Mohun Bagan will look to steady its rocking boat

McDowell Mohun Bagan kicked off their new season, finally, if I may add, with a 3-0 victory over George Telegraph. The team also travelled to Jammu & Kashmir to play two exhibition matches against the state team. The three matches have exposed major loopholes in the team that could hurt their aspirations of ending the trophy drought.
The season started with the Tolgay Ozbey issue detracting focus from football. Tolgay was allowed to sign for the Mariners only a day before their All Airlines Gold Cup semifinal. The club spent most of the off season in a tug-of-war with city rivals East Bengal over Tolgay. They chose not to play the first two of their CFL encounters because of the lack of support from the IFA in the Tolgay issue. The decision could hurt the Mariner a lot as they currently sit at the foot of their group with no points to show. CFL matches many a times spring surprise results and the Mariners have had hands on experience of that.
The striker though justified the ruckus around his signing with a brace in his first game – A sense of redemption for him, the club and its fans.
The trip to Jammu & Kashmir was a not a very serious affair but was a chance to analyze squad strength. A win and a loss was a decent result but the showmanship expected from them was missing. All credit to the home team that showed the lack of depth and organization in the Mohun Bagan squad.
Defense is where the team has its biggest glitches. Though the likes of Syed Rahim Nabi and Nirmal Chhetri are yet to play, the second choice wingers have not shown enough for the coach to have confidence in them.
While Lalrozama Fanai, the second-choice left winger, has been average in the matches played so far, second-choice right winger Rajib Ghosh has been a big disappointment. In the first of their exhibition matched played at the Bakshi Stadium in Kashmir, Rajib was constantly harassed by the home team who kept attacking from their left flank. Rajib was guilty of the many scoring opportunities the home team created in the first 20 minutes of the match. Mehrajuddin Wadoo and Anyichie Echezon were also guilty of lopsided defending.
The Mariners looked a bit taken aback by the attacking prowess of the home team. The midfield was absolutely dysfunctional. Passes were just being strewn around without purpose. It was only after Jewel’s goal that the Mariners showed a bit of what is expected of them. Jewel will be a key figure in the Mohun Bagan midfield alongside Denson Devdas. The two will have distribute the ball to the flanks and also feed the strikers.
Nabi and Nirmal will have to be at their best when the season begins. They will have to be on their toes to make the runs along the flanks and fall back as well. The Mariners can be very menacing from the left with Nabi and Lalrin Fela both capable of making decisive runs. With Manish Bhargav and Nirmal on the right flank, one expects a lot of delivery from this end too.
But the key figure will certainly be Odafa Okolie. The Nigerian will hope to lead the Mariners to success that has been eluding them. The inclusion of Tolgay adds to the strike force and eases the pressure on Odafa. Odafa’s might was evident in their very first match against George Telegraph. Coach Santosh Kashyap chose to start with Tolgay and left Odafa on the bench. The Mariners failed to threaten the opposition in the Nigerian’s absence. His introduction in the second half swung the game around and all looked well in the Green and Maroon Brigade who scored three quick goals to seal a berth in the final.
Injury to either striker should not be much of a worry for the coach considering he has Anil Kumar, C.S. Sabeeth & Dipendu Biswas on the bench. Sabeeth & Anil have been among the best Indian strikers in the I-League. Dipendu is ageing but his experience will add a lot to the team.
In all, the Mariners have a strong squad on paper that they will have to justify by winning some silverware this season. Another season without trophies will take the shine of their legacy as one of the greatest Indian clubs. Its time they fought to be legends.