Maybe Sebastien needs new philosophy for his new dawn

What you need to know:

Call for new identity. We should develop a philosophy that is distinctively brave. The discipline required of the counter attacking football we have played for over five or so years, does not come easily to us.

This is neither a judgment call nor a trend analysis as it borrows from only 90 minutes of competitive football (this was penned before our game with Namibia).
So as a sneak peek into what to expect of our new tactician Sebastien Desabre, our 3-1 loss to Zambia in the African Nations Championship (Chan) opener may not suffice. But we still could talk, I guess.

And all talk is that the instruction was for us to be adventurous. That is the story the first half tells, at least. It made it an open game and one evidently appreciated by the home fans that bothered to turn up.
It also suited Zambia’s football style which traditionally leans towards sharp interchanges endless running and the need to demonstrate technical superiority.

In Zambia you are not a footballer until you can pull off fancy tricks and outrun opponents. Rainford Kalaba, anyone?
Anyhow, for games as open as this, the lack of experience and tactical awareness gets exposed very quickly. Yes, skills like Derrick Nsibambi’s equaliser will ignite the stadium but because the game is so fluid, the cringe-worthy error of Benjamin Ochan will never be far off.

I am not sure whether excitement and inexperience took the better of us or we were just tired in the second half.
Sebastien seems to suggest the later because he has since said our physical conditioning is one area he will be working to improve.

Either way I am sure Isaac Muleme and Timothy Awany will have better days in a Cranes jersey. And Sadam Juma ought to know he cannot have much longer to fulfill his undoubted potential. Also, if Muzamir Mutyaba offered even half of what he does on the domestic scene, he wouldn’t be eligible for this tournament. Did you guys see Milton Karisa though? He is such a prospect.

Deceptive scoreline
Having said that, the gap between the two teams isn’t as emphatic as the score suggests.
In fact, it wouldn’t be farfetched to say that on a more productive day the score-line could have been reversed. We matched them for just about everything but composure, and that’s what counts at this level. But at least Sebastien revealed an appreciation of what needs to be done by taking off Juma and Mutyaba when he did.

He is taking charge and cannot be accused of paralysis, even if it will take time for his methods to sink in and I’m personally not expecting that to happen at Chan 2018. Call it a honeymoon period if you like, a time in which he can play without fear and can experiment.

I do hope that is what informed how we played early on. Ultimately, I would like to see us develop a philosophy that is distinctively brave. I feel that the discipline required of the counter attacking football we have played for over five or so years, doesn’t come easily to us.

Maybe it’s time we built our game around a new philosophy based upon the gung-ho (we go, we go) intuitive nature of our football.

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MBanturaki