22nd June, 2018
Phil has lived in Thailand for 28 years and never been to a Thai league match. He will break his duck tomorrow when Chonburi entertain Suphanburi. Here is a bit about his background and how he feels about popping his cherry.
Q - Please can you introduce yourself
I'm Phil Williams, 54 years old and come from the wonderful city of Birmingham. I'm the guy who runs the Ajarn dot com teaching website. I've been in Thailand for 28 years but always a Brummie!
Q - Which teams do you support and why?
I have two great footballing loves - my big team and my 'little team'. Manchester United are my big team because my Dad has always been a United fanatic so I grew up in a Manchester United household. I was never really going to support anyone else. I was a regular at Old Trafford in the late 1970's and they were great days standing on the old Scoreboard Paddock opposite The Stretford End.
My 'little team' are Colchester United, currently in the second division. Back when I was a teenager, my best pal was a Walsall fan and I went along with him to the old Fellows Park Ground just to watch a game. Walsall beat Colchester 4-2 in a cracking match and from that moment on, I started to look out for Colchester's results. Over the next few seasons, they became an obsession and I still love the club to this day. In 1990, Colchester did the non-league double, winning both the Vauxhall Conference and the FA Trophy final at Wembley. I hardly missed a game that season and still my greatest footballing memories are seeing Colchester play away at places like Kettering, Runcorn, Northwich and Macclesfield. And of course the day out at Wembley was a bit special.
I absolutely love non-league football and also follow Sutton Coldfield FC, who are a team from a suburb of Birmingham, near to where my brother lives. I always try to get down to Coles Lane to see a Sutton game on my annual trip back to England. They were relegated from the Evostik Premier League last season so now find themselves at level 8 of the English football pyramid.
Give me an afternoon at Coles Lane over a Premier League game any day. 112 devoted fans in attendance, the clubhouse that stinks of stale beer, the crackly tannoy, the sugary tea and king-size Mars Bar from Big Lil in the refreshments kiosk - and 22 players on 100 quid a week all kicking lumps out of each other. Now that's proper football!
Sorry, I've gone on a bit there but when conversation turns to lower league and non-league footy, I tend to turn into a great big anorak. I remember chatting at length to the commercial manager at Sutton Coldfield FC, with my brother standing close by. When the conversation had finished, my brother turned to me and said that my knowledge of non-league football actually bordered on 'seriously unhealthy'
Q - Which was the last match you went to?
I was back in England last September and got to see four games. Three of those games were non-league (I'll spare you the twelve paragraphs of detail) but I also got to see the mighty Colchester United play away at Cheltenham in division two. I hadn't been to Whaddon Road (Cheltenham) for 27 years but it's still a lovely ground.
Q - How was it?
Both teams were at the wrong end of the table so it was always going to be a war of attrition. Colchester lost 3-1 but it didn't matter because I went with my Dad and to be at a football match with my Dad for the first time in almost 30 years was just magical. He's getting on a bit now so we both savored every single minute of the occasion - for obvious reasons.
Q - How closely, and how, do you follow the Thai leagues?
I know what's going on. I know who the big teams are and who's where in the Thai Premier, etc. I follow you on Twitter and also Tim from Port FC. I enjoy the match reports and all the moaning, etc.
I get a bit confused with who plays in the lower Thai leagues though. I'm still trying to find out where Samut Prakarn play, because they would be my local team. I must get along and see them one day.
Q - How closely do you follow the Thailand national team?
I only really follow them in The World Cup qualifying groups. I'm not sure why but whenever I watch the national team on TV, I get bored after about twenty minutes. I have been to see the national team play once at The Rajamangala Stadium but I can't remember anything about it.
Q - So, 28 years in the country and you've never been to a Thai league match before. How come?
That's a good question. I've just never been motivated enough to make the effort. What league games I have watched on TV have generally been pretty dire. After half an hour, I've lost the will to live. However - and you'll like this - I did go down to watch Port FC a couple of months ago but turned up on the wrong night! There was just me and a stadium in complete darkness. My wife is still laughing about it.
Q - So why now?
Everything has come together. It's a chance to meet up with you again and you're such a nice bloke. Ben, my best Thai pal, is from Suphanburi, loves his football and doesn't work on Saturdays. He was well up for driving down to Chonburi to see a match. My wife is also working and I've got nothing better to do!
Q - And why did you choose this particular match?
Well, I'm going to have a Chonburi fan sitting on one side and a Suphanburi fan on the other. What more could a neutral ask for?
Q - What do you know about the two teams involved?
What I know about the two teams you could write on the back of a penny black without devaluing it. I know Chonburi play in blue. Actually the shirt is really nice. I also know Chonburi aren't having the best of seasons if the amount of moaning coming from your Twitter corner is anything to go by.
Q - Which team will you be supporting and why?
Both and neither. May the best team win - and I'll leave it at that. Actually, perhaps a draw might be the perfect outcome.
Q - So come on, the $64,000,000 question: What are you expecting?
In terms of a result? Well, Suphanburi have drawn an awful lot of games this season and clearly have a pretty good defence. Chonburi aren't exactly free-scoring, all-out attack. What I'm trying to say is that the game has got nil-nil written all over it.
Q - And what are you most looking forward to?
Chatting with you about music and football and Ben has sorted us out a nice seafood / Italian restaurant before the match. Seriously, I'm just along for a nice day out. An exciting, open football match would be a bonus - but I'm not expecting it.
Q - Sadly, there are no pies and Bovril on sale at Chonburi so what will be your match day meal of choice?
I was never ever a Bovril man. Can't stand the stuff! But no chips and curry sauce on a polystyrene tray? No little wooden fork? That's not a football match. I suppose I'll have to settle for whatever delights the Chonburi FC refreshment kiosk has to offer. I'm very easy to please if truth be told.
Q - Is there anything else you'd like to add?
See you on Saturday Dale. I'm looking forward to it - even though we'll be missing Belgium v Tunisia in the World Cup.
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