Sriracha 1-0 Army Utd

Minute's silence

Army United were edged out 1-0 by Sriracha in a feisty game at the Suzuki Stadium.

The game threatened to boil over on several occasions, but the referee did 'just about' enough to keep tempers simmering below the breaking point.

In the first half, Army United held slightly more of the possession and territory, and were unlucky not to take the lead midway through the first half. Siwamet's header cannoned off the bar from a corner and then Leandro's shot on the swivel, hit the post. That double combination of the ball hitting the woodwork was the closest the deadlock came to be broken in the first 45 minutes.

Surprisingly, or unsurprising if you are familiar with Thai politics, there was no sign of Sriracha's new loanee from Buriram PEA, Dudu. Fortunately, his absence wasn't costly for the Blue Marlins as their other summer acquisition, Christiano Lopes stole the headlines.

Sriracha players celebrate their goal

The home side were more attack minded in the second half, and were rewarded for their positivity in the 71st minute. Christian Lopes netted his first TPL goal at the second attempt after his initial header from a corner was parried back into his path by the Army keeper, Kamphol.

"Fancy a pint afterwards, mate?"

That goal was enough to move Sriracha out of the bottom 3, although they may return there if TOT pick up anything at Khon Kaen today. From what I saw, Sriracha have enough about them to finish lower mid-table. If they can keep winning home games against mid-table and lower placed teams, they should be able to achieve this. Army United on the other hand, look destined to finish in mid-table.

Mid Season Transfers - Summary

Listed below are the ins and outs from the mid season transfer window for TPL sides based in the Bangkok region.
I'd like to thank Wolfman from Thai League Football for providing me with this information. You can follow the Thai League Football twitter feed on the right hand side of this blog.

Army Utd

IN:
Kraisorn Sreeyan (TTM)
Pakasit Saensuk (MTU - loan)
Anusorn Sreechaluang (Police)
Piyawat Giartjaroen (Lopburi)
Sakgongpop Sukprasert (Yasothon)
Jaco Perreira (Brazil league)
Klesli Ribeiro (Brazil league)

OUT:
Chaiwat Nakeeyam (TOT - loan)
Dragunchat Tongbai (Chiang Mai - loan)
Kosin Hembut (Chiang Mai - loan)
Ratagit Chanana (Chiang Mai - loan)
Wanmai Settanan (Osotspa - returned from loan)
Amnat Domhom (PTT - loan)
Eksapa Tanyagam (PTT - loan)
Jarupong Sangpong (Chiang Mai - loan)
Tanongsak Muangsiri (Luk Isan Thai Air - loan)
Vinicius De Carvalho (cancelled contract)
Kochi Jun (only eligible for cup matches)

Bangkok Glass

IN:
Rafael Souza Da Silva (Buriram PEA)
Flavien Michelin (Singapore League)
Henrique Dos Santos (Brazil League)

OUT:
Jongrak Pakdee (Phuket - loan)
Panuwat Failai (Osotspa)
Michael Byrne (Chai Nat)
Paul Ekkolo (Pattaya)
Syvain Indangar (Osotspa)

BEC Tero

IN:
Nareut Tamarotsopon (Police)
Soran Rajovic (Leostar)
Gilbert Kumson (promoted from youth side)

OUT:
Samuel B. Cunningham (Supanburi)
Mohammed Gado (PTT)
Altamir Martins (released)
Ekele Udojoh (CS maritimo)

Muangthong United

IN:
Ponlawat Wangtahat (Chantaburi)
Nontapan Jiersapawong (Police)
Robbie Fowler (Perth Glory)
Romane Rose (Queen's Park Rangers youth)

OUT:
Kapfa Bunmatun (Chai Nat)
Athit Daosawang (Supanburi - loan)
Santi Chaipeuak (Supanburi - loan)
Amorn Tamanan (Supanburi - loan)
Pakasit Saensuk (Army - loan)
Bubaka Issofur (Phuket - loan)
Miroslav Toth (Bangkok Utd)
Toni Kallio (released)

Police United

IN:
Tanat Wongsupalak (TTM)
Wacharapong Kongchuay (PTT)
Amara Jerry (Navy) - earlier reports said this was a return from loan
Maxime Ongmagong (Bangkok Utd)

OUT:
Nontapan Jiersapawong (MTU)
Natareut Tamarotsopon (BEC Tero)
Chang Chung Won (Songkla)

Thai Port

IN:
Santipap Siri (TOT)
Kim Dong Chan (PTT)
Kim Ba Wee (Korean League)

OUT:
Sompong Soleb (Buriram FC)
Ekachai Sumree (Buriram FC)
Jirawat Makarom (Buriram FC)
Alef Baoji (Buriram FC)
Tada Keelalai (Air Force - loan)
Teerawut Sanpan (Ang Thong - loan)
Olar Limsampansanti (Ang Thong - loan)
Pana Ganjanasomsak (Ang Thong - loan)
Yoo Myeong Han (released)
Valci Junior (released)
Jay Harris (BBCU)

TOT

IN:
Chaiwat Nakeeyam (Army)
Tanagorn Pichitchaipojanarot (Ayuthaya)
Ittipon Gaewkieaw (Bangkok Christian)
Attawut Janchang (Rachapreuk College)
Gongapon Rungreuangrojana (Sri Racha)
Diego Walsh (Charleston Battery)
Sheik Habib Fofana (Lopburi)
Kwane Attram (Ghanain League)

OUT:
Santipap Siri (Port)
Oumar Konde (released)
Richard Langley (released

North Bangkok FC 1-3 Jamjuree United

North Bangkok FC lost their 3rd consecutive home game as their promotion challenge appears to be seriously derailing.

On the other hand, Jamjuree played well, especially in the second half, and on tonight's evidence, you have to wonder why they are currently languishing in mid-table.

The opening of the game was a cagey affair with both teams sitting back holding possession. The deadlock was broken on 30 minutes by Jamjuree with a headed goal from a free-kick. North Bangkok got a fortunate equalizer 5 minutes before half-time with a cruel ricochet off a Jamjuree defender.

On the hour mark, Jamjuree took the lead and after that there only looked like being one winner. The Chula boys wrapped the game up in injury time with a break away goal from their impressive striker, Attapol.

From what I've seen recently, none of the top 3 sides in the Bangkok 2nd division are playing with any mettle, and the promotion race for the play-offs is still wide open.

If I heard correctly from the tannoy, the ticket revenue for the game was only 5,500 baht. (Robbie Fowler's boot laces probably cost more than this!) Anyway, I was sat with the North Bangkok support and I have to say they are a unique bunch. To begin with, they probably have the youngest average age of any supporters in Thailand with a large proportion of them being young female students. In addition to that, there were several overly camp young men cavorting along to the beat of the home drum. In fact, they were that eccentric, they'd make Julian Clary feel heterosexual!! It's certainly a different spectrum from what you see at Thai Port or Chonburi.

Weekend Preview 28-31 July

World Cup Qualifier Round 2 (Second leg)
Palestine v Thailand (0-1) 

A win or a draw would be sufficient for Thailand tonight in Palestine. A loss would almost certainly have the Thais heading for the World Cup exit door. Coach Winfried Schaefer is expected to field a 4-5-1 formation. He doesn't have great striking options at his disposal, but playing a defensive game in the West Bank could prove a risky tactic. For me the key players in this game are Muangthong's Kawin and Datsakorn. Kawin needs to put in a solid, confident performance in goal, while Datsakorn will have to produce quality from set-pieces in and around the Palestine box as this may be Thailand's best chance for a goal.


TPL
Sriracha v Army (Sat)
Sisaket v Samut Songkram (Sat)
Khon Kaen v TOT (Sun)
Thai Port v Army (Sun)
Chiang Rai v Navy (Sun)

None of the True Visions advertised 'Big 4' will be in action this weekend. They have all been granted some respite to allow international players adequate time to recover from their trip to Palestine. The highest placed TPL side in action will be 5th placed Thai Port at home to Pattaya. Officially, no spectators will be able to watch this due to crowd trouble at the earlier fixture between these two sides.
Army Utd make the relatively short journey down to Sriracha. Both sides possess several Brazilians in their ranks and the winner may come from whoever scores the most goals between Sriracha's new loan signing Dudu and the league's joint leading goal scorer, Leandro.
The other Bangkok side in action is TOT. The travel up to Khon Kaen and will be wanting to make amends for the 2-0 loss they incurred at the Yamaha Stadium earlier in the season.  A win for the Telephone Boys would put some distance between themselves and Khon Kaen in the relegation zone.

Division 1
Chainat v JW Rangsit (Sat)
Air Force v RBAC (Sat)
Buriram FC v Bkk Utd (Sat)
Raj Pracha v Phuket (Sun)
Chantaburi v Songkla (Sun)
SP Customs v Chiang Mai (Sun)
Suphanburi v BBCU (Sun)
Saraburi v PTT Rayong (Sun)
Bangkok FC v Thai Honda (Sun)

There is a full schedule in Division 1 this weekend. The Buriram v Bkk Utd game will go ahead this Saturday. It was originally scheduled for this date but was moved to 10 Aug and then 27 Aug to allow Buriram's Sompong to play in the World Cup qualifier. The big striker is now injured and unavailable for international selection so the game was switched back to the 30 July, much to the dismay of the Bangkok United coaching staff.
BBCU have a tough, yet winnable game at Suphanburi. The Pink Power signed Englishman, Jay Harris, from Thai Port and the defender will be anxious to play after spending the first half of the season dormant in Klong Toei.
Mid-table Air Force Utd and Bangkok FC have both strengthened during the break, and will be expecting 3 points each from home fixtures against RBAC and Thai Honda respectively.

Division 2 (Bangkok)
North Bkk v Jamjuree (Fri)
NSRU v Maptaphut Rayong (Sat)
Nontaburi v Kasem Bundit (Sat)
Bkk Christian v SP Utd (Sat)
Thai Fleet v Raj Vithi (Sun)
Thanyaburi Asia Utd v Kasetsart (Sun)
Thai Airways Luk Issan v Globex (Sun)
Prachinburi v Assumption Thonburi (Sun)

The two form teams of the league meet on Saturday at the Thepsadin. Both Bkk Christian and Samut Prakarn Utd have quietly snuck up on the leaders and now find themselves on the periphery of the promotion race.
Nth Bangkok have a chance to make up for last Monday's unexpected home defeat to NSRU. If they beat Jamjuree on Friday evening, they will go top of the league. However, it will be short lived if either Raj Vithi or Kasetsart win their away fixtures on Sunday.
Thai Airways have only picked up one point from the last possible 33 available. This Sunday the will face a Globex team that have 2 games on the bounce.

FA Cup Results
Samut Sakorn 3-5 Songkla
RBAC 0-1 Loei City
Muangkan 2-3 Krabi

Upcoming Division 1 Fixtures

Saturday 30th July
Chainat v JW Rangsit
Air Force v RBAC
Buriram FC v Bangkok Utd

Sunday 31st July
Raj Pracha v Phuket
Chantaburi v Songkla
SP Customs v Chiang Mai
Suphanburi v BBCU
Saraburi v PTT Rayong
Bangkok FC v Thai Honda

Saturday 6th August
Thai Honda v Raj Pracha
Chantaburi v PTT Rayong
Bangkok FC v SP Customs
Chiang Mai v Saraburi

Sunday 7th August
RBAC v Chainat
JW Rangsit v Suphanburi
Songkla v Buriram FC
Bkk Utd v Air Force
BBCU v Phuket

Saturday 13th August
JW Rangsit v Phuket
Suphanburi v RBAC
Chainat v Bkk Utd


Sunday 14th August
Raj Pracha v BBCU
Chantaburi v Chiang Mai
SP Customs v Thai Honda
Air Force v Songkla
Buriram FC v PTT Rayong
Saraburi v Bangkok FC

Saturday 20th August
SP Customs v Raj Pracha
Thai Honda v Saraburi
Bangkok FC v Chantaburi
Chiang Mai v Buriram FC

Sunday 21st August
RBAC v Phuket
JW Rangsit v BBCU
PTT Rayong v Air Force
Songkla v Chainat
Bkk Utd v Suphanburi

After this round, the next scheduled fixtures are for the weekend 10/11 September.

Upcoming TPL Fixtures

The TPL recommences again this Saturday after a 7 week respite. The first round of fixtures will be split over this weekend and Wednesday 10th and 25th August. This will allow certain clubs to rest Thai international players who have been on international duty in Palestine.
 
Saturday, 30 July
Sisaket v Samut Songkram
Sriracha v Army

Sunday, 31 July
Khon Kaen v TOT
Thai Port v Pattaya
Chiang Rai v Navy

Saturday, 6 August
Thai Port v Muangthong
Army v Bangkok Glass
Sriracha v Sisaket
Buriram PEA v Khon Kaen
Osotspa v Pattaya


Sunday, 7 August
TOT v Chonburi
TTM v Police
Navy v BEC Tero
Samut Songkram v Chiang Rai

Wednesday, 10 August
Muangthong v Bangkok Glass
Police v Buriram PEA
Chonburi v Osotspa

Saturday, 13 August
Sisaket v Army
Chonburi v Buriram PEA
BEC Tero v Samut Songkram
Police v Navy

Sunday, 14 August
Khon Kaen v TTM
Chiang Rai v Sriracha
Pattaya v TTM
Bangkok Glass v Thai Port
Muangthong v Osotspa

Saturday, 20 August
Osotspa v Bangkok Glass
TOT v Muangthong
TTM v Chonburi
Samut Songkram v Police

Sunday, 21 August
Navy v Khon Kaen
Army v Thai Port
Buriram PEA v Pattaya
Sriracha v BEC Tero
Sisaket v Chiang Rai

Saturday, 27 August
BEC Tero v TTM

The TPL will then take another catnap and will resume on 10th September. In between Toyota League Cup ties will be played along with Thailand's first two games in their World Cup qualifying group - That is assuming that they qualify.

Weekend Round-Up 23/24 July

World Cup Qualifier Round 2 (First leg)
Thailand 1-0 Palestine

The only goal of the game was a deflected strike by Jakkraphan Buathong. Thailand had chances to increase their lead but failed to add to it. Suchao hit the post with an injury time penalty which leaves Thailand with a narrow 1-0 lead. The return leg will be played in Palestine on Thursday and Schaefer's men will face the added difficulty of having to play on an artificial pitch.

Coke Super Cup
TPL All-Stars v Chelsea (Sun)

A crowd of over 40,000 watched Chelsea stroll to a comfortable 4-0 victory over the TPL All-Stars. The West London side barely got out of first gear and you have to wonder what the score could have been if the the Blue's forward trio of Torres, Anelka and Sturridge weren't so inept in front of goal for the first hour. Chelsea's goals came from Lampard, Bosingwa, Ivanovic and Malouda. The pick of the goals was Ivanovic's side footed finish after a good run and link up play from midfield.

It wasn't all one way traffic as the TPL All-Stars kept the various Chelsea stoppers busy with testing shots from Acheampong, Worawut and Leandro. The young Ghanaian, Frank Achaempong, looked lively throughout and is surely destined to play in one of the top European leagues in the near future.

Division 2 (Bangkok)
Assumption Thonburi 0-0 Thanyaburi Asia Utd
Raj Vithi 2-1 Jamjuree
Prachinburi 1-1 Maptaphut Rayong
Kasetsart 0-0 Bkk Christian
Samut Prakarn United 2-0 Nontaburi
Thai Airways Luk Issan 0-3 Kasem Bundit
North Bangkok v NSRU (Mon)
Globex v Thai Fleet (Mon)


For the second consecutive game, Raj Vithi came from a goal behind to win 2-1 at the Regency Stadium. They are only a point behind Kasetsrt who were held to a goalless draw by Bangkok Christian.
Yet again, for the umpteenth Monday of late, North Bangkok will go top of the league if they can beat lowly opposition at home.The Horsemen have 2 home games to play this week and they could open up a 4 point lead at the top if they are victorious in both games.
At the other end of the table, it almost certain Thai Airways Luk Issan will finish bottom of the pile and will be awarded with the league's booby prize. They were soundly beaten 3-0 by an average Kasem Bundit team.



FA Cup Fixtures
Samut Sakorn v Songkla
RBAC v Loei City
Muangkan v Krabi

All 3 games will be played on Wednesday.

Thailand's World Cup Dream in the Balance

After watching Kasetsart v Bangkok Christian yesterday, I headed down to Sukhumvit Road to watch the Thailand v Palestine game. As I arrived in the bar, I looked around at the big screen TVs and couldn't see any showing the Thailand game. There was rugby, a Liverpool friendly and Rangers v Hearts being shown in the bar. I asked the barman if they were showing the Thailand game and he said "No, no, tomorrow." - He evidently thought I was a clueless farang who had turned up a day early for the TPL All-Stars v Chelsea game. After a couple of minutes of trying to convince him that the Thai game was being shown live on TV, he eventually checked the newspaper. He realized that it was on and let us watch it on the TV in the corner of the bar. I found it pretty disappointing that nobody, including Thais, were interested in watching the World Cup qualifier.

Anyway, by the time I started to watch the game, Thailand were already 1-0 up. It looked like it was just a matter of time until they added a second. That never happened and rather worryingly, Palestine appeared to grow in confidence as the game went on. Deep into injury time, Thailand were rightly awarded a penalty. With virtually the last kick of the ball, Suchao hit the post with the spot kick. There is a lingering, nagging feeling that the penalty miss may come back to haunt the Thailand.

A clean sheet and a 1-0 victory is usually a decent result to take into the 2nd leg, but the return fixture will be played in front of a passionate crowd in very different weather conditions. Will 1-0 be enough?

Kasetsart 0-0 Bangkok Christian

Kasetsart and Bangkok Christian fought out a 0-0 draw in wet conditions at the Kasetsart University Stadium.

Kasetsart (red) v Bangkok Christian

Free kick

Bangkok Christain had obviously done their homework and were tactically prepared to suppress Kasetsart's counter attacking game. The away side played with 2 defensive midfielders shielding the back four and left lone striker, Brice Henri, to fend for himself upfront. The big striker was unlucky to have an early goal ruled out for an infringement. From where I was sitting, it looked like very minimal contact was made when Henri dispossessed the Kasestsart defender.

Fon Tok

The away side seemed content to sit back and invited their hosts to attack them. Kasetsart lacked initiative and never looked likely to breach the BCC defense. Towards the end of the match, Bangkok Christian threw on a couple of attackers and indicated that they might snatch a goal on the counter attack. By this time, it had been raining steadily for an hour, and the pitch was becoming extremely difficult to play on. Kasetsart had one last chance near the end. The BCC defense stood still believing that the play had been halted. It hadn't and Nattapat was clear through on goal. As he was about to pull the trigger he slipped, and the ball went wide of the goal. Nil - nil was the final score, and a point a piece was a fair outcome.

Weekend Preview 23/24 July

World Cup Qualifier Round 2 (First leg)
Thailand v Palestine (Sat)

Thailand will play the first leg of their double header against Palestine on Saturday at the New I-Mobile Stadium in Buriram. Coach Schaefer knows his side need to keep a clean sheet and have at least a 2 goal cushion before they head to Palestine next week. Failure to do so, would leave the Thais in a precarious position for the 2nd leg.

Coke Super Cup
TPL All-Stars v Chelsea (Sun)

Division 2 (Bangkok)
Assumption Thonburi v Thanyaburi Asia Utd (Fri)
Raj Vithi v Jamjuree (Sat)
Prachinburi v Maptaphut Rayong (Sat)
Kasetsart v Bkk Christian (Sat)
Globex v Thai Fleet (Sat)
Samut Prakarn United v Nontaburi (Sun)
Thai Airways Luk Issan v Kasem Bundit (Sun)
North Bangkok v NSRU (Mon)

The top 4 sides of Kasetsart, North Bangkok, Raj Vithi and Prachinburi all have home games this weekend. Kasetsart probably have the most difficult task as they meet a Bangkok Christian side that has only lost once away from the Thephasadin.
At the other end of the table, the bottom 2 of Thai Airways Luk Issan and Kasem Bundit will face each other in the battle to avoid the wooden spoon. Thai Airways are currently 7 points adrift at the bottom and another defeat would surely see them condemned to bottom spot.

FA Cup Results
TOT 1-0 Phuket
Kasetsart 0-3 BBCU
Samut Prakarn FC 0-3 Chainat
Sriracha 1-0 Phitsanoluk

TOT finally played their first game back at the TOT Stadium. It was a tough welcome home, but they came through with a late goal to defeat 1st division Phuket. BBCU earned a comfortable 3-0 victory at the Kasetsart Stadium, although there could have been a different conclusion if Kasetsart had converted a 2nd half penalty with the score at 1-0.
Chainat also ran out convincing winners over 2nd division opposition. Michael Byrne was on the scoresheet as they won 3-0. Phitsanoluk fought bravely at Sriracha, but went down 1-0 to the TPL side.

Weekend Round-up 14-17 July

International Friendly
Thailand 1-0 Myanmar

Winfried Schaefer won his first game in charge against Myanmar. A Teerasil header in the 2nd minute was enough to secure the victory. The performance was adequate without being spectacular. Schaefer knows improvements are needed before next week's double header with Palestine.

FA Cup
Pattaya 4-0 Khon Kaen
Raj Pracha 0-2 Sisaket
Siam Navy 1-2 Chiang Rai Utd

A routine round of results here as all 3 ties went the anticipated way. 

Division 2 (Bangkok)
Jamjuree 2-0 Thanyaburi Asia Utd
Thai Airways Luk Issan 0-2 Nontaburi
Globex 2-1 NSRU
Nth Bangkok 0-1 Kasetsart
Kasem Bundit 1-0 Mapthaput Rayong
Samut Prakarn Utd 4-0 Assumption Thonburi
Thai Fleet 0-1 Bkk Christian
Raj Vithi 2-1 Prachinburi

As reported elsewhere on this blog, Kasetsart and Raj Vithi were the big winners this weekend. The chasing pack of Nontaburi, Bangkok Christian and Samut Prakarn United all kept their slim chances of promotion alive with weekend victories.

Midweek Fixtures - FA Cup

Samut Prakarn FC v Chainat
Kasetsart v BBCU
TOT v Phuket
Sriracha v Phitsanoluk

All are scheduled for Wednesday 20th July.

Raj Vithi 2-1 Prachinburi FC

10 men Raj Vithi came from behind at the Regency Stadium to beat fellow promotion contenders Prachinburi 2-1.

This could be described as a game of 3 thirds. The first 2 were devoid of any action while the last one was entertaining.

The catalyst for sparking this game into life was the sending off of a Raj Vithi defender on 60 minutes. Up until then, Prachinburi had been slightly better than the home side and this seemed to be the break that the game had been waiting for.

It didn't take Prachinburi long to cash in on their man advantage. On 70 minutes they took the lead and most spectators in the stadium thought that would be the end of the contest.

Unexpectedly, Raj Vithi equalized a few minutes later and with a couple of minutes left in the 90, they scored a winner to achieve an unlikely comeback.

The Regency Stadium

North Bangkok FC 0-1 Kasetsart

Kasetsart returned to the top of the Division2 Bangkok league after defeating North Bangkok 1-0 at the Royal Thai Army Stadium tonight.

Another free-kick

The only goal of the game was scored on the hour mark by Jean Jean Romain.

The first half was a very stop start affair, with a lot of niggly fouls being commited by both sides. The most noticable action of the goalless half, was a goal line clearance a piece for each side.

The game continued in the same pattern after the break until the deadlock was broken on 60 minutes. Jean Jean was on hand to tap in a low cross from the right wing.

Injury time

After the goal, North Bangkok's most likely route to an equalizer looked like it would come from a set-piece. It didn't happen as goalkeeper Arthur Phillipe was to keep an impressive clean sheet. Kasetasrt had chances on the counter attack to increase their lead too. As full time approached, there were several Kasetsart injuries to contend with as they tried to wind down the clock. When the final whistle was blown, the Emearald Nagas were delighted to collect the 3 points.

My match ticket - Honest!!

Character at Thai Football Games - Part 3 (The Best of the Rest)

The inbetweeners

UnKool and the Gang

UnKool and the Gang can come in two forms of groups. The first is a group of teenage boys, and the second is a mixed group commonly in their 20’s. They usually turn up 15 minutes into the game and always seem to end up somewhere in my vicinity. The initial 5 minute discussion is to decipher which team they’re supposed to support. Once that’s been decided, they will talk loudly and try to impress all around them with their witty repartee. I’ve got no idea what they do after half-time as I’ve usually moved to the other side of the stadium by then.

The Cheerleaders 

TOT Cheerleaders

Most of us Westerners would normally associate cheerleaders as being young scantily clad female dancers waving pom-poms. Yes, they can be seen in Thailand too, but there are several other kinds of people ready to enliven the crowd. You might have a nerd chanting into a megaphone, the Thai equivalent of Freddie Mercury prancing in front of the crowd, a young drunken shirtless lad who thinks he's the hardest man in Thailand or even an overly enthusiastic club owner trying to motivate the crowd. No matter which one it is, they all have one thing in common. None of them watch the game!!

(nydailynews.com)

The Tattooed Nutter

To the outsider, the Tattooed nutter appears to be a scary man. His eyes are bloodshot and he looks like he’s been drinking Thai rice wine since 7am in the morning – which he most likely has. He’s getting on a bit in life and has mellowed after spending half of his adult life in jail. In spite of that, he will gladly welcome farangs following his team with warm handshakes.

The Screamer 

(mirror.co.uk)

The Screamer is a young lady aged between 20 and 40 years old. She probably has no idea what the offside rule is, but, nonetheless she’s very enthusiastic about watching her team. She will get overly excited during the game and will let out a loud screech anytime her team approaches the opposition box. The winning of a throw in for her side or a yellow card for an opposition player are also greeted with much fervor. She tends to base player’s ability on their looks, and as a consequence she thinks that Leesaw and Peter Lang are the best players in Thailand. 

 

 

 

Chinese Looking Dude with the Glasses

Before the match begins, the Chinese looking dude with the glasses comes across as an intellectual man. He has a reasonable grasp of English and enjoys chatting with fellow farang football fans. Once the game starts though, he turns into a vociferous lunatic with the referee usually being the target of his angst.

The Middle Class Couple 

The Middle class couple give the impression that they know everybody of importance in attendance. Before the game starts, they will spend most of the pre-match smiling and ‘wai-ing’ at fellow Thais. They are always well prepared with plenty of food, drinks, waterproofs and umbrellas. They never get angry during the game and when their team scores, they will let out a light ripple of applause to show their appreciation.