Football Association of Singapore deputy president Bernard Tan outlined the rationale of the Young Lions project - to accelerate the development of young players (Young national footballers also need game time to improve, Jan 13).

While he pointed out that the team won three games and picked up nine points last year, the team also scored the fewest goals in the Singapore Premier League while conceding the most.

In the Young Lions' 18 seasons in the local league, they have finished last four times and penultimate three times.

And in the nine SEA Games held since the Young Lions first competed in the league in 2003, the Singapore team won three bronze medals and crashed out in the group stage six times.

Even the 2015 team touted to finally win the gold medal on home soil exited at the group stage.

It seems obvious that the Young Lions project has not been effective in delivering the stated outcomes, and it is high time to try other methods.

Are we going to continue flogging a dead horse if the results do not justify the effort? Or is the Young Lions project a sacred cow which cannot be slayed?

Edwin Goh Xian Jun