Best match of the season: ToT 1-6 Chonburi
An absolutely scintillating display against an admittedly weak ToT team. Still it’s always satisfying to completely blow your opponents away and be able to use the cliché “It could have been double figures”. The 200 or so Chonburi fans in the away end that night made sure the place was bouncing.
Summed up in a song: Runnin’ Riot – Cock Sparrer
Worst match of the season: Bangkok Utd 2-0 Chonburi
Grim in every possible way. Nuff said...
Summed up in a song: Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now – The Smiths
Goal of the season: Thiago Cunha v Air Force Utd
Six passes straight from the kick off at the start of the second half and the ball lands at Thiago’s feet in the penalty area. Initially, he appears to lose control of the ball but he recovers, turns inside and unleashes an unstoppable shot into the bottom corner. A lovely move and a lovely finish. A deserved Goal of the Season from our top marksman.
Summed up in a song: That’s Entertainment – The Jam
Best buy of the season: Juliano Mineiro
An inspired mid season signing. Juliano was the perfect foil for Thiago and also impressed in his own right. His contribution certainly played a large part in our fantastic unbeaten run and unlikely challenge for honours. Here's hoping he's still with us in 2015, as I'm sure the best is yet to come.
Summed up in a song: He’s So Fine – The Chiffons or My Sweet Lord - George Harrison
Worst buy of the season: Jaime Braganca
Jaime Braganca is testament to the perils of signing someone on the strength of their You Tube video channel. Not only is he the worst buy of the season, he is the worst player I’ve ever seen in a Chonburi shirt – and there’s been some stiff competition. On the plus side, he did give us a few laughs and became something of an ironic cult hero on the terraces..
Summed up in a song: Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft – The Wedding Present
Unsung hero of the season: Niweat Siriwong
In spite of his advanced age and not getting in a decent run of matches, the experienced defender never let anyone down when he was called upon to do a job.
Summed up in a song: Substitute – The Who
Biggest flop of the season: Jaime’s too obvious so...Korakot Wiriyaudomsiri.
He looks OK going forward but can’t tackle and has absolutely no positional sense as a left back. A poor replacement for Anucha - BEC Tero definitely came out best in that deal! Hopefully someone will get hold of him during the close season and help him work on his game. Otherwise, he needs to be offloaded.
Summed up in a song: Nobody’s Hero – Stiff Little Fingers
Man of the season: Masahiro Wada
Managed to get an average team – with one or two outstanding players – to second in the league and runners up in the FA Cup, in spite of (rumoured) interference from above and with a tight budget.. A fantastic achievement by anyone’s standards. Made even more remarkable by the fact it was his first (and only) season in charge.
Summed up in a song: Say Hello Wave Goodbye - Soft Cell
Twerp(s) of the season: Newin Chidchob’s tin pot private army
The most arrogant, antagonistic, humourless bunch of hardmen wannabes it’s ever been my misfortune to come across. This pathetic group of overgrown boy scouts would be laughed out of existence in most other places. Sadly, over here, they seem to be allowed to get away with bullying ordinary, decent football fans, whilst looking big and tough in their rather fetching black outfits. Ooooh! You're hard!
Summed up in a song: We Don’t Need This Fascist Groove Thing – Heaven 17
Best away trip: Suphanburi
As both my regular travelling companions were otherwise engaged, I went old skool and made this trip on the fan club mini bus. Stopping for food and drink and visiting a couple of tourist attractions prior to the match made for a cracking day out. The match wasn’t a classic by any means but I was impressed by the set up and stadium at Suphanburi. And it was a joy to be among such delightful company.
Summed up in a song: Day Trip To Bangor (Didn’t We Have A Lovely Time) – Fiddler’s Dram
Best visiting fans: Sisaket
They filled the away end and there were still dozens locked out. I appreciate that the vast majority probably didn’t travel down from the north east - in fact a large percentage probably had a shorter trip than me - but it was still an impressive turnout. And boy, were they noisy!
Summed up in a song: Orange Crush - REM
Best quote of the season: Masahiro Wada
"This match is the last match for Chonburi and we must play with our best performance to bring the FA Cup title back to Chonburi. It is also a way to thank our fans for all their support and make up for last week's disappointment."
Summed up in a song: Promised You A Miracle – Simple Minds
Favourite memory of the season: A phone call
Sitting in Burger King at the services on our way back from Osotspa. My wife phoned to tell us that Buriram Utd had lost at Bangkok Utd in the late kick off. For the first time I actually felt that we could go on to win the league. But didn't actually say it out loud.
Summed up in a song: Dream Baby Dream – Suicide
Funniest incident of the season: Clarence's Pratfall
Although I didn’t see it myself, it has to be my friend Clarence (aged 56) going head over heels in the mud, whilst running to try and stop a fight between Muang Thong Utd and Chonburi fans behind the stand at the SCG. It was made even funnier due to the fact that he was wearing his Sunday best at the time.
Summed up in a song: I Fall – The Damned or Yakety Sax (The Benny Hill theme) – Homer “Boots” Randolph III
Next season I want to see more: Entertainment
It wasn’t just us but I think that genuine entertainment was pretty hard to come by in 2014. There were one or two outstanding matches but overall it was a pretty poor season, only livened up by our late – and highly unlikely – tilt at the title. Hopefully next year we’ll get more excitement.
Summed up in a song: Please Please PleaseLet Me Get What I Want – The Smiths
Next season I want to see less: Rules and Regulations
One of Thai football’s most appealing features is the lack of rules and regulations regarding fans. However, the authorities do seem to be tightening up, without really knowing what they are doing or why. At one league ground I was stopped from taking my umbrella onto an open terrace whilst, at the same time, people carrying drums, flagpoles and pieces of scaffolding were waved through with gay abandon. Daft!
Summed up in a song: Complete Control – The Clash
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