Technical benches for Super League teams are fast turning into dangerous bleeding grounds for confusion, ill behaviour and violence during domestic games.
And the source of trouble is that virtually every Jim and Jack find their ways to the benches, sandwiching coaches.
Clueless supporters, officials and former players with neither management skills nor coaching badges sit on the benches. They, often times, undermine coaches and team doctors by taking over their responsibilities.
They, after coaches have done the half time pep talks, take turns to instruct the players, when if tact, they eventually confuse them.
They go a step further, plunging head long into the medical field.
They, as if merely obeying the Law of Gravity, rush onto the pitch while carrying bottles of water on the pretext of going there to treat injured players.
In reality, they zealously seek to grab attention. Often, these people take advantage of their proximity on the pitch to ‘coach’ players and worse, still insult referees.
They remonstrate against referees decisions. Just for the sake of it. Fans in the terraces, like children, merely copy and paste from such unbecoming behaviour on the bench. A recipe for violence.
Some of the causes of violence could be due to an infiltration of wrong people on the technical benches for our clubs during games.
They have no coaching qualifications, management skills, let alone medical background. But they sit on the bench, stand on the touchline to give players funny sign language, probably only discernable in Planet Mars.
In short, most of the people who sit on the technical benches for Super League clubs are serious threats to Malawi football.
Else where, say in England, the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger ensure that their company on the bench is there on merit. Only professionals in their respective fields such as psychology, medicine, goalkeeping, statisticians, coaching and fitness take occupancy of seats there..
Whenever these established teams have people on the bench, their responsibilities are clearly spelt out.
Watch them and you see men at work. No spectators. Every member of the bench minds their business.
Not in Malawi. Standards have been thrown to the dogs.
Yet the substitutes’ bench is an exclusive place for sober minds, calm heads and those who can control their emotions and demons.
It is time for FAM technical director Jack Chamangwana to make true of his promise, made in 2010, that only accredited people find their place on the benches.
All players have identity cards, so why should it be a problem with members of the coaching panels?
And by the way why is it that before high profile matches, some fans find their way onto the pitch to aimlessly take a stroll there and fuel juju allegations?
Come on FAM and Sulom, the pitch is an exclusive place for players and referees.
