Having moved from England to Thailand a little less than 2 years ago, and having worked in professional sport in both England and Holland for more years than I care to remember, Thai football came as quite a culture shock. Fantastic supporters, the equal of Europe if not in numbers then certainly in enthusiasm and noise generated. Some tidy stadiums if you ignore those awful running tracks but...Considering they consider themselves 'professional ' football clubs, it is a structure that could be heading for a crisis.
Coming from a background that has included working for an English premier league club and being closely associated with the youth coaching system in Holland, it is apparent that there are huge problems here that must be addressed sooner rather than later. And these problems need to be addressed by the clubs themselves. I have been able to attend over 30 matches at various clubs and the same problems are apparent everywhere, albeit in varying degrees.
Off the field, poor marketing and PR. Lack of facility inside the stadium, no community involvement evident, lack of appreciation of the fans and many other aspects. On the field it is just as bad. The best clubs in the world all have one thing. A solid, organized, disciplined defence. Barcelona might have Messi, but try and score against them. This principle seems to be ignored in Thailand. I have watched what can only be described as 'schoolboy' football defensively and it is clear coaches are either paying little attention to it or don't know how to set the team up to make it hard for the opposition.
No disciplined formation, a lack of discipline and poor technique. Issues that are dealt with at age 10-12 in Holland for example. Going forward Thai teams can be quite good. But that is only part of the game. Scoring 3 is ok but if you let in 4 you have a problem. I might be being unfair.
Football is a team game but it is made up of individuals. They need to be worked with individually as well as what's relative to their team responsibilities. This apparently doesn't occur. Technique with the ball? Essential, but so much lack of control here. Movement off the ball? Vital to create space when in possession but not applied. When the opposition have the ball you make the distances between you smaller, thus compressing the space and making it harder for them to play. When you have the ball the distances between players get larger giving you space to work with and stretching the opposition. Moving the ball forward quickly with one or two touch play can tear defences apart but this relies on excellent technique. Basic principles.
At a higher level, holding the ball in the consolidation zone until a quality pass can be achieved and not being afraid to hold the ball with your back line and holding midfielders until you can move the opposition out of position and get it forward to your creative threat. You play a percentage game. Thumping it up the field is at best a 50/50 ball and that runs the risk of losing possession. Play through defences not over them.
Free kicks? Oh dear! How many times have I seen a player who thinks he's Ronaldo take a free kick in a dangerous area only to thump it 5 meters over the bar! What a waste.
Foreign players? Yes they can be an asset, in small numbers, but the future is in Thai players. Working with them, improving them developing them. Good for the national team as well.
Juniors? Well they are the future even though the GM of one Thai PL club told me they were of no value! Some will argue, but having looked at the top clubs, there is not a 'real' academy program here. One or two decent junior programs but that won't cut it. Not good enough. The role of the academy is not to produce 'good kids' it is to produce 'world class' kids. That takes a bit of know how.
Finally, officials? No comment. I'm afraid I have seen decisions made that could not have been 'mistakes'. One of which was against Chonburi at Port recently (yes the penalty - pictured).
I won't even start about off the field because enough is enough re negativity. So much potential here. So much enthusiasm. So much opportunity. Unfortunately, not being addressed. But the change starts off the field first. When a Chairman says one day how do I make this the best club in Asia maybe he might realize that things must change.
I spoke earlier of a crisis. Fans won't always come. They will become disillusioned. They will stay away. Have a look at Italy. Such a footballing history. 80,000 seater stadiums with in some cases 5000 turning up. That is a crisis. Closer to home look at Phuket FC. 10000 stadium, 500 at some matches, down from 3000. Fantastic hardcore support but 500 won't pay the bills. That is a crisis.
Having said all of that I like Thai football even though sometimes you cringe at its naivety. But the supporters and being amongst them make it fun. The top 2 here, Buriram Utd and everyone's favorite Muangthong Utd need a serious challenger. Chonburi? It could be. Let's hope so.
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