Simba director explains where the club stumbled

23May 2023
Michael Mwebe
Sport
The Guardian
Simba director explains where the club stumbled

THE Chairman of the Board of Directors (COB) of Simba, Salim Abdallah 'Try Again', has suggested that the club stumbled when they failed to replace Luis Miquissone and Clatous Chama two years ago.

Chairman of the Board of Directors (COB) of Simba, Salim Abdallah 'Try Again'

After the end of the 2020/21 season, Miquissone was sold to Egyptian giants Al Ahly while Chama moved to Morocco’s RS Berkane.

Chama’s move in Morocco did not work out well and he has since rejoined Simba. Al Ahly are struggling to offload Miquissone who is on a big contract.

Speaking on a Simba TV program, Abdallah said the club failed to rebuild earlier and instead brought players who perhaps are not in the same weight category as the departed duo.

"People are focused a lot at where we fell without looking at where we stumbled. We stumbled two years back when we released Clatous Chama and Luis Miquissone. We didn't prepare their replacement early.

“We sold Chama, his replacement was Peter Banda, if you compare their profiles, they might not match. This is where we stumbled, not where we fell. Now we go back to see where we went wrong so that we can fix it," Abdallah said.

He added: "So I must say to the Simba fans and Tanzanians in general that we did not have a good season, it is true that we did not achieve anything, but I must say that we will correct those mistakes and I can assure them that they will not be repeated.

“We will go to recruit, hire experts, we will go all the way to ensure that we get players who can meet and fulfil the goals and desires of the majority."

Try Again, as he is popularly known in Tanzania football circles, also revealed the intriguing details that led to Simba missing out on Congolese forward Caesar Manzoki’s services despite having already signed a pre-contract to join them.

He said: "Manzoki had already signed a pre-contract with Simba, but he is a human being, he is a player who has his own career. He pleaded that he’s got an offer from China, he was paid six times the salary that we were to give him.

“His salary there is 60,000 Euros. (Approximately Tsh 150m per month). Out of humanity, what do you do in such a scenario, mind you he is a player? You can't afford to pay him 60,000 Euros, you let him!"

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