Robson resigns as Thailand coach
Reuters - Wednesday 08 June 2011, 13:36
BANGKOK - Former Manchester United and
England captain Bryan Robson has resigned as Thailand's national
coach, the country's football president said on Wednesday.
Robson, capped 90 times by England, parted company with the
team by mutual consent and preferred not to disclose his
reasons, Football Association of Thailand President Worawi
Makudi told Reuters.
"Bryan wished to resign and his contract was terminated by
mutual consent but I cannot give any more details," Worawi said.
The former Middlesbrough, West Bromwich Albion, Sheffield
United and Bradford City boss, dubbed "Captain Marvel" as a
player, failed to make an impact in Thailand after replacing
compatriot Peter Reid in 2009.
Under his guidance, the team were a shadow of the
free-flowing side that Reid built and dropped 15 places to 120th
in the FIFA rankings following embarrassing early exits from all
international competitions.
THROAT CANCER
Robson underwent surgery for throat cancer in March and
immediately resumed his coaching duties after being discharged
from hospital. Worawi declined to comment when asked if Robson
resigned for health reasons.
His departure comes amid strained relations between the
Thailand and England Football Associations (FA), which helped
recruit Reid and Robson for the Thai job.
In an address to Britain's parliament, former FA chairman
David Triesman last month accused Worawi, a member of FIFA's
Executive Committee, of asking for exclusive television rights
for a proposed friendly between the two national teams in return
for his backing for England's failed 2018 World Cup bid.
Worawi was cleared of wrongdoing by a FIFA ethics committee
and threatened to sue Triesman for "groundless" accusations.
Robson is unlikely to be missed in Thailand following almost
two years of dire performances which led to protests against the football association, with web boards inundated by comments by
furious fans.
Thailand failed to reach the Asian Cup for the first time in
23 years and were bundled out of the Southeast Asian Games and
the Southeast Asian championship - competitions they have long
dominated - in the opening rounds.
Draws against struggling Laos, Malaysia and the Maldives
last year turned up the pressure on Robson, but he refused to
quit, saying the blame was both on him and the new-look Thailand
Premier League, which he said was not co-operating with the
national team.