Football Season Guide

Set their stall out last season to be hard to beat - and they were. Ended up finishing 7th, and only the six teams that finished above them lost less games than they did. Port FC, who eventually finished as runners-up, only lost two less games than they did. It's not really clear what the current season will hold for them. They have a new manager in Worawut Wangsawad but he was a late appointment, only joining in August, so he's not had long with this group. Curiously, they ended up in this position because last season's boss, Sirisak Yodyardthai, moved to newly-promoted Rasisalai United. Did some terrific business pre-season as they bid to finish higher than last season. Loanee Ballini joined on a permanent basis - he was instrumental in their defence last season. Even adding Thawatchai Inprakhon should prove to be a good option in FB areas once again. It was perhaps a surprise to see Jordan Emaviwe leave but he returned to the club as a different player as to when he left them so it's understandable, despite his obvious talent. Santipap Yaemsaen also moved on but it shouldn't be an issue, not with Stewart, Kim, and Wanderson having arrived. The biggest problem that confronts this team ahead of the new season is their attack, having lost key attackers like Carlos Iury and Itsuki Enomoto pre-season. It goes without saying that a big recruitment drive was required to replace both. It's open for debate as to whether their new attacking recruits can live up to the likes of Enomoto and Iury though, as none of them have recent Thai League One experience. Douglas Souza, Robinho, Gustavo Schutz, and Seng-jun Oh arrive with plenty of potential to do well but none of them have been in Thailand for more than a few weeks. Given that the spine of the team has remained intact, it's likely this team will still be hard to beat. However, scoring goals is a concern, especially at the start - and if so, there are no guarantees that they'll improve with time. That, fused with a new manager, makes them a bit of a wildcard. They'll want to get into the Asian Champions League 2 this season if possible. Unless they start strongly though, they'll fall short.