Q - For starters, please can you tell me a bit about your background.
- I was born and bred in Liverpool, and have followed the Reds for as long as I can remember. My first match was Liverpool vs Stoke City, in what proved to be Gordon Banks' last ever match in England. I went to University in Scotland where Dundee United were my adopted second team. I got my first job in South Wales where a then struggling Cardiff City became my new "second" team.
Q - When did you first get into sports journalism and was this always your ambition?
- It was in South Wales that I broke into sports broadcasting. I played football to a decent level, as a goalkeeper, in the League of Wales and the Scottish Junior Leagues, as well as representing British Universities. But I was never disciplined enough, tall enough, fit enough nor good enough to make it as a professional and decided at 21 that if I can't play a sport, I might as well talk about it. I'd written match reports for school magazines as a young lad, and done some "Hospital Radio" in my late teens, so when I gave up playing competitively, I knew that sports journalism was the career I wanted. Getting the first break was tough and numerous knock-backs followed over the next five years. Eventually, a local radio station (Red Dragon Radio) in South Wales gave me some airtime, after which I got freelance work with BBC Wales radio and TV, plus several other regional radio stations and work.
Q - How did you end up in SE Asia?
- The first full-time broadcast journalism job I had was in London working for a company (TWI, now IMG Media) who were commissioned to produce an international version of the famed US SportsCenter. After five years working on this, and on a UK version of the brilliant Futbol Mundial, a chance to move to Singapore to help set up ESPN's SportsCenter regional programming came my way. Having set that up, I added some on-air work to my repertoire (mainly promoting local football Leagues), moved into commentary, and then helped relaunch and revamp the ESPNSTAR.com website.
Q - Why are you so passionate about Asian football?
- My passion is football and how it represents where you are from. Forgive the lecture that's about to follow but, a football club represents you and your community, and should provide a central focal point for that community. Football isn't just about money, it's about belonging and identity and long after the money men disappear from World football, people will remember that football is about belonging and identity. A football club is one of the few ways a place can have "meaning" and be recognised. Mention "Liverpool:, and the chances are that people think of "The Beatles" and "Liverpool Football Club.".
Q - Who is the best South-East Asian player you've ever seen?
- I loved watching Therdsak Chaiman play at Singapore Armed Forces. Even as a "veteran" he was three moves ahead. He made the players around him better, and the opposition look worse. The most thrilling combination of players I saw was when the Indonesians Bambang Pamungkas and Elie Aboi were together at Selangor in Malaysia. They won a treble in front of packed houses, and persuaded me to make the 4-hour journey to Shah Alam on several occasions.
Q - And the best club side in South-East Asia?
- I'm quite taken by South China. They performed brilliantly in one of the Permier League pre-season challenges a couple of years ago when they played Liverpool and Birmingham. A club with the potential to be big if a South-East Asian league ever becomes a reality. They performed at a higher level than any others I can remember. Saying that, the BEC Tero Sasana side that made it to the AFC Champions League Final (again with Therdsak to the fore) were pretty useful as well.
Q - During your time at ESPN/Star Sports you were always very supportive of Thai football, why was this?
- During a couple of trips to Thailand soon after I moved to South East Asia, I got to watch BEC Tero Sasana and Krung Thai Bank and I enjoyed their style of play. Uninspiring names for football clubs but the football was quick, slick and entertaining. I remember BEC Tero beating the Air Force 4-0 on one visit, with Jatupong scoring two, including one gem after a lovely passing move. Although the crowd was small, I saw that the "product" was actually quite good, and with the right promotion, could be a good sell. I wasn't so supportive of the Thai team in the 2007 ASEAN Cup when they performed that petulant walk-off against Singapore, but generally, Thai's like to play attacking football, pleasing on the eye, and the fans are passionate and appreciative.
Q - Do you still take an interest in Thai football?
- Very much so. A change of work has taken me to Malaysia with a company called Astro Arena (Channel 801). Our brief (and what attracted me) is to cover and promote local sport, and local football is top of the tree in this area. It has made me even more aware of the domestic Leagues in and around South East Asia, and how football really does matter.
Q - What do you think about the changes that have taken place in the TPL over the past five years?
- Getting rid of the company associations and trying to make the clubs represent a community is what football is / should be all about. Chonburi was the original model, but the likes of Bangkok Glass and others have followed suit. Long may it continue. That strange season when there were two competing Leagues seems a long time ago, though it does concern me that there seems to be progress from 4 or 5 teams, but not from all.
Q - Where do you see Thai domestic football in five years time?
- That depends on the administrators and the ability to build on the progress over the past few seasons, and to properly market the clubs, and make the Thai League part of the mainstream sports coverage. Media is important. Without it, football will struggle. With negative media, football will struggle. It needs pro-active and positive media. Good administrators plus positive media equals a good future.
Q - How did you add the commentary to the TPL tapes I used to send you? Was it ad-libbed or scripted? Did you try and avoid hearing the scores beforehand?
- I needed to do some research on the positions of players in the starting line up so I "peeked" at the tape first to ensure I could identify the players. After that, I tried to do an "as live" commentary, but I did know who the scorers were before-hand.
Q - What were your impressions of the quality of Thai league football back in 2006 & 2007?
- The International team was doing OK, but the domestic League seemed to be on the way down. Interest was low and crowds were low.
Q - How long did you work at ESPNSTAR Sports?
- A very enjoyable ten years. They remain, to my mind, the standard bearers of coverage for international sport.
Q - What does your new job involve?
- My work at Astro Arena is to encourage coverage of local sport to the same professionalism, and with the same care and attention to quality as ESPNSTAR cover International sport.
Q - Which has been the best Asian match you've ever covered?
- Undoubtedly: Copa Indonesia Cup Final in 2005. Persipura Jayapura beat Persija Jakarta 4-3 after extra time. A nearly packed Senayan Stadium, my first taste of Jakmania, a cracking game of football, and Boaz Salossa in brilliant form. Running in second was a Singapore Cup Final where Chonburi were denied a win over Tampines by two very, very late goals in regulation time, and a late extra time winner. There have been some excellent Singapore Cup Finals, but that Copa Indonesia game was simply wonderful.
Q - If you could have been at any match in history (anywhere in the world) which one would it have been?
- Istanbul. Champions league Final 2005.
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