PETER REID NEW THAILAND COACH
by Dale Farrington
The news that Peter Reid is to be paid 63 million Baht (one million pounds) per year to coach the Thai national team has caused a few frowns in "The Land of Smiles". According to FAT president, Worawi Makudi, the fee, 292 million Baht (four million pounds) for a 4 year contract, is "the going rate for English coaches". That may well be true but it is a huge amount to shell out for someone unproven at international level. So where is the money coming from?
According to reports the English FA, who recommended Reid for the job, are paying some towards it and Manchester City's chairman, Thaksin Shinawatra, has offered to help (this was before his wife was sentenced to three years in prison and the couple left the country so we'll see!), with FAT and private sponsorship supplying the rest. But money isn't the only issue.
Reid's appointment is not a universally popular one (although some are adopting a "wait and see" approach) and it has attracted a lot of criticism from Thai football fans and journalists alike; prompting Worawai to defend his decision to the Bangkok Post’s football journalist, Tor Chittinand. However, as it was pretty much a one horse race - the only other serious candidate, German coach Holger Osieck, pulled out before he'd reached the first fence - FAT were left with no choice. Or so they said!
Local fans tend to disagree. Brazillian Jose Alves Berwis, who has won the league title with Thailand Tobacco Monopoly, and worked for a number of years with Thai players at all levels, was a favourite, along with Kiatasuk "Zico" Senamuang, a popular former Thai international and Huddersfield Town reserve, who is currently reviving the fortunes of Chula United; the reknowned Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok based team have made a surge up the table during the second half of the season following a bad start and are fancied to do well next year. But neither seemed to be serious contenders, leaving the door open for Reid and much scratching of heads.
The main concerns centre around the ex-Evertonian's supposedly poor managerial record (which under closer scrutiny isn't that bad!), his favoured style of play (there's no Thai equivalent of Niall Quinn) and the possibility of him not being sympathetic enough to Thai sensibilities, especially when dealing with the players.
Interestingly enough, I remember similar worries being raised the last time an Englishman was given the job. In 1998 Peter Withe, a seemingly far more abrasive character than Reid, arrived in the kingdom after a short and disastrous spell in charge of Wimbledon. However, his four year tenure coincided with Thailand's best ever World Cup campaign and the team sweeping the board in the regional competitions.
Withe organised the players well, something that had previously been lacking, and had them playing to their strengths, a neat and tidy passing game with the ball being kept on the floor. He also instilled the belief that they could compete with, and beat, the perceived Asian powerhouses. Eventually the blunt Scouser fell foul of the Thai FA's top brass, allegedly for wearing shorts and a baseball cap rather than a suit whilst sitting in the dugout, and he left, only to re-surface a couple of years later as coach of Indonesia.
The news that Peter Reid is to be paid 63 million Baht (one million pounds) per year to coach the Thai national team has caused a few frowns in "The Land of Smiles". According to FAT president, Worawi Makudi, the fee, 292 million Baht (four million pounds) for a 4 year contract, is "the going rate for English coaches". That may well be true but it is a huge amount to shell out for someone unproven at international level. So where is the money coming from?
According to reports the English FA, who recommended Reid for the job, are paying some towards it and Manchester City's chairman, Thaksin Shinawatra, has offered to help (this was before his wife was sentenced to three years in prison and the couple left the country so we'll see!), with FAT and private sponsorship supplying the rest. But money isn't the only issue.
Reid's appointment is not a universally popular one (although some are adopting a "wait and see" approach) and it has attracted a lot of criticism from Thai football fans and journalists alike; prompting Worawai to defend his decision to the Bangkok Post’s football journalist, Tor Chittinand. However, as it was pretty much a one horse race - the only other serious candidate, German coach Holger Osieck, pulled out before he'd reached the first fence - FAT were left with no choice. Or so they said!
Local fans tend to disagree. Brazillian Jose Alves Berwis, who has won the league title with Thailand Tobacco Monopoly, and worked for a number of years with Thai players at all levels, was a favourite, along with Kiatasuk "Zico" Senamuang, a popular former Thai international and Huddersfield Town reserve, who is currently reviving the fortunes of Chula United; the reknowned Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok based team have made a surge up the table during the second half of the season following a bad start and are fancied to do well next year. But neither seemed to be serious contenders, leaving the door open for Reid and much scratching of heads.
The main concerns centre around the ex-Evertonian's supposedly poor managerial record (which under closer scrutiny isn't that bad!), his favoured style of play (there's no Thai equivalent of Niall Quinn) and the possibility of him not being sympathetic enough to Thai sensibilities, especially when dealing with the players.
Interestingly enough, I remember similar worries being raised the last time an Englishman was given the job. In 1998 Peter Withe, a seemingly far more abrasive character than Reid, arrived in the kingdom after a short and disastrous spell in charge of Wimbledon. However, his four year tenure coincided with Thailand's best ever World Cup campaign and the team sweeping the board in the regional competitions.
Withe organised the players well, something that had previously been lacking, and had them playing to their strengths, a neat and tidy passing game with the ball being kept on the floor. He also instilled the belief that they could compete with, and beat, the perceived Asian powerhouses. Eventually the blunt Scouser fell foul of the Thai FA's top brass, allegedly for wearing shorts and a baseball cap rather than a suit whilst sitting in the dugout, and he left, only to re-surface a couple of years later as coach of Indonesia.
I hope that the two Peters have been in touch and that Withe has managed
to give his successor some valuable advice (including the name of a good
tailor). He will certainly need it as the expectations are high. Not only
is Reid required to take Thailand to the 2014 World Cup but he has
been given the task of setting up a 'reserve' national team and coaching
the under-19s in the upcoming AFC Championships.
To most independent observers the likliehood of Thailand reaching the World Cup after next seems remote and most fans would prefer that FAT invest more heavily in the domestic game. Recently the AFC have admonished Thailand for their sub-standard league and have taken away their automatic qualification spot for next season's AFC Champions League tournament.
This is a shame as current TPL champions, Chonburi, gave a good account of themselves in this year's competition, beating Melbourne Victory and earning creditable draws with Gamba Osaka (Japan) and Chunnam Dragons (Korea) before bowing out. Domestically, Chonburi have also shown the way forward. In a competition dominated by company teams and clubs drawn from the armed forces they were the first provincial side to win the league title. Their average home attendance is up to around 3,500 (most teams struggle to attract four figures) and their marketing strategies are unrivalled in Thai football. Their success has also sparked a much bigger interest in the local game and, although still relatively small, support is growing steadily for most football league clubs.
Peter Withe was always quite forthright in his views that a strong domestic league was a basis for a strong national team and I expect that Peter Reid will feel the same way. However, the World Cup is FAT's Holy Grail and the man from Huyton is cast as an unlikely King Arthur.
"Chok dee", as we say in Thailand, Peter. I think you're going to need it!
To most independent observers the likliehood of Thailand reaching the World Cup after next seems remote and most fans would prefer that FAT invest more heavily in the domestic game. Recently the AFC have admonished Thailand for their sub-standard league and have taken away their automatic qualification spot for next season's AFC Champions League tournament.
This is a shame as current TPL champions, Chonburi, gave a good account of themselves in this year's competition, beating Melbourne Victory and earning creditable draws with Gamba Osaka (Japan) and Chunnam Dragons (Korea) before bowing out. Domestically, Chonburi have also shown the way forward. In a competition dominated by company teams and clubs drawn from the armed forces they were the first provincial side to win the league title. Their average home attendance is up to around 3,500 (most teams struggle to attract four figures) and their marketing strategies are unrivalled in Thai football. Their success has also sparked a much bigger interest in the local game and, although still relatively small, support is growing steadily for most football league clubs.
Peter Withe was always quite forthright in his views that a strong domestic league was a basis for a strong national team and I expect that Peter Reid will feel the same way. However, the World Cup is FAT's Holy Grail and the man from Huyton is cast as an unlikely King Arthur.
"Chok dee", as we say in Thailand, Peter. I think you're going to need it!
No comments:
Post a Comment