Arose, arose, arose … we never say die. Are we sure we never say die? What is happening to my beloved Accra Hearts of Oak? Is the great oak tree dying with the death of S.T. Nettey, the spiritual father of Accra Hearts of Oak?

What is happening to Continental Club Masters?

I know that teams have their up moments and down moments but when a big club like Accra Hearts of Oak starts a season by bagging only 4 out of a possible 12 points, it gives room for serious concern.

Some of us have not made too many friends because of the stance we have taken with regard to the need to move Hearts of oak onto a higher pedestal. The team takes pride in being the oldest in Ghana, but we know that races are not necessarily won by the swiftest that is why some of us have continued to ask that the team be managed in a more professional and competent manner in order for things to be done in line with the accepted norms of the time. After such a worrying start, nobody can convince me that all is well with my beloved Phobia.

And let nobody come telling me about the glory days of yore.

Of what use will the glory days of yore be if we don’t manage the present properly and look to the future with more purposefulness?

I am sure there are some people in management who will still be playing the ostrich and claiming that all is well with the team.

As far as those persons are concerned, matters affecting team moral should not be discussed in the open.

And what hurts me the most, is how such people see everything wrong in others but see nothing wrong in themselves.

Accra Hearts of Oak is dying as far as this season is concerned and the earlier something is done about it the better.

Now that a not too fanciful King Faisal can inflict a two nil defeat on the team, it would be long before the likes of Wa All Stars and Zaytuna rub Phobia’s nose in the sand.

What joy I am not getting on the local front, I am getting tenfold via the English Premier League as the Gunners continue to confound the critics. A draw with the colourless Newcastle and a loss to Gareth Southgate’s low-lying Middlesbrough denied us 5 solid points but a win over Chelsea and a continued perch at the top of the league table is certainly a source of joy to me. On Sunday, Arsenal should have buried Chelsea under a heap of goals but I guess no matter the number of goals, it is still the three points that count at the end of the day.

I know that come January, when the Cup of Nations kicks off, the absence of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue will affect the defensive set up of Arsenal but it is very comforting to know that what the team will lack in defense, it will have more than that up front.

With, Fabregas, Flamini, Hleb and Van Persie beginning to grace the turf again, I am sure that Arsene Wenger will have more than enough arsenal to use his attacking machinery to ease the pressure on a defensive setup minus the two hardworking Ivorians.

The absence of Thierry Henry does not seem to have affected Arsenal in any way and if they can continue to hold their own against the big boys and manage to apply the brakes on “irritants” like Newcastle and Middlesbrough, it should not be difficult for the Gunners to gun down the premiership title and shine the trophy room of the Emirates Stadium in its first year of existence.

As for Accra Hearts of Oak, I can only hope and pray that what is happening to the team is just a passing wind and that sooner than later, we will be able to sing the “never say die” song with much more conviction than is happening