Because of logistical problems, this entry could not have waited for Thursday’s Council of East and Central Africa (Cecafa) Tusker Senior Challenge Cup game between the Flames and Eritrea. By the time you read this, therefore, it will have become clear whether we still have a chance to proceed to the quarter-finals ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Zanzibar, which is the last in the group.
I was very excited on Monday afternoon as I sat at home waiting to watch the game against Rwanda because I was confident that our 10-game winless streak would be coming to an end. Despite our recent problems, I never thought the Rwandans had enough in their locker to lord it over us. I now wish I never had so much confidence in the boys Kinnah Phiri has assembled for us.
After watching the first-half, I thought I had seen enough and decided that there were better things to occupy my time on what was a special day for me from a purely personal perspective. So I dumped the match for other things. The final result did not surprise me because, from what I saw, we did not play like a team that really wanted to be there, let alone leave a mark or compete.
And to imagine that the collection of players that were on the pitch is supposed to be the best from our domestic football scene! Or did Kinnah fail us in his choice of players to take to Uganda? The least I expect of a national team player, or one knocking on the team’s door, is the ability to do the basics of ball control or passing. The team I saw was lacking in these aspects and could hardly string together three passes.
Now, I have already had my say on the debate regarding Kinnah’s tenure as national football coach and will not waste time repeating myself. What I would mention now is that our national coach is one of the luckiest in the current environment where there is very little patience with underperforming coaches. The security of his tenure should be the envy of many other coaches across the globe.
Somebody compared Kinnah’s luck to that enjoyed by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger who is still enjoying the confidence of his board and a large section of supporters despite this being the eighth season since the team laid its hands on any trophy of note. Within the board, he is surviving because he is helping balance the books and, among the fans, he is riding on glories of his early years.
In Kinnah’s case, his employers believe they cannot get anything better for the money they are spending on him. In other words, getting something better would require going out of the country and, therefore, paying expatriate salaries and benefits. For the fans still having his back, it is because he led the Flames to their lone appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations finals this millennium.
Elsewhere, it seems we might just be heading for another Manchester two-horse race in the English Premier League this season. If you decide to ignore the surge of surprise package West Bromwich Albion, you can clearly see the two neighbours starting to run away from the rest of the pack. That should make next week’s Manchester derby, one not to be missed!
