#TFGtake: Life after Santosh Kashyap at Mumbai FC won't be any less hard

ALTHOUGH DELAYED, THE SACKING HAS BROUGHT respite from the pains of seeing the club being demolished internally and from the outside. Fans had started pleading the some action to be taken by the club as soon as the rumours of players being sacked surfaced.

Fans took to social media to let the fact of the closed-door mistreatment of players by the coach be known to the all, including the management. This was in Round 10 of the I-League. Mumbai FC had got a point against Bengaluru FC, following a goalless draw with Mohun Bagan, only Mumbai's second point after seven losses back-to-back. If the dream of finishing in the top three in the league was still alive, the management decided to continue to believe the head coach's claims that it was still possible.

The poor show continued and Mumbai FC continued to remain winless after Round 3. The only decent performances that Mumbai FC had after Round 3 were both performances against Mohun Bagan. At home, they had a goal disallowed and tested the keeper more than their opposition did. And in the away game, Mumbai were leading in the game and just when they looked like heading for the first win after what looked like eternity, Bagan equalized and Mumbai FC got just a point from that game.

Mumbai FC's last away travel was when things fell apart between the Kashyap, fans and the possibly the management.  Mumbai FC were hammered five by DSK Shivajians as Mumbai went down without even a moment to cheer for the fans. But again, it was an off field incident that probably began the process ending Kashyap's tenure at the club.

So, Santosh Kashyap in his first season at the club was sacked before seeing the end of his contract. It was bitter for Kashyap and the Mumbai FC management, who finally decided they had enough of him. The fans, who had demanded his exit way back in Round 10, had finally received in after Round 14. It is definitely a relief for the fans and also may be, for the players who had to bear the brunt of his alleged mistreatment.

Bad Timing?

Mumbai FC management, under damage-control mode, sacked Kashyap without an explanation why it did so after Round 14 when the club was continuously suffering a series of disappointing results since Round 3. The sacking definitely had to do with the statements made by Kashyap as he went a blaming-spree for the poor show of the team; blaming everyone and everything but himself. Mumbai were not the only team that had to fight to stay above the bottom of the table. Churchill Brothers SC and Chennai City FC were long-stayed guests of the last place for a very long time. One was a team with long prior history and one newbie in India's top flight. Both team clubs' management did not take long to realise that an immediate change of head coach was necessary. The delayed action from the MFC management is at least partially responsible for the terrible situation the club now faces going into the last few matches in the league.

Chennai City appointed a new coach in Round 8 and Churchill in Round 10. Mumbai FC could have taken a cue from these two new bits to get the hint and motivation to go ahead and take the plunge in changing the apex man-in-charge.  

Both clubs, Churchill and Chennai were given immediate results of the investment and risk taken. Chennai won their next game which was against guess who? Mumbai FC. And Churchill Brothers did something that lead the pathway for their comeback; they scored 4 past Minerva Punjab FC, although conceding 5 and losing the game eventually. Currently both teams are well above Mumbai in the table, Churchill and Chennai City are sixth and eight respectively. Had Mumbai made the move around Round 8 or Round 10, things could have been easier to sort out than how they are now.

What lies ahead?

Mumbai have everything to lose. Every game of the four remaining is must-win in order to have a claim in the top flight football next season. To add to the challenges is that just finishing above the last place gives no guarantee of staying up because three teams viz. Minerva Punjab FC, Chennai City FC and DSK Shivajians FC are all exempt from relegation being corporate entries into I-League. Mumbai FC's remaining opponents are as below

• Churchill Brothers
• Chennai City
• Shillong Lajong
• East Bengal

There are a lot of things organised before starting to get the work done for the replacement or the interim coach. Firstly beginning with the mood of the team, which surely needs to right before moving on to fix the problems on the field. One thing can be a factor to be working in favour getting the team shape right is time and it will be available to the interim coach or the replacement as the international break is on and thankfully have no Mumbai FC player representing the nation.

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