Looking back at the 2018 season through a series of my photographs.
6. WHAT A VARCE!
The referee checks the screen and then sends off our keeper, Chanin. This was the first time we saw the controversial VAR system in action at Chonburi Stadium.
Here's what I wrote at the time:
"What a farce! (VAR-ce?) If this is the future of football, I really don't want to be a part of it. The cheating, diving and injury feigning, we see every week, but this ridiculous use of "technology" to make decisions, will kill the game - especially when it is used to get big ones so totally, utterly, hopelessly wrong. It must be scrapped now. If ever there was an argument against it, then this is it.
If the ref had any sense he would have told the two of them - Chanin and Mendy - to get up up and stop acting like fannies. But, oh no! Our friend in yellow clearly wanted to make name for himself and be centre of attention.
I'm a big fan of the theatre and his display yesterday, when he decided to consult the video screen, was on par with anything I've seen on a stage. You could just tell he was itching to do something dramatic and the red card he brandished at our keeper was his stab at an Olivier Award.
Is this the first time VAR has been used to send someone off? If it is, our man must be grinning from ear to ear now, as he has gone down in history. Congratulations, sir.
Our flabber was even more gasted when, following the dismissal, we got the free kick. You see, the original offence had been committed by the striker - he went in knee first, after his initial shot had been saved. He didn't even get a yellow card for his part in the incident - including his disgraceful histrionics and over reaction to the supposed punch he received.
I didn't play football at any great level, but soppy old Frederic Mendy wouldn't have lasted five minutes in the Burton and District Sunday League. If his opponents didn't get him, then his team mates would have. This kind of behaviour just wasn't tolerated when I played and shouldn't be now.
Watching him walk away (Walk away! He'd just been punched, remember) after all the fuss had died down, smiling and - I kid you not - looking to the sky and praying, was a sickening and embarrassing sight. And the fact that only a few minutes later he went in studs up on our reserve keeper, without even getting a talking to from the ref, just made things worse. But we did get a free kick so that's alright then."
And two years later, I still haven't calmed down!
7. THE LINE UP
Someone breaks ranks after being photographed with the police.
There's always lots going on outside Thai grounds on match days. You will often see things that take you by surprise, but, thankfully, there's always someone around to record these events.
This photo was taken prior to the away game against Police Tero in March. A film crew had been capturing the atmosphere when they came across these four officers who were patrolling the perimeter.
The reporter took the opportunity to interview them and get some original footage. Unfortunately, I was too late to grab a picture of them all in a line, but managed to snap this as he broke ranks. With hindsight, I think this is a better photograph than the one I had initially tried to take.
8. THE SPIRIT HOUSE
Bringing about a change of fortune for Chonburi FC.
Following a poor start to the campaign, the club management decided to call on the services of a local monk.
The holy man spent the day at Chonburi Stadium, making merit and blessing the players and staff. This spirit house, which sits in the corner between the away end and the Swimming Pool Stand, was decorated as part of the ceremony.
I took this photo before the match against Ratchaburi on Wednesday the 28th of March, the first home game after the service. The divine intervention clearly had an immediate impact, we won 2-1. It was our first home win of the season.
9. STOP IT RIGHT AWAY!
Told to cease and desist immediately...by a tree!
Anyone who has spent any length of time in Thailand will have encountered nonsensical signs purported to be written in English. They are everywhere; in shops, on road signs, on T-shirts and even in government offices. There appears to be a stubborn, almost arrogant, reluctance to ask for advice from those who speak the language before writing and displaying these documents. Why?
Whilst the one in the photograph - taken at Pattaya Utd's Nong Prue Stadium - makes perfect grammatical sense, it's all about context. Why is it there? Who is being told to "stop it"? What are they supposed to stop? What are the consequences if you defy the order? And why is it nailed to a tree outside a football ground?
Answers on a postcard to the usual address, please.
10. BOX OFFICE POISON
Fans queuing for tickets ahead of the home match against Muang Thong Utd.
In spite of what the club tells us, our attendances were down considerably this season. The official average of 4,305 was about 1,200 (possibly 1,500) more than it should have been. But, hey, if they want to kid themselves that crowds aren't falling alarmingly, then who am I to disagree.
Unsurprisingly, the two highest turnouts in 2018 were for the visits of Muang Thong Utd (6,599*) and Buriram Utd (7,801*). However, neither of these two "big" games sold out, as in previous years. A sign of the times.
Today's photo comes from April, when the Nonthaburi club came to town and provided us with an all too rare sight in recent times - a queue at the ticket office. Sadly, I can't see it becoming any more common in the near future. Those days have long gone.
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