binny

I’m still trying to work it out to be honest with you.

I had been having a wonderful holiday in Indonesia and Malaysia, and as I started to think about getting back to London, and perhaps getting myself a job, I ended up watching a game of footy in Kuala Lumpur.

The next few days were a bit surreal, and the next thing I knew, I was appointed manager of the Kuala Lumpur football club. To say my knowledge of Malaysian football is poor would be a compliment. I do recall Gary Lineker scoring four goals against them sometime in the early 1990s, but other than that I couldn’t tell you a thing.

I spent my first few days getting to know the structure of the Malaysian leagues, and took a look at some of the players at my disposal. To say they were bad would be kind, and I started to regret getting myself into this mess. I’m going to have to improve the squad if we’re going to do anything on the field this season.

The ground (known as Bolasepak Kuala Lumpur in the town of Cheras) can, reputedly, hold up to 18000 people, although there is seating for only 3000 people. Somehow, I can’t see us even getting close to that sort of figure this or any other season. The club is supposed to be a professional outfit, and to the extent that the players don’t have any other job, that is true. But, the training facilities leave a lot to be desired, a very lot. The training ground is literally a piece of greenery in the middle of an industrial estate, but I don’t have much choice; at least not in the short term.

According to the chairman of the club, Adnan Tengku Mansor, the club will compete in the Premier League this season. I got excited at first, but he then explained to me that the top division in Malaysia is known as the Super League. The second tier is the Premier League, and there are two parallel groups, and we’ll be playing in group B. There are only 9 teams in the division, and we’ll play each of the other sides three times each over the season. Should we finish bottom of the pile we’ll be relegated, but if we finish top we’ll face a playoff with the group A winners to get into the Super League.

Right, that’s enough of an introduction – time to get to work on the training field and the transfer market.

Technical stuff: FM2005, version 5.0.2. Leagues running: Malaysia and Indonesia (all leagues)

bartley_m

Good luck with this :thup:

binny

Thanks bartley_m, I think I'm going to need it


The last two months or so have been a bit hectic, as I’ve completely rehashed the squad in a bid to bring some quality. It seems that players don’t view there to be such a great gap between the Super and Premier Leagues, and that has allowed me to plunder a few Super League rejects. I was also grateful to get rid of a number of the players whom I felt would just not cut it at the club, even at this club.

The outwards transfers have also helped me to balance the books a little as money isn’t great here, but at least I do have a little in the transfer kitty available to me. I didn’t really know very much about the players I was getting rid of (except that they were pretty poor), so here is a quick summary (all finances are in £s – I still work in my native currency).

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Date Person To Fee 3.12.2004 Alang Endut, Mohd Faizal Sabah £0 4.12.2004 Mohd Yusoff, Mohd Ivan Pahang £3K 21.12.2004 Sali, Mohd Safee Johor £3K 22.12.2004 Othman, Hishamuddin Sarawak £0 24.12.2004 Saravanan, Subramaniam N. Sembilan £0 4.1.2005 Abdul Malek, Azwan Melaka Telekom £0 4.1.2005 Shariful Hisham Perlis £2K 6.1.2005 Lai Weng Hun Sabah £1K 27.1.2005 Zakri, M. Z. Affendi Selangor MPPJ £2K 29.1.2005 Yunus, Norzul Azuan Perlis £1K 1.2.2005 Sudar, Saiful Amar Melaka Telekom £0 </pre>

The restriction on foreigners in Malaysia is that the squad can only have a maximum of four foreigners in the squad; three of whom could be named in any match day squad. And with there already being three Brazilians at the club when I arrived, I was limited mostly to looking at the domestic front for some new and fresh faces.

We played a handful of pre-season friendlies, but with players coming in at regular intervals, there wasn’t a settled feel to these games. If anything, they served the purpose of building up match fitness amongst the players who happened to be around at the time. Most of my information was gleaned from watching and taking training, as well as speaking to my backroom staff. Incidentally, they are as follows:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Job Name Nat Chairman Adnan Tengku Mansor MAS Gen Mgr Mohd Hilmi Ismail MAS Asst Mgr Shamsuddin Ismail MAS Coach Harum Osman MAS Physio Khidir Abdul Al Karim Alfadi Ali MAS Scout Rob Campkin ENG Scout Mohd Nizam Abdul Hamid MAS</pre>
So, with the season on the verge of commencing, here is a run down of the first team squad that I have built around me (Malaysian unless otherwise stated):

GOALKEEPERS

Muniandy Chandran – a decent goalkeeper who I found at the club when I arrived. He looks like he’s up to the job at this level, and I’m confident that he will do a good job for us this season.

Razi Effendi Suhit – Razi was also here when I got here, and it’s the only position that I haven’t changed. He’s not of the same quality as Chandran, but I feel that he is a decent enough backup. I may have to revise that if I ever have to use him though.

DEFENDERS

Nazrulerwan Makmor – a £1k signing from Sabah, and he’s also an international. That though isn’t saying too much. He looks like a strong defender, and should be an important player for us this season.

Abdul Ghani Malik – Abdul came on a free transfer from Pahang, and he will also walk straight into the starting line-up.

Rafael Rodrigues (Brazilian) – The youngster still has a lot to learn, but he has a lot of potential. He’s going to be sitting on the bench for the start of the season, but depending on injuries and suspensions he’ll get his chance to shine and show exactly what he can do in the heat of the moment.

Cheah Kean Seng – The left back was one of the decent players at the club when I first arrived. But a horrific injury during a friendly will see him on the surgeon’s table and then in recuperation, and he’s unlikely to see much action this season unfortunately.

Azralan Amzi – He’ll be filling in at left back for the moment as I try to find another player to cover this position. He should though be able to do a decent enough job.

Subri Sulong – Subri has only just joined the club for £2k from Pahang, but such is his quality that he’ll be claiming the right back spot immediately.

Shanmuganathan Nanthakumar – Another signing from Penang, this time for £1k, he’s got a decent right foot on him, and he will be challenging for the right back spot. He’s got to work hard though to displace Sulong.

MIDFIELDERS

Luis Rodrigo (Brazilian) – Another of the Samba contingent at the club, and he’ll probably be a regular in the side this season. He can break up the opposition possession, but he can also get attacks going, and he will be an important cog in our midfield this season.

Nordin Kamis – A £1k signing from Penang offers us a decent defensive option in midfield. He’s not so keen on getting forward, but he could play an important role against some of the teams who present a real threat going forward.

Gopalan Muthu – A free transfer from Melaka Telekom, Gopalan knows how to get forward and create goals. He’s going to play an important role for us this season provided that he can keep himself free of injury.

Rufin Oba (DR Congo) – I paid a major fee of £8,000 for Rufin from Brunei (the Malaysian club side – not the nation [think Monaco with a national side]), and it’s clear to see why. He can play up front, but I currently see him as an attacking midfielder, creating problems for defences from deep. He’s also got a very good set piece on him, and he’s going to be one of the first names on the team sheet every time.

Krishnan Kumaran – He’s a decent player, but with so many better players ahead of him in central midfield, he’s going to struggle to get much playing time.

Ng Kok Heng – A left-winger who has also just joined the club (£1k from Penang), he’ll come into the side straight away and is going to be first choice for the foreseeable future.

Rizal Sukiman – A free transfer from Johor FC, Rizal is a decent left-winger as well, and will fill in adequately when Heng is not available.

Rashid Mamud – Came in for £1k from Selangor PB, and will hold down the right wing role. He’s probably the weakest link in the first team, but I’ve struggled to find anyone else.

Mohd Fazil Abdul Rahaman – The youngster has come in for £1k from Perak TKN, and although he’s still very young and inexperienced, he certainly has the potential to make the right wing spot his own.

STRIKERS

Marcelo Padilha da Rocha (Brazilian) – Probably our most potent striker, but he had a bit of a disappointing start to preseason. He looked a lot sharper later on, and I’m going to stick with him for the start of the season.

Eddy Helmi Abdul Manan – The other international at the club came in for £1k from Johor FC, and he’s got a good eye for goal. My assistant is a bit sceptical as to whether or not he should be starting, but I think I’m going to go with him, at least for the start of the season.

Zaykiel Leong – Came in for £2k from Sabah, and he’s primarily a striker. He’ll start his career at the club on the bench, but he can certainly push for a starting spot if he keeps his head up. He can also play on the right, and that might be very useful as the season goes on.

R. Sunder Selver – He’s going to be fourth choice striker at the club, and he can’t really complain about it. But with seven substitutes allowed in league games, he can be almost certain of a place on the bench.

binny

The season kicked off with a home tie against Selangor MPPJ, who had actually won group B last season. I didn’t really know that to expect, and I just hoped that we would produce a decent performance. I knew that we had the players; it was just a case of how quickly they could gel together. We were without the suspended duo of Oba and Luis Rodrigues who had both been sent off during the preseason.

It was a disappointing crowd for my first game in charge; less than 500 people bothered to turn up. We didn’t help ourselves either as we struggled to get into any sort of stride, and after surviving a few scares at the back, we were broken and fell behind. Two minutes later though Padilha da Rocha equalised, and we were level at the break.

Fifteen minutes into the second half Muthu had us ahead, and seven minutes later Rashid Mamud scored a lovely strike to put us in control. Sukiman came off the bench to score a fourth, and although we conceded in the final minutes, it was no more than a consolation for Selangor.

I had been trying to get another left back for cover in that position, and although the deal for Bahtiar Othman had been completed before the kick-off against Selangor MPPJ, his £1k move from Johor FC didn’t go through until the evening.

binny

Three days later we had another game, and the midweek fixture brought out the fans as just under 3000 turned up to see us play Kelantan. Again we started slowly, and allowed the visitors to come onto us, but Chandran did fantastically well in goal to keep the ball out of our net. We were helped when Kelantan’s Thai midfielder was sent off, but although we could get forward a bit more, we just couldn’t get near the target.

The official stats at the end of the match said that we managed just one effort on target in the entire ninety minutes, and that was despite playing against ten men for most of the game. And just to underline how poorly we played, Chandran, our goalkeeper, was given the Man of the Match award as we ended goalless.

OMDave

This should be interesting, as the less-travelled paths have a charm all of their own. Look forward to more :thup:

binny

Thanks OMDave - I seem to be getting a reputation for the "new league" story person. Wonder why?


My first game on the road took us to Johor, and with this being the third game inside the first week of the season, a few of our players were looking a little jaded. Still, we had a decent team out on the field, although for the third consecutive game we started poorly.

Johor were kept out by Chandran more than a few times before their Aussie striker Daniel Watkins managed to get a header into the net to give the home side the lead. That sparked us into action, and we started to pummel the Johor goal. We missed a few good chances to get an equaliser, but just before the break we did finally get it as Malik powered home a header from a corner.

The second half was a poor affair, and we weren’t helped when Luis Rodrigo was sent off for a second booking, awarded for needless dissent. We actually looked dangerous on the break after that, but we couldn’t score. Neither could Johor though, and we were quite happy to take home a point.

binny

The final game of the month was away at Terrengganu, the first of four games against them inside the next few weeks. It wasn’t a great game as both sets of strikers struggled against the defences, and yet again we had our goalkeeper to thank for keeping the opposition out.

Late in the second half though he conceded a penalty, but then redeemed himself by saving from Azmi Che Ngah. Three minutes later the home side headed home what turned out to be a winner, and I had suffered my first loss as a professional manager.

binny

SUMMARY – February 2005

Kuala Lumpur 4 (Marcelo Padilha da Rocha 41, Gopalan Muthu 60, Rashid Mamud 67, Rizal Sukiman 72)
Selangor MPPJ 2 (Faizal Zainal 39, Juan Manuel Aróstegui 90)
Attendance: 474

Kuala Lumpur 0
Kelanta 0 (Tongchai Ackarapang s/o 24)
Attendance: 2966

Johor 1 (Daniel Watkins 20)
Kuala Lumpur 1 (Abdul Ghani Malik 45, Luis Rodrigo s/o 68)
Attendance: 3702

Terrengganu 1 (Mohd Abu Hassan 77, Azmi Che Ngah m/pen 74)
Kuala Lumpur 0
Attendance: 4764

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts1st Selangor MPPJ 4 2 1 1 8 6 +2 72nd N. Sembilan 4 2 1 1 3 1 +2 73rd Terengganu 4 1 3 0 2 1 +1 64th Kelantan 3 1 2 0 4 2 +2 55th Kuala Lumpur 4 1 2 1 5 4 +1 56th Johor 4 1 1 2 4 5 -1 47th Selangor MK Land 3 0 2 1 3 4 -1 28th Melaka 3 0 2 1 3 6 -3 29th Kelantan SKMK 3 0 2 1 3 6 -3 2 </pre>

binny

We needed to get back to winning ways as March entered, and we had a home tie against Selangor MK Land to try and do it. Yet again we started poorly, and with nineteen minutes gone St. Vincent striker Marlon James fired in past Chandran. But just as it has done in previous matches, falling behind sparked us into action.

We took our time getting back into the game, and we really laboured our efforts. On the hour though Marcelo Padilha da Rocha headed in an equaliser, and although the game seemed destined for a draw, Eddy Helmi Abdul Manan hit his first goal for the club to win the game for us with five minutes to go.

It was by no means pretty, but it was a decent enough performance and we got the points. At the end of the day, that’s all you can ask for from your players.