“Patrick Phiri didn’t just lose the title and the Top Four, he also lost the comfortable Zone’

Bwezani reviews a season for Lusaka  Dynamos where being out of the top four wasn’t good enough

Fifth in the Super League and beaten semifinalists in the Barclays Cup. Just a year ago, that would have been the kind of season Lusaka Dynamos fans could only dream about.

Not any longer. Lusaka Dynamos are moving in different circles these days and, while remembering the dark days of the lower division will always be a badge of honor at this club, the people brought in to run the club have no time for losers.

Patrick Phiri didn’t just lose the. top four race and the semi Final. He also lost the comfortable zone, to such an extent that sponsors and Directors at the club will definitely have had sat him down for a detailed report of why he failed to deliver.  That position a season ago would have been praises for Patrick Phiri and celebrations by the Lusaka Dynamos fans.

Patrick Phiri type of coach are rarely the finished article, he is a type of coach used to success and without a doubt a good one for Lusaka Dynamos. But he offered no proof that he was learning from his mistakes or that he was prepared to work in tandem with his technical bench. It was difficult to see who was in charge of the team between Fhaty and Phiri.  It’s that one aspect that could have contributed to losing the race for a top four finish.

The learning from his mistakes has a lot to do with his team selection, it’s evident he had players at his disposal but perhaps who to select on match day proved difficult for Lusaka Dynamos trainer.

Was it too early for those players to gel?  is the story for another day?

I don’t understand why Lusaka Dynamos failed to break into the top four if you look at the list of players on their books for 2017 season.  Not good for Patrick Phiri.

Patrick Phiri bequeathed some golden memories that Dynamos supporters will treasure forever. But it was also clear that he had a dressing room full of players who could no longer respond to his methods.

Lusaka Dynamos should have been burning with optimism when the season kicked off. Instead, that game against Power Dynamos at Heroes Stadium which ended 3-3 was just a big statement that this team was no longer that team which always was fighting relegation.  I found myself celebrating in full gear at the gold football witnessed across Africa on supersport and without a doubt, a lot thought, a new giant had arisen in Zambian football.

Deep in the Season Patrick in his calm and collected way of doing things was giving off vibes about the team’s failure to win games after match days and he always hoped for the next game.

Dynamos invested millions of kwachas on new talent – and all new recruits were sanctioned by Patrick Phiri I guess, therefore he should have known how to use them-  With that cream which every club would dream to have, constant dropping of points to be most of the time second best undermined morale at both dressing room and boardroom level.

Barclays Cup

Once again Lusaka were drawn in the Barclays Cup in the quarter finals against Kabwe Youth Soccer Academy and that was. a given opportunity for the team bugging silverware in that special season of 2017.

Marvin Jere with lone goal sent Lusaka Dynamos to the semifinals. But the way they surrendered a good start against Zanaco in the semifinal was indicative of a campaign in which they failed to get what was perhaps the bright chance of silverware and ultimately didn’t even qualify to the final were Napsa Stars were waiting.

Injuries did play havoc with Dynamo’s plans – as did the change of home ground in as many games – but Patrick had a big squad which would have made that a piece of cake for him.  He was not affected by national team call up, one advantage that he didn’t use as well.

And there was also an inability to get other players scoring the volume of goals that were being delivered by Chris Mugalu, their best player of the season.  Lusaka Dynamos would have been lethal had two or more players followed the path of Mugalu in scoring goals.

Patrick Phiri is a good man and a good coach, in my following his coaching life you rarely see him get upset and he always stand by his players, that could have been his blind spot with some players. While model professionals like Cletus Chama and Fwayo Tembo were criticized in public, the man came up in their defense, that’s what we know of Patrick, good at what he calls his.

In the 2017 season, Patrick delivered the best times in the history of the team in the Super League. Important victories along the way and very difficult to beat against big sides.  A win away at Nkana, Zesco, Zanaco and many more will be memories that Lusaka Dynamos fans will be wondering why they failed to break through into the top four if they look at the teams they got good points from.  Patrick Phiri’s place as one of Lusaka Dynamos’ greatest ever coach is assured. He certainly deserves better and the applauds but he has to give back something useful to the sponsors

There is no sentiment in the upper echelons of Lusaka Dynamos. He has to deliver or else I won’t be surprised if he is shown the door before the end of the 2018 season.

Summary of the season

The summary of the 2017 season for Lusaka Dynamos after 30 games is 17 wins, 12 draws and 9 losses.  They scored 44 goals and conceded 33, totaling to 63 points, seven points behind fourth placed Green Buffaloes.  That wasn’t good enough.

Highlight

Winning the Lusaka derby 1-0 at Sunset against Zanaco.  Emmanuel Habasimbi goal to beat Zanaco at home will be one of the key highlight for me for his new look Lusaka Dynamos. They showed Zanaco was no longer the landlord of Lusaka.

But perhaps you may as well remember the 2-1 victory away in Ndola against Zesco United. A rescheduled week 12 encounter played on 10th August were Eric Kabulo and Fwayo Tembo scored two towards the end of the game to cancel that Davies Kasirye opener in the 72nd minute.

Those will be the games LD will keep remembering as happiest memories of 2017 season.

Low point

Failure to break into the top four when everything looked going their way is the biggest low point. Losing the Barclays Cup Semi Final to Zanaco after playing so well will be the biggest regret.

Player of the season: Chris Mugalu

He was bright spot in a disappointing season at Lusaka Dynamos. It is impossible to see beyond Chris Mugalu, despite a highly impressive debut campaign for the striker, he proved a worthy buy and that’s the treasure Lusaka Dynamos would kill to keep at the club. He is class.  The Congolese made the top man position his own with a consistently high level of performance. A genuine hero of the Lusaka Dynamos fans.

Target for next season

Getting the Super League title and progressing beyond the group stages of the CAF Champions League. Patrick Phiri has to deliver, he has learnt his trade here and he knows what to do.  Only the best is good enough: Lusaka Dynamos will need to win the Super League trophy if next season is to be judged a success.

Personal highlight

I followed the happenings at Lusaka Dynamos and I think they could have done better.  it’s a good side that has brought a different dimension in Zambian football.  Perhaps the best, though, is the news that they are keeping Chris Mugalu, no team should release their best man and Mugalu is just that sticker that this team will be built on again.

Top brass

Dynamos will have a gold team next season – but the men under most pressure will be the technical team. They will have to come out good.

Their own futures should come under scrutiny because they are paid big money to get the big decisions right.

LUSAKA DYNAMOS WILL COME BACK STRONG……