The puzzle of Logarusic
Courtesy of EA Standard
y GILBERT WANDERA
Kenyan Premier League (KPL) Gor Mahia officials insist they will do everything to hang onto Croatian coach Zdravko Logarusic who has indicated a desire to leave the club at the end of this season.
The club Secretary General George Bwana said yesterday the coach has a contract with the club running until early next year and couldn’t just walk out.
“When his contract expires in March next year then we will sit down with him and discuss the future. Until then, he is still our coach,” said Bwana.
He admitted that their current sponsorship by Tuzo is not enough to meet the requirements of the coach and they are looking at the possibility of bringing on board another sponsor.
“What we get from our current sponsors is only enough to pay the salaries of members of the team and after that we cannot do much.
“In this regard we are pursuing other options including getting a second sponsor and then perhaps we can meet the needs of the coach and entice him to stay with us for a longer period.
“He has done a lot for the club and turned around our performance and everyone can see it. Every team wants to keep a performing coach and Gor are no different,” said the official.
On Monday, Logarusic revealed his intention to leave the club at the end of the season.
Logarusic said while he appreciates the support from fans and other football stakeholders, he believes Gor cannot meet his needs hence the desire to leave for greener pastures.
He said there are already five offers from several quarters who are willing to pay him five times what Gor Mahia are giving him and he was seriously considering the offers.
Logarusic confirmed he has informed Gor officials of his decision to leave the club.
He took over the team in March when they were placed 14th on the log and has transformed the team significantly and they are currently placed second in the standings with 46 points. They also won the KPL Top 8 tournament after stopping Ulinzi Stars 2-0 a month ago.
Apart from their ambitions of winning the league this year, Gor are also in contention to lift the Football Kenya Federation Cup where they are currently in the quarter-finals.
Elsewhere, with no league matches this weekend, Gor will host Re-Union in a local build- up match at the City Stadium.
The match will be played on Saturday and kicks off at 4pm. Gate charges will be Sh300 for VIP and Sh100 for terraces.
Bwana and EC why do you want to wait till the end of contract? With such a person you initiate quiet, behind the scenes negotiations well before the term expires; and you need to involve some key stakeholders coz I know out there there are very key but quiet supporters who if properly roped in can ensure we retain this calibre of a coach.
Be proactive you guys. If we have a continental competition next year as we are likely to have, then you will need him more than ever. Please talk and this thing should not even be in the public domain at this stage.Why did in spill on to the public stage?
@Ja Thur gi ji, you are spot on. Why should the office wait until March 2013 to initiate the contract renegotiation? There are many rich clubs in Africa which are watching these developments. The faster we tie the coach for a long term contract the better for the club.
I strong propose that EC should initiate contract renegotiation with the coach right now as time waits for no one. The new package of the coach should be incorporated into the sponsor’s TUZO package and this will be well with Gor Mahia.
EC should also come up with new fundraising initiatives which are sustainable and goes well with fans and supporters. We fans have suggested many and innovative ways of fund raising activities but none is being pursued by the EC. I have never understood what the Secretary General of Gor Mahia is doing apart from talking to the press a lot. SG should engage fans in fund raising activities and come up with transparency and accountability on all matters pertaining to the club finances and procurement. This in turn will bring confidence to the fans and other corporate entities in supporting the club coffers.
How long are we going to wait for the club to be made financially sustainable?
It is my prayer in the name of Lord and saviour Jesus Christ that our heavenly Father will touch the individual hearts of the EC members and that they will see the light and pursue the right initiatives for changing the face of the club to become the best football club in Africa. The time is now and God will see us through in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Bwana..why the EC rejected the Safaricom deal whose value was more than twice Tuzo’s is beyond me. Anyway let bygones ne bygones..start negotiating for new sponsors, we know many blue chip companies are willing (politics aside)… Our leaders, Mps, Cabinet ministers and Businessmen should b brought on board (and thats your job Bwana). If Kidero provided housing, others could pay his Airfare, private car and fuel etc…
Allow me to repeat what has been suggested in this blog since its inception.
Fundraisers are not sustainable at all and are always used by unscruplous officials to line their pockets ever since. Guys remember the 60 Milion quest at the beginning of the year what became of it after people contributed at the branch level whereas right at the mid season GM was broke according to the respected SG.
Many of us believe GM would rather begin by turning into a professionally run and accountable outfit even if it be Limited Company. It pays for GM to be owned objectively by people interested not just in being members but to develop football as an entertainment. I abhor this begging culture everyday.
I also believe GM can be comfortably funded with gate collections and sponsorship and some contributions through structured branch membership, fine we always contribute but what happens to the gates? Is it right that you contribute with the right hand and the left hand steals?
To me structures first, the money getting into GM should be enough for the current level of its activities.After the coach is given 1m plus what happens to the players?
In corporate world, if you have a dis-satisfied employee in your midst and has indicated his/her intentions to leave, the best thing is always to let him/her go. What makes us think that if GM pays him what he is asking for (Current salary times 5), these clubs dyeing to have him will not offer him more. He is a very good coach but it seems his heart is elsewhere. Let him go and we can only wish him the very best. After all no one is indispensible. However the doors are not locked in Kogallo, he can always come back if things become elephant out there.
For God and my club Kogallo.
@Kibalka when did the ECrejects safaricomn offer.You should be able to explain what you are whenever you have a comment.I know it is your contitutional right to express yourself but be able able to explain.Am not not contradicting your comment but am only worrying coz non can go for acheap thing and leaves the better one.And if it is true then Bwana should be held responsible for whatever financial depletion the club is facing.Besides that,Gor is abig club of which the officials should not rely so much on funds from fans.They should also look on other means of getting revenue,even if it means reducing their salaries for the sake of the players and the coach since they are the biggest contributors.To my opinion i think what Tuzo gives is alittle bit enough since the Gor players ara not paid better salaries like the likes of Sofapaka and AFC.Furthermore what about clubs such as City stars who doesn’t have single sponsors but have never cried of funds.
Its tme for Gor officials to explain to fans where the 60M collected at the beggining of the season was uses for.Coz i remember very well that the branches contributed and even Kidero contributed 4M.We do not contribute to make some individual rich but for the sake of the club.Its hihg time you plan for better use of funds.To my worry also is that Gor cannot afford to sign a player worth 4M.Am not against the club or anyone but it my concern for the club i love.So to those responsible,note that if you mess you will cry for your entire life.
The fact is that gormahia is still a very very tiny club with no basic amenities that would make a foreigner to be convinced to stay on. Instead of adding salaries to the coach the club should let him go and use the funds for one year to build a club house for players and coaching staff with a private training ground, head quarters premises and an academy. TELLING LUGARUSIC TO STAY WITH THIS CLUB IS LIKE A POOR MAN WITH AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE TELLING A BEAUTIFUL GIRL TO HOLD ON TO HIM, WHEN THERE ARE OTHER SUITABLE SUITORS WAITING FOR HER CONSENT. I think Mr. Bwana with all due respect should first focus on empowering the club with facilities first. If we increse the salary of the coach to , for example 7 million per year and the cost of building a club house is for example 12 million per year, are we then not misplacing our priorities?? Mr. Bwana I want you to think very very very hard. And also there is a talk that there is a GOR MAHIA STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS. If what we read in this blog are the plans for GM for the next three years then T.P MAZEMBE, EL MEREIKH AND YANGA will continue to be bigger and bigger while gor mahia is stagnant.
I know what brought us together in this city is money. When you get a greener pasture you will definitely proceed. Logarusic may be right but I want to let Gor management know that we have reached a point that we need to think outside the box.
Sponsors alone will not make us move cos we’ll still be slaves to them. Let us look at a way of starting an enterprise that will generate funds to run the club affairs.
If we don’t go business then we shall always be the tails and not the head.
Are you sure some of our good players will still be in Gor after the coach goes?
Will it be of any good winning the titles and cannot represent the country well in continental matches?
Remember football today is not passion but profession and career thus money is the real factor of motivation.
Are we useing Ticket Masters this weekend,when Gor will host Re-Union in a local build- up match at the City Stadium? To me this is only way we can be accountable for every penny. Leaving the Gates to manned by scouts is not in the best interest of the club. Every pennu counts in this long journey!
The reason why we are number 2 and not 1 is because we always use the same strategies season in season out but then we expect a different result.We need to do whatever we can to retain the entire technical bench,playing unit for at-least two more seasons and make them happy for continuity purposes,because if they are happy usually everything just fall into place and if they are sad u all know what usually happens.So we should not say let someone just go because they will always come back or we can always get a better one,at the end of the day a bird at hand is better than many more at the bush,Besides Gor-mahia should be amongst the top ten clubs in Africa not number forty five,we are their because we refused to do certain things right sometimes back,but fortunately we have the opportunity to do things right now.I rest my case.
Omera let logarusic go ! This man is growing horns by the day. Gor mahia has been around long before logarusic was born
With all due respect Loga is a good coach but just like us who change jobs for greener pastures he has a right to do so. But the employer also has a right to try to convince the employee to stay ar to groom someone before he/she leaves. Surely, despite what SecGen is saying if Zamalek or Esperence or even TP Mazembe were to come for the coach we have no way/means of resisting. The best we can do is to learn from him how he has handled GM and hope that any other coach can be given the time, freedom and resources to do likewise. Let’s listen to Kosero and what he has said. I also heard the radi Jambo interview and the coach kumbe was to be here for only three months but managed to convince his family to extend it to the end of the year. Let’s appreciate the much he has done for us and not let our bitterness to cloud our achievements and sooner or later some of us might start writing some unpalatable things about the whole situation. We might get a cheaper and even better coach, who knows. Let’s now concentrate our energies on the 5 TPL games and , hopefully, the 3 FKL cup games. The coach’s contract runs till mMrch next year so we should handle those admin issues at the end of November but at this time it should be ONE GAME AT A TIME as our slogan goes
First things first. We need to win the league and get the new prize money of 10m, we need to win FKF and win 1m then we will have several months to air all manner of suggestions to do with sponsors, coaching, management, players and fans.
@Jakoyo, you are out of your mind to say that the coach should go. Any rational worker that has excelled very well in his or her mandate will require a review of his or her terms of employment. May be Jakoyo, you require to see psychiatric.
‘Until then, he is still our coach’
The statement above does not hold water. Someone can never be tied by a contract because there is what we call ‘pay in lieu of notice’. We must think seriously about the employment terms, work environment among other things if we have to keep any player or the coach himself or even yourself in your current job. We are now talking about March 2013 but the whole thing will not be about March but the now factor
I think this blog site does accomodate even our enemies, so we must be careful how we interact coz we may just be opening a can of worms. Jakoyo @12 for instance, what do you stand for in GM? Just thinking: Throughout Kenya (and diaspora) can we not raise just one million Gor supporters parting with just 10 sh a month, isnt that a cool KSH 10M one month? Jokers, jokers!!!!!!!!
Kosero, Dan & Ja Thur Gi Ji, you are all talking well and i agree with your sentiments however diverse they are. Surely sure holding onto someone too much is not okay, but that does not make him a bad coach nor do we get a chance to dismiss him that easily?
You will bear with me guys but i have to mention again that i hate the Harambee culture forced down our throats.I just think.
Harambees should be a means of getting out of a financial crisis.. take for an Instance Mr. Z holding Harambees for his rent for the past two years! This is similar to what GM is doing, are we serious we are going to fundraise for Loga’s salary?
We all are aware that next season we may be in the continental scene and not just next year it is the normal ultimate aim, shouldn’t there be a way of preparing financially for maybe the next three years and could be hold an Harambee to jump start a project supplementing gate fees instead of waiting to call Harambees and desparation for the funny village harambee nights?
Ja Thur Gi Ji i agree we should be raising funds and i believe majority of these bloggers do many times but truly we should be doing an objective contribution in a modern atmosphere.
@no.8 and jakoyo please the coach must stay in kogalo if we r to move any far. Jakoyo, if Logar leaves us which good coach do you have in place to replace him? If only you could know how difficult it is to get a good coach. Who tells you the next one will be equal to the task? You talk of a bigger GM. How can GM be bigger if it is relegated? This is the coach who lifted us from the relegation zone to where we are. We still need him. Jakoyo wewe ndiye shetani ya GOR. jakoyo ashindwe!!!!
@ no 19, I totally agree with you, Gor is a BIG team becouse of its success, we go to watch our boys play becouse we believe that they will win and thats a great fun.I still remember the beginning of the season when to score a goal was an impossibility for Kogallo…when we could not even score with a penalty kick. Infact most fans stopped coming to the stadium with uniforms, it was just humuliating. But then things changed, thanks be to God!!
All the support will come to Kogallo as long as we continue winning, stability on the technical bench is key to that. We must do all we can to retain our couch and hope that when he finally leaves, we can get another one to match his quality. He is not better than other couches but he is charismatic, he has what it takes to make players believe in themselves. Lets pray that we may win our next match and the next one!!!!
I assure all gormahia fans that with this fumbling that is going on SOFAPAKA will build more assets than gor mahia in the next five years. Just watch. Gormahia has been here since 1967 while sofapaka is less than 10 years. Just watch! This club always employs failed tactics year in year out. There should be a change of tactics. NO HARAMBEES!