Woodlands Wellington FC
 | |||
| Full name | Woodlands Wellington Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Northern Rams | ||
| Founded | 1988as Wellington FC 1996as Woodlands Wellington | ||
| Dissolved | 2014 | ||
| Ground | Woodlands Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 4,300 | ||
| League | S.League | ||
| 2014 | S.League,11th of 12 | ||
|
| |||
Woodlands Wellington Football Clubwas a professionalfootballclub based inWoodlands,Singaporewhich played in theS.League,the top division of football inSingapore.The club took part in S.League from 1996 to 2014. They are at the 4,300 seaterWoodlands Stadium,where they have played since their establishment.
Woodlands Wellington FC's honours include winning the inauguralSingapore League Cupin 2007, defeatingSengkang Punggol FC4–0 in the final. They also finished runners-up in theSingapore FA Cupin 1997, and also in theSingapore Cupin 2005 and 2008 and won the President's Centennial Cup in 1998, a cup competition organized by thePhilippine Football Federationto celebrate the centennial ofPhilippine Independenceby defeatingHong Kong Rangers2–1 in the final inBacolod.
Their best finish in theS-Leaguecame in the 1996 Tiger Beer Series where they were runners-up. They have also achieved 3rd place in 1997 and 2005.
History
[edit]Wellington Football Club (1988–1996)
[edit]Woodlands Wellington was founded asWellington Football Clubin 1988 as a splinter group ofDelhi Juniors(a team ofSingaporeanfootball enthusiasts, dating back to the 1940s, that were among the pioneers of football inSingapore). The name stems from the Deptford Ground located on Wellington Road inSembawangwhere the team started playing football in 1988.
In 1991, they participated in theSembawang Group LeagueandNational Island-Wide League,winning as champions in both competitions and setting a national record by beatingSeletar Football Clubby a 27-goal margin. This was one of the biggest wins the club had ever achieved, as they beat their opponents 28 – 1 at the Woodlands Stadium on 17 November 1991. Louis Amalorpavanathan scored a record 12 goals in that match.[1]
The following year, Wellington FC joined theSingapore National Football LeagueinDivision 2,from which they were promoted as champions in 1994. The following season they finished first inDivision 1(going unbeaten for 24 matches) and were runners-up in the FA Cup.[2]
Woodlands Wellington Football Club (1996–2014)
[edit]
Wellington Football Club were selected as one of eight clubs to compete in the newly formedS.Leaguein its inaugural season in 1996, prompting the club to adoptWoodlands Stadiumas their home ground and to change their name to Woodlands Wellington Football Club.[3][4]
Following their admission to the S.League, Wellington's founder,R. Vengadasalam,was appointed as the Team Manager of Woodlands Wellington andBandaiwere announced as a sponsor in their maiden season in theS.League.[5]Following this, they signedJan Janostak,Joe Caleta andErvin Boban,from theMalaysia Super League,as well asSingapore national playersBorhan Abu Samah,Tamil Marren,Zakaria Awang,fromEnglandNotts CountylegendDarren DavisandCroatiangoalkeeperSandro Radun,who played for theSingapore FAin 1992. Woodlands Wellington played to capacity crowds, including their pre-season friendlies.[6]
Woodlands won the President's Centennial Cup in 1998, a cup competition organized by thePhilippine Football Federationto celebrate the centennial ofPhilippine Independence,beatingSembawang Rangers4–2 in the semi-final andHong Kong Rangers2–1 at theNegros Occidental Sports Complexin the final inBacolodwith both goals fromRazali Ahmad.[7]
While they enjoyed a relatively successful period throughout the late nineties, Woodlands finished last in the2001 S.Leagueseason, prompting them to signSingapore internationalsZulkarnaen Zainal,Goh Tat ChuanandA. Siva Kumar.[8]The transfers of Goh and Siva Kumar were particularly controversial as Woodlands and Jurong were well-known rivals in the league.
Woodlands Wellington made the headlines in the2007 S.Leagueseason for a walkout by the entire Woodlands squad in a match againstTampines Roversas a protest to the decisions made against them by referee P. Pandian. Woodlands were fined $30,000 for the incident and had six points docked.[9]TampinescoachVorawan Chitavanichwas reported as saying "I spoke to their coach just a little while ago and he said that they acted on the instructions of their club chairman."[10]
Reported withdrawal from the S. League
[edit]
A report byThe New Paperon 22 November 2012 suggested that Woodlands may be in financial trouble and could be the second club to sit out the 2013S.LeagueafterGombak Unitedhas announced earlier that it would not be taking part in the league in 2013.[11]This sparked off a supporter-driven "Save Woodlands" awareness campaign on the same day.[12]The club held an open meeting with the supporters and press atWoodlands Stadiumlater that evening and quashed the report. Team manager, Matthew Tay, also said that the club was already preparing a pre-season tour ofMalaysia,and that the club would be signing players and would also be aiming for a minimum 8th spot in the table this season.[13][14]
Merger with Hougang United
[edit]In November 2014, it was announced that Woodlands Wellington andHougang Unitedwill merge for the 2015 season.[15]However, the move did not materialised.[16]
In 2016, Woodlands formed teams to play in theIsland Wide League(IWL) andWomen's Premier League(WPL). After two years, they restarted their football operations, at least at the youth and grassroots level, as they begin to work their way back into the S.League.[17]
In 2017, Woodlands Wellington reportedly pulled out of IWL after one season.[18]
Supporters' Club
[edit]The supporters' club of Woodlands Wellington Football Club are known as The Black Sheep.[19]They can be seen at both home and away games dressed in the club's official colours of yellow and blue and are usually seated behind the Rams' dugout. Since its inception, The Black Sheep have been using the warcry "Never Surrender!" to rally their players on.[20][21]
Stadium
[edit]
Woodlands Stadiumis currently the home ground of Woodlands Wellington, and used mostly forfootballmatches. Apart from being used for competitive matches, the pitch is also utilised by the club for their training sessions as well. The stadium capacity was upgraded to 4,300. This includes the 2,000 seater grandstand, the 1,000 seater semi-permanent stand opposite the grandstand and the 1,300 seater portable stands on each end of the pitch.
Woodlands Stadium is the only stadium in Singapore which has aMRTtrack overlooking the pitch.
Sponsors
[edit]Woodlands Wellington was sponsored byBandaifrom 1996 to 1998,[22]after which it was sponsored bySembcorpfrom 2001[23]to 2010. The club went without a sponsor from 2011 to 2012 beforeSingaporeanequitycompany, ESW, took up the sponsorship of theRamsfrom March 2013.
The team is presently outfitted bySingaporeankit makers, Waga, for the2013 season.Their previous kit sponsors includeLotto,Kappa,Diadora,Umbro,MitreandThaiapparel makers, Acono.
| Kit Sponsors | |
|---|---|
| Season | Sponsor Name |
| 1996–2004 | Lotto |
| 2005 | Kappa |
| 2006–2008 | Diadora |
| 2009–2010 | Umbro |
| 2011 | Mitre |
| 2012 | Acono |
| 2013 | Waga |
| 2016 | Vonda |
| Main Sponsors | |
|---|---|
| Season | Sponsor Name |
| 1996–1998 | Bandai |
| 1999–2000 | No Sponsor |
| 2001–2010 | Sembcorp |
| 2011–2012 | No Sponsor |
| 2013–2016 | ESW |
Logo and mascot
[edit]-
Woodlands Wellington FC crest, 1996–2002 -
Woodlands Wellington's crest, 2003–2014 -
Woodlands Wellington's Ram Mascot
Colours
[edit]As Wellington Football Club, the team played in a white kit with purple and green trimmings. As soon as they were rebranded into the Woodlands Wellington Football Club in 1996, the Rams changed their home kit to all white with a narrow stripe of yellow and green down the middle.
In the ensuing years, yellow was employed as the main colour of choice for the home kit and this has become the traditional colour for the club.
Kit evolution
[edit]- Home
        1996 – 1997
Lotto |
   1998
Lotto |
    2001
Lotto |
   2002–2003
Lotto |
 2004
Lotto |
   2005
Kappa |
    2006
Diadora |
   2007
Diadora |
    2008
Diadora |
   2009
Umbro |
 2010
Umbro |
   2011
Mitre |
   2012
Acono |
   2013
Waga |
- Away
  1996 – 1997
Lotto |
1998
Lotto |
   1999
Lotto |
   2005
Kappa |
    2006
Diadora |
    2007
Diadora |
  2008
Diadora |
   2009
Umbro |
 2010
Umbro |
 2011
Mitre |
   2012
Acono |
  2013
Waga |
- Third / Special
   2006
Diadora |
2008*
Diadora |
 2009
Umbro |
 2012
Acono |
  2013
Waga |
*The third kit for 2007 was used as the home kit of the 2008 season.
Continental record
[edit]| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992–93 | Asian Cup Winners' Cup | First round |  Sinthana
|
1–1 | 4–1 | 2–5 |
Youth academy
[edit]The youth academy of Woodlands is the Centre of Excellence, which develops promising young players and grooms them for the future.
Manager history
[edit]
Steve Wicks(1996)- Dean Wheatley(1997–98)
V. Sivalingam(1999)
Ivan Raznevich(2000–01)
M. Karathu(2002–03)- Simon Clark(2003–04) – Player / Coach
- Maff Brown(2005)
Karim Bencherifa(1 Jan 2005 – 30 June 2006)
Jörg Steinebrunner(2006–08)- Nenad Bacina(1 Jan 2009 – 31 Dec 2009)
- A. Shasi Kumar(1 Jan 2010 – 31 Dec 2010)
- R. Balasubramaniam (1 Jan 2011 – 12 Jan 2012)
- Salim Moin(13 Jan 2012 – 28 Nov 2013)
Darren Stewart(14 Jan 2014 – 15 June 2014)- Salim Moin(15 June 2014 – 31 December 2014)
Performance in domestic competitions
[edit]| Season | S.League | Singapore Cup | Singapore League Cup | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |||
| 1996-1 | 2nd* | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 25 | 20 | 26 | ||
| 1996-2 | 4th | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 29 | 25 | 21 | ||
| 1997 | 3rd | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 35 | 29 | 33 | ||
| 1998 | 9th | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 27 | 41 | 18 | Group stage | |
| 1999 | 9th | 22 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 30 | 44 | 22 | Quarter-finals | |
| 2000 | 10th | 22 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 19 | 31 | 17 | Semi-finals | |
| 2001 | 12th | 33 | 5 | 9 | 19 | 40 | 64 | 24 | Group stage | |
| 2002 | 5th | 33 | 17 | 7 | 9 | 75 | 44 | 58 | Group stage | |
| 2003 | 5th | 33 | 14 | 4–8 | 7 | 65 | 47 | 58 | Semi-finals | |
| 2004 | 6th | 27 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 48 | 49 | 40 | Preliminary | |
| 2005 | 3rd | 27 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 57 | 44 | 50 | Runners-up | |
| 2006 | 5th | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 60 | 45 | 47 | Third place | |
| 2007 | 7th | 33 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 47 | 52 | 37* | Semi-finals | Winners |
| 2008 | 8th | 33 | 9 | 8 | 16 | 36 | 52 | 35 | Runners-up | Preliminary |
| 2009 | 15 | 23 | 48 | 31 | Round of 16 | Semi-finals | ||||
| 2010 | 12th | 33 | 4 | 7 | 22 | 18 | 60 | 19 | Round of 16 | Runners-up |
| 2011 | 12th | 33 | 3 | 4 | 26 | 22 | 92 | 13 | Round of 16 | Preliminary |
| 2012 | 13th | 24 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 19 | 44 | 14 | Round of 16 | Group stage |
| 2013 | 5th | 27 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 45 | 47 | 37 | Round of 16 | Semi-finals |
| 2014 | 11th | 27 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 52 | 23 | Preliminary | Quarter-finals |
- The1996season of the S.League was split into two series. Tiger Beer Series winnersGeylang Uniteddefeated Pioneer Series winnersSingapore Armed Forcesin the Championship playoff to clinch the S.League title.
- 2003saw the introduction of penalty shoot-outs if a match ended in a draw in regular time. Winners of penalty shoot-outs gained two points instead of one.
- Woodlands Wellington deducted 6 points for abandoning a match on 5 September 2007.
Last updated on 15 May 2014
Records and statistics
[edit]| Ramk | Player | Years | Club appearances |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yazid Yasin
|
2004–2008,
2013–2014 |
163 |
| 2 | Sazali Salleh
|
2005–2008,
2010–2011 |
158 |
| 3 | Goh Tat Chuan
|
2002–2006 | 138 |
| 4 | Abdelhadi Laakkad
|
2005–2010 | 129 |
| 5 |  Moon Soon-ho
|
2011–2014 | 108 |
| 6 | Goh Swee Swee
|
2011–2014 | 105 |
| 7 | Azlan Alipah
|
2006–2011 | 89 |
| 8 | Agu Casmir
|
2002–2003,
2006 |
83 |
| 9 | Anaz Hadee
|
2008–2010 | 69 |
| 10 | Armanizam Dolah
|
2012–2014 | 67 |
Top 10 all-time scorers
[edit]| Rank | Player | Club appearances | Total goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agu Casmir
|
83 | 55 |
| 2 | Moon Soon-ho
|
108 | 38 |
| 3 | Abdelhadi Laakkad
|
129 | 36 |
| 4 | Jang Jo-yoon
|
64 | 25 |
| 5 | Agu Casmir
|
34 | 17 |
| 6 | Goh Swee Swee
|
105 | 10 |
| 7 | Daniel Hammond
|
57 | 9 |
| Park Tae-won
|
41 | ||
| 9 |  Lucian Dronca
|
41 | 6 |
 Essa Mvondo
|
28 |
- Biggest Wins:6–0 vsGombak United(25 April 2002)
- Heaviest Defeats:8–1 vsDPMM(26 August 2014)
- Youngest Goal scorers:Neil Vanu ~21 years 7 months 20 days old(On 31 March 2011vs Étoile FC)
- Oldest Goal scorers:Mohd Noor Ali~35 years 3 months 21 days old(On 6 September 2010vs Geylang United)
Honours
[edit]Domestic
[edit]Cup
- Singapore League Cup
- Champions (1):2007
- Singapore Cup
International
[edit]Cup
- President's Centennial Cup: 1
- 1998
Reserves
[edit]Cup
- Singapore FA Cup
- Runners-up (1):1997
Women's Football
[edit]League
- Women's Premier League
- Runners-up (2): 2017, 2018
Cup
- Women's Challenge Cup
- Runners-up (1): 2016
- Third-place (2): 2017, 2018
References
[edit]- ^"Seletar meets its Waterloo against Wellington – 28–1!", The Straits Times, 18 September 1991, Page 34
- ^"Wellington Div 1 Champ", The Straits Times, 19 June 1995, Page 29
- ^Malathi Das and Palakrishnan (1996), "S.League: the kick-off", Singapore Professional Football League Pte Ltd, p. 62
- ^"Wellington fires first shot in hiring top guns", The Straits Times, 23 July 1995, Page 31
- ^"Power Rangers to Woodlands' rescue", The Straits Times, 23 March 1996, Page 39
- ^"Woodlands pulling in the crowds in its friendlies", The Straits Times, 16 February 1996, Page 30
- ^"Philippines International Tournaments 1991–1998, President's Centennial Cup 1998".RSSSF.
- ^"Midfielder Zulkarnaen joins Woodlands", Today, 5 December 2001, Page 35
- ^"Woodlands pay the price for walk-out".
- ^"A sad day for Singapore football".Channel NewsAsia.
- ^Another S-League club to sit out?, Page 67, The New Paper, Thursday, 22 November 2012
- ^"Save Woodlands Campaign".Woodlands Wellington Football Club.
- ^"Woodlands to play next season".The New Paper. Archived fromthe originalon 12 May 2014.
- ^"Tay assures supporters of Rams' participation in 2013 S.League, targets top 8 finish".Woodlands Wellington Football Club.
- ^Low, Lin Fhoong (5 November 2014)."Uncertainty over S-League's changes for 2015".Today.Retrieved5 November2014.
- ^Osman, Shamir (9 February 2016)."S.League club merger between Woodlands and Hougang falls through".The New Paper.Retrieved22 February2024.
- ^Tan, Noah (9 September 2016)."New beginnings for Woodlands Wellington".Today.Retrieved22 February2024.
- ^Osman, Shamir (28 February 2017)."FAS turns its attention to NFL".The New Paper.Retrieved22 February2024.
- ^"The Black Sheep Facebook Page".
- ^"Fans of the mysteriously quiet Woodlands Wellington FC say" Never Surrender! "".Archived fromthe originalon 6 March 2012.Retrieved28 February2012.
- ^"The Black Sheep - Who Are They? on SLeague".Archived from the original on 3 July 2017.
{{cite news}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^Rams close to new deal, Today – Afternoon Edition, 27 March 2001, Page 30
- ^$700,000 windfall for Woodlands, The Straits Times, 12 June 2001, Page S4