Here we go with what I hope will become a regular feature. Take five Thai football fans, share five contentious opinions with them and let everyone have their say. Nice and simple. Our group today consists of Neal (Ratchaburi), Alec (Chiang Rai Utd), Tommie (Port), Bill (Sukhothai) and Kevin (Port). Take it away, chaps...
1. Mano Polking will lead Thailand to the 2026 World Cup finals.
Neal: That will be a short journey. Seriously, I’d love to see it, but it would just be a bit more deadwood for England to clear out of the way on the road to bringing it home. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how many also rans are allowed to join the competition, they just aren’t good enough. Their favourite play is parking the bus, but when you look at the state of Thai driving, they’d probably park too far from the kerb anyway. The only benefit of Thailand reaching the finals is somebody might pay for TV rights that the entire country could benefit from.
Alec: The year is 2026. Portugal hasn't called up Ronaldo in years so he brings his talents to Thailand. Unfortunately he still can't get in the squad over a 40 year old Teerasil.
Tommie: No doubt about it. Each player will be fed a new diet of superfoods, grow a minimum of 10 cm, and by osmosis and watching lots of black and white films of football players from the 1960s, will dominate the Asian qualifying.
Bill: Before you make this ridiculous claim, you should first examine the pedigree of Mano Polking. Did he not run away from Bangkok United after the Sukhothai Firebats slotted 5 goals against his lacklustre team? And that was after they had been spanked into defeat by Ratchaburi, Chonburi and Bangkok Glass.
The closest I ever came to professional coaching was when the high school team I was coaching, played the local village team. The colour commentator (the man with the mike) kept calling me Peter Witte as I ran up and down the touch line. If you persist in the belief that Mano Polking can do anything with any team then I will persist in dusting off my resume preparing to replace him when his inevitable firing occurs.
Kevin: If by some miracle, Polking did get the Thais qualified, I suspect that there’d suddenly be a desire for a Thai coach at the Cup. Mano seems to have a good relationship with Madame Pang, and it would be interesting to see if that would be enough, or whether we’d get Surachai Jaturapattarapong as head coach for the 223rd time.
2. Chonburi’s contribution to Thai league football should be officially recognized with an award.
Neal: The award for having the Most Ridiculous Box Office in Thai Football. Such a beautiful construction full of traffic wardens directing visiting supporters to the nearest 7-11. Probably built as far from the nearest 7-11 as possible.
Alec: I think every team should have 5 points deducted and given to Chonburi for every Chonburi academy product in their squad.
Tommie: Only award will be for the 'most isolated away section'. And the money will be spent on binoculars to be distributed to away supporters.
Bill: This is the most challenging of questions. Chonburi’s contribution to Thai league football has been virtually zero, which should be reflected in the award. However, as hosts, Chonburi were more than generous in allowing Suhkothai to return home with a point in the bag. St. Christopher is the patron saint of travellers and perhaps St. Christopher medallions for the Chonburi team would appropriately reflect their charitable work. Unfortunately by the second half of the season each player would require a fork lift to transport him onto the pitch.
Kevin: Award for Chonburi: Induction of the 2007 team to a Thai Football Hall of Fame.
Award in honour of Chonburi: The Hungry Shark Trophy for best matchday food (that can be consumed in the stands)
3. We should scrap the league and Thai teams should just play exhibition matches against glamorous foreign opposition.
Neal: Wow, yes, straight from the Tourism Authority of Thailand Handbook. What a brilliant idea. Maybe introduce mandatory hooliganism insurance that has to be purchased upon arrival in Thailand. Then charge the foreign visitors 10x as much to gain access to Thailand’s stadiums. The revenue earning potential would be endless.
We could ensure teams such as Liverpool and Manchester United are regularly invited and sell tickets for up to 25,000฿ per seat. Supporters of both clubs are stupid enough to pay for the privilege.
Alec: You can't tell me that watching KDB and Haaland score 20 against Khon Kaen Utd wouldn't be more entertaining than watching KKU shithouse a 0-0 draw.
Tommie: I'd go in the other direction. Scrap the National team and focus on the league.
Bill: This is another idea that looks good on paper but, in practice, will die a fast death. In 1999 very glamourous Arsenal came second in England’s Premier League and only let in 17 goals in the entire 38 game campaign. Then they came to Thailand to strut their stuff and demonstrate their greatness. They got beaten 4–3. Thailand almost scored 25% of the goals that Arsenal had let in against English opposition in THE ENTIRE SEASON. Needless to say, they haven’t been back since. As God stated, ‘Thailand: The Place Where Superstars Fear To Tread’.
Kevin: Why not both? Have foreign teams come and play Thai clubs and keep a running league table. Just imagine, a couple of wins over Singaporean opposition could have BG gloating that they had more points than Real Madrid.
4. T1 should be made up of 12 clubs with no relegation. T2 and T3 should be populated by ‘B’ teams and feeder clubs for the top flight elite.
T3 could be scrapped, and 2 regional T2 leagues created populated by 1 B team and one feeder team per T1 club.
Alec: T1 is already a battle between just a handful of teams anyway... why not really lean into it?!
Tommie: Even though I'm a Yank, I like the idea of relegation. And I have no problem with feeder teams. Good way to develop talent and keep it.
Bill: Ooh, the arrogance! The author must be an Englishman! I am not English but I am not perfect either. I learned about Thai football whilst a resident of Chiang Mai. As most people know, with the exception of Coach Dennis Amato not much of any good has ever emerged from Chiang Mai. Locally Sukhothai has at least 2 wannabe powerhouse teams -Kong Krailas United and Bot City. They would become barbarically bored if their fixture list included annihilating Chiang Mai and Chiang Mai United on a regular basis.
Kevin: Sounds similar to what we have now. The lower divisions are littered with teams who have ‘relationships’ with T1 teams, and relegation from T1 is optional, if you have the right friends.
5. Everyone would benefit if Buriram Utd joined the JLeague.
Neal: After my journey to and from Buriram this season, it is in such a backwater, that it could save hours in travelling time to watch them. Even basing them somewhere more accessible like Tokyo, but still playing in T1 would benefit many Thai supporters. It must be quicker getting to Tokyo than Buriram.
They don’t bring a lot to Thai football. We’re only at the halfway stage, and they’ve already ruined the season for most clubs. We only have the relegation battle to look forward to.
Of course, the big question would be J1, J2 or J3? Similar to Rangers or Celtic moving South to England. Would they be Championship or League 1 material? What would Buriram think of being placed in J2?
Alec: In my unbiased opinion Buriram should be forced to send their entire squad to train with the Leicester youth... going forward their match squad can only consist of politicians indebted to Newin.
Tommie: Everyone would benefit from a salary cap so that the league is more competitive...and many teams could learn from the Burriram model. They have shown how to build a winner in Thailand.
Bill: Absolutely not. Timing is everything and the timing of this ridiculous remark could not be more offensive. In the second game of the present season Buriram lucked into an intensely close fought victory (it was so close, it can hardly count as a victory) over brutally unlucky Sukhothai by the score of 6–1. Ever since Sukhothai has been planning, plotting and straining at the bit to extract revenge. The date has been set for Saturday 21st of January, tickets are on sale and that death rattle that you hear is coming from Buriram knees. Buriram should be aware that on Sunday, 22nd January there is a flight leaving Sukhothai for Tokyo.
Kevin: Can’t see this happening. Everyone knows the route to the J-League is via Muangthong Utd. On the other hand, Newin doesn’t mind a bit of moving around; Ayutthaya to Buriram? No problem. Buriram to Songkla? Done. Based on Buriram’s history, picking up sticks & moving to Japan wouldn’t be a problem, although I believe Newin’s sights would be firmly set on England.
Please note: The opinions expressed in this article are those of each individual and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the blog. Thank you.
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