AfricaPress-Tanzania: A certain amount of dust has been kicked up by the pursuit of the services of former Simba SC head coach Patrick A
The Jangwani Street outfit are without a dependable professional coach after parting ways with Burundian expert Cedric Kaze over a trail of even games and finally a defeat that signaled their exit from contending for the League title, and that is a red line that the club coach has to be judged upon, if he is still the right fellow.
There was a time that a head coach left Jangwani Street after saying the side had no chance against age-old rivals Simba SC.
That was obviously another red line, that is, at no time should be formalized at the technical bench level, that the club is temporarily or otherwise attuned to the dominance of the Msimbazi Street outfit.
The coach has at least to believe in the team, as it is anathema at the Jangwani Street side– and presumably elsewhere – to take up a team and announce surrender before the match is engaged, and the coach should have know that.
Anyway, the question is how and in what manner Aussems is the best pick that Yanga can make right now, and if there is any intention to actually make a controversial choice, and technically sound too.
Many among soccer pundits will be thinking in that direction, as indeed it is unavoidable that minds get to that track, of how far there is a public relations aspect to this initial pursuit of a Kaze replacement, though the club ought to have known that he has a contract to see out at present.
There were other names that were mentioned here and there, for instance former Taifa Stars head coach Marcio Maximo, some even saying he would come as an assistant to Aussems or someone of the sort.
But why have two professionals from outside to do the same job, competing with one another as head coach and, say, an assistant head coach?
First with regard to Aussems, it is evident that the coach that Jangwani Street club would be roping is strictly speaking the one who is handling AFC Leopards of Nairobi at the moment.
It implies someone who sat down and conducted an evaluation of his last months’ failure with the Msimbazi Street outfit and decided on what measures he would take to restore his original profile which enabled him to take Simba to the group stage of the CAF Champions League.
It is after making such analysis and figuring out how he would restore that image that Leopards would expect to gain plenty by seeking his services.
The question is whether exactly that same calculation is applicable in the manner the Jangwani Street outfit management showed interest in his services, or there is an underside which makes the choice of whom to approach for the job somewhat suspect, to say the least.
When Leopards sought out Aussems, it was easy for the coach to grasp or build the mental impression that the part of him that has currency with the Nairobi outfit is the continental club championship achievement, irrespective of the club he took there.
And indeed the club becomes important for a different reason; that it isn’t among Africa’s habitual great sides like Al Ahly, TP Mazembe, Raja Casablanca or such other; those are great clubs whoever is coach.
But when Simba reach the group stage and shown enviable performance in a number of encounters, the coach matters, as it is a rising side in continental soccer rather than an established one the way it is in the local club championship.
Still that isn’t necessarily how the Jangwani Street giants would be understood either by pundits generally or by their fan base in seeking out Patrick Aussems as their first choice in the market for a new coach after they parted ways with the entire technical bench on Sunday.
There is an entirely of issues waiting to be resolved in the manner in which Aussems would relate to his assignment if he picked it up, especially how it would relate to his former workstation, that is, the club across the street.
While it is unnecessary to rush to suggest that the club approached the AFC Leopards coach for his services for a psychological reason rather than for technical considerations, in what manner can the club management or leadership rule it out?
And if this impression becomes equally pervasive among the club rank and file, could it thus be said that the management did not expect it, or rather looked for precisely such effect?
Now that the situation looks like Aussems won’t available for the next half year at the least, why shouldn’t the club leadership look elsewhere?
Yanga are not ready to part ways with their addiction to an off pitch contention with Simba, in other words, the first option of the next head coach was a prolongation of the uproar about Bernard Morrison, more than half a year already. Yanga needs to get out of this mood.
ussems by the management of Yanga.
