News Analysis India

Tag: Robbie Fowler

  • Robbie Fowler justifies East Bengal’s decision to send players out on loan

    In pursuit of their first win in the Indian Super League (ISL), Robbie Fowler’s East Bengal are set to take on Chennaiyin FC on Saturday at the Tilak Maidan Stadium, Goa.

    The Red and Golds are struggling in their maiden ISL season and have just two points from their first six matches. They came agonisingly close to registering their first win of the season in their last game against Kerala Blasters but Jeakson’s last-gasp equaliser spoiled their party.

    Coach Robbie Fowler, though, claimed that conceding last-minute goal against Kerala Blasters has not affected the players’ mentality and he is hoping to get a positive result against Chennaiyin

    “The moral of the team is really good. At times we are unlucky and it is unfortunate that you concede a goal in the last minute but our lads worked really well. We had lots of chances and we could have won the game quite convincingly but football is like that. There are ups and downs and we have had plenty of downs at the moment but the morale of the lads is brilliant and hopefully, we will have a lot of ups starting the next game,” said the East Bengal gaffer.

  • East Bengal head coach Robbie Fowler said that his comments were directed at his team

    He further added, “I understand from where did the people get the wrong context. My intention was not to disrespect anyone. I would never ever do that. There are lots and lots of good players in India. Some not great by all means. There are technically gifted players here but sometimes they need a better understanding of the game. That’s being a realist and trying to better the system. Communicating better on the pitch, knowing when and when not to tackle, when to run and standstill. The understanding of the game can be better.

    “We know that. Our job is to make the players as good as he can be and make them play for the national team. When the national team is successful that means everyone is enjoying the football. The ISL and I-League are good leagues. The development cannot happen overnight. It has to start from the grassroots. Future generations will find it easier to play the game better and understand it better.”

    After the game, Fowler had criticised the performance of his team and seemed to suggest that a few players in his team lacked the required level of coaching. He had said, “We will coach the players because in all fairness few of them have probably never been coached before and that is what we are doing. We will try and make our Indian players better and that takes good coaching and I don’t think they had that in the years gone by.”

    East Bengal are winless after two games and have lost both the games. They fell to a 0-2 loss against arch-rivals ATK Mohun Bagan in ISL’s first Kolkata derby in their opening game and then succumbed to a 0-3 defeat to Sergio Lobera’s Mumbai City. 

    “Whenever you get a team together it is important to get the chance to gel on the pitch.  All teams have remained in isolation, but we probably have struggled more than other teams due to the lateness of getting together as a team. The lateness of getting the squad together. We travel a long way to training each day. But we want to get lots and lots of hours in the training pitch. When you have to travel distances to get to games and training, the player’s welfare is massively important. We need to look after that,” Fowler explained the difficult start. 

  • Promising signs for East Bengal despite defeat

    Friday evening was eventful for the Indian football audience. It was a special night not only because Indian Super League (ISL) hosted its first-ever Kolkata derby but also due to the fact that Robbie Fowler is making his debut in Indian football.

    The Liverpool legend was announced as the head coach one of the Kolkata giants a few months ago and people have been waiting to get a first impression of the club in their first season in ISL – and the first impressions are positive.

    Two well-taken goals in the second half – by Roy Krishna and Manvir Singh – put the game beyond doubt and out of reach of East Bengal. Full credit to Bagan for taking their chances and going atop the ISL table with six points after two matches.


    But it was a closer contest than what the scoreline would suggest. East Bengal was always in the game right until the final minute and looked like they could score at any point in the game. Considering the pre-season that they have had, they looked nearly ready and that is impressive.