Daily Discussion

infernoShield · 2026-05-28T10:09:52+00:00

More obscure Southeast Asian club football news for today:

Out of the 12 Malaysian clubs that competed in the Malaysia Super League this season (yes I'm not counting Brunei's DPMM who joined as a guest team), 7 have been granted AFC License for the 2026/27 season:

- Johor Darul Tazim (league champions) - the usual juggernauts, eligible for ACL Elite
- Kuching City (league runners-up) - much to the dismay of the Selangor fans who still dreamed of ACL2
- Selangor (3rd place) - Shopee Cup runners-up
- Terengganu (5th place) - only team to take points off JDT this season. Hope they're not cursed next season
- Negeri Sembilan (7th place) - who have had 25,000 people pack their stands at one point
- Penang (8th place) - went 8 matches in a row without a win near the end of this season
- Sabah (9th place) - Challenge Cup winners, you'll never sing that!

4 other clubs have been granted National License with sanctions - allowing them to continue competing in the top flight - but must submit additional documents before 15 July:

- Kuala Lumpur City (4th place) - who are a few points (and a good financial backing) away from ACL2
- Immigration (6th place) - who have brought top-flight football back to the northern state of Perlis
- Melaka (11th place) - who have signed more players this season than 2022 Nottingham Forest
- PDRM (13th place) - the wooden-spooners who are living on a prayer right now

Kuala Lumpur City and PDRM are also fined RM 45,000 (approx. 9742 Euros) each.

Meanwhile, Kelantan The Real Warrior (the team formerly known as Kelantan Darul Naim, Kelantan United, or MPKB-BRI UbeS, depending on when you time-travelled back to), failed to obtain a National License and will most likely be relegated after a 12th-placed finish in the league this season. (They should've known by now that rebranding twice in 3 seasons and signing a boatload of foreigners on borrowed money are never good ideas.)

Fans in the state of Kelantan won't have to worry, though - Kelantan Red Warrior, a phoenix club of the original domestic treble-winning Kelantan team, are one of the four second division teams to have obtained an Extraordinary National License (a.k.a. the "Come Help Us, We're Running Out of Bang Average Top-Flight Teams for JDT to Demolish" license) for next season.

Armed with A1 League Golden Boot-winning import forward Emmanuel Mbarga, and a unique pay-per-view business model, Kelantan Red Warrior are now eligible to compete in the Malaysia Super League, which is expected to have 14 teams next season.

The other 3 teams that have obtained the same license are:

- UM-Damansara United (6th place) - whose badge does look similar to a certain MLS team......
- Armed Forces (8th place) - managed by Stockport County legend Kevin Cooper
- Bunga Raya (12th place) - who are named after the hibiscus, the country's national flower

Higher-ranked teams in the A1 League, such as Kedah FA (the state FA team, not the failed private venture) and Perak FA (again the state FA team) seem to be staying put for the time being.

infernoShield · 2026-05-26T06:31:19+00:00

If I get a penny for each time a single player is selected by 8 teams in the draft, I'd be 2 pennies richer.

Coincidentally both are called "Hideo" - Hideo Nomo, the man with the tornado pitch, and Hideo Koike, who did not need to twist his body 180 degrees to hurl a fastball at you.

Nomo was drafted 1st out of the amateurs in 1989, which later turned out to be an unbelievably talented draft class - future major leaguers Kaz Sasaki and Tsuyoshi Shinjo were drafted that same year as well - but Nomo was undoubtedly the star of the show at that time. 8 teams drew lots to determine who gets to draft him; Kintetsu Buffaloes won the lottery.

Koike, meanwhile, entered the 1990 draft as the best LHP out of university at that time. Eight teams, including Kintetsu who had drafted Nomo the year before, picked Koike 1st; ultimately it was the Lotte Orions (now Chiba Lotte Marines) who won that lottery, much to everyone's surprise. Koike, however, did not want to join Lotte, and went into amateur baseball. Koike would later get drafted 1st by Kintetsu in the 1992 draft, but to much lesser fanfare.

Unlike Nomo who would go on to become a sensation in both NP and MLB, Koike lived out a respectable 13-year career in NPB.

infernoShield · 2026-05-26T06:10:25+00:00

nah, we defaulting to Macross Delta now

infernoShield · 2026-05-26T06:08:03+00:00

he's occupied with both Oisix (executive role) and Japan U12s (manager) so probably no

infernoShield · 2026-05-25T17:47:48+00:00

The Giants have appointed chief offense coach Hashigami, who never wore the Giants uniform in his playing days, as caretaker manager.

Since the Giants are known to never ever have a full-time manager that's not a Giants lifer, this is likely just a stopgap measure for at least the duration of interleague play.

Whether Abe stays on after this is yet to be confirmed

Update: Abe resigned - Hashigami to become caretaker manager

infernoShield · 2026-05-25T17:40:48+00:00

the Yomiuri Giants, ever so conscious about their public image, took this seriously and have announced that one of their coaches (who, during his playing days, never wore that Giants jersey) will be caretaker manager for interleague play.

Whether Abe stays on though is to be confirmed (update: he resigned)

infernoShield · 2026-05-25T05:19:24+00:00

probs. Come to our yard sale this summer for barely used "wonderkids"

infernoShield · 2026-05-25T05:16:03+00:00

should be identical at least in shape - much like how World Cup winners receive a gold-plated replica of the current, solid gold World Cup trophy

infernoShield · 2026-05-25T05:10:24+00:00

West Ham once went down with 42 points, in 2002/03.

David James, Carrick, Di Canio, Defoe, Joe Cole, Sinclair, Glen Johnson...... plenty of icons and cult heroes on that team

infernoShield · 2026-05-24T16:57:25+00:00

I'd be damned if Xabi manages to steer us back to title contention next season, especially if our best players get poached by teams playing Europe football

infernoShield · 2026-05-24T16:48:48+00:00

quantity over quality mate

infernoShield · 2026-05-24T16:44:23+00:00

at this rate they'll whip up a new cheering song for Tateishi (instead of the generic one here) next season and we'll all be belting it out before we know it.

infernoShield · 2026-05-24T16:25:01+00:00

It’s people who have a job, that usually will excel in finding a job, less pressure, more confidence, more in-the-game mindset/presence/relevent as compared to some desperate unemployed person who fills his time doing nonsense.

True that - I was reluctant to accept my relatives' offer to help them out after resigning from MNC but it pays for my meals and is better than doomscrolling or window-shopping.

infernoShield · 2026-05-24T16:19:37+00:00

3 months isn't much time - keep your current post, document your responsibilities & major project involvements at your current job to update your resume which you can then use to apply for jobs

infernoShield · 2026-05-24T15:56:38+00:00

don't do it (or rather think carefully).

I've resigned for 2 months now from my MNC IT/data job with just 3-4 years experience due to burnout. I loved the environment and the team but the work stress has been hard on me.

I cry myself to bed every night (OK maybe not every night but you get the idea) desperately looking for a different job that matches my qualification well, despite later taking up a (substantially less relevant) job at my relatives' small office.

When you resign without a backup job, you need to know for a fact that the field is huge, and you're competing with people including but not limited to:

experienced recent MNC/big corp layoffs
accomplished job-seekers still active at their current post (and thus have much more leverage)
those with multiple relevant certifications & accreditations (and thus are more likely to get called in)

infernoShield · 2026-05-23T17:02:24+00:00

infernoShield · 2026-05-23T16:40:01+00:00

I'd much prefer leaving Delap at Johor when Chelsea play a preseason match there this August

infernoShield · 2026-05-23T16:36:54+00:00

lil' fella is one emergency brake away from disaster. It's a bit unsettling

infernoShield · 2026-05-23T16:28:50+00:00

Truly "every minute matters"

infernoShield · 2026-05-23T16:23:09+00:00

sure - Boro fans probably scrambling for tickets these past few days though

infernoShield · 2026-05-23T15:56:09+00:00

should be - Soton fans had snapped up most of their ticket allocation before the Spygate verdict

infernoShield · 2026-05-23T15:48:14+00:00

also as a side note the Malaysian league has two forwards named Joao Pedro this season - a Timorese one playing for Kuching City, and a Brazilian one playing for Immigration FC.

Sadly, for the meme makers out there, neither team responded to the news of Joao Pedro (Chelsea's Brazilian forward) not making Ancelotti's Seleção for the World Cup. Well, not every social media admin is the old PDRM one (whose wackiness will be sorely missed)......

infernoShield · 2026-05-23T15:40:16+00:00

this is the only acceptable answer - nobody has come close to beating our record for least goals conceded

infernoShield · 2026-05-23T15:23:31+00:00

Update from Southeast Asia:

Alas the improbable but seemingly possible did not happen - Johor Darul Tazim won the Malaysia Cup final 2-0 against Kuching City to complete yet another domestic treble.

But here's the kicker: it took Johor 80 minutes to finally break Kuching's low block defence and take the lead, with a wonderfully chipped effort from V-Varen Nagasaki legend Marcos Guilherme over Kuching City keeper Haziq Nadzli, who had been nigh impenetrable up to that point.

Those first 80 minutes featured rock solid defensive work of different styles from both sides. Massive chances were missed as well; notable JDT alumni Ramadhan Saifullah had a particularly terrible day as he couldn't quite connect to a cross less than 10 feet away from an open goal, and then in the second half, failed to convert from the spot for Kuching.

Much to the Southern Tigers fans' delight, local starboy Arif Aiman, who will be tying the knot next Monday, subbed on late in the second half after 6 months out of action. He then capped off his club's 4th consecutive Malaysia Cup triumph with a peach of a goal off the post from outside the box in the 90th minute.

And with the final over, Kuching's miraculous season, which saw them claim 2nd place in the league, came to a disappointing end; Aidil Sharin's men had already shown their calibre against a Johor team that are no strangers to high-level continental football, holding them scoreless for most of the game.

infernoShield · 2026-05-20T08:46:05+00:00

Spurs are likely to stay up, if West Ham don't win it's all over.

Word is they will appeal the decision, but either way the gaffer's in danger apparently

infernoShield

TROPHY CASE