It’s been a horrible season for Kelantan fans, judging by the myriad of problems their team has faced on and off the pitch this year. But last Friday, a glimmer of hope emerged as Tan Sri Annuar Musa announced the appointment of Velizar Popov as their new head coach.
There’s one problem about the appointment though – it comes at a period where Kelantan are in a confusing financial limbo. If it wasn’t bizarre enough that FAM offered a discount in the amount of money that was owed to Steve Darby, KAFA was publicly slammed by the Professional Footballers Association of Malaysia (PFAM) last week, for failing to meet payment deadlines for their ex-players.
But this is happening despite them signing a major sponsorship deal with Vida Beauty. Some days, there seems to be a feud between Datuk Seri Vida and KAFA, but on some other days, Tan Sri Annuar Musa is pictured having a meal with the pioneer of Vida Beauty.
Judging by the amount of uncertainty that surrounds the club right now, fans are rather skeptical about the appointment of Popov. On one hand, you’ve got an excellent coach, whose track record in Asia speaks for itself. But on another hand, you’ve got an incompetent management, that’s still struggling to fulfill debt obligations.
K. Devan is one of football’s good guys, but there’s no denying that Popov is an upgrade. Having said that, the current fracas surrounding the Red Warriors seems to have diluted public opinion on the Bulgarian. We ran a poll on Twitter last week, asking Kelantan fans if they’re happy with the appointment of Popov.
Out of 328 people that voted, a whopping majority of 50% claimed to be undecided on whether Popov’s arrival is good news for the club.
Kelantan fans, are you happy with the appointment of Velizar Popov?
— StadiumMY 🇲🇾 (@StadiumMY) May 12, 2016
We also received plenty of comments on Facebook regarding the appointment of Popov, though a large chunk of them were skeptical in nature. However, the skepticism wasn’t about Popov per say, but rather KAFA’s inability to implement long-term plans.
Even George Boateng, who was unceremoniously removed from the Kelantan head coach role last year, took to Twitter to slam Kelantan FA for their habit of regularly swapping managers.
I've heard that Kelantan head coach has resigned/sacked. You can't run a club and change managers every 6 months sins 2014 is unprofessional
— George Boateng (@george1boateng) May 12, 2016
That said, the former New Radiant boss is arguably a credible coach and he will undoubtedly improve their fortunes in the MSL. But the continuity of any success that’s generated this season, will undoubtedly be pinned on the management’s ability to provide sustainable solutions for the club.
Right now, that doesn’t seem to be the case at all. Kelantan fans, what are your thoughts on KAFA? Let us know by commenting below!
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