Kerala Blasters must show patience and give Eelco Schattorie time
Kerala Blasters’ vociferous fans, the Manjappada, were ecstatic after the club managed to rope in Eelco Schattorie from rival club NorthEast United. A host of established names such as Bartholomew Ogbeche, Gianni Zuiverloon and Mario Arques followed the coach to the southern city, bringing with them a wave of giddy optimism.
However, things soon started to turn sour for the Dutchman. The warnings started coming even before Schattorie’s side kicked a ball. Blasters'pre-season preparations were severely hampered when their matches at UAE were abandoned. Schattorie and his men had to return to Kochi and start afresh.
Without a proper preseason under their belt, injuries started mounting. An injury to ace center-back Sandesh Jhingan was probably the biggest blow forcing Schattorie to alter his team’s dynamics. Ogbeche, Zuiverloon, Arques and KP Rahul have all remained unavailable for different games and Kerala has looked flavorless without their star names.
This season, after eight games, it’s on a par with David James’ faltering start and Rene Meulensteen’s poor beginning a year later. The Yellow Army is winless in seven matches and has accumulated just seven points from their first eight matches.
In the wake of poor results and questionable tactics, fans have started boycotting matches. In their encounter on Friday against Jamshedpur FC, the Blasters recorded an official attendance of 12772, the lowest this season. And there has been a gradual decline since the start of the season.
Schattorie’s questionable decision to bench Sahal Abdul Samad has also drawn the criticism of fans and pundits alike. The talented attacking midfielder has played just 367 minutes, mostly coming on as a substitute in the latter half of matches.
The outrage among the Kerala faithful is understandable. Sahal is undoubtedly one of the most creative players in the league and can unlock defenses with decisive contributions. His introduction in place of Cidoncha in the second half against Jamshedpur FC sparked a mini- comeback and gave the Blasters midfield much-needed flair. Perhaps, Schattorie needs to trust him more.
The mini-comeback against Jamshedpur FC is unlikely to satisfy the fans. The resentment , as well as protests,might escalate if the current form continues. Will the management resist the urge to sack the coach if the results don’t improve?
Undoubtedly, Schattorie has been unlucky with injuries and that affected the stability of the team. But who is to blame when a team’s chances are ruined by players forced on to the sidelines?
Schattorie delved on the issue before the game against Jamshedpur FC on Friday. He said,
"The injury issue has two reasons. The first one is that if you go on a preseason, normally you plan for six-eight weeks, around those games, you plan conditioning sessions. I have been doing (the planning) all my life. Because it was cancelled, and it was not the club's mistake, we had to come back and still had to start planning. That played a big role.
"There were (also) a few players who arrived injured at the start of the season. The other part is something that the club is working on (internally),"
Cancellation of their pre-season tournament in UAE was a mishap but signing injured players is bad management. Schattorie and the Kerala bosses have to collectively shoulder the blame for signing unfit players.
While a section of the fans might be getting increasingly frustrated with uninspiring performances and disappointing results, but in all fairness, Schattorie deserves at least one more season before people make their final judgment on him.
A manager’s success is limited by the players at his disposal. If the performances and results still don’t improve next season, then probably the Dutchman should make way for someone else.