The Breakdown: Where is the consistency in Harambee Stars selection?

It seemed like an April Fool’s Day joke. That barely two games in, newly appointed Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat had already made sweeping changes to the first side he called up to the national team at the start of his two-month tenure.

After his first ever session with Harambee Stars, Firat faced the media and explained how he would love the boys in camp to quickly adapt to his philosophy, playing style and ideologies being the new man in charge.

“This is our first training session and I wanted to see what is going on in the field and what the boys will do. We will prepare now with the local boys who are here where I will try to explain what I expect from them. They have to adapt to me and the way I want them to play,” he stated in October.

Exactly one month after that statement, the head coach named his second squad that would take part in the team’s last two dead rubber Qatar 2022 World Cup Qualifying games. In it, only fifteen of the 25 players that featured in the back to back clashes against Mali survived, begging the why question.

Harambee Stars release provisional squad for World Cup qualifiers

Were the first batch that bad? Cool, they were thrashed 5-0 nil on aggregate. But who selected them the first time that does not want anything to do with them a second time? Or, can you not give them a second chance?

That is a non-issue though. In dropping ten players, it means Firat has to start all over again with the process of instilling his ideologies to the new players. There is no way the head coach is going to pick up from where he left off last time.

That is where the issue comes in. Of course, changes here and there are to be expected in the team. But being a new regime, isn’t the team supposed to have some sort of consistency to be able to pick up from the last time out? Some sort of backbone to rely on with people who actually understand what the coach wants despite it still being early days? A sort of foundation to build on rather than experiment with the team.

Right now, there is nothing the team will be playing for apart from honouring the fixtures. Wouldn’t that have been a good place to see how the team reacts after a tough first two outings?

Surprisingly, the players who have been axed are the ones who are probably expected to play a major part in the national team for days to come; Joash Onyango, Daniel Sakari, Lawrence Juma, Henry Meja just to name a few.

On the other hand, deserved call ups have been doled out to names such as Timothy Ouma from Nairobi City Stars and Gad Mathews from Gor Mahia. But why call up Ismail Dunga who has played a total of only 87 minutes since January without scoring a single goal or even starting a single match for his Sagan Tosu side?

Anthony Wambani who has been included in the side for the first time as well comes from a Vasalund side that has conceded the second-most goals in the Swedish second-tier league where they languish at the bottom of the league and are staring at relegation. But what then? Because they play abroad?

Anyway, The Breakdown.

Surviving Players

Ian Otieno, Brian Bwire, James Saruni, Joseph Okumu, Abud Omar, Eric Marcelo Ouma, Bolton Omwenga, Eugene Asike, Johnstone Omurwa, Richard Odada, Kenneth Muguna, Duke Abuya, Boniface Muchiri, Abdallah Hassan, Michael Olunga

While coaches have different reason for handing out call ups to players they deem fit, it was perhaps more of a surprise seeing fumbling Firat hand maiden call ups to six players as four others made a comeback into the team

Axed Players

Farouk Shikalo, Joash Onyango, David ‘Calabar’ Odhiambo, Daniel Sakari, David Ambulu, Lawrence Juma, Ismail Gonzalez, Eric Zakayo, Philip Mayaka, Henry Meja, Eric Kapaito

New and returning faces

Anthony Akumu, Philemon Otieno, Eric Johanna, Ismail Dunga, Gad Mathews, Amos Nondi, Alwyn Tera, Wilkins Ochieng’, Anthony Wambani, Timothy Ouma.