Aah! The way Zico's men went for the goals in the injury time,even a toddler could have scored on a counter attack!
Am a lil disappointed why even Kattimani (who had a brilliant match) was not asked to play upfront in the injury time in their pursuit for a winning goal!
So since joining this
forum, I've always strived to give accurate information and scoops right from
the mouths of those who work for football in India. I have to apologise for
making an inaccurate prediction on FC Goa. At the start of the ISL, I predicted
that Reliance would make sure FC Goa reaches the semi finals because of the
proximity of Jaydev Mody to Nita Ambani and also to make sure the fans don't
turn their backs on the team after the exit of both Goan owners. However that
hasn't happened and I've made my first wrong prediction since joining this
forum. However this prediction was made based on an incident last year where a
person within the walls of the Reliance office told me before the start of the
ISL-2 that Chennaiyin would reach the finals.
Anyways dwelling on the poor performance of the FC
Goa team, everyone following the franchise would tell you that the cub was
besieged with problems right from the start- problems of their own doing. It
started off with Nita Ambani "striking" a deal with Jaydev Mody- the
man who brought her and Mukesh Ambani together- and throwing out true blooded
Goans-Dempo and Salgaocar- who had passion for the game. Sources told me that
everything from the AIFF verdict to the ISL verdict was fixed through backdoor
dealings by Praful Patel, ex IMG man Kushal Das, Sundar Raman and G Srini-
Mukesh Ambani's Executive Assistant. AIFF even showed scant respect for FIFA
statutes bending backwards to please their commercial partners and India's
richest man. That Kushal Das and Praful Patel behaved like drunken puppets was
there for everyone to see.
So Dempo and Salgaocar exited and in came a man
whom majority of Goans were against, a man making money at the cost of gambling
addicted Indians. It was apparent that Jaydev Mody knew nothing of football and
that's where part two of the whole circus started. Alleged cut money signings
by FC Goa CEO Sukhwinder SIngh who did have a shady past at AIFF, Nike and
Libero Sports. An unfit Robin Singh- who is supposed to be very close to him-
was signed for a huge sum, making him the highest paid Indian player at the
club. Beto too ruled the roost, with several cut money signings and failures
from last year like Reinaldo making their way to the team this year too. Guys
like Sahil Tavora- who dont even feature regularly in I-League sides featured
in the team due to his proximity to Beto. Oldies like Gregory, Luciano, Julio
Caesar were signed. A goof up from the management of FC Goa resulted in them
having one less player compared to the rest of the teams. The management team
had a major revamp with at least four staff leaving or being asked to leave.
Pre season then was a disaster, players being made
to travel half way around the continent to train at Zico's academy in Brazil.
There was only one man laughing his way to the bank, and that was the gaffer
himself who must have made a fortune after renting out his academy to the team.
Incompetent and shady staff like Gavin Araujo ( who was allegedly involved in
fixing of a second division match in 2010) were hired. Problems started there
itself with Gavin refusing to buy water and ice for the players apparently
citing instructions from Sukhwinder Singh to tighten the purse. Undeserving
players were given exorbitant salaries while necessities like water and ice
were controlled citing budget control.
Then came Goa and more disaster was to follow. A
dearth of training grounds due to the AIFF U-16 Championships meant that FC Goa
were forced to shift their training to the Sesa Academy. The ground was refurbished
and missed the deadline of completion forcing Zico to cancel two scheduled
friendlies and shift training for a week to a Panchayat ground in south Goa.
Logistics were a mess, players were made to stay in a two star hotel owned by
Deltin Group causing major divisions in the team between senior players like
Lucio and the management. The matter escalated so much that a month later,
Lucio shifted himself at his own cost to a five star hotel and had a major
falling out with Zico. As I had predicted a while back, he hasn't played a
single match in the past month even though he was fit. He has apparently
skipped many training sessions and appears to have completely lost his focus.
Pictures were also uploaded on a social media account of a support staff, showing
players being made to stand in the bus arranged by the club to transport them
from the airport to the hotel in Guwahati due to lack of seats.
Off the field too there were plenty of
problems. The marketing team was a complete failure. Compared to last season
where they had around five paid sponsors on their jersey, this year the amount
reduced to just two. Tickets were a disaster. Prices were hiked and when the
performance went down free tickets were distributed and gates were opened to
fans after half time. Revenues would be at an all-time low this season and
losses at an all-time high. FC Goa fans though can rejoice having won many
twitter and social media battles, unfortunately football isn’t played in
cyberspace.
So a major clean-up is
expected. In all likelihood, Sukhwinder Singh would be sacked. Gavin Araujo
will return to managing the grassroots or may be sacked entirely from the
organisation after denying water and ice to the players and having links to
match fixing, Zico could be on his last legs and not more than 2-3 players
would be re-signed. Expect a new look FC Goa in ISL-3 (subject to it being held
after the merger). Who knows, the demonitisation saga might take its toll on
the black money of the casino king and along with players, coaches and
management staff, FC Goa might well have to hunt for new owners too.
Comments
Am a lil disappointed why even Kattimani (who had a brilliant match) was not asked to play upfront in the injury time in their pursuit for a winning goal!
So since joining this forum, I've always strived to give accurate information and scoops right from the mouths of those who work for football in India. I have to apologise for making an inaccurate prediction on FC Goa. At the start of the ISL, I predicted that Reliance would make sure FC Goa reaches the semi finals because of the proximity of Jaydev Mody to Nita Ambani and also to make sure the fans don't turn their backs on the team after the exit of both Goan owners. However that hasn't happened and I've made my first wrong prediction since joining this forum. However this prediction was made based on an incident last year where a person within the walls of the Reliance office told me before the start of the ISL-2 that Chennaiyin would reach the finals.
Anyways dwelling on the poor performance of the FC Goa team, everyone following the franchise would tell you that the cub was besieged with problems right from the start- problems of their own doing. It started off with Nita Ambani "striking" a deal with Jaydev Mody- the man who brought her and Mukesh Ambani together- and throwing out true blooded Goans-Dempo and Salgaocar- who had passion for the game. Sources told me that everything from the AIFF verdict to the ISL verdict was fixed through backdoor dealings by Praful Patel, ex IMG man Kushal Das, Sundar Raman and G Srini- Mukesh Ambani's Executive Assistant. AIFF even showed scant respect for FIFA statutes bending backwards to please their commercial partners and India's richest man. That Kushal Das and Praful Patel behaved like drunken puppets was there for everyone to see.
So Dempo and Salgaocar exited and in came a man whom majority of Goans were against, a man making money at the cost of gambling addicted Indians. It was apparent that Jaydev Mody knew nothing of football and that's where part two of the whole circus started. Alleged cut money signings by FC Goa CEO Sukhwinder SIngh who did have a shady past at AIFF, Nike and Libero Sports. An unfit Robin Singh- who is supposed to be very close to him- was signed for a huge sum, making him the highest paid Indian player at the club. Beto too ruled the roost, with several cut money signings and failures from last year like Reinaldo making their way to the team this year too. Guys like Sahil Tavora- who dont even feature regularly in I-League sides featured in the team due to his proximity to Beto. Oldies like Gregory, Luciano, Julio Caesar were signed. A goof up from the management of FC Goa resulted in them having one less player compared to the rest of the teams. The management team had a major revamp with at least four staff leaving or being asked to leave.
Pre season then was a disaster, players being made to travel half way around the continent to train at Zico's academy in Brazil. There was only one man laughing his way to the bank, and that was the gaffer himself who must have made a fortune after renting out his academy to the team. Incompetent and shady staff like Gavin Araujo ( who was allegedly involved in fixing of a second division match in 2010) were hired. Problems started there itself with Gavin refusing to buy water and ice for the players apparently citing instructions from Sukhwinder Singh to tighten the purse. Undeserving players were given exorbitant salaries while necessities like water and ice were controlled citing budget control.
Then came Goa and more disaster was to follow. A dearth of training grounds due to the AIFF U-16 Championships meant that FC Goa were forced to shift their training to the Sesa Academy. The ground was refurbished and missed the deadline of completion forcing Zico to cancel two scheduled friendlies and shift training for a week to a Panchayat ground in south Goa. Logistics were a mess, players were made to stay in a two star hotel owned by Deltin Group causing major divisions in the team between senior players like Lucio and the management. The matter escalated so much that a month later, Lucio shifted himself at his own cost to a five star hotel and had a major falling out with Zico. As I had predicted a while back, he hasn't played a single match in the past month even though he was fit. He has apparently skipped many training sessions and appears to have completely lost his focus. Pictures were also uploaded on a social media account of a support staff, showing players being made to stand in the bus arranged by the club to transport them from the airport to the hotel in Guwahati due to lack of seats.
Off the field too there were plenty of problems. The marketing team was a complete failure. Compared to last season where they had around five paid sponsors on their jersey, this year the amount reduced to just two. Tickets were a disaster. Prices were hiked and when the performance went down free tickets were distributed and gates were opened to fans after half time. Revenues would be at an all-time low this season and losses at an all-time high. FC Goa fans though can rejoice having won many twitter and social media battles, unfortunately football isn’t played in cyberspace.
So a major clean-up is expected. In all likelihood, Sukhwinder Singh would be sacked. Gavin Araujo will return to managing the grassroots or may be sacked entirely from the organisation after denying water and ice to the players and having links to match fixing, Zico could be on his last legs and not more than 2-3 players would be re-signed. Expect a new look FC Goa in ISL-3 (subject to it being held after the merger). Who knows, the demonitisation saga might take its toll on the black money of the casino king and along with players, coaches and management staff, FC Goa might well have to hunt for new owners too.