Feelings of excitement and exhilaration reverberated throughout Singapore when the Lions defeated Thailand over 2- legs with a 3-2 aggregate on Feb 4 to win the ASEAN Football Championships.

So now that the Lions can rightfully claim to be the best in the region, the attention shifts towards the league that the entire squad was selected from.

The S-League kicks off on Mar 4 and with its revamp from an 11- to a 12-team format, the league promises to be more competitive and exciting.

This season will also see the debut of 2 new teams, a Chinese one in the form of Liaoning Guangyuan FC and the Korean Super Reds in place of Sporting Afrique FC.

And so with the season just about to kick off, it’s also about time for us at the UrbanWire to provide you with our predictions about how the teams will fare this season.

Tampines Rovers FC
2006 position: 2nd
Our Prediction: 3rd
Affectionately known as “the Dad’s Army” because of the relatively high number of players on the wrong side of 30, the Stags certainly have a team of winners when it comes to experience and skill especially when it comes to veterans such as Nazri Nasir, Rafi Ali and Mirko Grabovac.

But with a schedule that is set to be congested due to regional cup ties (Tampines qualified via their win of the RHB Singapore Cup), the older Stags in particular may find themselves fatigued especially towards the tail end of the season. Even though the Stags had last season’s 2nd best attack with 70 goals, they may be goal-shy if the ASEAN Championship’s Most Valuable Player and top scorer Noh Alam Sham sits out for much of the season due to persistent injuries.

Home United FC
2006 position: 4th
Our Prediction: 2nd
The Protectors have obviously shaped up to be a much better side than they were last season. With Vincent Subramaniam as their head coach, they’ve probably the best man to lead the club since Robert Alberts. And boasting a quintet of National players among their ranks, in the form of Indra Shadan Daud, Shi Jiayi, Sharil Ishak, S. Subramani and Lionel Lewis, certainly means they have all the ammunition needed to mount a good title challenge.

But I believe that much of Home United’s success will be dependant on star striker Indra Shadan Daud who’s finally returning to first-team action following a season out on the sidelines with a ligament injury. Given his absence, the Protectors really struggled for goals last season, managing to score just 49 goals, the lowest strike rate among the teams in the top 6.

SAFFC FC
2006 position: Champions
2007: Champions No surprises here.
Head Coach Richard Bok worked miracles last season when he led the Warriors to the S-League title in stunning fashion, ending the season with a record breaking 22-match unbeaten run.

Boasting the meanest defence and a most devastating frontline, just 36 goals were conceded and 71 goals scored. Many will surely expect to see the Warriors to retain their title this season. Plus with the addition of National player Daniel Bennett from Woodlands Wellington, the Warriors have not only signed a defender with quality and experience but also, a proven dead ball specialist as well.

Woodlands Wellington FC
2006 position: 5th
Our Prediction: 4th
In Jorg Peter Steinebrunner, they have a coach who’s proven to rather excellent following his managerial debut last season which saw him lead the Rams to 5th last season. The Rams also have on their side last season’s top striker, and judging from their 4-0 demotion of Sengkang in the SingTel League Cup, they certainly look good bets as dark horses for this year’s competition. With former bad boy Ahmad Latiff, arguably one of the most talented yet unpredictable players in the league, taking on the captain’s armband this season, the knives are out to see if his leadership will somehow cause the team to implode.

Sengkang Punggol FC
2006 position: 11th
Our Prediction: 12th
I didn’t rate the Dolphins highly last season and nothing’s changed this season. While the team is definitely stronger, especially with new players on their roster like Ross McKenzie and John Angelucci, I believe that the Dolphins will continue to struggle.

And while they proved to be dominant during some periods in the SingTel League Cup final against Woodland’s Wellington, the 4-0 defeat shows that they still have a long way to go before they establish themselves as a team that is capable of challenging for mid-table status.

Geylang United FC
2006 position: 10th
Our Prediction: 5th
The Eagles have hit rock bottom and so the only way is up. The 2001 S-League Champions slumped badly since 2003. From clinching a high of 3rd then, the team has finished 7th, 8th and finally 10th last season, where an extremely leaky defence, despite custodian Hassan Sunny’s best efforts, saw the team conceding a whopping 62 goals!

Head Coach Lim Tong Hai has his hands full having to steer the sleeping giants back to their rightful place. But with National captain Aide Iskandar joining the Eagles from Tampines Rovers to plug the defence, there is renewed confidence that the club’s fortunes will change this season.

The signings of strikers Kim Grant, Fadzuhasny Juraimi and Syed Thaha will also surely bolster what was the worst attack in the league, which scored a miserly 22 goals. The Eagles will most definitely finish above 10th, but I can’t foresee them challenging for a place among the top 4 for another season at least.

Balestier Khalsa FC
2006 position: 7th
Our prediction: 10th
The Tigers started off brightly last season but a drop in form midway through the season saw them slump to 7th. While the Tigers had a decent attack last season with a goal average of 1.7 per game, their porous defence meant that they conceded 61 goals.

This season’s team will probably struggle in the battle for a mid-table position but with midfielder Sueoka Ryuji joining from Geylang United; you can expect more goals to come from midfield this season.

Gombak United FC
2006 position: 8th
Our Prediction: 9th
The Bulls acquitted themselves well last season by finishing 8th following their long leave of absence from the S-league. Though the Bulls’ recent third placing in the SingTel League Cup suggests that they’re a decent side, I still have my doubts about how they will fare come the end of the season.

This young team will be heavily reliant on the experiences of goalkeeper Adi Salleh and also on the defensive pairing of Captain Sevki Sha’ban and vice-captain Precious Emuejeraye. The team will also need to rely heavily on their workman-like midfield, comprising Ishak Zainol and Theerawesin ‘Gum’ Seehawong. But the Bulls have a gem of a striker in Kingsley Njoku, who’s impressed so far in pre-season matches.

Liaoning Guangyuan FC
2006 position:
N/AOur Prediction: 11th
It remains to be seen about how well this satellite team of Chinese Super League Club Liaoning FC will actually adapt to playing in the S-league.

Sinchi FC failed to make the grade and with Liaoning compromising mostly of promising players from Liaoning’s youth team, I would expect them to suffer the same fate as their predecessors and struggle as well.

Korean Super Reds FC
2006 position: N/A
Our Prediction: 7th
I usually shrug my shoulders in disbelief when I hear a ‘new’ team proclaiming that they’ll be challenging for honours right from the get go. Sporting Afrique FC and Sinchi FC are textbook examples of teams that signalled their intentions to do well in the league, but look where they are now? Probably looking up the adage- “Pride comes before a fall”…

So while the Super Reds harbour dreams of finishing well, I highly doubt that they’ve managed to acclimatise to the tropical weather just yet judging by their rather mediocre pre-season displays. Even discounting that, the team which consists of players aged 23 and younger will probably need a longer time to gel and get used to the playing conditions in Singapore. I expect them be playing closer to their full potential only somewhere in July.

Albirex Niigata FC
2006 position: 6th
Our prediction: 6th
Albirex Niigata was the second foreign team to participate in the S-league, serving as a satellite club for their J-league counterparts of the same name. The White Swans have replaced their former head coach Ichiro Otsuka with Hiroaki Hiroaka but I hope to see the Swans retain that attractive brand of football that characterised the previous teams that I’ve come to enjoy.

They’ve also proven to be a model of consistency in terms of performance. Since their debut in 2004, the White Swans have finished no lower than 6th in the league. This probably explains why they’re so successful when it comes to exporting players.

A number of their former players are now successfully playing for other teams in the S-league. Others such as Issey Nakajima have even broken into the European leagues. Issey’s plying his trade in the Danish Superliga with Vejle Boldklub. So even though the Swans are unlikely to be involved again in the title race this season, I’m sure that they’ll be giving the top teams a run for their money.

Young Lions
2006 position: 3rd
Our Prediction: 8th
With V. Sundramoorthy taking over the reins from Fandi Ahmad who’s gone to test his managerial skills abroad as head coach of Indonesia’s Pelita Jaya, a big question mark hangs over whether he can guide the Young Lions to another great finish this season.

The team has also been rocked by the departure of key players such as Shi Jiayi, Qiu Li, Ridhuan Muhammad and Sharil Ishak to other S-league clubs. Thankfully for them, key players from the ASEAN Football Championship winning squad, like Khairul Amri, Fazrul Nawaz and Isa Halim, still remain, so the Young Lions are essentially in a state of rebuilding with new blood coming into the team. All told, it’s hard to see how the Young Lions will be able to maintain a mid-table position, let alone challenge for the title.

All photos are courtesy of the Football Association of Singapore.