Chiang Rai Utd fan, Alec Peeples, shares his thoughts on the 2022/23 season.
What are your overall impressions of your club’s season?
5th in the table is very flattering. We never looked great nor did we ever play great football. We lost just about every match against ‘better’ teams and ground out results against ‘lesser’ teams. A very forgettable season with poor tactics and overall poor football (for the viewer).
What did your club get right on and off the field?
I don’t thing we got much right to be honest. We did get plenty wrong. I could list my issues with what we did on the field all day but in short we just played a dreadful pragmatic style of football that was not at all entertaining. Our management often looked to be in over their heads and were severely outcoached.
And what did they get wrong?
Off the field we lost our 2 president/chairmen figures (who can really keep up with actual titles in Thai football?) both to politics.
What advice would you give them ahead of next season?
My main advice is to hire a proper coaching staff and for Miti to stop making all the decisions. His approach to football hasn’t shown any progress or promising results over the past few years. It’s insipid and boring. Stop signing a new striker every 6 months and realize the problem isn’t with one individual… it’s with the entire system we play.
Who have been your best players this season?
The best player has to be Victor Cardozo. Always a rock in the backline, leading scorer, and by far the best leader in the squad. I was also pleasantly surprised by our other centre back, Diego Landis. Settasit had a great start and seemed to be an exciting prospect but calmed down over the second half of the season. Still have a lot of hope for his development.
And who hasn't performed?
For underperformers I could list a few... I expected Felipe to have a great season and was mostly let down. He still seems to lack the finishing we need from an attacker. Also Bonilla never really got off the mark. Sivakorn also never seemed to be at his best and looked to be checked out for most the season.
Which players, or type of players, would you like to sign for next season?
We are due to clean house. So many players in our squad seem to have no passion for playing, at least for our team. I’d like to see us bring in some young players that are willing to give more of a fight than we saw last season. I’d also like to see us bring in players that can perform in a new tactical system.
Which was your team’s best performance this season?
I could click through all our results and try to find a good one… but I feel that defeats the point. A best performance should be immediately memorable and nothing is coming to mind.
And your worst?
Worst performance? There were quite a few drubbings we took at home that were pretty painful. I left more matches early this season than in all the previous seasons combined.
Which was your favourite and least favourite away trip?
I was quite busy this year and didn’t make any away trips except to Chiang Mai. So that would have to be the best and the worst.
What was the best thing that happened to you personally whilst supporting your club this season?
The best thing? Not much. I did get kicked (literally kicked from behind) by a fan that was offended when I booed Miti after a particularly bad match. Perhaps I had just a few too many beers that evening…
What are your impressions of the league overall this year?
Quite a boring season and no real surprises. I felt the quality of play was pretty bland as well and I just couldn’t get super excited about the product each and every week
Which T1 team most impressed you?
Has to be Buriram. They just came out firing and never faltered. It feels like we’re back to the Thai league of old after just a bit of parity over the past several seasons.
What has really annoyed you about Thai football this season?
The refereeing has never been great but this year it seemed to be even worse than usual. So much so that it’s probably the one thing that killed my interest and motivation to follow as closely as I have in past years.
Finally, what message would you like to give to your fellow Chiang Rai Utd fans and fans of Thai football?
It feels to me that Thai football is in quite a slump at the moment. The on field product is dull. We are back to being a one team league. The refereeing is offensively bad. And attendance has been lackluster. All of this is only going to change if fans get behind the league, show their support and make their opinions heard. Several club owners are, in my opinion, killing the league by treating the teams as their vanity projects. Obviously this is nothing new and the “owner as the face of the club” conversation has been had hundreds of times. But for me it’s just gotten to be too much. Without big changes I personally won’t be able to keep much interest in the league for long. I don’t want to support a rich guy or girl playing hero… I want to support a club.
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