To perform you first need a good chance to perform.
He'll get a good chance to perform in France in a few months, and against some decent opponents too - Singh, Cacace & Wood for the 3 over 23 spots at the Olympics, you heard it here first 😉.
I'm forever hopeful that someone in Belgium or the Netherlands is on the lookout. He's levels above 3.Liga and Regionalliga play in Germany. So unless he's nursing a niggle or getting some match fitness, it should be a criminal offence to play him at that level.
Still waiting for him to really kick on. Everyone can see the quality, he just needs the right environment. Germany ain't it so far...
For the Olympics I'd go Payne, Singh & Wood. Yes is some good players in Sutton & LK-H who can play LB. RB stocks on the other hand are thin, though yes really impressed by the Sheridan last few weeks. Elliot is 24, too old for a 2nd Games.
Singh however maybe unavailable if he moves to a new club, as August will be right into pre season wherever he's at clubwise. But he did miss the Tokyo Games so maybe says fudge it, I'm just going to have some fun with me Kiwi mates on a big stage.
And then who knows if Empoli go down, Libby may be another looking for a new club, and so have the new club preseason/Olympics timing clash. Same the Woodsman. But being an older hugely experienced player, he probably has sway at whatever club he's at, to say I'll skip some of the pre season to be in Paris.
I love Cacarce, but I don't think we need to pick him.
Sutton and LKH can play the LB role. Wood and Singh are a lock as we don't really have a young player like them.
I would look to maybe Boxall - play Surman and Bindon either side of him with Sutton on the left. Sheridan or Elliott on the right.
I can see the rationale, but I think we have to take the highest profile players we have. Boxall is a good shout for the experience too, but if it were my choice I still take Libby.
On the plus side you'd have Sutton as back up, or you could even push him further forward on that left hand flank and then that leaves LKH for the left sided CB option.
Sheridan has really come on strongly, and I like that option as a potential bolter. Would like to see a bit more game time this season before forming a firm judgement on him, but I've liked what I've seen from him when given the chance.
Rostock lose 2-0. They stay 16th (relegation playoff spot), 1 point above the automatic relegation zone. 4 games left.
2nd season in a row Singh has been at a struggling Bundesliga 2 club facing the drop. Not that he's really 'at' Rostock anymore it seems.
His old club Jahn Regensburg are 2nd in Liga 3 (3 pts clear of 3rd), so a good chance of promotion straight back to Bundesliga 2, after being relegated last season.
But I think the Gods are saying Sarpreet needs to get out of Deutschland, even if he has learnt the language!
He can move to Austria and still sprechen Sie Deutsch. He definitely needs to find someone, somewhere, that can and will utilise his skills.coochiee
Rostock lose 2-0. They stay 16th (relegation playoff spot), 1 point above the automatic relegation zone. 4 games left.
2nd season in a row Singh has been at a struggling Bundesliga 2 club facing the drop. Not that he's really 'at' Rostock anymore it seems.
His old club Jahn Regensburg are 2nd in Liga 3 (3 pts clear of 3rd), so a good chance of promotion straight back to Bundesliga 2, after being relegated last season.
But I think the Gods are saying Sarpreet needs to get out of Deutschland, even if he has learn the language!
I wonder if the Rufer bros still have contacts in Switzerland. The Swiss league would suite Singh IMO. FCC Zurich would be a good fit…..German speaking as well
You would think he could definitely hold his own, if not flourish, in the top flight of Austria or Switzerland. It's just that serendipitous aspect of finding the right club, right management, right whatever, for it to come together - but he's talented, which gives greater belief that the right spot is out there somewhere.
A random, somewhat out of the blue comment, but I wonder if being from India is holding him back.
British Asians love football more then cricket, but struggle to make it on the professional scene even when they have the talent.
There is still loads of racism in Europe, seen and unseen, that could be holding him back. I've got South Asian colleagues who got a lot of racism while working in Nuremberg and Vienna airports from the locals.
Well when he left Nuremberg (his first Bundesliga 2) there was a fair bit of fan hate towards him. But I think that was mostly because they expected more from him, and he clearly didn’t enjoy his time there ending the loan early to return to BM. But that was amongst Covid and openly a shark time for him, on his his own through all those lock downs etc
Got 10 mins on the weekend off the bench as Rostock lost 1-0 at St Pauli (1st). Socceroo Jackson Irvine the winning goal. Connor Metcalfe also in the St Pauli lineup. They basically have promotion confirmed with 3 games left. On the other hand Rostock go 2nd last into the drop zone
Would he be useful as a loan to the Nix next season? Give him a chance to rebuild his confidence etc??
Rostock could well be relegated to Liga 3. There will probably be yet another coaching change there
Mutual release and Singh finding a new club and coach that wants him, is the best bet. If it’s an ALM return (I hope not) I’d say it’s the new team in the 09
Had a quick look at Rostock's Facebook page. Number of fans saying Singh should have played more often this season. Bit late now, with relegation looking increasingly likely.
That presumably will be the end of his (non) season. Only 1 game to go and he's likely suspended. An ironically fitting way to probably end his time at Rostock.
And a red card! Never a dull moment. Guna be interesting to see the highlights on this one.
Reading the commentary on FotMob, it sounds like he went to take the player down with a tactical foul and got given a yellow for it. But on closer inspection it was worse and he had done a proper step on Assan Ouedraogo's Achilles. Probably not the biggest fan of New Zealanders' tackling is Ouedraogo, given he was forced off injured against the U17s in the Germany-NZ game last year.
Only took the referee two views of the incident at the monitor apparently before he made his decision. Sounds like Singh had a suspicion he was going and just went off looking dejected and without complaint. Commentary had it at a foregone conclusion before the ref even when went to the monitor.
Sounds like his goal was courtesy of some good control and dribbling to get a small window to shoot and then some luck that the covering defender deflected the ball kindly.
Wehen Wiesbaden (16th, 32 pts, -32 GD) in the relegation playoff spot lost overnight. With one round left WW are the only side Hansa Rostock (17th, 31 pts, -26 GD) can catch to prevent automatic relegation.
Rostock with the much inferior GD will need a win when they host Paderborn (7th), and hope WW lose or draw their final game at home against St Pauli (1st). St Pauli motivated as in a 1 point title race with Holstein Kiel.
Likely all moot for Singh. Surely he's leaving Rostock regardless.
Making his first start for three months, Sarpreet Singh scored a goal… then got sent off
This bloke is cursed. Dunno what other conclusion you can take from the overwhelming evidence of his time in the German second tier. Bad fits, injuries, changes of manager, losing teams, strange selections. Sarpreet Singh cannot catch a break in this division.
As Hansa Rostock flail against potential relegation, Singh was given a rare chance to start against rivals Schalke – injuries elsewhere clearing the pathway for him to make his first appearance in the initial eleven for three months, having only played six minutes in the previous eight fixtures (unless you count the one reserves game he played in which he got two assists in an hour’s work). With that rare start he showed exactly why he should have been way more prominent... then the bad luck returned to mean he might not feature again this season.
Hansa are second to last in the Bundesliga 2 standings and had lost four games in a row heading into a derby game with Schalke. The day began with a few kerfuffles amongst the respective disgruntled fans in the hours leading up to the match. A heated atmosphere to find oneself amongst when you’ve barely played recently... yet Singh had a point to prove. So after Kenan Karaman headed Schalke into a 21st minute lead from a corner kick, Sarpreet struck back with a 31st minute equaliser. Drifting right to collect a chipped ball over the top then shaping up his marker and firing low into the net via a slight deflection. His first goal for the club. His first goal anywhere for 15 months, since he scored for Jahn Regensburg in a 1-1 draw vs Hannover in February 2023. Only the second goal he’s scored since the pelvic injury he began suffering from in early 2022.
Unfortunately the Hansa goalie made a mess of a cross late in first half stoppage time, rushing out then getting nowhere near the ball to gift Paul Seguin a goal that put the home side back in the lead. Singh had a chance to tie things up again when he drilled a shot just over in the second spell. But then his resurgent evening took that accursed twist as he tried to drag a bloke back to stop a counter attack, accidentally trod on his heel in the process, and the referee upgraded the initial yellow card to a red one after a peek at the VAR screen on the sideline. You can see that the stomp wasn’t what he was aiming for, he just got his timing wrong. But you’re always going to be in trouble when they look worse in slow-motion.
Hansa Rostock did not find another goal after they went down to ten men. They lost 2-1 to extend their run of defeats to five matches – capitulating at the worst possible time. They now cannot finish higher than third-to-last, which would still require a relegation playoff in order to remain in this division. To do that, they need to win their last match against Paderborn whilst hoping Wehen Wiesbaden also fail to win. WW are hosting St Pauli who need the victory to secure the 2.Liga title so that much they can reasonably expect. It’s taking care of their own business that’s hard to envisage... and now Sarpreet Singh will be suspended for that (and potentially that playoff game too, if it comes to pass).
Jahn Regensburg were relegated last season so if you’re wondering why Sarpreet Singh can be so electric for the All Whites then barely get a look in for his clubs then that’s a big part of the reason why: his clubs have sucked for two years now. He’s not necessarily a dude suited to those types of teams. Coincidentally, there’s a good chance that it’d be Regensburg that Hansa Rostock faces in the playoff as they’re currently third in the 3.Liga.
Singh has two more years on his Hansa contract but third tier footy does not really seem like an exciting idea at this stage of his career. Nor does this club/player fit feel like anything worth preserving. That could be a different story if a new manager comes in with different ideas but there’s a considerable chance that red card could have been his last act for the club. A loan out next season wouldn’t be the worst idea. This time potentially to a club outside of Germany... somewhere that his 2.Liga curse won’t reach.
