The season that promised stupendously for Tusker FC ultimately boiled down to one important question: Can Ryan Ogam really come back from injury and wrestle back a ‘Golden Boot’ that looked predestined for him?Follow our WhatsApp channel for more newsSuch were the stakes as the Brewers took their trip down to Kakamega on the final day of the 2024-2025 FKF Premier League season.Tusker striker eyes late-season heroics after injury layoffOn one end, a remarkable return for a midfielder-turned-striker in a brilliant breakout season, but on the other, the culmination of an out-of-sorts campaign, which fizzled out to a disappointing end, a ‘Golden Boot’ gone begging notwithstanding.It all started as a season of new promise, carrying with it some freshness in the name of first-time Premier League head coach Charles Okere, who was tasked with filling the shoes of the legendary Robert Matano.Okere steps in as Tusker FC interim coach following Matano’s departureAt first, he was only there for an interim period, and the public was not sure whether his stint would extend past a pre-season tour in Uganda.Two wins in the first seven games of the campaign were not the kind of start best mimicking a team ready to conquer Africa, but the management stayed put in their new process, all in the name of “playing exceptional football better than we did last season.”More like a goodbye to Matano’s winning eyesore.##NAJAVA_MECA_8995113##Having a striker reach double-figures by December would definitely have attracted such sentiments – Ogam’s hat-trick days later confirming Okere’s status as the club’s permanent manager till the end of the season.The turn of the year brought continued form from the former Rainbow FC man, before the tide took another turn when his main provider, Shaphan Siwa, was left to wander away to Tanzania after failing to convince his club to add some extra zeros to what was largely perceived as a no-brainer renewed contract.Tusker confirm midfielder leaving on a free transfer ahead of Tanzania moveThat, in hindsight, looked like a major roadblock for Tusker, as their main man lacked supply in the preceding five games, before another trough befell their stormy wave.Top-scorer Ogam was a man in hot demand, but in a devastating twist, failed to have his team sanction moves to USM Alger or Sweden’s Östersunds.Tusker striker Ryan Ogam opens up on how failed transfer deals affected himOgam, the professional, had all the best intentions to keep his fire ablaze, only for a meniscus tear to sideline him for what online docs termed the rest of the season.FKFPL top scorer Ryan Ogam likely to miss remainder of season after undergoing surgeryWhat more could go wrong?Cue a shameful Round of 32 exit to second-tier side Nairobi United in the Mozzart Bet Cup, draws to Shabana and Mara when aiming to go top, a Mathare stunner in Dandora, and that offside goal against AFC Leopards in Machakos.Tusker captain calls out ‘questionable officiating’ in weekend game against AFC LeopardsAll that set up more humiliation, a loss to Talanta, before seventh-heaven Sofapaka brought up words like: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me” and “I do not deserve to wear this jersey.”‘I really don’t deserve to wear this jersey’ – Tusker midfielder after 7-1 lossPride gone, chance for silverware gone, and all that remained was to channel all end-of-season excitement to the recovery journey and return of the main man, Ogam, perhaps the brightest light in a series of flickering ones that registered the club’s worst point tally in five years.And so, what would Ogam do in his remarkable comeback? Not much, in the fairest of senses.Tusker’s Ryan Ogam issues transfer update after missing out on Golden BootHis squad was seemingly in Cancun, eeking out two barren draws to end the campaign.Meanwhile, attempts to seek some sense of clarity and perspective on the myriad of questions surrounding the team’s off-season hit a wall. So will a “bothered” Ogam stay put, or will Okere’s cup of pain be taken away?
