Welcome to Volume Two of my blog which covers all clubs and stadiums outside the English League System along with the wonderful people responsible for keeping them going and their maintenance.
Since I was a little lad I've been fascinated in football and more so where games are played. With my love of travel and curiosity of the game I wanted to visit as many grounds and see games wherever possible.
I was fortunate that my Dad also loved the game and spent so much of his spare time taking me to matches. As I got older the boundaries widened owing to my location and increased wages to Europe and indeed the world. The sight of a stand or a floodlight pylon in the distance immediately heightens my senses and eagerness for a closer look.
I hope this site gives you the chance to share in my pleasure and experiences and maybe one day set you on the road to adventure. If you get half as much out of the hobby as I've done, I can guarantee some great memories, good friends and stories to pass on to future generations.
Give your local club a try today. They'll be delighted to see you!
Everlasting thanks primarily to my late and very much missed and dearly loved parents; my Dad Bob Bernard and my Mum; Ann, who put up with endless years of football chat and my brothers Nick and Paul who gave me the chance and encouragement to do what I have. Thanks to all my friends who offer encouragement and Sally and Stan who inspire and give me great pride. Stan is showing a keen interest in my hobby as he grows into a young man!
Please feel free to post any comments (please use sensible language - I want everyone to be able to enjoy reading) or ask any questions relating to visiting grounds or events. If you want to see any ground reviewed please let me know. It will take quite some time for everywhere to appear, but make sure you keep having a look as the site is continually updated.
If you click on a lot of the pictures you will get a larger version on your screen.
I have also added links to video clips on YouTube where appropriate for those of you who are bored of reading or are filling in time at work. I haven't always gone for the most obvious choices, but items that will be in some cases unusual but always historically interesting.
Click here to see volume one of HAOTW for everything in the English League System.
Rob Bernard
London
May 2020
Thursday 26 July 2018
Khon Kaen (Thailand)
Khon Kaen
FC is a professional football club from the city of Khon Kaen in Thailand’s
north eastern region of Isaan, that was formed in 2005.
Initially
the club played in the Provincial League, consisting of regional clubs. This
competition was not recognised by the FA of Thailand, so many count June 21st ,
2007 as the date that the club was publicly formed.
‘The
T-Rexs’ moved into the Khon Kaen Province Stadium to compete in Group A of Thailand
League Division 1, finishing in fourth place. The following season, the top
flight was condensed to one division, with Khonkaen finishing in mid table with
Issarapong Lilakorn ending as top scorer.
Fourth
place and then a runners-up berth came in 2009 and 2010 with Sarawut Vichien
and then Surachat Singnhon topping the scoring charts. Pichet Supomuang was
head coach as the side played in the retitled Thai Premier League season of
2011.
The
team finished bottom of the table despite the goals of Laos international Khampheng
Sayavutthi, under the captaincy of Rermrat Ngam-Chareon, to be relegated to Division
1. The club finished in eleventh position and then sixteenth in 2013 as
Argentinian striker Matias Recio led the way.
A
seventeenth place in 2014 condemned Khonkaen to relegation as Japanese forward Junki
Yokono did his best with his goals. The club were placed in the third tier Regional
League Division 2 North Eastern Region for the 2015 campaign.
A
sixth place was followed by a fourth place ending in 2016 with Tanapol Srithong
banging in the goals. Thai league football was reorganised to a four tier
format for the 2017 season. Khonkaen were placed in Thai League 3 Upper Region.
The
goals of Thotsaphon Yotchan and the experienced Macedonian, Darko Tasevski and
Australian Richard Cardozo were too much for opposition defences as Khonkaen
romped to the league title and promotion to Thai League 2.
The 2018
season saw the T-Rexs push for further promotion, aided by the goals of Marc
Landry Babo and Yotchan under head coach and former Thai international player
Pattanapong Sripramote. The season ultimately ended in a fourth-place finish.
This was
backed up with eighth place in 2019 as Seiya Sugishita top scored under
Japanese head coach Miura Masayuki. Sirisak Yodyatthai took over before he was
replaced later in the season by Pichet Suphomuang as the team ended in tenth
place in 2020-21 when the calendar was realigned to match Europe.
Masayuki
returned in 2021-22 as crowds began to plummet as rivals United prospered. Suphomuang
had another spell in charge of the team who were relegated to Thai League 3
Northeast. Hiroki Ono was put in charge of the team for the commencement of the
2022-23 campaign which ended with a fourth-place finish with Judivan as leading
scorer.
Suttinun
Boonmee took over as head coach in the summer of 2023, before being replaced by
Somchai Makmool with Khon Kaen ending the campaign in the pack well behind the
two playoff qualifiers.
Khon Kaen FC
will play in Thai League 3 Northeast in the 2024-25 season.
My
visits
Wednesday
20th June 2018
My
two week tour of Bangkok and Isaan was regrettably reaching its closing stages.
I’d had the time of my life. My second visit to Udon Thani saw heavy rain, an
England World Cup win and heavy activity in the bar area of town.
I’d
certainly packed plenty in, so after a hearty Thai breakfast I headed to the
bus station. The train didn’t depart for several hours, and I needed to see
somewhere different and get on the road again, as much for my sanity and protection
to my wallet!
Fortunately,
the people at the bus station were most helpful and within a few minutes I was
onboard the service heading to Khonkaen. There was plenty of room on board as I
settled down to enjoy the ride and grab a rest.
The
weather was warm and sun shining, so the curtains were down to protect us from
the glare on the air conditioned vehicle. I settled back and listened to music,
trying to vaguely follow the journey via the Google Maps App on my battery
guzzling spare IPhone.
As
we approached the initially decent looking sized city from the north I began to
panic a little. We’d stopped to let a couple off and then took a turning right
on the ring road away from the centre. I frantically went down the bus to enquire.
All
was well. I’m not sure how we communicated with little language in common, but it
was all smiles as I headed back up the aisle. We had gone around the 230 road,
which circled the city to drop off at Khon Kaen Main Bus Station No3.
This
was definitely not as planned, but it gave me a great opportunity to visit the Khon
Kaen Province Stadium as it was located between where I was and my hotel in the
centre. I managed to show the taxi driver where I wanted to go on my phone map.
He
dropped me right outside the venue. As luck would have it the perimeter fencing
was not too high, and I could have got access regardless, as a school sports
day was taking place on the track surrounding the pitch.
Although
the arena was like many in Thai football; a multi purpose venue catering for
several sports, Khonkaen had at least used liberal amounts and black and yellow
paint so it looked like the home of the team.
The
raised spectator deck was a horse shoe shape around the track and was all open
aside from the main side, where a roof covered the individual seats and VIP
area. The end by Thanon Lao Na Di had no spectator accommodation with just a
scoreboard filling in the space.
Facilities
for swimming and an indoor arena flanked the main stadium. As I left I saw an
advert for League 4 side Khonkaen United, who shared the stadium. Little did I know then that both clubs would travel in opposite directions with United taking over the mantle of the higher ranking club in the city.
Feeling
energised, I decided to walk to Hotel Glacier, my accommodation for the
evening. It was a mile and a half, which wouldn’t normally concern me, but it
was a good work out in the heat with a rucksack.
A
stop was needed for water and Gatorade as I took note of the area for that
evening. As ever I would be looking to see as much as possible. My walk took me
past 24 Taps, a bar selling draft beers and a shopping mall that would provide
me with food and shelter from a heavy downpour.
Khonkaen
certainly offered me a decent evening and nice hotel. The bar areas were good
and the people friendly. I even discovered that the city was having a Skytrain
built. It was definitely earmarked for a return visit.
Khon Kaen 0
Sisaket United 0 (Sunday 18th February 2024) Thai League 3 Northeast (att: 636)
A game in
which I’m not sure if either side would have scored if they had been there
until midnight. Not that endeavour was missing, but no real chances were created,
aside from the hosts seeing an effort come back off the bar in the first half.
Sisaket
incidentally were without their best player Panigazzi. My mate was chatting to
him the same afternoon at the Rasisalai match. The Argentinian confirmed that
he picked up a yellow card for kicking the ball away for no reason in the
previous match to be suspended for one game and be available for more important
matches.
A draw very
much suited Sisaket, with table toppers Mahasarakham grabbing a late equaliser
against second bottom Surin KCM the previous evening. The point for United
means they were a point behind going into the next week’s final game when they would
host the leaders. Both sides had already qualified for the playoffs, but
finishing top assured an extra home game in the six-team division.
As ever, it
was so much more than just the football as me and my wife Taew had a marvellous
weekend. We were meeting my co-host Dale and his wife from our Thai football
podcast on Sunday lunchtime.
By then we
had travelled up on Saturday morning by bus for 296 Baht each from Sisaket, and
enjoyed a magnificent evening in Ton Tann Night Market, entertained by Thai
singing superstar Gavin D after we inadvertently sat in the seats of the car
sponsor.
There was great
food and drink, loads of retail, and giant screens showing football. The cheer
when Liverpool scored was huge. The whole venue better than anywhere I've
visited of that sort in Thailand.
Sunday morning
consisted of a walk and shopping in a mall that puts those in the UK to shame
ensuring my good lady enjoyed her visit, then a lazy lunch in the expat zone at
Yokotai Restaurant where the food was excellent, if on the expensive side.
We then headed
off to the 6pm kick off. I’d arranged through a Facebook group to meet an elder
Welshman, Michael and his wife who live in Khon Kaen and who go groundhopping
around Thailand. They offered great company as the three ladies went inside and
got the seats while we nattered about back home and Thai football.
The other
home fans who smoothed it over with security for me to sit with them in my
Sisaket shirt, not that there’s any danger of any animosity. The locals
couldn’t have been more friendly, which included the couples who sold beer for
75 Baht. It was obvious though that they had little time for their rivals Khon
Kaen United.
Admission was free
in the open side and away end which drew Khon Kaen’s biggest home gate of the
season. We went under the roof of the main stand and paid 50 Baht, for a better
view and we heard thunder as we got out of our taxi.
Dale, a
lifelong Oldham fan was made up when a fella around our age walked along the
front just before halftime in a Latics top. Andy, in his first visit to the
stadium, was welcomed and joined us for the rest of the evening, and I knew a
lot more about the mob from Boundary Park by the time we eventually got home.
Five of us
went on to Rimrang Station complex. It is a bar and food area built on the old
railway tracks, with the line now going overhead through the city. It was very
good, as was the sky bar above a street bar only our new friend knew about to
round off the evening.
Monday morning
was interesting and a struggle, as we were on the 8.40am flight to Bangkok and we
didn't get home until after 1am. Khon Kaen on our list of places we certainly
want to return to. It is highly recommended.
Next time though, a different
hotel, the Glacier Hotel had certainly gone downhill since my previous visit, no doubt like many Thai businesses owning to the lack of customers during Covid-19.
Great to meet you all and thanks for the very informative KKFC history. But elder Welsman? Foul referee!
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