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David James is the name in the hearts of Manjappada, the loyal fans of the two time ISL finalists, Kerala Blasters. He had left the club after the first season, when he was a player-cum-coach. He played for a total of 919 minutes and kept the opposition from scoring in 5 matches. He lead the team into the finals of the season where they lost 1-0 to Atletico De Kolkata. He continued supporting the Yellow Army every now and then even after leaving the team. DJ is back here again as a manager replacing Rene Meulesteen.
Kerala Blasters haven't started this season in a good fashion. They have drawn the most matches (5). But after DJ took over, the spirit of the team has elevated . After drawing the first match he took over, the team won two consecutive away matches which is the current away winning streak record in ISL history. Blasters lost the next two matches, both 2-1. But those can be excused due to fixture congestion (4 matches in 12 days) and injuries.
In the winter transfer window, one player has left and two are rumored to leave soon. The Ugandan youngster, Kizito was a dynamic force in the team. But due to the shoulder injury, he is on the verge of leaving the team. The young striker, Mark Sifneos left the club due to some problems. It is rumored that he couldn't adapt to the new tactics of DJ. The Bulgarian legend Berbatov is also rumoured to be about to leave the club.
Due to all these problems, DJ has a lot of decisions to make. He has brought the 31-year old Iceland striker, Gudjon Baldvinsson, who made a very good impact in his first game against Delhi. Brazilian striker Nilmar is also rumored to be joining the team soon. If he joins the team, the Yellow Army will have a thunderous strike-force.
The fan favorite Victor Pulga, who had played the first two seasons, is in Kochi and is expected to join the team soon. DJ also planned to bring in Gurwinder Singh, but East Bengal is holding onto their talent. He is planning to bring in an Indian defender to strengthen the backline.
In yesterday's match, when the line-ups were out, it raised a few eye-brows among the Manjappada fans as there were only 3 foreigners in the team and James gave unfamiliar positions to some players. The half-time score was 1-0 down. But DJ's brave decision to sub on the 19-year old ex-Under-17 captain of India, Deependra Singh Negi changed the game. With his first touch of the ball in ISL history, he scored the equalizer, which no-one expected to come from his boots. Then the new striker BALETTAN (nickname given by Manjappada fans to Baldvinsson) came on. He impressed everyone with his first action itself. Then came the moment where the game turned over. In a forward move between Hume and Negi, the youngster was brought down and earned a penalty. Hume slotted it sweetly and earned the crucial three points.
As of now, the team has changed drastically and positively and the main reason is the gaffer DJ's decisions off the pitch. Let's wait and watch if everything goes the right way or not.
