Coyle’s ‘Four’midables

Chennaiyin FC waited for what seemed an eternity – five matches – before the ball ultimately struck a relationship with the right side of the net in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2019-20. But since then, the association has grown from strength to strength with a little turbulence in-between.

The main ingredients of the long-lasting link-up have been Nerijus Valskis (13 goals and 4 assists), Rafael Crivellaro (7 goals and 6 assists), Andre Schembri (5 goals and 3 assists) and Lallianzuala Chhangte (4 goals) – the players who have contributed to all of Chennaiyin’s 29 goals so far this league campaign.

Each member of the offensive quartet was roped in by previous gaffer John Gregory, who preferred a shake-up in the off-season after a horrific ISL 5 run. However, the Englishman unfortunately could not put the fragments together in the early stages of the ongoing edition as CFC endured a prolonged goal drought.

As a consequence, it was mutually decided that Gregory, the ISL 2017-18 title-winning manager, would walk out of the door after six games. Having been on the lookout for a catalyst – new head coach – for a few days, the club zeroed in on Scotland-born Irish international Owen Coyle, who signed a contract that runs until the conclusion of ISL 6.

Hardly 75 days since taking over the reins, the 53-year-old has almost turned CFC from zero to hero. When Chennaiyin parted ways with Gregory, the two-time champion was placed ninth on the table with five points. With a couple of fixtures remaining in the round-robin phase, CFC (25 points from 16 matches) is now going toe-to-toe with fourth-placed Mumbai City FC (26 points from 17 matches) for a place in the knockouts.

The formidable front four of Valskis, Crivellaro, Schembri and Chhangte has been at the heart of the team’s revival. Although the Chennai-based unit has the least number of individual scorers (4) in the 10-team league, Coyle has devised the right formula to get the best out of the men up front.

The simple fact is that the current boss has begun with the above mentioned attack line in eight of his ten games while Gregory never fielded the four players together in the starting line-up during his tenure. Under the tutelage of Coyle, CFC has bulged the net 25 times, at an astonishing average of 2.5 goals per game.

Having disturbed the board in all but two encounters in the new era, Chennaiyin currently is the third-best scoring team in the competition with 29 strikes, behind FC Goa (41) and ATK (31). However, the frontline still has some unfinished business as CFC next meets host Mumbai City in what could potentially be a winner-takes-all clash.

If the Coyle-managed side churns out a positive result at the Mumbai Football Arena on Friday, it will qualify for the play-offs – something which appeared improbable after Gameweek 6. For a fearless outfit which has turned the corner, stepping up in the hour of need presumably would not be a tough ask.