We need a lean team for efficient management
Equity FC's Nicholas Odhiambo (left) vies for an aerial ball with Bandari's Mohamed Siraj during their FKF Betway Cup quarterfinal match at Ruaraka grounds on June 9, 2021.
What you need to know:
- When football managers come and go, their huge compensation payout leaves a huge hole in a club’s coffers. It is my prayer that Bandari comes up with a sound recruitment plan.
- The club should also cut its bloated wage bill. We are better of maintaining a lean and efficient squad that is easier to manage.
Bandari is credited for single-handed lighting up the football scene in Coast region.
The club has treated us to high-octane matches against other formidable Football Kenya Federation Premier League clubs.
Bandari’s boldness and fighting spirit, especially while playing against the two top clubs in the country, is commendable.
Credit must be given to Kenya Ports Authority management for their unfailing support for the team. Bandari players and the technical bench are resolute, their commitment to be among the leading teams in the top-tier is not in question.
But as an experienced coach, I want to give my two cents advice. I’d like to consider three different models of football recruitment, first the talent pooling “plan in advance” model, secondly, the contingent “last minute” model and lastly, the just in time “value” model.
The first model has been working well for us because Bandari youth team is in place.
It has acted as an academy for tapping top talent in Coast region. Managerial changes are frequent among football clubs, and this hinders long-term planning.
But the emergence of the role of the internal recruitment director and investment in academies, means that even if managers come and go, a club’s player recruitment approach remains constant.
English Premier League side Southampton is a good example of a club which has taken the “develop your own approach” to recruitment.
By investing in a state-of-the art academy, coaching and scouting network they have been able to climb the league ranks by selling their prized youth team assets and reinvesting the gains back into their team as a whole.
Players like Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Luke Shaw fetched the club a collective £60 million (Sh8,933,278,200) back in the day.
Besides investing in an academy/youth team, Bandari squad should be continously improved.
When football managers come and go, their huge compensation payout leaves a huge hole in a club’s coffers. It is my prayer that Bandari comes up with a sound recruitment plan.
The club should also cut its bloated wage bill. We are better of maintaining a lean and efficient squad that is easier to manage.
