Indian Football : Pailan Arrows 2012/13 Season Preview

By Joseph George
12 years Ago

Did you get a chance to witness the Indian footballers in AFC U-22 qualifiers? It was one of those memorable performances from the sleeping giants that made the whole continent take notice of the rising talentAi??at the dawn of a new eraAi??thanks toAi??Arthur Papas. The lowest ranked team in the group took everyone by surprise, the storm created by Papas’ boys was heavy to withstand for their superior opponents and in the end the youngAi??Indian football teamAi??bowed out with their heads heldAi??high. The tactical nous and theAi??flexibilityAi??displayed by the youngsters under the stewardship of Papas got rave reviews.Ai??It was a welcome change from the hoof-ball tactics employed under previous coaches.

Indian football fansAi??might have missed the tournament and the bright performance by the young footballers from India, but new national team coach Wim Kovermars didn’t miss any of the bright prospects. India’s probable squadAi?? for Nehru Cup contains many talented youngsters and some of themAi??will beAi??trying hard to impress the coach to make it to the final squad. It is clearly the result of the effort put by AIFF, two years back when they formed Indian Arrows Team (then called AIFF XI). The development side has undergone change in management twiceAi??Ai??and they were saved from blushes just because they couldn’t be relegated due to AIFF’s rule. The development side just avoided wooden spoon last seasonAi??with their leading goalscorer Sabeeth bidding good-bye afterwards.

In order to make things brighter Arthur Papas was entrusted to take over theAi??reignsAi??of Pailan Arrows and he is expected to instill the possession basedAi??playing styleAi??inAi??Pailan Arrows players.Ai??If the performance of Indian football teamAi??at Oman are to be considered as a reference point, thenAi??Papas has broughtAi??aAi??breathAi??of fresh air in terms of tactics and game play. Indian football fans will be hoping to witness continuation of the samr tactics in Pailan Arrows matches.

Former Newcasle Jets coachAi??favours the Dutch and Spanish mantra of possession based football to the English long ball game. In the past few years Indians failed miserably when trying to instill the English tactics into their system which is not suited for theirAi??small physicalAi??frames.Ai??The entry ofAi?? Technical Director Rob Baan changed the approach of AIFF andAi??itAi??was Baan whoAi??roped in Arthur Papas to impress the same style into the minds ofAi??upcoming footballers.

Pailan Arrows squad possessed a number of quality players last year, but the youngsters couldn’t match their more experienced opponents and succumbedAi??under pressure.Ai??A different possession basedAi??approach is expected this year andAi??fans might witness a more attacking style of play from the Arrows.Ai??Alwyn GeorgeAi??made a big impact in AFC qualifiers with his unconventional playing postion, atleast by Indian standards, as opposition playersAi??found it very difficult toAi??mark him. A sign of things to come in the future!

Squad Analysis

Goal Keepers

Ravi Kumar, Soram Porei Angamba, Shayan Roy

Ravi Kumar joined Arrows in 2010 and was utilized asAi??a deputy custodian during his stay till now. Shayan Roy gaveAi??Ravi company on Bench from 2011 and both are expected toAi??continue theirAi??duties as Shillong Lajong Custodian, Soram Porei Angamba is expected to fill the void left by Naveen Kumar. The young Manipuri lad had kept 7 clean sheets out of 15 and this effort helped him to get into the India U-22 team to Oman where he met his current coach Papas and team mate Ravi Kumar. It will be a battle between Ravi and Soram to stand between the sticks; Ravi is acclimatized to the set ofAi??players while Soram has more experience under his belt.

Defenders

Shouvik Ghosh, Prathamesh Maulingkar, Irfan Khan, Yumnum Chingkhei Meetei, Arijeet Singh, Sonu ,Ai??Bikramjit Singh (Jr), Akashdeep Singh, Pritam Kotal, Jayabrata Dhar, R Vishal Kumar, Deepak Devrani, Avinabo Bag

Shouvik, Prathmesh, Pritam, Vishal andAi??DeepakAi?? are coming after a successful spell with the U-22 team in Oman where they had learnedAi??the first lessons from Papas.Ai??These youngstersAi??will be trying to build on that experience and itAi??can give them aAi??strong start in the new campaign. Papas rotated his squad admirably well inAi??the AFC qualificationAi??campaign and the new joinees in the Arrows camp will be trying to impress their head coach further. Eventhough Rajib, Lalrozama and Gurtej bid adieu to the club, theAi??foundation of this defence is strong when compared to last year.Ai??These players will alsoAi??have a much bigger role than last year as possession based football starts from back. Some of these youngsters will be trying hard to impress the senior coach in order toAi??make the cutAi??for the big stage and they a likely to fight tooth and nail against their more industrious opponents.

Midfielders

Shilton Dai??i??Silva, Sehnaj Singh, Pronoy Halder, Ongnam Milan Singh, Prabir Das, Tirthankar Sarkar, Shankar S,Ai??Deepak Prakash, Simranjit Singh, Siam Hanghal, Yaikhom Randhan Meitei, Ravinder Singh, Shaiju Mon, Ganeshan

Midfield quality usually determines the tactics and formationAi??to be chosenAi??by aAi??manager. In that caseAi??fans can witnessAi??the continuation of India U-22 performances as most of the important playersAi??will be part of current Arrows squad. Shilton D’Silva isAi??coming back after a horrific injury and willAi??make amends for the lost time. The addition of Shaiju Mon and GaneshanAi??is likely toAi??make upAi??for the loss ofAi??Jibon Singh and Co. in the upcoming season. The current set ofAi??players are capable of fulfilling the primeAi??objectives and this midfieldAi??can be the mainstay for Indian football in the years to come. They are not afraid to hold the ball and pass it around to create openings while surrounded by opponents and this welcome change is going to mark the dawn of a new era in Indian football. Milan Singh has made it to the national camp along with Alwyn George and both the players are expected to build their international careers with a fine season at club level.

Forwards

Malswamfela, Holicharan Narzary, Rajinder Kumar, Sumit Passi, Alwyn George, Pankaj Sona

Goals win matches and proven goalscorers canAi??wreck havoc in opposition defences. Creating a goal is considered as important as scoring another. Think about someone who can create and score goals with ease beyond his ages! Alwyn George is already tipped as the next big thing in Indian football and his creativity, talent and skills are often supplemented with crucialAi??goals and assists.

Malswamfela andAi??Holicharan Narzary are not far behind when it comes to fulfilling a forwards’ responsibilities. These strikers are capable of scoring goals at a consistent basis and will be theAi??boostedAi??by creativity of Alwyn George. Rajinder, Sumit and Pankaj complete the wealth of attacking talent at the disposal of Papas and it remains to be seen whetherAi??Arrows will be able toAi??cope without their top scorer from last season.

Ai??

Coaching Staff

Arthur Papas (Head Coach),Ai??Aaron Symons(Assistant Coach), Sujit Chakraborty(Assistant Coach), Tanumoy Basu(Goalkeeping Coach)

Papas and his team already announced their entry into Indian football with some beautiful displays in Oman. Then he took charge of Arrows team which currently possess 15 players who participated in the AFC U-22 qualifiers. The team knows the coach and vice versa and now they will be working together to achieve bigger things.Ai??Another AustralianAi??Symons joined the existing PailanAi??Arrows coaching staff ofAi??Chakraborty andAi??Basu to complete Papas’ team. They will be setting the targets for youngstersAi??and is expected to guide them through out their journey.Ai??Papas is looking likeAi??the perfect fit for this special project. He has worked and found successAi??inAi??a similar project in Australia . You can’t just haveAi??success tomorrow andAi??it will take time.Ai??This ventureAi??can attract the European football fansAi??across India to take notice of Indian FootballAi??and to get the game back on track in India.

Expectations

The PailanAi??ArrrowsAi??squad might be missing the wealth of experience thatAi??other I-League clubs possesses and this might prove to be a major shortcoming. They also lack foreignAi??players who bring aAi??different dimension toAi??a team with their physique andAi??skills.Ai??They are expected to battle hard to achieve a decent mid-table finish in I-League. It will be a majorAi??surprise if they end up lifting a trophy this season be it I-League, Federation Cup or Durand Cup. In the end, the exposure to top level football for these youngsters is what matters most.

Amidst all the shortcomings and failuresAi??there is a man with a missionAi??to lead theAi??bunch of youngsters to unheralded footballAi??worldAi??the Indians dreamtAi??about.Ai??Papas has shown ability that heAi??can groom the talented youngsters under one roof by giving exposure to top flight football and thereby keeping the supplyline intact for the national team. Who knows, we might witness the Alwyn’s andAi??Shilton’s reaching the heights which no other Indian footballer has everAi??reached!

Categories: Indian Football
Tags: Alwyn George Indian Football Pailan Arrows

Squad Analysis

Goal Keepers

Defenders

Midfielders

Forwards

Ai??

Coaching Staff

Expectations

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