Back to Stone Age?

By Tony Ngare

Football is a truly passionate affair, that is not in doubt. What I’m not sure is if we know the difference between passion and bad manners!

It’s no secret that for the last couple of seasons, renewed interests in the game have spiced Kenya Premier League by local fans. Gor Mahia fans have greatly contributed into pumping pulse into the game.

However, all the gains (to use NGO lingo) could be eroded if continued violence keeps sprouting up like overnight weed.

Football rules, unlike our general elections, leave no room for ambiguity, whether you are playing the beautiful game in Siaya or Siberia!

Granted, stadia crowd trouble is not a Kenyan peculiarity but there is something peculiar with some K’Ogalo adherents.

They may be feeling like the world is against them. But the big question is, why always them?

Take, for example, last year when some Gor Mahia fans stopped a match just because Rangers had beaten them three goals to nil. What action did KPL and Gor Mahia take to the perpetrators who I’m certain if nuts are tightened they can be identified?

They said Rangers was the home team and should have organised security. They then smashed the Ulinzi Team bus and blamed the police for not offering adequate security. They moved on and attempted to stone Supersports OB Van, prompting the broadcaster to contemplate cancelling airing Gor Mahia matches live. To borrow from President Kibaki favourites phrases... Jameni apana. Hiyo ni...(feel free to complete the sentence).

There have been suggestions that Ingwe players were kicking Gor players all over the pitch with referee doing little or absolutely nothing about it. Therefore, this together with the red card issued to Victor Abondo may have exacerbated an already volatile situation. But the big question is Are Gor fans now arrogating themselves the role of officiating Gor matches? Do they want to be the complaint and judge at the same time?

If there was any maltreatment of players on the pitch, that is the work of the captain and the technical bench to raise the red flag! At no time should projectiles offer any solution on pitch or on Uhuru Highway where innocent motorists suffered the ire, nay foolishness, of thugs purporting to be football lovers.

It’s now apparent that security should be a top priority. This shenanigan of the home team organising security will never fly with K’Ogalo and Ingwe.

Football authorities should contemplate hiring enough security forces at the cost of both teams since no cost is too dear to losing a life. As a certain blogger put it, majority of the troublemakers make their way into the stadia heavily intoxicated and inebriated by both illegal and legal substances. Why on God’s green earth would you allow a drunk fellow into the stadium? He is a security concern to the other fans.

The security fellows should be vigilant enough to deal with these characters by not allowing them inside the arena.

Some of them smoke bhang in the stadium, which is a banned drug! How do they get into the stadia with these hard drugs?

Ideally, a game at the stadium is supposed to be a family day out. But which man will bring along his beautiful woman and children to be knifed and teargased? Who searches these fellows and what do they look for when conducting the search?

These are hard questions that must be answered or else beauty could desert the beautiful game in Kenya.

The battle of Robertos

Prior to the Manchester City vs Chelsea game, City manager Roberto Mancini proclaimed that Man City would win the premiership. I felt that trailing Manchester United with four points and facing Chelsea, currently under Roberto di Matteo, was rather arrogant of him.

The robertos

Now he has been vindicated and it looks like the Citizens are ready to give United a one hell of a scare.

As you would expect, there was nothing pretty with this clash bar City’s second goal, which had a whiff of Arsenal DNA in its make up. But again with Samir Nasri — a one time Arsenal playmaker orchestrating the move, what would you expect?

They say desperate times call for desperate measures and Tottenham are now desperate.

During Wednesday’s mid week clashes with Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham, all in action, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp admitted that he tried some unorthodox means to get his team going. The Spurs boss told his troops that both Arsenal and Chelsea were leading at half time of their parallel games against Everton and Manchester City even though it was actually goalless at Eastlands at the time. The ruse failed miserably.

Indeed, it was Tottenham who had to get a last gasp equaliser to salvage a point at home against a stubborn Stoke City. Seven weeks ago, Tottenham were more concerned with how they would keep up with the Manchester duo for a title run in.

Needless to say, Chelsea and Arsenal were a good dozen points away. Now even the die-hard Tottenham fans cannot believe the table standings. Such is football.

Fourmidable

By stringing together six consecutive wins, the Gunners have firmly put themselves in pole position for the last Champions League automatic slot.

However, Arsene manager Arsene Wenger will have none of this. He believes that the most difficult part of maintaining that spot starts now.

I cannot agree more since tomorrow Chelsea faces off with Tottenham in what everyone in separate camps must view as a cup final for the fight to get a Champions League slot.