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The 2018-19 season of ISL is nearing its end with only the last round of fixtures and the playoffs remaining. One prominent team whose name will be missing from the playoffs is ATK. The Kolkata-based franchise's semi-final finish in the 2015 season was the only blemish in their résumé, sandwiched between the two ISL trophies they had won until 2016.
However, since the number of teams participating in the competition has expanded to ten, ATK have failed to qualify for the playoffs. Here we expound on their five key mistakes which led to their downfall this season.
#5 Signing a manager with a background in English football again
One of the major difficulties which the Kolkata-based franchise endured after the fallout between Kolkata Sports and Games Pvt. Ltd. and Atletico Madrid is the lack of influx of Spanish personnel.
While the first three seasons saw former Valencia coach Antonio Lopez Habas and ex-Villarreal man Jose Francisco Molina at the helm, the fourth edition of the tournament witnessed 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cup player Teddy Sheringham manage the side. The Englishman had only managed a League Two club beforehand and his inexperience led to the club winning only three matches in their first ten games.
Unsurprisingly, he was sacked and Technical Director Ashley Westwood, another fellow Englishman, took over the charges. However, he couldn't save the sinking ship and the club only managed to pull off one victory against bottom-placed Northeast United FC thereafter.
It was expected that the club would realize their mistakes and sign a Spanish name. But, much to the dismay of many, they went ahead with Steve Coppell. The former Manchester City and Reading FC manager took Kerala Blasters to the finals in the 2016 season before guiding Jamshedpur FC to a fifth-place finish in the next season.
Regardless to say, he bought his tactics and English style of football with him which didn't suit the team. ATK has done wonderfully with Spanish managers in the past, which even led to a lot of ISL clubs favoring a possession-based style of football. Rather than expunging the Spanish style of play, they should have stuck with it.
#4 Missing the attacking impetus up-front
In the 2017-18 season, ATK had leaked in 30 goals in 18 matches. Only eighth-placed Delhi Dynamos had conceded more in the competition. Keeping that in mind, Steve Coppell's first task in hand was to stabilize the defence. After playing 17 matches, the oppositions have scored 21 times against them, an achievement the team can be proud of. However, it came at a cost. And, the cost was the attacking impetus compromised up front.
ATK has only scored sixteen times in the season so far, tied with the bottom-placed Chennaiyin FC. Further embarrassing statistics like taking the lowest number of shots in the league (174), scoring the lowest number of goals in home matches (7), and scoring only two goals through their forwards only show the dire condition of their attack.
Kalu Uche was roped before the season to ensure the side had firepower up front. However, the Nigerian and replacement Emiliano Alfaro's injury coupled with Eli Babalj and Indian international Balwant Singh's profligacy meant that the ATK forwards didn't trouble the oppositions at all.
#3 Late realization that they had the wrong sets of players
All the clubs usually use the winter transfer window to strengthen their weak points. Unsurprisingly, it is the bottom-placed clubs and the mid-table clubs which splurge their money. In the ISL, ATK pushed for a top 4 spot with their transfer market activity but failed to do so.
They released Moroccan Noussair El Moumani and Eli Babalj and loaned out Cavin Lobo to make space for Pritam Kotal and Edu Garcia. They even wanted to sign Sandesh Jhinghan and Miguel Palanca Hernandez but a salary cap halted their ambitions.
By the time they signed Edu Garcia and he could gel with his teammates, the season neared its end. The scenario with Pritam Kotal wasn't different either. Even with the limitations of an English coach in the Indian football, Steve Coppell could have led ATK to glory if his players performed. But, they failed to adapt to his philosophy.
#2 Playing for draws in the crucial junctures of the league
ATK thought of taking out a leaf from their 2016 season where they progressed to the playoffs via drawing matches. They had lost only twice in the campaign and shared the spoils a staggering eight times.
However, they failed to read in between the lines and played for draws carelessly in the crucial junctures of the league. The 2016 team had victories over second-placed Kerala Blasters and third-placed Delhi Dynamos under their belt whereas this season's squad doesn't have a single win over a team in the top four.
They played for a draw against the stronger sides and barring some cases, they succumbed to the pressure and lost. Knowing that they would require victories in the later stages of the game, they exposed their weakness while attacking and, FC Goa and Mumbai City FC punished them with back-to-back losses.
Had they converted a draw or two into victory in their previous encounters, the circumstances wouldn't have forced them to play for a win in the later stages. And, their weakness could have been hidden.
#1 Failing to tap the full potential of the Indian players
With the ISL now allowing only a maximum of five foreigners in the field at a time, the significance of Indian players has increased. ATK had some strong Indian players at their disposal but they failed to tap their full potential.
Defenders Arnab Mondal and Aiborlang Khongjee had represented India while Ricky Lallawmawma was coming off from a fantastic season with Mohun Bagan in the I-League. Among the midfielders, they had U-17 World Cup star Komal Thatal, India international Pronay Halder and Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Jayesh Rane who won the 2016-17 I-League with Aizawl FC, and midfield maestro Cavin Lobo. Even their forward Balwant Singh was selected for India in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
However, apart from goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya, none of them failed to live up to their calibre. Eugeneson Lyngdoh and Arnab Mondal were only given chances late into the season and their rustiness cost ATK.
