Zhu Breaches 300000
The biggest news of the day for the club was made by a player who did not even participate in the game, as midfielder
Zhu Changchun was declared to have achieved an official Total Skill Index of 320520 by league statistical officials. This is the first time that a Grilled representative has breached the 300000 ceiling, according to existing histories, and head coach
Niculae Stanca commemorated the moment with a custom certificate after the morning's training session.
Zhu, five days removed from his 27th birthday and having just negotiated a new contract worth nearly S$100000 a week, wasn't sure what the fuss was about. "I don't feel particularly better than I was last week." he shrugged. "Honestly, I don't even think I'm the best footballer here. But it's a nice gesture from the club."
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim was not far off with a given TSI of 292080, and some supporters pointed to the club having the sixth highest combined TSI in Singapore, behind only four S-League teams and likely II.4 champions Twenty2 FC, as evidence of the Birds having what it takes.
Stanca however downplayed the sabermetrics aspect. "It doesn't mean much. JUtd's total is less than 1.5 million, but I know whose points record I'd rather have. We still have a couple of glaring deficiencies that I'm hoping to fix before the next season begins, and a lot hinges on getting those last few players in."