Ya but Ashlesh, think about it. What top quality coaches are available right now? When the PLS started the coaches they had were shit, with barely any experience. Only Peter Reid, Samson Siasia, and Teitur Thordarson had some experience.
As someone who has seen Teitur coach in MLS and last only 3 months, we don't want him. He is shit and has no idea how to deal with players. Reid style of coaching is old, to 90s, something we want to get AWAY from, and Siasia barely did anything with Nigeria. There is no one of actual quality who can come for a 2-3 month tournament.
Also, 80 foreigners! September-November! At that point we are at the beginning/middle stages of the Winter leagues while we are at the very end of the Spring/Summer leagues! No one will give away their players at this point for a 2-3 month league and no player would sign up for a 2-3 month league! Maybe they can find 20 players willing but 80... good luck! Free Agents are all they are going to get and rejects... ya, real quality!
And the marquees? Forget about it. Look at the Asian Cup videos on youtube (full matches are uploaded now) and see how India's BEST played against a bunch of A-League, Bahraini league, and K League players who barely tried. And you want them to play with Dwight Yorke, Robert Pires, Thierry Henry etc? We would get murdered! Pires played in the Greek 4th tier for 1 game last summer and looked the best player out their! They are class and go for leagues like MLS, A-League etc for more reasons than money, the playing quality there is good... in India it is not.
Honestly, I agree that the current I-League is shit but having this 2-3 month franchise league and then the crappy domestic league is not the way to go.
Personally, if I was running this, we would scrap the I-League... get rid of it and make the franchise league a real 6-8 month competition! 10 teams (Kolkata (2 teams), Goa, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Delhi, Guwahati, Kochi, Chennai/Punjab). Have the 2014-15 I-League happen and have this new 10 team ISL have a 2015-16 start. Keep with AFC rules but have other restrictions like salary caps, foreign qualifications, and single-entity.
Have the cities be bidded on but give discounts to I-League owners who are interested in a city but have tighter restrictions (lets be honest, a guy like Churchill would come out if the I-League was scrapped with his usual "I have invested over 300 crores into my team only to see this happen" bullshit, so, give him a discount on a team and see how much he really cares with tough restrictions).
And yes, have 1 marquee per team but don't have them be retired superstars. Aim lower. Aim for the Archie Thompsons, Hisato Satō's, Eduardo da Silva's, etc and let them develop into household names. They wont bring a lot of glamour straight away but they would at least show quality on the pitch which would eventually translate into more fans.
As for media... get out their... FORCE IT! Get the deal with Star Sports, have pre- and post- match shows. Perhaps do shows where we get to learn about the lives of the players or a POV of a match-day with a player. Also, get them integrated into the culture of India! In Mumbai, whoever plays for Mumbai should be appearing at glamour events! In Delhi, appear at national monuments! Try to also reach out to the lower parts of India, start a "Cares" group. Build into the community.
And last of all, youth academies. Have each franchise NOT start an academy straight away. Each franchise will LOSE money in the early years... as with every business. Let them focus on getting straight before having them start academies. Give them 5 years after formation to make an Academy. Till then, the franchise fees paid by the corporates (a portion at least) needs to be invested into the AIFF-FIFA Academies and into state league football.
This will be important. We need proper state leagues and once we do that we can do what happens in places like Germany and Italy where they have "B" or "II" teams in the lower leagues. Expose Academy and reserves to professional football early. This should happen within 15 years of the ISL starting. Why do I say this? Yes, an MLS reason. MLS is starting this but only 1 team is doing it this season, the LA Galaxy... almost 20 years later. It takes a long time for this to happen so be patient.
And last, but not least, have the ISL and the India national team promoted via marketing events with European clubs. Look at how much glamour was placed into the India vs. Bayern Munich match! We need more of that. You may think it only benefits the European club but as someone who has seen this happen in his own country I can tell you that it also benefits the "home" team. Yes, we will get beat by a lot (The MLS All-Stars were beaten 3-1 in 2013 by ROMA), but we will get our name out there and scouts will look as well.
So ya, there you have it, thanks if you read all that and sorry if I pissed people off but when you work at an ice-cream place in the winter (snow everywhere) and no one shows up you have a lot of time to think.
Oh, and one last thing... PLAY-OFFS! We need them in India. The Final of the ISL should be a super event. The best 2 teams in India, playing for what would be probably an AFC Champions League spot. The team that finishes in 1st place gets to host the "Grand Final" and their semi-final match against the 4th best team in the season. 2nd and 3rd place play at the 2nd place teams stadium. The winners play in the Grand Final and there you have it... a champion is crowned.
It would also provide a nice "Community Shield" for the beginning of next season... the winner of the regular season vs. the winner of the grand final (or 2nd place in the regular season vs. winner in the grand final).
So are Americans, we are not patient at all! We are like Indians in which we expect results now! When Pele came in the 70s Amricans expected the US to dominate world football but look, 40 years later, we have seen an entire league collapse and a new league slowly emerge where again, people raised expectations! Sometimes you have to just deal with it and be patient if you want things done correctly.
Football is a sport where you need to be patient on and off the field and if you want the league to grow to be at least among the CSL, J. League, and K League then that should be the name of the game otherwise it will all fall.
And again, on coaches, fine but again, who the hell will be available!!! You want a good fitness trainer? Fine, let me check who is available... oh, this guy... oh, he was just signed by a club over the summer, well how about this guy.... oh, him to. What about GK coaches? What about this guy? Oh, he is also gone. That will be the reality of a 2-3 month league taking place from September to November.
As for Bengaluru FC... I know that and it is their job to try and maintain that support. A title would help but if not then good luck to JSW... I am sure they can manage to do it, they are not idiots.
Again, it is the same mentality here. Hey, you know me as that American who loves the MLS and will praise it till worlds end but then when I ask my dad to take me to a game I get the usual reply "Why would I bother with that shit." I will even mention Henry and Cahill and he will say "Who cares. So, any Arsenal news?"
I go to school and I see a girl with a Red Bulls jersey and I ask what she thinks of the team, "Oh, I am just wearing it because I like the jersey. I can talk about Chelsea if you want" or those guys who will only talk about "Messi, he is my dude."
Its the same. This is the reality not only in India but around the world with domestic leagues. The only difference is that MLS has managed to actually market itself and improve itself while the I-League has failed to do so.
Bangalore is a city with almost 10,000,000 people. Are you telling me that JSW and Bengaluru FC can't maintain a bloody 7,000 attendance? If they can't then that says more about JSW then the fans of Bengaluru FC.
Scrapping the I league is not easy at all...what about old clubs like east Bengal, mohun Bagan??..Rather lets professionalize...just throw out those clubs who are not strict about AFC regulations....and by AFC regulations I mean all the criteria....don't leave any one of it.....develop top quality stadiums and practice pitches....clubs need to promote.....all done by the club itself...this requires money in the start but everything should be done gradually...cannot expect fans to throng state of the art stadiums just to watch shit....develop slowly...give it time...let the culture soak in....and then see the results after probably 10 years....when league improves national team also improves which leads to greater interest in people of india....aim for at least a world cup spot....better if you qualify from the group stage....then see the massive interest which people will have....I think we need top managers from IIMs who have interest in developing indian football....let them apply their brains to develop a sustainable league which in the future can be retiring ground for best players in the world.... TAKES TIME AND PATIENCE Unreal but my personal opinion.
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TAKES TIME AND PATIENCE
Unreal but my personal opinion.