Why Okumbi himself badly requires a coach

HARAMBEE VS LIBERIA Kenya Harambee Stars coach Stanley Okumbi against Liberia during their International friendly at Kasarani Stadium on Tuesday 15/11/16. Kenya won 1-0.PHOTO.BONIFACE OKENDO

Early in the week, a colleague hinted that there was trouble in paradise, or specifically, in the barracks.

Explosive news by all standards considering there could be a mutiny and worse when the foot soldiers walk out on their commanders and other officers, or walk out before the battle is won.

My editor and other colleagues agreed that this was an issue worth tackling, but the gentleman who first mentioned it said the management was keeping all information under wraps and that some journalists, who know how bad the situation is, are reluctant to write about it.

There are several reasons why journalists would be reluctant to write about an issue and one of them could be that they do not have enough information. Another reason could be that they are so close to the management and even though they know other players, in the real sense of the word, are suffering, their loyalties prevent them from spilling the beans.

They could also argue that the information they have is scanty, but is it not their duty to dig for more and bring the rot to light?

Address rumours

And so it came to pass that my editor decreed that this week's column should address the rumours of trouble in paradise and take the commanders of the Green Army to task by asking them why their troops are experiencing lean times and are, therefore, not happy campers, or specifically, not footballers despite their recent high-level tie and a string of marginal successes.

I would want to admit, shamefully, that getting information has not been easy and while everyone who is supposedly in the know is tight-lipped, their unspoken words reveal so much about themselves while painting a grim picture of what is happening in several boardrooms and dressing rooms in Kenya.

Even though all of us, unfortunately, want to show the world that all is well with Kenyan football in particular or sports in general, the writing is on the scoreboards worldwide.

We are an easily excitable lot, we have to admit, and we not only have a raft of excuses after every outing, but we also love to rest on our collective laurels and fall easily back into our comfort zones.

Granted, in sports, you win some and lose some, and when the string of victories is so long, you cannot be faulted for going on holiday, toasting to your successes or even taking a victory lap and expecting to be applauded.

Beats logic

However, the quality of the opponents must also be taken into account at all times, so it beats logic to have a party after an 11-match unbeaten streak against national teams but give a raft of excuses when you fail to score against youth teams from clubs in second-tier leagues.

If teams were getting points for excuses or, for the sake of argument, reasons and explanations, Harambee Stars could have won the Fifa World Cup more times than Brazil and Germany combined.

The national team’s technical bench and the federation can run out of everything else but excuses, and since the current colourless coach was appointed, their level of optimism has been in overdrive even when it is becoming increasingly crystal clear that very little will be achieved in the long run, or going forward.

Ideally, there is over-confidence and over-reliance on the national team’s coach based on the string of draws and marginal victories against unworthy opponents.

We have refused to admit that the national team’s technical bench needs to be overhauled — or more importantly, the colourless national team’s coach himself needs a coach!

 The writer is an editor with The Standard, Weekend Editions