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Mwalala ticked all boxes to be coach of month
What you need to know:
- It is on this rationality that we Bandari die- hards believe Bernard Mwalala deserved to be awarded Coach of the Month for February especially since Bandari finished the month on top of the log while Gor Mahia were a distant third at the time.
- For this awards to gain credibility it is of utmost importance that they be beyond reproach otherwise as it stands now we still believe coach Bernard Mwalala was gypped by SJAK.
I still cannot believe to date that Bandari coach Bernard Mwalala was not named the Fidelity Sports Journalist Association of Kenya (SJAK) Coach of the Month for February and will stop at nothing in demanding for justice for our own.
Through the establishment of a set of regulations for the awards which are both fair-minded and democratic, the Fidelity Awards Coach of the Month hopes to encourage a healthy level of competition among football tacticians which will lead to higher levels of good coaching within the fraternity.
By recognising our own level of excellence and the achievements of our football coaches, we set benchmarks for future budding trainers and encourage the expansion of the game locally.
It is therefore hoped that the awards should stimulate performance in all areas associated with the league and KPL as a whole.
Back to the Coach of the Month for February, there has been a lot of hue and cry as to why Bandari coach Bernard Mwalala was not awarded in place of Gor Mahia’s Hassan Oktay.
I am not here to teach the panellists how to do their job but truth be told, it is not very clear how the selection is done save for the fact that SJAK Football Commission comprising of football journalists will determine the coach who merits most the awards on performance basis.
What I also know is that the eventual winner is always decided from a shortlist of five coaches after what should be a thorough vetting by the panellists who base their decision on statistics which in most cases don’t lie.
It is because of this that I still believe coach Mwalala deserved the accolades judging by Bandari’s performance in the month of February which saw Bandari remain patched at the top of the league standing, the entire period of the month.
During the month of February for example, Mwalala’s Bandari amassed a total of 13 points with a total of nine goals from five matches namely one nil against Nzoia Sugar and Kariobangi Sharks respectively, won two zero against Vihiga United, drew one-all against Tusker before thumping AFC Leopards four goals to one.
On the other hand, Hassan Oktay’s Gor Mahia accumulated a total of 13 points with six goals from a total of five matches, namely one-zero against Vihiga United, two-zero against AFC Leopards followed by another one-zero win against Batoto ba mungu (Sofapaka), this was followed by a one-all draw against Western Stima and a one-zero win against Tusker.
It is on this rationality that we Bandari die- hards believe Bernard Mwalala deserved to be awarded Coach of the Month for February especially since Bandari finished the month on top of the log while Gor Mahia were a distant third at the time.
For this awards to gain credibility it is of utmost importance that they be beyond reproach otherwise as it stands now we still believe coach Bernard Mwalala was gypped by SJAK.
