Sometimes you have to wait a while for something that catches your eye. Something grabs your attention and you think, bloody hell, that’d make a good article. Other times, it all happens at once and you can’t tell from your arse from your elbow because there’s that much going on. Well, we’ve got the latter.
So, while we were all trying to figure out what on earth was going with the Super Cup, the play-offs and everything else, we’ve had a manager leave, a manager commits for three more years, a player signing a new deal and another player being a complete cock, pardon my French.
Behave Berbatov
We’ll get the cock out of the way first (I am aware how funny that sounds and I’m sticking with it). Dimitar Berbatov is a player with bags of ability that us mere mortals can only dream of, yet, for me, he’s always come across as someone who could’ve been a lot better if he was actually bothered. For Kerala this season, he has been on the pitch for 532 minutes out of a possible 1620, however, that didn’t prevent the ex-United & Spurs forward putting this on Instagram.
😅 Dimitar Berbatov is currently playing for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters, who are managed by David James…
Fair to say he's not a fan!
(📱 Insta: berbo9) pic.twitter.com/a4YJrwCaY7
— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) March 4, 2018
My initial thoughts were, he’s done it for a reaction. But, I then thought about it for a little longer and it strikes me as exactly the type of thing he would say. Out of the 532 minutes he was on the pitch, he probably put a shift in for 32 of them, at a push. Don’t come back next season, Dimitar.
On a brighter note, also from Kerala, David James has put pen to paper on a new deal which will keep him at the club until 2021. I’m happy with that, Kerala fans are happy with that, James is happy with that, the only person who probably isn’t is Berbatov. Ah well.
Kerala Would Have Finished Second
Under James’ tutelage this year they’ve picked up eighteen points from a possible thirty-three and I know it doesn’t always work like this, but, if he was in charge from the start, they would’ve picked up thirty-three points and qualified for the play-offs. It was the start under Meulensteen which let them down. Funny how Berbatov didn’t slag him off, isn’t it?
Sticking with the topic of coaching, Ashley Westwood quit late last week. The interim ATK coach decided to step down, why he did it then, I don’t know. He’s had a torrid time since he’s taken over from Sheringham and it was only going to be a matter of time before he was replaced, regardless. Robbie Keane stepped in as the caretaker player-manager and started rather well as he scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over fellow strugglers NorthEast.
Juanan Signs On The Dotted Line
Finally, a bit of good news for Bengaluru fans. Further to Rahul Bheke signing a new contract recently, Juanan has now joined the party as he’s now tied up until 2020. The imperious Spaniard has created a formidable partnership with John Johnson and it comes as no surprise that they have the best defensive record in the ISL; Juanan will be part of the Bengaluru side that now faces a possible four games in ten days as the fixtures start piling up.
On Wednesday they’ve got the first-leg of the play-offs with the second leg on Sunday. After that, they host Abahani Dhaka in the AFC Cup on the Wednesday and it’ll culminate with the final, should they beat Pune, on Saturday the 17th. Buckle up, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.
That’s all for now from the newsdesk.
Until the next time.
