By Robin Toskin
To most people the 1-0 defeat to Togo in the 2013 Africa Nations Cup qualifier was no surprise after they saw firsthand how Malawi dragged around Kenya by the nose on June 2.
However, there is still a constituency that has Harambee Stars in their hearts, who went through the agony relayed from Lome.
But what is the problem? There is no one answer. There is a school of thought that believes there is no problem with Harambee Stars. That the team we have been watching is “Friends of Kimanzi FC” representing Kenya!
Those kind enough, like me, think that it is actually Harambee Stars, but its general Francis Kimanzi has lost the script.
We stood by him when he was hounded out by Mohamed Hatimy’s regime during his first stint as Harambee Stars coach.
Personally, I hit out at Prime Minister Raila Odinga for presiding over unveiling of German Antoine Hey without finding out what had gone wrong with Kimanzi who had guided the team past Guinea, Zimbabwe and Namibia in 2008.
To be fair to Kimanzi, the whole problem is larger than him, but fans are right to hold him accountable to matters technical, team selection and general preparation of the team.
Like the naked Emperor in Hans Christian Andersen’s tale “The Emperor's New Clothes” Kimanzi has gone about his work believing he is dressed up tactically.
Yet his team selection, even to a pub coach, cannot yield tactical combinations befitting his Dutch Total Football schooling for which he holds a Uefa A coaching licence.
It can make an interesting read if Kimanzi explains his choice of Jamal Mohamed ahead of, say, Michael Oyando (KCB). His wisdom of selecting Kevin Kimani and Patrick Oboya.
Or converting James Situma, a right-footed midfielder by design into a left fullback when upstarts like Kevin Amwayi (Ulinzi Stars) are staking claim to such positions.
We all know Jamal cannot even win a place in his struggling Mathare United side. His fast lane lifestyle (we have Jicho Pevu like pictures to back up this claim), not to mention his technical inadequacies makes a mockery of Kimanzi’s wisdom in selecting him.
Talented as he may be, Kimani is not playing competitive football since he left Mathare United.
Oboya is not the precocious talent we saw at AFC Leopards in 2006.
On the pitch, the insistence on fielding two slow holding midfielders puts a stain on Kimanzi’s tactical credentials. If Paul Were, though an eyesore with his blind runs to a dead end, can only start from the bench because he is still developing, why would Clifford Miheso get the nod? It doesn’t add up therefore not to try Amwayi for instance if only to liberate the energetic Situma to prowl the midfield.
Oyando has been a leading light for KCB — strong, combative, good ball control, and a good free-kick taker always operating between the two boxes. Why not try him out in place of injured, but divisive MacDonald Mariga?
But does he have assistants in Francis Baraza and Yusuf Chippo to lift the hazy membrane on Kimanzi’s cornea? What are their credentials?
The story of poor development of players both technically and mentally, dishonest partners held hostage by greedy middlemen, which are beyond the coach, is a story for another day. But, the long and shot of the current heartache is that Kimanzi has just lost the plot.
Francis Kimanzi II record
11/11/11 WC Seychelles 0 - 3 Kenya
15/11/11 WC Kenya 4 - 0 Seychelles
28/11/11 Cecafa Kenya 0 - 2 Malawi
30/11/11 Cecafa Ethiopia 0 - 2 Kenya
03/12/11 Cecafa Kenya 0 - 1 Sudan
29/02/12 Afcon Kenya 2 - 1 Togo
02/06/12 WC Kenya 0 - 0 Malawi
09/06/12 WC Namibia 1 - 0 Kenya
17/06/12 Afcon Togo 1 - 0 Kenya
Summary: P9 W4 D1 L4 GF11 GA6 PTS13
