In what seems to be a big shout to national team coach Honour Janza, dropped national team striker Jacob Mulenga for a second consecutive match netted for his Turkish club Adana Demispor in their 2 – 1 won overKarsiyaka.
Demispor had gone behind early in the game but the tall striker leveled matters in the 36th minute before his team went on to win the match.
This was Mulenga’s 7th goal in 9 matches since moving to Turkey.
Demispor are now in fifth position four points away from the automatic promotion places.
Elsewhere in Europe, Emmanuel Mayuka was an unused substitute for Southampton as their continued their fine form with a win at home against Leicester City.
The win ensures that Mayuka’s team remain second on the log.
Felix Katongo on Thursday completed 90 minutes for his Egyptian club Al Ittihad as they picked maximum points away at El Raja with a 2 – 1 win.
National team call ups Emmanuel Mbola and Evans Kangwa both completed 90 minutes in their club Hapoel Ra’anana’s 1 – 0 loss at home to Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Nathan Sinkala was not named on the bench as his team Grashoppers won 3 – 0 at home.
In Armenia, Ulisses unbeaten run was halted in Saturday after they were comprehensively defeated 3 – 0 by FC Mika with Lubambo Musonda receiveing a red card.
Ulisses however remain 10 points clear at the top.
In Russia, Chisamba Lungu on Friday started and played 81 minutes for his club Ural in a game they lost 1 – 0 to Kuban Krasnodar.
Chisamba was played on the right side of midfield in an attacking role.
And JANZA dropped him.
That is why we r not going anyway with this subjected so called coach…7 goals in 9 games is a great return: there is no current striker with such a return in chipolopolo today…WHY DID HE DROP HIM? He wants to play Mayuka who has no game time at such a crucial stage of the competition, no clue whatsoever…
One of the most u.s.e.l.e.s.s strikers Africa has ever produced! LOL
A very robotic, immobile striker who can only pounce on opportunities within the d without any adventurous or insightful moves and am not surprised that , the Zambian local coach has dropped this static stature because his contributions is cos90 esp in Africa games where central defenders are also static and robust!!
In most Africa games, only mobile strikers that can operate from the HOLE can score goals and Jacob with his stationary play, ll always be an easy target for cerntral defenders who are also immobile!!
This guy simply a waste of space and when he is marked out, he becomes a pedestrian!!
Whats so special about this guy that zambians can let PERSIN HEAR WORD!!
How many goals has he scored in the current campaign and he is slow as more than old kanu!
An uninspiring striker who who rests on the shoulders of last defenders to score goals and when he is marked by a robust defender, he becomes a pedestrian in the game!
I watched him CAN 2008 at baba yara staduim in Kumasi where looked confused and lethargic as ever! Chris and Felix katongo were trying so hard to find him to no avail because he was easily tracked and marked by the Egyptian defence and he looked lost and confused thru out the entire game!
Am not surprised Zambia cannot win an away game because if mulenga is your leading marksman in a tough, robust African game, u can never ever win a match cuz he is the most traceable striker in a match!!
The most dangerous strikers are those that are elusive like mayuka or mbesumah and not a static striker like Jacob!!
Zambians should rather encourage mayuka to perform for the national team and forget all about club football, vecasue there are certain players who can perform awesely for club but sucks at national level ie messi!
Mayuka, is a national team player than a club player and y’all should encourage him to perform because he tends to give his all when he dons the national colors and I can confidently say that, should mayuka hit top form for Zambia, the team ll peak!
@al idi amin al gaddafi…………..Am 100% with you on this one
fellow zambians. it’s better to maintain silence than to respond and argue with a ghanain fool lest u also end up looking like one.
Paradox, I always say: people may not notice the difference
Let the coach do his job for once mwabashani
Wat is happening to Sinkala?nt evn on bench!we nid a backup defensive midfielder in the National team
I am not surprised that Sinkala is not even being na,ed on the bench for Grasshopers. His last three games for Zambia have been horrible. He looked distracted, mistimed challenges and misplaced passes. Let him go back to TP Mazembe and regain his confidence. As for Jacob, the coach needs to watch how the Turks are using him to get the best out of him. It’s not a fluke when a player scores 7 in 9 matches.
Though he is Ghanian but i think he has some valid points which we need to consider, sorry Ba Paradox but thats the way i look at it. I dont know about others?
brave rangers. got no issue with your views. I respect em
He may sound sarcastic but i agree with our Ghanian brother!
How is it that the club coaches in the Dutch and Turkish leagues seem to know the exact formula to extract goals out of Jacob that our national team coach’s just don’t seem to master? I wonder were all those voices that were so vocal about how Jacob should be axed are???…..YOUR SILENCE IS VERY LOUD!!!!!!
I wonder what caused the red card for the youngster Lubambo. Does this mean he misses his clubs next two games?
Mayuka is really going to have to dig deep to get some game time. I honestly believe his amazingly dismal and drab showing in the French league is also a factor as to why he is so low in the strikers pecking order at the saints. Yes some self-proclaimed analysts came to the blog and down talked Pelle and Shane long but that partnership has yielded 8 wins out of 11 games so why would the coach honestly go and mess up a winning formula?? I feel for Mayuka but him moving to France was a golden opportunity that in all honesty he fluffed and now is paying the price. I believe he will eventually get some game time because I’m not sure Pelle can maintain that level of workrate throughout the season….the guy has an amazing work rate. So Mayuka should hang in there his time will come but he should never stop working hard though.
Coaches in dutch and turkey has produced results with Jacob cuz of the diff style in Europe and Africa!!
Like in boxing where styles makes a great fight, the same is true for football too!!
In European football, u can fit in easily due to the tactical aspect of the game and is not too robust and high pace like the African game where defenders and midfielders control much of the action!
The European play fits him easily because in his club, he can be stationary preying on the shoulders of the last defender to tap in a goal or head in a goal because he has 100% support from the man in the HOLE!
Now, compare that to the African game and the difference is vast! In Africa game,even if the coach is playing two arrow strikers, u can’t be static thru out the game as they ll easily marked u out with rough, hard tackles for the entire duration of the match and a typical recent example of what am saying is the Togolese match against Uganda cranes in namboole, where adebayor was made a pedestrian in the game because he was static and immobile all because of two tall central defenders manhandling him in that particular game!
African games has always been like that and a striker can score goals only when he is mobile and can exploit from wide spaces other than that, forget it! Jacob is a typical predatory striker who fits that style of European leagues tactically but in Africa games, he will always be a pedestrian cuz he is non elusive and that’s the absolute truth!!
I watched Ghana vs Zambia in Kumasi, where mayuka was the most dangerous player within the first ten mins, drewing deep and initiating attacks from two well marked Ghanaian defenders from the midfield which nearly pushed the Ghanaian back line upfront, something Jacob can’t do!
i feel Jacob should ve been called for the national team than being dropped, honestly how do you drop Jacob and call chamanga who does not perform at the national team whenever he is called. may be it is time you tried sate sate and not chamanga.
Jacob mulenga deserves a place on the bench i said it last time but he isnt good enough to be in the starting 11. At 30 and with his speed kangwa, sate sate and mayuka are better than him. However jacob is far better than chamanga.
Jacob’s Adana Demirspor Goal
http://youtu.be/ao5kF0nbmLA
Some comments directed at Jacob Mulenga’s performance are not just unfair but are done in bad faith.
Jacob has scored some crucial goals for Zambia and even more crucial wherever he as played. I had chance to watch him at Mapili in Kitwe, and in Holland at Utrecht. He can’t be called static. if anything he is the one who runs defenders rugged and rough-shod. This releases other strikers to score goals, he is also soring constantly.
The fact that the coach is not using him this time around shouldn’t give bloggers chance to demean him. I think this is wrong.
To Jacob, my neighbor in Kitwe, please keep working at it.
Mukamba u a right jacob is beter than chamanga.the coach is confuse
Jacob mulenga is one of the best strikers in zambia en is a player who knows how to postion himself well in danger areas.So he need creative midlefields en fast for him to get goals that why at his club he shine ,than at nation team he is far better than Lee James Chamanga i don’t knw wat Mr Janza see in him.Be careful Mr Janza these useless players call for nation team de put yr job at risk.
Coach,both james and Jacob have pasted their prime but if I where you I would rather I select Jacob to james.
Jacob is more valuable than James, even Collins is better than him.
A good coach will always find a way to get the best out of his players, play to the strength of the players. Jacob is the hottest striker goals right now and has always managed to score when he has played for Zambia. Injuries over the years have been his only downfall but it seems that he has a new lease on life. 7 goals in 9 games is an impressive feat and which one of our young guns right now can lay claim to such a hot streak? Yet James chamanga is the “senior” striker called up……? what is wrong with this picture? Kudo’s to Jacob for accepting the decision of the coach and not making a big fuss about it, let Janza do as he please with the team its his head that people will call for when this thing crumbles…..!! The strikers who should have been called up are as follows: Jacob(experience), Kola(deserves a look), Mayuka(Experience), Sate Sate(youth) and Kangwa (youth).
Jacob is a good striker, but don’t forget he is now playing in division 2. So for now respect the choices of the coach, it is him to face the fans and his employers when his combinations fail.