Chennaiyin will do well this year, says Ranjith

Season two, that was sandwiched between a not-so bad maiden appearance and one of utter dismay in the succeeding year, slaked the fans’ instant gratification, and the high-profile owners’ hankering, for silverware with a near improbable title pursuit.

While the first two seasons saw Chennaiyin expertly scale the peaks of excellence with the adroitness of a savvy mountaineer, episode three that followed witnessed it plumb the depths of mediocrity with the ineptitude of a footballing dilettante, lending itself to be gobbled up by snakes and serpents, slithering conspicuously along the well-mowed grass.

It called for some immediate remedial measures to ensure there is no repetition of the horror-filled-season three, and the resultant winds of change that swept across the club had seen people being pink slipped and heads being rolled ruthlessly.

The jury is still out on whether the incumbent manager John Gregory has the credentials to mould Chennaiyin into a championship winning team, but since the day of his unveiling he has been making all the right noises like any incoming manager normally makes. He knows all-too-well that in this cut-throat world of management mere chatter will not be enough to cling on to the job and his gung-ho attitude should resonate among his players in sewing up results. 

One man who has given his unequivocal support to the new dispensation at Chennaiyin is former Tamil Nadu Santosh Trophy coach CM Ranjith. “I have confidence that the squad assembled by coach Gregory would acquit itself well. It’s true that Chennaiyin is lacking some experience now that it is without Bernard Mendy, Mehrajuddin Wadoo. But it has signed some exciting young players with a lot of potential,” said Ranjith.

Ranjith, however, tempered his optimism with words of caution to the passionate fans of CFC. 

“Fans must remember that all the other clubs are getting stronger. They are splashing huge amounts of money to acquire better players. One positive to come out of this is the standard of ISL has improved a lot. This has been reflected in how the Indian Under 17 team fared commendably during the World Cup. More and more youngsters are preferring football to other sports. For the young Indian players, there is no better learning experience than playing alongside the likes of Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane and under coaches such as Teddy Sheringham,” added Ranjith.

The soon-to-begin ISL 4 has been expanded to 10 teams and consequently the schedule has also been extended to five months as opposed to two in the first three years. Ranjith bought into this change and said the players will benefit immensely. “Players will get to rest their aching limbs. Last year the schedule was too hectic and placed lots of unrealistic demands on the weary bodies, which resulted in many injuries. The longer schedule will be of great help,” remarked Ranjith.