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Bandari Football Club’s recent poor run in the league should not be a big deal for any genuine fan of the team.
It does not warrant the recent ugly incidents I witnessed after the team’s 2-1 loss to Kakamega Homeboyz in midweek when some fans hurled all manner of insults at the team’s technical bench and players.
It was only Bandari’s fourth loss the entire season and the first at home. Bandari, which is now placed fourth on the log, is still within touching distance of league leaders Gor Mahia and second placed Sofapaka. I was tempted to view those hurling the insults as goons for hire masquerading as fans.
Methinks losing to Kakamega Homeboyz should have been taken as a wake-up call for all who care for the club to realise that the honeymoon period was over. And that it is now time to pull together and identity the problems bedevilling the club with an intention of fixing them at the earliest convenience.
All is however not lost for Bandari whose quest for a first ever league title is very much on course if the club can make a few acquisitions during the ongoing transfer window to fill the huge gap left by six injured players.
I watched new signing, Nigerian import Alex Orotomal come on as a second half substitute against Kakamega Homeboyz but I doubt if he alone is the player Bandari needs to replace goal poacher Wycliffe Ochomo who is still out injured, and whose absence has contributed greatly to Bandari’s current woes.
Orotomal does not have the killer instincts that Bandari need at this moment in time. When a half chance should be translated into a goal, he is not pacy in my opinion and lacks the power to muzzle the defenders.
With reliable defender Bernard Odhiambo and goalkeeper Mustafa Oduor out for the rest of the season and Ochomo still out for at least two months, Bandari needs at least four more new signings to salvage their season.
We must also appreciate that Bandari were early pace setters which made them an automatic target for many teams in the league but that does not mean that the team should continue losing matches especially in their back yard.
KPA Mbaraki Sports Club had earlier on in the season been dubbed a ‘slaughterhouse’ where teams regardless of their status dropped points.
Coach Mwalala is on record asking the team officials for a few additions to beef up the squad by replacing the injured players but the question is what happens if that does not materialise.
Does it mean Bandari will now be the whipping boys of the SportPesa premier until all the players on the injury list recover?
My unsolicited advice to Coach Mwalala is that he must dig deep and make the best of the players currently at his disposal. This should mean even shuffling the players into unfamiliar positions where they would end up being more productive instead of warming the bench week in week out.
Moses Mudavadi and Mohmmed Siraj are some of the players who have lately been playing at the back but have previously done very well in attack and I think it’s high time they were given that opportunity yet again.
Bandari should not allow Gor Mahia any chance to stay at the top because dislodging them from there will be a tall order judging by their international exposure and the twelfth player, the diehard club fans who are always rooting for them.
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