The Indian football team has won nine straight matches, but...

[Varun]

By the same definition, ask the fittest cricketer to run non-stop for 90 minutes and he won't go past the 30 minute mark.

And ask any footballer to play for 5 days under the Lankan or West Indian sun. Won't last until Lunch on the first.

 

[Abdul]

And ask any footballer to play for 5 days under the Lankan or West Indian sun. Won't last until Lunch on the first.

UAE also.

 

[Napa]

And ask any footballer to play for 5 days under the Lankan or West Indian sun. Won't last until Lunch on the first.

When it comes to physical endurance, top footballers will easily outlast top cricketers whatever may be the weather conditions. Physical fitness is much more needed in football than in cricket.

Footballers may get bored out of their minds standing at long-off fielding the entire day, but they won't collapse physically.

 

[Syed1]

And ask any footballer to play for 5 days under the Lankan or West Indian sun. Won't last until Lunch on the first.

No that would be very easy for him because he gets a minutes rest after every ball and if he is at the non-strikers than he can chill for 5-6 minutes without playing any part in the action. Physically cricket is no match for football. You can compare the physical requirements of cricket with golf or ludo, not football.

 

[kaayal]

My only concern is the management/investors of the team , who are mostly rich business men/celebs with not much passion for developing the game (Sachin may be an exception). They could sell of the team to some other big Indian city if the team starts doing too badly. Our state can't offer the same amount of business potential as the bigger cities.

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If they do something like that there will be riots in Malappuram and Kerala.

 

[KingKhanWC]

But which tier were the players who did play for Pakistan in? Did we get any from Division 1 or 2 (Premiership and Championship are probably too much to ask for), or were they all from the Sunday leagues?

They played in Pakistan league football not for the national side. Maybe Im wrong but im not aware of any British Pakstanis playing for Pakistani national team. This is my point, Pakistans national team is in a really bad situation, they should scout in the UK and will find some good talent which will improve their national team a lot.

 

[Nostalgic]

They played in Pakistan league football not for the national side. Maybe Im wrong but im not aware of any British Pakstanis playing for Pakistani national team. This is my point, Pakistans national team is in a really bad situation, they should scout in the UK and will find some good talent which will improve their national team a lot.

I searched online and actually a few have played for the Pakistan national side. Zesh Rehman looks like he's the best known, and he played for Pakistan, and it looks like he played for a number of decent clubs in England (Fulham, QPR, loaned out to Brighton). Adnan Ahmed played for both Pakistan and Huddersfield Town. There are a few others who were at least peripherally associated with good clubs (played for youth teams etc) and they went on to represent Pakistan.

The question then is, why didn't they make much of an impact? If it were just genetics, they wouldn't have ever made it into the English teams that they did. Even someone playing for the youth side of a Division 2 team is probably better than a Sunday league player, and they represented Pakistan.

 

[Slog]

Name Pakistans best footballer? Google it if you like.

Kaleemullah for me

Your lack of knowledge about football in Pakistan is very evident so I dont need to make any assumptions

 

[Slog]

They played in Pakistan league football not for the national side. Maybe Im wrong but im not aware of any British Pakstanis playing for Pakistani national team. This is my point, Pakistans national team is in a really bad situation, they should scout in the UK and will find some good talent which will improve their national team a lot.

No.

They played for the national team. Clearly you are ignorant and are just making up things on the fly.

You made the claim that Sunday league players should do better than the Pakistani players. But British Pakistani players in the English league system arent doing anything

 

[Slog]

I'm curious, were these British-Pakistanis active in the Championship or Division 1 etc of the English pyramid? If so, I would've thought they would've been good enough to make quite a bit of difference to the Pakistan national side. If it were simply genetics, they wouldn't have made it to the clubs they played for (assuming they really were in the second or third tier of English football).

No. They are not

Only Zesh Rehman has played in the Premier League and even that was a fleeting moment and now he is playing in some random Thai league.

The British Asian community has struggled to break into league football in general (Forget Championship and Premier League. Even in League One or Two you would find few and far between)

Heck. Even in rest of Europe or North America, desi reprsentation is minimal and almost negligible in the top leagues

 

[Syed1]

Kaleemullah for me

Your lack of knowledge about football in Pakistan is very evident so I dont need to make any assumptions

Muhammad Essa wasn't bad in his day either.

 

[Slog]

Muhammad Essa wasn't bad in his day either.

Yes. I remember he scored a crazy goal against UAE once and against India on another occassion.

But Kaleemullah has raced far ahead of everyone else.

Success in Asian leagues and now in USA though he hasnt set the world alight there

 

[KingKhanWC]

Kaleemullah for me

Your lack of knowledge about football in Pakistan is very evident so I dont need to make any assumptions

No.

They played for the national team. Clearly you are ignorant and are just making up things on the fly.

You made the claim that Sunday league players should do better than the Pakistani players. But British Pakistani players in the English league system arent doing anything

Where did I claim I have knowledge of Pakistan football? Why would I waste my time watching low standard football when I travel to premier league stadiums? I wrote clubs as you I though you wrote league in an earlier post on another thread. So I got it wrong, big deal as I have no interest in low standard football.

The player you have named hasn't played for any known football team but a few Pakistani clubs. His best is to play in America where he has done little. If this is the best Pakistani player then it just proves my point about the quality.

A British Pakistsani' has captained a youth England team and others have played in the professional leagues which are 100X better standard than any football in Pakistan. Sunday league players are better even though they are amatuers, the level is of a good standard. Pakistan should look to the UK again as clearly the current national team is pathetic.

 

[KingKhanWC]

I searched online and actually a few have played for the Pakistan national side. Zesh Rehman looks like he's the best known, and he played for Pakistan, and it looks like he played for a number of decent clubs in England (Fulham, QPR, loaned out to Brighton). Adnan Ahmed played for both Pakistan and Huddersfield Town. There are a few others who were at least peripherally associated with good clubs (played for youth teams etc) and they went on to represent Pakistan.

The question then is, why didn't they make much of an impact? If it were just genetics, they wouldn't have ever made it into the English teams that they did. Even someone playing for the youth side of a Division 2 team is probably better than a Sunday league player, and they represented Pakistan.

They probably didn't make an impact as football is a team game. Even if Messi was playing for Pakistan, they still wouldn't qualify for the World Cup.

 

[Slog]

A British Pakistsani' has captained a youth England team and others have played in the professional leagues which are 100X better standard than any football in Pakistan. Sunday league players are better even though they are amatuers, the level is of a good standard. Pakistan should look to the UK again as clearly the current national team is pathetic.

Again you show a mindboggling inability to read and comprehend simple English...

Several British Pakistani footballers have played for Pakistan and they achieved nothing. In the late 2000s there was a whole hoopla about having European based Pakistani origin footballers play for the national team and many did.

They were terrible and the results were similar or worse than what the national team was achieving with local players.

So your idea has already been implemented and failed spectacularly. British Pakistani footballers are terrible as well.

 

[Napa]

You can compare the physical requirements of cricket with golf or <b>ludo</b>, not football.

I don't know about Ludo man. I used to shake the dice hard with my hand, wrist, upper arm and shoulders to get that double 6 to come up.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Again you show a mindboggling inability to read and comprehend simple English...

Several British Pakistani footballers have played for Pakistan and they achieved nothing. In the late 2000s there was a whole hoopla about having European based Pakistani origin footballers play for the national team and many did.

They were terrible and the results were similar or worse than what the national team was achieving with local players.

So your idea has already been implemented and failed spectacularly. British Pakistani footballers are terrible as well.

So it was their fault Pakistan did poorly? Your inability to understand basic logic is laughable. Those British based Pakistani's were better than any of the rest? Correct? Because they played for better clubs in better leagues. Just because the Pakistan team didn't do anything doesnt justify your point Pakistan should now stop looking overseas. Try to get with reality and understand Pakistan is still rubbish, prob even worse than before!

 

[Slog]

So it was their fault Pakistan did poorly? Your inability to understand basic logic is laughable. Those British based Pakistani's were better than any of the rest? Correct? Because they played for better clubs in better leagues. Just because the Pakistan team didn't do anything doesnt justify your point Pakistan should now stop looking overseas. Try to get with reality and understand Pakistan is still rubbish, prob even worse than before!

Yes. They were playing. And having British based players actually resulted in a dip in performance.

And tbh it made sense. They were trash players playing for Conference sides with League Two sides being their peak. It showed in how they played and lost for Pakistan

British Pakistanis just arent that good in football like actual Pakistanis.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Yes. They were playing. And having British based players actually resulted in a dip in performance.

And tbh it made sense. They were trash players playing for Conference sides with League Two sides being their peak. It showed in how they played and lost for Pakistan

British Pakistanis just arent that good in football like actual Pakistanis.

When you can name a single player in Pakistan who is anywhere near as good as Easah Suliman who captained England and who scored in this years final helping England to win the U19 Euro Cup, then come back.

 

[Slog]

When you can name a single player in Pakistan who is anywhere near as good as Easah Suliman who captained England and who scored in this years final helping England to win the U19 Euro Cup, then come back.

That's all you have? Anyway let's see whether he does much in senior football.

In any case it's funny to see you getting so defensive about facts. British Pakistanis have rarely achieved anything of note in professional football. Hopefully Suliman can Buck the trend but even then he would be the exception rather than the rulez

And besides your idea of looking towards British Pakistani players for the national team has already been implemented with disastrous results.

Note nowhere did I ever claim local Pakistani players are great to begin with. I just pointed out to the fact that the British Pakistani footballers aren't great either and don't have much to show as a community as far as success in football is concerned. So your idea that drafting these mediocre players will take Pakistan football to the next level is daft and in fact already proven to be a failed idea. The British Pakistani based players for the most part are non-league players who couldn't hack it in the fourth tier of English football even so expecting them to up your game is laughable.

The only way for Pakistan football to progress is investment in infrastructure and identifying talent at a young age and working with them from that age rather than letting them be on their own till they get to U-17 level.

 

[KingKhanWC]

That's all you have? Anyway let's see whether he does much in senior football.

In any case it's funny to see you getting so defensive about facts. British Pakistanis have rarely achieved anything of note in professional football. Hopefully Suliman can Buck the trend but even then he would be the exception rather than the rulez

And besides your idea of looking towards British Pakistani players for the national team has already been implemented with disastrous results.

Note nowhere did I ever claim local Pakistani players are great to begin with. I just pointed out to the fact that the British Pakistani footballers aren't great either and don't have much to show as a community as far as success in football is concerned. So your idea that drafting these mediocre players will take Pakistan football to the next level is daft and in fact already proven to be a failed idea. The British Pakistani based players for the most part are non-league players who couldn't hack it in the fourth tier of English football even so expecting them to up your game is laughable.

The only way for Pakistan football to progress is investment in infrastructure and identifying talent at a young age and working with them from that age rather than letting them be on their own till they get to U-17 level.

Only one name is required and that too of a kid.

You claimed Brit Paks are no better than Pakistanis which is pure bs. No Pakistani could would get signed by Villa as this kid has.

You still dont understand Pakistans failure then firstly doesn't mean it was the Brit Players fault and secondly its to do with the whole system including coach.

 

[hafeezrocks]

No that would be very easy for him because he gets a minutes rest after every ball and if he is at the non-strikers than he can chill for 5-6 minutes without playing any part in the action. Physically cricket is no match for football. You can compare the physical requirements of cricket with golf or ludo, not football.

First Footballers don't run full speed all the time as how you would like to believe. 22 players are not running full speed from one goal post to another for 90 minutes.
Second : Ridiculous comparisons with Ludo and Golf while Western players have got dehydrated and hospitalized while playing under the heat in SC.

 

[Donal Cozzie]

Ok lets be honest here. Japan and Korea while no world beaters, are regulars in World Cups. They make it every time so there is NO comparison between us and them. Also they have had decent representation in top leagues

Thats why I end up thinking it must be genetic or at best, cultural. Desis are way too lazy and laid back for football.

There is no reason that villagers from dirt poor African countries can go to the very top of football and desis can, if the only reasoon holding us back was the facilities or coaching at youth levels

The Japanese in particular have always impressed me.

Success for Asian sides has nothing to do with genes IMO, its all about attitude, infrastructure and administration, the 3 things the desi teams tend to be terrible at. The Japanese take football (and other sports like rugby) VERY seriously, run them fantastically too. I attended a youth tournament in Germany featuring U19 sides from around the world eg Liverpool, Benfica, Salzburg etc etc. A Japanese High School collective side were formed and sent to this tourney and they attend it every edition too. They were magnificent in the game I saw and finished 5th IIRC, thrashing Brazilian side Cruzeiro 3 0 in their last game, and they only missed out on the final through goal difference.

This may be one event but it signifies their approach to the game. Talent identification, scouting networks, regular exposure to top opposition, building of a home fanbase and a great work ethic. Pakistans football possesses zero of these things, if it did I guarantee in 20 years theyd contend for WC spots. China hasnt done too great in this regard, only qualifying for 2002 WC IIRC and doing very poorly, however they have copped on now as well, and are sending the Chinese U20 side to Germany to play in the German equivalent of the Conference this season so that the team gains experience of regular football competitively, grows as a group, experiences no doubt good quality coaching from Europeans.

Occasionally like in all sports golden generations may emerge which bypass what Im saying, but those are exceedingly rare in football nowadays.

Also, lol at people quoting FIFA rankings, they are completely stupid and meaningless. The method of calculating them is so moronic it beggars belief. Norway were 9 in the world like 3 years back IIRC, now look at them, already out of WC qualifying really, lost at home to (an admittedly improving) Northern Ireland with a pop of 1 million if i remember correctly.

India to their credit are doing a great job with the ISL. Indian players get money, fans get attracted, fanbase grows and the local players get exposed to aging but top quality footballers. If they manage things properly I see no reason they cant qualify for the first (stupidly large) edition with 48 teams. Also they now have Robbie Keane playing in Kolkata

 

[WC-Passion]

Guys please do not see the championship as a half decent division. I've watched this awful division many times on Sky or Channel 5 and teams regularly struggle to link more than 3-4 passes past the half way line. Players rely on physicality and only rarely do you see decent attacking football. Huddersfield town was a good example of this (no coincidence that they're currently doing better than both Newcastle and Brighton). The champions in Newcastle were carried by 3-4 players (Gayle,Ritchie,Shelvey etc) and their performances were terrible but they managed to grind out wins against teams that lacked ideas better than Sunday League has to offer. As for Arabs, Mukhtar Ali who can qualify to play for Saudi Arabia was on loan from Chelsea to Huddersfield and now he's permanently at Vitesse who are basically our feeder club. I thought he was Asian at first mainly because of the name. Never actually had heard of Eesah Suliman but even if he does at Villa in the Championship it won't mean much.

 

[cricketjoshila]

This time we will take revenge for all that final losses with Kolkata.

Last final was really heart breaking....i was crying lol

Get ready for another final loss sister.I will send you some chocolates to help with the sorrow.

 

[jusarrived]

India's rise will be impressive only if they beat a Nation that has qualified for the WC in the past.

For example : S Korea, N Korea, Japan, Iraq, Iran UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, China.

Forget about Brazil or Argentina or Chile.

Are India ranked in the Top 50 ? its impressive cos we jumped form ~170 to under 100 beating sides which are ranked from 100 and above .
We are not among the Top10 Asian teams , no one is claiming it neither does the ranking suggest that ..so what exactly is your issue here ?

 

[Arham_PakFan]

At least India is playing Football matches with regularity.The Pakistan team hasn't played since almost 3 years.

The PFF and Faisal Saleh Hayat have completely destroyed Pakistani football.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

At least India is playing Football matches with regularity.The Pakistan team hasn't played since almost 3 years.

The PFF and Faisal Saleh Hayat have completely destroyed Pakistani football.

Really? I had assumed after reading Slog's posts that all Pakistan's football problems were down to involvement of British Pakistanis. It's a shame, football should definitely be taken more seriously in Pakistan considering the stranglehold of India, Australia and England on the cricket world. Some diversity in sport interest would be healthy for Pakistan.

 

[bluevision]

Quality or not, the ISL had an avg attendance of 24k, 27k, 21k respectively in it's 3 years of existence. So, the interest is there for sure. ISL will have 2 teams from I league this time around including Bengaluru FC (AFC cup runners up 2016). I have seen the craze first hand in Goa, Assam and Kerala as few of my visits coincided with ISL local match days. The buzz was phenomenal, especially in Goa with the FC Goa flags flying high everywhere. Although, I am not very optimistic about the national team in the world or even Asian stage in the next 4-5 decades at least. It will be a big deal if we somehow manage to break in to the top 10 in Asia even by 2050

 

[Donal Cozzie]

Guys please do not see the championship as a half decent division. I've watched this awful division many times on Sky or Channel 5 and teams regularly struggle to link more than 3-4 passes past the half way line. Players rely on physicality and only rarely do you see decent attacking football. Huddersfield town was a good example of this (no coincidence that they're currently doing better than both Newcastle and Brighton). The champions in Newcastle were carried by 3-4 players (Gayle,Ritchie,Shelvey etc) and their performances were terrible but they managed to grind out wins against teams that lacked ideas better than Sunday League has to offer. As for Arabs, Mukhtar Ali who can qualify to play for Saudi Arabia was on loan from Chelsea to Huddersfield and now he's permanently at Vitesse who are basically our feeder club. I thought he was Asian at first mainly because of the name. Never actually had heard of Eesah Suliman but even if he does at Villa in the Championship it won't mean much.

Respectfully disagree. Championship can at times be physical and not exactly skill laden but I still reckon its in Europes top 10 leagues and maintains a solid standard.

Find it more entertaining than the Prem tbh, in the Champ some of footballs heart has managed to survive, not for much lonfer though sadly.

 

[kaayal]

Quality or not, the ISL had an avg attendance of 24k, 27k, 21k respectively in it's 3 years of existence. So, the interest is there for sure. ISL will have 2 teams from I league this time around including Bengaluru FC (AFC cup runners up 2016). I have seen the craze first hand in Goa, Assam and Kerala as few of my visits coincided with ISL local match days. The buzz was phenomenal, especially in Goa with the FC Goa flags flying high everywhere. Although, I am not very optimistic about the national team in the world or even Asian stage in the next 4-5 decades at least. It will be a big deal if we somehow manage to break in to the top 10 in Asia even by 2050

Last years avg attendance was 65K in Kochi.

Unofficial figures are around 85K where the viewers were sitting even on the steps, roof top etc.

 

[Napa]

It will be a big deal if we somehow manage to break in to the top 10 in Asia even by 2050

You are too pessimistic. If football in India continues getting more professional like cricket has, we should be a top 5 Asian team by 2037.

 

[hafeezrocks]

Last years avg attendance was 65K in Kochi.

Unofficial figures are around 85K where the viewers were sitting even on the steps, roof top etc.

Crowd Numbers are good, how much are Top Indian Footballers paid compared to the Top Indian Cricketers?

 

[kaayal]

Crowd Numbers are good, how much are Top Indian Footballers paid compared to the Top Indian Cricketers?

Sunil chhetri- 1.5 crore
Lalpekhlua-1.3 crore
Amrinder singh and Sandesh Jinghan- 1.2 each
Anas Edathodika and Lyngdoh- 1.1 each

Last years foreign signings,
Diego forlan- 6 crore
Lucio- 4.2 crore
Helder Postiga- 4 crore
Florent Malouda-2.8 crore

 

[Slog]

Sunil chhetri- 1.5 crore
Lalpekhlua-1.3 crore
Amrinder singh and Sandesh Jinghan- 1.2 each
Anas Edathodika and Lyngdoh- 1.1 each

Last years foreign signings,
Diego forlan- 6 crore
Lucio- 4.2 crore
Helder Postiga- 4 crore
Florent Malouda-2.8 crore

how long does the league last?

2 months?

 

[kaayal]

how long does the league last?

2 months?

2 and half months i guess. I don't know how long will it be this season after the introduction of 2 new teams.

 

[hafeezrocks]

India just drew with an Island Nation of 55 k Population.

 

[bluevision]

Missed too many chances today

 

[WC-Passion]

Respectfully disagree. Championship can at times be physical and not exactly skill laden but I still reckon its in Europes top 10 leagues and maintains a solid standard.

Find it more entertaining than the Prem tbh, in the Champ some of footballs heart has managed to survive, not for much lonfer though sadly.

There are dramatic moments in the Championship that provide entertainment but I don't really see a great standard there and I feel it's overrated because it's an English league with some big clubs in it. I'd disagree that its in Europes top 10 leagues, Premier League, Serie A, Ligue 1, La Liga, Bundesliga, Eredevisie, Primera Liga/Liga NOS, Russian Premier League, Belgian Pro League and Bundesliga 2 in no particular order are better.

The reason why I'd say Bundesliga 2 is better is because the teams in that division have shown real potential in last few years and don't disappoint as much as Championship sides do when achieving promotion. RB Leipzig had a lot of investment which helped but they still went from Bundesliga 2 to being a top 4 Bundesliga team.

I do agree that the heart in football has survived somewhat in the Championship but at the same time I feel like some of the boards of the teams in Championship are dodgy and are preventing progress significantly.

 

[Donal Cozzie]

There are dramatic moments in the Championship that provide entertainment but I don't really see a great standard there and I feel it's overrated because it's an English league with some big clubs in it. I'd disagree that its in Europes top 10 leagues, Premier League, Serie A, Ligue 1, La Liga, Bundesliga, Eredevisie, Primera Liga/Liga NOS, Russian Premier League, Belgian Pro League and Bundesliga 2 in no particular order are better.

The reason why I'd say Bundesliga 2 is better is because the teams in that division have shown real potential in last few years and don't disappoint as much as Championship sides do when achieving promotion. RB Leipzig had a lot of investment which helped but they still went from Bundesliga 2 to being a top 4 Bundesliga team.

I do agree that the heart in football has survived somewhat in the Championship but at the same time I feel like some of the boards of the teams in Championship are dodgy and are preventing progress significantly.

I attended over 15 Bundesliga 2 games last year, and while I definitely think the standard of passing and so on is much better there, I dont see much of a difference between it and the Championship. Top Championship sides would do very well there I reckon with the rest staying up, whereas the Top Bundesliga 2 sides would be play off contenders I feel and the lower ones e-g Heidenheim,Sandhausen etc would struggle badly.

Also, Most cubs in the Eredivisie, Ligue 1, Belgium would struggle in the Championship IMO, issue with those countries is the top sides are of a decent quality but the rest in bottom half of table are just cannon fodder, whereas in England at least the balance is more even.

 

[WC-Passion]

I attended over 15 Bundesliga 2 games last year, and while I definitely think the standard of passing and so on is much better there, I dont see much of a difference between it and the Championship. Top Championship sides would do very well there I reckon with the rest staying up, whereas the Top Bundesliga 2 sides would be play off contenders I feel and the lower ones e-g Heidenheim,Sandhausen etc would struggle badly.

Also, Most cubs in the Eredivisie, Ligue 1, Belgium would struggle in the Championship IMO, issue with those countries is the top sides are of a decent quality but the rest in bottom half of table are just cannon fodder, whereas in England at least the balance is more even.

See that's what I was talking about. When comparing Bundesliga 2 to the Championship, the passing and overall technical side looked much better to me compared to what I've seen in the Championship where teams look to play direct. They lack the ability to create moves going from the halfway line to the final third and physical attributes (such as pace and strength) are relied on too much to unlock defences.

The creativity is not there and some of the defending can be shocking at times too. Obviously there are exceptions, Huddersfield were exciting last season with their high press and good use of an attacking pivot (using Mooy) and this season Wolves have some very decent players in Ruben Neves and Helder Costa who are excellent at creating chances but overall the distinct lack of quality stands out.

I think like many people you are underrating Ligue 1 teams. The top teams are very good because of financial investment (Marseille, Monaco, PSG and Lyon) but the bottom to middle table teams have a lot of good young talent with a mix of experienced players. This is acknowledged by Monchi (who is the sporting director at Roma) as he always looks for talent in coming through the French system and its worked well for him especially when he was at Sevilla. In a hypothetical situation where these teams play in England, I doubt they would struggle in the Championship.

Eredivisie is similar but to a lesser extent but I'd probably agree with you on the Belgian league. Even though its improved in recent seasons, it's probably the weakest league out of the 10 I mentioned.