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Soccer News of Tuesday, 14 October 2008

Source: -THE SUN

Hearts Sit On Time bomb

Long-serving NCC Organizer Mohammed Alhassan who has 13 years of dedicated service to 97 year old Premier club Hearts of Oak under his belt says the rainbow club is sitting on a destructive time-bomb and that it is only a matter of time when chaos would come confronting on all fronts.

Organizer Alhasan says, Hearts of Oak which has a debilitating debt-burden of close to ¢20 billion has been driven to the very brink of disaster on account of inefficiency, corruption, ineptitude and outright mediocrity of the deepest dye, compared to the administrative glory days of Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe in the 1980’s. Depicting issues with the Chinese proverb which says fish rots from the head, Organizer Alhassan told THE SUN that the first monumental mistake Hearts of Oak did was to appoint board chairman Mr. Commodore Mensah into position. “The man has consistently turned small mistakes into bigger ones and with Vincent Odotei Sowah the acting CEO as his pet, I am afraid the club will continue to nose-dive into further mediocrity,” Alhassan told THE SUN. The NCC experienced hand told of how right underneath the nose of the board chairman two people have succeeded in hiding behind Vincent Odotei with their links to Midtjyland FC and Prampram Mighty Royals, to transfer mediocre players to the club.

“Odotei himself is connected to Agbozume Weavers and players of sub-standard quality are dumped in Hearts and their asking price hiked. As to where the monies go, your guess is as good as mine,” the tough-talking NCC capo said rather sadly.

Organizer Alhassan claimed that things have grown from bad to worse such that midfield star in-his-own-right Francis Joojo Bossman, has been transferred and NCC chairman Alhaji Moro Akabi’s ward, one Ebo Sam, shaded green with inexperience retained at an extremely high asking price.

The bitter Organizer said, at last Tuesday’s board of directors meeting club coach Kosta Papic denied flatly that he was responsible for the off-loading of goalkeeper Saani Mohammed, Joojo Bossman, Michael Donkor, Michael Asante, Moses Donkor and quite a few stars.

However Vincent Odotei had made the world believe that Mr. Papic really transferred them. “What has angered me beyond reason is that members called for Odotei’s resignation, Commodore Mensah actually kicked against it asking to be given time to think about it”, Alhassan told THE SUN.

According to him, this naturally gives the game away in that it appears the board chairman shares in the booty being carted elsewhere by Odotei who continues to hike amateur players from a low of ¢10 million sometimes, to a high of ¢350 million. Alhassan thus mentioned the specific case of Sekondi Hasaacas’ David Anas who was being purchased for Hearts by the Western regional Vice-chairman of the RCC, only for Odotei to ask him to remain tight-lipped with the exact cash amount of his purchase came up for discussion.

“This infuriated the benevolent vice-chairman and he has had to go away with his ¢2.5 billion he was ready to dole out to the club”, Alhassan told THE SUN. The Organizer then told of the con- game by Odotei Sowah to the effect that, he had secured the NHIS for every Hearts player meanwhile that was a major lie of embarrassing proportions.

According to Alhassan, the true state of affairs is that forms have been filled but they have gathered dust on one of the shelves at the Hearts Secretariat as such Hearts players do not have enjoy NHIS as a matter of truth. The NCC Organizer stated that lies such as this demean the club’s status as African Champions in the millennium. He went ahead to list recent signings of Osei Bonsu from Zaytuna United and Tetteh Nortey which have been done on loan, only for high quotes to be ascribed to their names.

Having peppered Vincent Odotei and his two friends Neil Armstrong Mortagbe and Kurt Okraku to the marrow, Alhassan then turned the fire on NCC chairman Moro Akabi who he claimed, will go down as the worst-ever NCC chairman in the club’s history. Alhassan told of how chairman Akabi, whose hand he claimed shook like a leaf in the dry harmattan winds on NCC election-day while reading his address, has betrayed the supporters by pocketing $4,000 from MTN cash for Hearts supporters. “Akabi used the unauthorized route to acquire money from the Sponsorship Committee under Steve Mawunyegah and I am extremely disappointed in both of them,” he told THE SUN.

Alhassan explained that the very trips the NCC chairman claimed the NCC spent that tall list of costing on were borne by the benevolent Western regional vice-chairman of the NCC, and so Akabi must be talking about something else from another planet.

“The trips to Tarkwa and Kumasi were so comfortable and borne by the vice-chairman who took so much load off Akabi’s shoulders such that, he was able to carry along HEARTS LADIES’ Eleanor and CINDY APENKORO on separate occasions,” Alhassan told THE SUN.

According to him because Alhaji Akabi compromised his position as NCC chairman by lashing erotically at the two ladies, there has been a huge rift in the executive position of HEARTS LADIES, where the rival Eleanor and Cindy both hold positions.

Organizer Alhassan says, he is going to convene a meeting of NCC executives where he will put the financial controller Herbert Laryea to the task for sitting idly by to allow chairman Akabi to virtually pocket as much as $4,000 belonging to supporters. Organizer Alhassan finally stated how he very much doubted the truthfulness in Alhaji Akabi’s claim that he was once-upon-a-time a bank manager in northern Nigeria because his ways do not support the claim. Rounding off, Alhassan punched the jaw of Commodore Mensah out of shape by accusing him of dodging the Annual General Meeting for the third consecutive year, and wondered if indeed he did not have something to hide with Odotei and his Akabi being use as a conduits.

Not to be out-done in the scheme of angry outbursts, Greater Accra Regional Chapters Committee chairman, Barima Atuahene also failed to understand just why Mr. Mawunyegah, with so much financial discipline under his belt, could be made to sign MTN’S $4000 originally intended for Hearts supporters for just one man. “We have revived the Greater Accra Chapters from a low of half a dozen to 24 at great costs, all from our own pockets and if that is how one man could be given so much, then the Greater Accra RCC will present its budget and encourage all RCCs nationwide to do so.

In all possible worlds therefore it appears major cracks in the club could do with some mending. That mending will need a needle and a thread from heaven of all places, if named parties such as Commodore Mensah, Vincent Odotei and Alhaji Akabi own up to the extent of damage done Hearts of Oak in this short space of time.