Niculae Takes Over
In a quiet closed-door meeting this evening, Grilled icon and head coach
Han Lik-Tsun handed in his resignation letter to a club representative, and then stood by as his successor
Niculae Stanca put pen to paper on a player-coach contract. The 30 year-old Romanian, who joined Grilled just three seasons ago, then shook hands with his mentor, who silently left through a side door. Word is that Han is taking a break from football, and will not be involved with the club anytime soon.
Stanca's bubbly energy was in stark contrast to the characteristic measured mien of the outgoing 44 year-old Han, and the Romanian confirmed his previous statements that Grilled would focus on the offensive side of things. "I have had long talks with all our key players, and we have come to an understanding that we should play to our strengths." Stanca noted. "Which in our case, is the front line."
"Yes, this means that our tactics may wind up being sort of predictable, but truth to tell it's been like that for some time - when we have tried to switch to a counterattacking plan, it has seldom worked, the recent game against newbies notwithstanding. Instead, we will be setting our sights on dominating midfield and punching through the middle every match, and leave it up to opponents to stop us!"
Former U-20 forward
Chow Ying Lee concurred with his new boss. "I have to say that we were slightly confused at times previously, and this philosophy makes everything all so much simpler. Niculae has set his sights on a top-half finish and a bagful of goals this time, and I am confident that the team can achieve that."
Finally, Stanca, ever the showman, stripped off his suit and tie to reveal Grilled's new jersey underneath. The futuristic hexagonal patterning on Grilled's current outfit has been replaced by a classic halved design, embellished with a similarly halved bar across the chest. Also, the away kit has reverted to all-white from yellow, with a third kit of black and dark green shorts.
While the fans mostly appear to have taken to the new design, some were more cynical about the move. "Didn't they say that they would keep kits for two seasons some time ago?" student Kenneth Yong, 21, grumbled. "I wouldn't mind paying for the home shirt, if they ensured that all profits go towards new signings."
