Here's my pre match interview with Khon Kaen Utd fan, Isaac Hanson.
Please can you start by introducing yourself
Hi! My name is Isaac, I am 29 years old and from the great state of Wisconsin, USA. I have been living in Thailand for nearly 7 years as an English teacher. I am currently working at a school in Khon Kaen, where I've been for the past 5 years.
How long have you been supporting Khon Kaen Utd?
I have been supporting Khon Kaen United since our season in T2 (2020). My wife was already a casual fan of the team and suggested going to a match, and I’ve been hooked ever since! The first game I went to happened to be the last one before the covid shut down (3-0 win vs Ayutthaya). Since then, I’ve tried to watch as many games as I could, whether on TV or at the stadium.
How happy are you with your team's performance so far this season?
It’s good that you’re asking me this question now instead of 2 months ago. I’ve been extremely happy with their form since the start of the 2nd leg (aside from the cup loss at Chiangmai and the draw against a Lampang side that ships goals for fun). The first leg was pretty much a complete disaster that saw two coaching changes, only one win, and numerous injuries. Since the start of the 2nd leg, we have 4 wins, 1 draw, and only 1 loss. The team has done a complete 180 and looks unrecognizable compared to the team that we saw in the first leg.
What are your expectations for the rest of the season?
I’m hoping/expecting to finish somewhere between 10th-12th place. It would be great if we could challenge Police Tero for 9th, but we have a tough run of games coming up where points will be hard to come by, starting Saturday. Regardless of the results in the next month or so, I hope to at least see some more of the much improved attacking play that was severely lacking in the first half of the season. Realistically, as long as we avoid relegation I’ll be happy.
And in the long term?
Long term, I’d hope that we are able to eventually separate ourselves from the mid-lower table pack and start to challenge for top 6, top 5, etc. I think becoming a Ratchaburi or Chiang Rai type of team could be possible. A provincial team with a nice, new football specific stadium (fingers crossed), that can make the occasional deep cup run or have a season where they hover around the top 3. I think we have a solid foundation in place where we could eventually build on our existing scrappy underdog status to become a more well-established top division team.
What has been the highlight of your time supporting the team so far?
It’s hard to pick just one… the two draws we’ve had against Buriram were memorable, as well as seeing some of the Thai national team stars come to town with the likes of Bangkok U, Port, BGPU, etc. Our late come from behind win last Sunday against Korat was incredible to experience in person and one that I will remember for a long time. However, none of those would have even been possible without my top highlight, which was the night we won promotion to T1 on penalties against Nakhon Pathom. I usually enjoy a penalty shootout as a neutral fan, but my goodness, they are absolutely terrifying when your team is involved!
And the low point?
There was a run of games where we bounced between 15th and 16th place at the start of our first season in T1 last year for about the first 2 months of the season, including a 0-7 thumping at the hands of Chonburi that I’m sure your fans will remember well. We looked so overmatched in many of those games, I was sure that we were headed straight back down to T2. Things were looking very bleak before we thankfully turned things around later in the season.
How happy are you with the way the club is run?
Overall, I’d say 8 out of 10. The owner is involved and obviously emotionally invested in the team. Sure, there are a few things that could be improved, but I think there are a lot of things that he has done well.
If you could offer your owner one piece of advice, what would it be?
Something that we had spoken about previously, which would be not overbuilding any potential new stadium. If there is ever a new stadium built, I really don’t think it needs to be any bigger than the current stadium (7,000). Just take out the running track to bring the fans closer to the action and create a more intimate atmosphere.
And which one piece of advice would you give your coach?
This decision might be more for the owner to make, but I’d advise the coach (Patipat Robroo; “Coach Boss”) to stick around as the permanent coach rather than interim. This is actually the 3rd team that he has taken over for us on an interim basis, but has never been given the full official job, even after getting the team promoted the two previous times he was in charge.
What does the club do to attract fans from the city and surrounding area?
Not a whole lot, to be honest. I see hardly any marketing in town, and even their social media presence isn’t particularly active, at least not in terms of marketing or trying to attract new fans. Even the team store is extremely small and hard to find. I’m curious to know how United initially marketed themselves when they were first in T4, but I was living elsewhere in Thailand at the time, so I’m not sure…
What more do you think they could do?
It would be great to see more player focused social media content such as interviews or other sort of features. One of the team’s photographers posts a lot of content to his personal accounts, but it very rarely gets posted on any of the official team accounts. Even just something as simple as posting a list of the Thai players nicknames, I find it odd how everyone in Thailand goes by their nicknames except for footballers.
What kind of relationship does the club have with Khon Kaen FC?
Honestly, that’s something I’ve been wondering about too, and I’m yet to find a really good answer to that question. The one year that we were in the same division (T2; 2020) was the covid year, so I didn’t get to experience what that atmosphere would have been like and see how the two sets of fans would have interacted with each other. The impression that I do get though, is that United is kind of like the younger brother that had a big growth spurt and suddenly was more successful and well-liked than the older brother in KKFC. Even when KKUtd was in T4 and T3, they were more popular. I suspect that people staled on FC after a few years of mediocre T2 performances and one abysmal campaign in the top flight (and now in T3). When KKUtd came around and were consistently winning games and earning promotions, fans flocked to the new hotness. Gotta give credit to the fans that stuck with FC though, that’s dedication.
You share your ground with Khon Kaen FC and it seems more like their home than yours - it's painted yellow and black and most of the evidence pointed to them rather than you on my recent visit. What are your thoughts on this?
Yes, absolutely fair comment. Since KKFC were there first and still use it, KKUtd can’t just paint over the yellow with red, even if they are the more successful team. It does seem a bit odd, especially on a non-game day when United doesn’t have any of their red and black banners and flags set up. United’s owner (Watthana Changlao) mentioned in a pre-season interview that they were exploring the possibility of building their own stadium, but I haven’t heard anything about it since then.
On to Saturday. What have been your impressions of Chonburi this season?
Despite poor recent results, I feel like 3rd is about where they should be in the table. It would be great to see them (or anyone) put up a serious threat to the team in first, but we all know that isn’t happening anytime soon. Hopefully you can get things back on track (after this week, of course) to fend off the other teams that have gained some ground on you, though it seems the ship may have sailed on pushing for 2nd place.
Which of our players are you most wary of?
Definitely Danilo Alves. We will likely be without our two first choice center backs (Joshua Grommen and Jung Han-Cheol), so it might turn into a feeding frenzy for Alves.
Which of your players do we need to look out for?
Maybe Ibson Melo? The player with the 2nd most goals in the entire league last season didn’t score a single goal all season until the two he scored last Sunday. If he can get back to his best, he is always dangerous, but outside of the last five minutes against Korat he has been a shell of himself. Another player to look out for is Lidor Cohen. He has been fantastic for us since joining on loan from BG. That archetype of player, someone who can carry the ball and take defenders on 1-on-1, is what we desperately needed in the first leg. He doesn’t have blistering pace, but he has a smooth first touch and knows how to use a combination of step overs and ball rolls to keep defenders guessing.
What are your expectations for Saturday's match?
I worry that losing a couple of winnable games in a row will light a fire under Chonburi this week and they’ll be looking to take out their frustrations against us. I’m anticipating a highly focused and determined performance from your lot this week. If we are indeed without Grommen and Jung, we could be chum in the water.
Would you care to make a score prediction?
2-1 for Chonburi. I think Alves will grab an early goal in the first half, Khon Kaen will push forward in the second half chasing an equalizer before getting caught out too far forward and conceding on a counter attack, and then grabbing a consolation goal in the last few minutes.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Yes! I’d just like to thank you for all the engagement online and being so welcoming and helpful with introducing me to this online community. It’s been a lot of fun and good luck on Saturday!
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