Gambian football league expert Hamadi Kebbeh gave an in-depth analysis of the second-round signing; the expert delved into BST signings and lack of activity for Steve Biko and TMT to reinforce their attack. The return of Alieu Barry and Alieu Gibba and his thoughts on the high return of professional players to the First Division.
A couple of teams have made very good signings and adjustments in the second round. Especially teams that needed it very much. Fortune FC were struggling in the first round with goals. Mustapha Jallow was their top scorer didn’t play in the first round. Dawda Darboe has been struggling during the early stage of the season as he just joined from Wallidan. But of late, he has picked up his goal-scoring form. With Mustapha coming in, it is a plus in their attack. With the arrival of Gaira Joof, who scored two goals in his first match, there is a huge adjustment for Fortune. Jane will have more options to pick from his strikers. They needed that.
“It is not that BST needed their signings, but from my observation, they needed experienced players, and that’s exactly what they did. The arrival of Pa Modou Sohna and Kebba Sambou all have experience. It will help them. There are some games they threw away because of a lack of experienced players in the squad.” Kebbeh mentioned
“I don’t think signing those players was necessary. Maybe you sign them for marketing purposes, or you are expecting the current players to be on the move, and you are replacing them. They already have a compact midfielder. The team is compact; maybe they just lack experience. They will have an option to choose, but that can lead to a problem. For the coach to choose players. There are some players if you sign them, you have to play them because they are big players.”
He also stressed that Brikama United didn’t need an avalanche of signings as their team was a good.
“For Brikama Utd, I don’t think they needed this many signings, which they made. Their team was stable, having good young players in good shape. However, at the end it’s good for them to adjust.”
On TMT he emphasized that goals scoring has been their bane and they needed a clinical finisher.
“I haven’t seen TMT do any adjustment. They have a very good squad; they play good football. But their problem is scoring goals, especially in the final third, and linking up the play there. They relied on Yaya Ndong; we all know Yaya Ndong was one of the best strikers in the league. Recently he has gone down. His strength is going down. I don’t think he can push them for the season. They needed a natural goal scorer who would score the goals. Yankuba Ceesay is stepping up, but he is a flank player.”
“Steve Biko on the other hand needs a striker, someone like Lamin Owens; we all saw what he did last season. Before him, too, we saw Adama Bojang do that. In the past two seasons we saw that Adama Bojang and Lamin Owens helped them; this season they are struggling a lot to score goals. Scoring and talking of winning is even a problem. They are going to struggle without this adjustment.”
Kebbeh complemented the signings of Real de Banjul as he was optimistic of their quality.
“Real de Banjul have made good adjustments in the case of Alieu Barry and Alieu Gibba. It’s a very good plus for Real de Banjul. They were struggling in the beginning of the season in scoring goals. Especially when both Corr and Badamoesi left for Paide, they lacked a striker that was scoring goals. We all know what Alieu Barry is capable of; he is the best striker that I have seen in the league. A natural goal scorer. “
“Amara was amazing last season with Elite Utd. Scoring 7 free kicks, which I don’t think any player has scored direct free kicks for that matter. He is back banging in goals in the absence of Pa Abdou Cham; he has stepped in, delivering and taking responsibilities. It’s a good plus; it feels like a new signing for them. He will help them in the second round together with Alieu Barry and Alieu Gibba. “
“The league lacks strikers that will give you 10-plus goals; most of these strikers are not natural strikers. With Alieu Barry and Gaira Joof returning, they will help Fortune and Real de Banjul. If they are fit and ready to deliver. They have quality and will definitely add something to the league. People are eager to see them. They will bring quality and experience to their team. They help the younger players, push them, and again, they help themselves, “he added.
A surge in the number of professional players returning to the First Division, positive or not. Hamadi reiterated that they should stay hungry and return as quickly as possible.
Some of the players are usually in bad hands, like bad agents and management. It’s the reason behind these setbacks. They lack hunger in them. When you leave this hardship and turn professional, make sure you stay there. Do everything to stay there. You have to push and fight. Football is not easy. Returning back here doesn’t mean it’s bad; you start fresh and rebuild yourself. Let them focus on their career, help themselves, and try going back. They must have aims and objectives that we do not. To stay again, we are here to revive to go back.
