PHUKET: FC Phuket has a mountain to climb to achieve success, as the stinging encounter with old rivals Buriram proved on Sunday. But precisely how tall is the mountain?
Well, for every goal Buriram scores, the players are paid 300,000 baht. Yes, that's right. 300,000 baht - which means Sunday's 7-0 massacre of FC Phuket was worth 2.1 million baht to the Buriram players.
Football is supposed to be about equal opportunity on a level playing field but since Buriram and Phuket were both elevated to Division One this season, the teams have headed in different directions and the field has tilted.
Buriram, with huge financial backing and a team support base that is equally large and all about winning, leads Division One and is set for promotion.
The driving force behind the success - politician Newin Chidchob, a one-time ally of fugitive PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who hopes his Bhum Jai Thai Party can one day become a third force in Thai politics.
Phuket, on the other hand, has so far relied on community support rather than big baht. Phuket has good players, but their salaries pale behind the money that goes to the Buriram team.
The few Phuket fans who trekked to the Buriram match at the weekend probably deserved to be hailed as heroes for venturing into a heartland where there is only one team, Buriram, and one outcome, winning.
Now there are a few games yet to be played this season, games that don't really count for Phuket.
Despite the 7-0 thrashing by Buriram on Sunday, Phuket Hulks' fans who spoke to Phuketwan in the aftermath of the horror match hope that French goalkeeper Jonathan Matijas stays on at Phuket when the season ends on January 7.
He's well liked. And there's no sense after Sunday's 7-0 demolition job - as there was after Buriram beat Phuket at home in May - that the coach has to go.
The Phuket Hulks' fans understand that the players, who haven't always got their pay cheques on time this season, had a difficult task against the robotic and well-paid Buriram on Sunday.
None of Phuket's senior officials made the trip, which is not that surprising. It was, as they say in David Cup tennis, a ''dead rubber,'' a match that was never going to mean anything.
Phuket are seventh now and they play another dead rubber against the bottom team, Thai Honda, on Saturday. The important bits will come off the field, as Phuket administrators chart a course for FC Phuket's future.
To be perfectly frank, it would be a great shame if Phuket followed the Buriram model. While Phuket's local and international residents who follow the Phuket Hulks would relish success, there's already too much on Phuket that can be easily bought.
Better, perhaps, to stay a team of battlers in a league where the pitches are level and the chances of winning or losing are equal, and where the fans are loyal purely because the game delivers highs, and lows.
Well, for every goal Buriram scores, the players are paid 300,000 baht. Yes, that's right. 300,000 baht - which means Sunday's 7-0 massacre of FC Phuket was worth 2.1 million baht to the Buriram players.
Football is supposed to be about equal opportunity on a level playing field but since Buriram and Phuket were both elevated to Division One this season, the teams have headed in different directions and the field has tilted.
Buriram, with huge financial backing and a team support base that is equally large and all about winning, leads Division One and is set for promotion.
The driving force behind the success - politician Newin Chidchob, a one-time ally of fugitive PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who hopes his Bhum Jai Thai Party can one day become a third force in Thai politics.
Phuket, on the other hand, has so far relied on community support rather than big baht. Phuket has good players, but their salaries pale behind the money that goes to the Buriram team.
The few Phuket fans who trekked to the Buriram match at the weekend probably deserved to be hailed as heroes for venturing into a heartland where there is only one team, Buriram, and one outcome, winning.
Now there are a few games yet to be played this season, games that don't really count for Phuket.
Despite the 7-0 thrashing by Buriram on Sunday, Phuket Hulks' fans who spoke to Phuketwan in the aftermath of the horror match hope that French goalkeeper Jonathan Matijas stays on at Phuket when the season ends on January 7.
He's well liked. And there's no sense after Sunday's 7-0 demolition job - as there was after Buriram beat Phuket at home in May - that the coach has to go.
The Phuket Hulks' fans understand that the players, who haven't always got their pay cheques on time this season, had a difficult task against the robotic and well-paid Buriram on Sunday.
None of Phuket's senior officials made the trip, which is not that surprising. It was, as they say in David Cup tennis, a ''dead rubber,'' a match that was never going to mean anything.
Phuket are seventh now and they play another dead rubber against the bottom team, Thai Honda, on Saturday. The important bits will come off the field, as Phuket administrators chart a course for FC Phuket's future.
To be perfectly frank, it would be a great shame if Phuket followed the Buriram model. While Phuket's local and international residents who follow the Phuket Hulks would relish success, there's already too much on Phuket that can be easily bought.
Better, perhaps, to stay a team of battlers in a league where the pitches are level and the chances of winning or losing are equal, and where the fans are loyal purely because the game delivers highs, and lows.
'The few Phuket fans who trekked to the Buriram match at the weekend probably deserved to be hailed as heroes for venturing into a heartland where there is only one team, Buriram, and one outcome, winning.'
What about Buriram PEA? They aren't doing too badly this season.
Posted by James Goyder on December 13, 2011 11:30