It’s Friday. The blessed final lap of the work week.
That moment when tension starts melting, shoulders drop a little, and the mind drifts toward weekend football fever. And this one already feels like premium content, especially after the Super Eagles dragged us through emotional gymnastics before finally settling the Gabonese matter four one after extra time.
It was a performance that reminded some of the 2014 UEFA Champions League final, only that we did not pull off the dramatic comeback that night’s winners did. Still, job done. Now all eyes are on DR Congo this weekend, and if the Eagles do their part and Enyimba sees off Wikki Tourists about four hours earlier, we might just stroll into the new week floating.
Speaking of weekends and tension, this is also our first game since the expiration of that famous ultimatum slapped on Stanley Eguma. Two games, two clean sheets, a home win and a goalless draw away, a respectable return and uncannily similar to how we opened the season with a point on the road at Barau FC and a solid win at home. Not terrible, but has the storm really passed? Or is this just that deceptive calm before the next twist in the Enyimba storyline?
Rewatch those matches on the NPFL Live app and a few questions immediately pop up. Have we truly gained something from that ultimatum? Tactical clarity, squad cohesion, defensive discipline, a spark in the final third? Did it help the gaffer finally touch the right buttons? Or did the ultimatum simply coat the cracks in white paint, leaving everything glossy on the surface but still questionable inside? Sometimes even a sepulcher can shine.
For the average Enyimba faithful, the ones who truly live and breathe this club, the demands are beautifully simple: wins. As many as possible. Preferably meaningful ones, not the type that takes ten years off our lives before full time, or just a win for the sake of it after losing the ones that get us closer to titles. But beneath that, we also care about the long term direction of this club.
Does this ultimatum signal a recalibration of our mid season and end of season targets? Or is it a push toward something bigger, maybe a five year plan, a structural reboot, a proper return to being the model club in Nigeria and West Africa?
Because the truth is, we are not that model right now. We used to be the blueprint, the standard other clubs envied and tried to imitate. That is the mountain we need to start climbing again. And that climb begins with baby steps: consistent performances, smart decisions, accountability, vision, and the courage to stick to it. Slowly the baby steps become strides, and hopefully those strides lead us to joy that lasts longer than one matchday.
Back tomorrow with something on our clash with Wikki Tourists.
EnyimbaEnyi 💙
