Looking back at the 2018 season through a series of my photographs.
11. FLYING AGAIN
A nice refreshing beer on a warm Bangkok evening.
I know I bang on about it rather a lot, but the food and drink ban at Chonburi Stadium really, really gets on my nerves. And it's not just me! Away fans hate coming to our ground because of it (the poor view doesn't help either), visitors look at me in a disbelieving manner when I have to explain the rule to them and the regulars often vote with their feet and choose to sit outside, where they can enjoy a bite to eat and something to wash it down, while the match is on.
It doesn't even make any logical sense. We are still effectively being "punished" for a couple of incidents nearly a decade ago and the club is missing out on a lot of goodwill. Madness!
It's made even more frustrating by the fact that we are allowed refreshments inside most (all?) of the grounds we visit over the course of a season. Some even use it to their advantage and take the opportunity to promote their club wth branded glasses.
This is how they do it at Air Force United. How very sassy and civilised. And if they can, why can't we? Is it a case of 'Chonburi FC: Together We Can't!'?
12. NOIR
Harry Lime spotted at Bangkok Utd.
This is my favourite photograph of mine. Not just in this series, but ever! I was so lucky to be in the right place at the right time, to catch this noirish image of someone entering the main stand at Thammasat Stadium.
Everything about it is perfect (even if I do say so myself!) - the brutalist setting, the monochrome effect, the dark, faceless figure walking away from the camera and the long, fractured shadow - and I am extremely proud of it.
I'm a big fan of Film Noir and I like to think I've captured a bit of the genre's essence here. This shot wouldn't look out of place in the classic, 'The Third Man'. And I can't think of any higher praise than that.
13. ON THE BUSES
It's the only way to travel.
My name is Dale and I am addicted to football team buses. There, I've said it. It's good to get that out in the open so I can now talk freely about my problem.
I'm not sure where this fascination came from, but I do get a thrill whenever I see a Thai club coach. They are such wonderful things to behold. Usually, painted in the relevant colours and with at least one large crest adorning the sides, front and back, I am immediately drawn to them. Usually the first thing I do when I arrive at a ground is to make my way to the main entrance to get a photo (or ten).
Being in the Premier League, the standard and quality of the "wheels" are high, meaning that the players and staff will always travel in luxury and style. However, further down the pyramid, it isn't so rosy.
This is the vehicle in which the students from Pibulsongkram Rajabhat University FC made the trip down to Chonburi Stadium for their FA Cup tie in June. It looks like a meat wagon, or something the local dog catcher would use, and every bit as uncomfortable. A lovely shade of battleship grey too.
Still, it provided me with a nice contrast to what I usually see parked in that spot and served as a sobering warning as to what might lie ahead should our decline continue!
14. CONES
A pile of traffic cones under the main stand.
The trip to the bathroom in the main stand at Chonburi Stadium can be an interesting one. You never know what you're going to find in that little passageway! On this occasion, it was a large pile of traffic cones.
Initially, I thought they had been stored there - noticeably blocking the entrance to the disabled toilets! - because the low crowd against Uttaradit didn't warrant the usual parking restrictions on the road outside the ground.
However, when the club released a video of the lads in training the following week, the said items could clearly be seen on the pitch, as the players slalomed around them. No expense spared at Chonburi.
And there's absolutely no truth in the rumour that the cones beat the team 3-1 in a practise match.
15. WILD BOARS
The story of the Thai junior football team trapped inside a cave.
It was a story that gripped the whole world for a few weeks in June and July. Twelve members of the Wild Boars (Moo Pa) football team and their assistant coach had entered the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai after football training and become trapped, when heavy rains caused major flooding.
After more than a week with no contact, and fears for the boys' safety increasing, contact was finally made and the job of getting them out commenced. Divers and experts from all across the globe offered help and advice as the story unfolded on our television screens and millions followed with bated breath.
Thankfully, and after much planning, everyone was brought out safely, in one of the most complex and dangerous rescue missions ever undertaken.
Sadly, there was one fatality. Former Thai Navy SEAL, Saman Kunan, died of asphyxiation after delivering air supplies to the team. When we talk about football, words like "courage" and "hero" get bandied around a lot and we often forget the context in which they are being used. This man, like the thousands of other men and women involved, is a true hero and should always be remembered.
The accompanying photo was taken at the home match against Police Tero on July 8th, the day the extraction commenced. This particular banner - one of many similar seen around Thailand at the time - was hanging on the True Visions outside broadcast van, but the sentiment expressed was carried around by all of us.
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