The final act of the tortuous 2011 season will take place this Saturday when Thai Port take on Buriram PEA in the Toyota League Cup final. The competition started back on May 18th and the semi-finals were played way back in September! The final should have been played on October 15th, but was postponed over flooding fears. It was then continuously pushed back in the schedules as the TPL season became ever more stretched. But finally it is here, and an intriguing contest it promises to be. Not least because the same pair met in the previous final: Port triumphing 2-1 back in November 2010.
A year ago, the big close-season story was the shock departure of head coach René Desaeyere from the Muangthong United hotseat. One year on and it’s the turn of player-coach Robbie Fowler to head for the exit and one final big payday in India. For whereas René was pushed, Fowler has jumped and will make his way to India to take part in the new Premier League Soccer (PLS) tournament – a lucrative six-team event starring aged European players at the wrong end of their careers.
All matches start at 6pm on Saturday
It’s finally here! The final weekend of the 2011 TPL season. It was way, back on February 12th last year when it got underway. Fifty weeks later and everything’s now decided except for the last relegation place, with one of three teams: Siam Navy, TOT or Samut Songkhram set to fill that place (Sriracha fell through the trapdoor midweek when they drew 1-1 at Muangthong; Khon Kaen are already down).
Just one TPL match this weekend – the penultimate weekend of the 2011 season – but it’s a huge one as TOT host Samut Songkhram at the TOT Stadium in Chaeng Wattana, Lak Si. Both sides are fighting for their TPL lives, and Samut Songkhram for their very existence. A win for TOT wouldn’t guarantee survival, but it would go a long way towards keeping them in the top flight for another season.
All matches take place on Saturday at 3:30pm unless stated otherwise.
After the excitement of the FA Cup Final in midweek, the 2011 season continues to drag on for the TPL as it rather limps to a conclusion.
All matches start at 6pm on Saturday unless otherwise stated.
We might be wishing you all a New Year but we’re still stuck in the 2011 season thanks to some pretty shoddy organization by the TPL and FAT. The schedule back log means there are TPL and FA Cup semi-final matches this weekend, all taking place on Saturday.
Matches start at 6pm unless stated otherwise.
It’s all gone wrong at Muangthong United. The Nonthaburi side which won four consecutive league championships between 2007 and 2010 is, if not quite in freefall, at least fading fast. Recent results include draws against Army United, Khon Kaen and BEC Tero Sasana and, most surprisingly, a 3-1 home defeat to lowly Siam Navy this past Wednesday. That was Muangthong’s first home defeat in the league since their Division 1 days way back in 2008.
