The clearout at Farmer Bunnies had well and truly begun, as head coach Vishnu Tallapaka oversaw the departure of two first-teamers of long standing. 31 year-old Czech attacking midfielder Dušan Václavík was first to leave, as he accepted an offer from Bulgarian II.2 competitors ManOnTheSilverMountain, to the tune of just over S$5.3 million for the Buns. His other approach came from four-time Vietnamese Phong Trào winners Caviar SC and affiliate of V-League side Montpellier VN, but the Division Three club would lose out on this occasion.

Václavík explained that he had been impressed by the ambition of Spanish gaffer Javier Gurrola, who had also brought in Latvian national prospect Jānis Turciņš a few weeks ago, though he had just been injured in league competition. "Then there's their homegrown youth international Dimitar Petrov. Farmer Bunnies have quite a few of them too, it goes without saying, but Vishnu is starting afresh, so it didn't make sense to stand in the way of the new guys."

It was bittersweet for 30 year-old defensive stopper Lim Guang Qiang, who had been with the Buns all the way since his academy days. Lim would have to admit that he had never quite stood out from a bunch of his equally-talented fellows, and was therefore disposed towards accepting a S$4 million bid by Swiss VI.68 leaders Savosa.

"I had hoped to win things with Bunnies - there was the Consolation Cup, mind - but it doesn't look like that will be happening soon now. I consider myself as entering my prime as a footballer, and ready to help lead a team. János Demjén runs a tight ship at Savosa, and he convinced me that I would get to showcase myself here."

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