Chennaiyin FC will start the new season under the same coach as they did the previous one for the first time in four seasons, perhaps learning from their past mistakes. The Marina Machans have benefited greatly from Coyle’s decision to stay, as seen by the excellent signings that the team completed for the upcoming campaign. Lukas Brambilla and other ISL-experienced foreign players have joined the team along with several excellent domestic additions. There is a great deal of anticipation among supporters over the performance of this new-look team in the ISL, with less than a week till the league begins. This brings us to our next analysis of the team’s roster, strengths, weaknesses, and ideal lineups for the forthcoming campaign.
After a terrible start to the season, the Marina Machans pulled off an incredible comeback to make it to the ISL playoffs, something they had not done in the three seasons before. They were eventually eliminated by FC Goa at the Fatorda in the quarterfinals. Coyle would be eager to continue on the successes from the previous season and move up the standings in the hopes of bringing home some silverware for the team.
Summer Transfer Window
Chennaiyin FC has been one of the clubs, that was quite active in the transfer market from the late stage of last season, making some really good moves in terms of foreigners and domestic signings. Samik Mitra has signed a three-year extension with the club and Mohammad Nawaz has joined from Mumbai City FC, with both the keepers hoping to grab the spot left by Debjit Majumdar. Pratik Kumar has left the club on loan to join Delhi FC for the upcoming season.
The club managed to sign Mandar Rao and Vignesh Dakshinamurthy at left back, after losing Aakash Sangwan on a free transfer. Four years after Dinliana left the club to join Coyle at Jamshedpur, they have welcomed the right-back back to the team from Odisha. Elsinho and Dinpuia, who played a key role for Jamshedpur FC in the previous campaign, have also joined the club, giving Coyle’s side much more depth and value at the back. Apart from Aakash, there have been two more exits: Sachu Siby joined Inter Kashi, while Lazar Cirkovic joined Jamshedpur FC. Ryan Edwards, the club captain, has agreed to a one-year extension, and Bikash and Ankit Mukherjee are staying with the team.
In the midfield, they have signed Jitendra Singh, a player nurtured by Coyle during his tenure at Jamshedpur. They have succeeded in getting Jiteshwor to sign a one-year extension despite interest from elsewhere. On mutual termination, Ayush Adhikari departed the team and is rumored to have joined Hyderabad. Also joining the team from Mohun Bagan is the versatile midfielder Lalrinliana Hnamte. As Coyle stated, Rafael Crivellaro quit the team, and finding a successor for him was a significant task. They have signed Brazilian midfielder Lukas Brambilla, who finished the previous season in the Cyprus first division with six goals and seven assists. Connor Shields, the striker-turned-midfielder, has also agreed to a one-year contract extension with the team.
Rahim Ali, one of the team’s longest-serving players, has moved on to play for Odisha. Also leaving the team to join Jamshedpur was Jordan Murray. Additionally, Ninthoi departed the team to sign with Punjab. Coyle has signed ISL-experienced attackers Daniel Chima Chukwu and Wilmar Jordan Gil to strengthen the attack. Coyle and Daniel had previously worked together at Jamshedpur, where they won the shield during the 2021–2022 season. The team has successfully signed Gurkirat Singh from Mumbai and Kiyan Nassiri from Mohun Bagan, two of India’s most talented attackers. Farukh Choudhary, Irfan Yadwad, and Vincy Barretto have also remained with the team.
Pre-Season
This season, the team chose to send its reserves to the Durand Cup in addition to a few players from the first team. Along with reserve team coach Rajan Mani, assistant coach Noel Wilson led the team. The squad did not advance to the knockout stages and only achieved one victory in three games. It was disappointing, but there were a few young players who showed promise and might eventually be promoted to the first team: Solaimalai, Praful, and Vivek S, to mention a few.
The senior team participated in the Goa Football Association’s 2024 Bandodkar Trophy. The squad was eliminated from the competition in the group stage, despite winning the first game against Churchill Brothers 4-1. Coyle made a few changes for the second game against Odisha, and even though the squad played well, they lost 1-0. However, the club’s last match against Defence Y Justicia was extremely disappointing as they lost 2-0 to the Argentinean team’s reserves. Although a few supporters expressed concern, Owen Coyle maintained that the goal of preseason training is to gain players’ match fitness, not results.
Despite missing the Bandodkar Trophy, Mohammad Nawaz is already back in training. Nawaz will be vying for the starting goalkeeper position come season’s opening, even though Samik Mitra has occasionally displayed good quality. Among the players who won over many Chennaiyin supporters was Hnamte with his brilliant performances. Dinpuia appears to have sealed his spot in the middle of the defense with Ryan Edwards, having adapted to the system excellently. The fact that the club was unable to score in the last two games raised serious concerns about their striking department. Once Lukas Brambilla is included in the starting lineup, Coyle would want to see the squad score more goals.
Squad compared to last season
It’s obvious that the current Marina Machans roster is far superior to the previous one in terms of depth and quality. In comparison to the previous season, the defense’s depth is really amazing. They only had two reliable full-backs in the previous campaign: Ankit Mukherjee and Aakash Sangwan. This time, though, they have two proven right-backs and two proven left-backs, which will increase internal competitiveness and raise the team’s standard overall. If Coyle had to choose between Dinpuia and Bikash to partner with Ryan, he would be really delighted to suffer that headache. Elsinho, who took Lazar’s place, gives the team more versatility by playing both in the midfield and as a center-back.
Only Ayush and Jiteshwor, as well as Mobashir for the second part of the season, were Indian midfielders on their squad the previous year. This time, they have added Jitendra Singh and Hnamte, two players who can play defensive midfield roles permitting greater freedom for Connor Shields to get involved in the attack. In the last two seasons, Chennaiyin has been without an Indian player who could cover for Rafael Crivellaro or Nasser El-Khayathi as a secondary striker. However, this season, they have Kiyan Nassiri, who can fill that role.
Despite Rahim Ali’s departure, the club would be pleased to get someone like Gurkirat Singh, who has proven himself at youth levels with the national team. He would be expecting to gain more playing time here and grow under Owen Coyle, who has an incredible track record of fostering young players’ development. For the striker position, they have managed to retain the services of Irfan Yadwad, who will be eager to make a name for himself this season after settling into the league last season. Unlike the previous season, when Jordan Murray was the only foreign striker available, they have two experienced ISL attackers this time around who can truly complement each other and push each other to strive harder.
With Vincy and Farukh as the only natural wingers in the lineup, it appears like the team lacks flank depth. However, players like Gurkirat Singh, Connor Shields, and Lukas Brambilla may also fill in there to offer cover. All things considered, Owen Coyle would be thrilled with the club’s acquisitions and would be gunning for an even better league finish.
Most exciting player to look forward to
Chennaiyin’s core of Indian players is quite young, and several of them have immense potential. But Kiyan Nassiri is one guy to keep an eye on. Since he made waves with his hat-trick in the Kolkata Derby, Kiyan Nassiri has been the center of attention, and many fans thought he would become one of the top strikers in India. While he has shown glimpses of brilliance since then, he has been unable to establish himself as a regular starter at Mohun Bagan due to the club’s available options up front. Kiyan made the decision to move down south to Chennaiyin FC after deciding not to renew his contract with the team.
Kiyan would be eager to live up to his potential and establish himself as a consistent starter for his club. Owen Coyle, a former prolific striker, would be a great coach for him to learn from and help him reach his full potential. Manolo Marquez, the head coach of the National Team, selected Kiyan for the Intercontinental Cup team that recently faced Syria and Mauritius. In order to secure his spot in the next National Team camps, Kiyan would be eager to give his all at the club level. In a sign of the club’s and manager’s confidence in him, he would be donning the number 7 of the team.
Player with a point to prove
Daniel Chima Chukwu, anyone else? Reunited with previous head coach Owen Coyle, the Nigerian striker joined Chennaiyin FC this season. But even before the 33-year-old kicked the ball, many supporters had doubted the striker’s abilities in front of goal and overall fitness. The decision by the club to offer the striker a two-year deal has drawn criticism and doubt among supporters. Fans’ reservations about the striker’s skill have grown when he missed a few opportunities in the Bandodkar Trophy during the preseason.
Looking at Chima’s performance in the league over the last several seasons, you can see that he tends to settle into the league slowly and scores most of his goals in the second half of the season, which usually occurs after December. Chukwu will be eager to regain his best fitness and solidify his position as the starting striker, especially with Wilmar Jordan Gil posing internal competition. Chima would be a tremendously useful player to come off the bench and score goals if he weren’t a starter. The 33-year-old would be adamant about proving his critics wrong and repaying Owen Coyle’s trust in him.
Best XI
It’s difficult to select a team of eleven players that would be ideal given the choices that Marina Machans and Owen Coyle have at their disposal. The head coach will have a great deal of headaches while selecting the players for specific roles. Let’s attempt to select one here, though.
Nawaz is expected to start in goal ahead of Samik Mitra even though he was absent from the preseason matches. Mandar Roa Dessai would start as left back. Despite the fact that Vignesh would seem like an obvious choice, Mandar has a good case to start after excelling in the preseason. While Ankit may be more defensively sound and content moving forward, Dinliana is the complete package and should start as a right-back. Ryan Edwards picks himself, as does Dinpuia, based on his preseason performances.
As the holding midfielder, Jiteshwor Singh is appropriate to start. Though Jitendra and Hnamte are also excellent choices, Jiteshwor’s tenacity and knack for winning balls make him an ideal fit for that position. Along with Jiteshwor, the team’s engine, Connor Shields, must start. Although many had anticipated that Connor would play an offensive role this season, Coyle once again used him in the midfield, giving him more freedom to participate in attack. Lukas, along with Connor and Jiteshwor, should start in a more offensive midfield role, creating opportunities for the strikers and wingers to advance forward and score.
It could be a great idea to play Kiyan Nassiri on the left wing. As a clever mover, Kiyan frequently likes to get behind the striker to open up space. Lukas, on the other hand, likes to take players on by switching to the flanks and creating opportunities. The interchange play between these two may be something to watch for. Vincy Barretto should start although, Gurkirat Singh poses a serious threat to Vincy in the right-wing race. This year, Vincy has to start scoring goals more frequently or he risks losing his spot to Gurkirat, who has demonstrated that he can cut in from the right flank and score goals.
Wilmar Jordan has a better chance of starting than Chima, but it’s still close. There may be occasions when Owen plays 4-4-2 and they both play together. Ankit, Vignesh, Jitendra, Hnamte, and Elsinho are among the guys who might really make it difficult for Owen to choose the starting lineup. However, these dilemmas are useful to have, are they not?
Best XI- Mohammad Nawaz(GK); Mandar Roa Dessai, Ryan Edwards(C), Laldinpuia, Dinliana; Jiteshwor Singh, Connor Shields; Kiyan Nassiri, Lukas Brambilla, Vincy Barretto; Wilmar Jordan;
Predictions
Everyone wrote Chennaiyin off and believed they wouldn’t make it to the playoffs following their poor start to the previous season. However, Owen Coyle and his team disproved everyone’s assumptions by narrowly qualifying for the playoffs by defeating Mohun Bagan, Jamshedpur, and Northeast United in the final few games. With an even stronger team, the Scottish head coach will be determined to finish comfortably in the top six this time around. They would be striving for a top-four finish, but it would not be simple given how much each team has strengthened in the transfer market. Although finishing in the top six seems certain, the club would want to finish in the top four.
As the passionate Chennaiyin supporters chant, “We are Chennaiyin, We are Chennaiyin; Chennaiyin FC, Chennaiyin FC; Pride of Tamil Nadu, Pride of Tamil Nadu; Here to conquer India, Here to conquer India,” they would be hoping that the two-time champions could win a significant trophy this season and end the club’s six-year trophy drought.
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