Early Signs Don’t Look Good For Akwasi Appiah.

By Abdulai Aboagye

The appointment of James Akwasi Appiah as the substantive coach of the Black Stars came with its own joy and apprehension. Joy because once again Ghana has chosen one of its illustrious and dedicated former footballers to lead the hottest soccer brand in Africa. Supporters argue firstly, that if there is one person who has served Ghana admirably, Akwasi Appiah is that person and therefore deserve the nod.

Supporters also argue that having captained Kotoko and Black Stars for so many years, and added to the fact that he has been the assistant coach for three so-called expatriate coaches, he is well suited to lead the national team. Personally, having watched the affable, “Mayele” play, I was so happy to hear that he has finally been given his due. Since he retired from the national team Ghana has never had any player capable of filling the left full back position as he did.

However, as in every appointment some people also have their own doubt and apprehension. For some Akwasi Appiah will be beset with the same problems that previous local Coaches faced which led to their demise when it comes to coaching the Black Stars. These problems they recount include official interference, fear of Stars or Star worshipping, Pay-to-Play, Selection based on public opinion and a host of others which time and space will not allow on this paper.

Against this background it seems to this writer that the early signs emanating from Appiah’s administration tend to gear towards the latter. Suddenly Akwasi Nyantakyi has become so prominent in the affairs of the Black Stars. Almost every statement about the Black Stars comes from Mr. Nyantakyi. Somebody once asked if he is now the official spokesperson for the coach. Where is the Coach or his Spokesperson?

Could this be the beginning of the same old official interference which some people feared? The other day an official of the GFA accused the previous coach of not listening. Hmm, listen to what? Listen to people whose only claim to knowing about soccer is having watched a couple of games, in selecting who plays in the Black Stars.

Also disturbing is the renewed and vigorous persuit of some retired players, especially that of Kevin Prince Boateng-KVP. We all know that it is Mr. Nyantakyi’s pet project to bring KVP back to the national team and so could one argue that this renewed interest is mostly Mr. Nyantakyi’s making and not that of the coach? For one thing there is nothing wrong in trying to bring back these players, but equally, there nothing wrong in giving the coach time to assess the situation and make his own decision. Unfortunately, it seems to this writer that somebody is pulling some strings somewhere about these players and this does not bode well for Akwasi Appiah. Player selection is very crucial to the success of any team. It is the one thing a coach worth his sort needs the exclusive right to do. History teaches us that at one point a Minister of Sports send two additional players to Tunisia to join the Black Stars because the Minister felt that they were good players and shouldn’t have been left home. Well, guess what, that Black Stars team never won anything. And sadly it seems to this writer that the early signs suggest that we are beginning to trend that line again.

For Mr. Appiah, he will better sit up before it’s too late. He must know that Ghanaians will not accept excuses if he fails. If he is encountering any problems he should voice it out now so that the Ghanaian public will put pressure on the GFA so that he could have the peace of mind to do his job effectively and successfully. No amount of postmortem will heal our wounds if we fail to win the Cup of Nations or the fail to qualify for the 2014 World Cup.

All these notwithstanding, this writer wishes Akwasi Appiah all the best in his new appointment as the Black Stars coach. The writer hopes and prays that he will be given the right tools and support to make him succeed. The writer believes that given the right tools and support, he will succeed where the so-called expatriate Coaches have failed. Congratulations James (James? Since when?) Akwasi Appiah!!!