It doesn’t take a staunch football fan or analyst to see how the season has gone for the 9-time league champions.
It has been a bad season. There’s no other way to describe how the Red Eagles have faltered.
Unfortunately, it was easy to see this coming, but no one was able to prevent the ship wreck that has occurred at Wankulukuku.
It is a simple job to point fingers and argue till dawn about who is to blame for yet another season. At the end of the day, the leadership and players are to pick up the most of the responsibility.
The leaders
Express FC has not had fantastic players on the pitch; sensational teenager Billy Nkata and Michael Birungi, to mention but two yet during the season, the chairman or whatever title is bestowed to the leader of the oldest surviving club, was more spoken of than the club or players.
Led by youth minister Florence Nakiwala, she was at the forefront of the drama surrounding the team. Known for her ‘take it or leave it attitude’, Nakiwala continued to rile up fans, players and pundits alike.
From ‘paying’ players like a Nigerian Igwe during a press conference to the melodrama that arose from fundraisers and everything in between, the jolly minister astonishingly changed CEOs like under garments. Astonishingly, she didn’t organise any known board meeting until she was shown the quick exit that had miraculously ushered her in.
A persistent issue with the club’s leadership has been mainly financial. When Wasswa Bbosa left the Red Eagles for arch-rivals SC Villa, he took with him several players and yet even when their prized possessions like Saddam Juma left, no money was reportedly offered.
Such mismanagement led players to leave at will with the club getting little or no compensation.
Nakiwala insisted the club would bounce back after a miserable first round and how she expected results without soul searching remains a mystery.
The coaching staff hasn’t been safe at Wankulukuku either.
Alex Gitta first assumed the role but he was fired so quickly that little is remembered of his legacy.
Was he the best man for the club? Maybe not. But were 15 games enough time to determine that? Also, probably not.
When Shafik Bisaso was brought in, turbulent times led to the arrival of experienced George ‘Best’ Nsimbe, as back up.
The bottom-line is; the leadership’s ability to put themselves in position where the image of the club was being destroyed has affected the players and coaches.
Plainly speaking, there was no ground for Express to thrive under the circumstances.
But thank God they survived relegation and have another season to correct the wrongs.
