Gor Mahia set to release players
courtesy of the Nation
Heads are set to roll at Kenyan Premier League champions Gor Mahia with up to 13 players set to be released at the end of the month.
The move according to club secretary general George Bwana is “part of a rebuilding exercise aimed at injecting fresh blood into the playing unit as they set focus on next year’s congested fixtures”.
Gor will not only be competing in the African championship but also in the Cecafa club championship midway through the season.
Domestically, they will face a herculean task of defending their league crown as well as the battle to reclaim the KPL Top Eight trophy and the GOTv Cup, titles they won in 2012 but failed to retain in last season.
Topping the list in the mass clear-out is left footed winger Patrick Oboya who is expected to return to Europe after the expiry of his six month contract with the 13 time league champions.
“We are going to release up to 13 players. We will reveal their identities by the end of the month. This however has to be done systematically after we have dully informed and cleared them,” said Bwana, adding that those earmarked for the boot are either fringe players or those that have run down their contracts.
Though Bwana remained tight-lipped on the players’ identities, Ugandan defender Ivan Anguyo, left back Christopher Wekesa, right back Solomon Nasio and deputy skipper Moses ‘Dube’ Odhiambo are thought to be likely to leave.
Anguyo barely featured in the ended season despite being voted the league’s best defender in 2012. Wekesa, Nasio and Odhiambo have equally found playing time hard to come by since Bobby Williamson took charge of the club.
RECRUITMENT DRIVE
At the same time K’Ogalo have signed Daniel Onyango from Western Stima and Joseph Kariuki from relegated Karuturi Sport.
The two are Gor’s first signings in the transfer window as they embark on an ambitious recruitment drive aimed at giving the playing unit the depth needed to compete at continental level.
Onyango, who was one of the star performers for Stima, penned a three year deal while Kariuki signed a two year deal.
“Onyango (Daniel) is a great player. He is promising and has a great future at Gor Mahia. He is strong on the ball, has good passes and shots. He will no doubt add depth and continuity to our squad,” said Bwana.
Onyango, 23, best flourishes in the free role and his arrival is set to spark intense competition in Gor’s congested midfield. Besides the duo, Gor is courting two Ugandan internationals.
The club has also opened talks with their lead striker Dan Sserunkuma and custodian Ivo Mapunda. The highly sought-after Sserunkuma still has a year left on his contract while Mapunda will be a free agent from December 31st but Gor want to tie them down to new deals.
“Ivo (Mapunda) is a big player; his quality is never in doubt and we want to keep him,” said the club secretary general.
Make that 15 players exiting GM coz you must also count Flava & Mapunda out. Why wasn’t the Ssrenkuma issue resolved in June.
The only solution is for members to vote out the bloated executive community enmass.
Something is very wrong with the administration of GM.
Looks like deals & brokeraging is the order of the day leadership HAKUNA
Please, make lavatsa and k. Omondi among the 13..
There is no doubt in my mind some of gor mahia players are just overrated ! The club must be overhauled and we bring on board exciting youngsters with a mix of both local and foreign talent…..Zambia, Uganda and Ethiopia players really excite me!
However we must remember that the club has just won the league and you are releasing 15 players? All at once……….Remember Tusker fc , they won the league and released 9 players and look what happened…………..lets be careful here, unless we are saying we won the league by fluke, which is possible !!!!!!!!
What Gor needs is a coach. Williamson is a disaster in waiting. Does not understand individual players’ capability, is not tactful and is flourishing on luck. The players he benches are now doing duty for theirs country’s. When Danny was set to leave he said he has enough replacement. Plays the same players on a Wednesday, weekend and the following Wednesday yet he has 32 to choose from. His sytem of play is what we used to call “dhup dhup” ie no use for midfielders. the ball is always volleyed to the opponent d area. It has been so boring watching Gor matches. If it wasn’t for our natural love for the club, no body would be watching Gor play.
Oh!!! Surprised you are realizing it now!!!!!
Yada yada yada there goes some of you. Never ever ever say this player is useless or this should or should not go because you will one day come to wish he was back with us. Some time back some fans would say pinchez and some coach thought Keli were useless but look at where they are now. What players need are fatherly advise and encouragement. Keli got it from Abdalla and the boy is playing the best soccer of his life. Remember Ramsey of Arsenal fans castigated him but look at him now would the fans say the same? I doubt. What we should be saying is indeed our team needs strengthning.
@6 Voltage – you are spot on.
I know we have a tough task ahead. Let us therefore choose new players wisely. On releasing players, this is a normal exercise as long as it’s done professionally.
As much as you or me may differ on who to go and who is to come in, the technical bench knows better. Our mandate is to DEMAND for the result and that is part of my right.
Managing Gor must be the hardest task on earth. You bench players the fans complain, you rotate players they demand a first-eleven, you win games they demand sexy football, you lose they say results is what counts. You identify players to recruit, they have their own list. You miss to recruit some because of reasons beyong you they are on your neck. You deliver the league after 18 years we forget so fast and go back to our demanding self.The fact that some of them change jobs or colleges/schools because of personal preferences notwithstanding. All the same I hope we don’t suffer the defending champs syndrome that affected Tusker and is now affecting ManUnited will not affect our beloved team
@walter that is the spirit. We as fans must demand for results and dignified results for that matter. What do i mean by dignified, it means playing some good soccer for that matter. How i long for the day we shall have that special player like Blackberry, Dunga, Austin, Bobby, Magongo, Dawo, Zedi etc. Yes we have good players but do they give you the kicks to ask for more. As a team we still lack that chemistry and this comes thru staying together for long. Even as we send players packing lets recruit players with a professional attitude like Sserenkuma. Proffessionalism is what is gonna take Gor to the next level. It starts with how we manage elections, fans, players, technical bench, the calibre of officials we elect etc. We must get down to serious business of running football.
players need to deliver ‘Now’. why do we have to wait until a player is ‘mentally fit’. if a player feels he cannot deliver in gor then pls go and play better football elsewhere… so letting ‘pinchez’ go was not a mistake. only shows that players tend to blackmail clubs when they think they are stars. some get up and see the wrong of there ways and improve. one such player is wanga who realised that he has to improve his game even when in local league. so players in gor who think they are too big and cannot play their ‘full’ game should leave. in many instances many of such players have nothing more to offer. gor needs to check player character before signing some of these players. a players like Sserenkuma, despite his attempts to leave gor has always given his best. but you cannot say the same to lavatsa or kevin. gor should not hold onto players in fear that when they leave they will ‘revenge’. the club has done well to grap the league and this is very much appreciated. unfortunately that is now history, can the club now focus on who it needs to grab the next league, e and central and africa champions. focus on the next mission.
Anguyo is a good defender and should be exploited …i dont knw why the coach is not using anguyo when there other players like musa muhamed who does nothing on the pitch
@Walter, I agree with you. The TB is in a better position to recruit and release players. A player we see giving his best in another club might not be the right candidate for a gor shirt. I believe the TB sees more than we as fans can see. What we should DEMAND, though cautiously, is for any player in a GM shirt to give his 100%. Likewise us fans will give our usual 100%. Please let’s also desist from mentioning that so and so player should leave as that is the work of the TB and EC. But that should not stop us from indicating who we would like retained like Danny and Mapunda. I know the two are contradictory but it’s all part of people management.
Reports else where indicate that ingwe are closing in on Kasaya, Shikokoti & Situma, not forgetting that Mudde is in the den already.
As kogalo, are we merely expressing a wish list and not signing players who can deliver next season?
@ 12 Gwer – Dont be worried about how many have been signed so far by our opponents. Our strategy and theirs could be different. Just be patient; we still have up to 31-Jan-2013. Let me ask you sincerely without a personal attack on these players – do you think these 4 players Ingwe have signed are better than what they already have or what we (GM) already have?
Anyway, I think we could be taking time because we are looking for quality and unlike Logarisic’s style where he used to ‘disappear’ and come back after the players have been signed, I believe the two Bobbys are involved.
While Ingwe will get the players we will lift the trophies. Let’s keep the faith
Not planning is planning to fail,believe me guyz that is what we could be doing at Gor Mahia!
guyz let’s give TB benefit of doubt that they know better what they are doing, but sometimes it’s so painful to the fans that a big club like GM still struggles in signings yr in yr out headed by one respectable learned friend in the country who happened to be my village mate with n proper structures only through guess work? anyway am personaly impressed by the work of former coach that hv put GM on Cecafa tournament outstanding in three different national teams.
Comrades,it is not fair to dictate to the TB which players to drop and which ones to sign.While constructive criticism is ok the spirit in which it is given matters.I know that we fans are the best football managers,the best scouts and the best administrators one ever saw.Before we castigate any player we need to first of all ask ourselves the following questions:
1:What is the age of this player?
2:Is he being played out of position?
3:Does he have an attitude problem?
4:Does he still want to play for the team or his heart is elsewhere
5:If he is played out of position,why does the manager do it?
Based on question number one,I will understand if Mapunda wants to leave.He is in the twilight of his career and would want a club where he can play regular football.I don’t understand it when some bloggers say that Mohammed is a useless player.He is a right footed fullback.It is him and Calabar have redeployed in that position because we don’t have a cover in that area when Wekesa is injured or out of form.Granted,he has made some blunders like that handball when we played Tusker.However,the good he has done far more outweigh the bad.
Friends,Gor players are not angels.They are human beings,like you and I,very much susceptible to making mistakes.Some them are struggling with attitude problems and could be,privately,crying out for help.In our lofty positions as fans,we are “well”poised to know why the TB and players are poor.We forget that sometimes our demands and pressure on players and TB causes it all.Aren’t we the people dictates to TB which players to substitute?When Blackberry signed for City Stars before he left for East Europe,he said he chose City Stars ahead of Gor because we fans are an overbearing lot.Food for thought.
@Baba Travis, you have just said what most fans would concur with. Players are human and nowadays as digital just like us fans in this blog. So when we call them stupid, cheap or useless it means it’s us and not the players who have a probblem. Just like us the players also undergo psychological issues which affect their performance. Social issues which affect people of their age also will also affect heir peformance. That’s where the EC, TB and fans come in to assist but not to insult and judge. If only we took our time to find out why our star players like Akumu, Kevo, Nasio and the rest underperform at times then we would create a great team. That’s where some of us fans who are psychiatrists can come in handy. And this should follow for all professionals e.g. investment analysts to help in investment options for the players.
@ Dan Original,thanx for your compliments.They are just boys and they need help.Yes,stardom(celebrity syndrome)may have given fame-near cult status-but when they leave the training grounds or match venues and head back to their houses or homes(and reality sets in and they realize they are infallible)they encounter enormous stress.As you have said professionals in Gor-who are willing to offer their services to this boys should do so.That way we will be able to rehabilitate and enlighten several of them on investment opportunities.I am under no illusions that some may not benefit much but better to try than sit with folded arms and criticize.As a Gor fan,the back stops with me.
Am not of the idea of releasing players.But if it’s to be done then should pair in mind that having a strong bench is also important before going that far the club should settle down the transfer of Serunkuma and the loan deal of Kiogera.Wekesa,Anguyo should remain because bringing in alot new players before they come to corp with each other will be difficult better retain the winning team and only add few especially strikers. I hear there’s a Zambian bring more of the same.Be careful do not do what Tusker and Afc did one time by firing the entire team and instead of good results you all know what happened 13 players are many.
Motivate , motivate, motivate, that is the secret.Akumu,Lavatsa and Kevin are very good players. Increse their pay, do anything that can motivate them and we will see the results. A good example is how they play for the national team.
please make the list long and let players like Lavatsa,Kiongera and Nasio be in that lis,.we also need to spend,GM is a big club and that must come along with how much we spend for players,..lets NOT talk too much and act the way Leopards and Thsker are doing,.Lets NOT just release player but buy players if we wish to retain the Title!