I’m joined by Gian Chansrichawla and Tommie Duncan to talk Thai national team. We consider all the major candidates for inclusion, and eventually agree on a 23 man squad which we think would serve boss Akira Nishino well.
Some big names miss out and some uncapped players make the cut, including a Sandpit favourite.
Gian Chansrichawla joins The Portcast to give some us some more insight in to the crisis at Muangthong. We talk about SMM’s legal disputes with the Thai FA, SCG’s reported sponsorship cut-back and why Muangthong’s famous academy is not all it’s cracked up to be. there’s plenty we didn’t know about that Gian spells out in rapid-fire detail.
The biggest Thai League news of the season so far is Port and FA Cup winning coach Choke parting ways in unusual circumstances. I talk to Sandpit editor Tim Russell about the shock move, and analyse both Choke’s surprisingly honest interview and the club’s panicked response.
Inspired by being cooped up all day every day, The Portcast was finally able to secure an interview with a guy we’ve been trying to get on the podcast for ever. James has played professionally and been involved with football in a few different capacities across South East Asia. This brings a very welcome perspective to the podcast, which is usually rather narrowly centred on Thailand, and more specifically Port.
What happens when fans of Thailand’s two fiercest rivals sit down and talk football?
Well, myself and aspiring journalist Gian Chansrichawla put aside our partisan differences for an hour and took a deep dive in to the world of transfers. Gian dissects transfer strategies from Chiang Rai to Chainat, telling us what has been behind some of Thai football’s biggest success stories.
It’s Toby time!
In this podcast, I interview the man behind Zone B’s most unusual superstition. Toby Knight gives us some fascinating insight in to why Toby time works, why Port struggle to beat the best teams in the league, and he also gives some glowing praise to the man who masterminded Port’s first FA Cup win in 10 years.
We go on to talk at length about the fan experience of Toby’s teams in North London, Catalonia and of course Khlong Toei.
Yes, it’s been a long time coming, but good things come to wait! Our interview with Sven, the creator of legendary Thai football website www.thai-fussball.com is finally here, so be prepared for some back-in-the-day stories from the Kangaroos of Prague to the Blue Marlins of Sriracha.
Part one features a lot of stadium talk, and a couple of time-honoured debates about Thai football standards vs. European football standards and the social vs. sporting aspect of watching live football.
Then there’s me giving an entirely justifiable torrent of abuse to former Port flop Sompong Soleb for those who just like a good old rant, although the fearless Sven soon turns the tables on us and gives the Sandpit a well-deserved chewing out!
We also discuss Daniel Polomski and Tobias Enkel’s project Football Fans Asia which you can find on their website or their Youtube channel. Their video about a certain Khlongtoei football club is in the making, so make sure to follow their progress.
The Portcast is back with a brand new feature – Zone F – in which we chat to a different Port fan in each episode and get their thoughts on all things Tarua!
In this first episode, The Portcast’s own Michael Parkinson, Tom Earls, interviews Sandpit founder Tim Russell and finds out about his unlucky orange underpants, his dream of being able to eat meat pies at the PAT, and his man-crush on Genki Nagasato.
If you’re a Port fan & would like to take part in Zone F, drop us a message. And in the meantime, enjoy our latest podcast!
In pt2 of Episode 3 of the Portcast, Dom fights off a randy cab driver, Tim, despite being sober, is convinced that Port got a draw at Suphanburi, and Tom comes over all Nostradamus (rather than ‘comes all over Nostradamus’, which would certainly have made for more interesting listening). Look out for Episode 4 coming up during the 5-week break!
The Portcast is back baby! In Episode 3 pt1 we welcome Port’s new big-name coach, discuss the toe-curlingly embarrassing shambles that was the June transfer window, and have a good laugh at our old friend Thiago Cunha. If you’ve noticed a higher level of discussion and professionalism about The Portcast this time, it’s only because one of us was stone cold sober for medical reasons. This will not happen again so make the most of it.