Gor Mahia is no doubt the most powerful Football Club in Kenya. Ranging from its glorious past in intercontinental competitions to the numerous trophies in its cabinet, Gor remains the best.
But the current goings-on at Gor Mahia have confirmed, for the umpteenth time, what has been an open secret for half a century of the club’s existence; that K’Ogalo – like many football entities in this country – is a club largely managed by a crisis.
Things have boiled over following the team’s meek capitulation to Moroccan side RS Berkane in Nairobi last weekend. The truth is, the noisy upheaval at the club, which we are presently being treated to, is actually a creation of the club’s inept officials.
Speaking of officials, perhaps Rachier should consider a complete overhaul of his own office before even contemplating the ‘drastic action’ which his mouthpiece Ronald Ngala has threatened the players with.
For too long, there has been a glut of busybodies, idlers, hangers-on and ne’er-do-wells masquerading as club officials. To put it mildly, the club office is bloated with redundancy.
Worse, other than hauling insults and engaging in inane outbursts on social media, a majority of these meddlers know nothing about running a football club. That is why for the longest time successive office bearers have been running the club like a roadside kiosk.
It’s a tragedy that slightly more than half a century since its formation, Gor Mahia is a club that has been badly ravaged by a pervasive cash cow mentality.
For how long must a club of Gor Mahia’s stature and pedigree live off pennies from politicians whose real intentions are to ride on the club’s tattered brand name?
One Tom Osanjo – he of the K’Ogalo Corner fame has never tired of offering his wise counsel, at times even admonishing the club officials, on the best practices of running a football club.
Sadly, Osanjo, all his good intentions notwithstanding, could as well be flogging a dead horse – this is a club that thrives on crisis.
Thankfully, with the Berkane debacle, the club leadership has been exposed for what it really is – a bunch incompetent individuals who will not stop short of milking the cash cow of its last drop of milk.
The chicken have finally come home to roost and now the centre cannot hold.
A good starting point to resolving the current impasse, though, would be to kick out the current officials first and fast, before even considering disbandment of the playing unit.