Update by Steve Darby: 2009

Back in 2009, Thailand national team coach, Steve Darby, was contributing regular articles to my website. Here's one such update from September of that year.

Steve Darby Update

17th September, 2009

This week I will be attending training session at Manchester City and Stoke City and I will also be watching how Liverpool's Hungarian opponents in the Champions league prepare for their away game. It's always interesting to see how teams prepare for an away trip as its something we (Thai national team) will be doing in November. 

Due to internet technology I am able to keep up to date on all the Thai players. Last night I watched Chonburi draw 2-2 with Binh Duong in the AFC Cup and this weekend I will be able to watch Surat play for Melbourne. These games are televised on internet gambling sites, which are legal in England. I will also be able to watch Peter Lange playing in the Swiss League. 

I am in the process of preparing a dossier on the Singapore team in preparation for the Asian Cup. The Chinese philosopher Tsu Zsu believed that to be victorious in your battle you had to know the enemy. 

A lot of the Singapore players are now leaving the S League to play in the Indonesian League. The main reason is that Indonesia has introduced a 3+2 rule where a team can use 5 foreign players. 3 from anywhere in the world and 2 must be from Asia. I know many of the Thai national Team are in demand but the quality of the Thai league will, I think, ensure that our players stay in Thailand. 

Next week I will be watching a member of Capello's staff put on a coaching session on "pressing", a tactical concept that all modern teams are using. The Thai national team have already started to implement it and the SEA Games team will start to use it soon. 

Also I hope Leesaw's goal I saw on the internet was disallowed for hand ball! because he was never offside. He had 4 defenders in front of him when the ball was played. An interesting decision! 

I went to a Thai restaurant in Liverpool last week and the food wasn't spicy! I think it was designed for the farang market, so I'm already missing the food that makes my eyes water! 

Steve Darby