No Waves Made
Grilled continued the previous season's practice of holding their award ceremony cum dinner on a Friday, which panned out to be one of the more predictable of recent years, with runaway favourites
Chow Ying Lee and
Tang Hengcai clinching and retaining the main prizes.
Chow, whose persistant brillance over the length of the campaign brought him 14 goals in 17 games, not to mention a boatload of chances created, would finally get the recognition due to him in the form of the title of Player of the Season. Surprise guest, former coach Han Lik-Tsun noted that this might in the future be seen as a breakthrough season for the speedy striker.
While Chow having yet to have gained the award might have tilted some of the judges towards him, not that he needed that, being the reigning holder didn't play against
Tang Hengcai, who scooped the Young Player of the Season again without much trouble. Tang topped the club in goals-to-games with ten from just five starts and four substitute appearances, and Niculae promised more first-team opportunities while handing out the trophy.
Stanca did not hesitate to give a nod to other top performers too, with
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim first to get a mention, dispelling talk of a rift between the two. Among the youngsters,
Teo Yong Yau and
Mayur Gudivada were singled out for their dedication.
The Grilled coach however sounded a warning on unrealistic expectations, and hinted at another season without big transfers. "We are a developing concern with an extremely young core - our forwards are, what, 22 or 23, and other than Abdul, our main midfielders are all below 26. I urge supporters to be patient and await the big push for glory to come!"
