Peter Taylor leaves after Kerala Blasters’ poor run

The Blasters management had a meeting with Taylor in Pune on Tuesday night after the team’s loss to FC Pune City, and told the head coach that his system was not clicking.

Peter Taylor has been under pressure for sometime as Kerala Blasters have not won a match since their lone victory in their lung opener on October 6.

He landed in Kerala with an impressive record. So much so, that many of the foreign players who came to India said they signed for Kerala Blasters FC mainly because Peter Taylor was its head coach.

But the good times are now over. With the team suffering its fourth straight loss in the Indian Super League on Tuesday night, which pushed the Kochi-based club to the bottom of the eight-team event, Peter Taylor and Kerala Blasters decided to part ways. “Peter Taylor has left the club with immediate effect following a mutual decision,” announced the Blasters, where Sachin Tendulkar is a major shareholder, on Wednesday evening.

MORGAN HEAD COACH

“Kerala Blasters thanks Peter for his efforts and contribution during the association. Trevor Morgan will presently assume the responsibilities of team.”

But it appeared more like a sacking.

SYSTEM NOT CLICKING

The Blasters management, team sources said, had a meeting with Taylor in Pune on Tuesday night after the team’s loss to FC Pune City, and told the head coach that his system was not clicking.

The Blasters, last year’s runner-up, has just won one of its six games, the opener in Kochi against NorthEast United, but it has been a very disappointing run after that.

But with Taylor, a former England coach, sticking to his 5-3-2 formation despite the string of losses, the team management seems to run out of patience.

There is a feeling that Taylor’s consistent 5-3-2 formation (or 3-5-2 as it is also called) is not suited to the ISL where there is not much of a break between games. The wing backs had often appeared to have run out of gas midway through the second session.

Taylor had explained earlier that his plan had been to “attack the opposition in wide areas” and that the goals were not coming because the team did not have enough quality in the final third.

Taylor, a much respected coach in England, will now have the dubious record of being the first head coach to be sacked midway through the ISL.

The Blasters team, which reached Kochi on Wednesday afternoon and which will play the strong Chennaiyin FC on Saturday, will now have a known face, Trevor Morgan, as its head coach.

Morgan was the assistant coach to former World Cupper David James last year.