Since their inception in 2017, many Indian football fans actually think that Jamshedpur is one of the few teams which operates with a proper structure of a football club and not as a franchise. However, their last three seasons’ results have seen them since finish 5th, 5th, and 8th respectively.
So will a side that has no experience of playing in the Playoffs actually make it to the Playoffs? We take a brief look at how they stack up –
TRANSFERS
Jamshedpur have bought highly rated young winger Jackichand Singh from FC Goa and supplemented their window with some international players like Nicholas Fitzgerald and Peter Hartley.
However, there have been many departures away from the club, particularly in the midfield and forwards department. The likes of CK Vineeth, Bikash Jairu, and Tiri have joined rival ISL clubs, which could be concerning for them.
SQUAD LIST
GOALKEEPERS
- Niraj Kumar
- Pavan Kumar
- Raj Kumar Mahto
- TP Rehenesh
- Vishal Yadav
DEFENDERS
- Joyner Lourenco
- Karan Amin
- Laldinliana Renthlei
- Manash Protim Gogoi
- Narender Gehlot
- Peter Hartley
- Sandip Mandi
- Sandip
- Subhash Barua
- Ricky Lallawmawma
MIDFIELDERS
- Alexandre Lima
- Aitor Monroy
- Amarjit Singh
- Billu Teli
- Gaurab
- Gorachand Mamdi
- Harsha Parui
- Issac Vanmalsawma
- Jitendra Singh
- Mohammad Mobashir
- Manisana Singh
- Jackichand Singh
FORWARDS
- Nerijus Valskis
- Sapam Kennedy
- David Grande
- John Fitzgerald
- Bhupender Singh
- Aniket Jadhav
- William Lalnunfela
STRENGTH
Jamshedpur does have a good forward line this season with Eze, Jackichand, and Valskis, forming a potent trio that can combine well to score a host of goals. They certainly need to improve a lot from their previous tally of 22 goals in 18 games and do not have a reputation of being free-flowing goal scorers. Maybe this trio can change the perception of Jamshedpur in that particular aspect.
WEAKNESS
Hands down, it is their defensive unreliability. The Red Miners kept just 5 clean sheets across their 18 games and ended up conceding 35 goals across their campaign, which nearly accounts to two per match. So the onus is on a few players to shore up that defence and make it solid enough to stop the flow of goals.
KEY PLAYER
It is generally center-forwards that do the bulk of scoring in a rough and tough league like the ISL, and it is no different from Jamshedpur. Their main force will be ex-Chennaiyin man Nerijus Valskis, who had a scoring tally of 15 goals and 6 assists in 20 games in the league last season, and they will hope he continues this rich vein of scoring.
PREDICTED TABLE FINISH
8th Place – The Tata Group-owned club should be able to give their best efforts, but the rest of the opponents are just too strong to keep them in the lower midtable positions.
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