October 31, (THEWILL) – Enyimba Head Coach, Finidi George, has revealed the issues that led to the club’s disappointing exit from the African Football League (AFL) this season. In a scathing reaction, the former Nigerian international highlighted problems with player recruitment, squad quality and internal organisation as factors behind the heavy aggregate defeat to Wydad Casablanca.
Finidi admitted that losing key players like top scorer Emeka Obioma without adequately replacing them left Enyimba short of the quality needed for the AFL. “We didn’t have any business losing many of those players,” he said, criticising the club for not showing enough desire to retain important players. He also hit out at the poor recruitment, saying he only knew 4 out of 19 new signings.
The Dutchman also cited problems with player registration and general internal disorganisation as disruptive factors. Finidi said coaches were not consulted on registration and some players were dropped from travelling for flimsy reasons. He lamented the lack of coaching staff that travelled, saying “Everyone has to put the club’s interest first.”
In response to blame being put on the coaches, Finidi argued that the issues are beyond the technical crew. He pointed out that the same coaches had enjoyed success last season, saying problems with player exodus and recruitment were obvious factors behind the AFL failure. Finidi will now aim to regroup his side for domestic action, starting with a league clash against Niger Tornadoes on Wednesday.
While the former Ajax star has laid bare the internal problems at Enyimba that led to a disjointed and disappointing AFL campaign, he must, in good faith, accept that a portion of the blame will always lie with the coach.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
