Dateline 31st October 2015

 NRFC 1 SARABURI 1

In front of what I estimate to be a lowly 15 000 attendance at the 80^th Anniversary Stadium, the Swatcats extended their unbeaten run to nine games. The Red Knights were cheered on by a pretty high turnout of away fans – well done to them!!

 The first half saw the home side pressing effectively but unable to convert the final pass. Saraburi raided forward sporadically and looked dangerous on the break. As the first half ended the home team created a couple of chances but the half ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

In the second half, a speculative Lee Tuck shot looped over the keeper to give the home team a deserved first lead. The men in orange continued to press and chances came but again the threat of the Red Knights on the break was plain to see.

The inevitable eventually happened and a well worked goal gave the Saraburi team probably a deserved and valuable away point.

In conclusion a decent performance from the home team, matched in spirit and adventure by their struggling neigbours. On this performance The Red Knights have a decent chance of jousting with the big boys next season – best of luck to them, I hope they stay up.

TPL attendance statistics 2015

TPL Attendances 2015 Pos	Team	Total	High	Low	Average	Change
1	Buriram United	267,957	33,269	12,240	19,139	+0.0%
2	Nakhon Ratchasima	237,510	34,659	8,142	18,270	+14.3%†
3	Suphanburi	143,777	25,709	2,800	10,269	+6.0%
4	Muangthong United	123,656	14,980	6,053	9,512	−0.1%
5	Bangkok Glass	96,187	10,614	4,527	6,870	+5.6%
6	Chonburi	88,510	8,463	3,489	6,322	+4.8%
7	Chiangrai United	82,120	10,146	2,400	5,865	−15.1%
8	Sisaket	79,999	9,816	2,573	5,714	+30.0%
9	Chainat Hornbill	68,488	8,382	2,204	5,268	+39.2%
10	Ratchaburi	57,594	9,651	2,680	4,113	−16.0%
11	Port	50,848	6,287	2,678	3,911	+11.2%
12	BEC Tero Sasana	49,088	5,631	2,470	3,776	+2.0%
13	Navy	48,265	5,717	2,649	3,712	+51.9%†
14	Saraburi	39,866	4,936	2,194	3,066	+115.7%†
15	Bangkok United	39,684	6,337	1,561	3,052	+18.0%
16	Army United	38,033	5,957	1,224	2,925	+18.2%
17	TOT	23,790	4,084	924	1,830	+16.0%
18	Osotspa Samut Prakan	19,946	3,358	537	1,662	−12.7%
	League total	1,567,616	34,659	537	6,477	+28.7%

Buriram – Why the vilification?

Why is everyone on Buriram’s case? – yes of course we all hate a team that dominates. But let’s think outside the box. Buriram should be and will be the template for TPL teams in the next decade or so. Am I the only one to see this?

The demise of “no fans” TOT and hopefully Port this year is a start to an inexorable process. The fact that an upcoming Cup final is to be competed for by two teams from Issaan is only the start, so we all need to get used to it.

The rest of the “no fans” Bangkok teams will eventually regress to the second and third tier, to be replaced by the forward looking and well managed teams from the provinces.

Hopefully the Udon Thani revolution will continue and I look forward to them joining the other Issaan powerhouses Buriram and NRFC in the top tier in the coming years – add Chang Mai, Ubon and Konkaen and you start getting towards a dynamic league with a real future.

It’s going to take time but it WILL happen – so get used to it!!!

Dateline 28^th October 2015

 BEC Tero Sasana1 NRFC 2

 In truth, a rather fortuitous win but our 8 game unbeaten run goes on. This team is exceeding everyone’s expectations and shows no signs of letting up.

The first half started with a flourish and a nicely flighted Chivuta free kick led to an early opening goal for the visitors. Tero were passing the ball around well and looked a decent side going forward.

A sending off (a slightly harsh decision I thought – a yellow would have surficed) and a serious injury ending in a substitution seemed to set Swatcats back and a well taken equalizer soon came. Apart from Adido missing a sitter and a thunderous late strike deflected away from goal, the Swatcats offered little with Tero dominating possession.  I suspect that based on this first half performance the Fire Dragons will still be breathing flames in the top tier next season.

At half time the Swatcats were reeling and on the back foot – I think we would have settled for a point at this stage – we were getting our bushy feline tails burnt!!!

The second half began in a similar vein with Tero pressing and the visitors unable to keep possession. Lee tuck was brought on and this coincided with the “men in black” gaining a little more possession.  A well worked Chivuta goal put the visitors ahead and despite some late Tero pressure the Swatcats held on for a very useful 3 points.

Dateline 24^th October 2015

NRFC 1 Bangkok Glass 0

A superb victory over top 5 team Bangkok Glass has cemented the team’s 8^th place position in the league. A truly excellent achievement. In a match that I doubted that we could compete, the home team matched the Bangkok outfit in every respect and showed glimpse of what might come next season – I firmly believe that we are only a couple of players of being a serious threat to the top teams in the future.

In my opinion Bangkok Glass were disappointing – they created little up front and their midfield seemed unable to cope with the tenacity of Chivuta and the undoubted skill of Lindemann.

The first half showed some enterprising and fluent passing movements from the home team but overall both defences were in charge. A mention here of Lee Tuck. We are certainly a more effective team with Lee on the pitch and I sensed that he was showing a more mature approach to his on pitch discipline.

In the second half roared on by the usual passionate support (15-16 k would be my guess), the home team pressed and created a number of chances. A well worked and deserved late winner sealed a fine victory – bring on Buriram and Muang Thong!!!!!

Dateline 18^th October 2015

NRFC 2 Osotspa M150 0

A well deserved home victory punts the men in orange up to a dizzy 8^th place in the Thai Premier League.

The first half showed some good movement and slick passing movements from the Swatcats but the home team lacked any real penetration. The M150 outfit was poor bordering on the pathetic. In my opinion the worst display by an away team this season. Relegation beckons next season if this is a typical performance.

Urged on by the usual tremendous home support (around 18-20 thousand would be my estimate), the home team pressed on and the introduction of the skillful and full of pace Adido certainly added some pep to the attack.

Goals seemed inevitable and eventually a slightly fortuitous shot from Adido broke the deadlock. A late penalty, earned by Adido sealed the victory.

In conclusion, a standard if not brilliant performance from the Swatcats. Next season we need to sort out our attacking options. Either play Adido up front with Tuck – or else we need to obtain a rangy target man - without Tuck and Adido, it seemed tonight that goals would be hard to come by.

Leaked proposals document April 1^st. 2015

The new Honda Thai Elite League 2020

The major problems with league football in Thailand are;

·         Lack of spectators.

·          Mediocre standards of play.

 Thais are just not sufficiently interested (with a few notable exceptions) to turn out to watch their local team. The majority of players in the TPL are just not good enough to excite spectators. Further the cheating, feigning injury and abuse of officials by so called professionals is not what the majority of spectators want to see.

The status quo of course can continue (and probably will, let’s be honest) but the result will be a sub standard product which will wither and eventually die. The solutions are extreme and will undoubtedly ruffle feathers but the alternative is ultimate extinction.

The Plans.

·         Thai Elite League to consist of 12 teams – based on ability to attract fans and geographic location. Teams bid for franchises in the new league. They must guarantee attendances of at least 10k and commit to construction of purpose built stadium of capacity 10k-15k or modify existing stadia within 5 years

The 12 teams would be:

Navy

Chonburi

Bangkok Glass

MT United

Ratchaburi

Suphanburi

Nahkon Ratchasima

Buriram United

Si Siket

Chang Rai United

Udon Thani or Konkaen

Chainat Hornbills

·         Top 8 to play in playoffs ie post season to make up for lack of matches due to fewer teams. Quarter finals, semifinals and final all played over 2 legs.

·         Ban live TV coverage for 1 year to assess the effect on attendances, replace with extended highlights or play midweek game to show live when no other teams are playing.

·         Encourage the building of 10k-15k purpose built stadia for the elite League teams.

·         Abolish the foreign player quota rule

·         All TPL teams to fund Youth Academies.

·         No relegation from the new EPL for 5 years.

·         Division 1 and Regional Leagues to continue. Former TPL teams not in the Elite League to compete in Division 1.

·         Some Regional League teams to be linked to appropriate Elite League teams and act as feeder teams and to develop new talent.

The biggest obstacle will be funding. Loss of TV revenue and funding of stadia construction and salaries for more foreign imports will be slightly offset by increased attendances and investment from The Thai government.