A Cameroonian legend living in Jakarta reminisces about the African Cup of Nations in this post while in another what are the chances of any ASEAN nation hosting the World Cup when they don't sell beer in the stadiums? Apart from Thailand!

Teerathep Winothai was supposed to be the latest in a long line of talented Thais to make an impression on the game beyond their own borders. But his highly publicised move to Lierse SK in Belgium never really worked out and he returned to Thailand with Muang Thong United who farmed him out to BEC Tero.

The Thai FA have more front than Brighton beach. A couple of years ago they promised to support England's World Cup bid and in return England agreed to their request to play a friendly in Bangkok earlier this year.
The Thais reneged on their promise and England, perhaps not surprisingly, cancelled their proposed trip to Bangkok.

Football is supposed to be a glamourous career. Scoring goals in front of adoring fans and all that crap. Not if you're name is Khairul Amri it ain't though.
The poor bastard spends most of his time injured. He's 27 in March, should be at the peak of his powers but guess what? He's gonna be out for the next 12 weeks with another injury.

What are the odds on Rooney scoring the winner against Newcastle? Derek McGovern's Bets of the Day

It wasn't a good weekend to be a Manchester United supporter, what with floods still hitting Thailand and Surrey reeling from the rising cost of train travel. There were two things United fans did not want to see on Saturday – Wayne Rooney behind frosted glass and David De Gea behind the defence.

The SLeague may have just finished but teams there are already looking to next season. Tampines Rovers, champions, are looking at another trip to Thailand at the end of January in what is becoming an annual event while SAFFC are considering options reportedly including Vietnam, Malaysia or Australia.

As I intimated Persipura will not be entering the 2012 AFC Champions League. At least automatically. The AFC are obviously so unimpressed by the internal dicking around in Indonesian football that the automatic spot has been given to Buriram PEA from the Thai Premier League. Assuming of course they win the TPL!

By Chris Wright

Soooo...this guy showed up to cheer on Indonesia in their SEA (Southeast Asian) Games semi-final against Vietnam in Jakarta a couple of days ago and he bought what appears to be his talcum powder with him though surely chafing isn't going to be a problem when you turn up to a match in nothing but a slathering of red body paint and your pyjama bottoms?

BANGKOK POST

The Thai football team yesterday offered apologises to fans for their early exit at the SEA Games.

The squad returned home yesterday after three defeats and only one win in Group A at the biennial event.

"I apologise to our fans for our failure," said coach Prapol Pongpanich.

SEA Games
Singapore v Thailand 2-0Indonesia v Malaysia 0-1
Laos v Vietnam 1-3
Malaysia meet Myanmar in the first semi final on Saturday while Indonesia have to play Vietnam. We're in for a repeat of the 2009 SEA Games final or the 2010 AFF Cup final!

A Thai fan at the game between his home nation and Singapore earlier today with ear muffs made out of papier-mache heads, possibly representing, facial expressions considered, tragedy and comedy. And with extremely fat lips.

This might be a perfectly mundane cultural thing, but even if so, I don't want to know about it.

By Chris Wright

Spotted during Thailand's Southeast Asian Games group tie against Singapore earlier today, a Thai chap in quite possibly the most terrifying headwear ever placed upon a cranium at a football match...

Before you ask, I have no idea.

Now I know Australia won last night but Fox Sports continue to suggest this was Thailand's last chance.
They must win - or get a draw to stay alive was the verdict from Australia's best football commentator, Simon Hill. Simon is always on the ball, pretty much always correct on this stuff so I was surprised when he went down this line again and again.

World Cup Qualifiers
Singapore v China 0-4 5,474
4 - Singapore 5 0 0 1-13 0
Thailand v Australia 0-1 19,400
3 - Thailand 5 1 1 3 4-6 4
Indonesia v Iran 1-4 (Bambang Pamungkas) 2,000
4 - Indonesia 5 0 0 5 3-16 0
I posted yesterday on Twitter my concerns over the likely attendance at the Bung Karno for the Iran game in a week when the Indonesian Under 23 team were wowing fans at the SEA Games.

Yesterday Saudi Arabia managed to beat Thailand 3-0 after very weak referee performance from Hong Kong. The referee gave two yellow cards to a Thai player #16
what I liked most is the way the Thai player was acting too polite in front of the ref at the second yellow card. Other players, go directly outside the pitch when they see the second yellow, but this player was smarter :)
The ref also didn't award a Saudi player for a deserved red card,
The whole refereeing performance showed its results at the end when he lost control of the game
Saudi players were also to be blamed for the loss of control, and today the Saudi Football Federation decided to punish those players by deducting their winning compensations.

Like mentioned, I did not get to see the match that Cubs lost to the Indonesians due to work.
However, here's the Youtube clip of the match via a Vietnamese broadcaster.
General thoughts of the game gathered online lauded the performance of the Singapore side for keeping the scoreline respectable especially with their performance in the second half, after conceding two goals and a player sent off (Nigel Vanu)in the first half.

Group E
Thailand v South Korea 1-0Thailand v Chinese Taipei 1-0Thailand v Guam 13-0Thailand v Japan
1 - Thailand 3 3 0 0 15-0 92 - Japan 2 2 0 0 31-0 63 - South Korea 2 1 0 1 18-1 6
Group F
Malaysia v Vietnam 0-0Laos v Myanmar 2-2Laos v Malaysia 1-4North Korea v Laos 2-0Vietnam v Myanmar 2-2Vietnam v Laos 4-0Malaysia v North Korea 1-4
1 - North Korea 2 - Vietnam3 - Malaysia4 - Myanmar5 - Laos
Group G
Indonesia v China 0-0Indonesia v Macau 3-0Indonesia v Australia 1-4

Winners
Malaysia - 1977, 1979, 1989, 2009Thailand - 1981, 1983, 1985, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009Indonesia - 1987, 1991
Runners' Up
Thailand x 2Indonesia x 2Malaysia x 3Singapore x 3Myanmar x 2Vietnam x 5
Indonesia have hosted the SEA Games on three occasions, 1979, 1987, 1997, and reached the final on each occasion.

Harry Kewell and Carlos Hernandez have been called up for Australia and Costa Rica respectively, for matches in November. Australia face Oman on the 11th and Thailand on the 15th in crucial World Cup Qualifiers. Australia coach Holger Osieck says he knows what Kewell can bring to the team but that he will need to

Since taking over at Mitra Kukar coach Simon McMenemy has been hunting for a reliable goal getter. He has Saktiawan Sinaga and Jajang Maulyana up front already but now has secured the signing of Marcus Bent and if you think I'm gonna list all his clubs you got another thing coming!
Among the clubs Bent has played for are Brentford, Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers.

Two venues being used in Jakarta for this year's SEA Games. These are the prices for the Group Stage at each venue
Bung Karno Stadium (Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand)
VVIP - 250,000 IDRWest VIP - 150,000 IDREast Vip - 100,000 IDRCategory 1 - 75,000 IDRCategory 2 - 50,000 IDRCategory 3 - 25,000 IDRCategory 4 - 15,000 IDR
Lebak Bulus Stadium (Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Timor Leste, Vietnam)
Class 1 - 100,000 IDRClass 2 - 75,000 IDRClass 3 - 50,000 IDRClass 4 - 25,000 IDR
Opening games are at Bung Karno with Vietnam v Philippines at 4pm and Laos v Myanmar kick off 7pm.

Two venues being used in Jakarta for this year's SEA Games. These are the prices for the Group Stage at each venue
Bung Karno Stadium (Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand)
VVIP - 250,000 IDRWest VIP - 150,000 IDREast Vip - 100,000 IDRCategory 1 - 75,000 IDRCategory 2 - 50,000 IDRCategory 3 - 25,000 IDRCategory 4 - 15,000 IDR
Lebak Bulus Stadium (Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Timor Leste, Vietnam)
Class 1 - 100,000 IDRClass 2 - 75,000 IDRClass 3 - 50,000 IDRClass 4 - 25,000 IDR
Opening games are at Bung Karno with Vietnam v Philippines at 4pm and Laos v Myanmar kick off 7pm.

Cambodia's sole target this year in international football has been the SEA Gams which start next month, hopefully, in Jakarta. The national team coach came out and said several months ago the World Cup Qualifiers, against Laos, weren't important, his eye was on regional glory.
To help prepare for that regional glory, they have been drawn with Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore so the definition of glory maybe an interesting one, Cambodia have played teams like a bunch of Korean students.

There is a Thai FA Cup this year but unless you actually live at the Football Association of Thailand offices in the Supachalasai Stadium, following it is a lesson in futility and the current floods in Bangkok won't make things any easier.
The Round of 16, where did these stupid names come from?

03/11
Vietnam vs Philppines Bung Karno
Laos vs Myanmar Bung Karno
05/11
Brunei vs Timor Leste Bung Karno
Myanmar vs Vietnam Bung Karno
07/11
Timor Leste vs Philippines Lebak Bulus
Laos vs Brunei Lebak Bulus
09/11
Myanmar vs Brunei Lebak Bulus
Vietnam vs Timor Leste Lebak BulusSingapore v Malaysia Bung KarnoIndonesia c Cambodia Bung Karno
11/11
Filipina vs Laos Lebak Bulus
Brunei vs Vietnam Lebak BulusMalaysia v Thailand Bung KarnoSingapore v Cambodia Bung Karno
13/11
Philippines vs Myanmar Lebak Bulus
Timor Leste vs Laos Lebak BulusThailand v Cambodia Bung KarnoIndonesia v Singapore Bung Karno
15/11
Myanmar vs Timor Leste Lebak Bulus
Philippines vs Brunei Lebak Bulus
Malaysia v Cambodia Bung KarnoIndonesia v Thailand Bung Karno
17/11
Laos vs Vietnam Lebak BulusThailand v Singapore Bung KarnoIndonesia v Malaysia Bung Karno
19/11Winner A v Runner Up B Bung KarnoWinner B v Runner Up A Bung Karno
21/11Semi Final Loser v Semi Final Loser Bung KarnoSemi Final Winner v Semi Final Winner Bung Karno

December sees the South Asian Football Federation Cup, like the ASEAN Cup but different region of course, and Pakistan are looking to South East Asia to help with their warm ups. Nepal are of course all ready back packing round the region, playing the odd game here and there.
Pakistan are already planning a week in Thailand, now Football Pakistan is reporting they are hoping to have a week in Indonesia.

Robbie Fowler recently took his first step into football management by becoming caretaker coach of Thailand's Muang Thong United. During his glorious time at Liverpool, Fowler played under 4 different managers, including Graeme Souness, who gave him his big chance in the first team. In a recent interview with the Official site, Fowler was full or praise for his former manager, especially his

Forget your Liverpools, Manchester Uniteds and Cardiff Citys, Nepa are coming to town. They are planning a month in ASEAN ahead of the South Asian Football Federation Champions in December.
11/10 v Philippines15/10 v Malaysia Olympic28/10 v Cambodia Under 2331/10 v Thailand Olympic3/11 v Thailand
Expect players like Santosh Sahukala and Rohit Chand to appear on the radar of major clubs in the region with this tour

Former Liverpool striker Fowler takes charge at Thailand side Muangthong United

Former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler has been named the player coach of Thailand Premier League side Muangthong United.

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2011-09-30 22:47:37 from: The Mail

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

It's been reported in Thailand that Muang Thong United and their coach Henrique Calisto have parted ways. Which is fair enough when you consider the back to back champions haven't won a Thai Premier League game since August 20th when they beat TOT 3-1. Indeed their last home win was 10 August when they thumped Bangkok Glass 6-2.

It was only last December that pacy winger Oktavianus Maniani was being talked about as the great new hope of Indonesian football along with Irfan Bachdim. The Sriwijaya winger was a bit of an unknown and thrown against Malaysia and Laos in the AFF Cup he created an immediate impact and, along with Bachdim and Riedl, helped make Indonesian football 'sexy' with the masses.

An apology for the lack of updates recently...this hasn't been because I couldn't be arsed. I was away on my travels in Thailand and came back to find my computer had died. Not good. I will be back up and running when tonight's match is done and dusted. In the Wo meantime, I will leave you with the above picture which I took when conducting some informal scouting for my local team (ahem).

Football For Diplomacy Between Cambodia and Thailand

On Saturday, amongst the Premier League and La Liga, the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen hosted a ‘friendship football match' between Thailand and Cambodia to help smooth over some of the recent tensions the nations have experienced.

Robbie Fowler believes Fernando Torres has regrets about leaving Liverpool for Chelsea, arguing that it's clear from the Spain International's body language that the wishes he'd stayed at Anfield.Fowler, who currently plays for Muangthong United in Thailand, argued:"I've heard people say that deep down Fernando wishes that he had stayed at Liverpool.

Robbie Fowler believes Fernando Torres has regrets about leaving Liverpool for Chelsea, arguing that it's clear from the Spain International's body language that the wishes he'd stayed at Anfield.Fowler, who currently plays for Muangthong United in Thailand, argued:"I've heard people say that deep down Fernando wishes that he had stayed at Liverpool.

Eight Buriram PEA players left for England yesterday to train with Championship side Leicester City for six months.

Buriram PEA players at Suvarnabhumi airport before leaving for England yesterday.

They are Kirati Kaewsombut, Ukrit Wongmeena, Yodsapol Tiengda, Chitiphat Tanklang, Piyapong Homkajorn, Arthit Promkhan, Chaowat Weerachart and Nattawut Sombatya.

All the so-called experts and many fans on football forums denigrated Australia for their recent World Cup Qualifier against Thailand.
Why?
Because we allowed Thailand to score first, we didn't pass with fluency, we launched the ball high into the box too many times, or maybe because we didn't win 6-0.

The latest Jakarta Casual Weekly is now on line, looking ahead to the World Cup Qualifiers featuring Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.

A tribute to Joe Ledley to the tune of Johnny Cash's 'Ring of Fire' by some kids in Thailand.
"The Thai Tims" - have been posting songs, such as the homage to midfielder Joe Ledley in the video below, to help raise awareness and money for the Good Child Foundation charity.
The link between the charity, Celtic FC, and the schoolchilden, was forged when a 19-year-old called Reamonn Gormley from Lanarkshire in Scotland was tragically stabbed to death near his home earlier this year.

Watch Thai schoolkids' amazing tribute to Joe Ledley, Joey Barton 'coming in your face' and the Posnan dog!

Presenting quality football videos from the interweb, daily at 3pm. Here's today's collection: 1) If ever there was a video to warm the hearts of the most miserable football fan, then this is it The children of Triamsuksa School in Thailand have produced a piece of YouTube gold with this brilliant tribute to, of all people, Celtic midfielder Joe Ledley.