24/04/2026
IT IS NOT ENTIRELY PATSON DAKA’S FAULT THAT LEICESTER CITY ARE NOW IN LEAGUE ONE!
Firstly, I want to say I watched Patson Daka when he was at Kafue Celtic. I was an executive committee member at the Lee Kawanu sponsored club.
I watched Daka play for Zambia 🇿🇲 Under-17 where he was made captain by coach Chris Kaunda.
He scored goals and Uganda 🇺🇬 claimed wrongly that he was over age when he was just 15-years old.
He later played for Nchanga Rangers and then Power Dynamos. He experienced a barren spell at the Kitwe giants. Yet the 16-year-old at the time was called to every national team including the senior Chipolopolo.
We were concerned but what were the coaches seeing in him?
In 2016, I was in South Africa when Beston Chambeshi’s lads lifted the COSAFA Under-20 championship.
This time I took more pictures of Fashion Sakala jnr watching Cristiano Ronaldo in his Moruleng room in South Africa. Not the deadly Daka.
I pointed out to team officials that Daka needed Enock Mwepu close to him to find his runs.
I also pointed out that the team needed Emmanuel JR Banda Emmanuel Banda who is also a visionary passer of the ball to find Daka.
Some argued. Well, in the first match of the 2017 Africa Cup, Banda was on the bench. The Bola Na Lesa boys struggled to break down Guinea until the introduction of Banda who was involved in Daka’s winner.
Daka emerged top scorer with 4 goals joint with Edward Chilufya and South Africa’s Luther Singh.
Zambia 🇿🇲 won the well organised tournament. CAF stated that the tournament felt like a senior Men’s Africa Cup in praising the attendance and organization in Lusaka.
The Bola Na Lesa Boys beat “Juju Boys” Senegal 2-0 with Daka and Chilufya on the scoresheet.
Daka was named player of the tournament.
Notice that pulangas never win player of the tournament. Not even CAF best player for 2017. Notice also the influence of Mwepu and Banda in creating opportunities for Daka.
In 2017, Daka was on the books of Liefering a feeder of Red Bull Salzburg in Austria 🇦🇹. He developed rapidly and made the Salzburg senior team easily.
In his 4-year stay in Austria, Daka played 82 times for Salzburg and netted a staggering 54 goals. No planga does that.
Of course, at Salzburg, where he played with Erling Haaland, Daka had Mwepu and selfless Dominik Szoboszlai (look at how he plays in defence for Liverpool) to help him. In that time Daka won 4 Austria 🇦🇹 Bundesliga titles-one for each year spent in Austria-and 3 Austrian Cups.
The same cannot be said at Leicester City who he joined in 2021. On demand then Daka was signed by Brendan Rodgers; the former Liverpool boss. You could see the love and chemistry between the coach and player. Initially, Daka struggled to nail down Premier League starting spot. Rogders rightly indicated, “Give him time to adapt this is a new level and league.”
Daka was eased into things and scored against Manchester United. I celebrated that goal whilst touring the USA 🇺🇸. It was morning there.
The theme, here, is don’t judge a player if you don’t watch him.
Fast forward to Europe, despite having veteran Jamie Vardy, is Daka who is the Leicester record goal scorer in Europe.
After scoring as a substitute against Manchester United, Daka scored all four goals in a 4–3 win over Spartak Moscow in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League, becoming the first Leicester player to score 4 in a game since 1958.
On 25 November 2021, Daka became Leicester's all-time leading goalscorer in European competition by scoring in a 3–1 Europa League victory over Legia Warsaw.
His career at Leicester did not go as well as in Austria 🇦🇹 due to a number of factors.
First change of coaches, Brendan loved the boy and knew how he was going to be Vardy’s long term replacement.
But we saw how some players at Leceister like Harvey Barnes would overlook the Zambia striker even when Daka was in a good position to score, we who watch these matches cried about how selfish some Leicester players were in relation to Daka.
Is this about Zambians forgetting easily like late President Levy Mwanawasa once complained?
Them some coaches would not play Daka with a proper support system like he had in Mwepu or Banda at the Under-20 for Zambia.
Injuries also affected his game. There were times too when he scored in one match and then benched the next game. Where was he going to find his consistent run of goals in such scenarios? Strikers thrive on continuity and confidence.
This Leicester side relegated to League One was just pathetic all round.
Goalkeeper Asmir Begovic gifted Hull City in the game that hammered the last nail in the Foxes’ coffin. A 2-2 draw.
Did you want Daka to play in goal and defend as well?
At times, Leicester and Daka scored, but the team could not defend. That cannot be all Daka’s fault. Yes at times, he missed big chances but he was not always in the team, was he?
Unless you don’t watch football. I watch Daka and will continue watching our beloved Zambia 🇿🇲 boy.
Life has ups and downs. I’m convinced that at 27-years-old Daka is maturing and shall bang in goals with regularity again.
The key is finding a club that suits his system, a coach that has confidence in him and team mates who can trust him for the sake of the club not their own safe interests.
Sadio Mane had complained about being overlooked by some players at Southampton until he found a “brother” in the Kenyan Vincent Wenyeama. He thrived and made the big move to Liverpool (it was not all rosy there but he made it).
Find brothers in a team- and not selfish idiots who only want to make a name for themselves- to win consistently.
Otherwise, crying shall be the order of the day.
I repeat: It is not ENTIRELY Patson Daka’s fault that Leicester City are in League One.
Ni Bonse. Collective. Unit. Team.
Via
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