TPL
Chonburi 0-2 Muang Thong Utd
Chonburi Stadium
Wednesday 27th March, 2013
Attendance: 8,656
Gate Receipts : B1,031,040
Merchandise : B300,000
Match Report
FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED FROM LAST NIGHT
1. The list of items banned from entering the stadium includes crutches.
Yes indeedy, folks. Incredible as it may seem, one young man was forbidden to take his crutch inside the ground last night. He was clearly limping and needed the aforementioned support in order to walk. However, he was told to leave it propped up next to the entrance. Whatever next?
2. Ian Rankin books are ideal for smuggling sandwiches into the ground.
I'm probably shooting myself in the foot here (I wonder if that's what happened to the chap with the crutch?) but I managed to conceal a sandwich inside my copy of Ian Rankin's "Standing in Another Man's Grave" and get it into the ground. Success!! It was ham, egg and cheese, in case you're wondering. And it tasted delicious.
3. The interviewees on Channel 7 are told what to say in advance.
A friend of mine was asked to give a pre match score prediction by a Channel 7 reporter. However, he was encouraged to "buff it up" and say that Chonburi would win by some outllandish score like 7-0. When the cameras were rolling, he erred on the side of caution and said we'd triumph by five goals to four. The TV chaps didn't seem to mind this outrageous case of ad-libbing and went away happy.
4. Most Muang Thong United fans don't have jobs.
I arrived at the stadium just after 4.00pm (for a 7.00pm kick off) and the place was crawling with visiting fans. It's at least a two hour drive from Nonthaburi to our place so they would have needed to set off at 2.00pm, at the latest. They've either got very understanding employers. Or they're all on the rock 'n' roll. Could be students, I suppose.
5. The XL version of the new away shirt fits the "larger" gentleman quite comfortably.
Another friend of mine (how popular am I!) bought an XL away shirt. I scoffed because I didn't think he'd be able to squeeze his rather considerable frame into it. However, he managed it, with room to spare. This was even more remarkable as he was still wearing his original choice of shirt underneath!
FIVE THINGS WE KNEW ALREADY BUT ARE NOW EVEN MORE CONVINCED ABOUT
1. The squad we have now clearly isn't good enough.
We looked very poor (again!) last night. It's pretty obvious that the whole thing needs a shake up and we should have a big clearout. I won't mention any names but I think there are quite a few players who would probably benefit from being moved on. It was also give us the opportunity to bring in some fresh faces and liven things up a bit. The campaign for change starts here.
2. Arthit is not - I repeat, not - a right back.
When Noppanon was taken off around the thirty minute mark to make way for a striker, Pipob, we needed to someone to slot in at right back. Now, let's think, who is the least likely person to fill this role? A left winger who doesn't look fit, of course! It's this kind of decision making from the dugout that leads me to believe that they don't really know what they're doing.
3. The natives are revolting.
There have been rumblings of discontent for a while now but last night they burst out screaming into the open. I don't think I've ever heard so many dissatisfied fans on their way out of a Chonburi match before. A lot of long term fans were particularly critical and are no longer afraid to show it. One female fan spent about ten minutes talking with the club's general manager and telling him exactly what she thought. Takes guts, that.
4. We are too soft.
"Get stuck in!" for crying out loud. We are far too nice and let teams walk all over us. I'd love to have a couple of true hard men in our team. When we did start putting it about - Chonlatit and Boskovic - it was too late. We should have shown that sort of zeal from the beginning.
5. We'll win nothing this season.
Nuff said!
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