Thailand unfortunately has been in the news the past few years for all the wrong reasons. Coup de tat's, frequent change of governments and the closure of its main airport due to the higher number of protesters there in comparison to passengers. But all of that pales in comparison when up against today's headlines that read: Bryan Robson appointed Thailand national team coach.
It's no secret that in Asia, specifically Southeast Asia, people who speak with English accents are held in high regard, more so when the subject they're talking about is football. You can call it post-colonial mental syndrome or something else but there's no doubt we sometimes feel as though these individuals who can speak with an English accent must know something about football. Perhaps it has to with the dumb logic that all Englishmen are experts on English football.
As such, we find yet again another Southeast Asian nation appointing an Englishman who knows nuts about coaching to the top coaching position of its national team. This time the country is Thailand and the Englishman is Bryan Robson.
To be fair, unlike some of the other English duds who've managed our teams, Robson comes with a very impressive playing career on his resume. His coaching CV however is almost as bad as Mick McCarthey. The fact that Robson hasn't coached a premiership side in years should have been enough for the Thais. Sure, former coach Peter Reid didn't have a brilliant CV either but that shouldn't have been justification in keeping the bar low and hiring Robson.
Worse yet is that the Thais, unlike Malaysia, actually have a pretty decent football team and if there's any Southeast Asian country that's going to be featuring in the World Cup sometime in the next decade, the odds are on Thailand.
Oh well, at least now we know for sure Malaysia will have a chance at beating Thailand the next time we play them.
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