Good morning Everyone,
As you may have heard, Enyimba has lost a barrage of their senior players. The likes of Ani Ozoemena, Imo Obot and Gabriel Innocent have all jumped ship to teams playing in the Continent. Apparently playing in the Continent can make a football club a little more appealing than others who aren’t. We can be arrogant and cocky all we want but that doesn’t eliminate this truth.
The latest name on the Departure Lounge is Joseph Atule. Atule delivered the goods in the second half of the season. He was simply unplayable at times and singlehandedly fetched us points and wins. Well, the news is, and it’s a bad one, is that there is a 99% chance he may have played his last game for us.
If you imagine what an ideal Enyimba XI looked like last season, you’d want to ask, what is the quality remaining? The ones you havent heard that they are leaving are those you know aren’t even 3 star players. Thats by the NPFL Standard of course. Our club is looking a mess right now.
The reason some of us lend our voices to these apparent mismanagement of the club is that for alot of us, and I have said this over and over, Enyimba is all we have. This is a club we grew with. We kicked every ball and screamed the loudest through the rich history that is Enyimba.
The current Management know nothing of this bond, nor are they inspired to make “Enyimba-first” decisions. Everyone is looking to cash out. Allegedly, a number of the Enyimba players are signed up to Papilo’s football agency. In other words – ain’t no way I am breaking that down for you. Sorry.
So where do we go from here? What’s the hope? In 2016, Enyimba lost their best legs. Chinedu Udoji, Emmanuel Anyanwu, Nzube Anaezemba, Sikiru Kamal and Abdulrazak Aliyu all exited the club. As a fan and as someone with a personal relationship with most of these names, I felt we were doomed.
And we did lose our mojo for the next few seasons that followed. It took 3 seasons for us to rediscover our “touch”. It may be tougher this time around especially if the current Management remain in place. Or better put, if they keep up with the same failing decisions.
Are we still surprised that the stadiums are empty on matchdays despite the gates being thrown open? It signals a disconnect with the fanbase, and that’s a problem that can’t be ignored.
Again, the solutions to these issues are simple. As simple as plugging round pegs in round holes. Thats not hard to do, is it?
Back tomorrow
‘EnyimbaEnyi
