KUALA LUMPUR: Johor Darul Ta'zim's (JDT) dominant run in the M-League has raised Malaysian football's profile enormously. However, it has also raised questions over whether that dominance actually benefits the league or is in fact detrimental.
The prevailing thought is that JDT's imperious form has made the league predictable.
The Southern Tigers won the Super League crown unbeaten this year, winning it by 12 points, for their ninth straight crown.
JDT, who also won the FA Cup this season, will shift their focus on achieving a treble when they start their Malaysia Cup campaign.
However, JDT should not be blamed for their dominance. For one, JDT are the best example that success on and off the pitch derives from responsible long-term planning.
Their dominance also proves that internal investments have beneficial effects.
For all the talk of JDT's aggressive poaching of rival teams' players, they have built one of the most sustainable and successful youth academies in the country.
JDT's standards may be high but have the inevitable effect of encouraging other clubs to follow suit. In the long run, it will increase the quality across the league and Malaysian club performance in Asian-level tournaments.
Ex-international Datuk Richard Scully, however, believes the Malaysian Football League (MFL) should tweak the M-League rules to promote healthy competition.
"MFL should revise the rules to make it tougher for JDT. For example, make it compulsory for teams to include X amount of Under-23 and Under-19 players and limit foreign signings in a match. It will promote competition in the league," said Scully today.
"Currently, we do not have a healthy Super League competition. Other teams are only fighting for second and third. We all know JDT are the favourites.
"JDT have the financial strength to get good foreign players who can make a difference in matches. Money is the key factor because, without it, a team cannot obtain the best players to fight against JDT.
"The Southern Tigers have raised the bar, and other teams should find solutions to get quality players."
As champions, JDT will be Malaysia's representative in next year's Asian Champions League, while second-placed Terengganu will play in the AFC Cup.
If JDT win the Malaysia Cup, Sabah, who finished third in the league, will qualify for the AFC Cup.
Richard believes JDT should play in overseas leagues.
"If JDT want to help Malaysian football, they should play in foreign leagues and allow their feeder club (JDT II) to play top-tier football in the country. I believe it will offer other teams a fighting chance in the M-League," he added.
JDT defeated Sabah 3-0 in their final Super League match at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on Saturday, thanks to Bergson da Silva (17th and 55th minutes) and Arif Aiman Hanapi (39th).
Da Silva emerged as the Golden Boot winner with 29 goals. The striker smashed the Golden Boot record by three goals, previously held by Ifedayo Olusegun, who set the previous mark of 26 goals in the 2021 season with Selangor.
RESULTS
SUPER LEAGUE
JDT 3 0 SABAH
KEDAH 1 3 TERENGGANU
PJ CITY 1 0 KL CITY
PENANG 1 1 SELANGOR
SRI PAHANG 2 0 NEGRI SEMBILAN
SARAWAK UTD 1 0 MELAKA UTD
STANDINGS
P W D L GF GA PTS
* JDT 22 17 5 0 61 12 56
TERENGGANU 22 14 2 6 39 20 44
SABAH 22 13 3 6 36 26 42
NEGRI 22 12 5 5 33 26 41
SELANGOR 22 8 6 8 39 33 30
KL CITY 22 8 5 9 30 31 29
SRI PAHANG 22 8 4 10 33 31 28
KEDAH 22 8 3 11 32 41 27
PJ CITY 22 6 8 8 22 30 26
MELAKA UTD 22 4 6 12 22 43 18
SARAWAK UTD 22 5 2 15 19 50 17
PENANG 22 2 5 15 22 45 11