Nothing changes because a lot changes at Bengaluru FC
There has been little respite for Bengaluru FC from the glare of the media this season. When former head coach Simon Grayson was sacked, and his replacement Gerard Zaragoza was brought in to take charge, the media attention went into overdrive.
By all accounts, Grayson was one of the most successful managers of the Blues. He certainly did his best in the one full season he was at the helm, taking them to the final of the ISL as well as the pre-season Durand Cup.
However, yesterdays matter very little in a sport that is dominated by what the present proffers and the future guarantees. Unfortunately for the Englishman, he found himself receiving the axe and being replaced by Zaragoza.
The Spaniard, who has been a part of the Bengaluru technical team in the past, is expected to bring wholesale changes to the way the Blues go about their business in the final third. The supporters have taken to him well too.
Yet, it is hard to believe that the supporters of the club - who form its vital fifth pillar - were happy with Grayson's departure, especially at a time when Bengaluru were attempting to come back into the top tiers of the ISL table.
Bengaluru FC sit ninth in the ISL table and have lost their opening fixture of the Kalinga Super Cup
Sitting in the ninth position of the league table with a mere nine points to their name is not going to help the Blues in their attempt to qualify for the playoffs. To make matters worse, losing their inaugural fixture of the Kalinga Super Cup to Odisha FC by a narrow 0-1 scoreline will not help boost team morale either.
What's more, they find themselves in a group (of death?) that consists of FC Goa, Inter Kashi, and the Juggernauts, making their chances of qualification for the semifinals seem tougher still.
Admittedly, club captain Sunil Chhetri and vital cog in the wheel Suresh Singh Wangjam have been called up for national duty. But the others who are at the club have failed to live up big time, and only time will tell if Zaragoza will survive owner Parth Jindal's scrutiny.
To be fair, there is only so much that a coach - especially one brought in mid-season - can do at a club when the discomfort it is experiencing has emerged in a top-down shape.
If recruitment was what the tactical genius Albert Roca was tasked with along with director of football Darren Caldeira, it would not be an understatement to say that they have failed badly.
One can only assume that Jindal had a more than fair share of say in things that went around the club in the lead-up to the season. And the way they managed the transfer window was apparently without much vision or foresight.
Bengaluru FC's recruitment policy will be under scrutiny
Merely fifteen days into the winter transfer window, one of their prized signings of the summer, Curtis Main, has already turned his back on the club and chosen to go back home to England. Ryan Williams remains the sole foreign attacker at the club at the moment.
Keziah Veendorp was another high-profile signing made by the Blues in the summer, and his returns have been far from ideal so far.
Although the 26-year-old has often been tasked with doing the dirty work for his team in the holding midfielder's role, he has found himself in strange waters when asked to press further and assist Javi Hernandez in creating chances.
It is too early to say if Veendorp has been a failed signing for the Blues, and the fans would be fervently hoping that it does not turn out that way.
Domestic signings have not been at their best this season either. Rohit Danu and Halicharan Narzary, snapped up from a financially struggling Hyderabad FC, have failed to hit their straps so far.
Recruitment aside, Bengaluru FC have appeared to be quite confused whenever they have taken to the field this season.
Their recent loss in the Super Cup to Odisha will merely compound this defeatist mindset, which only the return of skipper Chhetri can circumvent.
The Blues have tried formations that haven't worked for them. However, their ability to shift their shape whenever they lose possession has helped them, and given glimpses into what might happen if they stick to their strengths more often.
It might be quite difficult for some of the players to adapt to the demands of new coach Zaragoza, especially after having worked with Grayson for so long. However, a lot of the players have also worked with him in the past, and that may help the dissemination of the message quicker than one thinks.
Bengaluru are going through a whirlwind of emotions owing to the flurry of changes - both literal and metaphorical - that one has seen since the arrival of Zaragoza as head coach. And it would be unfair to question their ambition or restrict it to the confines of a poorly-run leadership group just yet.
However, too many changes may also turn out to be the bane for the club that once defined how organic success can be achieved - without the might of wealth - in the sludge-free backwaters of Indian football.