Opinions of Wednesday, 31 August 2016

Columnist: Sheikh Tophic Sienu

Congratulations Vincent Odotei-Sowah for collapsing Accra Hearts of Oak

Vincent Sowah-Odotei Vincent Sowah-Odotei

Do not be surprised at my headline because I don’t think Hearts fans and sympathisers have anything to do for Vincent Sowah-Odotei than to congratulate him for aborting the dream of the club to win the Ghana Premier League for the first time in seven years.

The intentions of Odotei-Sowah became clear to all who have been close to the club when his arrival saw the unexpected resignations and sacking of some of the management members who were there before his arrival.

Why was Joe Addo sacked?

Odotei-Sowah succeeded in sacking Joe Addo when he tried sacking Kenichi Yatsuhashi and realised that he couldn't do that with Joe Addo still around.

So the best strategy was to get Joe Addo out to get the opportunity to perpetrate his selfish and egoistic activities at the club.

Why was Odotei-Sowah even bent on getting Kenichi Yatsuhashi out? Has the absence of the Japanese trainer paid any dividends for the club?

So, Joe Addo became history and the next target became Gerald Ankrah.

I want you to understand my headline very well as we move along.

Odotei-Sowah again felt Gerald was a threat to his egoistic style of leadership and his presence was a threat to his diabolic agenda of thronging the club into another historical mess. So Gerald became the next target after Joe Addo.

Sources within the Rainbow Family tell me that Odotei-Sowah mooted for the creation of the Strategy Committee for the club while the Gerald Ankrah-led management was still active.

The Strategy Committee sidelined the Gerald Ankrah management in major decision making including the signing of players and bringing in a new coach since the Gerald management hired Kenichi.

So Gerald had to be frustrated to also leave the scene so that Odotei-Sowah can persue his aim of destroying Hearts.

One will argue that no one will lead an organisation and still want the downfall of that organisation but just take a close look at the chronology of happenings under Odotei-Sowah and tell me I and wrong.

You will never know someone will want the downfall of an institution he heads until you employ the ex-boyfriend of your wife as the MD of your company. You will clap for yourself later.

Let me quickly ask these questions. What is the position of Odotei-Sowah in Hearts now? And what was the position of Gerald Ankrah? Gerald was the MD before he resigned. Odotei-Sowah is now the acting MD. You should know the line of argument.

So eventually, Gerald was forced out. So Joe Addo was sacked and Gerald resigned.

Now Odotei-Sowah has Kenichi Yatsuhashi to his mercy.

Mention must be made that all this while, Odotei-Sowah and his cohorts were painting a bad picture about Kenichi out there in the public that he doesn't respect.

They started this just to make the Japanese appear unpopular in the eye of the public and to the Phobian family.

They succeeded and a coach who was third on the league log at the end of the first round was forced to part ways with the club for an unknown person to take over.

Even if Kenichi was disrespectful as we were made to believe, couldn't Yaw Preko, who had been with the club all this while, have taken over until the season ends? Was it necessary for Hearts to hire an entirely ignorant coach to continue the season?

I knew Sérgio Traguil would be used as another scapegoat for the incompetence of the Odotei-Sowah-led management of Accra Herts of Oak the very day he was appointed.

We were made to believe that the Portuguese was only coming as the head coach of the junior side of the club yet there were indications that he was coming for the premier league side. Do you remember the famous interview of Odotei-Sowah on Sikka FM in Kumasi? "Sérgio Traguil has a better CV than Kenichi Yatsuhashi. We will make them work together. Anyone that can't work with the other must quit," Odotei-Sowah said.

So the presence of Odotei-Sowah saw the absence of Joe Addo, Gerald Ankrah and Kenichi Yatsuhashi.

Hope you now understand my headline?

Now let's look at the effects of the changes that have transpired under Odotei-Sowah; have they been positive of negative?

Hearts had promise, hope and a positive sense of winning mentality under Kenichi Yatsuhashi and all followers of the Oak Family were hopefully hopeful that the seven-year league title drought will eventually come to an end this season.

The performance of the club in the first round alone was a clear manifestation of the quality work that had been done by the Japanese trainer and the arrival of Sérgio Traguil has confirmed that Kenichi did a great job.

So why won't you join hands with me to congratulate Odotei-Sowah for crumbling a great vision and aborting such a tremendous dream at an infant stage.

Odotei-Sowah Ayekoooo!