Stop the analysis and keep the faith

With the Euro Cup 2012 nestled pompously in Spain, the attention of the football fans in India is moving back home. The initial hot topics are the confirmed transfers, new coaches, and evaluating the on-paper strength of each team. Some fanatics have even evaluated who will win the I-League.

If titles were decided by these evaluations, Brazil would have been World Champions in 2006, Spain and Brazil would have contested the finals of the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa and most recently, Germany should've had the better of Italy in the Euro 2012 semifinal. But, the fact that none of these ever happened shows that no matter how strong the team is, all that matters is how it uses the 90 minutes to the best of its abilities.

To those of you who think this will be a title winning team, and to those of you who think otherwise, please stop giving it so much thought....Just be there for the team you love!

As the team heads to Durgapur for their pre-season camp, the legendary Jose Ramirez Barreto will be not be a part of the Green and Maroon Brigade after mentoring them for many years. A departing Barreto put the onus on Odafa Okolie to lead the Mariners to glory, like never before.

A new head coach, a new fitness coach and a lot of new players - all this gives us a lot to look forward to! Only time will tell how the new faces prove their worth, but as fans we owe them our trust. In victory or in loss, the players and the staff always put their best foot forward and we have to sportingly acknowledge it.

So, when the new season starts we want to see the fans fill up the stands, create the atmosphere of a carnival and roar 'Joy Mohun Bagan' to signal to the world that the Mariners are on the ground with millions backing them. This will have opposition trembling in fear and the Mariners, with their fans, will go marching glory-wards.