Gor Mahia submitted the provisional squad list for their CAF champions League quest without their sensational striker Meddie Kagere. The striker is out of contract with the club and while both parties are interested in renewing the contract, Kagere feels that there are some issues that should be addressed before he puts pen to paper. This has caused a stormy debate with most fans calling on the club to do anything to retain his services.
While speaking to The Nation newspaper, the striker said that he felt unappreciated and forgotten by Kenyans. He felt left out of individual awards, despite winning Player Of The Month award for September (2015). He is also quoted as saying that he was receiving better offers from other clubs and that his desire was to play in Europe. Gianluigi Buffon, Manuel Neuer, Andrea Pirlo among other highly rated players have never won the Ballon D’Or, Leonardo Di Caprio has never won an Oscars. So Kagere failing to win any individual honors shouldn’t be an issue.
The contract saga is following a similar script to that of Yaya Toure and the birthday cake. In the end, he managed to get more money. Wayne Rooney once threatened to move to Manchester City and succeeded in his quest for higher wages. Whether Kagere will succeed in bullying K’ogallo into a better contract remains to be seen.
However, the question should be whether Gor Mahia really need him.The club is struggling financially and paying the ksh.6 million sign on fee the striker is asking for is a huge burden. Higher wages will lead to demands from other players which may lead to player strikes and derailment of the oncoming season. For a player getting into his 30s, however prolific, Gor shouldn’t be bullied into parting with money they don’t have.
Besides, the club has always let go of their best players season in season out. And they’ve always found a better replacement. When George ‘Blackberry’ Odhiambo left, Sserenkuma proved to be more lethal in front of goal. Then exited Sserenkuma and in came Olunga, who finished as last season’s top scorer for the club.
What the club should be more worried about is how they should stop letting their best players go for free. With clubs rumored to be offering up to kshs.9 million, they club could have made a windfall from the sale of the Rwandan
