Nobody saw this coming, not even David Duncan but he woke up on Friday morning knowing he was no longer going to be the head coach of Hearts of Oak.
The highly unpopular decision was taken at a board meeting on Thursday but then don’t kid yourself to think it was a collective decision because it was simply not.
There was no way Duncan was nearly ready to quit the Phobians. He had a personal ambition to excel at Hearts to prove a major point in Ghana football.
So for the club to officially announce that Duncan’s departure was by ‘mutual consent’ is what I will only describe as a nice try but then not close to being impressive. The decision was FORCED on the gaffer.
The meeting was going all too well until board chairman and majority shareholder of the club Togbe Afede XIV announced he could ‘no longer work with Duncan’.
It surely took everyone by surprise and even though I know they will try very hard to discredit this; Managing Director Neil Armstrong Mortagbe was least amused by the decision.
He argued alongside other members such as Frank Nelson and in actual fact, their argument held a whole lot of water but their beloved chairman was not ready to listen.
No one needs to be told the great work done by the former AshantiGold coach since he took over almost a year ago from CK Akunnor who was also sacked in an almost similar manner.
Togbe’s reasons:
Duncan was a very fair and principled man – if you don’t work your socks off in training, don’t expect to be picked for games.
It however happens that one of the players of the side whom the club had pinned their hopes on at the time of his acquisition was simply not going by Duncan’s rule book in training.
Gilbert Fiamenyo had grown very fat, was the laziest in training and this showed during matches even though there were few moments of brilliance.
Duncan had actually told confidantes of his plans to bring in a more dynamic and hardworking striker when the transfer window reopens in a few weeks time.
Fiamenyo however has the biggest invisible trump card no other player has; he is the darling boy of the board chairman.
Duncan had been told to ensure the ex Heart of Lions man remained fit and trained well during sessions because primarily ‘that is your job’ but most importantly he must play.
Togbe playing a pure businessman needs some sort of returns on his investment. Fiamenyo represents one of these returns but he is just not cutting it.
At this point Neil Armstrong and Frank Nelson had prepared cogent rebuts to this point but the dire had already been cast and no amount of superior arguments was going to reverse this decision.
Neil who enjoyed a wonderful relationship with the coach was tasked to break the news and make Duncan understand in any way he can it was best for the club even though his belief was against it.
Duncan aftermath
It’s basically comes down to two things – if Hearts fail to pick maximum points in their next two games while Kotoko stretch their lead at the top, the board and management can then kiss their growing relationship with the fans a wet goodbye.
This was actually one of the counter points to the board chairman’s decision.
The response was very simple; ‘as officials of the club, your first and only loyalty is to the club and not personalities’ and therefore officials have to make this work.
The flip side however is that, if this works – which I doubt – then well played to the board.
Opinion:
This in my candid opinion is the most outrageous decision ever taken by a club who had emerged from a relegation-threatened side last season to a real title contender and not because the team is solid full of quality but because the players a riding on the ego of an enigmatic coach.
Time as they say is always the best judge and hopefully, at least for the Hearts supporters are longing for the return of the glory days – their leader got it right.