It was not time yet for the respective supporters to get excited, it seemed, and for Grilled International in particular, their decline had not yet hit bottom. All three clubs continued to be mired in a transition, with early - and deserved - cup exits signalling that they were far from being ready to take on the big boys.

This then looked like a mediocre winding-down of his career, for club legend and loyalist Chan Ze Han, but the 35 year-old broke the mould by making the most of a below-par supporting cast to earn his first Golden Boot. It was obtained in style too, with his eighteen goals being four clear of closest rival, Tan Tse Kok of HEBFC Tonners FC. Then again, the Tonners certainly had the better season, narrowly missing out on the title to LKS FC after an exhilarating final day. The new season would however see both of them - together with third-placed Merlion F.C., still ten points ahead of the Birds - depart for better climes, although it was not as if Grilled Birds were in any real danger of relegation, what with whipping boys Ocean's 1g and Cloud Palace bringing up the rear.

The Birds would not disappoint on the player development end, with Chad Thach and Chia Kwang Tse selected to represent the national U-20 team, something that the fans had missed since Chan himself had won two caps, some fifteen seasons ago. Seeing as the rest such as Lim An Keng, Mohd Marzuki Khairul and Gandhik Chitre were not all that far behind, this boded very well for the team's future. Nevertheless, the gaggle of youngsters lacked much in experience and practical passing know-how, which unavoidably showed against more-mature opposition. The post-season addition of Bolivian former youth international Federico Parada, alongside Ibnou Balde and Joe Reese saw Tian triple down on freshness despite that, in a sign that seniors such as Moey, Kalki, Teo and Bilal etc are being gently phased out.

The Farmer Bunnies would flirt with the drop after finishing sixth in their league, although they did have the excuse of adding four newly-promoted academy trainees, to an already-tender defensive cohort. Argentine forward Edgar Popienia was signed to link up with the overworked Vitaliy Efendiev, who however did not complain in earning a second Player of the Season award. Former Italian international Billy Camperio would retire and immediately be nominated into the Hall of Fame, and the duo of Ibrahim and Mushtag should join him before too long.

It was otherwise an inconsistent and low-scoring season for the Buns, who never managed more than two in the league, after hitting four past an abandoned The EV in the second week. On the other hand, the developing defence was not to be trifled with either, with their defeats generally limited to two goals. There would even be a pretty decent run in the Ruby Challenger Cup that saw them take down Upright Stick of Justice 2-1, before succumbing to Ah Beng FC in the fourth round.

Didi Reidenbach must be getting a little tired of his lame duck role at Grilled International, although they did finish second in the league, helped by the competition being almost exclusively made up of amateur and semi-prof outfits. It would get ugly when International had to face actual opposition, as 0-5 and 0-8 losses to Twisted Bliss showed. The cup did see a couple of morale-lifting wins against SOS Dan and then Carl Zeiss Wien, before they were sent crashing out.

This was only to be expected after Reidenbach had spent his time flogging off the club's remaining big names, however, with Hardi bin Besar, Tibor Atzenhain, Wang Hanxuan and Li Xin Chi leaving one after another. Umut Koza was the only newcomer to join the fray, and he could not complain about a lack of opportunities, results be damned.