ISL 2015: Is Nicolas Anelka becoming a luxury which Mumbai City can't sustain?

Nicolas Anelka criticised Sunil Chhetri in the post-match press conference after losing to NorthEast United

Fresh from a 7-0 hiding at the hands of the FC Goa, Mumbai City FC headed to the North-east desperately seeking to flush out the capitulation in Goa and inject much-needed life in Mumbai City’s fading campaign. There was definite improvement in the final scoreline but the outcome, a pale 2-0 loss to NorthEast United left Mumbai City's season hanging by a thread.

However, even that seemed like an illusion after the club's player-manager Nicolas Anelka completely imploded as he addressed the post-match press conference at Guwahati. The Frenchman didn’t seem sorry for his team's loss and had everyone from the club management to perhaps one of his best players Sunil Chhetri to criticise for the state which Mumbai City find themselves in.

"We have to see who is injured or not. I try to pick the best players. I don't have a lot of players. I don't have a lot of quality. If you want to question about the players, ask the people who signed the players, not me. I have tried my best with these players," ranted Anelka after the game against NorthEast United in Guwahati.

"If I had a choice and chance to choose the players, I would have chosen different players. I have to use the players they have given me. I try my best, that is it," Anelka added.

This smelt of irresponsibility and bordering arrogance on Nicolas Anelka’s part and with his team needing to win all their remaining games to qualify, this was the last thing that any player would have wanted to hear.

Anelka criticises Sunil Chhetri

But if this was demoralising enough, Anelka's open verdict on top scorer Sunil Chhetri’s abilities as a player could prove to be venomous in an already troubled Mumbai City dressing room.

“When I came to India from England, I did not know him. They said he was a left winger and a striker. I put him on the left. He was not a striker for me today. I believe he has played as a left winger before and today was not the first time. If he is not happy, he is not happy. I have nothing to say.

“I decide who plays where. There is a better player to play in the middle than him. He is not a number 10 as well for me. Did you see him give the ball to anyone from the beginning? No. So he has to play left winger, If he is not happy, then that is life,” the player cum coach added.

Sunil Chhetri is currently the joint-top goalscorer in the ISL in spite of missing many games due to international duty

There is little doubt over Anelka’s understanding of the game having played for some of the greatest clubs in Europe and winning all that is there to win in football. But openly criticising a player who is on the top of this season’s goal charts in the ISL and one which has scored 50% of his side's goals playing in the No.10 role offers little support to Anelka's rather blunt claims.

Anelka's verdict, however, seems even more out of place considering Mumbai City have only scored one goal when Anelka has been on the pitch which has also led to Chhetri playing out wide on the left.

Anelka has history of in-fighting in teams

However, this isn't the first time that Anelka has been at war with members of the Mumbai City FC camp and so far has had his ways with the tiffs ending in departures of Assistant Coach Oscar Bruzon and Andre Moritz, both of whom had disagreements with Anelka.

But if you closely look at the Frenchman’s career, Anelka has always found scapegoats to put the blame on for problems which are very much of his own making. Having hit the stardom at Arsenal and after scoring 23 goals in 65 appearances for the Gunners, Anelka had to be sold to Real Madrid after he claimed to be unhappy due to the British press.

However much more prominent was his criticism of Avram Grant after Anelka missed the crucial penalty for Chelsea in their penalty shootout loss to Manchester United in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final in Moscow when he accused the Israeli coach of bringing him on without giving enough time to warm up.

The fact that Anelka hadn't scored for Chelsea that season for four months coming into that game proved Anelka was once again digging a hole to hide his embarrassment of missing the penalty which handed United the European title.

In a lot more published spat with French national team manager Raymond Domenech, Anelka spurred venom once again, which eventually led to an international suspension for 18 months after his exclusion from the team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Nicolas Anelka’s spat with Raymond Domenech derailed France’s 2010 World Cup campaign

Despite several quarrels and unceremonious exits from almost every club that he has played in, Anelka was always welcomed at top clubs in Europe due to his obvious talent on the pitch. Goals were the only thing which was constant for Anelka in an career otherwise characterised by frequent moves and changes.

Anelka was always a key cog in the setup of clubs like Chelsea, Real Madrid and Arsenal where he enhanced a team full of superstars. However, when the going got tough for the lethal finisher at these big clubs, both Anelka and the club parted ways and moved on pretty smoothly after the partition.

After a long time though, Anelka found himself at the heart of the matters when he took over at Mumbai City as the club's player cum manager earlier this season. And once again when things haven’t gone to plan for the French International, he has started with the blame game when clearly it is him who hasn't been able to galvanise a set of players which aren’t as bad as they have looked on the pitch recently.

Anelka also spoke about Mumbai City lacking character to tackle tough situations in matches. But that, as the past suggests, is a mere reflection of how Anelka has been throughout his career; extremely talented yet subdued and unpredictable.

Unfortunately for Mumbai City, they aren’t as illustrious like a Real Madrid or a Chelsea or a PSG to comfortably sustain Anelka's antics. Anelka is an ace in Mumbai City's pack and unfortunately for them it is an ace which has failed the pack.

There is still a chance for Mumbai City to make the semi-finals, but after Anelka's demeaning words, there is little hope for the Ranbir Kapoor owned outfit. As their season hangs by a thread, Mumbai City have found the luxury of Nicola’s Anelka too much to sustain.