear into the heart of our opponents and able of raising the roof of any stadium. A united front that able to match the region’s best and Europe’s finest, turning SSM4 into a formidable fortress.

There are so many fine songs to choose from. After all, we Kelantanese are one creative lot. To me, the simpler the song the better, the one without the need to memories complicated chants and long lines after lines kind of song. While we are at it, can someone ban the air horn as well. The sound of air horn, which resemble a sick elephant more than anything else, bring nothing of value but noise pollution.

Someone need to step forward and take the initiative. KAFA through their support groups must do it… the sooner the better..

 

GOMO KELATE GOMO

Come On You Warriors… The Red Warriors: The Pride of East Coast..!

•June 13, 2011 • Leave a Comment

I don’t know what to say, really. Less than 24 hours to our biggest match of the season. All comes down to tomorrow, and either, we heal as a team, or we’re gonna crumble. Inch by inch, minute by minute…until we’re finished. We’re in a hole hell right now, gentlemen. We can stay here, get the **** kicked out of us, or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb out of this hole… one inch at a time.

Life’s is a game of inches, so is football. Because in either i.e. life or football – the margin for error is so small. I mean, one half a step too late or too early and you don’t quite make it. One half second too slow, too fast and you don’t quite connect it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. They’re in every pass of the match, every minute, every second.

We need to fight for that inch. We need to tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch. Because we know when add up all those inches, that’s gonna make the ****ing difference between winning and losing! Between living and dying!

In any fight it’s the guy whose willing to give their best whose going to win that inch. And I know, if I’m going on living it’s because I’m still willing to fight and give everything for that inch, because that’s what living is, the six inches in front of your face. You’ve got to look at the guy next to you, look into his eyes. Now I think you going to see a guy who will go that inch with you. You are going to see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team, because he knows when it comes down to it your going do the same for him. That’s a team, gentlemen, and either, we heal, now, as a team, or we will die as individuals. That’s football guys, that’s all it is. Now, what are you going to do? I know what I would do… I will run through the brickwall for the team… The Red Warriors.. the One and Only.. The Pride of the East Coast…!

GOMO KELATE GOMO…

Winning.. The Red Warriors Way…

•June 11, 2011 • Leave a Comment

Sometimes it is easy to rest on your laurels, especially if you are at the top. No sir, not for Tan Sri Annuar Musa. I was lucky to get a seat for the Seminar held at Bluewave Hotel last night; to have a first hand information on what the future holds for The Red Warriors. For the me, the loud and clear message delivered by the President of KAFA: The future looks bright and its Red and White.

Can any of the two above be our new home?: Stadium Sultan Sultan Muhammad V: The Pride of East Coast. 

There is a plan to construct a 35,000 seaters stadium. Mind you, the stadium will be based on European style with no running tracks. The new stadium will be the 1st in Malaysia that boast such feature. There you go folks. A brand new stadium complete training facilities near Kota Bharu. There will be no further need to rent padang KADA anymore. After all, top class team deserved 1st class training facilities. International standard pitch, not sub-standard cow grazing feed lot.

In addition, there are plans afoot to send some of the local coaches for some training stints with Cardiff City and bringing over their coaches. TASM is well aware of the need for continuation of the development at the grassroots level.

To further develop the local coaches, TSAM is planning to translate some literatures of football trainings and development programs. I do hope that TSAM engage someone with passion to undertake such task. This is necessary to prevent the translation of the manuals and training program from turning into academic manuals that can bore any enthusiastic coach to sleep.

The senior team needs to be supported by talents from younger generations. Can ARMY be the new La Masia… only time will tell? However, judging from the passionate speech put forward by the KAFA President, the chances for the program to succeed is high.

Education is not limited to football. The graduates from ARMY and other age groups under the wings of KAFA, should not only grow up as a footballer and also as a better person.  Integrity must be upheld at all cost. Corruption, which is a cancer to our football should be avoided like a plague.

At the end of the day can we have a more sporting team, committing fewer fouls and being less aggressive? To win by playing very well, more creative than the opposition, with attacking football, winning the heart the fans and foes beautifully… winning the Red Warriors’ Way. Without any doubt, the answer is a resounding YES..! GOMO KELATE GOMO….Tan Sri Annuar’s Red and White Army…!

 

 

 

What did the top BPL Managers say about Kelantan The Red Warriors…

•June 9, 2011 • 3 Comments

There you go… interviews conducted by icansmellabullshitwheniseeone.com.

As you all know, we are looking into signing 3 major players to help us into pushing for that elusive Champions League next season. Out of some many players that we have scouted, there is this bloke who really caught my eyes. Your no 9, Mat Yo eh..? Yes, he’s the one. I think he can play alone upfront, good eyes for goals, fancy footwork and boy… can he dribble. Ahh… forget about what ever the other coach said about him. Irfan who..? He cant see a talent even if one dropped on his forehead like a sack of uncooked kerepok gete. Mat Yo will replace 3meterpeter or better known as Peter Crouch, the useless git who is so tall that we need a ladder just to talk to him. Further, I think Mat Yo can be a good friend to Van Der Vart, afterall both have good taste in women (both have good looking wive).

Mat Chah.. is that the name of your keeper? I normally signed unknown French blokes. However, I can say that I am the best in spotting new talent. I think he only make 3 saves but those were top class. Maybe, the Terengganung… did I pronounced it correctly, pardon my French, ok let me said it again, maybe the kerpok lekor’s team did not bring their shooting boots, but who cares. Mat Chah kept a clean sheet and far more better than what I have in Almunia the butterfingers and Lukasz Flapbianski.

Charlie Adams is leaving us in the summer and I cant see no other to replace him but your captain Piya, nimble feet and loads and loads of drives. He’s good in taking corners and freekick as well, isn’t he. Well Blackpool is not as glamorous as Manchester or London, where Mat Yo is heading, but I think Piya can play his role here. If Piya misses Pantai Cahaya Bulan, he can easily go to the seaside and pretend that he is back home in Kelantan.

Paul Scholes, a superb player has retired. I tried to entice Modric from Spurs, but they wont sell him. Paul spent his entire 17 years career in United 1st team. To replace the 36 years old boot is one huge task. My other target is Wesley Sneidjer, however, the expected asking price of GBP35m gave the owner nightmares and Inter Milan can match United’s ambition and stature as title contender. The cheaper alternative would be your no 8, Shakir. Good long shots and tough tackling midfielder. He can take Paul’s place anytime.

The best of all comments came from Daniel Levi, the Chairman of Spurs. I like the way Tan Sri Annuar runs KAFA, the way he form the team, the character building, the financial aspect. We at Spurs is rated top 10 riches club in the world despite the fact that we are not in the Champions League year in year out. With Tan Sri Annuar at the helm, I can see that KAFA can achieve an independent financial status, unlike the neighboring team, which relies on handouts from the government. KAFA will reap the benefits of Tan Sri’s vision and long term planing. I wish him all the best and hope he stays as President for at least 10 years, so that all the development programs can go smoothly… and maybe he can take my place when I retired.

Not to be outdone by his English counterparts, Pep Guardiola has the following to say… The ARMY set up is similar to the Barca’s La Masia. Do you know that La Masia in translated English is the farmhouse… anyway …The youth academy of Barcelona holds more than 300 young players, and has been praised since 2002 as one of the best in the world, being a significant factor in FC Barcelona’s European success as well as the Spanish national team’s success at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In 2010, la Masia achieved a record breaking honor becoming the first youth academy to have all three finalists for the Ballon d’Or in one same year, with Andrés Iniesta,Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernández. I hope ARMY will be as successful as La Masia and produce top class players for both Kelantan and Malaysia.

Bapa Pembangunan Bola Sepak Modern Kelantan

•June 4, 2011 • Leave a Comment

If there is such award, no other person truly deserved it more than TSAM. A great leader; charasmatic, great vision and well planned development program.  Under his guidance, Kelantan ended the painful 89 years of waiting, by winning the Malaysia Cup in 2010. Roping in corporate sponsors such as Al-Hamra Group, Yusmira Trading, Sinar Harian, TRW Station, AL-JABBAR and Happy Prepaid Company, reduce KAFA’s reliance on grants and handout from FAM.

Setting up the ARMY academy shows the great vision of TSAM, development at grassroots level is paramount for future successes.

Now, Kelantan is chasing a unique historical milestone of wining 5 cups in a season. I wish you and the Team, all the best Tan Sri. You, the Team and the FANS deserve it. Insha’Allah, the trophy cabinet will be full this year.

GOMO KELATE GOMO

A new stadium…. The pride of East Coast…or… a liability in waiting…

•June 4, 2011 • Leave a Comment

I estimated that the new stadium would cost around RM250-RM300m, taking into consideration of Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium (SMZ), the most recently built stadium in Malaysia.

The main issue is the construction cost. The State Government proposed that the stadium to be built on BOT concept i.e. build, operate and transfer. The details of this project are a bit sketchy at the moment.

SMZ, which cost around RM270m, took 2 years to be completed. However, it was funded by State/Federal Government. The new stadium will be privately funded. Whoever funds the construction will not get their money upon completion as the State Government, in my opinion does not have that kind of fund in their kitty. So the most viable income to repay the cost will come from the stadium itself.

Unlike other States, where the usage of the stadium is not restricted i.e. you can hold a concert, rally and whatever have you as long as you pay the rental, in my opinion, the new stadium will be limited mostly to football.

For simplicity sake, I excluded any interest payment from my assumption below:

Cost:      RM300m, to be amortised over a period of 10 years i.e. RM2.5m per month.

Maintenance cost: 1% of RM300m per year: RM250k per month.

Hence, the total cost per month is RM2.75m or RM33m per year.

Capacity: 50,000

Income expected: RM10 x 50,000 i.e. RM500,000 per game. 13 Super League per season: RM6.5m.

Based on my simple calculation above, there is a huge disparity between the expected income and cost to defray for each year. So what is the sweetener for the deal? It is open for speculation. The current stadium i.e. a prime land in KB to be leased out and developed?

I am all in for the development and improvement of my homeland as long as the interest of the natives is protected.

If the cost is too high, can we consider increasing the capacity of the current stadium as an alternative? RM300m is a huge investment, which can be channel led to other areas i.e. education, infrastructure etc etc, after all we are not the richest state in Malaysia.

GOMO KELATE GOMO

Prediction and expectation for the last 3 games. The Crown is for Terengganu to lose!

•May 29, 2011 • 1 Comment

Last 3 matches are crucial in deciding the Champion of Super League for 2011. Whilst Kelantan is sitting pretty at the top of the League, focus must be placed on Terengganu and Selangor, which in my opinion have an easier run in games. Both Terengganu and Selangor have 2 of their remaining fixtures to be played at home, whilst Kelantan only one.

Current standing:

Team Matches played Points Goal s Scored  Goal Conceded Goal Difference
Kelantan 23 47 46 20 26
Terengganu 23 47 45 19 26
Selangor 23 45 33 22 11

The next 3 matches for the respective teams and my predictions are as follows:

Selangor

Perlis (Home)

Head to Head

Tue 01/02/11 Super

Perlis

0 – 2 Selangor
Sat 09/10/10 M Cup

Perlis

0 – 2 Selangor
Mon 20/09/10 M Cup

Selangor

1 – 0 Perlis
Sat 29/05/10 Super

Selangor

2 – 0 Perlis
Sat 30/01/10 Super

Perlis

1 – 1 Selangor
Sat 27/06/09 Super

Perlis

0 – 0 Selangor
Sat 18/04/09 FA

Selangor

2 – 1 Perlis
Tue 07/04/09 FA

Perlis

1 – 1 Selangor
Tue 10/02/09 Super

Selangor

2 – 1 Perlis
Sun 30/03/08 Super

Perlis

0 – 2 Selangor

My prediction:

Perlis have lost 5 of their last matches, conceding 51 goals to date, whilst I am praying for a miracle; it is hard to see a good team like Selangor to lose to the whipping boys of the season. Selangor to win.

Felda United (Home)

Head to head

Tue 12/04/11 Super

Felda United

0 – 1 Selangor
Wed 06/10/10 M Cup

Selangor

4 – 1 Felda United
Fri 17/09/10 M Cup

Felda United

1 – 4 Selangor

My prediction:

Felda United is a bit unpredictable. On their days, they have taken the scalps of T-Teams, KL and Harimau Muda A. However, they are also known of shipping loads of goals, 0-6 to Kelantan, the biggest loss to date. Selangor to win.

Perak (Away)

Head to head

Sat 16/04/11 Super

Selangor

1 – 0 Perak
Tue 06/07/10 Super

Perak

1 – 0 Selangor
Fri 16/04/10 Super

Selangor

4 – 1 Perak
Tue 16/06/09 Super

Perak

0 – 1 Selangor
Sat 07/03/09 FA

Selangor

2 – 0 Perak
Tue 03/03/09 FA

Perak

1 – 2 Selangor
Tue 06/01/09 Super

Selangor

3 – 1 Perak
Thu 27/03/08 FA

Selangor

2 – 1 Perak
Fri 21/03/08 FA

Perak

4 – 4 Selangor
Tue 12/02/08 Super

Perak

1 – 4 Selangor

My prediction:

For 2011, Perak’s home record is quite impressive, with 7 wins, 4 draws and only a single lost. The only team to beat Perak was Terengganu with 3 goals margin. The average home goals scored by Perak are 1.75 as compared to Selangor of average away goals of 1.42. Perak to nick all 3 points.

Terengganu

Kelantan (Home)

Head to head

Tue 01/02/11 Super

Kelantan

1 – 1 Terengganu
Sat 15/05/10 Super

Kelantan

3 – 0 Terengganu
Sat 09/01/10 Super

Terengganu

0 – 0 Kelantan
Tue 30/06/09 Super

Terengganu

2 – 0 Kelantan
Sat 14/02/09 Super

Kelantan

3 – 2 Terengganu
Sat 12/07/08 M Cup

Kelantan

0 – 1 Terengganu
Fri 27/06/08 M Cup

Terengganu

1 – 2 Kelantan
Sat 05/05/07 M Cup

Terengganu

1 – 2 Kelantan
Sat 03/03/07 M Cup

Kelantan

0 – 2 Terengganu
Tue 09/05/06 Premier

Terengganu

2 – 2 Kelantan

My prediction:

Not much to choose between the two. However, the last time Kelantan won on the enemy’s soil was in 2009. It will take the best effort from the visitors and tactical nous from Dato K to beat the in-form home team.  Subsidies and other sweeteners from the Terengganu State Government can be crucial. It sadden me to put this down, Terengganu to nick the 3 points.

T-Team (Home)

Head to head

Tue 12/04/11 Super

PBDKT T-Team

0 – 1 Terengganu
Tue 25/05/10 Super

Terengganu

1 – 0 PBDKT T-Team
Sat 20/03/10 FA

Terengganu

4 – 1 PBDKT T-Team
Tue 09/03/10 FA

PBDKT T-Team

3 – 1 Terengganu
Tue 19/01/10 Super

PBDKT T-Team

1 – 1 Terengganu

This should be a formality. T Team to roll over and play dead to pave a way for the big brother to the throne of Malaysian football. Expects a basketball score here. A deadly and crucial blow to both Kelantan and Selangor.

Felda United (Away)

Head to head

Fri 15/04/11 Super

Terengganu

1 – 0 Felda United
Tue 22/04/08 FA

Felda United

1 – 1 Terengganu
Tue 08/04/08 FA

Terengganu

3 – 1 Felda United

 

The record will not favour Felda, by this time, I expect Felda to fold in and suffer another trashing akin to 6-0 loss to Kelantan. Terengganu to win.

Kelantan

Terengganu (Away)

See above

Perak (Home)

Head to head

Tue 12/04/11 Super

Perak

4 – 0 Kelantan
Tue 01/06/10 Super

Kelantan

2 – 0 Perak
Tue 26/01/10 Super

Perak

0 – 0 Kelantan
Sat 27/06/09 Super

Kelantan

4 – 0 Perak
Tue 10/02/09 Super

Perak

2 – 3 Kelantan

Perak’s chances to overtake Selangor is slim. Hence, I expect them to play for their pride more than anything else. On the other hand, Kelantan will play their heart out to evange their largest defeat of the season.  A close match with KJ to score the winning goal. Kelantan to win.

Sabah (Away)

Head to head

Sat 16/04/11 Super

Kelantan

0 – 0 Sabah
Fri 11/04/08 Premier

Sabah

1 – 2 Kelantan
Fri 11/01/08 Premier

Kelantan

2 – 1 Sabah
Fri 18/05/07 Premier

Kelantan

1 – 1 Sabah
Fri 19/01/07 Premier

Sabah

1 – 1 Kelantan

This match can be crucial for Sabah as they are sitting on a tight rope, one above relegation places,  on goal difference. Expect them to continue to play fast attacking football.  However, I expect the firepower of Matyo and the gang to be too hot to handle for them. Kelantan to win.

Conclusion

There you go; Terengganu will amass 56 points, Selangor 51 points and Kelantan 53. Terengganu with an easier run in games is expected to be crowned as the Champion and the crown is for them to lose.  However, I pray that the burden of expectation would crush Terengganu to the ground and InsyaAllah Kelantan will prevail and the Cup is ours.

The end of the beginning or the beginning of the end…?

•November 4, 2010 • 4 Comments

Where do we go from here..?  The end of the beginning or the beginning of the end. The Malaysia cup started as the Malaya cup, way back in 1933. Since then, Selangor has won the cup for a record of 32 occasions, Singapore 24 times and Perak 7. Kelantan The Red Warriors shares the honours with Terengganu, Brunei, MPPJ of winning the cup on a single occassion. In addition, we also hold the dubious honours of waiting for eighty-nine years before winning the cup… the longest since the cup’s inception.

I am quite worried with the news that Tan Sri is letting go his position. Having leading Kelantan into back to back final, I think it is timely for him to set another target. To me, winning the cup is only the beginning for us. Retaining it; must be the next agenda.

Where do we go from here? I challenges Tan Sri to create a legacy, just like the late Dato’ Paduka Ahmad Basri Akil from Kedah. Under his leadership, Kedah FA qualified to the 6 Malaysia Cup final matches in seven years of period from 1987 to 1993; and won 2 Malaysia Cup titles, 1 league andFA Cup title, also winning a cup treble in 2007 and 2008.

Can we beat Singapore?  which managed to qualify for the final continuously from 1921 to 1941. Can we topple Selangor and crash their record of 34 championships. Yes, it’s a far fetch dream. But like the wisdom from Bill Shankly: Aim for the sky and youll reach the ceiling. Aim for the ceiling and youll stay on the floor.

Managing a football club is a great challenge. It requires not only vision but also astute businesslike acumen and Tan Sri have proved it that he has the mantle, what it takes to take us to the top. Stepping down now will set us backwards, instead of forward. Our next aim should be conquering Asia, rubbing our shoulders against the mighty teams from Korea and Japan.

Come on Tan Sri, don’t  leave us in disarray, lead us into glory and create a new legacy; The Red Warriors’ legacy under your guidance and leadership …GOMO KELATE GOMO..

…and justice for all … or no justice at all…

•November 3, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Congratulation to the team for winning the most prestigious cup in Malaysia. No one can take the credit away from the team, from top management to the manager, coaches, assistant coaches down to water and ball boys. Credit must be given to Tan Sri, under his guidance and foresight, the Red Warrior managed to bring the cup to our homeland.  Kudos also to the head coach…. After 2 consecutive final, we are 2nd time lucky. The boys in white and red, befits the tag  Red Warriors, you all brought me tears of joy.

Let’s not forget that FAM only granted a temporary relief on our head coach. The disciplinary board will sit again to consider his appeal.  I have googgled the long list of who’s and who’s of FAM and discovered long list of dato, might be longer than UMNO congregation to  Batu Sapi and Galas constituents.

The main question, how competent are they? Satia was found guilty for speaking about a fixture, for saying it was unfair to allow Terengganu to play their away match against Perlis in Kuala Terengganu in a Super League match. This was in July. According to the disciplinary board, this was considered as an offense for speaking against policy matters as set by FAM.

What constitute policy matters? your guess is as good as mine.I agreed with the comments made by Eric Samuel, one of the top sport journalists, who said in Nadi Arena Astro ‘Kalau kesalahan Sathia seperti dia keluar kawasan teknikal dan pergi pukul pengadil, itu kita boleh terima. Ini tidak menjejaskan apa-apa. FAM perlu lebih rasional dan tidak hanya menggunakan kuasa untuk menghukum begitu sahaja…

The punishment must fits the crime, suspending the coach for six months is way overboard and tantamount to robbing his rice bowl. In comparison, I appended below the punishment meted by English FA on Arsene Wenger, who pushed a referee and Ian Holloway for confronting a referee.

Wenger was slapped with £8,000 fine and a one-match touchline ban after losing his cool and shoving Atkinson, who was the fourth official as the Gunners drew at Sunderland.Holloway has also been fined £9,500 and one match touchline ban for confronting referee Mike Dean following Blackpool’s 2-1 loss at home to Blackburn Rovers on September 25.

The punishment was swift and immediate, not 3 months after. That’s how the professionals done it. It will be beneficial if the disciplinary board can take note that there is no lengthy ban was imposed on both managers and these offences are much worse than the comments made by Sathia.

Make no mistake Tan Sri, this is a direct attack on KAFA. Certain quarters are not happy with the progress made by KAFA, as the powerhouse is now shifted from Selangor/Negeri Sembilan to us. Are we going to let FAM lynch our head coach? I hope not, after all, we are the descendant of Tok Janggut and we shall not take any injustice lying down

GOMO KLATE GOMO