Neo Careers
Five trainees would leave for new clubs today, three of them to the two month-old Neo Toxicants Trois, a refounding of the original Neo Toxicants and their several successors. The latest Neo Toxicants 2 incarnation before them had lasted just shy of three months - and thirteen games, so one hopes that they will sustain themselves for longer this time.
Local head coach Rakesh Goli has been going for pedigree, having recruited two youngsters each from Haha and Brotherhood SG, and one from Four Leaf Pandas. To this, he would add the trio of Advay Mankad, Cheung Kum Chu and Amar Ikmal Mohd Zafir from the Birds, as he raided the Chicken Wings for reinforcements.
All three seventeen year-olds are midfielders, with Mankad and Cheung preferring to play wide, with Cheung further amenable to wingback duties as well. Mankad and Amar Ikmal are moreover six-footers, which has helped them gain dominance in the air, always important in modern football. Grilled scout Mok Feng De, who brought two of them to the academy, was just delighted that they would get their chance. "The fresh air over at Pulau Ubin will do them a world of good!"
Their 18 year-old senior Arun Kirtane would have a different destiny, as he was signed by American Division Six club Montana Spartans2 on a free. The Colorado side have experienced a spate of name changes over the past four years, with Czech gaffer Kazimír Schulz churning through a boatload of young talent in an effort to turn his ship around. "It's a bit of a mess here." Arun admitted. "But that also means opportunity."
Farmer Bunnies' highly-rated Santosh Ramanathan would also get his break, with Romanian VI.618 leaders Crossing-over F.C coming in for him, a week after bringing Polish teenager Donat Andrusiuk on from Seelowe. With Ramanathan hailed as one of the top technical wingers that the Rabbits had seen in some time, assistant coach Fauzi Zahirul Haq was a little dismayed at his not fetching more interest.
"It's really tough out there for new players." Fauzi said. "But you all knew that already."
There was moreover news that the 36 year-old Hong Kang Leong had again become available, with Filipino giants Pinoy Prazilia putting him on the transfer list following their elimination from the national Ruby Challenger Cup, at the quarterfinals stage.
Tian Yonghang revealed that he had seriously considered bringing Hong back to the Birds, only to make no move in the end as Jakarta-based Indonesian fourth division club Potter's Garuda Boys FC bought him for just over half a million.
"We don't really have a good role for Hong, but more than that, it just felt wrong to prevent him from continuing to weave his story." the Grilled head coach explained. "The Potters are still playing in their Consolation Cup, and their need should be greater than ours."
