Steady Stacey
Han Lik-Tsun pulled another bunny out of his hat as, just a couple of days after declaring that Grilled were willing to start their season without a recognized first-choice keeper, signed 30 year-old former Canadian international
Dexter Stacey for S$6 million. As with new defender
Qassem Madaini, Stacey arrives from Italy, having spent a slightly disappointing season at Division Seven side asRomaFans CurvaNord.
asRomaFans CurvaNord had previously splashed some S$7.8 million on Stacey from distinguished Canadian team fenceposts, where Stacey spent the best part of his career following a massive S$14.3 million transfer home from Romanian club PikPok Team, after leaving his first club, Da Bears. Stacey also has nine matches for the Canadian national team and twelve for the U-20 side under his belt.
What Stacey does not have, however, is a nice personality, a fact that Han acknowledged with a shrug. "None of us are going to pretend that he's a likeable man. Stacey has a history of clashing with players and fans, but I believe that he can be managed with some effort. We are all professionals on the field, and speaking as a defender, there aren't many that I would pick over Stacey to have my back."
Stacey's inheritance of the Number One jersey means that it will soon be the first time it will be seen for Grilled since longtime goalie Hang Bao-Tam captained the team wearing it in a Cup match against parsib four seasons ago. He may not be holding it for long, though, as Han confirmed that Stacey is here on a short-term deal.
"We both understand that he will probably stay for two or three seasons, tops." Han said. "We were ideally seeking a local goalkeeper for the long haul, and even enquired about our old boy Kum Jun Chun, now in Poland with Siarka TBG, but there was simply no suitable candidate. Until we find one, Stacey will do a job for us."
Grilled fans, accustomed to larger-than-life figures in goal after the proud Ahmed Abed-Sulaiman and even more egoistic Valdir Dias Paes, could not believe their luck, or lack of it, as Stacey promptly skipped his first press conference. "Where do we find these arseholes, anyway?" one supporter, who was left high and dry by Stacey's non-appearance, grumbled. "Do we go out of our way to the Unpleasant Goalkeeper Society for them, or what?"
