MSL foreign players not good enough: Butler But league is on the up, and LionsXII a promising prospect

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SINGAPORE - Ousted from the Kelantan job he held for only four months, Peter Butler left the Malaysian Super League (MSL) leaders standing firm on his belief that technical team matters should be the responsibility of the coach - including the selection of foreign players.

Speaking to Today, the former West Ham United midfielder insisted that one of the problems plaguing the league today is the fact that clubs are paying too much for foreign players who are just not good enough.

"Malaysian football is on an upward curve, but I don't know if this can be sustained ... there are too many average foreign players on high wages," he told Today.

Comparing the two Ghanaian players he signed for Kelantan, on wages in the region of US$3,000 (S$3,730), to others who earn upwards of US$12,000, he said: "There's no way that those players are worth that much more.

"Don't get me wrong, there are good foreigners around, in Sarawak and Terengganu even, but there are teams who are now chopping and changing their foreigners."

Selangor, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu's T-Team are some of those understood to be still changing their foreign players.

"Sometimes you make a right (foreign) signing and sometimes you don't, but in this league, it's definitely better to have a good team of local players," said the 45-year-old.

No conversation on regional football is complete without addressing the spectre of match-fixing, and Butler called for much harsher penalties for those involved.

"I've not experienced it myself, but everybody knows that it goes on. You have to go for the people behind it all, but I think if anyone gets (caught for match-fixing), they should be banned for life."

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) recently banned 18 players (between two and five years) from three teams that participated in the President's Cup, an under-21 tournament.

V Sundramoorthy's LionsXII side have stayed clear of match-fixing thus far, and Butler believes a Singapore return to Malaysian football competition is one of the factors that have set the MSL on an upward trend.

"I've always said that having a Singapore team here will be great for football in the region, and I think Sundram is doing a fantastic job with the team," he said.

"Those who deal with the sponsorship side of things here have told me that (perhaps due to the LionsXII) there's more interest in the game here now, but it's still early days, and you can only judge things three to five years down the road, but having the LionsXII in the league is definitely the way forward."

Having left Kelantan just yesterday, the way forward for Butler appears to be pointing to Indonesia.

Sources reveal Persiba Balikpapan, a team he coached from 2006 to 2008, have come calling.

"I had two good seasons there, and we do speak, and I'll probably head down there for a conversation at some stage," was all Butler would say.

"I love Kelantan and I'm disappointed to leave, but I would like to return to Malaysian football."