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After two finale finishes in three seasons, it was expected that Kerala Blasters would eventually prevail as the Indian Super League Champions in one of the upcoming seasons. However, things failed to fall in place for the Kochi-based side in the next three seasons and the Blasters have not managed to make the cut for the top four ever since.
With a combination of bad man-management, lack of transparency and communication, the Blasters have always looked a weaker and vulnerable side against almost all sides in the Indian Super League.
Let us analyse the top 5 possible reasons for such an abrupt fall for the Blasters in the last three seasons.
#1 Inconsistent forwards
Kerala Blasters have always struggled with the quality of their forwards. In the 2017-18 season, the Blasters only managed to score 20 goals in the entire season from 18 games. Their highest-scorer Iain Hume also managed to only notch up five goals.
Guðjón Baldvinsson and Dimitar Berbatov, despite boasting of an impressive CV, could score just one goal each throughout the season. With just seven goals from the top players of the side, Kerala Blasters never looked a formidable and threatening side.
The Blasters underwent a significant roster change in the season that followed with little success. The goal tally of the Blasters fell to just 18 goals from 18 games with the highest-scorer being Mates Poplatnik from Slovenia and Slaviša Stojanović from Serbia, scoring four goals each. The Balkan forwards were extremely inconsistent as their predecessors of the previous season.
With the appointment of Eelco Schattorie followed by Bartholomew Ogbeche from NorthEast United, things were supposed to change in favour of the Kerala Blasters. The Blasters showed early intent and capability to score lots of goals but it eventually fizzled out as well in the 2019-20 season.
With no support from the support strikers, the team completely became dependent on Bartholomew Ogbeche to find the goals. Ogbeche scored 15 goals out of the total of 29 goals scored by Kerala Blasters. The distant second was Messi Bouli with 8 goals.
#2 Sloppy defence
Kerala Blasters had an average defensive display in the 2017-18 season. Despite conceding just 22 goals in 18 games, the Kochi-based side fell short of qualification due to lack of goals. The side also managed to secure six clean-sheets.
However, that was not the case in the 2018-19 season. With Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem at goal supplemented by Nemanja Lakić-Pešić and Cyril Kali, the Kerala Blasters defence never really looked settled and coherent. Blasters conceded a whopping 28 goals in just 18 games completely discrediting their defensive display on the field.
The 2019-20 season had an uncanny resemblance to the 2018-19 season. Despite being amidst the top-scoring sides of the league, a mediocre display throughout the league debarred Blasters from qualifying for the top four conceding 32 goals from their 18 games, becoming the second least economic defensive side in the league.
#3 Lack of quality in the midfield
The Kerala Blasters management have lacked a balanced team management in the last three seasons. The franchise has always focused on getting goal-scorers with the bulk of their team budget.
An excessive outlay on the forwards have always rendered the defence and midfield without the required quality. Courage Pekuson, Victor Pulga and Kizito Keziron showed glimpses of individual brilliance but could never incorporate themselves into a well-oiled midfield.
The forwards were supplied with poor passes and lack of chances created by the midfield resulted in the team failing to score enough and win games. The next two seasons were on the same lines.
However, 2019-20 season saw an increase in goals but largely due to individual performances from Bartholomew Ogbeche and Messi Bouli.
#4 Lack of interaction with the fans
Kerala Blasters have always been credited for their massive fanbase. With almost full-capacity crowds in almost every game since its inception, there has always been a huge onus on the team to live up to the expectations. Just like the Kolkata clubs, Kerala Blasters have regularly been seen faltering to perform under pressure from the fans and local media. The media in Kerala are extremely vocal about the team's performance which aggravates the grievances of the fans towards the team.
The management has consecutively failed to understand the impact of the fans and media on the team. Lack of communication with the fans and the participation in a discussion to address the team issues have taken a toll on the club. With such huge community-backing, Kerala Blasters need to communicate the opinions and needs of the fans into the management of the team.
#5 Pre-season
Kerala Blasters are one of the very few ISL clubs who didn't conduct their pre-season outside the country. When other ISL sides would play games in Spain, Gulf and the East Indies, Kerala Blasters would prefer to train in India. The side hardly faced premier sides before the actual season which did not allow the team to be at the same level as the other teams.
To their credit, the club invested wisely ahead of the current season but left themselves severely underdone after a botched pre-season tour of the UAE. The team returned back prematurely with just one competitive game under their belt.
The management has to be efficient and sincere in its approach when it comes to the schedule of the team, signings, and interaction with the fans to build a strong and committed club in Kerala and eliminate their rather current complacent attitude.
Gokulam Kerala, an I-League side, is quickly gaining pace when it comes to winning titles and fans, which should serve as an incentive to the Kerala Blasters management to push themselves and conduct themselves more professionally.
