Stop Blaming the Bench: Homenetmen’s Real Problem Starts in the Front Office

Homenetmen’s loss against NSA once again triggered frustration among fans, and as usual, the easiest target becomes the head coach. But if we truly care about the future of the club, we need to pause, reflect, and look deeper than the bench.

Blaming Coach Joe for where the team stands today is simply unfair. Coaching is not done in a vacuum. A coach works with the tools he is given, and in Homenetmen’s case, those tools were limited long before the first ball of the season was even tipped.

The uncomfortable truth is that the roots of today’s struggles go back to the summer. The club’s budget was reportedly approved only one week before the start of the league. At that point, the market was practically empty. Quality local players were already signed elsewhere, imports had committed to other teams, and negotiations became a matter of survival rather than strategy.

When you enter the market that late, you are forced into two bad choices: either overpay for remaining options or settle for players that were not part of the original vision. Homenetmen ended up doing a bit of both, not because of poor basketball planning, but because of administrative delay.

Another major issue lies in the refusal or inability to change imports during the season. Whether it is due to budget restrictions or reluctance to pay additional fees, the reality is that the team is stuck with limited flexibility. Meanwhile, other clubs around the league are actively adjusting, upgrading, and responding to weaknesses. Basketball is a living, moving ecosystem. If you don’t evolve, you fall behind.

Coach Joe did not decide when the budget would be released. He did not decide how much money would be allocated. He did not choose to enter the market late. He did not block roster upgrades. Yet he is the one absorbing all the anger.

This is not about protecting any individual. It is about demanding accountability from the correct level. Sustainable success starts with planning, timing, and clear vision from upper management. Without that foundation, no coach in Lebanon — or anywhere — can consistently win.

Homenetmen’s supporters have always been known for their passion and basketball IQ. That same intelligence must now be directed toward the real source of the problem: structural and administrative decisions that handicapped the team before the season even began.

If change is needed, it should start upstairs. Only then can any coach, current or future, be fairly evaluated.

Criticism is healthy. Injustice is not.