QUAO: Hearts of Oak fall over their own sword again

In light of the technical reshuffle at Hearts of Oak, Citi Sports’ Nathan Quao wonders how it is that the Phobians enjoy going down this road again and again.

“They may have tried to soothe their fan base with the explanation given for Yatsuhashi's exit but if the results start to look negatively different the present, then they will have a lot more on their hands.  

That is the fuse the Phobians have in their hands now. The combustible end is not far from an open flame and it can easily get there.”

These were the words in the concluding part of an article I wrote titled “Separation hurts but Kenichi ultimately wins”.

In that write-up, I said that the Phobians were on the losing end of their divorce with their Kenichi Yatsuhashi because the Japanese’s replacement had to succeed for the management’s sake so they could eventually say they made the right decision to get rid of him.

Two months and 10 days after I put my thoughts out, Sergio Daniel Traguil has been asked by Hearts of Oak to drop to the U-20 team and guide them rather than the senior team.

A copy of the letter from Hearts of Oak stating the musical chairs in the team’s technicam setup

Reason? Bad results.
The Phobians had gone seven without a win in the Ghana Premier League and even though, they are just 6 points off leaders Wa All Stars, it is quite clear that their push for the league title is in tatters.

So, what was the problem with Kenichi again?
The management said his ‘poor’ attitude to his superiors but not bad results.

At the end of the first round, Hearts were fourth (as they are now) but they were just two points off Wa All Stars.

Kenichi Yatsuhashi (Image credit: Images Image)
Obviously, the experiment with Traguil has not worked and the move by Hearts to send him to Auroras is the clearest admission of failure. They need not tell us anything again. We get the memo and we understand what they are telling us by not speaking.

This is the latest episode in what Hearts seem to be good at doing.

Often, they will get a good manager and they experience great time together. They will be seem to be preparing for the next phase of their plan to win titles and suddenly, they will take a wrecking ball and destroy everything.

I remember how nice things were under David Duncan in 2013 and they were putting things together to challenge the next year. The former Olympics head coach had stabilised the team, they finished just outside the top 4 places and it was very evident that the Phobians would move on and attack the league and get a trophy.

But the movie took a dramatic end. Duncan was fired on a virtually a whim, fans were very unhappy, a tussle over compensation ensued between the Phobians and Duncan. It was really ugly.

The scenario has repeated itself and now, just like I predicted, fans are beginning to question and their decision to part ways with Kenichi Yatsuhashi.

They are now seeing that the ‘insolent’ Japanese went unbeaten away from home and helped the team get historic wins against AshantiGold and Medeama in Obuasi and Tarkwa respectively while Traguil lost to WAFA and Bechem United and drew against Wa All Stars on the road.

Sergio Traguil
Now, assistant coach Yaw Preko has been tasked with finishing the season.

I hope he ends it well and keeps the Phobians in the top 4. It will be challenging as he faces Dwarfs, Medeama, and New Edubiase in the last three matches of the season.

But no matter how it goes down (to from Rick Ross in the song ‘Power Circle’), the Hearts management have given us yet another example of diving onto their own upright sword with glee.

Probably, they should be nicknamed ‘The Suicide Squad’.

Follow me on Twitter @nathan_quao