Black Stars - Evaluation Time

In every job well done, there is an evaluation and the Ghana Black Stars are not exempted. Bob Bradley, who is the US national coach, has only one formation in mind against Ghana and that is attack, attack and attack. He knows that the Black Stars plays with a defensive strategy. Therefore, let us evaluate the players and see whom we could count on in this tough task ahead. Remember, Obama may be there and with him and Bill Clinton in their presence, the boys would go extra mile to get a win.

Richard Kingson:- Little Richey did great in the German match by forcing Oezil to waste a one-on-one opportunity. In terms of Oezil's goal, Kingston couldn’t even see the ball coming. Overall he did well; therefore, Milovan should keep him for the US encounter.

John Paintsil:- Concerning the right full- back position, not much went on there during the German encounter and since most of the Germans attacking were also on the opposite side of the field. Even when Podolski was switching to both wings, he couldn’t move into the 18yd box because John Paintsil was almost always intercepting the passes even before Podolski could get them. Paintsil did quite well than he did during the Australia match. Samuel Ikoom is getting out of luck with the way Paintsil is performing. Contrary, he should be allowed to participate in the US game and the reason is at the bottom of this article.

Hans Adu Sarpie:- Hans is my boy. Even though, he is the oldest player in the team, is handling each match successfully. He is as cool as cucumber on the ball. Hans had his hands full in the last match, however, used his experience to overcome Thomas Mueller’s skills. He missed one or two passes, on the contrary, did well to prevent the Germans from creating opportunities on that attacking side. Like his father, Mr. Samuel Sarpie, ones said to me, “Experience Ransford, is the best teacher, and it is all a man needs to conquer his opponent’s attacking formation.” I can now see why the man said that and where Hans gets his pep talk from. Milo should keep Sarpie for the US match because his experience would be needed since Donovan would not be easy to contain.

Jonathan Mensah:- The young man was accurate and too aggressive for the German attackers to cope with. Like Nigerians will say, “he was too much for them”. Jonathan was very strong in defense, and kept his composure as he was always tracking down through balls ahead of the German attackers, and rarely gave room to the opponent to penetrate into the Black Stars penalty area. Since Isaac Vorsah is not fully fit, it would be a good idea to bring Jonathan back to pair with John Mensah once again. This should give Vorsah more time to heal because after USA encounter, the Black stars will definitely need his services during the quarter final match against the winner between Uruguay and South Korea.

John Mensah:- The Rock was superbly effective in the heart of the Black Stars defense, as usual. Awesome anticipation from the captain and he read Oezil's through passes and was constantly cutting them off before they could find their targets. This is an indication as the “Iron Man” is getting better from his injuries. In Mensah’s position, he is the best. Matter of fact, we have no choice but to play the Rock in the up coming match, because when there are free-kicks and corner kicks against us, none of our players can stand Oguchi Onyewu’s upper strength in teams of heading the ball out for safety.

Anthony Annan :- Who says Michael Essien doesn’t have a clone? What was the difference between Anthony Annan in the German match and Michael Essien in the Czech Republic match during 2006 WC? Annan was almost perfect and hardly misplaced a pass. He was the main reason the Black Stars were able to have more possession in the second half, and woaw, such a performance from the little man. For the attacking department to receive most of the passes, Annan was the orchestrator to that game plan. His agent should search for a better club for him because he is becoming exactly like Michael Essien but in his way.

Kevin-Prince Boateng :- Prince, to me, was the “Man of The Match” in the Germany encounter. No one would say he didn’t mean business on the pitch that day. His and Anthony Annan’s combination, in the heart of the field, is too good to be true, because the chemistry between the two is very effective. If only Milo could allow Kevin to move freely in the middle of the field, the world would see more of his dancing techniques.

Tagoe :- For some reason, Prince Tagoe has not been able to get his form back in this tournament and it is affecting the game plans. He has been struggling and there was no reason why Milovan kept him in the last match for even 40 minutes. This position would better fit Dede Ayew and would, moreover, allow Muntari to take the left wing position for a change. Therefore, Tagoe should give way for Andre Ayew to operate in the coming battle like the “Mystic Man” Francis Kumi used to play in the 80s.

Kwedwo Asamoah:- Kwedwo Asamoah should take this up coming battle as an opportunity to boost his confidence. In fact his situation is a little mystery to me. He should have done better on that goose-bumps opportunity he had in the last game, however, couldn’t score. Before, the WC games, a lot was written and said about him, and so far, none has matched his performances. He falls even when the ball is nowhere near him. This is a good time for Coach Milovan to either have a serious talk with him or glue his behind down on the bench enough for him to learn from little Ayew. Besides, by benching him, the team would be able to play Adiyiah and Asamoah Gyan up front with a 4-4-2 formation. We need goals and all Kwedwo Asamoah has been doing throughout this important tournament is to fall and to look at the faces of the referees for help. “What’s up with that,” like an American would ask?

Andre Ayew:- Dede, all I could say is woaw!!! This young man was very industrious by breaking forward while, at the same time, helping Hans Sarpie at the defensive end. He has really improved his game. He excellently exposed the German defense with Philipp Lahm included. Ayew seemed to always find his team mates, especially Asamoah Gyan, who selfishly wasted those opportunities by either giving out possessions or shooting inaccurately. Therefore, Dede should be in!

Asamoah Gyan:- The alone striking strategy is not helping Asamoah Gyan to get his rhythm to result to his funny dance. Although, he numerously found himself in positions to score, he wasn’t able to make any. To pair Adiyiah with Asamoah Gyan up-front may resurrect our attacking department.

Sulley Ali Muntari:-Muntari came into Germany match with little aggressiveness trying to warm-up as fast as he could and almost ended up with a card. Muntari demonstrated a little sign of attacking machinery to regenerate the Stars striking force; however, the three men combination played among himself, Dede and Kevin was a good sign, although, couldn’t come out well at the end. If Muntari was to come into the game earlier, a better result would have been registered.

Milovan Rajevac:- For the fact that Mr. Rajevac instructed his team to play his defensive tactics from the beginning of the second half in the last match, diminished his credibility. Milovan needs to watch out for his decisions because there are some tactical adjustments he makes which allow people to question his competence. His timing for substitutions is also very poor and would need to work on that seriously.

Now, this is why, in my opinion, Inkoom should be preferred over Painstil during US match. Both Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan, who usually switch positions from one wing to the other, are familiar with John Painstil's skills because they all played in the English Premier League. Samuel Inkoom would blind them. Besides, Inkoom is younger and is capable of putting pressure on an opponent due to his overlapping techniques. Since US team is into attacking game plan, with Inkoom's attacking strategy, the US midfielders would hesitate when thinking to attack. That would let them stay back and play more defensive game plan than usual. When it comes to that, their game plan wouldn't function properly.

This is it. I know Milovan can’t read the English language. He shouldn’t worry because he is not alone in that territory. I can’t write either, but always managed to put something out there to benefit the country to move forward. Therefore, he should make use of his interpreter to make the relevant adjustments for us to face our Old Wives, the United States of America. Ghana here we come, World Cup Finale welcomes the Black Stars.

My humble selection to overpower the United States:

1. R. Kingston, 2. S. Inkoom, 3. Hans, 4. Jonathan Mensah, 5. J. Mensah, 6. A. Annan, 7. A. Ayew, 8.Kevin PB, 9. A. Gyan, 10. K. Asamoah, 11. S. Muntari

“In All things, Get Understanding, Get Wisdom”

Ransford Peprah (Rnsfdpeprah@yahoo.com)