My dad ruined my football career; he forced me to leave Gor for AFC because he played for AFC: Wanyonyi

He had been tipped as the next big thing in Kenyan football — that was four years ago. Armed with a cracking pace and eye for goal, he was indeed a midfielder full of prospect.

Timonah Wanyonyi was a household name at Gor Mahia — and the fans, the famous Green Army had a soft spot for him. They loved him. They adored him. Then K’Ogalo coach, Bobby Williamson knew just how to get the best out of the diminutive player.

And it was not long before before his name became a fixture in the national team Harambee Stars. Wanyonyi went on to become part of Gor Mahia’s history-making squad that ended the club’s 17-year-wait for a league title when they claimed the gong in 2013.

There was no doubt that his career was headed for the skies.

Then tragedy struck in June 2014 after he was lured to the AFC Leopards den in what would set the stage for mistrust and controversy. And just like that, his football life took a downward spiral.

At Ingwe, Wanyonyi did not last playing for one and a half seasons, before joining Tusker in January 2016. At Tusker, too, he did not last, as he was one of the players who were given the boot in the mini-transfer window in June.

Helpless, he landed at Nakumatt FC, which was then competing in the second tier league, the National Super League. They have since been promoted to the top tier, the Kenyan Premier League.

His change of clubs seemed to hurt his career progression as he not only lost form, but also a spot on the national football team, Harambee Stars.

And now tired of it all, Wanyonyi feels that the centre can no longer hold and has launched a scathing attack on his father for giving him “wrong advice” which, he argues, stagnated his career.

In an emotional interview with KBC Channel One, he said, “Gor Mahia is the biggest club here (in Kenya), and they treat their players differently compared to here (at Nakumatt),” he said. “I made a mistake, I blame myself and my dad. I blame my dad, a 100 per cent. I blame my family.”

Wanyonyi says he joined football to register growth and attain economic freedom.

“I hoped to be like Dennis Oliech or MacDonald Mariga,” he says, adding: “the moment I left Gor Mahia, my performance went down. My dad forced me to go play for AFC Leopards because he played for them, but it was a wrong move. Moving out of Gor killed my career, I think I need to go back there. My dad misadvised me and I blame him for the whole thing.”

The fact that things are tough going for Wanyonyi is not in doubt. In fact, when The Nairobian sought him out for an interview, he agreed to honour it, but later changed his mind claiming that he did not have bus fare to town.

“I would have loved to come, but let’s do it some other day. Hatujalipwa and sina fare ya kuja town sahii (We haven’t been paid, and so, I don’t have fare).

Timonah’s tale is not unique though. It evokes the familiar tale of defender Eric ‘PPO’ Masika who made what turned out to be an ill-informed move from Gor Mahia to AFC Leopards at the end of the 2011 season owing to pressure from his kinsmen.

Masika, a Luhya, had been a rock at Gor’s defence, and was nicknamed PPO due to his no nonsense style in defence. His career took a dive the moment he landed at the den. After failing to impress for Ingwe, he left for Sofapaka, but he failed to regain his past sparkling form.

Masika’s tale and that of Wanyonyi brings to mind the controversial transfer of Tom Juma, a midfield bulldozer in his hey days. Juma traded Gor for Ingwe in the mid-1990s, citing fan and family pressure.

But would Gor consider rehiring Timonah? Gor’s deputy secretary general Ronald Ngala said: “I don’t think it would be possible because the areas which the coach identified to be strengthened don’t fit him,” he said adding: “The coach wants a central striker, central defender and wingback three, and he (Timonah) does not play in any of these positions, so he may not be part of our plan.”

Ngala however believes that Wanyonyi’s game has dipped as other teams may not be using similar formation as the one deployed by Bobby Williamson, under whom, he thrived while playing for K’Ogalo.

“It happens. A player might fit into a playing system of another club, and if he leaves, he might never get the same playing time. He was fitting so well in Williamson’s system of play,” Ngala said.

On Masika, Ngala noted: “He was one of our key players. He was among those who were signed by the late James Sian’ga. He was very promising, but the fear of the unknown is killing their careers.”

Masika’s downward spiral was on the cards. In the 2016 season, for instance, then AFC club coach Ivan Minnaert barred him from training session for some time on grounds of indiscipline, and coming to training while smelling of alcohol. And in an interview with Kenyan Star in March this year, Masika did admit to his struggle with the bottle.

“On alcoholism; yes it came to a point in my career when I was stressed and depressed about my dip in form and the nasty words that people said about me. I would get abusive calls and messages that really affected me. I was depressed and wrongly sought consolation in alcohol. This worsened matters and it only helped in me missing training, not playing and eventually being a little too careless. It is something I regret to date,” Masika told Kenyan Star.

With a nosedive in performance, it remains to be seen if Wanyonyi will reinvent himself.