Police to impress but similar flaws remain 

Police start the new season the same way they have begun the previous four full seasons that head coach Abdallah Mubiru has been at the club.

With a number of experienced players keen to show they still have what it takes to make it in the Uganda Premier League.

The group is led by former Cranes midfielder Tony Mawejje who showed last season and in the resumption of the Uganda Cup last month that he can still dominate games. While not exactly age mates with Mawejje, the returning Juma Balinya falls in a similar category.

Anything close to his 2018/2019 form that saw him lead the scoring chart with 19 league goals will be considered a success.

This is going by the disappointing spells at Tanzanian side Yanga Africans as well as at KCCA.But he returns to a coach who offers players with creative talents the freedom to express themselves.

No Zaga magic
Frank “Zaga” Tumwesigye seems to have failed to make use of that olive branch and barring a late return appears to have ended his time at the club and quite possibly his career. 

Johnson Odong on the other hand looks set to thrive having had his season cut short by injury for large parts of the second round after a blistering start.

  Yusuf Ssozi is another player who will hope for an injury free season having impressed to the extent of him getting into Cranes conversations.

Odong and Brian Muluuli will be in the hunt for goals following the departure of the long serving Ben Ochen and young striker Derrick Kakooza.

This leaves Mubiru with the task of again improving a cluster of youngsters and players from the lower divisions.

They are led by attacking midfielder and futsal star Shafic Avemah who is eager to prove himself at this level after a short stint at Express before venturing into Somalia with Elman FC.

One of the players who have benefited from Mubiru’s building from the back approach is central defender Hassan Mahmood who will lead the defence after Henry Katongole returned to SC Villa.

The Cops still appear a strong unit and like all the Mubiru coached teams will entertain with their fast paced attacking style.

The biggest hindrance to the club’s progress however remains the inconsistency in fulfilling players wage demands.

That irregularity often coincides with a barren spell on the pitch as again evidenced with last season’s run that saw them winless in the last seven games.

This included four defeats in that sequence before the league was brought to a halt.  Despite that uncertainty, Mubiru who is currently the longest serving head coach in the league is not short of suitors with Villa among the clubs to have made glances his way in the past season.

“We come a long way with Abdallah Mubiru, he knows it well. We even spent some seasons without money but he stayed and he has done a great job. His style of play, discipline amongst players, calmness as I have been saying I don’t see any other coach who is on the same level with him,” club chairman Asan Kasingye is quoted having said in a recent TV interview.

Retaining Mubiru throughout the season could turn out to be their biggest achievement.

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