National team captain Noh Alam Shah is optimistic about the future of local football.

Ion Danker

Yahoo! Singapore

Love him or hate him, footballer Noh Alam Shah is one player who knows how to grab headlines.

Last week, the 29-year-old Lions striker shocked the local football community by slamming the S-League for its poor refereeing, dismal attendances and lousy management.

His criticisms hit a raw nerve among fans and officials alike, who are split down the middle in their support for one of the S-League’s marquee names (Your Say on Y! Answers).

Capped 72 times and with 32 international goals to his credit, Alam Shah heads to Indonesia today as he embarks on the next chapter in his career after signing a year-long contract with Indonesian Super League Arema Malang.

But before he left, I caught up with the fiery striker near his recently-sold flat in Chua Chu Kang, which he shares with his wife and three kids.

Expecting the worst from the reputed ”bad boy” of Singapore football, I found instead a refreshingly honest and frank player whose passion for the Beautiful Game burns as bright as ever.

In-demand star

I started by asking him about his decision to further his career in Indonesia.

“I bleed every time I go out and play for my team,” admits Alam Shah, who says he’s leaving local football with a heavy heart.

“I’ve had several offers to play in the US, Australia and Vietnam since 2005, but I declined all of them because of my family and the fact that my club needed me,” said the striker, who joined Tampines Rovers in 2003.

“My chairman is the best in Singapore. He is always supporting me in every aspect of my career and he is one of the reasons why I am leaving to play in Indonesia.”

It is this close, father-son relationship with Stags chairman Teo Hock Seng that, ironically, was pivotal in  his decision to move abroad.

Last month, when Teo was found guilty by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) for approaching an assistant referee aggressively in a league match against Singapore Armed Forces FC (SAFFC) — it was an incident which Alam Shah describes as “the final straw”.

“My chairman was furious when I was sent off in that game and he stood up for me by speaking to the assistant referee,” he says. “When they [FAS] banned him after that, I knew this was it. I spoke to my chairman and he fully supported my decision to play abroad.”

He also admits his frustration with the poor refereeing standards in the S-League had led to his increasing disillusionment with local football.

‘Bad boy’?

By his own admission, Alam Shah says he belongs to a “dying breed” of footballers, those who play with their heart on their sleeve, whether for club or country.

His aggressive and take-no-prisoners style has made him one of the region’s most feared marksmen — he once scored seven goals against Laos as Singapore went on to win the 2007 ASEAN Championship. He was eventually named the tournament’s “Most Valuable Player”.

But his physical and muscular approach to the game is also his curse, his double-edged sword.

11 red cards in 12 seasons in the S-League bear testimony to his rugged style.

In 2007, Alam Shah was banned for seven months from all football for assaulting fellow Lion and SAF-FC defender Daniel Bennett on the pitch.

Having undergone an anger management course and having seen a therapist has done nothing to dull his ferocious edge.

But following that incident, Alam Shah feels he was never treated the same by referees. In his own words, he feels he was ”black-listed” by some referees.

“Although it happened quite a while ago, referees have been giving me a hard time because of that incident. I was once booked by a referee in the first minute of play, and he told me that it was to warn me for the rest of the 89 minutes! If you look at the standard of refereeing, it has dropped a lot,” he says.

Alam Shah says his family is one of the reasons behind his rise in football.

Is this deep-seated frustration with referees the cause of his outburst last week?

Better S-League, more fans, good youth development system

Alam Shah, who’s been asked by the FAS to explain his recent remarks, says he would now rather look to the future than the past.

But, one thing’s for sure, he has not given up on Singapore football.

“I think our local league can only get better if it is marketed well to the public,” said Alam Shah, with a glimmer of hope.

“I hope more fans will come and support the league and make it livelier because every footballer wants to play in front of huge crowds. We also need to produce more quality youth players and start thinking of the next generation of footballers. I don’t see it happening now but if we could have a strong academy, then we are on the right track for the future,” he said.

No regrets

Despite recent criticisms of him “biting the hand that feeds”, I quickly realise the two-time S-League champion is no fool and that he is under no illusion as to what football has given him.

“It really feels good being able to play abroad. Football has given me this life. I am a secondary school dropout and I could have been in prison, on the streets or doing odd jobs now. But football has brought me to where I am today and I will not take it for granted,”  says Alam Shah.

After all, it was roughly 12 years ago that a young, starry-eyed Alam Shah made his debut for Sembawang Rangers at the tender age of 17.

“I remember watching Fandi Ahmad play when I was a kid and wanted to be like him. I guess I’m following his career path as Fandi also went to Indonesia to further his career,” he continued.

“When I first signed for Sembawang and got my jersey, I was so excited that I went around my neighbourhood boasting to my friends that I am going to play football in the S-league. Now, after signing for Arema Malang, that same excitement is back.”

As I begin to wrap up my interview, I ask Alam Shah what was his proudest moment as a footballer.

Alam Shah shares his thoughts with Yahoo! Singapore Producer, Ion Danker in an exclusive interview before leaving for Indonesia

He reveals it came just a few weeks back on 26 July, 2009 .

“(Lions coach) Raddy called me in the morning, and said I will be leading the team out against Liverpool,” said Alam Shah.

“I was stunned, I thought he was joking because I supported Liverpool as a kid and being given this opportunity to captain the Lions against Liverpool was a dream come true.”

Despite losing to the Reds 5-0, Alam Shah hopes to skipper the team more regularly but recognises it is not his decision to make.

“It was unfortunate that Indra Shahdan was recovering from injury as he is our regular captain but if I’m given the chance to lead the boys, I will give my all as it is every footballer’s dream to lead his country,” he added.

As I walk away from the almost 2-hour-long interview, I began to appreciate Alam Shah for his honesty and down-to-earth nature — he tells it like it is, straight and simple.

But even more than that, I fear his fiery, passionate style will be greatly missed in the S-League, which will be shorn of another of its leading stars.

I remember, the likes of Fandi Ahmad and V. Sundramoorthy once left our shores years ago for greener pastures.

While much has been done to recruit foreign footballers into Singapore, it now seems like we are heading in the opposite direction; our local talent is moving out. Baihakki Khaizan, Precious Emujeraye and Mustafic Fahrudin are also following in the footsteps of Alam Shah.

Will the S-League ‘hear’ the call for change to improve the standard of football before we lose more local players?

What do you think? Share with us how you feel about the state of our local football league and what you think can be done to improve it.

Will fans pay more to watch from left; Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres, Samir Nasri and Wayne Rooney, play on TV? (AP, AFP Photos)

Ion Danker

Yahoo! Singapore

The English Premier League football season is just hours away from kick-off but fans are already facing a mini ”off-the-pitch” crisis.

I am, of course, talking about the sky-rocketing costs of watching your Rooneys and Gerrards play week in, week out.

This exact debate raged on in coffee-shops all across the island during the off-season – should fans have to pay extra on top of what they are already paying to watch their heroes perform?

You see, from this season onwards, fans will have to fork out even more to watch football’s elite clash in the Champions League on SingTel mio TV. That’s on top of the usual Sports Group package to watch the English Premier League (EPL) on Starhub.

It will cost more for fans to watch EPL and Champions League football on TV (AP Photo).

How much more?

I remember shelling out a monthly subscription of $15 for the Sports Group in 2007 to watch both the EPL and Champions League matches on Starhub.  Soon after, that was increased to $26.75 per month.

Now, with SingTel grabbing a huge slice of the football pie, watching the Champions League on mio TV will cost an additional $15.90 a month. Not to mention the inconvenience of an extra set-top box and more wiring than my living room can handle.

Will Liverpool fans pay more to watch the Reds play on TV?

I find myself wondering when enough is enough.

As a hard-core Liverpool and football addict, I’m dying to see if the likes of Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani, Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard can prevent Man U winning their 19th league title on Starhub. But is it worth an extra $15.90 per month to watch them play in Europe as well? If  so, I’d have to pay a total of $42.65 each month. Or $511.80 over 12 months, at the very least.

With the EPL broadcast rights up for another bidding exercise at the end of the season, who’s to say prices won’t increase even more next season?

And with 2010 being a World Cup year, I’m pretty sure a World Cup “package” is already being planned. And that’s just the EPL and the World Cup. Will it be a matter of time before I have to pay more to watch the Ronaldos and Alonsos play in La Liga? And what about the Serie A?

A good friend of mine, Wesley Lewis, 31, a communications manager,  summed it up aptly: “Football has become a money-generating industry. It’s a business now. Everyone wants to have a piece of the pie, and at the end of the day, it’s the fans who suffer.”

Are fans contributing to the huge transfer fees paid for players like Cristiano Ronaldo? (AP Photo)

So I’ve drawn the line and decided to make a stand.

Despite being a Red through and through, I’ve opted not to take up SingTel mioTV and pay more to watch my team play in the Champions League. It just doesn’t make economical sense. I’ll probably have to catch highlights of the matches on the news or rely on other sources for match updates.

I know many fans have also opted to make a stand by not paying more to watch the Champions League, preferring instead to spend the wee hours of the morning at a friend’s place or  at the nearest pub or coffee shop.

What about you? Tell us how you feel about the rising costs of watching football, and whether you will pay more to watch your team play in the Champions League.

Sir Alex Ferguson delighted with having Michael Owen by his side. Will fans be smiling with additional charges expected for the World Cup next year? (AP photo)

First Kobe. Now Liverpool. It’s been a good week for sports fans in Singapore. And it’s only going to get even better this weekend.

Close to 9,000 raucous fans packed the Indoor Stadium for NBA superstar Kobe Bryant on Tuesday. It’ll be 6 times that many as Liverpool take on the Singapore Lions at the National Stadium on Sunday at 7 pm.

Don’t believe reports the reception for the Reds has been somewhat muted compared with their last visit here in 2001. There was no Steven Gerrard then or now, and he is greatly missed. But as die-hards will proudly proclaim, there’s still Torres, Alonso, Carragher, Reina and Kuyt.

Torres signs an autograph for a lucky fan.

So if you get to meet the players or catch the team in action over the next few days — whether at the various meet-the-players sessions, Saturday’s river cruise, during training or Sunday’s match itself — jot your thoughts down here. Include details like who (and where) you met and your impressions. If you have pictures, include the URL if possible. (For a free photo-sharing service, create a Flickr account here http://www.flickr.com/).

We’re looking forward to some great stories being shared! We’ll kick things off first — check out our pictures below.

Jeffrey Oon
Country Editor, Singapore

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WHERE TO MEET THE PLAYERS

Friday

Autograph sessions at Velocity Novena, Jurong Point, VivoCity and Tampines Courts Megastore, 2 pm to 4 pm

Open training session, National Stadium (for ticket holders only), 7 pm

Saturday

Singapore River Cruise, 1:30 pm (start from Fullerton Hotel to Liang Court)

Sunday

Liverpool v Singapore, 7 pm, National Stadium

Where the team are staying: Mandarin Oriental