ISL 2017 -- TEAM TRACKER -- Jamshedpur FC are a dichotomy of freshness and a seasoned approach

IN MANY WAYS, JAMSHEDPUR FC IS unlike any ISL franchise that ever has been.

For one, this is the first time an ISL team has sprung up at a B-city. This is a trend being followed in almost all the franchise leagues in India other than cricket, but till now ISL had stuck to the metros.

Then, they are the only team ever to be a "new kid on the block" by themselves in ISL. In 2014, when the tournament began, all 8 teams were new. This time, they added two more teams, and among them, Bengaluru FC have been around for quite a while in the top division. Jamshedpur FC are the only real debutants.

But, due to the franchise's owners being active in football for decades now through the Tata Football Academy and several grassroots initiatives across the country (including helping out clubs with recruitment and state associations with infrastructure), Jamshedpur FC have the backing of some Indian football veterans. In many ways, they have more experience in football than most people working in the other franchises in the league. And having that experience has already helped the team in many ways.

First of all, the franchise doesn't seem to shy away from seeking an alternative identity. For branding and merchandising purposes, every single other team in ISL has embraced a very urban-middle class-youth centric approach to manufacture an idenity; marketing themselves aggressively to the crowd that hangs out in shopping malls and multiplexes. Having cricketers and movie stars as "co-owners" is part of that gimmick. Jamshedpur FC does not pretend to be any of that. It recognizes its roots in the rusty towns of an industrial belt in a part of the country dominated by working class people. The emblem has a humble colour scheme and simply portrays a football being formed out of molten steel; a nod to the Tata Steel plants that the communities in the region are centred around. The logo also spells out the club's name in Alchiki letters; a nod to the several Santhal tribes that live in the area.

This is probably the first ISL team that has directly tried to lure in the rural, tribal crowd. Even NorthEast United, who get the majority of their fans from Meghalaya, Mizoram and Manipur, don't get out of the city-team-polished-brand approach. In this way, Jamshedpur FC appear more connected to the soil they belong to; in a way that has only been demonstrated by I-League clubs like Shillong Lajong, Royal Wahingdoh, Aizawl FC or Neroca FC. This makes them different, and perhaps even cool and niche, if you're into that sort of thing. But most importantly, it shows that they know which choir they are preaching to. It's not about marketing the team through just a city's name and a big star like most ISL teams.

It also shows that they are not looking to make a quick buck off ticket sales and merchandises; which is something you can do when you have a backer like Tata.

But the socio-economic significance of a money league team don the rugged clothes of a class of people hitherto excluded from the extravaganza aside, a similar kind of thought has been put into building the team as well.

When putting together a new team, there's always the question of whether or not it will "click" as a unit. You're talking about taking a bunch of individual players and staff, then throwing them into a highly competitive tournament on a month or two's notice. There's always going to be that question mark until they actually deliver on a sustained basis. 

While the ISL's draft system and limits on player retention means almost every team has to deal with this uncertainty to some extent, precedence has shown that a bit of pre-existing familiarity goes a long way to help a team hit the ground running. When you have a coach that knows the league and some of the players, that chemistry can become a building block for the others to quickly rally around.

Last year, FC Pune City tried the same thing when they made a desperate push for finally getting into the top four. The brought in former ATK coach Antonio Habas Lopez, and a number of players who had worked with him, to ease the new team into an existing approach that's already been proven to work in ISL. Jamshedpur FC have done the same by hiring former Kerala Blasters coach Steve Coppell and his assistant, former Indian international Ishfaq Ahmed, along with experienced players like Kervens Belfort and Mehtab Hossain who played under them. 

Now, Coppell may come in with a massive resume, having managed clubs like Reading, Crystal Palace and Manchester City in the past. But for Jamshedpur FC his most important quality lies elsewhere. At KBFC, he started with a team that wasn't very good at finishing. But after initial losses, he altered his approach, made the best of the reinforcements in the form of players coming in on loan from Bengaluru FC, and turned it all around. The team finished second in the points table and lost the final in penalties. This adaptability, more than anything else, is what makes him the right man for the job at a brand-new team like Jamshedpur FC. If the first few steps go in the wrong direction, Coppell can change directions.

Since Jamshedpur FC had to put together their Indian contingent from a Draft, getting the balance right was tricky. Having the first pick helped and the team management immediately went about solidifying the defence; a sign that Mr Coppell and Mr Ahmed have picked up a few lessons from last season. Subrata Pal at goal, a defence consisting of Anas Edathodika (a wise first pick), Robin Gurung, Shouvik Ghosh, Sairuat Kima and Yumnam Raju providing a nice blend of youth and agile experience. They got in Tiri and Andre Bikey as reinforcements; foreign players who had already proven themselves in the ISL.

In the midfield there's the presence of Mehtab (fresh out of a 10 year spell with East Bengal), Souvik Chakraborty, and Bikash Jairu in the wing; with ISL-tested foreigners Memo, Matheus Goncalves and Sameehg Doutie also n the mix. In fact, all the foreigners at Jamshedpur FC have prior ISL experience. Excpet their two strikers meant to back up Belfort.

Senegalese Talla N'Diaye and Nigerian international Izu Azuka, globetrotters both, have resumes like the kind of star signings East Bengal, Mohun Bagan or one of the Goan clubs would announce with much fanfare in the old days of the top flight league. ISL teams have developed a tendency to go for players with impressive clubs in their past, whether they are in their prime or well past it. Jamshedpur, though, are not falling into that trap. These are pure utility signings, backed up by a few Indian attackers like Jerry Mawihmingthanga, Ashim Biswas, Farukh Choudhuri and Sueet Passi.

And perhaps it's the striking department that will be the most curious aspect of Jamshedpur FC during the season. It looks unusally heavy. But yet, there seems to be a question mark around how it would function. The biggest gun in this arsenal is Belfort, but he had a hard time at KBFC last season, scoring only 3 goals. Jamshedpur FC will need him to score thrice that many at least if this is to work, along with about 12-15 goals from the rest of the strikers. A good few goals are likely to be scored by midfielders since that's where the meat is. 

To sum up... Coppell is looking at a team that's eerily similar to KBFC last year. It's full of possibilities but a little ambiguous at the top. But he's done his defence right so they won't be leaky, which is a solid ground to start from if you are fighting for a top four finish instead of an outright title race.

It remains to be seen how successful Jamshedpur FC become off the pitch. Although it would be foolish to doubt the Tata Group's ability to drum up a crowd at a sporting event in Jamshepur. On the pitch, though, it's still a bit of a wildcard.

Like their alternative identity. Or their late entry into the ISL scene. 

But that, in the end, is what makes them interesting, isn't it.

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