I read somewhere that Nantha was supposed to start in the heart of defence to make up for our lack of height. We almost conceded from another cross, perhaps he should be brought on for the 2nd half. We really are struggling with the height. Another thing is our defenders keep punting the ball upfield and it's obvious our forwards aren't tall or big enough to hold up the ball. Our ball control is also looking really poor.

Barring any miracles, it looks to be all over for us, and it's not even half time.

I find it hard to believe that the average height of our squad is hardly 6'. I see 6 footers walking around everyday... Size isn't everything but it helps especially when playing against big squads like China. Either that or you need to have a leap like Cannavaro.

Exactly mate. We can't do much about the lack of height since Nantha is benched, and thus logic would dictate that we have to close down quicker and prevent them from getting crosses in.

Gee they've finally brought on Nantha, freaking Einsteins. Are these seriously the best players we have in our country? Once again, we've justified our FIFA World Ranking. As I said, getting behind the team when they are giving their all every game is fine. When they dish out crappy performances like this however, fans have to voice their discontent instead of consoling the team and treating them like babies.

You are all right about the mental thing. I have no idea how Titus James is doing now but if I were him, I wouldn't come back. Who cares if he never represents the nation? At least he'll have a decent career, unlike our nasi lemak deprived heroes who opted to come back instead of staying on in France and Germany. Look where they are now? We should be giving players who have ambition the opportunity to train with clubs overseas and secure permanent contracts. Why keep sending these nasi lemak eating, homesick, lack of ambition useless players abroad?

We've just scored one. Looking at the how happy some people in the crowd are just comes to show how far behind we are. We're losing 4-1 to a team we used to draw with and it's as though we just scored 1 against Brazil.

We were tactically and technically inferior. This result just comes to show how far behind we have fallen, compared to the rest of our Asian counterparts but hey, let's fool ourselves into thinking it's alright.

You know what? That is probably what they will say. Our national team has always been treated like babies and we've always given them a pat on the back telling them it's alright. Well it isn't alright! We must the lowest ranked team in the whole tournament.

The nasi lemak joke came about when a couple of our players were sent overseas, only to cite that they wanted to come back because the could not adapt to the weather and they missed Malaysian cuisine such as nasi lemak.

Nutrition is an issue and is directly related to fitness. Nasi Lemak has zero nutrition unlike Pasta which is a good source of energy.

That's almost like striking the lottery

Khairul Azman?

Let's not stop at Khairul Azman, I miss Arumugam.

We had another really tall keeper. Ex-Kedah player Azmi Mahmud, but I rate Khairul Azman higher, better reflexes. Still, none of them come close to Arumugam in terms of being legendary.

That's what you think mate. Most of them were on the take that time. I spoke to a very senior journalist about a year ago and he confirmed it. What we hear of is only the tip of the ice berg.

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Added on July 11, 2007, 10:52 amIf you know you are going to represent the country in a beauty pageant, what would you do? Slim down, stay healthy, work on your personality and so on lah right?

Similarly if you are going to host Asia's biggest tournament, what would you do? Practice and get better lah FFS! It's really embarrassing to host such a widely watched tournament and play like crap, showing the world that you are the lowest grade of all camel fodder.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Jul 11 2007, 10:52 AM

That's the problem mate, we used to draw with teams like China, not get hammered! Now all of a sudden, China are such a dominant force that it's ok to have lost 5-1? It just shows how massive the gulf between the teams are now compared to a couple of decades ago. Forgive me for sounding harsh but it's this kind of mentality that will ensure we never improve. It's ok to lose 5-1 against China? No it isn't. So who are we on par with these days? Singapore? Laos? Cambodia? Philippines? We used to be amongst the top 3 teams in Asia, now we aren't even top 3 in SEA. Malaysia have potential? How's does scoring 1 goal against China show we have potential? Australia once beat Fiji 1000 - 1, but that surely doesn't mean Fiji has potential?

It's like I said mate, we can't keep consoling the squad. We have to start being really harsh with them and give them a boot up the ass. The worst thing that can happen is everyone telling our team that it is alright.

No.

Shall we all wait for them outside the stadium to sing Tommy Page's, "When you need a shoulder to cry on"?

Which is exactly the problem.

Check out the look on the perverts face in the 2nd pic. What am I saying, they all look like perves. Who the heck is she anyway?

You're right mate, I meant the third one.

Thanks, can't say I've ever heard of her though.

Vietnam have an average height of just 5' 5" and they beat a bigger Iraq side 2-0. It's not always the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.

Mexico aren't a very big side either but they made it to the semi-finals of the Copa America.