Decisive steps must be taken to curb hooliganism

If you thought hooliganism was the preserve of K’Ogalo and Ingwe, you must be thinking otherwise especially after the English Premier League match between Manchester United and West Ham United.

Even at the height of violent clashes pitting goons from the two sides, it never got to the level of a team bus being pelted with assorted missiles on the scale of what we witnessed during on Tuesday night.

Images of Man United players cowering inside the team bus as the hostile West Ham goons used bottles to shatter the windows are disgusting. It is a miracle that no player got injured during the fracas, which delayed the match by a good 45 minutes.

The lesson here is that hooliganism is a universal vice all football-loving people must stand up to and eradicate. It is hardly a preserve of Osanjo and his Green Army militia. Nor is it a monopoly of some goons dressed in counterfeit Ingwe jerseys.

So rather than sit back and wait for these hoodlums to unleash mayhem and then rush to impose punitive sanctions on these two clubs, football authorities must take more decisive steps in eradicating the vice.

DEMAND SECURITY FEES

There is no point for police to demand security fees from clubs to provide security during matches and then sit back and watch as hooligans run riot.

Having said that, it must be disappointing for Ingwe fans that we have only managed to pick up one point out of a possible 12 in our last four outings.

In two of the four matches, our defence has been guilty of conceding last minute goals. Against Western Stima at the Moi stadium Kisumu two weeks ago, we allowed a last minute goal. And on Saturday at the same venue, we again conceded at the death. Our boys seem to lose concentration as the match wears on.

Ingwe’s other major undoing has been the lack of depth, and in all departments. To be fair to the boys though, they have tried to create chances but the finishing has been shockingly wanting.

Against Muhoroni, not less than three clear cut chances went begging, with the main culprits being Simon Abuko and Hedmond Mauda. One may want to blame it on inexperience but the bottom-line is that these misses cost us three points.

Another area coach Minnaert may need to address aggressively going forward is the boys’ failure to keep possession. It is pointless to win possession then give it away.

The coach has already stated that he is working on a list of potential recruits during the June transfer window. It is evident that an injection of experience and potency especially on the last quarter of the pitch.

A lot of names have been bandied around but I leave it to the technical bench to assess the team’s weaknesses and make informed decisions.

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