Bagan, EB are failing to produce new talent: Bhattacharya

Mohun Bagan and East Bengal – two giants in Kolkata football - have failed to groom new talents since quite a long time and that, in turn, has contributed to a downslide of the beautiful game's standard in the city, feels former India player Subrata Bhattacharya.

"Mohun Bagan and East Bengal officials are responsible for the degeneration of football in Kolkata. In the past 10 years, they have not been able to groom any upcoming talent," said Bhattacharya, who now coaches Chirag United.

 "There is no production of players. Look at JCT, they spot the talent and work towards honing their skills as a footballer," he added.

With the Calcutta Premier Division League running alongside the I-League, Bhattacharya is not very confident of his team's performance in the national event.

"The Goan teams will have an advantage in the I-League race. Since we (along with Mohun Bagan and East Bengal) will be playing in both the tournaments, it will hamper our performance," Bhattacharya said.

Bhattacharya's team, mainly consisting of ex-players from the big clubs and a number of new talents, are a side to watch out for.

At a time when the giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal are struggling for a win, Chirag notched two victories on the trot to go on top, where they are sharing the spot with JCT.

JCT areahead of the Kolkata outfit by virtue of a goal difference.