Kotoko board well on track

By: Jerome Otchere, Kumasi

Three months after the Executive Board Chairman of Kotoko, Dr. K. K. Sarpong and his 11-eleven member board were given the mandate to steer the affairs of the club, Kotoko Express can says with authority that the board is right on track.

A critical look at the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II’s message to the board in May this year reveals that Dr. K. K. Sarpong and his distinguished team of personalities were tasked to put in place the necessary measures and indeed structures that would lead to the proper development of Kotoko.

It may well be just too early to start counting the achievements the board has chalked. However, it is also not out of place to draw the attention of the large Kotoko family to specific issues that His Majesty, the Asantehene raised and how the board and the management have dealt with those issues.

In his address to the board during their inauguration, the Asantehene spoke at length about power struggle and how that canker has succeeded in hampering the development of Kotoko over the years.

“There has often been power struggle. They argue about who Manhyia has appointed and who Manhyia has not appointed. Although they are the key people in the club, they do not give proper attention to the players. The players’ welfare and performance is what will lift the image of the club. They however think of themselves and fight over power. How correct structures be laid to ensure development of the club with this attitude” the Asantehene said.

He also charged the board to put up a formidable management team and properly supervise them.

“Have oversight responsibility over who you will appoint and let not the management say Manhyia appointed us…Meet with your team and do everything right for me by implementing good measures for proper administration” he added.

A careful look at the various appointments that have been made over the last three months, the fusion of some members of the Interim Management Team (IMT) together with some past management members along with entirely new people confirms the Dr. K. K. Sarpong-led board’s resolve to work effectively to change the face of the club.

I have seen the working relations between the board and management; it is great and wonderful. It is not just enough to say it is fine. It is really good!

The same level of seriousness and commitment, good working relations and professionalism can also be seen at the technical level.

I think it is important we highlight some of these things if they are present or visible.

Another area that comes to mind is recruitment and the structure and composition of the technical team. Again the Asantehene observed with pain how players who score goals against Kotoko are those that are recruited.

“When these players come, they do virtually nothing and their recruitment cost huge sums of money! Who leads the recruitment? Which technical team assesses the players prior to their recruitment?  Recruitment is done anyhow,” he stated.

Nana also touched on the technical team and how he has seen the same faces in a decade but with little success to show for.

A cursory look at the technical paints slight different picture. There are some new faces on board and indeed in ensuring that the past is left exactly where it should be, player recruitment was for instance left solely in the hands of the technical manager.

Although the season is yet to open, the indications are good. With the kind of recruitment done, one can expect maximum success with time.

The notion that players who perform well against Kotoko are recruited was abandoned, giving room for a careful recruitment of players not only to meet the requirement of the technical manager, Ebo Mends but of course the club as a whole.

The credit must go to the board and the management team whose supervision, direction, counsel and support could simply not be ignored by the technical team.

Look at the youth team. It was another area touched on by the Asantehene. He in fact lamented their virtual neglect, how their plight was worsening with time, concluding with the urgent call to halt that disturbing trend. The story is that the youth team is currently not in the shapes one would gleefully compare with what we see elsewhere yet the eventual and successful downsizing of their huge number to 22 and their registration at the FA alone gives hope.

There appears to be light at the end of the tunnel.

Some other good examples could be given to buttress the assertion that the board and management of the club are well on track. I will save those examples for another time.  Admittedly it is too early to point out everything but if you think, it has been just talk, then you probably need to open your eyes well to see how the new Kotoko is being crafted.