FEATURE: Hearts' released list, a demonstration of vission-less leadership

Barely two weeks ago, a list of players slipped into the media indicating the number of players Hearts of Oak are releasing after the season. I was startled and completely dumbfounded not just because of certain names in the list but also because I could simply not understand why a club could continue recycling its challenges. I don't want to believe the club is cursed but it appears so and the earlier the spiritualists in the club do something about it, the better.

Hearts have been repeating the same problem over and over again for half a decade yet they keep repeating and there is no hope of it ending soon.

I keep saying Vincent Sowah Odotei and his management have no idea as to how the club must be run as they keep draining the club financially. I can however pardon Mr. Odotei Sowah in a way since he returned to the club after the Gerald Ankrah-led management had released thirteen players at the end of the 2014/15 season. But come to think of it, if Odotei was not around, what about Alhaji Akanbi and Frank Nelson? So will the club keep wallowing in the same problem year-in year-out with no flash of hope? Apart from Mahatma Otoo and Winful Cobbinah, can someone tell me the last time Hearts transfered a player to make some money? So will the club always buy and release without making any gains?

Last season, the club released some promising players as part of the thirteen players including Emmanuel Hayford, Issah Mumuni, Shaun October, Romeo Agban and Abraziz Abankwah. In actual fact, Hearts could have packaged these promising players well to at least make some few cedis from their transfers even if their services are no more needed. But they were all released to go free.

Here are the other eight players; Kofi Abanga, Gilbert Fiamenyo, Philip Boampong, Kweku Andoh, Tetteh Luggard, Ishmael Nortey, Fuseini Mohammed and Landry Bousson.

The club spent an estimated figure of about nine billion old Ghana cedis (GHC900,000) considering their accommodation, signing on fees, transfer fees, salaries and bonuses. Sadly, the club released these players to go free without getting anything from their transfers. The fans and the bankroller could have compensated for the loss with at least some trophies but nothing was won with these players, especially the Ghana Premier League which has eluded the club for close to a decade.

As everyone was expecting the leadership of the club to have learnt some lessons from the previous years' experience, the Odotei-led management commit a worse error than the previous administration.

Another list of thirteen players have been released or earmarked for release (whatever the case may be, thsee players are leaving the club).

The players according to sources close to the management include Mutawakilu Seidu, Soulama Abdoulaye, Owusu Bempah, Fatau Mohammed, Isaac Oduro, Isaac Baadu, Kennedy Appiah, Eric Kumi, Selasie Adjei, Maxwell Boakye, Paul Acquah, Foovi Aguidi and Kenneth Okoro. Incredible isn't it?

Going through the list, I felt bad and sad for Togbe Afede XIV for continously spending on the club without getting anything back. That is why some of us were mad when Odotei Sowah forced Kenichi Yatsuhashi out. At least he was getting the club something from the gates.

Among these players, even a novice on Ghana football will be able to say that Fatau Mohammed, Isaac Baadu, Kennedy Appiah, Eric Kumi, Paul Acquah and Kenneth Okoro shouldn't have been released since they are young and can fetch the club a few cedis instead of going free.

Going through the mathematics of these players and how much the club spent on them during their two years stay brought unstoppable tears in my eyes. A total estimated amount of ten billion old Ghana cedis (GHC1,000,000) was spent on these players including their accommodation, signing on fees, transfer fees, salaries and bonuses.

Let me give you a clue of how these figures were arrived at. Experienced players like Soulama, Bempah and Foovi were paid GHC2000 monthly while Isaac Oduro, Eric Kumi, Paul Acquah, Kenneth Okoro and Selasie Adjei were paid GHC1000 a month with the rest taking home GHC500 monthly.

Multiply these figures by the the two-year period spent by the players to know the amount that went into salaries alone. However, the club spent only GHC6000 on salaries for Isaac Baadu and Kennedy Appiah since they spent only twelve months with the club. That is for salaries alone. Now consider bonuses, accommodation, transfer and signing on fees.

So for the two years, Hearts have spent close to GHC2,000,000 (20 billion old Ghana cedis) on the 26 players the club has released when they could have cashed in on some of the player to at least reduce cost. Isn't this sad?

This problem is also killing Kotoko as both clubs have the same recruitment styles.

I accept the fact that Hearts and Kotoko are our Real Madrid and Barcelona or Manchester United and Chelsea and must buy big but even those clubs do not release players the way our clubs do here, especially Hearts.

If Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United and Chelsea are now thinking of also producing their own to reduce the high cost of buying players, then it shows that Hearts do not have the right men leading the club.

I remember submitting a recruitment proposal to one of the management members but the whole thing was thrown to the dogs after I left.

In that document, I proposed that Hearts should cut their squad size to 30 players with an average age of 20. The club should then target the current national U17 players as their first point of call, raid their camp and buy at least five of those players before they leave for the Afcon in 2017. When that is done, Hearts can even make money from the players even when the players had not kicked for the club as they are easily transferable.

Hearts must be thinking of also producing players who can be transfered straight to Real Madrid or Chelsea or Dortmund and not buying players who will be ending their careers with them without winning them anything.

Mr. Speaker, the Oak Tree is falling to the ground.

By: Sheikh Tophic Sienu @desheikh1 on twitter.