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The defending champions got off to the worst possible start as the league resumed over the weekend. Will their struggles in front of goal prove their undoing this season?
Last Wednesday’s loss on penalties to Federation Cup holders Akwa United brought the curtain down of Enyimba’s preseason schedule. The Charity Cup match, while tempting to wave away, is not referred to as a curtain-raiser for nothing, and there were a couple of red lights.
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Unheeded, those concerns were writ large on Sunday as the NPFL holders began their title defence with a 1-0 loss away at Rivers United. Present were all the signs that had followed the club through preseason, as well as in their opening Caf Champions League loss to Ugandan champions Vipers: a slew of presentable chances squandered, before the all-too-familiar sting in the tail.
It would appear that this curtain call has caught the Peoples’ Elephant unawares, especially in the striking department. A significant recruitment drive in the offseason saw the league champions poach from all around the league; the likes of Christian Pyagbara and Stephen Chukwude are genuinely exciting additions, while others like Eric Frimpong and Ugochukwu Leonard are, on their day, useful additions.
However, the underlying numbers are underwhelming. In the eight games leading up to Sunday’s opener against Rivers United, Enyimba have scored five times. Understandably, this has led to some concern, and quite a bit of revisionism, but take a step back, and things are not nearly as alarming as they seem.
To begin with, the NPFL holders underwent a significant change, not just in playing personnel, but also technical. Paul Aigbogun arrived from Warri Wolves having presided over the league’s leading attack last season; clearly, he knows how to set a team up to shine offensively.
This has not stopped many from hankering after Kadiri Ikhana, who was allowed to leave after securing a record-seventh league title. While the veteran’s quality is undeniable, his team was never, at any point, prolific.
How will changes in the dugout affect Enyimba?
The 2014 season saw Enyimba miss out on the title by a point to Kano Pillars, despite finishing with a healthier goal difference (+23 to +16). The Peoples’ Elephant had the meanest defence league-wide, but crucially scored less than Sai Masu Gida, winning a game less. Suffice to say, this is where the league was won and lost.
It is noteworthy that Ikhana took over that year with a considerable portion of the season behind him. In his first full season upon returning, the team became even less menacing: 48 goals secured the title as Pillars underwent an unprecedented collapse. Interestingly, Enyimba drew over a third of games (only Lobi Stars figured in more stalemates) and only scored only twice in their final five league games.
If that reads like a retrospective put-down of the former Enyimba manager, consider that it is an issue that in fact preceded him. The two-time African champions have not led the league in goalscoring since 2005, even curiously doubling Kano Pillars goal difference in 2013’s second-place finish, in spite of averaging less than a goal a game!
Can Aigbogun mould Enyimba's disparate offensive options into a cohesive attacking unit?
Of course, goals win games, and the concerns are no doubt valid. It is instructive that, having won four in five years, Enyimba only managed three more in the ensuing 10 years following the drop in attacking output. However, it also goes without saying that, for the club to move to a more expansive style, there will be teething problems. Things are really no worse than they have always been.
Old habits, after all, die hard.
Then again, perhaps this is simply the incumbent reality of the country’s biggest club: efficiency rather than precocity, and we are all better off embracing it. After all, Aigbogun, in charge of a free-scoring Warri Wolves side last term, fell short of the title: goals win games, but Enyimba prove the cliché that it is defence that wins titles.
The nascent season will reveal all.
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