As we come to the business end of the 2nd Hero Indian Super League, it is time to assess the performances of the coaches. Those from England have not fared well. Peter Taylor, who was head coach of England’s U-21 team lasted only six games with Kerala Blasters. His replacement Terry Phelan has also struggled and the 2014 ISL runners-up were eliminated in the round robin league phase.
David Platt’s FC Pune City started brightly but have faded, losing in successive matches to Delhi Dynamos, Atletico de Kolkata and North East United.
Taylor faced internal dissension. He wanted Kerala Blasters to play with three man markers in a 3-5-2 system but with injured Spanish international defender Carlos Marchena, unavailable the squad wanted to play with a flat back four. This misunderstanding led to his departure after six matches.
Phelan, a rugged left back in his playing days for Manchester City, and his assistant coach Trevor Morgan could not make Kerala Blasters a cohesive defensive unit. They both admitted that the team conceded many sloppy goals, which led to their downfall. Kerala Blasters have conceded 25 goals in 14 matches, the most in the ISL. Injuries to talented forward Sanchez Watt and defender Gurwinder Singh also weakened Kerala Blasters.
Platt who has worked with players like Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero could not make FC Pune City click, despite having the strongest support unit in the ISL with 13 members. This list included Massimo Battara (Italy) as goalkeeper coach and P. Renedy Singh (India) as assistant coach. They finished sixth last season and could end up in the same position this year also, as they have again been inconsistent.
This would be a setback for the club co-owned by the Rajesh Wadhawan group and Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan as they spent lavishly on a new set of players and in preparing the squad for the ISL. Their pre-season started in mid-September at the state of the art facilities of Gloria Sports Arena in Turkey.
The trio of coaches who were retained from last season Antonio Lopez Habas (ATK), Zico (FC Goa) and Marco Materrazi (Chennaiyan FC) have done well. They have been able to blend the Indian and foreign players in their respective teams effectively and overcome injury worries to develop competitive teams. Both Atletico de Kolkata and FC Goa have easily qualified for the knock-out semi-finals and Chennaiyan FC should also reach the last four.
Roberto Carlos has worked wonders with Delhi Dynamos. His affable manner, attention to detail and rotation of players has produced a squad with depth in attack and solidity in defence.
Above all Carlos should be complimented for developing the careers of two Indian players. Anas Edathodika has improved rapidly playing alongside John Arne Riise as central defender. A rugged back, Anas has developed finesse in his game. The timing of his tackles, positioning and anticipation is much better. He now moves up in set pieces and scored with a well directed header against FC Pune City.
Young striker Seminlen Doungel has also developed into a versatile player under Carlos. He can now play effectively on the flanks and attacking midfielder and has replaced international Fransico Fernandez from the playing XI.
