Leong, Seah Go
Two budding defenders from the Grilled development programmes departed Singapore today, having accepted free transfer moves to foreign shores. The Chicken Wings' Leong How Tze will leave for Nicaraguan Division Two side FC Fratelu, while Rancher Rabbits' Seah Kiong Qiang was taken up by Australian outfit [PG] United, currently in the fourth division.
Both clubs have recently come under new ownership, which was likely what offered the 17 year-olds this latitude. "It's wonderful to be part of something fresh and new." Leong said. "Everyone starts out on an even footing. I wish to prove myself as soon as possible."
While Leong has attracted criticism for his sometimes-unorthodox approach to defending, which has thrown off opposing forwards and turned the hair of his goalkeepers white in approximately equal measure, youth coach Raymond Lai thought it was a trait to be carefully nurtured. "He has the bandwidth to experiment a bit, and it would be boring if everybody always did the same old thing, wouldn't it?"
There were few such concerns about Seah, who has generally been praised as being unusually elegant on the ball, further with a gift for maneuvering out of tight spots. Hayden Clemence, now with Joker 9B, recalled his former colleague's calm fondly. "It was always reassuring to know that he had your back."
