Winter transfer window further highlights East Bengal FC's lack of intent
Inflation in football is not just limited to the European market but has caught up steadily with its Indian counterpart as well. Having deep pockets allowed the likes of Mumbai City FC and ATK Mohun Bagan to build superior squads, at least on paper, over time.
Hence, to even have a shot at challenging the heavyweights in the Indian Super League (ISL), there's a certain amount of purchasing power that's required. But splurging cash alone doesn't guarantee success. There's also a need to be financially spruce.
For clubs with tighter budget caps, the idea is to invest smartly and cash out when the opportunity arises. It's definitely easier said than done. But for a club that's been financially resilient for the greater part of a century, you'd think it would have a slightly clearer picture. However, that hasn't been the case with East Bengal FC.
On the field, the team's performances are seemingly worsening with every passing day. Fans were aware that the club wouldn't turn into a winning machine overnight, but what they had hoped for was for things to improve on the administrative and recruitment side of things. However, the Red and Gold Brigade's unassuming approach in the January transfer window narrates a completely different story.
How did East Bengal fare in the January transfer window?
After signing the likes of Lalchungnunga, Aniket Jadhav, and Suhair VP in the summer of 2022, many took notice of the club's intention to improve their squad drastically from previous seasons. While it was in no way a stellar squad, East Bengal at least showed some interest in signing younger, established players who could form the core of the team in the coming years.
However, with underwhelming overseas signings and then penurious attempts to fill the rest of the squad, fans astronomically brought down their expectations. Once the season kicked off, the on-field matters just worsened.
The Red and Gold Brigade have slumped to one defeat after another, so far managing just four victories in 15 matches. The gaping hole in the squad was quite visible and some who were still holding on to their final trickle of hope wanted the club to show some vigor to replenish the squad once the winter window arrived.
However, the faithful were greeted with more misery as the January transfer window commenced. FIFA, the global governing body of football, handed a transfer ban to the Kolkata giants for non-payment of dues to Omid Singh. The debacle around the Iranian footballer started way back in 2020 and the club still hadn't figured out a way to resolve it, even when they were fully aware of the implications.
Head coach Stephen Constantine was left handicapped after not being able to sign Jake Jervis, who was to replace Eliandro. A move that should've been completed in the first week of January itself dragged on due to the registration suspension and the English forward is yet to make an appearance for the club. The lack of promptness in solving the fiasco surrounding Omid is a clear indication of the lack of intent from club officials.
Despite some clear fragility in the squad, Jervis was the only signing the club could manage in the entirety of the January window.
Treatment dished out to Aniket Jadhav could make youngsters sidestep East Bengal
When East Bengal FC acquired the services of Aniket Jadhav from defending ISL champions Hyderabad FC in the summer window, many had predicted the move as a signal of things changing at the club. Surprisingly, the industrious winger didn't fit into head coach Stephen Constantine's plans.
Aniket was restricted to making appearances off the bench. Eventually, in the winter window, the club shipped him to Odisha FC for an undisclosed fee. The winger, who was a regular starter for the Nizams, couldn't breakthrough into the starting lineup at a club who are languishing in the bottom half of the ISL table. It's far-fetched to believe that Aniket was so far off the required quality at East Bengal.
The Red and Gold Brigade ended up strengthening Odisha FC, who are their direct rivals in the top-six race, by gifting them Aniket. If he indeed didn't fit into Constantine's system, then why sign him in the first place?
The approach of other ISL clubs in the bottom half puts East Bengal's lack of intent into perspective
Especially for a competition like the Indian Super League, where it's broken down into two halves - the league stage and the knockouts - the winter transfer window brings along an excellent opportunity to replenish the squad. Clubs can address the persistent problems at hand and address them with some signings in January.
The playoffs give every club a clean slate and a shot at the title. Hence, clubs in and around the bottom half of the table have been quite active most winters.
Jamshedpur FC were one of the teams to have identified their underperformers earlier this season. After mutually terminating Wellington Priori's contract, they immediately snapped up free agent Rafael Crivellaro even before the transfer window had opened. In January, they made two signings, Dylan Fox and Pronay Halder, to address the depleting squad.
Meanwhile, even NorthEast United FC, who are amidst raging turmoil on and off the pitch, have shown comparatively more urgency than East Bengal. The Highlanders opted for a change in the head coach position and brought on the high-touted Vincenzo Alberto Annese.
The new gaffer scanned the situation the club is in and quickly brought in some reinforcements. They brought in Hira Mondal, who was out of favor at Bengaluru FC, Kule Mbombo, Alex Saji, and Joseba Beitia.
Bengaluru FC opted for a much more long-term and elaborate approach in the window. Their only crucial signing was Pablo Perez, who replaced the injured Prince Ibara. But the Blues were making some tectonic shifts in the background. Former head coach Albert Roca joined as their new technical consultant, while Darren Caldeira became their director of football. A plan was being put in place to sort out the lack of direction that the club had shown in the previous few seasons.
Reportedly, Bengaluru FC are already finalizing deals for the upcoming season. Wingers Halicharan Narzary and Ashish Jha are expected to join the Blues next summer. Meanwhile, the club also managed to snap up quite a few boys from the now-disbanded Indian Arrows project, namely Harsh Patre, Satendra Singh, and Shreyas Ketkar.
Now, once we throw the spotlight back on East Bengal, the lack of urgency is clearly visible. There aren't any plans for the immediate future, nor is there any attempt to chalk out the details of a more profound blueprint.
Fans have only witnessed mud-slinging from the brass hats at the club for years now. The paltry stadium attendance and a flurry of furious comments on social media suggest that even the diehard faithful might have reached their breaking point. But for now, the end to the harrowing silence of the officials and their apparent indifference to turmoil eating away at the club is still a distant dream for East Bengal.
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Samya Majumdar