Here are the five major reasons for East Bengal’s poor start to this season.

Defensive lapses

Over the past 3 years, East Bengal’s defense has been praised thoroughly for their excellent performance. They were the best in India. But from the beginning of this season, the same names have failed to deliver as per their reputation. The back four, Naoba Singh, Arnab Mondal, Uga Okpara and Saumik Dey are all out form and are performing miserably. The team has already conceded 10 goals in 8 matches. Naoba specially has been heavily criticized due to his terrible form.

One of the best foreign defenders to have ever played in India, Uga Okpara too has made crucial blunders in quite a few games, which has proved costly to the team. India international Arnab Mondal looked totally out of form and lacked pace. In the last match against Mumbai FC, 37-year-old Yusif Yakubu went past the young center back with ease and scored a goal.

Lack of balance in midfield

The only prominent midfielder for East Bengal has been their old warhorse, Mehtab Hossain. Other than the captain, all the other midfielders have lacked consistency. Last season’s star midfielder, Harmanjot Singh Khabra has still not recovered fully from his injury and has shown a lack of form. Cavin Lobo, who is predominantly an attacking midfielder, is playing in the central midfield position which has affected his performance.

Going by personnel, 4-1-3-2 formation suits best for East Bengal like it did under Trevor James Morgan. But both Falopa and now Colaco have failed to get the balance right in midfield hence when the team lose possession they look vulnerable while defending as fullbacks are often caught up field. Hence back four doesn’t get the protection it needs. Lalrindika Ralte hasn’t performed in I-league barring the derby. Because of his derby winner, expectations will rise and at a young age he might be feeling the pressure.

Inadequate Pre-season

Looking at East Bengal’s performances so far it’s clear that pre-season preparation wasn’t adequate. They have already had to do a lot of travelling as well because of AFC Cup and also have a huge fixture backlog to make up. So perhaps the I-League break in winter should be used to get the fitness levels up.

Marcos Falopa has to be blame for this situation as he had failed to prepare the team during the pre-season. Most of the African players joined the pre-season camp late which the club officials completely over sighted. Almost all the first team players are suffering from injuries just after 8 games! They lack pace and are getting tired after 70-75 minutes in a game.

Lack of stability

Over the years, Kolkata clubs have earned the reputation of changing their coach too frequently. East Bengal showed exception by retaining Trevor James Morgan for the past three years. But that seemed to have been too long for a coach in charge of a Kolkata club. It’s puzzling why Marcos Falopa was selected in the first place as Armando Colaco was available in the summer also always difficult for a coach to come in between a season and Colaco is also not used to the pressure in Kolkata. Although going by statistics he is the best Indian coach right now, even Colaco would require time to settle.

Stars under-performing

East Bengal on paper have the best squad in I-League. With several stars in all the departments, they were considered favorites to win the title. But luck does not seem to be on their side as all the star payers have gone out of form together. Edeh Chidi, James Moga and Ryuji Sueoka, the attacking trio have miserably failed so far. Goal machine Edeh Chidi has scored only 1 goal in the I-League. The 34-year-old Japanese attacker too has failed to deliver as per his reputation. The frustrating aspect of the South Sudan international is that, he doesn’t contribute much besides scoring. If these players do not find their scoring boots soon, the club would slowly fade away from title contention.

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