Lamphun Warriors fan, Ben Davies sent me some questions ahead of this weekend's match. Here are my answers:
Our last meeting ended with a comfortable 2-0 victory for Chonburi.Since then, our form has improved, but is there anything that concerns you about Lamphuns' visit, or do you see it as another routine 3 points?
Football fans are very pessimistic by nature; therefore I'm always concerned about teams coming to visit us at Chonburi Stadium! However, I do believe we've got the strongest squad we've had in a long time and providing everybody's fit - and Sasom picks a full-strength team - I expect us to win. It will be anything but routine, but, based on what we saw against Police Tero - it will be entertaining. I’m expecting another high scoring game.
A true fan favourite and certainly one of mine was Adul, who helped us win back to back promotions with his calm passing and vision.He also played for Chonburi. What are your memories of him?
Adul is a Chonburi legend and he is truly loved here. He's someone who was with us from being a youngster and served the club well over the years. He also had a spell in Japan (2008), which often gets overlooked when people enthuse about the current crop of Thai players going overseas. He's a fantastic footballer – skillful, committed, talented and never lets you down. He’s certainly one of the best I've seen in all my years watching the Thai leagues. And such a lovely person too. I really hope he still has a future in the game. He deserves it. I'd love to see him back at Chonburi in some capacity. I'm so pleased that he's also well revered up at Lamphun. One of life’s good guys.
Now, Sriracha FC is no more. What is your 'local' derby, and who are your biggest rivals nowadays?
To be honest, I don't think we have a local derby. At least not in the traditional sense. Even the games against SriRacha were never what you'd call hot blooded. It was always quite a friendly affair, very laidback. I suppose geographically the closest club to us now is Port, but I don't really see that as a local derby either. For starters, they’re in another city. I think if you asked a lot of Chonburi fans they'd still say Muang Thong Utd and Buriram Utd are our biggest rivals. These are still the fixtures that we always look out for at the start of the season and the games we always want to win the most.
What is the furthest you have travelled for an away game, either in Thailand or England?
I went to the Singapore Cup semi-final second leg in September, 2006, and then back again for the final in November. So, these two trips are the furthest I've travelled to watch Chonburi in away games. They were both excellent occasions and, even though we threw away a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 in the final, it still ranks as one of my highlights following the club.
One of the best atmospheres at our old stadium was against Chonburi in the cup a few years ago. What is the best atmosphere you have experienced in Thailand over the years?
The best was probably the Muang Thong Utd v Chonburi game in the 2009 “Boom” season. There was such a big build up to that match. The Thai media went into overdrive. It was the highest attendance for a Thai league fixture at the time and it was absolutely manic. Chaos on a monumental scale. They were literally building the stadium around us as we went in! There certainly wasn't enough room to house all the visiting fans and we were constantly being pushed into the furthest reaches of the underdeveloped ground as a new wave of fans entered. However, there was an absolutely cracking atmosphere; people on the pitch, fans climbing the floodlight pylons and getting into the rafters, but in a good-natured way. In spite of the madness, there was no sign there’d be trouble, but crowd safety was a major concern of mine. Overall though, it was a pretty wonderful day.
I think one other occasion I should mention is the home match against Thai Honda during our championship winning season in 2007. I believe that this was the start of Thai football culture as we know it today. Prior to this - even though numbers have been growing at Chonburi - the atmosphere was still pretty sedate. However, on this day, everything changed. We were losing two nil and, to confound our misery, it started to rain. Everybody moved to the rear of the main stand at the old Municipal Stadium, where the only little bit of cover was. So, we're all crushed together, and a true feeling of togetherness grew and the chanting started. Roared on by the fans, the team came back to win 3-2 and sparked ecstatic scenes. I said at the time that the atmosphere that day was probably on a par with anything I’d experienced in England; everybody in close proximity, singing in the rain, watching the team fight back from two nil down to win. It was so uplifting. And then, after that, things changed. It was definitely a turning point for Thai football supporters.
Since you have supported Chonburi, have you noticed more or less interest in Thai football over the years, and has this affected your attendances?
Interest has definitely grown. When I first came to Thailand in 1996, the league had very few fans, and all the clubs – which were mainly company or forces teams - were based in Bangkok. The second tier Provincial League was more representative of the country as a whole, but was also poorly supported. When we got promoted to the Premier League in 2006, and won it the following season, that kick started the interest in the domestic game. The fact that a provincial club had broken this monopoly was a big deal and there's no doubt that it inspired what happened in the next couple of years. In my opinion the league peaked between 2009 and 2011. Crowds were up and clubs discovered marketing. Sadly, I would say it's highly unlikely that we'll ever get back to those levels.
For me though it is interesting how many foreigners are now following Thai football. I find this very encouraging. When I first started going to watch Chonburi, the only other non Thai I used to see in the stands at grounds was Robert Procureur – who is now at Ratchaburi. Back then he was an agent and used to come to our games with a group of African lads in tow and try to get the club to sign them. But other than that, I didn't see any other foreign faces at games, so it's been nice to witness that demographic grow over the years.
To answer the final part of your question, my interest is still as high as ever, but my attendance is currently only affected by geography...
What are your thoughts on Lamphun's meteoric rise to the top division with back-to-back promotions?
I think it's fantastic. It's always nice when a new club comes up, especially when they seem to have done it in the right way. There’s no doubt that it's good for the game as a whole. It's also good for the town and the area. They deserve a lot of credit for what they’ve achieved. I hope they can stay up and build on those foundations.
What are your hopes for this season, and who are the main players Lamphun should be afraid of?
I just hope we can carry on playing entertaining football, winning matches and finish as high as possible in the league. We are out of both cup competitions, so don't have any distractions. Therefore, there can be no excuses not to play our strongest team each week and make a real effort. As I said earlier, we've got a very strong squad and I'll be extremely disappointed to finish outside the top four. To be honest, we should realistically be aiming for the runners-up spot.
As for the main players on Sunday, well, you can take your pick really. I think we've got such such depth now. There's a threat from all over the place. Obviously, Danilo is a danger to any defence and Jesse Curran was very impressive against Police Tero. There’s also Kritsada and Channarong, two very exciting Thai youngsters. But throughout the team I think we've got players who can hurt the opposition. It's a nice position to be in and something we've waited a long time to see. Bring on the rest of the season!
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