The first Indian Super League has come to an end and it has been a massive success at least in terms of support by the fans. The teams had massive support from the fans but some teams actually had more support than others, NorthEast United were one of the teams who were supported home and away, they often had huge support in away games drowning out the home supporters.
8 states. 1 united. That was the slogan for a team which was not expected to do much in the league, the only talking point might have been John Abraham’s support for the team but NorthEast United will be remembered for their fans more than anything else.
Unfortunately for the team they ended up being rock bottom of the league, they finished 8th with 15 points from 14 games, not the best start for the club in the ISL. They only won 3 games out of the 14 and lost 5 games; they had an outside chance of qualifying for the semis but just could not get it done. We review the first season for NorthEast United in the Indian Super League.
Best players
Koke:
The Spanish attacker, turned out to be the star of the show. He led the league in assists and was also the highest goal scorer for the team. They paid the big bucks to get Koke and he did deliver in his first season in India, hopefully he can kick on and help them get into the knockout stages next year.
Rehenesh TP:
The 21 year old goalkeeper was a star for the side, he played in most of the games for the club and was able to keep 5 clean sheets. Rehenesh was one of the top goalkeepers in the ISL and was in the top 5 in keeping most clean sheets and saving the most shots, certainly a bright player for the future.
Guilherme Castro:
The 22 year old Brazilian was at his best for NorthEast United, he might not have wowed people with his goal scoring but he was a rock in terms of tackling. The former Brazil U 17 player led the club with 43 tackles in 10 games and was in the top 5 in tackling stats.
Players who disappointed
Joan Capdevilla :
The marquee signing for the club just didn’t seem to get things right enough in the defensive end. The team might not have scored enough goals but they conceded a few as well and Capdevilla was needed to be at his best to keep the opposition quiet but that job was handed over to Rehenesh it seemed.
Milan Singh:
The youngster was expected to be one of the star men for the club but ended up playing just a bit part, he made only 5 appearances for NorthEast United when people expected more out him, certainly was disappointing every time he came on.
James Keene:
One of the players who should have done much better, partly the reason why the club didn’t do well. He played 10 games but didn’t score even once, certainly a let-down for the club.
Marquee signing rating: 7/10
You can’t completely blame Joan Capdevilla for NorthEast’s problems, their defence was alright, and it was the attack which was the problem. Capdevilla looked shaky at times and often was found wanting, he marshalled the defence really well but often he looked off the pace. Credit must be given to him, he didn’t look completely out of shape but probably it would have been better had he done something like David James, played a role off the field and pitched in as a sub when needed.
What went wrong?
The attack, that was the problem, NorthEast just did not have enough firepower in the final third which cost them a chance to make it through to the last 4. They only scored 11 goals in 14 league games, not enough for any team to get into the top 4. Their strikers also were quite poor and couldn’t get enough goals to push the team forward. Their defence was alright, they conceded 13 goals in 14 games but that is still acceptable but their attack needs a lot of work.
Areas of improvement
The attack really needs a lot of work, they need to get better strikers and shouldn’t just rely on young players. They had a few imports but not all of them did well for the club, their strike force was really poor and an upgrade is the biggest requirement for the club right now.
Overachievers or underachievers?
It’s really hard to judge a team’s aspirations before a season starts but certainly no one wants to be dead last in the league. NorthEast had one of the best supported sides, home and away and this was not the way to repay the fans. Their performances were not the worst but certain aspects of their game need an improvement. Underachievers? They could be, no one expected them to set the league on fire but no one expected them to be last in the league either.
Picture courtesy: Indiansuperleague & Indian-Superleague