MattyOZ continues the global trawl for Evertonians and this week has touched down in balmy Singapore. Continuing from part 1 of the supporter club series Oz has been chatting to a member of the Official Singapore supporters club, discussing many things football and Blue. To commence with, Oz would like to introduce “Yusuf Kay” whom is the current president of the Blues Singapore Branch. In this Interview we are going to hear of such things as “Sing Alongs”, “National Service”, “Bugis Bellefield”, and “Calamari”!
To kick off Yusuf, Oz would like to start the ball rolling by finding out the inspiration, history and background of the Singapore branch of the Everton family?
“It all started in 1997 when one of our guys, Joshua, started a website on Singapore Evertonian’s. The site drew about 15 of us together and we met regularly and also played football together.
Then in 1998, we decided to form the official Everton supporters club for Singapore. We got ourselves registered with the Registry of Societies in Singapore and also got official recognition from Everton FC.
Between 1998 and 2001, the activities of the club were at a minimum as most of us had to serve our mandatory 2.5 years of national service and most were busy completing their tertiary studies. We couldn’t meet as often as we could.
Then in 2002, we regrouped and with the help of The New Paper, a full-page article about our club was published. This proved to be very helpful as it attracted many other Evertonians in Singapore. The club has grown tremendously since”.
And membership Yusuf, how are you travelling in regard to that?
“ We have more than 70 registered members at present”.
Great stuff mate, lets get straight into match days, who, what, when, where, and how?
“It depends if there is a ‘Live’ screening of the match here in Singapore. (EPL matches usually kick off between 10pm to 1am here in Singapore. A 7pm kick-off in UK is 3am here!)
If there is, and the match kicks off before 1am here in Singapore, we’ll watch the match at our official hangout, which is the Home Beach Bar at Robertson Quay Hotel. We’ll start gathering about 1 to 2 hours before kick-off. For me, as the Chairman of the club, I make it a point to be at all ‘Live’ match gatherings.
Sometimes, I distribute song sheets and get our members to sing Everton songs and chants. It’s my attempt at educating the members about the lesser-known Everton songs, as CDs with Everton songs are hardly available here in Singapore!
The attendance at such gatherings ranges between 12 to 40 people. (The biggest turnout was on 19 Oct when Everton beat Arsenal with Rooney scoring ‘that’ goal)”.
And what may I ask do you lads like to tuck into when singing and cheering the beloved blues?
“A favourite beer among us is the local Tiger Beer. The pub’s calamari and huge burgers are also hot favourites”.
And you’re club members; tell us do you have any quirky or complete nutters amongst you?
“We have members from various races and walks of life. Among them are a few managing directors, policemen, a fireman and even a doctor!
Our 2 expat Evertonians from the UK, Simon and Andy, have got to be the walking Everton encyclopaedias here! They know so much about Everton that it really amazes us!”
Excellent and which clubs are predominantly followed in your part of the world?
“The majority of the fans in Singapore support the 3 red teams, Man U, Arsenal and the RS. There are also Newcastle, Chelsea, Spurs and Leeds fans as well. The most hated club has to be Man U for their fans’ arrogance. Beckham is the most hated player”.
That’s just typical isn’t it, anyhow what kind off exposure are you lot getting locally?
“We get weekly exposure in a local paper called The New Paper. The membership and contact details of our club are published every Sat. We also depend a lot on our website http://www.evertonfc.org.sg/ to help members keep up with current news and affairs of the club”.
Righto mate before we delve into an Asian prospective of football & Everton related matters, can you tell us of any other activities club member s can partake in?
“We have weekly football kickabouts at our very own Bugis Bellefield”.
Our club does not want to be too commercialised (like other EPL supporters clubs here). Our main objective is to be an avenue for all Evertonians in Singapore, where they can get together and have a link to Everton FC through us.
Our club also helps its members to get Everton merchandise at discounted rates and also to raise any queries they have with Everton FC.
We are a small but closely-knit bunch of mad Evertonians and we intend to keep it that way. We all know that it’s the quality and not the quantity. (1 Evertonian is worth 20 Liverpudlians!) Our club wants to be able to serve the needs of all Evertonians”.
Nice work Yusuf and now to football, where does the sport rank in your country?
“It’s the most popular sport here in Singapore. The EPL is even more popular than our own local S-League”.
Interesting now how about local football are there any players who have had fame or deserve a mention?
“The most famous Singapore player was Fandi Ahmad. (He played for FC Gronigen in Holland in the 80s and scored against Inter Milan) He retired a few years ago and is currently the coach of an S-League team. Just unfortunate that he’s a red.
On the current Singapore football scene, Daniel Bennett is the best footballer. He currently plays for Wrexham in the English 3rd division. He was born in Liverpool but brought up in Singapore. We’re proud that he’s an Evertonian and also comes from a family of Evertonians”.
And now its time for the towering questions Rooney, Moyes and this season?
“Rooney has Loads of potential but we must be very careful in the way we nurture him. The potential will only be realised if we nurture him the right way and keep him away from bad influences.
He’s the best hope we have to lead us into a new era of a revitalised Everton. But we must also not place too much burden on his shoulders.
Football wise, he’s simply fantastic. His technique, strength, composure, awareness and an eye for a goal is simply outstanding for someone so young”.
Your thoughts on Moyes and the season thus far?
“Moyes is simply our messiah isn’t he? He has brought a sense of optimism and belief into Everton. He’s realistic and doesn’t hide when something goes wrong. He’s what our motto stands for, Nothing But The Best Is Good Enough. Simply the People’s Manager.
Our position on the league table is a clear indication of the progress made by Moyes. It clearly shows that we are heading in the right direction. I hope we make a slow and steady progress and not be a one-season wonder.
What’s happening now is certainly a breath of fresh air when compared to the past decade. The past decade was a time that simply showed how loyal and faithful Evertonians are. We were nearly relegated a few times but we all stood by our team. The progress we are seeing now is just reward for our loyalty”.
What about club concerns & issues, what are the talking points?
“This has got to be our stadium issue. Hope this gets settled as soon as possible. We also hope that we will be able to hang on to our lot of talented young players”.
Yusuf lists Gary Stevens as his all time Everton favourite and says that he takes a current shine to the efforts of Steve Watson. He also went on to mention that in Singapore, Duncan Ferguson is a big favourite, and that Trevor Steven, Kevin Sheedy and Big Nev are also hot! To close, Oz asked Yusuf whether their club would be going to china in the next pre season to follow the blues and to list his greatest Everton memory to date. Yusuf went on to say that:
“We are looking into it as there has been much interest from our members regarding Everton’s china visit”.
And about that greatest memory?
“Even though I experienced the glorious moments of winning the league in 87 and the FA Cup in 95, I could only celebrate them alone. There aren’t many Evertonians in Singapore and the Internet hadn’t evolved back then.
The best moment was on 19 Oct last year when we beat the current EPL champions, Arsenal in the dying minutes. Wayne Rooney scoring THAT winning goal in such fantastic fashion made it even better. It meant even more that it was his first goal. This win was special because I watched this match together with 40 other Evertonians here in Singapore. This was a time when many of us could actually celebrate a big win with so many other fellow Evertonians around. (You have to understand this as most of us have yet to visit Goodison Park). The atmosphere was simply fantastic and it was a night to remember for Evertonians here in Singapore”.
So there we have it Evertonians everywhere continue to support the club with unbridled passion & fanaticism. MattyOZ would personally like to thank Yusuf for his time, openness and availability for this interview, and also thank him for his terrific insights into Everton and Singapore. Oz recognizes the fact that many Evertonians would not have had their football interrupted by such things as National service, yet surely chewing on all that calamari and balmy opened air atmospheres must be some consolation. The Bulls next stop will be Icy Scandinavia and a chat with the Everton Family in Norway, stay tuned.
MattyOZ
Mattyoz-contact@hotmail.com