Taking The PEA: 2010

In 2009, when former politician, Newin Chidchob bought PEA FC and moved them 210 miles from Ayutthya to his home city of Buriram - laying the foundations for Buriram Utd - there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth from fans of other clubs. Below are two extracts from a now defunct Muang Thong Utd blog which perfectly sum up the anti-"franchise" / anti-Buriram mood of the time.

Next up - PEA Buriram

by GH

Sunday, 2 May 2010

Here's the lowdown on the controversial newcomers...

The club

PEA Buriram are the 'replacement' of PEA Ayutthaya of last season. As PEA Ayutthaya, the team won the TPL in the 2008 season. The club was purchased in the close season of 2009 by highly controversial but equally influential politician Newin Chidchob. Chidchob acquired the club and ordered the construction of a new stadium ('Thunder Castle') in Buriram. PEA Ayutthaya fans responded by burning their shirts and turning to the League 2 side, Ayutthaya FC.

While the move of a team is never nice to see, it was somewhat understandable in this case since PEA is one of the old 'corporate' teams that is always for sale to the highest bidder and bears no local loyalty. What is harder to take is the highly dubious activities of Newin Chidchob since the move, including payments for supporters and to other teams in the football league. The obvious conflict of interests is magnified by the reality that the body responsible for monitoring and punishing any misconduct in Thai football - the TFA - is effectively under the command of Newin in his role as a de-facto leader of a faction in the Democrat Party.

Yet, the financial investment has reaped little reward so far. Buriram PEA have won one game and drawn three at this stage of the season.

The actions of Newin in connection with the club can be read about here.

The Province

Buriram Province could be considered the first Isaan province you can reach by driving north east from Bangkok. Fans will face a round journey of about eight hundred kilometers. A long trip, but they are likely to receive some financial compensation for their 'support' anyway.

Who to watch

The side has some Brazilian players in its ranks, though their profiles are missing from the club website. According to Wikipedia, numbers 14, 28, 29 and 17 are from the mighty football nation of Brazil.

I call

With due respect to fans of the team, I strongly dislike the whole taste of the setup at PEA Buriram and I hope the team win nothing. I also hope we give them a hiding. 3 - 0 Muangthong.

Next up - Buriram PEA (away)

by GH

Thursday, 19 August 2010

This Sunday, Muangthong travel to Buriram in a bid to become the first team to defeat Buriram PEA at the Thundercastle. Buriram's success this season has been due to a strong defence. Now they will, once again, come up against the best and highest-scoring team in the league. Which side will crack?

A little more about Buriram PEA in general was discussed before the home game (above).

As usual, both sets of fans will be friendly and well behaved but I must confess I'll be tempted to speak my mind a few times and that's not just because 'Thundercastle' sounds more like a ride at Dream World.

For one thing, it seems remarkably bad taste for a politician (Newin Chidchob) to acquire not one but two teams (Buriram PEA and Buriram FC) and then proceed to offer cash bonuses to other teams in the league and loan not one, not two but.....seven players from one club to the other.

It also goes against the natural instinct of a western football fan to accept fans given "incentives" to support a team, because we instinctively feel that fans should support a team through loyalty and nothing else. Also hard for us to understand is the idea of hero worshiping a politician. It has a very 'North Korean' feel to it.

Moreover, various reports have stated that while the home fans are perfectly friendly, security staff at the Thundercastle are, allegedly, both unfriendly and unhelpful. Any fans going to this game should be aware that on all previous occasions, items such as umbrellas, food boxes and any other items too big to fit in a pocket have been confiscated. The management at Muangthong are aware of this but of course as an away team, there is only so much that can be done about it.

But all this is just my opinion and I realise that Buriram fans are good people who will see things very differently. I'm sure most people will quite rightly focus on the football and it looks set to be an exciting game. Chonburi's win over Tero means they are still hot on our heels and Thundercastle is where Chonburi, Bangkok Glass and Pattaya all slipped up. Thai Port managed a draw. For us to falter too would fill Chonburi with hope.