Obb Deewajin
Football Tribe Thailand
The 2019 Thai football season has drawn its curtains, meaning that our attention has turned to a flood of transfer rumors, speculation and gossip.
The Thai transfer window will be open between the 11th of November 2019 and the 3rd of February 2020. But as we all know, many clubs have already made their moves, and some even manage to close big deals ahead of time.
Apart from Chiangrai United (T1 winner) and Port FC (FA Cup winner) who will have the AFC Champions League – BG Pathum United is another club that needs to be attentive with their recruitment.
Judging by the 13-point gap, it’s safe to say the Thai League 2 champions is by far the strongest side amongst the second-tier teams. BG is expected to thrive in the top flight next year but making the step-up will require a big effort – underestimating this fact could be a costly mistake. Here are 3 things the Rabbits must consider before diving head-first into the market and pre-season.
1 – If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Winning promotion back to the top-tier with a 13-point gap is undeniably a fantastic achievement. The quality is there and the spine of this team should be kept together. Spanish midfielder Toti, who joined in 2015, just signed a 2-year contract extension with the team while striker Barros Tardeli and defender Irfan Fandi were guaranteed to continue with the club by chairman Pavin Bhirombhakdi.
Playing in a more advanced role, Chaowat Weerachat enjoyed his highest-scoring season (6) and no other BGPU player notch up more minutes than him. Tardeli terrorized opposition defenses all year long with this pace and trickery – netting 18 goals to come second in the T2 Golden Boot race. The Brazilian forward was T2 topscorer in 2018 with Trat FC and followed head coach Dusit Chalermsan to the LEO Stadium. BGPU (or Bangkok Glass FC as they were previously known) were famous for deploying deadly target men, such as Chatree Chimtale, who preyed on chances inside the penalty area. However, Tardeli’s arrival has complete transformed the way BGPU attack and I see no reason for adjustments.
In 2018, the club’s experiment to pair the mobile Ariel Rodríguez with the more physical striker – either Surachat Sareepim, Frédéric Mendy or Chatree Chimtale – in a narrow 4-4-2 formation failed horribly. It looks like they have learned from their mistakes. Keep the quick, free-flowing attacks. Keep Chaowat as the heart of midfield. Add to what you have. No need to overhaul the whole setup.