Like Chelsea Like Shooting Stars?

Blow by blow account of 3SC versus Lobi Star match....

Aftermath of 0-1 home loss of the Oluyole Warriors of Shooting Stars to Lobi Stars of Markudi, fans cries out for mutual understanding between the coach, players and management.

By Ayo Ademokoya

Before the League commenced (Season1)

Expectations were high when the darling team of the Yorubas secured the services of the hitherto best coach in Nigeria,Chief Khadiri Ikhana(MON), as the Technical Adeviser when Gbenga Ogunbote left for Giwa FC . But it was not without hitches as it was rumored that the management of Shooting stars was not favourably disposed in the appointment of Ikhana.

nt. Why? lack of funds to sustain his high salary was the first excuse given. The second excuse was the high handedness of Ikhana. The management simply preferred the American trained Henry Abiodun who they believe would be at the beck and call of the management.

Several meetings were held between 3SC management and the Oyo House Committee on sports, over the ‘chosen one’ (Ikhana) and the ‘anointed one’ (Henry Abiodun). As far as going through the intimidating profile of Ikhana, the choice of the House Committee on Sports was far better as the ‘chosen one’ has won the Nigerian Professional league for the record of three times and the CAF Champions league as well.

Ikhana however  agreed to a pay cut  from 1.8 million monthly salary to 1.2 million, the same amount paid to Gbenga Ogunbote who moved to Giwa FC shortly before the commencement of the league but refused to live in the rented apartment meant for the him,  preferring to live in the hotel. This decision of incurring extra hotel bills for the management did not augur well with them a condition they must accept and off the team went for a close camp at Ijebu-Ode for more than 4 weeks now.

 Little or no information about recruitment of new players and the activities happening in the camp of Shooting Stars were available until the very last week prior to the commencement of the league and many seem skeptical about the performance of the team since no one had a glimpse of the team before the opening game against Lobi stars, not one quality pre season game were played.

On the match day (Season 2)

 

It was a bright Sunday afternoon of the 21^st of February; fans began to trickle into the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan to witness the week one of the Nigerian Professional football league 2015/2016 season between 3SC of Ibadan and Lobi Stars of Markurdi as early as 2pm.If not for the increment in the gate fee the crowd could have been more, nevertheless nothing less than 5,000 fans made it inside the stadium while the state box which was the costliest was filled to the brim.

www.harohkah.blogspot.com.ng got to the field about 90 minutes before the kick off, meeting the their opponents from Markurdi in a very relaxed mood on the tartan track of the Lekan Salami stadium, strategizing with the technical crew led by former coach of the the under 21 national team, Godwin Koko Uwua even before the home team and its technical crew could arrive the stadium.

Lobi Stars seems more focused and more determined to get something out of the match as report had it that they flew in to town by air something that is a good development for Nigerian football. The norm in the Nigerian league is for players to travel for hours on the dangerous  roads in rickety buses while officials travel by air.

Match situation(Season 3)

The dice was cast after the one minute silence observed in honour of the late marleting officer of Shooting stars, Demola Abodunrin, who died after a brief illness 2 weeks before the commencement of the game.

 As usual, 3SC  made dangerous incursions into the 18yard box of Lobi Stars in the early minutes of play but for lack of marksmanship ‘Sutin’ would have been 3 goals up in the first ten minutes of play.

Omololu Waheed was the greatest culprit in the left side of the defense of the Oluyole warriors as the telepathic passes from creative midfilders of Ajia Emmanuel,Okpotu Anthony often find its way in the outside right of the opponent creating panic for  Alaba Osawe and Moses James the central defenders of shooting stars .

The experimentation of  Yinka Adedeji whose  natural habitat was the left full back but made to play in the deep for the best known reason to the technical crew was a great blunder commited by Coach Khadiri Ikhana. Yinka later got injured  and was removed for Daddy Bazuaye while Daddy bazuaye too was removed for silvester Ebiakwu..

Apart from the striking positions of Olukokun  who could not convert chances that came their way in the early minutes, fans saw the worst display from the midfielders as well..Wasiu Jimoh shots at goals were aimless while passes from the  midfield to the attack  lack cohesion as there was strong or visible holding middfilder who could not curtail rampaging strikers of Eduwo,Okpotu and Ajia of Lobi stars.

Only Ajani Ibrahim could be scored above average in the match

Alas in the 14^th minutes of play the fantastic combination of the trio of  Ajia Emmanuel, Gwarza Iorliam and Sunday Alimi from the midfield paid of as Kingsley Eduwo broke loose to latch in the first and the only goal of the encounter in the 15^th minute of play to silence the home crowd.

 0-1 the match ended, though 3SC tried all they could to equalize in the second 45 minutes of the game but all to no avail.

What the fans says after the match

Trust the vociferous fans of Shooting stars as they began to insinuate so many reasons why the team may go nowhere this season.

There seem to sabotage from these players,” says one of them

They just refused to put in  their best simply because they are not in support of the new coach.” To be honest ,I was shocked!!!

Others began to revisit the personality clash going on between the General Manager of the club Mr Rasheed Balogun and the Technical Adviser, Chief Khadiri Ikhana.

“Did you not see the lackadaisical approach of the General Manager towards what is going  on the pitch today? hmmmm, I became interested the more

“Why ?” I asked the angry fans as we  tried to defend the performance of the team and persuade the angry fans together with a staff of the club who had been pleading with them before I came.

“We know what is going on even though you may not want to agree with us.

“For instance it is very unlike Rashidi Balogun to sit down all through the entire match without communicating with the bench. Balogun is an energetic man who is so enthusiastic about the success of the team, he would have been charging the players and the crew to go all out to win the match even the referee would have think twice once he sees the GM charging at everyone, but today he seems not concerned with whatever that is hhappening here.” the  angry fan said

“Oga Ayo, I know you very well right from your days with BCOS and all we want is for this club to perform well because we are spending our money to come and watch Shooting stars and its painful to see them perform like this”.

One cannot but pity the situation of these fans who claimed to have traveled miles to watch there darling team only to be rewarded with such dismal performance.

“Do you know that Coach Ikhana had earlier insulted the management of Shooting stars who came visiting the team during training session last Thursday? He continued.

Ikhana walked them saying he doesn’t want any interference from any quarters as far as his team his concerned.

This became too shocking news for me to bear!!!

Another school of thought blamed the Oyo House of Assembly for recruiting a first class coach yet parading average player for the league and wonder the kind of magic they want the coach to perform.

Some even insinuated that the coach himself does not understand the team from the experimentation he carried out on Sunday during the match, looking for an attacking midfielder in a match situation and not during a friendly match?????. Aaarrrrgghhh!!!!! Or why will he put Yinka Adedeji, though  an overlapping left full back into the deep yet a natural left footer from the left full back?.

Also, why putting  Silvernus Ebiakwu who does better from the right full back  and  placed him at the left side of the defense when Omololu Waheed kept fumbling from that position only for the coach to even removed Daddy Bazuaye from the midfield a situation which completely paralyzed  that department.

These are indication that much work were not done at the pre season of the club.

No wonder the team went to hid in Ijebu Ode without allowing the fans to assess their team for once before the commencement of the league.

Though Mr Jubril Arowolo did his best to appeal to the aggrieved fans who are not contented with the level of play despite the increment in the gate fees, many are still of the opinion that all parties concerned in the day to day activity of shooting stars come together to work for the development of the club as they would not take it lightly with any of the officials if the club goes down this time around. www.harohkah.blogspot.com.ng

Khadiri Ikhana’s reaction

In his response the coach told journalists after the match that it is up to the management to recruit more players but since there is no money to do so he had to make do with the materials available for him. He agreed with the observation that he had to experiment with certain players in certain positions during the match  against Lobi Stars saying Cletus Itodo and 3 other players in the attacking midfield fell ill and got  injured few days to the match

He confessed he had no option than to experiment with  Yinka Adedeji who later got injured if he could fit in while  Daddy Bazuaye was given a chance to prove his mettle. He later said that he believed the will get it right along the way as there is need to forfeit the team with good strikers and midfielders provided there is fund from the management..

Rasheed Balogun’s Reaction

www.harohkah.blogspot.com.ng also spoke with the General manager who was apparently not happy with the performance of the day saying in Yoruba that “Ko si ibi ti won tin se igbeyawo ti won ni sin oku nbe, meaning there is definitely going to be a funeral ceremony someday in a place they are used to wedding ceremony.

“This happened last year when we were beating by heartland FC of Owerri by 3-1 and we survived, I believe it too early to conclude.

On the issue of recruitment of new players , Rasheed  Balogun has this to say

“It is the duty of the coach to identify the areas he needed to fortify in the team, present it to us and we approve, it is not our duty to do that for the coach.”

In his submission, the team manager, Dimeji lawal complained about the attitude of the strikers whom he said was the greatest undoing on the field.

“I wonder how a striker would find it difficult to free himself from the defender and create at least 5metre away from him and then take the ball to the defender. It absurd.

Conclusion

When two elephants fights, it’s the grass that suffers.

The question is why would all this lapses were just been discovered on the very day the league started?

Why would the management claim there is no money to recruit new players when tactually the statement from the General manager shows no list for recruitment was brought forward for the management for recruitment?

Must the general manager interfere in the job of the technical crew at any point in time and why why and when must he intervene?

Why on earth would a Technical Adviser sent packing his GM? This is rude. Why on earth would he not want to listen to voices of wisdom? Afterall these people had been here before him.

The General Manager this morning (Tuesday 23^rd of February had gone on the radio to debunk most of these rumour and promise fans there would be a better performance of the team I believe

this and many more question must be answered as the team travel to Aba to meet the league Champion, Enyimba International in the week two fixture of the Nigerian Professional League.

On Wednesday 24^th of February