Folded arms. Scowl across the face. Thousand- yard stare.
This has become an all-too regular sight for Kotoko fans looking to their coach, as the Porcupine Warriors endure an ever increasingly poor slump.
After going 1-0 down to an Abdul Aziz Issah beautiful strike in the first half at the Baba Yara sports stadium in Kumasi, Kotoko failed to muster up any kind of decisive response. They were weak, sluggish and bereft of ideas as John Antwi, Ishmael Dede and Abdul Aziz Issah mercilessly bullied Ogum's back-line.
Ogum may have had early crowning achievements in winning the league title during his first spell with unequivocal displays of quality and confidence, but that honeymoon period is over - Ogum now knows the full extent of this Kotoko challenge.
The former WAFA boss is a wildly popular character already at the club - his infectious smile and weirdly wonderful personality will do that - but recent results have not been good. With a congested sequence of games coming up in the next month, this is where Ogum needs to show why he is the ideal candidate to lead Kotoko forward.
Lately, Kotoko have had some serious problems in recreating the magic formula and writing that much-anticipated story that surrounded the club when he first arrived at the club two seasons ago. Things have gone south for the Porcupine Warriors.
Struggling for goals and clean sheets, they are currently placed 14th on the league table, eight points off the top. And Sunday’s defeat to Dreams FC has brought the axe ever-closer to falling on the coach.
The distrust and suspicion around the club and their coach has continued to grow after the defeat, and the number of doubters who believe their leader has lost his way is multiplying.
The zip and intensity is draining away, with their confidence following. This is not the Prosper Ogum that captivated neutrals during his first spell. There are shades of the unimaginative outfit assembled by Seydou Zerbo and Abdulai Gazale.
Watching Kotoko on Sunday, there was a distinct lack of plan going forward and absolute chaos at the back. Individual mistakes haunted the Porcupine Warriors with dependable Nurudeen Yussif Mohammed performing as successfully as a cardboard cutout of himself.
It’s not only down to the individuals, however. Watch some highlights of the game, and count the number of times the visitors escaped behind their opponent’s defence with a simple ball over the top. It’s frightening, and for that to be allowed to happen without intervention, it should count as dereliction of duty from Ogum.
Tactically then, nothing is working. The balance to the side has disappeared, and the sturdy defence which allowed them to win games is a shadow of its former self. Add that to a bunch of strikers who struggle for service and goals, and you’ve got yourself a losing recipe.
If Ogum ever needed to show his resilience, it's in Kotoko's next game against a resilient Samartex side. Samartex's lethal attack in Baba Hamadu Musa, Emmanuel Mammah and Evans Osei Wusu have been blowing opponents away and will walk on to the Nsenkyire Sports Arena pitch with utmost confidence, knowing that they face a Kotoko defence that leaks. It's not often that Kotoko would face Samartex as the underdogs, but this is where they currently stand.
It may be the rarest of virtues in the modern game, but Kotoko fans must exercise caution when evaluating Ogum's work so far at the club. Although he ultimately has become a messiah figure at the club for his feats.
It is time for the personalities occupying the upper echelon of the club’s administrative offices to strategically get the club back to winning ways and bring smiles back to the faces of their followers if they still harbour thoughts of winning a domestic silverware.
Hope is not lost but surely diminishing.
By: Godfred Budu
