1. What are your expectations for your club in the season ahead?
To somehow survive in the second division with a squad made up of T3 loanees, Chonburi youngsters and lower league journeymen
2. How have your pre season preparations gone?
In terms of pre-season friendlies, we’ve played four, lost three and drawn one...and two of those defeats have come against T3 university opposition. Fans haven’t got a clue who the players are. All they have to go on are photos from training sessions. At the moment, it feels like a club with no real soul.
3. What are your thoughts on your team's opening four fixtures?
T2 is a bit of an unknown quantity but I’m looking forward to going to Uthai Thani (our first away fixture in gameweek 2) and we face our old adversaries Suphanburi in gameweek 3, that’s if the lucky fuckers don’t somehow find a loophole to keep them in the premier league. There are rumours I keep hearing.
4. What do you make of your new signings?
Hahaha. I’d just love to be able to put a name to more than the four players who were here last season.
5. And what about the players you've let go?
You basically mean all of ‘em? It’s been heartbreaking to see them all leave one by one. And they’ve been so gracious in departure, saying nothing but positive things about the club and the fans. I’ll be watching all of them with great interest and wish them every success.
6. Which players will have the most impact this season?
See question number four. Even three of the four players from last season will soon be heading for the exit door. We just haven’t received good enough offers for them yet.
7. If you could bring back one of your club's former coaches, who would it be?
Obviously Masatada Ishii of Buriram, but I think he's happy where he is.
8. If you could give your current head coach one piece of advice, what would it be? And your owners?
Make us fall in love with Samut Prakan City again and make us feel proud to support the team, yours sincerely, the fans.
9. Which home games are you most looking forward to?
None spring to mind. Sorry this is turning out to be such a negative interview but seriously, Dale...what did you expect?
10. And which away games are you most looking forward to?
Well, I’m coming at this purely from the football / travel angle so Krabi and Nakhon Si Thammarat were the first ones I looked out for. Unfortunately I will miss the Krabi game because it’s in early September and I will be visiting my folks in England. I’m looking forward to going to all the stadiums I’ve not seen before, and there are so many to choose from….Chainat, Udon Thani, Nakhon Pathom, Ayutthaya, etc. That part of it and meeting new fans is going to be great.
11. What do you think of your club's new kits?
No news on club kits as yet. I’ll probably wear the shirts from the previous three seasons and save myself some money.
12. Who are your favourites to win the league?
So can I answer for T1 and T2? I can’t see past Buriram for the premier league title and as for T2, I just don’t know enough about the teams. I think Suphanburi might be up there.
13. Who else do you think can challenge?
BG Pathum and Bangkok United. I guess it’ll be a rubber stamp of last season.
14. Who is going down?
From T1, I have no idea. I’ve been so pre-occupied with trying to keep abreast with what’s going on at Samut Prakan that I haven’t really thought about it. Hopefully in T2 there will be three teams worse than Samut Prakan and Rob ‘Mr Championship’ Scott assures me that there are.
15. Which team would you most like to beat this season?
The truth is that I don’t feel a rivalry with any of them – even close neighbors Kasetsart FC and Customs United. The 17 T2 teams, albeit in very different places geographically, feel a much of a muchness to me.
16. Who will be this season's surprise package?
Samut Prakan City. Oh come on! I’ve got to say something positive.
17. What changes would you make to improve the Thai league?
Stop treating fans as an afterthought and keep us involved. There are less than two weeks until the season starts and we still don’t know the kick off times for gameweek one fixtures. That can’t be right. In no league in the world can that be right.
18. Which visiting fans are you most looking forward to seeing at your stadium?
We will extend a warm welcome to everyone. We are just happy to still have a club to support.
19. What are your match day superstitions and routine?
Tun and I get to the match about 90 minutes before kick off and mill around the fan zone for a while and chat with our regular friends. I still enjoy that part of a game and always will.
20. Is there anything else you'd like to add?
I think when we first heard about becoming Chonburi FC’s ‘feeder club’ initially there was a lot of confusion, bewilderment and anger...a sense of 'what's happening to our beloved club?. It was difficult to get any official updates and fans were left with no choice other than to rely on gossip and rumour.
But over time, the frustration has given way to a resignation that without Chonburi stepping in to take over, Samut Prakan may well have folded as a football club. OK, it's far from an ideal situation, but as many Samut Prakan fans have said...'at least we still have a club to support'
I agree. Let's all get behind the team and hopefully have a shot of getting back into the premier league, even though I feel that second division survival is the main objective. More on that as the season unfolds I guess.
From a personal point of view Dale, let me get a bit emotional here. I think back to our three seasons in the premier league. Let’s call them the glory days. I think back to having a chat with you in front of the shark at the Chonburi Stadium, sharing a beer with Jamie after the game at Buriram and likewise with Russ up at Nakhon Ratchisima, and enjoying an Indian curry with Alec before the game at Chiang Rai. So many great football moments with great guys that I will treasure forever. And then I look at where we are now as a club and I wonder if we’ll ever get back to the dizzy heights of T1 and will I ever get to experience those moments again? Because at the present time, it feels like a million miles away.
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