Football Season Guide

Last season was a close shave - their confirmed safety from the drop was only confirmed in the penultimate game week. From the outside looking in, it looked as if they had figured they were already safe from relegation, and thus almost exclusively focused on their Thai FA Cup run, which ended in the semi-finals, courtesy of PT Prachuap. Having conceded too many goals last season - which was the fundamental reason for their relative decline - they had to take action ahead of this campaign. In truth though, their acquisitions were underwhelming, at least in defence - only Okungbowa stands out. It's debatable that Schwabe, who has already failed with one Thai League One club, only made his loan move permanent because of his dual nationality bonus. Their belief is that a lack of reliable goalkeepers was the issue though, and subsequently loaned Phumeworapol Wannabutr from Buriram United. Again, not a compelling signing for a team that requires experience and stability. Therefore, the logical conclusion is that the team intends on outscoring opponents on a regular basis. The big problem they're going to have with that is that their two best attackers, Anan Yodsangwal and Willen Mota respectively, both left pre-season. If the alarm bells weren't already ringing, they should be. Akarapong Pumwisat - a regular in midfield - was another to leave. A big hit in the middle of the park. They've even lost some experienced backups/rotation players from their squad ahead of this campaign. Bringing Berg in from Buriram United, and Thosanid from Muangthong United were good bits of business in terms of having solid players that know the league well. They've had to take gambles in attack to replace the players they've lost. Chaves, Maranaho, and Felipe are supposed to stand out but they're all big gambles on players that have no knowledge of Thai League One, and it could backfire if they're not careful. This is likely to be an incredibly difficult campaign for the club, and they may end up getting relegated because of it.