TPL

[bangkokjulia]

Hi guys,

Just wondering if there are any Thai Premier League fans amongst you all. A few friends are coming over to Bangkok and are interested in going to an Army United fc game. Do these games sell out? Do you just buy tickets at the gate? Also, where can you buy home strips from? Thanks

[rijit]

No mainly armchair prem fans on here . Army v rarely sell out, so You can pay on the gate and kits are around to buy. Tbh army games aint that great, The times ive been they were pretty unspectacular , ide compare the matchday andclub to a semi pro set up ,,, just, conference level maybe freindly and homely. Baring the relatively huge amount of uniformed soldiers in the ground !! Bizare . but overall pretty forgetable tbh. My advice would be go to a maungthong game .Grounds easy enough to get to. and div one maybe championship level players the atmosphere is generally great. Ide go as far to say memorable. But there u go. Enjoy.

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[bangkokjulia]

Thanks rijit-will let you know how we go.

[sumrit]

Agree with rijit that Muang Thong have been consistently better than The Army, they also have a better atmosphere at their games. Although Army have improved a lot last season and (for Rijit) Gary Stevens, the ex Spurs player, has just taken over as their manager/head coach and there's also been a big change in playing personnel over the close season so this season could be interesting.

As an alternative to a Bangkok based game you could always make the short trip down to Chonburi and watch us. Like Muang Thong we are one of the top teams in the TPL (runners up and cup finalists last season), like to play good, passing football and always have a good atmosphere at our home games. http://www.clubwebsite.co.uk/chonburifc/113109/Home

The Army are actually playing in a pre season tournament at Chonburi this weekend. A couple of friends who are Army supporters plus Gary Stevens have written a short preview here http://www.clubwebsite.co.uk/chonburifc/113109/CustomPages/view/19087

[rijit]

The times i've been to chonburi, have been ok, trouble is if its a night game getting back into c/Bangkok can be an issue, struck lucky last time and got in at midnight ish,!!!! its about 2 ish hours away from c/bangkok,and transport into Bangkok at that time of night aint easy. ,

football was good, but if it werent a big game,i'de say the experience would be miss able,

you got a choice of in central ish Bangkok of Bangkok glass, . tot , .bec tero.,. army utd, bangkok glass, Singhtarua FORMERLY PORT authority, Bangkok utd, formerly university team and maungthong about 45 mins away by bus or maybe 200 baht ish by taxi,,, you've got a huge range in that. from the rich well supported with a really proper stad maungthong to tot who play almost in a park, personally ide go to maungtong, its a huge club with great vocal supporters and its an experience ; if they are away when u want maybe singhhtarua, port authority . very central just of the bac of sukkumvit and got good local support, who can be really 'boisterous',and have just got promoted so will be well up for it. but there u go

[sumrit]

The times i've been to chonburi, have been ok, trouble is if its a night game getting back into c/Bangkok can be an issue, struck lucky last time and got in at midnight ish,!!!! its about 2 ish hours away from c/bangkok,and transport into Bangkok at that time of night aint easy. ,

football was good, but if it werent a big game,i'de say the experience would be miss able,

you got a choice of in central ish Bangkok of Bangkok glass, . tot , .bec tero.,. army utd, bangkok glass, Singhtarua FORMERLY PORT authority, Bangkok utd, formerly university team and maungthong about 45 mins away by bus or maybe 200 baht ish by taxi,,, you've got a huge range in that. from the rich well supported with a really proper stad maungthong to tot who play almost in a park, personally ide go to maungtong, its a huge club with great vocal supporters and its an experience ; if they are away when u want maybe singhhtarua, port authority . very central just of the bac of sukkumvit and got good local support, who can be really 'boisterous',and have just got promoted so will be well up for it. but there u go

All TPL matches are night games.

The earliest kick off is at 6pm, some are at 7pm while the latest kicks off at 8pm. As well as being a season ticket holder so going to all our home games, with my friends, we travel to most away matches including all Bangkok based matches. Whether we drive or go by an organised mini bus Bangkok is only an hour away from Chonburi. We usually get back home between 9:30 ish and 11:30 ish, depending on kick off times. All clubs organize transport for away games for around 200 baht. the white vans (mini buses) also run from Bangkok to Chonburi to Bangkok as well in the evenings, although they won't be leaving from Chonburi Stadium of course.

Bangkok Glass is a very well run club with a good atmosphere and always enjoyable to go to, although they've only got stands on three sides and play on a plastic pitch. TOT are one of the poorest supported teams with a small, basic stadium and is probably the worst place to go to experience TPL football. They do have a brass band among the supporters that play throughout the game though. It's worth going, just to see them. BEC Tero actually play in Minburi and there stadium is almost half way to Chonburi. They do play good football though. Singtaura are now called Port FC after yet another name change. They generate a good atmosphere in their ground but some of their stands are of temporary 'scaffold based' construction. Bangkok Utd have been voted the club with the worst stadium for atmosphere in the TPL.

Muang Thong Utd are the best supported club in Bangkok and, like Rijit says, have a quality stadium to match. They have a very good team with a great atmosphere at all their home games created by passionate supporters. For me it's only spoilt by the attitude of (some of) their supporters. For me one of the best parts of going to watch Thai footballis the friendliness between opposing supporters. Violence and intimidation are almost non existent here, but unfortunately quite regular amongst pockets of the Muang Thong faithful. Every time we play at their ground our supporters are threatened and intimidated and their security staff continually struggle to keep them under control at the end of the game. It reminds me of football in England a few years ago and is not enjoyable.

Up until now the Muang Thong appear to have done very little to control the situation but last season they were deducted ten points by the TPL for crowd trouble plus their supporters had to refrain from waving club flags and stopped from both wearing their replica shirts and singing club songs etc. Hopefully things will now improve.

There are two National Stadiums in Bangkok, Suphachalasai which was built in the 1930's and in now looking a bit dated and tatty, and Rajamangala, which is a modern stadium but, with the running track and all the other space between the pitch and the stands, the crowd are miles away with a poor view. Last season both Osotspa from Saraburi and Samut Songkhram played their matches at one of these stadia while their own were being updated. The atmosphere was lousy so, unless you want to see the stadium itself I wouldn't bother to go.

[rijit]

I went to several afternoon games.

And i went to chonbury by public transport from ekkamai and it took just short of 2 hours and coming bac into c/ bangkok was a nightmare . On the point of grabbing a hotel for the night when a thai guy helped me with a series of mini bus's back into the nearest sky train station .

Anyway, dont worry about violence i saw some but mainly by tired and poorly treated poorly segregated away fans and i've never seen westerners get involved

i 'm off take care and enjoy what ever you decide.

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[sumrit]

I went to several afternoon games.

Not in the last three/four years you haven't................at least not to a TPL match, they've all been evening kick offs because of True's TV coverage.The staggered start times with both Saturday and Sunday matches are also at the TV companies insistence.

You might well have gone to a div 1 game or a regional league game in the afternoon though.

Anyway, dont worry about violence i saw some but mainly by tired and poorly treated poorly segregated away fans and i've never seen westerners get involved

Violence is violence, and getting hit hurts just as much, whatever the cause. And it's (almost) always instigated by Muang Thong Utd fans. Last season, after the game, we were asked to stay in the stadium while the security staff and police dispersed the Muang Thong fans who had congregated outside to 'wait' for the away fans. We were then taken through the stadium and out the other end.to ensure our safety. AND WE WERE EIGHT 'WESTERNERS' who had paid for an executive box, not tired away supporters. I've never seen trouble at another stadium, involving Chonburi FC, although Buriram have had the odd problem. The fans always mingle together before, at half time and after the game at other grounds, including Chonburi.

Also, the TPL are known to prefer brush problems under the carpet. For them to issue Muang Thong with a ten point penalty + extras the crowd trouble must have been pretty serious.

[Oldbirkonian]

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