Sammy Kitula
9 November 2009
column
They reported for the 4pm training at Kasarani with uncertainty and hopelessness tactfully concealed behind the occasional smiles.
"...Eject these two players, failure to which, I'm not going to train them..." Those were Harambee Stars' head coach, Anotine Hey's words to the technical bench, which greeted the arrival of Edgar "Fighter" Ochieng' and Jamal Mohammed to the national team's training base, in Kasarani.
And true to his threat, the German tactician failed to show up for the team's morning training, which forced his assistant, Twahir Muhidin, to take charge of the afternoon session.
Has Hey decided to quit? Might be the question everyone is asking at the moment after he kept to his hotel room.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, one of the players lamented at how the coach was treating the national team, saying the duo - Ochieng and Jamal - were important to the team, if they were to qualify for next year's African Cup of Nations.
"Mazee hii si poa. Huyu coaches hana haja na team, otherwise, hangepaisha hawa wasee. Hii ni match muhimu na lazima tuiwahi jo, (This is unfair. This coach doesn't seem to have any attachment with the team, otherwise, he wouldn't have rejected the two players. This is an important match which we must win)," noted the concerned player.
See no evil, hear no evil
All the named 21 players had reported to camp on Monday, bar Musa Otieno and Dennis Oliech, who were expected later in the evening. All have been watching with keen interest the team's performance since Hey took over from John "Bobby" Ogola.
Their performance has plummeted since Francis Kimanzi was fired. Perhaps it's due to the fact that the current technical set up is not under any pressure from the Government to deliver: The head coach is 'the chosen one' in the eyes of a section of the government and so you understand why they see no evil and hear no evil.
But for those like us who have a knack for 'objectivity,' there is no doubt that Stars have been a pathetic lot since this man took over, with our world ranks gliding to 104.
Match tickets on sale
My quick response will be that we do not need to shift goal posts because it is now Hey involved. The same thing happened to Jacob 'Ghost' Mulee sometime back and he was blasted left, right and centre when the team failed to get past the group matches in the 2004 CAN.
For as long as we have that kind of mentality, our standards won't improve. This is a clear case of a coach who has failed to deliver and should not have the sympathy of any patriotic Kenyan.
Meanwhile, tickets for Saturday's match are expected to hit the streets this morning, with only 36, 000 tickets on offered. This translates to a 60 per cent of the 60, 000-seater stadium, according to the Fifa rules.
Football Kenya Limited senior vice chairman, Titus Kasuve, said they had intended to produce 60, 000 tickets, but Fifa overuled them. "We urge our fans to start buying the tickets early," said Kasuve.
Tickets for the lower tier will sell at Sh300, while the VIP section's tickets are costing Sh600. Fans to the upper tier will pay Sh200. There will also be two boxes in the middle section whose entrance fees is pegged at Sh1, 000.
Seven G4S selling points were selected and these include; Dagoreti, Westlands, Buruburu, Community, Hurligham, Muindi Mbingu Street and Witu Road, in Industrial Area.
Team in camp: Goalkeepers: Willis Ochieng, David Okello, Wilson Oburu. Defenders: Julius Owino, Pascal Ochieng, Jockins Atudo, Edgar 'Fighter' Ochieng, George Owino, Joseph Njoroge and Ibrahim Shikanda. Midfielders: Jamal Mohammed, Peter Opiyo, Patrick Osiako, Victor Mugabe, Emannuel Ake, Hillary Echesa. Strikers: Allan Wanga, George Odhiambo, Patrick Oboya.
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