New! Five Asides - Issue No.10: 2023

We've made it to double figures! Here's issue 10 of our popular 'Five Asides' feature. Take five Thai football fans, share five contentious opinions with them and let them all have their say. Nice and simple. Our panel today is Greg (Muang Thong Utd), "Kick Off Corner" (Muang Thong Utd), Will (Pattaya Dolphins Utd), "All Things Thai Football" (ex-Police Utd) and Bill (Sukhothai). 

1.The Thai league season should run between March and November.

Greg: I think that wouldn't really improve anything. We'd be starting at the tail end of summer which is still extremely hot and work our way through the season of spontaneous biblical thunderstorms. We'd also be avoiding the winter, when weather is cooler and milder.

Kick Off Corner: Can’t talk much about it but I would prefer the way it is. But it’s not a dealbreaker.

Will: It would certainly add an element of fun. The brutal, energy sapping heat of the early matches testing the fitness and stamina, and then when the rainy season kicks in – let the quagmires and the utter madness commence, because from what I’ve seen in T3, unless the pitch is literally 1ft under water – the game goes on. 

All Things Thai Football: I prefer September to May format because the matches in the ending period of the season will be played in summer.

Bill: In Europe the football season follows autumn, winter and spring, the cooler months. In Thailand March to November would be summer with blistering heat and the rainy season with pitches masquerading as beaches. Would it be possible to choose a worse season? At present August to May, gives us a bit of rainy season, all of the cool season and the start of the seriously hot. July to April?

2. Under 16s should be admitted free at every ground in order to boost attendances and encourage the next generation of fans.

Greg: Great idea in theory. In practice I've seen this done unofficially at lower league games and it results in a bunch of kids and teenagers in the stands who don't really know or care about football . How about a compromise: half price admission for u16s?

Kick Off Corner: Can’t agree more. I recon the clubs should partner with schools in their region and make this happen. The stadiums are not sold out every time any way.

Will: 16 year old me says yes. 41 year old me says no. Teenagers terrify me.

All Things Thai Football: Agree, a half price at least. When I was a student at Thammasat University, Police United allowed Thammasat student to watch their match for free. So, they had a lot of Thammasat’s students as their fans back then including me. That was very good for me as a student who just had income from my parent.

Bill: This brings to mind the happy days in Scotland when, if you were young and small enough to duck under the turnstile, you got in for free. Grand Theft Fitba it may have been but it was tolerated and accepted by turnstile operators the length and breadth of the country. With the advent of actual tickets, this practice has been rendered null and void. Discount youth tickets, you say? That raises the question of why youths ducked under the turnstile in the first place. Was it strictly a financial necessity or was it done for the vicarious thrill of doing something naughty? As a seriously responsible adult for all my life, I obviously have no knowledge of the answer.

3. Clubs shouldn't be allowed to charge more than THB750 for replica shirts.

Greg: My own personal politics probably affect my view on this one. I dislike overpriced football shirts as much as the next fan, especially when some clubs, including my Muangthong, release several shirts each season. However I don't think government control is the answer. If fans have the willpower and sense not to buy expensive jerseys, clubs will need to rethink their pricing. On a brighter note, Nonthaburi United have just put all of their replica shirts for this ongoing season on mail order sale for just 280bt each. Anyone interested can get details from me on Twitter. 

Kick Off Corner: Facts! BGPU need to take notes!

Will: Agree with this one. I do love to buy myself a Thai replica shirt (I think I own about 20) and I can count on one hand the amount that are still intact in some way. Many badges have been lost. Unfortunately the mostly garish sponsor logos plastered all over them still survive!

All Things Thai Football: Disagree. The price cap might affect the quality of the jersey and also the profit that the club could make). We may learn from Warrix. They have three versions of the jersey, player version (THB2000),  replica version (THB1100), and fans version (THB590) so we can choose the version and price we want.

Bill: This question rattles around the word, ‘replica’. A long time ago a friend of mine arrived in Thailand with a Manchester United shirt that he had proudly paid 80 pounds for. He was a tad bemused when he met a student with an identical shirt, price tag: 200 Baht. Thankfully, Thailand still has a genuine capitalist system where overpriced items are banished from the market place by realistically priced replicas. I can proudly claim to have been part of this uniquely Thai system. 

Years ago I became the owner of a Rolex watch, purchased from a reputable craftsman on the sidewalk outside Patpong. You paid $80,000 for your Rolex and it tells the same time as every other watch in the same time zone. Boring! My Rolex was truly an individualist. Every other time piece in Bangkok said it was 11:15, my Rolex reported that in Mugubugooland it was 13:63.

4. Chonburi v Muang Thong Utd is still the biggest rivalry in Thai club football.

Greg: As a MTU fan, I've always considered Chonburi as an "ël classico" but not our main rivalry. I still see Buriram as our main rivals.

Kick Off Corner: Well I recently got into Thai footy so I can’t really say much. For me I’ve recently experienced MT v Buriram in the Thunderdome stadium and that was one hell of a night. I do know that Chonburi v Muangthong is a Classico so I can’t wait to watch a live game. 

Will: Who knows. Just wait until next season when we have Samut Prakan City Vs Pattaya Dolphins Utd going head to head in T2! The MK Dons Vs AFC Wimbledon of the Thai League! I say this with a tongue in the cheek, because sadly I’m doubtful we’ll (Dolphins) make it up through the playoffs this year, and I’m also now aware (thanks Dale with your encyclopedic knowledge of the history of Thai football) that Pattaya Utd basically did the same thing to Bang Phra. As an aside, anyone ever seen an actual Dolphin in or anywhere near Pattaya's water, apart from the fountain at the roundabout or the heinous Dolphinarium? Mind you, I doubt there are many sharks in Chonburi either. 

All Things Thai Football: That good old day has gone. We gotta admit it. 

Bill: This statement should be qualified as, ‘in the Thai First Division’ or ‘among rivalries that no-one has heard or cared about’. However, this statement must be conceded to someone who has never witnessed a Sukhothai Phitsanulok encounter. Celtic, Rangers supporters travel here to learn how a full scale riot is conducted properly. Back in the day when the two of them clashed on a regular basis the richest man in Thailand was a glass salesmen servicing the Phitsanulok/Suhkothai territory.

5. EPL clubs coming to play exhibition matches in Bangkok are a huge boost to the local game and there should be more of them.

Greg: I disagree. I've seen so many who go along, pay silly ticket prices, then forget about it until another pair of teams visits next year. I prefer it when Thai national or league teams play the big overseas teams. That way, big crowds still turn up and if even a small percentage decide to return and watch the Thai teams after the visitors have flown back home, that's a big boost.

Kick Off Corner: 100% especially Leicester City. Even championship level clubs could be a huge boost cause they got popular clubs like Watford, Burnley, Swansea, etc. and many football fans would know or would’ve heard about these teams.

Will: Absolutely. And they should definitely charge 25,000 baht a ticket, or whatever it was, for the ‘Red War’ (or however it was marketed at the time) between the Liverpool and Man Utd Reserves last year. Absolute bargain for a feast of uncompetitive reserve football.

All Things Thai Football: I can’t see any effect to the local game, neither positive or negative. Those fans who watch only EPL matches don’t care about the local game anyway, whether the EPL clubs come here or not.

Bill: As a Scot it is not in my nature to be supportive of the English but now I have no alternative – I Must. Of the larger footballing nations, the English performance is a bit of a joke and that is because the EPL has been taken over by the big money boys to whom national pride is irrelevant to their profits and they give less than a hoot. Here in Thailand look at Theerathon in Buriram, he can go anywhere in the Kingdom and everyone worships the ground he walks on. He is a superstar, he is a God. 

Compare Theerathon to England’s superstar – Harry Kane. Who, oh yeah him whose penalty is still in orbit. Theerathon swaggers like the superstar he is, Kane shuffles under the humiliation that he perhaps does not deserve. The big money boys have signed superstars from all around the world for the EPL; English players have lost their swagger, they are not superstars in the EPL and that reflects on their performances. Thailand should ban all EPL clubs until some of the English players are given the chance to be genuine superstars.

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.