EDITORIAL: THE BALL IS IN MARRIOT’S COURT

BERNARD Marriot is celebrating his BIGGEST victory, since he took over as the Dynamos board chairman in April 2014.

On Friday, Marriot faced the possibility of not only losing his control of the country’s biggest and most successful football club but also the likelihood of a time in prison for fraud.

This is why the ruling by a magistrate that Marriot was not guilty of any fraudulent act, when he gave himself 51 percent of the shareholding in the shadowy company, which runs the Glamour Boys.

The magistrate said the State had not provided enough evidence to show that Marriot committed a fraudulent act when he gave himself 51 percent of the shareholding in Dynamos (Pvt) Ltd.

The other seven people were each given a seven percent shareholding.

While 49 percent shareholding is a significant stake, the reality is that these people virtually only exist in name and there are no board meetings at Dynamos and Marriot runs a one-man show.

He is the one who decides just about everything, including who should be the coach and who should be the CEO.

The court judgment gives him more power and consolidates his position at the club.

But, that does not take away the fact that DeMbare are probably in their weakest state for as long as we can remember.

It’s easy to win a court case but it’s not easy to win the league championship, as Marriot has realised, in the last 11 years when Dynamos have repeatedly failed to be crowned champions.

And, Marriot knows that this is where his legacy will be defined.

Dynamos made their name, and attracted the biggest number of fans in the country, as serial winners of the championship.

They are the only local club who have won the championship four years in a row TWICE.

In the golden age of the ‘80s, DeMbare won SEVEN of the nine league championships during that decade.

The 11-year wait, without a league championship, is the longest barren run by the Glamour Boys without winning the title.

It doesn’t help Marriot that history will remember he was the man in charge during that period when DeMbare became just an ordinary outfit.

It doesn’t feel right that a club like Dynamos can be dumped by their captain, Frank Makarati, one of the decent players in their ranks, who has decided that playing for TelOne is better than captaining the Glamour Boys.

The ball is in Marriot’s court and he can use the power he has received from the courts to keep destroying the people’s team or he can reform and let real professionals run it on his behalf.

That will be a game-changer because these professionals will not appoint someone like his son Harry as the team manager.

When Dynamos are playing well, the entire domestic Premiership will be in good health. Marriot knows that and we hope he will use the mandate, which he has been given by the court, for the good of this club and instead of for personal gain.