Season Review: 2010

Season Review 2010
15/12/10 
I recently answered a Thai football website questionnaire about Chonburi's 2010 TPL season. You can read the results below. 

1. Which TPL team do you support? 
Chonburi

2. How did they do in 2010? 
Finished third in the TPL, after being in contention for most of the season, and won the FA Cup. I'm happy with that.

3. What was the best match you attended?
The 5-1 win against TTM early in the season was quite enjoyable. And, of course, the FA Cup final.

4. What was the worst game? 
The 0-0 draw with Osotspa and the 0-1 reverse against the Army were equally dire.

5. Who was your best player in 2010? 
It is a toss up between Therdsak Chaiman and Ekkaphan Inthasen

6. Who is the TPL's best player?
Kawin Thamsatchanan, the goalkeeper at Muang Thong, and our own Therdsak Chaiman, who can still show the youngsters a trick or two.

7. Who was your team's unsung hero?
We don't really have any unsung heroes. Most Chonburi fans appreciate every one of our players and the effort they put in each week.

8. Does your team have a star of the future?
Yes. Purithat Jarigarnon. He has the ability and drive to go a long way in the game.

9. Which other TPL team do you dislike the most?
Being a rather old fashioned Englishman, and someone who has witnessed first-hand the hard earned rise of my own club, I don't have much time, or respect, for those clubs who have either bought themselves a place in the TPL or move around from province to province at the drop of a hat (or is it a bulging suitcase?).

10. Which is your favourite TPL stadium?
Whichever one Chonburi are playing in.

11. Approx how many TPL games did you see this season?
I saw 28 Chonburi games in the TPL - I missed the away trips to Bangkok Glass and Thai Port towards the end of the season. I also went to all the FA Cup ties, the home League Cup matches and a fair few 1st division fixtures, other cup ties and saw the national team on numerous occasions.

12. How has the TPL improved this year?
I don't think that it has. Things around the TPL have improved, such as communication, TV coverage, clubs marketing themselves well etc, but in a lot of respects, I think the TPL itself has gone backwards. This is mainly down to the inability of those who run it to be able to build on the remarkable rise in interest we saw in 2009.

13. Name 3 areas where the TPL still needs to improve.
There are a lot more than three!! However, I agree with most of what other posters have already said (more protection for referees from the FAT, feigning of injuries needs to be stamped out, last minute changes of schedules is irritating, lay out the rules and guidelines for the whole season and stick to them for all teams, ban walk-offs etc). And I'd like to see the "huddle" outlawed. It's become even more annoying than all that stretcher nonsense!!

14. What is your dream for 2011? 
To be chasing trophies on four fronts: TPL, FA Cup, League Cup and AFC Cup. It's a tall order but I expect we'll have a lot of fun trying.