PHUKET: FC Phuket is hoping for a big-name buyer to resolve difficulties that left players unpaid for November until Tuesday, when the money came through.
A private owner would clarify the Hulks' position as a private business and perhaps give it a better chance at promotion after another season in Division One.
Contracts for many of the star players expire at the end of this month, and it's plain that a sense of disillusionment is inevitable if any football club's players are not paid.
Because the club is a private business, sponsorship from the public Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation and the Provincial Sports Association has been fraught.
Both bodies are subject to careful checks on how and where the money goes in ways that would not hamper any private FC Phuket buyer.
This season, the Hulks have had magic moments and some desolate ones, too.
After 28 games they are now pinioned in position six on the ladder with 43 points, well shy of top side Buriram's 70 points.
The Hulks meet Buriram on Sunday in an away game that is likely to leave them lingering mid-table and wondering what might have been.
The positives from FC Phuket's first season in Division One are some wonderful triumphs, but just not enough of them, especially at the Surakul Stadium home ground in Phuket City.
Coach Sompong Wattana came along when the club was at a real low and for a while there was the thrill that comes with the possibility of better things.
With a crowd of 10,000 eager supporters at Surakul Stadium cheering on the Hulks, it's not difficult to imagine how exciting football could become on Phuket with its mix of ball-mad locals and internationals.
FC Phuket's Hulks supporters' club is fervently in favor of going to the next step next season.
Any business with the cash to buy the club would be taking an initial gamble, but nobody doubts the club has a great future.
A private owner would clarify the Hulks' position as a private business and perhaps give it a better chance at promotion after another season in Division One.
Contracts for many of the star players expire at the end of this month, and it's plain that a sense of disillusionment is inevitable if any football club's players are not paid.
Because the club is a private business, sponsorship from the public Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation and the Provincial Sports Association has been fraught.
Both bodies are subject to careful checks on how and where the money goes in ways that would not hamper any private FC Phuket buyer.
This season, the Hulks have had magic moments and some desolate ones, too.
After 28 games they are now pinioned in position six on the ladder with 43 points, well shy of top side Buriram's 70 points.
The Hulks meet Buriram on Sunday in an away game that is likely to leave them lingering mid-table and wondering what might have been.
The positives from FC Phuket's first season in Division One are some wonderful triumphs, but just not enough of them, especially at the Surakul Stadium home ground in Phuket City.
Coach Sompong Wattana came along when the club was at a real low and for a while there was the thrill that comes with the possibility of better things.
With a crowd of 10,000 eager supporters at Surakul Stadium cheering on the Hulks, it's not difficult to imagine how exciting football could become on Phuket with its mix of ball-mad locals and internationals.
FC Phuket's Hulks supporters' club is fervently in favor of going to the next step next season.
Any business with the cash to buy the club would be taking an initial gamble, but nobody doubts the club has a great future.
