Disgraceful form- Time to disband Akwa United

BY EMMANUEL AKPAN

I have refused to comment or write any article on the  present poor and disgracing form of Akwa United Football Club since the beginning of the 2014/2015 Nigeria Premier League football season. 

I am moved to do this piece after enough pressure from my readers and fans of the club, I mean core supporters who have the interest of Akwa United F.C at heart. Fans are not happy with the way things are going and the way the club is being managed.  

Starting from week 1, Akwa United F.C have been struggling with poor form and it is becoming very  unfortunate that instead of the team picking up form, rather the team is getting worst as week passes by. Fans have decided to trade blames on the Technical Adviser, Coach Zachary Baraje for failure to bring to the team big names as well as experience players, and the entire management crew led by the chairman, Mr. Nse Ubeh for misappropriating the club’s money that was meant to buy players.

In one of my articles after when Coach Zachary Baraje was unveiled as the new Technical Adviser (TA), where he was busy promising the management of the club and the fans up and down including taking Akwa United to Continental Champions League. 

I had advised Baraje not to make player’s selection a thing for the cabal; I had opined that he should rather feature good players that will deliver him as well as give the team the needed result at the end of every match. I had also let him understand that they are those that call themselves the owners of Akwa United and that explains why some mediocre who claim to be footballers find their way into the team. The fact is that certain top politicians in the State and officials in the Ministry of Youth and Sports have interest and they possess the habit of choosing players for the club, they allow slots to prevail on the choice of players and not on merit. I had also let Baraje understand that he wouldn’t have promised much that he would not be able to fulfill. I don’t know if Baraje had taken my advice before the statrt of the season.

Looking at the present poor situation of the team, Coach Zachary Baraje is now putting all the blames on the players for the poor performances since the beginning of the season. He was quoted in the media recently as saying “Blame the players for the poor form of the team.” A disappointed Coach Baraje after Akwa United lost 2:0 to Heartland F.C of Owerri is said to have heaped the blame on the players for ignoring his instructions and playing below expectations.

My Coach Sir, how would you expect players with empty stomach or little salary to abide by your instructions? Apart from that, can you tell the fans any big name player who has joined the club before the start of the season?  Were you not given money by the management to buy players?  How do you expect good result when you had brought in low ranking players from other state based clubs for experiments in a premier league team like Akwa United Football Club? 

Findings have shown that poor welfare package is responsible for Akwa United disgracing performances in the past 10 weeks of the season. A team like Akwa United to have played 10 games and secured only 11 points is so disappointing for the supporters and disgraceful to the government of the state. So many die-heart supporters of the team are worried that the team maybe heading for another stiff battle of relegation again this season. 

 
It could be recalled that before the start of the season, the League Management Company (LMC) had abolished all sign on fees for players; rather they had asked premier clubs including Akwa United F.C to spilt the player’s sign-on fees over a period of twelve months and pay the players’ salaries every month.

#150,000 bench-mark was placed by the LMC to be paid to each player. But in the case of Akwa United, it has not been implemented. The management of the team has always struggled to pay players their incomplete salaries. Sources close to the management have continued to blame the management of not releasing enough funds to the team. However, from all indications, it appears State Government is tired of funding Akwa United. Government sees all the millions going to the club as a waste. However, I don’t blame the State Government because under a normal management, a team like Akwa United cannot be receiving millions of naira every year without qualifying for the Continental Championship not to talk of taking back home at least one trophy for some years now.     

  
Nigeria Premier League has since improved. It is not as usual as it used to be, a must home win matches as before. I was told recently that LCM had employed some informants that give minutes by minutes match updates through social media to the direct web of LCM. LMC are no more relaying on match commissioners and referee’s reports. In those days, referee in collaboration with match commissioners were the ones helping Akwa United to a must win home matches. Now that everything in the league is going normal, no more favour for Akwa United again. The team is now struggle to survive. 

 Coach Baraje sir, let me bring to your notice that you have not lived up to fans expectation. The team is struggling to win home matches, loses away matches at ease and wider margins. According to you what you told us, you had coached top premier league clubs, how did you manage to get the needed results and winning trophies?  Could Akwa United Football Club be the worst team you have ever coached in your coaching carrier? Well, the answer is left for you. During the contract signing, you were charged to bring in your wealth of experience to bear in the team and you were also charged with a responsibility of winning a continental ticket for the club at the end 2014/2015 league season. With the current Akwa United poor and disgracing form, the team will not end the season well if nothing is done when the mid-season transfer open. They team maybe going to relegation. Please Baraje, don’t lead us to relegation. 

When the mid-season transfer window opens on July 19, please Coach Baraje bring in quality players, go for big names and experience players that will give you the needed score line at the end of every game. 

Your promised was that you want to be in the top four teams on the table. You had also promised that during your one year contract, you will meet up with the target of the management of the club which is to win a continental ticket at the end of the season. You even went as far as assuring fans that “Even if the management did not give me any target, I have a target of my own and, we want to be among the top four teams at the end of the league.” My TA, have you forgotten so soon or were you over excited at the stadium when you made those promises? Please TA, try and make some changes of your squad before it is too late.

However, fans are of the opinion that the entire management of Akwa United football Club should been disband. They are accusing the yearly recycled management team led by the chairman, Mr. Nse Ubeh of misappropriating Akwa United’s money instead of investing on buying big names and experience players. They are calling on the State Government to employ football experts into the management team, rather than using the club for political settlements.