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The main important match was against Rajasthan United which required a win for us to seal the I-League title and we definitely had to deliver. And I am pleased to report: WE DID. We managed to get the win we required and we are I-League winners. 500 miles in the bank. We still have to tally the miles from the wins and goals from the season but I also have to remind you we still have a Super Cup to play as well and we are much better than we were the last time we were there in that competition. ...

Kind of a bittersweet feeling writing this if I’m honest. We had two offers come in for 2 of our players during the January transfer window. One was our Emirati 24 year old full back from Chennaiyin and I agreed on a price of 40k GBP for him which made them pull out real quick. The second offer is something I could not say no to really. It was from Mumbai City FC for our Nigerian CB and I set a price for him so I rejected the first approach. Then for the second approach, this happened: ...

The team gelled fantastically. The cohesion has gone right to the middle and it is all showing in the pitch with an unbeaten start to the league. Problem is Sudeva Delhi who got promoted from the I-League 2 are at a similar record too which shocked me because they were favorites to go back down. They have more draws which meant: We are top of the I-League for now ...

Your eyes are not deceiving you either. I was shocked too. We are FAVORITES to win the I League and get promotion to the Indian Super League. It all started when I realised how bad our center back depth was. And the team leader who I coaxed into a new contract wanted more depth. He wasn’t impressed with the Indian CB’s I brought in which I sort of understood because they weren’t 3 stars but only 2 and half stars. ...

The takeover seems to have been quashed so we kept plowing onwards with our transfers. And we brought in some well known names and some pretty nifty signings too to help us become a mid table team. One thing that made me laugh really hard was seeing an intermediary offer me this player: I thought he’d be a good signing but we would be paying a hefty compensation to Clermont because he had a professional contract incoming so I obviously had to withdraw the offer sadly. ...

I know I said I’d bring the transfer plans soon but given the Cup Run and a chance at winning 500 miles I did need to cover it. We had a fairly decent Super Cup run which shocked the hell out of me before FC Goa ruined it completely. The Super Cup would have given us a valuable 500 miles but I’ll take the miles from the wins and goals and we did have some. ...

I understand why this is a thrill for people. Only WHEN you pull it off. And hot damn did we ever pull off the Great Escape. On goal difference over Namdhari FC and Shillong Lajong. It was by no mean feat easy because of our results but after a bunch of hatewatching we managed to get through and survive in the I League. Let’s walk you through every part of the emotion I felt through it all. ...

The first time I’ve really been involved in a relegation scrap. Even in my other unemployed save my first team was only mid table actually before I managed to move them forward. And seeing the way it looks it is going to be scary. We have to be on it from now on to make sure we make the great escape. After the transfer window it was a normal time really. And I mean normal in the sense of as normal as it can be for a bottom of the table club really. ...

The first 3 games were absolutely torrid. Only the majority of them. Let me walk you through them. We started off with your classic smash and grab. A 1-0 win away to Delhi FC who were mid table and had so many better players for sure. The shot comparison says it all on how much of a smash and grab it was when you don’t dominate as much but steal all the points after a peach of a cross was met with a great header. ...

The first club I will be managing is after a 9000 INR connecting flight to Mizoram from Chennai to start things off will be Aizawl FC in the I-League, India’s 2nd Division after the ISL was recognized as the first My contract terms Based on exchange rates you could see that is enormously high for a typical I-League job(85,000 INR) but sometimes FM makes it more balanced across leagues so it’s to be expected. ...