Khaberni - Al-Ramtha fans renew their demands after every round in the professional football league for a change in the technical staff led by Montenegrin coach Milian Radović, due to a noticeable decline in results during the second phase of the league.
One distinguishing feature of Al-Ramtha this season, after 16 rounds, is that they are the only team that has not been defeated so far. However, the team managed to win only two out of 7 matches played in the second phase, alongside drawing in 5 matches and losing 10 points that could have put them comfortably at the top away from competing teams, according to Al-Ghad newspaper.
Al-Ramtha holds 34 points and was at the top of the standings before yesterday’s peak match between Al-Hussein Irbid and Al-Wehdat. However, they also lead Al-Faisaly and Al-Hussein in terms of matches played, leaving their top position continuously threatened amid fluctuating results and a lack of response from the club management and technical staff in previous rounds to correct the course.
Al-Ramtha stumbled with a draw against Al-Ahli last Friday night on their home ground in front of their fans with a score of 2-2, after being behind twice. Yet, the team captain Hamza Al-Dardour managed to score twice against the opponents to equalize for his team, securing one point instead of receiving their first defeat of the season, with the second equalizing goal coming just three minutes before the end of regular time.
One of the main reasons for Al-Ramtha's decline in the second phase is the departure of team star Mohammad Abu Zrayq “Shurara” to play for Raja Casablanca of Morocco, as he was the only international player from “North Gazelles” who participated in the last Arab Cup Tournament.
No player has been able to fill the void left by “Shurara,” leading the coach to adopt a clear defensive strategy after the break, which resulted in less offensive threat against competitive teams, and a deviation from threatening the opponents' goal as was usual in the first phase.
During the last winter transfer period, Al-Ramtha brought in Macedonian forward Ivan Ivanovski. However, despite being a regular in most matches, he has failed to provide any technical value, with continuous public demands to replace him with younger faces on the field due to his ineffectiveness and limited technical skills.
The management of Al-Ramtha club had contracted with coach Radović during the second half of the last season, aiming to build a competitive team for the current season, which was achieved by leading the team during the first phase and continuing sporadically. However, Al-Ramtha fans have expressed their frustration with the coach and management in the past phase due to a lack of victories and not presenting levels that befit a team aiming to win the title.
Al-Ramtha enjoys a technical stability not found in other teams of the professional league this season except for Shabab Al-Ordon with coach Issa Al-Turk, as no coaching changes have been made since the beginning of the season unlike other eight clubs, which have changed their technical staff and some more than once.
Al-Ramtha fans believe their demand for a coaching change is fair, due to the declining performance on one hand, and the defensive playing style on the other, in addition to sticking with the same elements in most matches and insisting on keeping the forward Ivanovski on the field for as long as possible, despite his ineffectiveness, and not offering similar opportunities to other young elements.
Meanwhile, according to sources for “Al-Ghad,” Al-Ramtha's management does not see the current time as suitable for changing the technical staff and bringing in a new coach instead of Radović. There are two important matches left in the last two rounds of the second phase against Al-Jazeera and Al-Salt. If the unsatisfactory results continue, these outcomes, according to the team’s standing on the ranking table, may prompt them to consider the issue of changing the technical staff.
