The Police Tero page, with a full background, can be viewed here.
The club were formed in 1960 as Police United, under the management of the Royal Thai Police before going on to enjoy a rich and successful history.
United won the League Cup in 1989, 1991 and 1993 before league honours followed. However, the team was relegated in 1997, before returning to the top flight as the club were crowned champions of Division One, and gained promotion to the TPL in 1999 with Yordchay Dejleh topping the scoring chart.
Police were relegated once again in 2001-02 before winning promotion once again in 2006. The ups and downs continued as the team was relegated just one year later. The goals of Manit Noywech helped United to promotion and the Division 1 title in 2009 with Chaiyong Khumpiam the championship-winning coach for a second time.
The club was taken over by the Insee concrete company in 2010 after league regulations required all clubs to be private franchises and the club moved from the Booyachinda Stadium to the Thamassat Stadium in Rangsit.
Thawatchai Damrong-Ongtrakul took on the coaching duties in 2011, with Police finishing in mid-table for four consecutive seasons; with the goals coming from
Police suffered a poor 2014 season and were relegated to Division One. Head coach Attaphol Buspakom was given the task of restoring their former status as the club decamped to their traditional Booyachinda Stadium home next to the police headquarters as Insee ended their sponsorship in the club.
The team won the Division 1 title in fine style with Tana Chanabut smashing in twenty-five goals. However, the success came at a price as it was discovered that the club failed to pay their players.
My visit
Insee Police United 0 Suphanburi 2 (Wednesday 27th March 2013) Thai Premier League (att: 3,722)
I was on a free day before I was to meet up with my teammates for the cricket the following week in Chiang Mai and I'd made the most of it in temperatures up to forty degrees after enjoying brunch in town.
I decided to visit several stadiums while I had the opportunity, with both Kasetsart and Bangkok University being on the list as well as TOT and Bangkok Glass. I then took in the first half of the Regional League game between Luk Tapfah and Futera Seeker.
A taxi took me up the main road towards Ayutthaya before pulling off at Khlong Nueng to the Rangsit Campus of Thammasat University. My driver dropped me right outside the entrance for the VIP seats, which cost 200 Baht, which was around £4.50, at the time.
This was quite expensive compared to other prices that I had encountered at previous games. I jogged up the stairs into the sparsely occupied seating area. At least I was afforded an excellent view even if it was lacking in atmosphere on that side.
Thammasat Stadium was an arena I'd wanted to visit for some time after seeing photos of it and flying over it one day before landing at the nearby Don Mueng Airport. It had been constructed for the 1998 Asian Games, resembling a scaled-down Rajamangala Stadium, with dipping open ends but with roofs down both sides.
Thammasat Stadium was an arena I'd wanted to visit for some time after seeing photos of it and flying over it one day before landing at the nearby Don Mueng Airport. It had been constructed for the 1998 Asian Games, resembling a scaled-down Rajamangala Stadium, with dipping open ends but with roofs down both sides.
It was certainly a fine construction if a long way from the city. It offered a fine addition to the Thammasat University campus, whose students would benefit from having such a venue along with the other legacy facilities from the Games.
The dramatic floodlights hovered over each corner of the arena. United's move there as well as a joint tenancy with Regional League Luk Isan - Thai Air had kept the stadium in use. Once more it was nice to be in a stand with plentiful legroom.
There were far more fans on the far side. The home ultras away to my left numbered only around fifty fans, but the away end behind the other goal attended in large numbers and made a lot of noise as well. The game was a decent standard on a snooker table-like surface.
Suphanburi went one up following what looked like a dive earned them a penalty. The spot kick was slotted away by Pichit Jaibun as the visiting support went wild. In fairness, their heroes had been the better side up until then.
The dramatic floodlights hovered over each corner of the arena. United's move there as well as a joint tenancy with Regional League Luk Isan - Thai Air had kept the stadium in use. Once more it was nice to be in a stand with plentiful legroom.
There were far more fans on the far side. The home ultras away to my left numbered only around fifty fans, but the away end behind the other goal attended in large numbers and made a lot of noise as well. The game was a decent standard on a snooker table-like surface.
Suphanburi went one up following what looked like a dive earned them a penalty. The spot kick was slotted away by Pichit Jaibun as the visiting support went wild. In fairness, their heroes had been the better side up until then.
The Police side started throwing themselves to the floor as they detected referee Chaiya Mahapab might have been weak. Suphanburi almost doubled their lead as the home team goalie made an awful hash of a free kick before United had a superb set piece of their own come back off the woodwork.
The game flowed from end to end as Suphanburi's Ivory Coast forward Bireme Diouf lobbed keeper Pattara Piyapatrakitti but saw his effort brilliantly headed off the line. Police's import forward Ludovick Takam from Cameroon decided that falling over and acting was the order of the day.
At half time I walked round the back of the away end and visited the plentiful refreshment stands behind the far side, as well as purchasing a Police away shirt for around £15. I decided to go in with the majority of the home fans for the second period in the Crimson Cops Stand to make the most of the atmosphere and occasion.
United piled on the pressure for much of the second half, but they couldn't find a way to equalise. The visitors rode their luck and still carried danger on the break. Frustrations were growing around me as the game grew towards its conclusion.
Suphanburi forward, Dragan Boskovic, ran unchallenged at the Police rearguard and finished with aplomb to seal the victory with six minutes of normal time remaining to add to the annoyance of the home support.
At full time I went back to the main gates by the dual carriageway and after around ten minutes of concern managed to get a taxi to take me back to the city centre, which I would find out in later years was not always easy.
The game flowed from end to end as Suphanburi's Ivory Coast forward Bireme Diouf lobbed keeper Pattara Piyapatrakitti but saw his effort brilliantly headed off the line. Police's import forward Ludovick Takam from Cameroon decided that falling over and acting was the order of the day.
At half time I walked round the back of the away end and visited the plentiful refreshment stands behind the far side, as well as purchasing a Police away shirt for around £15. I decided to go in with the majority of the home fans for the second period in the Crimson Cops Stand to make the most of the atmosphere and occasion.
United piled on the pressure for much of the second half, but they couldn't find a way to equalise. The visitors rode their luck and still carried danger on the break. Frustrations were growing around me as the game grew towards its conclusion.
Suphanburi forward, Dragan Boskovic, ran unchallenged at the Police rearguard and finished with aplomb to seal the victory with six minutes of normal time remaining to add to the annoyance of the home support.
At full time I went back to the main gates by the dual carriageway and after around ten minutes of concern managed to get a taxi to take me back to the city centre, which I would find out in later years was not always easy.
I could only guess that my driver was desperate to get home for his favourite TV show, as we showed everything a clean pair of heels as he weaved in and out of any traffic at great speed down the Don Muang highway.
I'd had a great day out and was happy to get to my hotel for a proper night's sleep after the rarity of an alcohol-free day on holiday! It had certainly been an adventure with my incredible earlier game.
I'd had a great day out and was happy to get to my hotel for a proper night's sleep after the rarity of an alcohol-free day on holiday! It had certainly been an adventure with my incredible earlier game.
I couldn't help but consider why Police played so far out of town and who would actually watch them regularly.
To catch some of the atmosphere of the evening, please click here.
Wednesday 1st April 2015
We crossed the road and soon found a minibus heading in the right general direction. It would eventually go to Chattachak but we needed to be towards Lak Si. We alighted once it headed down Phahonyothin Road. We weren’t exactly sure how much further along Chaeng Wattana we needed to be but we decided to walk and find out.
To catch some of the atmosphere of the evening, please click here.
Wednesday 1st April 2015
On a steaming hot April Fools Day, I declared to Steve that I wanted to visit a couple of stadiums I’d never previously been to; but by local transport.
We set off from my hosts’ home at Samakorn in Minburi on foot before catching the local Songthaew; a type of open-backed van with wooden seats at either side. In Minburi town centre the market was thriving and the area was a general hive of activity.
We crossed the road and soon found a minibus heading in the right general direction. It would eventually go to Chattachak but we needed to be towards Lak Si. We alighted once it headed down Phahonyothin Road. We weren’t exactly sure how much further along Chaeng Wattana we needed to be but we decided to walk and find out.
Under normal circumstances, this would have been a wise idea, but the temperatures were touching 40’. Fortunately, we were in the shade or under cover through ramshackle settlements as the tight pavements were shared with mopeds. After a walk of over two miles, we bought some drinks and sunk into a seat at the open Bunyajinda Stadium.
We were dripping in sweat but happy to see that a junior match was just about to take part on the pitch. Steve made enquiries and deducted it was the final of a junior tournament involving a Japanese side and the local Sistamon team. Even smaller kids played on the running track surrounding the pitch.
Boonyachinda Stadium had three stands down one side with roofing, all next to each other with the outer two at an angle to be closer to the pitch. The far side had a section of open seating, while there was no spectator accommodation behind either goal.
After around fifteen minutes we made a move as we wanted to visit the home of BBCU, a couple of kilometres west across a golf course and major roads. We decided to take the journey by taxi once we could find one!
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