Joao de Deus of NorthEast United and Rene Meulensteen of the Kerala Blasters lasted just 14 games between them as a lacklustre start to the Indian Super League season witnessed its first managerial casualties.
Deus’ sacking and Meulensteen’s resignation meant these were the shortest stints of ISL managers, up there with Peter Taylor of the Blasters in the second season, who left the club by mutual consent after just six games.
A look at some statistics from the two of the shortest reigns in ISL history:
Announcement: our owner @TheJohnAbraham long time friend Avram Grant has agreed to help the #Highlanders
— NorthEast United FC (@NEUtdFC) January 4, 2018
The former @ChelseaFC & @WestHamUtd boss who was last in charge of Ghana National team will be associated with #NEUFC as an Advisor
Lets Rally around & welcome Avram Grant pic.twitter.com/M9ANhPsZdZ
One
Just one win each for the coaches.
NorthEast United got their win over bottom-of-the-table Delhi Dynamos. They won 2-0 in the capital, their only win of the campaign so far.
Kerala Blasters, beat NorthEast for their win in the fifth match – a 1-0 victory at home. This tally is the joint-lowest in the league, along with the Dynamos.
Two
The number of goals scored by NorthEast in their seven games so far.
Marcinho and Danilo scored within five minutes of each other agains the Dynamos, both coming from defensive errors.
Unfortunately, NorthEast United have had the third highest number of shots in the league, 83 with only Bengaluru FC and FC Goa taking more shots. Kerala are eighth on the list with 59 shots taken.
The Blasters are not too prolific either, with six from their seven games, but have at least troubled the scorers in five of their seven games. NorthEast have drawn a blank in six games, the highest of any team this season.
Six
Percentage conversion rate for NorthEast, the lowest in the league.
Jamshedpur FC, also frugal in front of goal themselves, are ahead of NorthEast due to lesser shots taken.
With two goals from 36 shots taken, it’s safe to say that it’s been anything but happy hunting for the NorthEast attackers. Danilo and Marcinho, with 23 and 19 shots taken overall, have been the main culprits.
They’ve scored a single goal each, while the likes of Halicharan Narzary, Len Doungel and Lalrindika Ralte have failed to open their accounts so far.
The aspiring top-tier league in India doesn't place any faith in Indian managers. Not even as a care taker manager for the interim. Replace a famous foreign train-wreck with another, thats how they do it. So much for #Futurehaifootball
— Goonerunny (@tushizap) January 4, 2018
12
Goals conceded by NorthEast United at a rate of two per game. Three were attributed to goalkeeping howlers as this ISL season has seen a trend of keepers making an unusually high number of mistakes.
Rehenesh TP and Ravi Kumar have only made 11 saves between them and kept two clean sheets, not nearly good enough when the team doesn’t score enough goals up front. Paul Rachubka of the Blasters has been a far busier man, making 21 saves.
22
The Blasters have the lowest number of shots on target. Courage Pekuson with six shots on target, and CK Vineeth with four as Meulensteen’s team looked to be in dire need of additional reinforcements in attack.
62
NorthEast’s passing accuracy has been below par this season as they boast the second-lowest passing rates in the league. Jamshedpur, with 55% are rock-bottom while the Blasters at 68% are marginally better.
Len Doungel with a 46.95% passing accuracy in his seven games, and Dika Ralte at 56.19% are the poorest of any NorthEast United players to complete more than 100 passes, while Mark Sifneos averages only 15 passes per game with a 52.83% accuracy for the Blasters.