What is wrong at Muangthong and how to make it right

 

There’s been a few sweet moments over the last few weeks where it felt like the good times were back at Muangthong. The long queue for tickets ahead of the game against Kanchanaburi accompanied by the obligatory speakers just loud enough to vibrate your body without actually crushing it, the escalating crowd noise in home and away fans at Thai Port, and the sea of blue-shirted Chonburi fans disembarking the coaches and posing for photos before El Classico. All fleeting flashbacks of a once great era at the club all had one thing in common: they occurred before a ball was kicked.

The on field trouble with the Kirins is not new in itself. We’ve slipped dangerously close to the relegation trapdoor a few times in recent seasons but this time around feels particularly risky, if only for the fact that “we’ve been here before” is a line being used by the actual head coach himself as a defence, as if playing badly in the past means we don’t need to be alarmed if it carries on. In fact the on pitch results are not a drop in form, they are the natural outcome of several factors that have all taken their toll. So with the defeat in El Classico in recent memory along with dreadful form and performances, it’s time for me to take a look at the main problems behind Muangthong’s demise and offer a few ideas about how they can be fixed before it’s too late.

1) It’s not lack of effort.

kirin red zone

Before we look at the problems, let’s remove one of the easy excuses off of the table. I’ve seen a team of unmotivated players in action before and that is not what we have at Muangthong, at least not for the most part. To the contrary: it’s clear that some of the younger players are giving it their all to the point that when the chips are down, they try to do too much. The physical commitment isn’t lacking either: by Thai standards the players are not afraid to get stuck in. Likewise, I don’t see any signals that backroom staff are complacent or lazy. After the Prachup game there was an altercation between the head coach and some of the crowd when the supporters refused to sing the customary club anthem to players after the game. The message was that the fans didn't want to sing for players not doing their best, to which coach Uthai responded by saying he would not bring the players over to thank the fans next time. I actually supported coach Uthai on this: the worst thing we can do is lay the blame for our troubles at the feet of young players who are clearly striving to perform but not receiving the guidance they need. 

2) Loss of investment

The obvious one. When the Kirins were winning games for fun, they were backed by the might of SCG, a business managed by the Crown Property Group. Top players of the era such as Teerasil and Kawin made their name as part of a title-winning side packed with quality and no doubt commanding a hefty wage bill. Nobody outside the boardroom knows why the sponsorship suddenly got cancelled. It would be easy to suggest that the sponsors simply saw the spike of popularity in Thai football ebbing away, yet other big brands such as True continued to fund Bangkok United even when they drew crowds of under 1,000. It goes without saying that having less money to pay players with will attract a lower calibre of athlete.

3) Poor on and off-field leadership.

mtutd.com

This is one that irks me because it’s surely the easiest to fix. Mario Djuvoski was not a great coach or a great leader but he was competent. We let him go. Milos Joksic constantly overachieved at Rajpracha and Muangthong. He had an insight into tactics and mentality that he somehow transfers to players of different cultures and mindsets. We let him go. Since then I have truly struggled to find anything positive about our head coaches. We look tactically inept when things aren’t going well (more on that later) and substitutions seem random. On the field the club takes pride in having a young squad, but a young squad needs on field guidance and leadership, which our veteran players are simply not providing.

4) Potentially poor coaching and/or poor tactics

Lack of transitional movement, especially in counter-attacks

This one may be harsh as I haven’t observed any training sessions but there have been several moments this season where I rack my brains to think what is going through the minds of players. At Port, during one of our very first counter-attacks (the only type of attack we managed in the entire game and even then, rarely) a few players surged forward in a straight line without a single overlap or single player getting behind their marker. In the Clasico, the only overlaps we managed were hectic and unplanned, caused by players trying to make something happen by themselves. With ten minutes remaining in a vital game, we took position down Chonburi's right flank left with almost every home player on the attack. Not a single player made a run or movement and not one of our foreign quota called for the ball. It was a moment so appalling the anger from the crowd was instant. 

That exposes a bigger problem...

No identity or game plan in adversity

We don’t seem to have any overall identity of cohesion in our game plan. The younger players knock it around quite well in early stages of a game but when things go against us - which is often these days - their heads drop. Unified movement gets forgotten, the foreign players tend to go through the motions and younger players display the most common symptom of destroyed confidence by trying to walk the ball into the net. When Zesh Rehman was our player, I remember him sending signals to his fellow defenders to calm down or switch their position just slightly. Nothing spectacular, just simple reminders. I don't notice our veteran foreign players doing that these days. 

Possible lack of coaching impact in games

Again, maybe I’m being harsh as I don’t have a microphone at the dugout so I can only surmise. Going back to the Chonburi game, it became clear the player’s heads were dropping and the youngsters resorted to trying to create openings so simple they couldn’t miss. This approach may work in some situations for some teams but it's not working for us right now. Like many fans I was yelling at our lads to simply have a crack. Guess what? Our first goal came from Annas clearly thinking “f**k it!” and blasting a long shot into the top left corner of the net.  The second was scored by Melvin hitting a rebound because you know what else? Sometimes if you take a shot against an average team it will go in, get deflected or get cleared poorly.

What worries me though is that none of this basic insight was notably transferred from the coaching team to players during games. If it was, it either didn’t stick under pressure or had no solution to go along with it. None of these outcomes are acceptable. The predictable result was the return to the “walk it in” approach we saw after our second goal last week and the utter drop off in movement and support that came with it. All of the above raises the question: what are Uthai and long-term coaches Dagno and Datsakorn doing and saying to players before, during and after the games? 

Then again, some of their best names on paper aren't delivering....

Poor performance of foreigners

mtutd.com

I will be quick here as I don’t like singling out individual players for harsh criticism. It goes without saying that any team that loses their best player to injury before the season even starts will struggle, and so it turned out for us. The club has recently confirmed Popp will return for the second leg but we’ll analyse that message again in a moment. Looking at our other players: Gremsci has been fine and not to blame for any goals that I recall and I actually think Nelson is effective at this level. The rest of the foreign quota have been putting in performances ranging from average to poor. Melvyn actually looked good in early games but has been frankly dreadful recently. His commitment is not in doubt but he looks slow, clumsy and without ideas. Being played out of position - this guy is not a winger on his best day - doesn't help either. Tristan Do is another player who looks jaded and was very lucky to avoid a second yellow against Choburi with his constant pulling, nudging and generally scrappy style of play. As club captain and one of our oldest and more experienced players, does he not have any encouragement to offer the youngsters when the chips are down? Can he not offer feedback - calm or passionate - to the rest of the backline when it is hopelessly loose at times? Maybe he does but I don't see it.  As for Tonktov, all I will say is that he should not be playing for Muangthong in my opinion. 

It would be unfair to compare these foreign players to some from our past, but I find it very hard to believe that the money they presumably draw for their salaries could not be far, far better spent elsewhere. I would happily let any of them except Popp go if it meant we could get a quality foreign head coach through the door.

Lack of communication with fans

Now in fairness as Dale at Thai Football Podcast will tell you, this isn’t a Muangthong thing so much as a Thai football thing. The local culture is one of posting “happy birthday” messages to players and reminding people to cheer for the team. That’s by no means a bad thing and it suits the approach of many fans who simply want to enjoy the experience of wearing team colours and cheering the team no matter how good or bad the performance. Mind you, it hasn’t always stopped us from posting cheeky speculation, such as the time we announced on our official website that we had offered a contract to none other than Alessandro Del Piero.

But in rough times the lack of clarity can be really frustrating, especially when things don’t always come to fruition and some problems seem glaringly obvious. The head coach is not the right fit for the job: are we looking for anyone? Why is it taking so long? Are we conducting interviews? Do we have a timescale? Any particular type of coach we are after? Who knows? We haven’t been told a single thing.

What about investment? Last season the club hyped up a big new mystery sponsor and finally announced Fuji as a "main photography sponsor" or something similar. I haven't seen a single Fuji logo since then. How did we not get the details and numbers on paper before an announcement like that?

I should point out we have performed much better in some other channels of communication. The club's official X account is fast and responsive with ticket news and score updates as well as responses to questions. Even more importantly, when speculation over the future of the Thunderdome stadium itself resurfaced again, there was a low key but official response from the owner who clearly detailed contingency plans in case the worst happened. Likewise, when speculation about yet another venue change for the Chonburi game spread online, the club made a firm statement denying it. Let's hope the promise of Popp's return and a change of foreign players is also kept. Failure to keep to their word right now could have really long-term consequences for fan relations.

What's the solution?

With the problems laid bare, the obvious question is what’s next? It would be foolish to think an problem as deep as this is one to be fixed easily or quickly. Still, for what it’s worth, here are some fixes that any fan would probably be able to offer up and which the club almost certainly have in mind anyway.

1) Overhaul the coaching staff

'ello Muangthong, made a few fu*kups did we?
(lavenir.net)

Get Milos, Mario or better yet Rene back. Any of those three would be able to quickly forge some basic transitional tactics and team structure. Mario will never be accused of lacking passion, Rene always provides an added bonus of touchline drama and certainly won’t tolerate a lack of commitment and with Milos I sense that he would most likely get the youngsters responding to pressure with more stoicism. For the rest of the coaching staff, I think we need to thank Dago and Datsakorn for their excellent performances and history with the club but inform them now is the time to find new staff to take us forward.

2) Find investment

Easier said than done, I know. But with that said, Muangthong surely still makes an attractive opportunity for a big business or Thai elite to play with. Not so much as a profitable business perhaps - I’d be surprised if any club in Thailand isn’t running at a loss - but as a promotional and profile-raising opportunity. In that sense we still have a lot to offer with a large following on social media, a fierce rivalry with Thailand’s now most successful club up north, a history (not present) of big crowds and hype and a large stadium surrounded by hugely popular event centres and an MRT link. Is there not a single influential figure out there with money to play with that wants to give Newin a run for his money? A big enough investment to bring in three or four key players could change things quite quickly.

3) Bring back the vibes

Remember these days? (kirin red zone)

This might not happen without the other two fixes but if word could get out about the buzz returning to MTUTD, the crowd should follow. It’s not that long ago that the Thunderdome would see helicopters landing in the centre circle, professional singers on the pitch at half time, parties outside the gates starting hours before kick off and players being featured in fashion ads in every shopping mall.
Somehow, some way, a return to that would make investment all the more likely. How do we achieve it? That’s one answer I can’t think of. There must be celebrity fans out there, a sponsor or investor willing to collaborate or people involved with Impact that know the tricks. We are literally right next to the most modern and popular exhibitions centres and event halls in the country. Have we at least asked their advice? Let's get sold out matches again. Any news fans can get to the stadium with my updated guide.

One thing I’ve seen a lot of on social media recently is Kirins fans feeling like they might lose the very existence of their club. For them this isn’t their second team or their “foreign team”, its their team. I don’t think that risk is probable yet, but I do think that it’s possible. And yet things could still be changed around and changed quickly if we can just get some big decisions and backroom manoeuvres in our favour. Will it happen? Time will tell.

Fan interview: Chris Roach

Apart from a friendly with BEC Tero yesterday (where Zesh got some good turf time), it's been a quiet week due to the international fixtures. So this seems an ideal time to publish a fan interview.

Chris "Roachy" Roach

Farang fans at MTU have inevitably been asked: "Are you Roachy?" at some point when trying to purchase tickets or talk with club officials. Even I've been asked several times, despite the fact that Chris Roach and I would be separated by several weight classes if we were boxers. The reason for this confusion is because Chris is very likely MTU's first farang (western) fan and his name has stuck with fan club leaders and club staff. Recently Chris and I discussed the changes that have happened so quickly at MTU and how he feels about them.

What was you first ever MTU game and how did you find out about the club?
My first game was when they were in Div 1... I cant remember who they were playing, but as I drove past the stadium (If you can call it that) I saw a game going on with a few (20) people cheering them on. Being a football fan I decided to go and take a look... It wasn't great but I decided to go back a few times and enjoy a nice cold beer while watching a game. The following season (Promoted to TPL) i drove past and saw a few thousand cheering the team on. It was at this point I started to go regularly... I haven't looked back since

How many fans did the club have around that time, and were they any
other farang fans?
At the beginning not many.. I think Dunc and I were the first, but I cannot be sure...

How MTU (in grey) looked back then.

How has MTU changed since your first game?
It has got massive... Although I loved the early days on Match days, you cant help but be impressed by what has happened... The growth has been great for the club, but also great for Thai football. Muang Thong kick started this massive revival in home grown football, I can only see this getting bigger and better.

When clubs see a big surge in support, there are often some long-term fans who aren’t happy about it. How do you feel about the growth of the club?
As mentioned above its great... Also as a Liverpool fan Im not complaining when Robby Fowler turns up to play a season :) John Barnes the next Manager?

What do you think lies in store for MTU for the rest of this season?
 Second place, I hope they give the manager a chance (Edit: this was before Calisto left MTU)

.....and what do you think lies in store for, say, the next five years?
Next 5 years I can see them becoming a steady force in Asian football. Many of their players have signed for the next 5 yrs and I think this will add stability. Obviously they have a major business plan and I think this will lead to the signing of big name players and this will turn into more interest in the team... Its all good and I look forward to all that is to come.

******
Thanks to Chris for his time.

Massive new plans announced

MTU recently held a press conference featuring key executives from Siam Sport, the club, and both the property and banking sections of the Land & Houses company.

All parties involved announced plans to develop Muangthong Thani into an "international standard" sports village featuring tennis courts, football pitches, swimming pools, accommodation and of course a total redevelopment of the MTU stadium.

The complex would meet FIFA and Olympic standards and would create large scale employment and investment in the sector.

The total cost of the project is in excess of 500 million baht, making it by far the most expensive and developed stadia in Thai football.

L&H executives in grey, Siam Sport execs in black

Stadium plans

Contract signing

MTU V PEA - fixture swap

From the OS, it is unclear why PEA agreed to the switch (unless they planned it for the new stadium) or why we need to do it if we are confident of taking six points.

Thailand Premier League Champions Muangthong United have accepted the fixture swapping request from TPL’s committees who would like to change a first-leg schedule between Buriram PEA and Kilins at I-mobile Stadium on Saturday March, 2nd [edit: they mean April 2nd] to play at the Yamaha Stadium instead.

Muangthong’s general manager Ronnarit Suewaja reveals about the issue, “I would like the supporters to try to understand our decision to host the first match because our league fellow’s venue still not ready to use and It does not breaking any TPL’s rules. I think we play the first match in our venue would be advantaged for us because we need to close the gap with leading group in the table.

I can say that we will strengthen our squad before the end of transfer window to make sure that we’re capable to defending our title, so I confident that we’re good enough to get all six points from Buriram PEA. Finally, I would like to apologize our fans for unconveniency from this changing. Ronnarit added.

The season ticket package

So last weekend I get an SMS for a mister "Sres"  to come and pick up his n-zone season ticket from the club. I don't know who "Sres" is, but I had ordered a ticket too, so today I went to collect it and got a pleasant surprise.

The package was literally so, with a smart club crest engraved on the box...

Inside is a limited edition club scarf. Of course there's always a fine line between "limited edition" products and: "something not that good that we made up",  but in this case the scarf looks good and is made from high-quality fabric....

...and even the membership card looks trendy, though they gave me Mister "Sres"' card...

Finally, we have the ticket itself with dates for every game - even the second leg - and a 20% discount voucher for use in the club shop. The membership card itself grants a 10% discount for every club shop purchase.

All in all, a really excellent value package. MTU are often accused of being too commercial and fake, but the club could easily have charged double or triple prices for season tickets without any extras and made more money. Instead, they have offered a package that will almost certainly work out even better value than last year. It shows they care about the fans and want to give them the best deal possible. Bravo, MTU!

A comparison:

Last year's ST package for n-zone was:
1,200 baht for all home league games, a club shop birthday voucher (I think it was 300 baht), and a 10% discount on all club shop purchases

This year:
1,500 baht for all home league games (two more than last year) and all TLC and FA Cup games (I confirmed this with staff today), a good quality scarf, a 20% discount voucher for club shop (for any product except the new shirts), a discount on all club shop purchases and the club swimming pool, VIP box for two people on ST holder's birthday (though this has not yet been re-confirmed) and a free PDF download of all league and domestic cup match programmes.

So allowing for the two extra games - at 80 baht each - the 300bt price increase becomes just 140bt. So all we need is at least two home games in either domestic cup for the ticket to work out cheaper per game. That's not to mention all the other benefits given this year.

Stadium updates

Ahead of tomorrow's game, here's an update on the stadium. A little bit about the district of Muang Thong Thani will appear tomorrow.

The Thunderdome is looking great. The pitch looks like a dream surface and the plastic seats - that are only installed on the side stands - look smart too.

The North/East stand club shop was closed today and completely unstocked.

A western style refreshment stall has been built next to the South Stand/East Stand corner.

The front area of the stadium is now fenced off. The road entrances are blocked by a full-length traffic gate.

Building work still has not been completed. Rubble, cables, wires and building tools are around everywhere. Some areas have an unsteady surface.

The building looks great, though it still has the lovable 'Legoland' feel to it.

Club shop queues - on a non-match day.

 

 

 

 

 

Photo credits: ป๋า(ถม) ณ เมืองทอง at mtufc.net

The new look

Courtesy of (and full credit to) Jirawat Srikong, here are some photos of the new look Yamaha Stadium. I hear the pitch will play as good as it looks.

The Deftones riot @ Thunderdome

I won't cast any comment. For the uninitiated, I should point out the Thunderdome building itself is adjacent to the football stadium, so the person filming was standing with his back to the football ground.

Deftones fans riot at the Thunderdome

Fans of one of my favourite bands rioted at the home of my favourite team. Strange days...

Hundreds of concert-goers rioted last night after cancellation of a concert by American metal band Deftones.

Angry fans threw bottles and glasses, damaged furnishings and smashed glass windows at the concert venue, the Thunder Dome in Muangthong Thani, after being informed about the bad news at about 3pm. Thousands of the disappointed concert-goers went home, while the remaining fans went berserk. Many policemen later arrived at the scene to keep order.

It remained unclear what caused the cancellation. One source said it was because the band's manager found the stage wasn't up to standard, and that the band's equipment could not be used with Thailand's electricity voltage.

Image and article: 
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/02/16/life/Deftones-fans-go-beserk-after-concert-is-cancelled-30148809.html

As far as I know and saw, the Stadium was untouched. Violence cannot be condoned, but the authorities must accept some responsibility for telling a large group of metal fans that a long-awaited concert was cancelled just hours from the scheduled time without so much as a reason, apology or compensation. I hope they learn their lesson before Slash's gig....

Snapshots - times of change

How many can you name?

The big man gets his award - at least he's going out strong

Note the water spray - the grass is growing rapidly.

Thanks to the person who took the photos and sent them to me.

The new look Thunderdome

www.thaileagueonline.com

Thai League Online reports on the state of the pitch renovations at the Thunderdome:

The club have spent more than thirty million baht installing a new turf and drainage system. The under-section of the turf - which is natural grass - includes a new style of under-turf drainage.

Other renovations include installation of seats in some sections and completion of the West Stand upper section.The West Stand will bear the stadium sponsor name (Yamaha).

The installation is currently ahead of schedule and is expected to be completed by mid-February. This is good news as a late finish would mean MTU had to play several early away games in a row.

The TOT away game

I was wondering what the arrangements would be at the Thunderdome for MTU's "away" game against TOT.

TOT are using the stadium as their ground this season despite the fact they have a perfectly fine - and more suitable - stadium literally down the road at Cheang Watthana. Ostensibly, that stadium is being renovated. But I believe in reality - even if renovations are going on - it's cover for the club to lobby their way to a purchase by a rich entity and move somewhere else.

TOT home games usually involve boards, posters and flags, etc. being erected at the ground. Tickets are blue coloured and there is pre-match and half time entertainment in the form of a chat show.

Will all this take place for the MTU game? It would be slightly odd and perhaps embarrassing, since ninety percent of the fans would be "away" but really not away, if you get me. It's like pretending the tenant of the home is the host.

In any case, the club (ours) have announced the ticket arrangements and they are slightly different to usual. The rest of the arrangements are yet to be revealed.

The pitch

Credit: คุณชายนิว ณ เมืองทอง at mtufc.net

I seem to recall that around this time last season, I commented that the Thunderdome pitch looked like it had been taken over by buffalo. Well this year, it looks like the buffalo clan have been invaded by a herd of wilderbeast and the pitch has been used for the battle. In short: it's terrible.

This is not the club's fault of course. It's politics that have allowed other teams to use the surface and I doubt anyone who knows anything about sport thought that using the pitch for a lacrosse game was sensible. And nobody can do much about the incredible amounts of rain we've had this year.

Hopefully TOT will get lost and Rajpracha will return home next season. But if not - or even if they do - this problem may keep repeating itself unless we...

a) Get a new stadium with facilities to maintain the pitch or.....


b) .....cue the Darth Vader music ......we install astroturf!

I know astroturf is unpopular and hardly an ideal option but surely it's cost effective and better than forcing ourselves to play on what is essentially a potato field towards the end of each season.

Let's remember, MTU are the best footballing side in the league. The worse the pitch, the more we deprive ourselves of our advantage in skill.

Meet the 'n-zone' army

MTU face the first leg of their AFC Cup semi-final clash tomorrow against Syrian side Al-Ittihad. Rest assured a full report will appear here. However, I am finally enjoying a well-deserved holiday that will include two getaways so I may miss some games. News-flashes will still appear here, though.

Muangthong are best known for their 'Ultras' fan group. That's the large, colourful and friendly crowd that fill the South Stand at home games and produce a tremendous noise. But with the growth of the club and the stadium, a smaller but equally passionate and slightly more inebriated bunch known as the 'n-zone' group have also made themselves known for noise, passion and friendliness.

I like the 'n-zone' crowd because their behaviour and nature is slightly closer to that of European fans, but without the thuggish side of such culture. Meet them here......

Scarf waving

I do smile sometimes,  especially when Portsmouth lose.

When the shirts are off, it usually means we are winning.

At half time

Not a fairweather fan.

Rough but friendly 1

Rough but friendly2

The twelfth man

Photo credits
First photo: ♥ JoEisM ณ เมืองทองat mtufc.com
Second photo: unknown (please inform)
All other photos: คุณชายนิว ณ เมืองทอง at mtufc.com

CAT TOT ..... SOD OFF

 Image: siamsport.com
  

I'm not sure what the management of CAT TOT are thinking. In fact, I doubt they are thinking at all.

In Kanchanaburi they had a great stadium and a great catchment area for potential fans. They choose to spit on the fans they did gain and move back to Nonthaburi. Yes, the same Nonthaburi with three successful teams inside it already.

Only, when they got 'home' they realised their stadium wasn't ready (apparently they didn't check beforehand) and they decided to ground share with Muangthong. Another strain on a pitch already supporting two teams.

But if they were grateful for the assistance, they didn't show it. We've already had reports of fans hounding the referee out of the stadium after their game with Pattaya, and that was after their Georgian player decided to assault the referee in an earlier game with Saraburi.

Now comes the news that TOT have refused to accept the ten game ban on said player and are threatening to sue the TPL for "thirty to fifty million baht".
They claim they did not sign a pre-season contract of conduct that every other team signed.

How the heck do they arrive at the figure of up to fifty million baht? The prize money for winning the TPL is only ten million baht and nobody believes TOT will win it. Perhaps they were expecting to sell one hundred thousand shirts with this player's name on the back and can prove in court that they've lost one hundred thousand fans because of the punishment? Right, and perhaps I'll play for England on Saturday.

Given that TOT appear to have no respect for fans, no ambition, no code of conduct and no respect for a clearly just and deserved punishment given to them, I rather wish we'd never let them use the Thunderdome. Hope you go down, lads.

Penalties at the Thunderdome

 Photo credit: Jane Chalinee 

The webmaster of thai-fussball.de made an interesting point recently concerning the number of penalties awarded at the Thunderdome and the fact that they seemed to be very frequent.

It's an understandable concern, but was it correct? Such complaints used to be frequently aimed at the Liverpool side in the Dalgleish years because of the number of late penalties awarded in front of the Kop End at Anfield. In later years, the same complaints predictably switched targets to Manchester United, though a report showed the 'Red Devils' received less penalties than several other teams in the EPL.

But enough of those minnows, what about Muangthong? At first I planned to knock up a spreadsheet to record the number of penalties along with the player fouled, time of award, etc. Then I remembered that I left my anorak in the UK and that my wife is a real person, not a mail order blow-up doll. So instead, here is a quick check from memory, subject to error:

VB Sports: Yes (2)
Persiwa: Yes
Navy Rayong: Yes
Bangkok United: No
Buriram PEA: No
BEC Tero: Yes
Chonburi: Yes
Pattaya United: Yes

So "yes" = 6 (two in one game) "No" = 2. At least three penalties every four games. It is also interesting that all but two of these penalties were awarded in front of the Ultras Stand.

Of course, this data alone doesn't tell us anything whatsoever. What we really need to know is: were these penalties justified? Was the ref giving them by instinct or under encouragement from fans and players? Even then, we would not be able to tell if this was giving us an advantage, we'd need to check the same statistics for every other team in the league. Moreover, if we are going to do things scientifically (which I'm obviously not right now), we'd need the data from a whole season.

So all we can do right now is try hard to be objective. I can honestly say two things based on my own personal opinion. Of all the penalties I have seen close up this season, only one was a mistake by the official and in the two games where the penalty was the deciding goal in the match - Navy Rayong and Pattaya United - we were clearly the better team and sought to play open, attacking football against players who not only sought a draw, but did so by very, very dubious means. I believe Muangthong players do not look for penalties because they feel they are the better side and can win by playing the game properly. I'd be interested to hear other opinions, though.

Shorts

The results of my poll (see the column on the right) appear to reflect badly on the Thai FA. Initially, they planned to release a statement about this yesterday. However, the press conference was postponed until next week, and has now been moved to some time in October.

****

For anyone who wants to see a perfect summary of what has changed in Thai footie and especially MTU in the last year or so, take a look at the Thunderdome in this clip. Remember, it's only from last year!

The Yamaha Stadium

As revealed by yours truly via Matt at Harrow some time ago, the management at MTU have been in negotiations for a commercial sponsorship of the Thunderdome Stadium. Negotiations seemed to get underway about half way through last season and have now been concluded. Since MTU won the league, I imagine the agreed figure was closer to MTU's initial offer rather than Yamaha's.

Nig has a translation of the MTU news item here.

The importance of this development should be clear. As well as taking Thai football to a new standard and ensuring MTU will not move home for a while, it also gives a massive boost to Muangthong's hopes of retaining the TPL trophy.. The amount of money earned from the sponsorship alone is equal to Thai Port's entire investment on stadium development for next season.

Let's hope it translates into further success.

Stadium expansion

thaileaguefootball.com reports that MTU will expand the Thunderdome to a capacity of 25,000. I recall a discussion with Matt Riley about the possibilities for MTU's future and we discussed the possibility of converting the current stands into a two tier system. It looks like this is the option Robert has plugged for.

Please do it slowly and safely, guys.

The pitch and behind the scenes

 

"It's a wriggler this one!"

The pitch at The Thunderdome has been a focal point for everyone from Bryan Robson to the lady selling somtam outside during the last few weeks. During the Rajpracha Vs Loei City game, I was convinced someone would suffer a serious injury on the water-logged surface. (I was relieved to be proven wrong about that, but it's still a risk).

And while I'm mentioning the bits I got wrong, I wrongly stated a new pitch had been laid down after the final Muangthong game of the season. The correct situation is this: a new pitch has been ordered. When 'installed' the contractors will also do some digging to implement a drainage system at the stadium. It's a big job and will be a race against time to be ready for the new season.

As previously mentioned, Robert and Co. at the club have a lot going on behind the scenes as they aim to stay at the forefront of the Thai football explosion. Stay tuned.