The awards

Raj collected the D2 award yesterday. Other awards included:
Defender of the year: Suriya (No.2 )
Youth player of the year: Kornprom  (No.11 )
Goalkeeper of the year Yen Emile (No.1 )

Photo credits: Job at football.rajpracha.com

 

Trophy award

Rajpracha will be officially awarded the Thai Division Two trophy tomorrow (Dec 27th) at Radisson Hotel at 1400. Well done, lads!

My Christmas Appeal

Well usually at this time of year, in blogs of old, I put a soppy Christmas message on my blog. I talk about the buzz I get at Christmas, my memories, my hopes for the new year and so on.


This year I'll be a little different. I don't like to talk about it much but I like to make a point of visiting an orphanage every year (not necessarily at Christmas) and making a donation.

This year I'll be visiting the Ban Kruu Noi, a home for kids without homes or with parents in prison. Kruu Noi is a disabled lady and has run up a huge debt taking care of children of various ages. You can read more about it here:
http://www.moobankru.com/bankrunoi_Eng/e_menu1.html

Not being a rich man, I try to drum up a little donation or three from other people as well as taking my own. Sadly, this year I've had very little response. I know Christmas can be expensive, but even a tiny donation can go a long way.

So this year I ask anyone who reads my blogs to make a tiny donation, even one or two hundred baht (about four pounds) can make a difference, though of course the more the merrier. You don't have to like me or trust me, you can visit the website and see the details to make a transfer yourself from an ATM.

If just one person makes a donation, I will be very, very grateful.

I promise not to make a habit of asking.

But regardless of that, I want to wish everyone a very happy Christmas and New Year.

Greg

Pre-season

Raj return for training on Jan 4th. A friend of mine from the UK may well be on trial with them.

News from the Raj

Raj will take part in the division Two champions tournament next month. It appears to be the D2 equivalent of the Premier League Supercup and equally pointless.

In better news, I've been told by somebody who asked the Rajpracha FC president first hand about plans for next season, and he was told Raj would stay at Nonthaburi Stadium and develop the ground.

Updates

Yen and Dawuda have agreed to play for Rajpracha again next season.



According to thaileaguefootball.com , Raj lost 0 - 4 to Nakhon Phatom in a friendly, but I don't believe this was a proper match, as there was no mention of it from Rajpracha fans and several key players are still on holiday.



Finally, there seems to be talk of a relocation again for Rajpracha. Various rumours seem to suggest the club will either redevelop the current ground or find a new one. The big, big fear for fans of course is that the club will move away from Nonthaburi. Hopefully this won't happen as Raj are not a commercially owned team unlike the others who have moved or threatened to move such as PEA, TTM, BEC and TOT (Just having read that list, it seems not having a three letter set of initials is also a safeguard!) and have a local affiliation in their history and in the full name of the team; Rajpracha-Nonthaburi FC.

My message is this: please guys, do what you have to do with Nonthaburi Stadium and stay around, you're building up a good, loyal fan base. Having Muangthong on your doorstep is not a problem, it's an advantage Rivalries in Thailand are not the same as the UK. Fans of MTU like to come and support Raj because the two teams play on different days.

I know one four year old boy who will be heartbroken if Raj do leave.