Kerala Blunders

After a promising start with a win over NorthEast United and a draw with Mumbai City, Kerala Blasters suffered a series of four back to back defeats. The team sank to the bottom of the table, and after their 3-2 loss to Pune City away from home, the management took an unprecedented decision to fire their head coach Peter Taylor. The decision puzzled many and not just because of the risk of changing coaches in the middle of a short tournament like ISL, or the fact that all their losses had been hard-fought games where they fell short by 1 goal. They were not outplayed by a single opponent. Taylor, a veteran coach with a strong eye for young talent, could well have led a massive turnaround had he been allowed to continue; the ingredients were all there. The squad had enough talent, and Taylor's decision to train them at home soil and selection of younger, fitter foreign players made it a more durable side. But Taylor had his shortcomings too. In order to see all his players in action, he applied heavy rotation in the team. While he stuck to a bottom-heavy 5-3-2 formation, players in each position were frequently changed, not allowing anyone to settle down anywhere in the team. The absence of some key players, including marquee Carlos Marchena, for injury and other reasons, contributed to the bad results as well. But after 6 matches the Blasters still looked like a team far from finding their rhythm and reaching their full potential. In a normal league Taylor would have been given more than 6 matches to prove himself, but ISL is a short tournament where quick results are asked for. As a result, off Taylor went, leaving assistant coach Trevor James Morgan as a caretaker. Morgan led the team to a draw against a strong Chennaiyin FC, and now Terry Phelan has been appointed as the new head coach. The team is playing in a new formation and things are actually looking up. So who knows, the seeming acts of impatience by the management may just work out in favour of the Blasters.