Police FC would do well being more streetwise

As a coach, Abdallah Mubiru has proved to be remarkably resilient, sticking with his philosophy even when the chips are down.

This though has not been your average case of many loyalties being tested and few broken.
Mubiru was deemed surplus to requirements at KCCA FC and Vipers SC. But the fact that he had a crack at handling the two current protagonists in Ugandan club football speaks volumes not as much about his credentials as potential.

Mubiru’s exhaustive training sessions are renowned for yielding a vastly attractive brand of pass-and-move football. Into his second season at Police FC, it is safe to say that the unassuming coach has successfully confronted an intransigent strain of functional football that remains prevalent elsewhere.

Backing Mubiru
The 2005 champions have backed Mubiru even when a sufficient explanation for a dearth of defensive soundness hasn’t been forthcoming.
Last season, the Cops shipped an eye-watering 39 goals in 30 matches. Only two sides (UPDF and Masavu, each of which conceded 41 and were relegated) fared worse.
Police has continued to plumb the depths from a defensive perspective this season. They had the league’s worst defensive record (28 goals concede in 16) at the time of writing this piece.

Many will be quick to suggest that Mubiru’s cultural affinity that goes beyond defending is to blame for the horror show. The Police tactician encourages his side to play the ball out of defence safe in the knowledge that this bodes well for his possession-based brand of football. Whilst some players - like the team skipper Sadat Kyambadde - have managed to painstakingly crack the code, others such as goalkeeper Davis Mutebi have mined destructive impulses.
The look of pained concentration on Mutebi’s face has been as rife as his bloopers, many of which have been schoolboyish and - dare I say - costly.

Leading lights
The scintillating form of Juma Balinya has marked him out as one of the leading lights this season. Balinya’s nine goals have helped Police establish themselves as one of the high-scoring teams in the topflight.
The Cops have, however, toiled to strike a delicate balance between attack and defence. This has in part been occasioned by injuries to conventional holding midfielders Shakur Makeera and Samuel Kayongo.

But there is also a strong belief that Mubiru probably doesn’t have a robust appreciation of the defensive phase of the game. Imminent signings of Edgar Bwogi and Ivan Bukenya will merely paper over cracks.

There is a growing consensus that Mubiru has to calibrate his philosophy in such a manner that his charges learn how to be more streetwise. Short of that, his brand of football — which it must be admitted is soft on the eye — will continue to reap the whirlwind.