The unspoken understanding was that this Farmer Bunnies' squad time was all but up, and that this season would perhaps be their final chance to earn something big - either in the S-League, or the Singapore Cup. Sadly, it remained a story of not quite enough, and although the Buns did record their best-ever finish of fifth in the national league standings, up from sixth, it was evident that they were over their peak. The scant consolation was that their relegation opened the way for Grilled Birds to replace them in the top flight, per ownership rules.

About the Birds themselves, it would be difficult to speak out against their campaign, as they came within a whisker of replicating their perfect run from a few seasons back. They were but three games away before an inexplicable 0-6 away collapse to the Singapore Big Dogs, but it was ultimately an unsightly hiccup, as they went on to win the remaining two fixtures, and qualify for automatic promotion. Tellingly, the Big Dogs - themselves packed with superstars such as Mahesh Murthy and Leong Chu Shun - would have gone up themselves on 36 points, were it not for Grilled's incredible consistency.

As a matter of fact, not a few close followers of the Birds would describe this squad as having improved over their Division Two Invincibles incarnation, and not without reason, since the core of that team had matured for a few additional seasons. It was moreover probably fair to say that most of the Birds' mainstays had yet to hit their full potential, with Cyril Künzler and Neeraj Muthyalas outliers at 33 years of age. Their age-peer Islom Davlatov would be dismissed to make way for 27 year-old Palestine ex-U-20 man Salah Kamel, with 29 year-old Kalle ter Berg linking up shortly afterwards to further fatten an already loaded midfield. Moreover, the club's local-born hope Chan Ze Han was barely 26, and already the possessor of a fearsome reputation.

The Birds' promotion will see them butt heads directly with the likes of Sarcastic Fringeheads, to whom they lost 0-4 in the Singapore Cup semi-finals, after disposing of the likes of Bot Team FC and Arrogancae. Indeed, there had been a buzz before that match, given that Farmer Bunnies were in the other semis against FC Barca Singapore, and it was thus conceivable that the Cup finals would become an all-Grilled affair; history informs us that the Fringeheads and Barca were too strong, however, and the former would take it en route to a national double. It remains to be seen whether new head coach Eren Serpin has found a tactical solution for the reigning kings.

But back to the Buns, their Cup run would be a welcome distraction from their league struggles, as they struggled from the lack of both an alternate plan, and goals. The S-League was filled with clubs that would not be dismantled easily via counter-attacking, and what made it worse was that the Buns' main strength of being an indomitable fortress was also rapidly crumbling. Five clean sheets and six wins might not be terrible, but it wasn't the sort of stuff that championship contenders were made of, and it was soon painfully clear that Farmer Bunnies had next to no idea of how to approach the very top rank of competitors here.

On paper, the squad that Dalibor Kostadinović had painstakingly assembled had next to no holes, what with him having brought in Billy Camperio and Christophe Fouche to contest the midfield role of Jon Benson - which ironically would have them all left out for a defender. Attack-wise, there could surely not be many complaints about the pedigree of Mushtag Al-Nameeri, Nurlan Ablaev and Ibrahim Zahran Al-Maashany, and again, just one of them would be deployed more often than not. No, experienced pundits would put the Buns' malaise down to simply tiredness, filled as it was with veterans well into their twilight. As Kostadinović ultimately warned, the transition to the next generation would take plenty of upheaval and underperformance, but if it's any consolation the club has built up a considerable financial warchest towards the task.

It would be back-to-back league titles for Grilled International, as they conquered IV.59 at first try, after their promotion from Division Five. This was probably beyond most of the fans' expectations, not least after their narrow opening-day defeat to Thunnus F.C., but four consecutive victories after that could not help but raise expectations. The road was definitely bumpy, as International would lose thrice more, including to steady frontrunners Munich Giants, but their concentration held. Grilled International would crank out nine points from the final three rounds, in the faint hope that the Giants would slip up somewhere, and Animals! would answer their prayers with a 3-2 win on the last day.

Sheep happens would absolutely hammer International in the qualifier, though, and there was also much less to shout about cup-wise. International would be out of the main Cup in the second-round, courtesy of a 5-7 defeat in extra time by Invisible daemons, and they would last only three more rounds in the H.I. Ruby Challenger Cup, before being put out by America's Pure Gain. Key Swiss defender Didi Reidenbach would enter five weeks' rehab after a serious injury in that exit, and a repeat in the middle of May suggests that he may have to convert to a support role under Roar Olaisen soon.

Otherwise, there wasn't too much to shout about in terms of personnel, as Olaisen brought in former player Arcadi Sansalvador, as his only signing of any note for two seasons, after Vadym Gorozhankin's arrival. This is something that has rankled with the supporters for some time, but it remains to be seen if the head coach will bow to fan power here.