Bangkok Masters Football 2012

BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Acknowledgements...................................................................... 3

BCCT would like to thank the following:

Welcome Message from Ian Rush, MBE ................................ 4

MAIN TOURNAMENT SPONSOR

Welcome Message from BCCT Chairman.............................. 5 2011 Tournament Highlights................................................. 6-7 Thailand Premier League Review............................................. 8 These boots were made for dancing ....................................10 Jotun Thailand Football Dinner 2011....................................12 European Championships 2012 Preview ............................14 Etihad All Stars Profiles........................................................ 16-22

Lee Sharpe.......................................................................16

Clive Walker.....................................................................17

Gareth Hall.......................................................................18

Gus Caesar.......................................................................19

Paul Masefield................................................................20

Brad Maloney.................................................................21

Pj Roberts.........................................................................21

Andrew Leci....................................................................22

2011 Tournament Networking Evening...............................23

ALL STAR TEAM SPONSOR

FOOTBALL DINNER SPONSOR

Well was it or wasn’t it? + a bit of innovation....................24 Your First Thai Game A to Z.......................................................26 2011 Tournament Highlights............................................ 28-29 The enigma that is Balotteli......................................................30 Team Profiles........................................................................... 32-35 NETWORKING EVENING SPONSOR

BEVERAGES SPONSOR

The views expressed by individual authors are not necessarily those of the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand or of the publisher.

Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand is strictly prohibited.

BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

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WELCOME MESSAGE FROM Ian Rush, MBE

I

t is a great pleasure to provide a welcome message to all participants in the 2012 BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament. The tournament is now in its ninth year and the seventh year of naming sponsorship by Tesco Lotus.

Unfortunately for the first time in seven years I am unable to join you. I am participating in Soccer Aid in London. Soccer Aid started in 2006 as a brainwave of UNICEF UK ambassador Robbie Williams. Every two years two teams of celebrities and football legends from England and the Rest of the World play a match to raise funds for UNICEF and change the lives of children around the world.

With BCCT’s organization and Tesco Lotus’ support the Bangkok Masters has grown significantly during the past eight years. It is an excellent event with veteran footballers, amateur and exprofessionals, showing young Thai footballers how to play the game in a spirit of sportsmanship and fair play.

I hope that you enjoy the 2012 BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters. I wish the tournament continued success and hope to see you all again in 2013.

Ian Rush

WELCOME MESSAGE FROM BCCT Chairman

O

n behalf of the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand (BCCT), I am delighted to welcome all players, spectators and sponsors to the Annual BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament, organized by BCCT since 2004 and now in its seventh year of sponsorship by Tesco Lotus.

The BCCT Bangkok Masters brings together ‘mature’ footballers of many nationalities from all over the world.

BCCT is indebted to: •

Tesco Lotus for again sponsoring the tournament despite budgetary constraints following the severe flooding in Thailand last year

•

Etihad Airways for sponsoring the All Stars team

•

Robert Walters (Thailand) for sponsoring the Football Dinner

•

The Dusit Thani Bangkok for hosting and sponsoring the tournament networking evening

•

Thai Beverage for sponsoring drinking water and beer

BCCT would also like to thank Daniel Poole for his tireless efforts in putting together a competitive All Star team which is led by ESPN Star Sports’ Paul Masefield and includes Manchester United legend Lee Sharpe, Chelsea’s Clive Walker and Gareth Hall, and Arsenal and England Under 21 star Gus Caesar.

We have more than 30 participating teams from all over the world including Australia, Canada, Japan, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Brunei plus teams from the Thai, British, German, Irish, French and Scandinavian communities in Thailand.

I hope that you enjoy the 2012 Bangkok Masters. I wish the tournament continued success.

Simon Landy Chairman British Chamber of Commerce Thailand (BCCT)

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BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

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2011 TOURNAMENT HIGHLIGHTS

2011 TOURNAMENT HIGHLIGHTS

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BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

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Thailand Premier League Review

F

or many years, football in Thailand was a pale imitation of other leagues in South East Asia like Indonesia and Malaysia. But,whilst the Japan and Korea have moved into a different orbit from most other Asian leagues, Thai football is enjoying huge, if precarious, popularity.

The two main reasons for its current success are that Thai fans are crazy about football and millions of pounds of sponsorship is pouring into the game.

Players struggling on a few hundred pounds a month only four years ago now earn upward of $25,000 (US) a month. The highest player last season doubled that amount. Whilst this is back of the sofa money to English Premier League superstars, the players in the Thai national team also earn a great deal more in endorsements and bonuses; unheard of riches for a country with an average income of $4,000 a year, they are seriously wealthy young men.

One of the reasons its success is seen as precarious is that most of the money can be traced back to politicians. Much of the sponsorship is tied into a party aligned agreement that is more to do with influence than commerce. This makes

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Thai football hostage to the changing political winds in a deeply divided political landscape. At least the Prime Minister’s son is football crazy and her brother, well look what he did for Manchester City...

Last year’s champions Buriram, whose chairman also own Leicester City through King Power, play in a state of the art 24,000 capacity stadium and, for the first time in years, Thailand were given entry into the Asian Champions League. After a bright start, beating the Champions of Japan and China, Buriram came crashing back down to earth with three straight defeats, but they have made a very good impression on the AFC with their full stadium and resources. The self proclaimed “Manchester United of Thailand,” Muang Thong United were a record consecutive three time league champions at different levels but last year, despite the efforts of Robbie Fowler, finished a disappointing third. An extra sponsorship in the close season of 600 million Baht (12 million pounds) in addition to all their other wealth, means they can pay top rates for players. They also have one of the biggest crowds and most loyal following.

This season other clubs are bringing the TPL forward. BEC Terro, under the influence

BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

of Muang Thong United founder Robert Procureur, are building a new stadium and have improved markedly under the coaching guidance of Englishman Andrew Ord. Bangkok Glass, with their sublime BG Bunnies, are also improving greatly thanks to the highly respected former national assistant coach Surachai.

So Thai football, for the top teams, is in a healthy place. Attracting large crowds, broadcast live on TV and paying wages higher than even the Australian league, the new rule where teams can field only three foreign and one Asian foreign player in the starting eleven is aimed at arresting the alarming fall of the national team. Unfortunately hamstrung by an inept football association, Thailand is unlikely to trouble the FIFA scorers in the short term. But there are plenty of highly talented, quick players and, with the huge influence Chang, Singha, Thai Airways and King Power have in English football, Thais are determined that their time will come at the top table of world football.

Matt Riley www.thaileaguefootball.com

These boots were made for dancing

By Roger Crutchley

T

here was a time not that long ago when you could guarantee most professional footballers only wore black boots , apart from the odd show-off who preferred white footwear. How times have changed.

Fancy-coloured boots have been creeping into the Premiership for a number of years now, but this past season it seems to have got totally out of control. On the last weekend of the recent season, on show were boots in various shades of green, gold, grey, silver, red , yellow, purple, orange, white and even salmon pink. There are probably some polka-dot ones lurking somewhere.

But for the traditionalists there is some hope as a few diehards are still wearing black footwear.

on grown men. But the important question likely to get a yellow or red card, while those wearing green are the least likely to is of course, can the colour of your boot get booked. somehow improve performance?

According to the website footy-boots.com goals in the Premiership this season have come from boots of nine different colours.

However, the hue which hits the target more than any other by far is the white boot, with 1 in 2.4 of all Premiership goals.

Half of the league’s 10 hat-tricks have been scored by players with white boots.

And almost half the goals scored against Manchester United this season came courtesy of white boots.

Of course it comes down not to the colour of the boot, but which individual wears them. One suspects you could give Emile Heskey free white boots all season and he still wouldn’t score. The league’s top goalscorer, Arsenal’s Robin Van Persie, began the season wearing blue boots, but after scoring only one goal in the opening few games, switched to white with a touch of purple in October and the floodgates opened.

The variety of colours, plus the slim-line nature of the modern boot, makes them look more suitable for ballet than booting a ball. Some might argue that the way football is going, tackling of any nature will soon be forbidden anyway and ballet shoes or slippers will be quite appropriate Incidentally, those of you who are prone for the players. to having occasional differences of opinion with officials may be interested to learn Whatever fancy colour they come up that players with red boots are the most with, the boots tend to look a bit dorky

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BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

A pioneer in white boots was the late Blackpool, Everton, Arsenal and England player, Alan Ball , who first wore them in 1970. Ball was quite brave doing this because the general attitude at the time was that only girls wore white boots.

There is no question that boot technology has come a long way over the years. The soft slipper-like quality of modern-day boots is a far cry from the rough old clogs they used to wear. Originally made of hard leather, they could take a year to be ‘’broken in’’ and softened up by regular doses of dubbin, or to use the technical term, ‘’the sticky stuff.’’ Some players even urinated on their boots, something they had picked up in the army.

As a kid, I have painful memories of my first footy boots which were far more suitable for rugby, consisting of thick brown leather which covered the ankle and a hard toe-cap which encouraged appalling toe-punts and regularly left its mark on opponents’ shins. They were also bloody uncomfortable and resulted in far more blisters than goals.

Wearing new boots was a painful process for the professionals, highlighted in the 1908 Cup Final when the boots of Wolves striker George Hedley started falling apart in the game against Newcastle United.

Despite the state of his footwear, Hedley refused to put on a new pair brought out by his trainer, preferring to play in disintegrating boots rather than suffer the agony of wearing a brand new pair.

It is said the great Jackie Milburn would take new boots down a damp coal mine with him to soften them up. Milburn had his favourite boots and wore the same pair in three FA Cup finals over a five-year period and used them until his ultimate retirement in 1963, something unimaginable these days.

Players tended to wear the same boots for as long as possible. That’s a sharp contrast to modern footballers, with virtually all league players having boots supplied by manufacturers. David Beckham reportedly used to wear a fresh pair every three games.

old pair flown out from England and wearing these in the final group match promptly scored a hat-trick against Poland.

The person to thank for the modern boot design is a gentleman named K. Freeborn who in the early 1960s introduced the flatter-shaped boots with soft leather and a slimmer design. The boots reflected a more sophisticated form of football with lighter balls and more subtle kicking techniques rather than just hoofing the ball.

Then along came former Liverpool and Australia star Craig Johnston who designed the Adidas Predator which proved to be hugely popular. Asked to come up with a boot that could make the ball swerve, Johnston pulled the rubber off a table tennis bat, stuck it on a boot and the rest is history.

Of course in Thailand you still see kids playing football in their bare feet, which is certainly a good way to get a ‘’feel’’ for the ball, but not to be recommended for preserving your feet.

Players in bare feet have been the centre In the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, England of controversy over the years. In 1950, centre-forward Gary Lineker struggled to India qualified for the World Cup for the find his scoring touch in the opening group first time, but were banned as they were games. In desperation, he had a favourite

forbidden to play without boots. But back in the 1930s, Scottish giants Celtic had an Egyptian player named Abdul Salim who was allowed to play with bandages wrapped around his feet.

It is of course the studs which traditionally do the damage to opponents. These days studs are scientifically tested screw-ins, designed to provide the best balance for the player. But in the early days they were hammered in and very crude - basically bits of wood nailed into the boot.

Over the years, many hard men built up a reputation for leaving stud marks on their opponents. Springing to mind are Norman ‘’bites yer leg’’ Hunter of Leeds, Liverpool’s Tommy Smith and a certain Mr Vincent Jones. And then there was Chelsea’s Ron ‘’Chopper’’ Harris, about whom Jimmy Greaves used to joke: ‘’If he was in a good mood he’d put iodine on his studs.’’

Hopefully no iodine will be needed as the BCCT-Tesco-Lotus Bangkok Masters tournament gets underway this weekend, but keep an eye open for any guy with white boots. He might be fat and bald , but if he’s got the right footwear he could be lethal in front of goal.

BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

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Jotun Thailand Football Dinner 2011

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BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

European Championships 2012 Preview

By Derek Currie

T

here’s a clock, which has sat on my sideboard for the last 23 years. It keeps prefect time and although it has a club logo with the name Malmo enshrined on it, I look upon it as very English.

Basically because it was given to me by an Englishman on my 40th birthday, and that gentleman now resides in one of the toughest seats in world soccer, manager of England.

Roy Hodgson may not have been everybody’s ideal choice of taking England to the 2012 European Championships, but few can deny his club and international match experience in Europe.

Fairly fluent in several languages, well you have to be if you managed Switzerland for a start, Hodgeson’s communication with players goes beyond languages.

Before we assess Hodgeson’s chances for the forthcoming championship which kick-off on June 8 in Warsaw and three days later for England in Donetsk, let’s look back at how others have managed England at the EURO Championships and how previous form may guide him.

Circa 1988, which was my first sojourn to the European Championships looks a good time to start.

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Shortly before heading to Dusseldorf for the opening game between West Germany and Italy, I stopped off in Copenhagen for a visit to the Carlsberg Brewerey. Well one does, don’t they. It was actually more to it than that as I was also watching a warm up match involving Denmark.

At the Danes training camp in Veedbaek on the coastal outskirts of Copenhagan, I asked the then perky Manchester United star, Jesper Olsen if he thought England could win the eight-nation competition, split into two groups of four as it was in 1988.

“England can lift the trophy, they are well organized and always a difficult side to beat. With players like Beardsley, Barnes and Lineker, they will be hard to beat.

Mind you they are in a tough group with Holland, but both should go through at the expense of the Soviet Union and the Rep. of Ireland,” said Olsen.

A similar scoreline in Frankfurt against the Soviet Union and England went home pointless and Jepser Olsen was never asked to do the Pools Panel.

Sweden was the venue four year later and again it was an eight-team event.

Euro ‘92 was also the first major football competition in which players had their names on their backs, since it was becoming the trend with clubs across Europe.

Graham Taylor was in the hot seat this time for England and remarkably the United kingdom had another representative that year, Scotland..

Two opening scoreless draws against Denmark and France put Taylor’s neck on the line, with a win or perhaps draw with Sweden vital in their last pool game in Stockholm. However an 82nd minute goal by Thomas Brolin and it was time to pack the suitcases again. A bright note for Wrong, England lost their opening game in English fans was that Scotland did not go Stuttgart to the Rep. of Ireland by one goal through either. However Scotland did win to nil. Scored by a player with a jock accent a game, 3-0 against the CIS (Russia) as they called Ray Houghton. The then Manager, were callen then.

Bobby Robson knew he had problems.

Needless to say, all three goals were scored Next game, Holland in Dusseldorf. A man

by Macs…McStay, McClair and McAllistair called Van Basten scored a hat-trick, (the with a penalty. One for the trivia. last man to do so against England) in Holland’s 3-1 win and Robson was treading water.

BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

Euro ’96 was the first time 16 nations competed and hosted in eight cities in England.Terry Venables was the manager and Tel Boy decided he’s take his squad to play a game in China and then Hong Kong just prior to the event.

Few judged his wisdom in this and it was to prove a highly documented and controversial tour. England sailed through the opening game in China and then arrived in Hong Kong to play against a club side called Golden.

Ticket prices were as much as HK$1,000 for the match and the fans in Hong kong were looking forward to a footballing treat.

In the end, England laboured to a 1-0 win through a Les Ferdinand goal. However the main stories that came out were the well documented drinking binges at the China Jump Bar in the famous ‘dentist seat’ by several of the England players.

Combined with members of the squad celebrating Paul Gascoignes 29th birthday party on the flight back and the so-called damage to tv screens on the Cathay Flight to London, it was hardly great preparation for Euro ’96 to be played on home soil a few weeks later, or so we thought.

England toiled to a 1-1 draw in their opening game against Switzerland. Their next match was against the old enemy, Scotland.

In a ding-dong match England took the lead through Alan Shearer in the 53rd minute. Scotland were then awarded a penalty, with Gary McAllistair to take the penalty against David Seaman in the England goal. Not being bias, I said to myself, just hit the ball Gary as you did four years earlier against the CIS, just don’t blast it!

Well a couple of other things were happening at that time as well. Uri Geller the spoon bender was trying to make the ball move prior to McAllistair striking the ball. However more importently, on the bench Terry Veneables was giving instructions, that should McAllistair score, then Gazza was being substituted.

Well it’s history now..Uri Geller moved the ball, McAllistair blasted it, hit Seamens leg and the ball went downfield to Gazza, who chipped over Colin Hendry and then drilled past Goram to score a wonderful goal and give them a 2-0 win over the Scots.

That was the turning point, they then went on to hammer Holland 4-1 at Wembley, in the finest performance I have witnessed by the three lions. They beat Spain on penalties in the quarter-finals, and lost to Germany in the semi-finals, rather unluckily.

What began as a disaster, turned into one of their better achievments,, Kevin Keegan took charge in Euro, 2000 and despite beating Germany 1-0 in their group game, they lost by identical 3-2 scorelines to Romania and Portugal and another early exit.

Sven-Goran Eriksson took charge four years later in Portugal, where an 18-yearold called Wayne Rooney was making his appearance. They got through the group stages but again penalties deprived them off a semi-final spot, losing to the hosts Portugal by 6-5 in the shootout.

Four years ago, Steve Mclaren was in charge, but sadly the Three Lions never qualified.

So, the form guide tells us that England only did well when they went to Hong Kong beforehand in 1996 and also to Portugal at 2004.

So my suggestion Roy is simple. Take your squad to Macau for a game at the Macau Canidrome. Fly on to Bangkok, put another battery in my clock. Play a game against the Crossbar X1 and then have a night out in Soi Cowboy, and you should be in great shape for Ukraine and Poland!

BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

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LEE SHARPE

L

ee was known as one of the best left wingers in the English game. He was born in 1971 in Halesowen, England.

Bought by Manchester United from Torquay in 1988 for £185,000, Lee would have been a regular first team player were it not for injury and Ryan Giggs who also played in Lee’s preferred left-wing position.

However, in addition to his 8 England caps he won an impressive list of medals: the 1991 Cup Winners Cup; 1992 League Cup; the 1993, 1994 and 1996 Premier Leagues; and the 1994 FA Cup. During the 1996-97 season Lee was transferred to Leeds United for around £4.5 million, the last signing made by former Manager Howard Wilkinson. Unfortunately, he never quite managed to reproduce his best form at Elland Road not least because of a severe injury he sustained shortly after his move there. The successive appointments of George Graham and David O’Leary, coaches who favoured other players, hastened Lee’s departure from Elland Road.

After a brief period on loan at Sampdoria, he moved to Bradford City where he spent the last few months of 1998/99 on loan. Lee became a useful acquisition for Bradford, helping them avoid the drop in 2000. However, he became out of favour at Bradford towards the latter half of the 2000/2001 campaign and went on loan to Portsmouth, helping them to retain their Division 1 status. Following a brief trial stay with Grimsby Town he signed for Exeter City before he moved to Grindavík in Iceland. In June 2003 he announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 32.

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CLIVE WALKER

In 2004 and 2006, Lee was a football pundit for ESPN Star Sports in Asia. He appeared in football drama ‘Dream Team’ and as a competitor in the 2005 ITV show Celebrity Wrestling under the name “Sharpe Shooter”. He also appeared in Celebrity Love Island. In 2007 Lee appeared as a contestant in ITV’s Dancing on Ice. In 2008, he starred in Ant versus Dec, on Saturday Night Takeaway ITV1. He has also starred as the celebrity ‘hider’ in an episode of Hider in the House and appeared in the 2008 television series Superstars on Channel Five. Lee is now one of the football pundits hired by Abu Dhabi Sports Channel, for their exclusive coverage of the Barclays Premier League.

Since 2009, Lee has been involved with global football charity, Ambassadors in Sport. His first involvement came after a trip to South Africa and an unscheduled invitation to visit an AIS Hope Academy in a South African Prison. Since then he has been involved at different levels with AIS, including Cycle for Hope, a 6 month cycle through Africa. Lee was involved in publicity and also took part in the last leg.

On 25 August 2005 Lee’s autobiography ‘My Idea of Fun’ was published, describing his time as a footballer and his resulting celebrity status. Lee plays regularly for Manchester United and England on the football masters circuit and participated in the first Bangkok Masters tournament in November 2004 and in 2009 and 2010.

BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

C

live Walker’s remarkable playing career spanned no fewer than 1,000 league and cup games for Chelsea, Sunderland, Queens Park Rangers, Fulham and Brighton before he enjoyed a renaissance in the Conference with Woking and Cheltenham. Clive was an oldfashioned winger who used to terrorise full backs on a weekly basis.

He made his Chelsea debut aged 19 on Saturday 23rd April 1977 in a 1-0 defeat at Burnley and went onto make 232 appearances (including substitutes), netting 70 times. He put in Man of the Match performances against European champions Liverpool in the FA Cup in 1978 and 1982 as the Blues pulled off two famous upsets; he scored twice in a 4-2 win in 1978 and set up a late clincher for Colin Lee in a 2-0 win in 1982.

After two seasons at Sunderland, Clive moved to Queens Park Rangers in 1986.

He then spent three seasons from 19871990 at Fulham before joining Brighton.

Clive moved to Woking in the Conference in 1993 where his career enjoyed a renaissance due to their FA Cup giantkilling exploits. He played more than 200 games for Woking scoring a goal every other game. In 1997 he joined Cheltenham before finally calling time on a 24 year career in 2000 at the ripe old age of 42 having notched up a total of 767 league and 233 cup appearances.

A qualified coach, he now concentrates on his media work. He’s also a regular for the Chelsea Old Boys and in Masters Tournaments in Asia.

In 1979 Chelsea loaned Clive to pay for Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the North American Soccer League. He scored 9 goals in 22 games alongside such players as George Best, Gerd Muller and Teofilo Cubillas.

With Chelsea facing relegation to the Third Division in 1982-83, and with it potential financial meltdown, Clive scored a last minute winner against fellow strugglers Bolton Wanderers in the penultimate game of the season to ensure the club’s survival.

Clive moved to Sunderland in the summer of 1984. One of the highlights of his time there was scoring a hat-trick against Manchester United. It occurred in 1985 in a 3-2 win for Sunderland at a packed Roker Park. He also returned to haunt his old side the same season in the Milk Cup. In the semi-finals second leg at Stamford Bridge Clive inspired Sunderland to a 3-2 win.

BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

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Gareth Hall

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areth was born in Croydon in March 1969. He started his career as an apprentice at Chelsea and after captaining both the youth and reserve team aged 18. He was awarded Chelsea Young Player of the Year in 1985 and made his first team debut on 5th May 1987 against Wimbledon, having featured in a reserve match earlier in the day. He continued to shine in full back or defensive midfield roles as he made a total of 139 League appearances at Chelsea scoring four goals.

The number of matches he played at right back was limited by the presence of Steve Clarke. He was a member of the team that won the 1990 Full Members Cup at Wembley. From 1988 to 1992, while at Chelsea, Gareth received 9 international caps for Wales.

Gareth moved to Sunderland in January 1996, having originally been on loan there. He went on to make 48 League appearances for the club. He joined Swindon Town in May 1998 and played in most games during his first two seasons.

Following the arrival of new manager, Colin Todd, he was told he could leave on a free transfer but continued training with the team and he ended up playing a few more matches for them. After appearing for the club in nearly 100 games and scoring three goals he left in May 2001 to join Havant & Waterlooville.

After retiring as a player he was Assistant Manager at Hayes and Yeading Football Club as they won promotion at the end of season 2008/9 from the Blue Square South to the Blue Square Premier. In June 2011 he became Assistant Manager at Farnborough Town, an appointment that only lasted five months.

Gareth is a fully qualified Uefa B Licensed coach and regularly appears for the Chelsea Old Boys. He uses his position in order to pass on his knowledge and experience in football to students from around the world. He travels regularly to India to train students at the Indian Tigers Football Academy. Multi-skilled, he is also a fully qualified plasterer and has an impressive golf handicap of 10.

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BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

GUS CAESAR

S

uave, sophisticated and fleet-of-foot Augustus Cassius Caesar (or Gus) was the defensive rock at the heart of the Etihad All Stars at the 2005, 2006 and 2007 Bangkok Masters tournament.

Born in 1966 Gus began his career at Arsenal in 1984. During his six year stint at Highbury he played 44 first team games in Arsenal’s defence and played three times for England Under 21s in 1987.

A promising young defender, big and imposing, his career stalled in the cruellest of circumstances in the 1988 League Cup Final against Luton Town when he made a fatal error that allowed the Hatters back into the game. All too readily people remembered other occasional errors and within a very short time he was moved out as George Graham constructed his famous back line, centred on Tony Adams.

Gus was released on a free transfer at the end of the 1990/91 season and joined Cambridge United of Division One. He stayed at Abbey Stadium for only two months without making a league appearance before moving to Second Division Bristol City (10 league appearances) on a free in September 1991. He finished the 1991/92 season with Airdrie, who he also joined on a free transfer. Gus made 57 league appearances for the Scottish Premier League outfit, staying until the summer of 1994 when he signed for Third Division Colchester United on a free. His spell with Colchester lasted for two seasons and consisted of 62 league appearances. Gus was released on a free transfer in the summer of 1996 and decided to take up a career playing football in Hong Kong. He played for Golden of the Hong Kong First Division in 1996/97 and for Rangers again in Hong Kong during the 2000/01 season. He now splits his time between Hong Kong, where he works in the finance industry, and Essex in his native England.[

However, Gus’ name will be familiar to more than just diehard Arsenal fans as Nick Hornby mentioned him in his acclaimed novel ‘Fever Pitch’. He used him as an example of a quirk of football - where players receive fearful stick from fans who have never achieved anywhere near the excellence it requires to play even one match at the top level. Likening it to his own frustrations as a (then) failed writer, Hornby concluded that talent and determination alone were not enough to bring about success:

“To get where he did, Gus Caesar clearly had more talent than nearly everyone of his generation... and it still wasn’t quite enough. [...] Gus must have known he was good, just as any pop band who has ever played the Marquee know they are destined for Madison Square Garden and an NME front cover, and just as any writer who has sent off a completed manuscript to Faber and Faber knows that he is two years away from the Booker. You trust that feeling with your life, you feel the strength and determination it gives you coursing through your veins like heroin... and it doesn’t mean anything at all.”

Thanks to Hugh Larkin at www.squarefootball.net and Wikipedia for some of the text

BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

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PAUL MASEFIELD

Brad Maloney

P

aul started his career in football in the youth ranks at Southampton where he was Alan Shearer’s striking partner. This allowed Shearer to shine and he didn’t look back. Paul on the other hand left Southampton and signed his first professional contract with hometown club Birmingham City in 1986. Unfortunately, Birmingham was going through tough times and was relegated to Division Three in 1989. Paul’s silky skills and wide girth didn’t suit Birmingham’s brand of total football at the time.

Failing to make a first-team breakthrough, in 1992 he moved Cheltenham Town and then to Exeter City where he played a single game. Paul then moved onto Stockport County where he played 7 games. Doncaster Rovers beckoned where Paul played 9 first-team games. Strangely, after Paul had left, in 1992 Birmingham became the first team to be promoted from Division Three to Division One as the divisions were restructured. In 1993 he joined Preston North End, made 6 appearances and got the opportunity to play with David Moyes.

Brief spells at Bromsgrove Rovers and player-coaching at Limerick Town in Eire followed before he moved to Hong Kong in November 1994 to play for Sing Tao Sports Club. He also played for a Hong Kong League All-Star team against the likes of Yugoslavia, Inter Milan and Sampdoria, where he was given the task of manmarking World Footballer of the Year Ruud Gullit.

Paul moved to Singapore in 1998 to play for Jurong FC, Clementi Khalsa FC (in 1999) and Tanjong Pagar United FC in the S-League before injury forced him to retire from football. He then decided to put his vast knowledge of football to good use by coaching the next generation of footballers in Singapore and Malaysia through his own company Little League Soccer (www. littleleaguesoccer.com), a coaching school for children which attracts as many as 3,000 subjects per year. He has also coached Singapore Cricket Club.

Paul’s claim to fame is that he has set foot on the pitch at Wembley three times without winning – with Birmingham in the Leyland DAF Cup (non-playing), while on loan at Nuneaton Borough in an FA Vase Final losing to Leek Town in a replay and with Preston losing to Wycombe Wanderers in a play-off match.

B

rad was born in 1972 and played for several Australian National Soccer League clubs, including Marconi Fairfield, Perth Glory and Newcastle Breakers. He won the prestigious Johnny Warren Medal for player of the year in NSL season 1998/99. In season 1999/2000, it was Brad’s growing reputation as the most prolific goal-scoring midfielder in the league that prompted Perth Glory to pay an Australian record domestic transfer fee of A$120,000 to secure his services from Marconi. This transfer fee still stands as an Australian record today.

Brad also played six games for the Socceroos, scoring twice, and represented Australia at under 20 and under 23 levels.

He is also an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder.

In November 2009, the Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) established the PFA Player Management Agency in response to an overwhelming demand by Australia’s elite professional footballers. Brad was appointed to drive the development of the agency. As a former international player, experienced businessman, A-licensed coach and

PFA Life Member, Brad has a deep understanding of the game.

Brad was great mates with Socceroo Hall of Famer, the late Ian “Iggy” Gray. Following Iggy’s tragic passing in 2010, Brad took over as the coach of a collective known as Team Bondi. Brad and Iggy were former team mates at Marconi in the National Soccer League. Team Bondi’s success at sevens’ tournaments in Asia has been amazing - multiple winners in Manila and Phuket, and champions six years in a row in Bangkok.

PJ ROBERTS

In 2001 Paul was offered a contract to be one of the faces of ESPN STAR Sports massively popular English Premier League coverage. As the success of the league has grown in Asia so Paul’s popularity has risen due to his animated and informative style. He is now much in demand for media related activities and has hosted or MC’d numerous football events in Bangkok for the BCCT. He lives in Singapore with his wife Stephanie and children and owns a company that runs a coaching school for children which attracts as many as 3000 students each year.

P

aul “PJ” Roberts is a former Australian footballer and is currently a TV pundit with ESPN Star Sports in Singapore and is perhaps best known for presenting Nokia Football Crazy. He is also a financial adviser.

PJ took a keen interest in Liverpool as a young boy growing up in Australia as Craig Johnston was playing for them.

An uncompromising ball-winner PJ had a diverse playing career, having plied his trade professionally in Australia with Canberra Cosmos and Perth Glory, United States of America, Malaysia with

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BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

Sarawak and most recently in Singapore with Geylang United. He also captained Australia in the 1996 FIFA/Futsal World Cup in Spain. Unfortunately, his playing career was cut short in 2003 due to injury.

PJ has Bachelor Degrees in both Science and Education, and an MBA from the University of Western Australia. He has been tagged the ‘brainiest footballer in Asia’ by the local Singapore press. PJ is made his first appearance at the 2009 Bangkok Masters and scored the winning penalty that gave the All Stars their first Veterans Cup title since 2005.

BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

21

ANDREW LECI

A

ndrew Leci has had various incarnations in a career that’s getting longer by the day. He is currently an anchor for ESPN STAR Sports, presenting the network’s coverage of the Barclays Premier League, Sportscenter and anything else he happens to get roped into.

At various stages in his past lives he has been an actor, restaurant owner, barman, lift attendant, biscuit designer, newspaper delivery boy, test pilot for Airfix, theatre producer, food critic and writer. His first novel, ‘Once Removed’, is currently in all good book stores (and some not very good ones) and has been a bestseller in

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2011 Tournament Networking Evening

Malaysia, where the story takes place. In his live performing days, Andrew was a renowned stand-up comedian, a role he often incorporates in the world of football especially when he’s on the field.

Andrew has played football at the very lowest level, and is continuing to descend.

A versatile atacking midfielder, who occasionally pops up on the wing, but is probably most useful on the bench, Andrew can’t play in defence either, and has been known to don the goalkeeper’s gloves in times of hardship, approaching apocalypse or with sufficient liquid inducement.

BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

This will be his 6th Bangkok Masters, and after having won the tournament at the first time of asking, Andrew was a double winner in 2010 with the All Stars in the over 35s as an outfield player and with Team Bondi in the over 45s as goalkeeper. Claims that he had little to do in either team will be rebuffed. He was unable to attend last year which accounts for the early demise of his team, and his reputation for inspiring his colleagues to feats of derring-do and other acts of utter stupidity could be crucial this year.

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Well was it or wasn’t it? + a bit of innovation

P

robably this season, more so than any other, has the cry for goal line technology grown ever louder.

All stakeholders are in agreement except one notable exception namely “the gnomes of Zurich” yes FIFA. We shouldn’t be too surprised when you see an organisation constantly out of touch with the reality of the modern games demands.

Three of late stand out. In the World Cup, England’s clear goal against Germany that wasn’t given, The FA Cup Semi Final between Chelsea and Spurs when a goal was given when it clearly should not have been given and the FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Liverpool when the whole of the ball clearly did not cross the whole of the line. These matches were all high profile and technology would have delivered the right decision without argument and probably without the need to wave a yellow or red card or two.

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Whilst managers and players go into over overdrive with apoplectic outbursts when a goal line decision goes against them, privately they will agree and say that a referee cannot possibly be in that 100% perfect position to judge accordingly and needs help. In fact the game needs this help. In addition what are the chances that the Assistant Referee will get a 100% unobstructed view, pretty slim really.

Even the Premier League Referees would welcome it for this key aspect. Surely getting such a crucial decision right is the main goal - pun most definitely intended – given the vast sums of money that rest on the outcome of those decisions.

Sepp Blatter, FIFA President, opined initially that such technology would slow the game down and remove the controversy banter that follows, and is part and parcel of, a game. Was he saying an injustice is acceptable? Your guess is as good as mine.

BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

In early May, the final trials of ‘Hawkeye’ the system that has been used successfully at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships will be concluded. Maybe by the time you read this the trials have been successful and an implementation date agreed.

On a different but worrying subject is the inconsistency of the English FA’s disciplinary processes. Notably when they say, if a Referee has seen a tackle but doesn’t deem any action necessary or only a yellow card they, the FA, cannot intervene as it might be seen to undermine the referee’s authority plus they would be seen as refereeing the incident again. The latest ‘controversy ‘was the dubious sending off of the QPR captain Shaun Derry at Man Utd for what appeared to be a dive by Young whilst a truly dreadful studs up tackle by Man City’s Marco Balotelli on Alex Song in the Arsenal v Man City match which only attracted a yellow card, albeit Balotelli

was later dismissed for a second yellow, are two cases in point. The FA deemed the QPR captain denied a clear goal scoring opportunity whilst their decision on not handing Balotelli a ‘straight red” and a lengthy ban, for the assault on Song was the referee had seen it and deemed it only a yellow card offence. I believe in serious cases like that it is right to overrule the referee.

Here comes the innovation. The issue of denying a clear goal scoring opportunity and the possible red card was touched on above. So how about this, albeit FIFA would have a heart attack.

Let’s learn from Rugby where the referee can award a penalty try, when a try hasn’t actually been scored, if in his opinion the infringement would have, reasonably, prevented a try from being scored. It would inevitably raise some adverse comments but consider this. At the moment a player clean through on goal is fouled. Free kick or penalty given and

the defender dismissed. A goal may or may not be result. So the defender’s action has ‘succeeded’ as a price. Not to mention that the manager of the still full strength team commonly says he has to change his style and playing against 10 men isn’t always the advantage it seems at first glance.

An alternative. The defender knowing that a deliberate foul might result in a penalty goal being awarded could back off from making rash tackle and play the odds that the goalkeeper makes a great save. Skill determines the outcome and justice is done. Unless it is a tackle that fits the violent conduct criteria, in which case a red card, in other instances maybe a yellow card suffices that puts the defender on notice. In my mind goals are what people want to see and that is the ultimate sanction against a team trying to benefit from fouls means!

Finally, what will EURO 2012 hold for us? Germany along with Spain will be favourites but let’s hope the tournament

is a great advert for Football free of controversy both off and on the Pitch.

For the Premier League the high quality of the marketing of the league masks a distinct lack of quality on the pitch we witnessed on the pitch this season.

When you compare the quality of top tennis players Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray to mention a few plus the top golfers Mickelson, Westwood, Donald and Clarke, as to how they behave and conduct themselves, both on and off the court/course leaves many of the supposed role model Premier League players way behind.

Ray Bigger is a former Premier League/ Football League Referee who now runs his own company ‘Think8’ to help companies with business solutions to business problems across sales , revenue, key critical meetings , Executive Team and People Development. Ray may be contacted at ray@think8.net and web site www.think8. net.

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Your First Thai Game A to Z

By Matt Riley

Fixture changes.

Be warned: there is no”fix” in fixture. Only plan to have a change of plan.

Greeting Opposition fans.

To some these love ins are cheesy and naive, but growing up in England watching paving slabs thrown from overpasses onto opposition fans and climbing thought toilet windows to escape cross city rival Birmingham fans, I love them.

Half time rituals.

Part of the ongoing love in, fans from both sides meet on the pitch to exchange gifts and greetings. Often, as a foreign fan, you’ll be asked to take part. I would advise playing this joker during the away game at the Leo Stadium to get that bit closer to the sublime Bunny Girls.

Arrival time for games.

Diving.

For away matches, the game is often the centerpiece of a weekend away, so picnic blankets populated with football shirt wearing families dot the locality throughout the day.

Be warned: this is central to the game.

Around a dozen times a game players draw a challenge, avoid it but are shot by a mystery sniper in the stands. Don’t get too angry about it or you’ll go crazy.

Beer

Eating at games.

Whilst it lurches an English day out from high spirits to fist fights on local High Streets, the oceans of beer drunk at all Thai games very rarely lead to strife.

Queuing at BG’s Leo Stadium last season, the man two places in front of me was barred entry for his plastic water bottle whilst the man in front of me, armed with a huge cool box of whiskey and mixers was welcomed in. We ended up standing next to him at the top of the cavernous home stand and the toxic local brew was joyfully shared amongst the fans, leaving the perverted water user to reflect on his error.

The standard of food varies greatly. My local team Muang Thong have a popular Irish Pub two minutes from the ground, But for some clubs, like Osotsopa, if you don’t like hard core Thai dishes with nuclear spice levels or fluorescent meat products, it’s best to bring your own.

Cheerleaders.

In the early days girls seemed to have just finished their shift at Nana Plaza, as tummy tattooed bump and grinders got straight into character whilst you tried to divert your children’s attention (and sneak a purely scientific peak.) Nowadays, the cheerleaders are much more glamorous. From the knee trembling come hither looks of the Bangkok Glass Bunnies, the Muang Thong United Divas and the assorted beauties peppered around the grounds, they make a happy man feel very old.

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BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

Insults.

Queues for beer.

Kick off times.

Please join me to run naked around Siam Square if a single week goes by when all fixtures kick off as advertised..

Language.

Another Zen moment. There is only Leo available at most stadiums due to their sponsorship and there are key times in the day (before, during half time and after the game) when hordes of thirsty people will come to the stalls, carefully review what’s on offer and select...Leo. To make things simple there is only one size of cup on offer. However, when you arrive you will often be asked for your order ( Leo please) which will then be poured slowly from a large cool box, the froth laboriously scooped from the top and left to settle before being topped up.

There will be sporadic choice words spat out at gormless officials, but it’s very rare indeed for fans to insult other followers.

Indeed, fans have a clear charter which, oddly has a sign showing there are to be no bananas.

As an English speaker you will be very much in the minority, but armed with a knowledge of the players, an ability to survive Mekong whiskey and some basic phrases, you’ll fit right in.

Joy.

Mascots.

At home, when one team scores the fans will often use it to taunt the opposing crowd or use various rhythmic hand signals, but here a goal is pure joy for its own sake.

There are some truly bizarre ones. From the Buriram Gimp to Bangkok United’s homage to Monster’s Inc, they don’t get a right hook or kick up the behind. Thai fans love them and they add to the family atmosphere.

Where to start? Undertrained and underpaid. Try to think the best of them and imagine what you’d if someone gave you a job you weren’t equipped for.

N Zone

Stretcher counts.

My local team have fans in the North Stand who take obsession to a new level. Some are tattooed with the club crest and most drink whiskey like a dying man drinks water in a desert..

During boring games it is a diverting pastime to put 100 Baht into the pot and pass it round each time someone is so injured they are unable to remain vertical.

If a player is unable to return you keep the pot.

Offsides.

Referees.

Ticket Touts

Another Zen preparation moment. With their lack of training and proximity to high ranking politicians in the dugout, many an assistant referee’s flag will develop torrets in one half and attract five times natural gravity in the other.

There are two strange and welcome parts to scouts (or scalpers) in Thailand. The first is that they will ply their trade in a game that isn’t even full and often sell their tickets for at, or near, the face value.

Politicians.

Umbrellas

They really don’t want to be seen, but quietly give something back to the community before the local elections in three weeks time. That his manifesto centers on getting your club to the Champions League in two years doesn’t mean he wants to be treated any differently from any other fan at the game.

At a four o’clock kick off you will be the proverbial egg in a frying pan without one and, during the rainy season, it stops the top of the head getting wet as the rain slams down off the concrete floor and gives you a floor up shower experience.

VIPs (not to be confused with VVIPs.) The key clues are heavy duty Brylcreem, black jackets, sunglasses ( worn inside for VVIPs,) black dressed bodyguards ( with metallic lumps in their jackets for VVIPs.) if they shake your hands it will be whilst looking away for the next flesh pressing opportunity.

Whisky.

You will often see a beer tower placed in the middle of a table. It’s filled with nuclear strength whiskey and, as new people arrive, they add their corrosive contributions. Be afraid; be very afraid.

X rated challenges.

They are rare rare and more often than not the rating will have moved up from a 12A to 18 thanks to fine acting by the receiver.

Year dot.

The time when some of the foreign fans will tell you they have been supporting Thai football since. When less than 22 people would watch the games and there were jumpers for goalposts. It is best to smile sweetly and let them unburden themselves.

Zzzzzz Have a snooze during talk of Thailand hosting the World Cup and get on with enjoying the game. There’s plenty to love.

BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

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2011 TOURNAMENT HIGHLIGHTS

2011 TOURNAMENT HIGHLIGHTS

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BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

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The enigma that is Balotelli

By Paul Masefield

W

hat happens when you get a young supremely gifted footballing talent, give them lots of money to do what they love doing and throw in a little madness and what have you got?

Super Mario Balotelli.

I wont for 1 minute condone what he did at the weekend against footballs mr nice guy, Scott Parker, but you have to say that without doubt, he is the most controversial player in the BPL since Eric Cantona.

They always say there is a fine line between genius and insanity and I believe that Balotteli is right on the edge.

does off the pitch is bad. He is a generous person who according to his agent is ‘just misunderstood’.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

This has to be where the club have to try to take control and help and assist this 6. young man. His antics are legendry but at the end of the day, its all about what he 7. does on the pitch that concerns me. What he did this past weekend to Parker was shocking, yet as cool as you like in the last 8. minute he steps up and rolls in a penalty to give City a 3-2 win.

The boy has talent, there is no denying this but he must be curbed to an extent off the field. I have come up with a list of the good, the bad and the ugly of Balotteli because not everything he

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9.

11. He had his friend approach pretty girls in a nightclub and say “Balotelli will see you now”

He managed to survive a usually fatal disease at birth

12. He was sent to the shops by his mother to buy essentials (food and groceries) for the house. When he He has accrued £10,000 in parking arrived back he turned up with a fines. giant trampoline, a Vespa and a Scalectrix race car set.

His Car has been impounded 27 times.

17. Winks at Rio Ferdinand after last seasons FA cup semi final and celebrates in front of the United fans.

25. He brought his Ipad on to the bench for Italy’s international against the Faroe Islands because he wanted to play games on it.

18. After the cup final on live TV, he says “ I have been sh*t this season, am I allowed say sh*t on TV?

26. He was seen in a Manchester shopping centre “hi-fiving” city fans the day after City had beaten United 6-1.

He was given a £300,000 fine for throwing darts at the youth team out of the window at the Manchester City training ground.

13. Whilst at Manchester City he has started fights at training with Kompany, Boateng, Tevez and Richards.

19. Was stopped by police going around his hometown of Hulme (just outside of Manchester) with £ 25,000 cash in the passenger seat.

When asked by the police why he did it, he replied “ because I’m rich”

He won £25,000 in a casino in Manchester and then proceeded to give £1,000 to a tramp outside the casino.

14. Whilst in Italy, he was frequently seen at the AC Milan superstore whilst playing for cross city rivals Inter Milan.

20. He had to be physically hauled away

by Zanetti for refusing to let Samuel Eto’o take a penalty that he had earned.

He threw tomatoes at a Serie A manager.

15. Went on TV wearing an AC Milan shirt with his name on the back while playing for Inter Milan.

21. He once broke up with his then Italian girlfriend via text whilst she was presenting a live show.

16. Whilst playing for Italy under 21’s, he was fouled and subsequently sat on the pitch for 3-4 minutes ignoring the opposition, his team mates and the referee. He was then offended when he gets sent off and then protests about it.

22. Slept with an Italian model while his girlfriend was downstairs.

He threw Water Balloons at a Serie A disciplinary hearing.

He started a fight in Italy with 4 bouncers after breaking the “no touching” rule at a strip club.

The “bib” saga. Need I say more!

10. He had a £120,000 Audi imported to England and then wrote it off within a week.

BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

23. He drove his car into a women’s prison because he wanted to “look around” 24. He alledgelly has connections with the Italian mafia and he has actually testified in a court of law at a Mafia trial.

27. He became the face of a firework safety campaign a few days after alledgelly setting his house on fire from letting off fireworks indoors in his bathroom.

28. He hands £50 notes to strangers when out shopping in Manchester.

I am sure there are more good and bad things about him, but it is the public that have to make the descision to either love him or hate him. I for 1 love the unpredictability about him on the football field. He has this grace and aura that makes him look special and dangerous at the same time. I do honestly believe that if that eliment of rouge is taken out of him then it would effect his game, so the burning question is, how do you deal with a player like this?

That is down to Roberto Mancini and his staff at Manchester City and I can tell you, it is not an easy process.

Some of the things he has done are the signs of a very generous person who cares about other people. The flip side is that some of the things that he has done are just not acceptable at all. This is why I 30. Italy had just brought out a brand new said about the fine line between Insanity home kit. At the start of the second and Genius. half for their first match wearing the One thing is for sure, City will need to try new kit, Balotelli came out in the old kit claiming he didn’t like the new one. to help this young man cope with being the superstar that he has become. City 31. Turned the landscaped back garden will not want to lose such a gifted talent of his house in Manchester into a and I believe that the BPL would be a Quad bike track. duller place if Balotteli is forced out of England because of all of these issues.

These were just a few examples of what I could find out about the man Balotteli.

29. Was seen chanting “Rooney, Rooney” at the prostitute who claimed to have slept with Wayne Rooney.

BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

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Team Profiles Andaman Geckoes - Over 50s

Gold Coast Koalas - Over 50s

This is a team of Glen’s football mates from around Asia: Randy Wallis (gk) - Bangkok Glen Martin (c) - Gold Coast Trevor Allen - Bangkok Matt Clarke - Sydney Sid Lloyd - Tokyo Geoff McKinley - Singapore Steve Mannering - Singapore Lennie Tui - Tokyo Adrian Watts – Bangkok The ability to drink copious amounts of beer and share a joke rate highly in this team.

The original and the best Koalas of all time, bar none, unique, effervescent! - from humble beginnings of 8 players in our touring party in 2007, the group has grown to 3 teams with 45 players and WAGs this year. The cream of our past teams has moved on to the bars in Patpong and Soi Cowboy, so this year we are left with the true believers:

BSL Veterans

Darren Brodie (gk), John Paton & Pete Nicholson (co-captains), Noel Wrigley, Mark Reeves, Ian Anderson, Nico Schmittmann, Steve McLellan, Ian Thyrkell How this team recovers after two games in Kuala Lumpur on the Wednesday and Thursday on the way to Bangkok will dictate how well they perform in the tournament.

Once again, thanks to Greg and his team for organising the tournament.

Hapless Hammers

Getting older but certainly slower, … much slower. BSL Veterans is a local team of “dads” enjoying the abundance of distractions Thailand has to offer. Most of us are involved in the well known Bangkok Soccer League here in The Land of Smiles. BSL offers kids in age groups between 4 to 15 years the opportunity to play football in an organized League in Bangkok. We do have a BSL Youth team as well playing successfully in the Casuals League Div. 2

Hapless Hammers are an assortment of semi-talented footballers, with semi-flawed characters, emanating from the footballing heartlands of: Manchester, Belfast, Jordan, the outer Hebrides, Edinburgh, Wigan and East Ham.

Thanks to the BCCT for the always well organized tournament

With a number of strong central defenders to choose from, goals will be hard to come by for opposition teams. Therefore they are worth an each-way punt for a final appearance. However, their Achilles’ heel will be finding a goalkeeper and striker to finally stride out of the shadows of Phillip Parkes and Sir Frank McAvennie.

Aspiring to the total football philosophy formulated in the 1960›s pie and mash shops frequented

by Redknapp, Moore, Hurst and Peters, their modern soccer interpretation now involves a radical fusion of long diagonal balls and unnecessary back-passes with slick passing passages of play,

Footy Japan Once again Footy Japan are coming to Bangkok to try and win some silverware (Well that’s what we tell our wives anyway!) in the Over 35’s tournament despite most of the players being well into their 40’s!. This year, alongside Footy Japan 7’s regulars, Sid, Lenny, Jason & the 2 Maurices, we see the return of Dave Callaghan and newcomers Raffa, Dickie & Ian. This motley crew is a combination of players from different teams in the Tokyo Metropolis League and a few coaches of the British Football Academy, both of which are run by Footy Japan. The Footy Japan team has done well at other Asian 7’s tournies but is still looking for it’s first silverware at this one, so beware!! We are looking forward to catching up with some old friends & making some new ones!!

German All Stars Bangkok After joining the tournament with a + 45 Team last year we decided to join this year with a + 35 Team. The performance and the number of injured players or even a player who couldn’t attend at all for the 2nd tournament day was one of the reason.

I don’t want to make the name of this player public, anyhow for insiders - he calls himself a legend.

I can also remember the reason he mentioned: The roof of my house is leaking! You can see the legend is to long in Thailand already.

The second reason was the performance of our + 45 Team during our own Easter Tournament this year. There was no more Blitzkrieg, only standing German tanks and only a remaining disappointed Volkssturm.

The only positive thing was the German goal keeper, Bert Trautmann. He won the wrestling competition against an unknown legend.

For insiders: A rolling German tank in an English team.

The third reason is that we have now a lot of young +35 players and we have to teach them the difficulties of a 7 a side game.

Of course they will get the support and the instructions of the Volkssturm.

You will see, in the good old times we were better, quicker……..

Hope to see old friends and make new ones on and off the b…, sorry pitch. Hasi

Gold Coast Koalas - Over 45s

This is our sixth year at the BCCT Bangkok Masters. Many of our players have moved on to the 50s section. This team is our Koalas youth movement: Steve “Unit” Moore (captain), John Coom, Sean Hendrickson, Paul Moss, TK, and Steve Taylor are all from the Gold Coast. Martin Abel (Bangkok) and Phil Robertson (Tokyo) are our ring-ins to complete our team.

The Koalas were the inaugural winners of the Over 45s section of this tournament in 2009. Bookies have this team at extremely long odds for a repeat performance - but we’ll have fun trying.

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BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

Harrow International Vets. Staff Team.

Three trophies in three years at the BCCT TESCO LOTUS MASTERS tournament have given Harrow teachers the belief that they could yet get their hands on the top trophy in 2012. We valiantly beat Darren Jackson’s ‘Can U Kick it’ team to win the Plate in 2011 so the charge is on. Harrow’s pitches were under water in October and November rendering them useless for the early part of 2012 but we hope to recover our fitness in the weeks ahead. With Rocky available in goal on the Sunday and some pacey Thai Cooks from the Dining Hall, Harrow Teachers and Cooks will press hard for the Vets Cup at the All Stars level of Over 35. Coomme Onnnn you blues!

Hua Hin Explode FC Hua Hin X-plode FC formed in 2011, founder members of Hua Hin Premier League.

Play our home games at Soi 10 Hua Hin. X-plode entered the Masters for the first time last year and didn’t manage a goal, this time round we aim to rectify that! The average age of X-plode will be nearer 55 than 35 with a couple of teachers, businessmen and a golfer making up the squad. If you want a lesson, an advert, a house or a round of golf we’re the guys to ask.

Hua Hin X-plode Football Arena welcome all teams to the 2nd Annual Queen’s Birthday tournament held in Hua Hin on August 11 and 12. cjdev@mac.com for details

Junior’s Bar Rawai FC This will be our 4th Bangkok Masters this year under our 4th different guise. We all hail from Rawai in Phuket and this year we have very kindly been sponsored by Junior’s Bar in Rawai, Phuket and www.propertyforsalephuket.co.uk We’ve managed to keep the core of the team together with one or two new additions added along the away. We’re still the team watch, maybe not for our footballing prowess but certainly our silky skills in around Nana Plaza have raised a few eyebrows over the years. This year we’re also incorporating a stag weekend into the proceedings for our one time goalkeeping colossus turned midfield general James Lakin (don’t do it)! It’s gonna be messy.

We’re here to have fun, play football and as with previous years hopefully meet a few new friends along the way. We don’t take ourselves to seriously however this year we have adopted a few new rules, anyone turning up to play without a hangover and clean boots will be fined.

We would like to wish all the teams the best of luck and we’ll see you under a table somewhere soon.

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Team Profiles Malaysian Grasshoppers

Team Bondi - 2012

The Malaysian Grasshoppers were formed in 1993 predominantly for the German speaking community in Kuala Lumpur. The basis of the team was to play hard and even socialize harder.

Team Bondi return to the BCCT Football 7’s in Bangkok for the eighth consecutive year having competed in every tournament from its inception.

Over the Years die MG’s have become international in nature and have to welcomed many local Malaysians to play with them, but the hard-core is still German speaking.

The BCCT 7’s is one of the best organized tournaments on the Asian circuit and we thank the Committee, volunteers and sponsors for their ongoing support.

The Name Grasshoppers emanates from the Swiss team Grasshoppers Zurich, and the MG’s have tried in vain over the years to match their illustrious European counterparts for style and quality.

Having won the event five years in a row we are extremely proud to once again be competing in the Over 45’s tournament (even if we are over 50!!) for the Ian Gray Trophy, named in memory of our late dear friend, team mate and coach Iggy.

Nevertheless, win or lose the MG’s have Premier league status when it comes to the ‘third half’ with many players shining more in the bar than in the box. The future looks bright for the Malaysian Grasshoppers. The Numbers players continues to increase, the standard of play improves with every Weissbeer consumed.

It’s been over two years since Iggy passed away but he is forever in our hearts.

The Bondi Boys would like to wish all the other teams an enjoyable and successful tournament.

Until today, the MG’s are group of friends who have the excuse of playing football every Saturday to have a beer after the game and laugh.

Now we are looking forward to our big celebration next Year ,, 20 Years Malaysian Grasshoppers “

Thai NDT Jamesons Pattaya

Joerg

Team Keith ‘the cat’ Brooks Brian ‘Boro’ Abbott Jez ‘Everest’ Lees Brian ‘Wilko’ Wilkins Jerry ‘Professor’ Stewart Stu ‘Yiddo’ Levy Steve ‘Jocky’ Kerr Gaz ‘Gazza’ Wilson Chris ‘teckie’ Jenkins Pete ‘mewesy’ Mewes

Captain Malaysian Grasshoppers

Shanghai Anzacs The Shanghai ANZACS have been playing in the Shanghai International football league since the 2004 / 2005 season.

After a somewhat inauspious start taking 1 point in the first season the team has been going from strength to strength and pub to pub. A team of misfits from all parts of the globe we have players from NZ, Britain, Ireland Germany, Cameroon, China, Finland, Singapore, Denmark and even had a token American. Now sponsored by the Bulldog pub when the boys are out of the pub & not overcome by Jaegermeister, Tequila, Heineken and Baijiu results have been improving. Seasoned campaigners the lofty goals of avoiding promotion have been successfully navigated while causing a few upsets results on the way. 2010 season saw the ANZACS close to promotion fortunately just missing by goal difference – it had some increasing heartbeats for most as this would have changed the drinking pace by much which was unacceptable by all. Hence we went back to practise even more our drinking skills which reflects our real football skills much better by being back at the lower part of the table.

The Sponsorship Experts Bangkok Cosmos FC The Sponsorship Experts Bangkok Cosmos FC is proud to have played every year in the BCCT Masters tournament since its inception. The team prides itself on its diverse backgrounds as well as its competitive and social atmosphere. Each year we look forward to playing in this tournament and meeting teams and players from around the world. This year we have gathered together many legends from the past to defend our past successes and celebrate the beautiful game.

Now regular tourists the team has been in training with mega Saturday sessions in the Bulldog. Somehow we won the plate competition in both the 2008 & 2009 “Shanghai World Cup summer 7’s”, reached the semi final in the plate of the Manila Nomads 6’s in 2009 and won the plate in 2010 and also the plate semi in the Manila Masters last season. In the 2010 Shanghai Masters we managed to get in to the final and where very close to victory before being shot down in extra time.

This season we have successfully participated again at the Manila Nomads tournaments in both November and February but feel ready to breath some new air on Sukhumvit in Bangkok rather than the familiar smell on Burgos Street in Manila. How we do all this? Don’t ask – meet us in the Bulldog in Shanghai or one of the local pub’s here in Bangkok and we’ll discuss ...

Sunbelt Sunbelt are back for another Year, previous winners and current holders of the 35’s and last year runners up in the 40’s, surely they will be in the mix come Sunday evening! A mix of the old & the new this year with many familiar faces and stomachs that most of you will recognise, most notably “Big Rig” Anders notching the goals , box to box “mean” Dean & Boulder Boulton the Rock at the heart of the Sunbelt defence.

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BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

WA Majestic 7’s WA Majestic 7’s Over 45 & over 50’s teams both looking forward to the 2012 tournament, hoping to go 1 better this year !!

BCCT-Tesco Lotus Bangkok Masters Football Tournament Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012

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