Samutsongkhram

Samutsongkhram FC was a football club from the town of the same name on the Mae Klong River in Thailand, which is located around fifty-seven miles southwest of Bangkok. ‘Pla-Too-Kha-Nong’ or the ‘Raging Mackerel’ in English were formed in 2005 and continued as a Thai League club until 2023 when they disappeared off the radar.

The club started out life in the Thailand Provincial League, finishing second and winning promotion to Division One at the first attempt. Another promotion came in 2006 to elevate Songkhram to the Thai Premier League. They soon adapted to life in the top flight with a series of mid-table finishes.

However, the 2013 season saw Samutsongkhram flirt with relegation before completing the season in sixteenth place under the stewardship of Somchai Chuayboonchum.

The 2014 season wasn't so kind to the club. They had to play home games at Ratchaburi as the Provincial Stadium was deemed unfit. The team were relegated after finishing bottom of the table.

The club were on the move for the 2015 season while work was carried out in their own stadium. They temporarily shared Bangkok-Thonburi University Stadium with Raj Pracha FC before returning home to build on a twelfth place finish in the 2015 campaign thanks to the goals of Marc Landry Babo.

The return home didn't go to plan as the team was relegated to the second tier at the end of the 2016 campaign. The club consolidated with a mid-table finish in Thai League 2, but bad news was to follow.

Samutsongkhram were refused a professional license for the 2018 season because of financial issues, with the club being placed in the Thai League 4 Western Region. The team ended the season in fourth position. Woraphot Somsang and Mirzajani Tafreshi Nima weighed in with the goals under head coach Wuttiya Yongant.

Sittichai Pankoo led the scoring in 2019 for the side which was coached by Niwet Wongwean at the season's end. The Thai League was restructured to follow the European calendar for 2020-21 with Samutsongkram being placed in T3 West. Phuwanart Saengsri was put in charge of the team that finished tenth.

The position was replicated in 2021-22 under the stewardship of Panupong Chimpook and then Chonlathid Groodtieng, with Amagwe Clement Nana and the Thakorn Wikayaphan putting away the goals. A vastly improved second place ensued in 2022-23.

The season also included a victory over Port FC in the League Cup as Jhonatan Bernardo led the line under head coach Jorg Steinebrunner. The team finished bottom of their Champions League playoff group before being demoted from the Thai League for failing to comply with licensing requirements.

My visit

Samut Songkhram 1 Army United 1 (Sunday 20^th October 2013) Thai Premier League (att: approx 3,500)

My trip to Thailand was going tremendously well. Visits to Hua Hin and Krabi had gone to plan and I was now really looking forward to visiting somewhere where I thought I’d be in a very small minority as a westerner.

After my flight from Krabi I took a bus and then the Skytrain to Wongwian Wai, before a walk round the corner to the railway station of the same name. Time was getting on as my plane had been slightly delayed so I was relieved to pay my 10THB (about 20p) for my ticket. 

The plan was that the first train would take me to Samut Sakhon, where I’d get the ferry across the Tha Chin river to join up with another train that would take me through the market in Samut Songkhram to the famous Maeklong terminus.

All seemed fine as I boarded my basic carriage with the windows down and fans hanging from the ceiling. The legroom was tight as I was surrounded by some aesthetically pleasing young ladies. The ride took us through the suburbs passing temples, housing and stalls built virtually on top of the tracks.

Many fields were waterlogged as we progressed into the country. The heavy rains from the previous couple of weeks were one of my two fears when I booked my hotel and made my plans. 

Obviously, I didn’t want the pitch to be unfit, while crowd disturbances at the relegation battle with Chiangrai United had led to the game being abandoned. Fortunately for me, the Thai FA fined the club rather than make them play home games elsewhere.

Around eighty minutes later we arrived at the terminus Mahachai station. My research had told me that I only had a short time to meet the connecting train, although I expected several others to be doing the same thing and the connection to be well organised. How little I learned! I was in Thailand.

I rushed through the busy street, which doubled up as a Sunday Market to the ferry. Just 3BHT got me across the river. Time was against me, so on the other side, I set off as fast as I could. Ban Laem station was not signposted until I went a hundred metres down another narrow street offering wares to the passing public.

A kind lady trader stopped me. She must have seen the scene of confused foreign tourists hundreds of times in the past, before breaking the news that there wasn’t a train. I was given an up-to-date timetable. The news wasn’t good. If I waited for the next service I’d miss kick-off.

Fortunately, the lady and her younger assistant were able to offer me a solution. They suggested that I go back over the river and go to the main street where the buses ran from, so without further ado, I was back on the ferry. 

From the vessel, I could see the stadium of Regional League Division Three club Samut Sakhon and was half tempted to go and have a look, but I decided to play it relatively safe. After all, I wasn’t sure if I could get to my destination yet!

All signs were written in Thai, which made reading impossible. I reverted to plan B and walked along the waiting buses pointing and saying Samut Songkhram. Ideally, the drivers would either nod or shake their heads. It worked, and I was soon aboard an old vehicle waiting to depart.

Off we went, stopping at regular intervals. I had paid the driver my 25BHT before I got on, while a rather aggressive but strangely attractive young lady conductress collected the rest of the fares. 

The bus continued sounding its horn whenever anyone stood by the roadside, stopping where requested. There were no official stops and definitely no timetable, but it seemed to work fine.

After an hour we entered Samut Songkhram. I was impressed to see banners hanging from the streetlights with their players on them. It was obviously a town that supported their club. I jumped out at the bus station and quickly jumped into a tuk-tuk. 

The driver asked for 50BHT to take me to my hotel, which seemed good to me, even though the journeys seemed to be getting more expensive the shorter they became.

My lovely room at the Baan Amphawa Resort & Spa had cost less than £25 but after a quick shower and change it was time to leave it. The resort was right on the Mae Klong and when I looked up towards town from the jetty, I could see the stadium’s floodlights. 

It reminded me a bit of Fulham! I decided that I would kill two birds with one stone by partaking in a bit of exercise by walking to the venue.

I took a wrong turn away from the main road and ended up in the back lanes, where plenty of warm smiles were exchanged. They were probably amused at a blatantly lost foreigner. Dogs howled so I was most relieved to get back on the main drag and into the town centre, soon finding the railway I wanted to see the following morning when the train arrived.

On the other side, a large open square was hosting a market. The sounds and smells were superb and justified my decision to do something different. After purchasing some snacks I continued towards the stadium. 

A couple of lads in shirts were a dead giveaway, so I followed them and came out on the dual carriageway with the Samut Songkhram Stadium just over the footbridge.

I just love approaches to football grounds, especially ones where a crowd is gathering. Home and away fans bought from the various street traders selling food and drink. My purchase of three sticks with freshly griddled beef on them proved to be a winner. To wash it down I opted for a can of Leo. The total outlay was less than a quid.

The match ticket was purchased from one of two huts and cost 100BHT (just over £2). Guards were inspecting tickets at the gates in a courteous mood before I advanced onto the concourse behind the Main Stand. 

Once more stalls sold their products, while I went under the stand into the club shop. Koolsport produced the club's kit, so I wasn’t too upset when they didn’t have a sky-blue top in my size. I went for a white baseball cap.

Experience told me that the best atmosphere at Thai stadiums tended to be on the opposite side of the main stands, so I set off around the goal. 

Samut Songkhram Stadium was not one of the best in the league. The Main Stand was raised above pitch level with the changing rooms underneath. There was nothing behind either goal apart from access paths. The pitch had a cinder running track surrounding it so even if there had been stands, they would have been a long way from the pitch. 

The far side was made up of semi-permanent open stands on scaffolding, not unlike what you see at golf tournaments. However, these were extremely steep which offered a good view, but required some fitness to climb them. Although there were no seats as such, everyone sat down to watch.

The visiting Army fans were in the next block along. I would guess that around 500 had travelled down from Bangkok. As ever a group of young ultras tried to lead the cheerleading at the front. They were joined by a brilliant older bloke adorning a Portugal away shirt. At first, I thought his dance on the little stage was for a laugh, but he carried on for the full first half.

As ever the teams stood for the King's Anthem before kick-off. All the locals were friendly towards me. Thais are well known for smiling, but the people of Samut Songkhram were breaking all kinds of records. They particularly seemed to like my struggle up the stand and my doing a few quick recordings of my surroundings.

To see my clips, click here.

The pitch was a real pudding and in awful condition in places. This must have made fluid play difficult. Army showed their quality in the early stages, but the home side was really putting in a shift as a defeat could have had disastrous consequences in their attempts at staying up.

The players had left the pitch, but out of nowhere, a big cheer went up. I looked down to see the hilarious sight of the heroic dancer having gone straight through the stage. His pals were trying to lift him out of the debris!

On full time I took my time to walk around and was most amused to hear the 1970’s classic, ‘Yellow River’ by Christie booming out over the PA. I decided to head back into the town centre hoping to find a bar with some home fans inside. However, it appeared that nightlife and Samut Songkhram didn’t appear to go hand in hand. 

The fag end of the market was still ongoing, but instead, I bought some toasties and drinks at the 7/11 before heading home for an early night to listen to the games from back in the UK as well as taking a lovely seat on the waterfront to reflect on a classic day.

The Monday morning was another stunner. After I had my breakfast and said my farewells and once again decided to walk into town; only this time on the main road. Freshly caught fish from the river stood drying on hooks by the roadside and once again nobody was shy of a large smile.

I arrived by the level crossing at Maeklong station in decent time after walking through the packed indoor market that had stalls literally right up to the track. The sun was burning through and temperatures were around 30’. 

My luggage was becoming a pest, especially as huge crowds of tourists were gathering. I decided to ask a lady running a sweet and cake stall right by where I wanted to be if she’d look after my bags in return for 100BHT? 

Her assistant immediately recognised me as it transpired that I’d bought my snacks from her on the way to the match the night before. They agreed to help me but refused any money. It summed up the good folk of the town.

The train arrived a little late in true Thai style as the trader dismantled their stalls to allow it through. It was a little contrived, but still a tremendous spectacle and one I was delighted that I’d taken in.

To see my video of the market train, click here. I departed after saying my thank you to walk round to the bus station for my next adventure, which was a bus ride to Ratchaburi.