Stephen Darby needs at least three practice matches before i-League. Mohun Bagan players did not get any leave for the Durgapuja. They are having their practice session at the Salt Lake Stadium every day morning. Darby is serious about his team but he is very eager to play some competitive matches. He informed that also to the officials. But the official did not find any formidable opponent. Due to Durand Cup maximum teams have participated in the tournament.

Meanwhile Odafa Okolie and Sunil Chhetri have joined practice after recovery from injury.  Coach Darby was very eager to participate in the Durand Cup but due to the policy of the club, it has become impossible to participate in the tournament. Steve Darby is trying to boost the confidence of the players too. After poor performance in the Fed Cup, it is very much needed to the players. He told that there are lot of very good players in the team but they lost their confidence very soon. He has to work hard on that to get back their confidence.

It is the puja of Mohun Bagan. This year, it’s very special Durga puja at Mohun Bagan Row in North Kolkata, near Shyambazar. The puja, popularly known as Mohun Bagan Barowari Puja, is being organised by the locals of Mohun Bagan Row. It is the puja of old days which is still celebrated in style all the people from various cultures and, communities. This year the organizers of this puja committee devoted their theme of puja to the Historic IFA Shield Victory of 1911. As all know that this year is the centenary year of this grand successful event of Mohun Bagan.

The Puja was inagurated by The President of Mohun Bagan A.C. Mr. Swapan Sadhan Basu and General Secretary  Mr. Anjan Mitra on Friday. This puja has created a great response from not only the Mohun Bagan supporters but also from all the sports lovers across Bengal. On behalf of MohunBaganClub.com we congratulate the organizers of the Puja Committee and wishes very Happy Durga Puja. Here are some pics of the Puja Pandal of Mohun Bagan Barowari Puja.

To view larger imgae right click on the picture and save the picture. Then double click on the saved picture. You will see the larger image of the below pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 The Entrance of the Mohun Bagan Row Durgapuja

   

National Club with National Flag on the sidewalls.                   The main puja pandal, which symbolises Mohun Bagan

  

The Final Shot of making a history                                                                              Mohun Bagan Row during 1911

 Picture Courtesy: Mohun Bagan Barowari Durga Puja

Photographer : Saikat Bose

Mohun Bagan’s early departure from Federation Cup has raised some serious questions. The first question that was raised was against the attitudes of the Bagan officials – which, fans and members of Mohun Bagan Club feel to be totally unprofessional. It is surprising that no senior member of the management was present in Pune during the Federation Cup. They could have played important roles in motivating the players – but alas they preferred to stay away from the team. Mohun Bagan fans and members are unhappy for the early departure from the Federation Cup – particularly when arch-rivals East Bengal move into the semi-final (even if they continues getting favours from the referees like the previous year’s Federation Cup) – but this does not answer the queries fans and members are having in their minds. Moreover they have decided not to participate in Durand Cup – which is a very poor decision. This means less match practice for Bagan – leading to poor preparation in iLeague!

Some of the questions that keep haunting fans and followers are as follows –

a) There is a question about Simon Storey – what is his condition ? Once Subrata Bhattacharya told that foreign players come to Indian particularly when they are nursing injuries- hence a proper fitness test should have been performed. This was not done and now there is a big question about Storey. Is he fit? Is he worth being our defender? We are yet to come out of the debacle we had last year for recruitment of "Diamondstar" –  is Storey worst than him?

b) Was coach happy with Hudson Lima? mohunbaganclub.com has learnt that coach was not in favour of recruiting him – however Lima was a recruit suggested by Jose Barreto – and hence Bagan had to recruit him. We have no doubts in Barreto’s abilities and commitments- but is Lima’s recruitment worth ?

c) Shilton Pal is our number one goalkeeper for last few seasons – particularly after Sangram has lost his touch. But when will Shilton gain the football sense of when to step out and when not to ? He has made serious mistakes in last 4-5 years – that includes gallery shows that led to conceding goals! He conceded a goal in the first minute of a match (in the second half) against East Bengal – just because he was not in his right position. Once he concedes a goal – he loses his focus and ends up conceding more goals.How many matches did he win for Bagan in last 4-5 years ? We are still relying on him while good goalkeepers were not given chances. This is simply because our goalkeeping coach does not rectify Shilton – and still remains our goalkeeping coach simply because he brings in "co-sponsors!"

A renowned Sport Journalist – a chief sports Editor of Bengal’s leading vernacular newspaper, and a person who covered at least 5 world cups, and a known Mohun Bagan supporter – has always criticised Mohun Bagan’s selection of the defenders. Officials have tried to stop his journalists entering into the club tent – but instead had they listened to his suggestions – Bagan could have got more trophies – and played AFC!

Mohun Bagan officials must reconsider their decisions and should participate in Durand Cup if they want the team to run for the iLeague title – as it is very much clear that the team requires more first class competitive matches to settle down.