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David James had boasted that the Kerala Blasters have the youngest average age for players in the present setup of the Indian Super League.
It is a far cry from the ISL-4(2017) when Kerala blasters team was mocked as an "old age home" by critics for roping in footballers like Wes Brown, Dimitar Berbatov etc.
The young crop of players which Kerala has roped in after David James has taken over seems to be delivering the goods for the team this season too, which indicates that Kerala has got the strategy right after a long time.
Let us have a look at the reasons why this author thinks that Kerala Blasters are on the right track and will be the Football powerhouse in ISL
#1 Long contracts offered
Not just the players, the coaching staff at Kerala Blasters FC was also offered longer contracts to ensure continuity. Three-year contracts have become the norm at Kerala Blasters which ensures that the players get familiar with the place, coaching style and the level of commitment required from them.
While other ISL clubs seems to be going after the one year plan of winning with quick superstars, Kerala has moved away from that image.
The recent contracts at ATK where the club has adopted the policy of going after tried and tested experienced foreigners in ISL is a clear feature of the lack of long-term thinking inside the Kolkata management.
John Gregory was offered continuity at Chennaiyin FC and they had tried to maintain continuity with the same group of players, but additions and improvements to the last year squad with the newer crop of players seem to be lacking.
Same is the case with Bengaluru FC where Carlos Caudrat was appointed to follow the legacy of Albert Roca, but has failed to grasp and invest in young footballers with a long-term strategy.
Kerala, on the other hand, has initiated a new thought-process in Indian football which will define the game in the coming years.
#2 Possibility of the club making profits through future transfers
Just have a look at the list of players under their radar - Halicharan Narzary, Seminlen Doungel, Lalruathara, Dheeraj Singh, Prasanth K, Deependra Negi, Sahal Abdul Samad, Mohammed Rakip, Abdul Hakku etc.
All these players are relatively young and sure to peak to their prime in the next two-three years. And in the coming years, Indian football is expected to grow higher and these young stalwarts will be in demand among Indian clubs and possibly foreign clubs. This will pave way for Kerala Blasters management to make a decent profit on the player transfers.
They can even opt for the same strategy with the foreign players too considering the talent and age of Courage Pekuson, Kizito Keziron, Nikola Krcmarevich etc. Indian football fans will remember how Bengaluru FC pocketed a handy sum after Edu Garcia was sold to a Chinese club in 2017.
Kerala is not stopping at this strategy with this small group of players. They keep signing talented U-17 players (Most recently Jeakson Singh) and David James was quick to point out that Jeakson won't be the last player to board the Kerala Blasters bandwagon in the near future.
#3 Change in work culture under David James
Most of the ISL fans were amused in the first match of Kerala Blasters when David James fielded only 4 foreign players and gave starts to promising youngsters breaking the ISL norm. Most of the players have reiterated that it is the hard work in the training sessions that counts for selection and not the name tag that the player carries. This change in mentality will keep the young brigade in the Kerala Blasters in good stead for their future.
David James has been the go-to guy for Kerala in the past. The first season when they reached the finals, he played a big role and last season he steadied the ship for the team coming midway after Rene Mulensteen parted ways due to lacklustre results. David James has been the saviour for Kerala time and time again and his newfound determination to take Kerala forward is proving to be a wonderful case-study.
As many foreigners who played in the ISL have pointed out, it is not the dearth of talent that lacks in Indian football, it is the infrastructure facilities and the way the talent is nurtured that keeps the Indian football below par.
With the right strategy that Kerala has incorporated into its veins, it is possible that Kerala Blasters will be the next Football Powerhouse in India. It is high time other ISL clubs take notice and change their recruitment strategy of getting quick results with tried and tested superstars.
