Who was your player of the year?
Even though he was only there for the last part of it - and
it took him a while to convince me that he was any good - I have to say, Thiago.
He was like the proverbial breath of fresh air at a time when our faith needed
restoring. I really hope that he can keep it up for the whole campaign next
year. And I’d love to see him cut out the histrionics – it’s a blight on his
game.
Which was your match of the year?
It has to be Buriram United away. Sometimes you just get a
feeling about a game and I’d felt confident that we’d get a result during the
run up to this one. However, nothing could have prepared me for the raw
excitement of the evening. It was a genuinely thrilling match and the
atmosphere – in the dangerously overcrowded away end – was electric before,
during and especially after the ninety minutes. I enjoyed the party on the car
park as well. I was only slightly disappointed that we didn’t win by a bigger
margin.
Which was your favourite away trip?
On the whole, I enjoyed the away matches more than the home
ones so it’s quite a tough choice. But if forced in to picking just one, it
would be Bangkok Glass in the League Cup. It was a midweek fixture so I had a
mad dash from work to meet the two others I was travelling with. We got caught
in heavy traffic on the motorway – which threatened to see us miss the kick
off. There was a heated, but civil, debate in the car on the way up about the
English Premier League. We had to stand on an open terrace in the pouring rain
and watch the team turn in their worst performance of the season as they
slumped to a 1-0 defeat. Still, we were allowed to take food and drink inside,
stand where we wanted, have a laugh with our mates and were treated with
kindness by the security staff. All in all, everything that watching football
should be about.
What was your biggest disappointment?
Losing in the semi finals of the AFC Cup to a team who I
genuinely believe weren’t that good. We really let ourselves down when it mattered
the most. Even with a glimmer of hope still shining through at the start of the
second leg, we failed to turn up. I’m still scratching my head over this one.
What was your funniest incident?
It was watching Newin Chidchob theatrically moping around on
his own in the middle of the pitch for a good twenty minutes after we’d beaten
Buriram United at their place. Why the need to be centre of attention all the
time? He should have just shaken hands, congratulated our coach and disappeared
down the tunnel. But no, he had to make sure that everyone saw just how
disappointed he was and how much it hurt him. However, it gave me, and quite a
few others, a good laugh.
Overall how do you think the season went?
Overall, it was very disappointing but, in all honesty, we
got what we deserved. It still baffles me how we don’t beat teams that frankly
we should be hammering. There’s no excuse for drawing 0-0 with ToT, Chula and
TTM – the latter at home – and dropping points against other supposed inferior
opposition. It wasn’t all doom and gloom though. Doing the double over Buriram
United was extremely satisfying and our stunning 4-2 away win against Al-Shorta
will live long in the memory.
Please give marks out of ten for the following:
The coach 5/10 – some strange tactics, team selections and
substitutions but he did get us to the AFC Cup semi finals, won us the Kor
Royal Cup and finished second in the TPL.
The team 6/10 – some flashes of brilliance during the year
but somehow it never really felt right all season.
The fans 7/10 – the majority stuck by the team but it is
very noticeable that a large number of long term fans have found something
better to do with their time at weekends.
The management 6/10 – The new deal with Nike didn’t quite
work out as hoped (teething problems?) and the stadium food and drink ban (I know!
I know!) is ridiculous and counter-productive.
Which song sums up Chonburi’s season for you?
Hope and Despair :Edwyn Collins
Please sum up the season in five words
Expectation. Hope. Realisation. Despair. Salad.
What are your hopes for next season?
To be genuine title contenders and win one of the cups. With
no AFC distractions this time around, we have no excuses for not going all out
to win domestic honours.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Going to home games felt like a chore for most of the
season. I sincerely hope that it can be fun again. It’s not just about the
performance on the pitch – fans can put up with that as long as you can have
the craic in the stands. Hopefully, the club management will chill out a bit
and let us enjoy ourselves again.
No comments:
Post a Comment