Q&A with Letter of the Weekend winner Dinesh Bora

When and why did you start supporting Chelsea?

Well I wouldn’t say I am a life long supporter of Chelsea but it started after the 2006 World Cup which piqued my interest in football. I decided to look up the players who had played in the tournament and found that a few of the top players had played for a Premier League side named Chelsea.

I was curious, who were they and were they any good? I later found out they had won 2 consecutive league titles and had spent alot of money buying many of their players.

Are the Vietnam fans really innocent victims of football hooliganism?

SOME Vietnam fans were allegedly beaten up by angry Singaporean fans at the National Stadium on Sunday, following Singapore’s exit of the AFF Suzuki Cup.

The incident happened mainly near the East Entrance area, where the 5,000-strong Vietnam contingent were seated during the match, where Singapore fans abused and hit Vietnam fans, and even burned their flag, according to various eyewitness accounts in the newspapers and online sources.

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG SAYS: Most of what I read about the incident centred around the ungraciousness and barbarism of Singapore fans, but I say there is no fire without the smoke.

Make no mistake, the actions of these Singapore fans – some captured and uploaded to YouTube – put our country to shame, and appropriate action should be taken against them if any can be identified.

But it takes two hands to clap as well. I must say that I was near the East Entrance exit after the match, and the air was already filled with tension, although I did not witness any of these alleged beatings.

While patiently filing out of the National Stadium, people were chanting non-stop. It didn’t help that Vietnam fans were taunting the sea of Singapore fans below them as they exit from the upper reaches of the stadium.

Lions: robbed or deserving losers?

DEFENDING AFF Suzuki Cup champions Singapore were unceremoniously dumped out of the competition last night, losing to Vietnam by a solitary goal in front of 48,000 fans at Kallang.

While Singapore dominated in possession, they had absolutely no luck in front of goal and were hit by a Vietnamese sucker punch in the 75th minute, where Quang Hai scored Vietnam’s winning goal in a swift counter-attack.

The Postman Lim Say Heng says:

The good:

Fans. It has been a long time since we saw 48,000 fans at the National Stadium for a non-National Day Parade event. While the fans were out-cheered by a boisterous Vietnamese section for long periods of time, the sounds of Majulah Singapura reverberating throughout a packed National Stadium for what should (notice that I used the word “should”) be the last time sent shivers down my spine. What a nostalgic moment.

Will you be at Kallang tonight?

THE LIONS face Vietnam in the crucial second-leg semi-final of the Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup tonight, where the winner takes all and advance to the finals against Thailand.

The Singapore team put in a lacklustre performance in Hanoi, being pegged back by the pacy Vietnamese players for most of the game, cheered on by a vociferous home crowd.

Tonight, it’s time to let Vietnam have a taste of the Kallang Roar.

Sure, there is that mammoth Premiership clash between Arsenal and Liverpool tonight as well.

But there is plenty of time to make it home after the Lions game to catch the Big Four clash too.

Besides, the Lions would love nothing more than a capacity 55,000 crowd cheering them on.

I will be there, rain or moonshine. The question is, would you?

Will the Lions roar tonight?

THE LIONS resume their defence of the Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup title later tonight in Hanoi, where they face a Vietnam side in the first-leg semi-final match.

Thailand holds a slender 1-0 lead over Indonesia in the other first-leg semi-final game played last night. in Jakarta.

Both Singapore and Thailand are chasing an unprecedented fourth AFF Suzuki Cup title, whereas Vietnam – a quarter-finalist in the recent Asian Cup – are seeking their first in the regional competition.

TNPPOSTMAN LIM SAY HENG says: I sure hope the Lions will continue their hot streak in the competition, where they scored 10 goals in three games while conceding only one, but realistically I think Singapore would come home to Kallang with a 1-1 draw.