Fans of Enyimba International Football Club will remember the 2024/25 season as the one that started with a Bang- a spirited come-from-behind 3-1 away victory at neighboring Owerri in an oriental derby against Heartland FC. But ended with a Whimper – a tame 1-0 home loss in Aba against Plateau United. In between the two extreme results and emotions, we were served a salad bowl of the Good, Bad and Ugly.
In unpacking the salad bowl, a disillusioned fan would ask,what good was served in a barren season? But a dispassionate review of events shows that it was not all gloom and doom.
THE GOOD – comprised of some highlights that made us yearn for more. However the highpoints were few and far between. From what seemed like a tone-setting league opener against Heartland, to the pulsating penalty shoot-out victory over Etoile Filante of Burkina Faso in the CAF Confederation Cup playoff for a ticket to the group stage.
Add Joseph Atule’s glut of goals in the second half of the season, particularly in March , when he scored in three consecutive matches to earn crucial points to keep the club in the hunt for continental places. How about the star status added to the team by the mid-season acquisition of AFCON winning striker, Brown Ideye? The experience and handful of goals he weighed in.
THE BAD – consisted of the overall poor goals return. Despite the change of coaches in the cause of the season, to bring about an upturn, a “new manager bounce” to unlock the goal scoring potential of the team and see to improvements in performance and results.
A paltry 38 goals in 38 matches in the NPFL was returned. An average of one goal after every game. Only one player, Atule returned double digits (11) in goal contributions – goals (7) and assists (3). Aba – a hitherto home fortress for Enyimba became a vulnerable spot this season.
Home form reads P19, W10, D8, L1. A frustrating eight draws at Aba put Enyimba at 15th on the table for Home Stats and damaged a creditable away form where the team earned 4 wins and 5 draws to place 3rd on the Table for Away Stats. An aggregate of the home and away stats could only leave us at 6th on the final league table and ruled out of line for continental slots.
The poor home results among other factors impacted on the apathy by fans to home games, as evidenced by the empty seats on match days in spite of the reactionary efforts of the administrators to open the gates for free.
THE UGLY – a combination of issues that bother on the maladministration at a club of Enyimba FC’s domestic and continental standing. Where do I start? Maputo debacle and the aftermath. The untidy travel logistics that culminated in the grueling 3-day journey by road to Maiduguri. The knee-jerk decision to chop and change coaches with contrasting ideologies mid season. That reeked of panic and desperation. The disconnect and gulf between the club and it’s teeming fans widened last term because of the tardiness in club management and the team’s inconsistent output.
End of season serves as the opportunity to conduct an audit of team performance and make recommendations, in a bid to improve and achieve set sporting goals. The ball is firmly in the court of the administrators to conduct a holistic review of last season.
We/They must find ways to turn the Good to Better, and the Bad to Good. That can only happen when the Ugly hands that held back the club is chopped off and replaced with the ones capable of the midas touch that propel a club to run efficiently and set the stage for the team to function effectively and optimally.
