Thread by @TomBwana

To be fair I didn't know who Dylan Kerr was before he joined Gor Mahia in July 2017.

THREAD

#ThankYouDylan

When Zé Maria left us after SportPesa Cup in Dar es Salaam, I wasn't worried. Zé, by any trophy standards, was an average coach. So I was hopeful we would get a winning coach. But the name Dylan didn't sound like a winning name. #ThankYouDylan

As part of SportPesa team organizing Everton's visit to Tanzania, I was at Nyerere airport In Dar to receive Gor Mahia on that July morning K'Ogalo arrived. We had just named Dylan as new coach. #ThankYouDylan

Here was a Mzungu walking off the plane wearing that exhuberant smile. He looked like he'd been with the team for a decade already. Warm handshakes, shouting names and easily mingling with everyone. I thought I liked him already. #ThankYouDylan

My name's Bwana. Tom Bwana. I said as I stretched my hand to meet his. Oh nooooo. He yelled. Are you the one hammering me on Twitter already? He asked, rather rhetorically. Our not so friendly but friendly friendship started right there. #ThankYouDylan

As soon as he got the airport Wi-Fi, I suppose, he blocked me on Twitter. It was show time. Life is too short to log onto Twitter and meet the Tom Bwanas of this world everytime. So he thought. He didn't want distractions. #ThankYouDylan

Can't find that twitter thread but what I'd told him was that the job he was taking up at Gor Mahia stipulated he'd to win all Mashemeji Derbies no matter what the situation. Win the World Cup we don't care but if you don't beat Cowards FC you're a useless coach. #ThankYouDylan

We won our 16th SportPesa Premier League in 2017 after a disastrous 2016 under Zé Maria. Coach Dylan Kerr was ecstatic. He was over the moon. He proudly showed off his trophy to everyone. He walked Nairobi streets with the trophy. He was right. He'd worked for it. #ThankYouDylan

I don't know how but he got wind that I had done a very positive review of the team on Twitter. He unblocked me. We were friends again. We played Sony Sugar FC on the trophy handover day, I think. That night we had a beer in Kisumu.

What I liked about Kerr was his brutal honesty. He would tell me to my face that I was being a sh*t hole. But that was it. After arguing we'd have a beer. I'd fallen fond of him so much that I'd know what his reaction to a tweet would be even before I tweeted. #ThankYouDylan

Whenever I was going to meet him after a not so favorable tweet I'd block him because I knew we'd argue for hours then he'd say 'Tom I'm going to block you.' To which I'd tell him, with a cheeky smile, but coach I've blocked you already. #ThankYouDylan

Kerr fell in love with Kenya. He loved walking on these streets. He loved his Kenyan beer. Or do I say he loved to drink. I will talk about this photo later but just have it for now. Who's a better drinker - Kerr or Bobby Williamson? Be the judge. #ThankYouDylan

He did all he could to be a part of the Green Army. He loved the fans. He felt what they felt. If there was any reason he pushed his boys to win matches it was for the joy of the fans. He wanted them to be happy. Gor Mahia was being coached by a fan. #ThankYouDylan

Even on the streets he was not ready to be extorted for being a Mzungu. You could hear him asking for commodity prices and adding 'don't give me a Mzungu price'. He'd shout Asante, Erokamano, Habari, Oyaore...just to be part of you. #ThankYouDylan

The night we beat Simba to win SportPesa Super Cup we had a drink at Serena Woodlands, Nakuru. Then he decides we go to 7D. The taxi man downstairs tells us 700/-. Not Dylan. He was not going to pay money enough for a Nakuru-Nairobi round-trip. We walked to 7D. 2AM.#ThankYouDylan

And now to football. Ngojeni kidogo. I've been called to the counter. I'm at the bank by the way. #ThankYouDylan

Coach Dylan's first change at Gor Mahia was to dismantle Zé Maria's three man defence. He brought back the fullbacks saying football is supposed to be simple. Why do we complicate it? So Walusimbi and Nizigiyimana resumed their fullback roles. #ThankYouDylan

And we won the League. And SportPesa Cup. And the League again. #ThankYouDylan

How Coach Kerr managed his trainings I don't know. He oft arrived for trainings on bodaboda. He argued it was the fastest means of running around this city.

Philemon Otieno. This is the player Coach Dylan rated the most. He believed Philemon could play any position. Wendo not available against Tusker in 2017 - play Mbidhi there. Karim injured at Thika - play Mbish there. Walusimbi AWOL? We have Mbish. #ThankYouDylan

Wellington Ochieng - Dylan thought Ochi was Gor Mahia's most underrated player. He believed Ochi's work rate was better than Messi and Cristiano put together. "Ochi gives you his all. And that's the kind of player I want." He'd say. #ThankYouDylan

Ephraim Guikan. Hahahhaaaa. Not Kerr's cup of tea. I wish I had ten Kahata, fifteen Philemons, seventeen Tuyisenges, twenty Wellingtons and only one Guikan. I'd win the World Cup. A well Tuskered Kerr told me at a hotel in Masaki, Dar es Salaam. #ThankYouDylan

And Guikan was not necessarily in love with Kerr either. Le coach me veut pas. Guikan once told me. The coach didn't like him. Recall the day Guikan put a man of the match performance against Yanga in CAF Confed scoring two at Kasarani? Kerr loves it too. #ThankYouDylan

To Gor Mahia administration, Kerr is the perfect broke man's coach. Not to sound complacent but he was OK with most of the stuff he was accorded at the club. He mostly defended the leadership. He loved the chairman. He loathed those who criticized Rachier. #ThankYouDylan

I think Dylan Kerr's most memorable match was the 2-0 win over Simba in Nakuru. He badly wanted to win. Tbh, he badly wanted to beat Simba. He hated Simba. He still does. If you asked him to choose winning the World Cup or beating Simba he'd pick beating Simba. #ThankYouDylan

He would not have cared to be beaten by Singida Utd, KK Homeboyz or even Wazito. But Simba? No. He would do anything just to beat Simba and show the mouthy Tanzanians the longest finger. This man has an unforgivable beef with Simba. #ThankYouDylan

Dylan's biggest undoing was failure to know rules of the game. The day we lost to Rayon Sports at Kasarani I was shocked he didn't know head to head would be used to determine teams proceeding from the group. He thought Goal Difference would. #ThankYouDylan

On SPL awards he again had no idea nominees had to play at least 24 league matches.

Against Everton he had no idea he could make all the subs he wanted but only allowed three interruptions to the game. Amazing. #ThankYouDylan

Dylan Kerr was in charge of Gor Mahia for 76 matches, 53 being in the league. This is the longest by a foreign coach in K'Ogalo's history.
Frank Nuttall 67
Bobby Williamson 54
Zé Maria 50
Zdravko Logarusic 50
#ThankYouDylan
@vincentsopiyo check that out.

The Mashemeji Derby morning of August 25 he called to say he was resting his top players for USM CAF game. No way, coach. I told him the fans would lynch him if we lost the derby. Fans didn't care about CAF as much as we cared for the derby. He panicked. #ThankYouDylan

Hearing his voice, I could tell this brother was now officially a worried man. I'm told he made me a topic of discussion in the changing room asking the fringe players he fielded that day to play to disprove Tom Bwana. Indeed they did. 2-0 victory was sweet. #ThankYouDylan

After the game Assistant Coach Zico asked me what I'd said to the coach. "you made Mzungu panick too much". But if the boys were told to play to prove to Tom Bwana that they had the mettle to wear the shirt, I'm happy I contributed to one derby victory. #ThankYouDylan

TM Jolawi Obondo told me after the game that the boys played their hearts out to prove that they could play in a derby to disappoint the naysayers like Tom Bwana. I was glad to have played a part in our victory that day. #ThankYouDylan

Dylan Kerr had been leaving the club since he arrived. He'd resigned on numerous occasions. The reason I didn't take him serious when, walking in Liverpool together one night, he told me he would be resigning. How many times can one possibly resign? I asked. #ThankYouDylan

One particular instance was the day we lost to Bandari. After his touchline fiasco with Goalkeeper Coach Willis Ochieng' aggravated by the loss, he decided to call it quits. I have the text he sent to the chairman asking to be released. Funny man. #ThankYouDylan

The poorly organized trip to Algeria for USM game stretched his patience too far. Even elasticity itself has its elastic limit. He was done with us. On one of those numerous coffees in our office he told me finito. I still didn't believe him. You're always done. #ThankYouDylan

At Gor Mahia, Dylan only recognized the chairman. Maybe Ronald Ngala too. Just to avoid saying hate, he didn't particularly like Nyangi. He loved to avoid CEO Aduda. He often wondered what Sally Bolo was doing in a great club like ours. And many more. #ThankYouDylan

One day he asked me just how much the derby meant to the fans. I told him the greatest coach at Gor Mahia was Zdravko Logarusic - the man who never lost the derby.
Who is that?
Logarusic. You don't know Zdravko?
Did he win the league?
No.
Then stop the mentions
#ThankYouDylan

Nairobi night life knew Kerr by name. One time the two of us entered Space Lounge and these little half naked, beer guzzling, fake haired, selfie obsessed girls were stumbling over each other to get a piece of him. Acting body guard, I asked the girls to queue up. #ThankYouDylan

Blackyz Lounge was another of his favorites. I like the place too. It gives Argwings Kodhek road a souped up feel at night. Caribbea and Road House were places Kerr was always happy to meet up especially with Bobby Williamson in town. #ThankYouDylan

What probably endeared Dylan to the fans is his desire to be a part of the fans, the people, the culture. When you go to a new place, learn their culture. Get to know the people. You don't have to like them but just show respect to how they live. That was Kerr. #ThankYouDylan

I will miss those brutally frank nearly fist fight talks we had about Gor Mahia. I will miss those calls from our office reception "hi Tom, Coach Dylan is here to see you." And I'd respond "Tell him not today, some people have real jobs." I'll miss this man. #ThankYouDylan