I am here thinking aloud and saying to myself, was it not only a season past that, but the entire Phobia fraternity was also signing the undying praise of the Messiah, Samuel Boadu, a lad, that took over the reins of the club barely six months and led them to an unprecedented Ghana Premier League title, a trophy, that has been long missing from their trophy cabinet for well over a decade.
A man hailed by all and sundry to have broken a jinx many had failed to achieve, lots were said and written about him to the full glare of the public, most of them were in pure praises and acknowledgment for what he and his technical team had been able to mastermind in a short space of time.
The good times were certainly here, the Phobia boys were out to roast, something, we hadn’t seen in a long haul. Good tidings and memories were here to stay.
This season was unlike the prior one, there were varying factors to this one, some core group members, Emmanuel Nettey, Benjamin Afutu-Kotey, and Raddy Ovouka all had to leave at some point, which meant the team needed to dig deep into the market to augment the squad, there came, Sulley Muntari, Samuel Inkoom, Gladson Awako, Dennis Korsah, Suraj, Enok Asubonteng, Salim Adams but they had their moments.
Last season, Hearts played a host of matches at the Accra Sports Stadium which culminated in their success of winning the league, they traveled less, which helped the team to recover faster and refreshed for the task ahead, as well as the massive support of their teeming fans, who were at the Stadium in their numbers to cheer them on match days.
Fast forward to this season, Boadu had his first full season at a title defense and things didn’t really pick up as expected, his first 20 games he picked only 25 points and was outside the top 10 at the time, there were injuries, had to tinker with his side and tactics all season.
I have heard fans calling for his head but I think he needs ample time to turn things around, a sneak peek at the squad and there are a host of the boys who have little Premier League experience, with the acquisition of Sulley Muntari, Samuel Inkoom and Gladson Awako, some of the young ones in Suraj Seidu, Ushau Abu, Nurudeen Aziz, Yorke Benjamin, and the others could tap into the experience of these lads.
He may have just won one of the two trophies from last season, the MTN FA Cup, the second coach since, Sir Cecil Jones Attuquayefio but he needs to be given the needed financial backing in the market to contest in the Confederations Cup as well as the upcoming season.
It’s all not all rosy but there’s still more room for improvement, the Messiah needs to be protected at all costs.
