''Please don't blame goalkeeper Patrick Antwi. It was a team effort and we win together, lose together''. The words of Richard Kingson back at the team hotel was re-echoed by other senior players and officials. It is a positive sign about a team still in transition and a team many believe is only 70% complete. That is the good news for Ghanaians. So you would agree we should end the debate and immature castigation of goal keeper Patrick Antwi? Perhaps we should angle on the selection or indeed Le Roy's tactical ''arrogance'' and aloof attitude? Make no mistake about it....I was a big supporter of bring in Leroy just as i chased to get Ratomir Dujkovic to Ghana. I do not doubt that Leroy is grooming potentially Africa's next 'great' side. He wants to do it his way.....fine by me. BUT he must not be allowed to be a control freak!
The coach should not be distracted by allegations that HIS agency in France is now arranging ALL friendly matches for the Black Stars. I hope it is not true. Even worse i hope the GFA is not party to the deal. I hate talking about such issues when we have been there and done that with other 'businessmen' coaches and sly FA officials.(We will soon get to the bottom of that). So to more important matters now; personally, i am quietly confident that the Black Stars will come good when it really matters during the world cup qualification round robin. The 2-1 defeat to Mexico is no big deal. Ghana drop a place to 15th on the FIFA Coca Cola rankings table and incidentally the Mexicans have climbed up to 16th.
At the final whistle, coach Hugo Sánchez Márquez turned to the right side of the stands and took a long hard look at the scoreboard. His El Tricolor boys had delivered a 2-1 victory that will perhaps keep him at post for a few more games.
The former Real Madrid legend and Mexico's all time greatest footballer was honest enough to concede ''we were lucky against a very energetic side but i was able to field all my new boys'' Obviously for Sanchec that was his key reason for the match.
His opposite number Claude Le Roy however, wore a stern look and stopped short of cursing referee Rob Styles. Well, if Mr. Leroy had done his homework or bothered to ask (even Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger consult) he would have learnt that the English referee is one of the most controversial in the premier League. So please lets not even go there Le Roy.
As Essien admitted post match, '' It is not good to worry about referees too much or else you cannot play your normal game, we will be ready for Libya even though i dont know about their style of play''.
So was the result or the performance more important? For me there were far more positives to take from the game. The attitude of the players was spot on! Boy do I love to watch Anthony Annan more and more. Harrison Afful was so calm on his debut but need not to be rushed. Muntari bossed it in midfield. Bekoe was on for only a glimpse but that did it for me with his raw hunger.Laryea Kingston is slowly getting back to form after injury. Prince Buaben should have come in for him! Since following the Black Stars at close quarters during the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, there is one thing i have grown to admire about the boys...TEAM SPIRIT. New comers Harrison Afful, Prince Bauben, Eric Bekoe and Sadat Bukari were keen to point out that they were made to feel part of the family instantly! Thanks to the matured and cool attitude of Eric Addo and co.
As my good friend Tony Baffoe always says, the great championship teams of the past had this vital ''WE'' ingredient to go with their talent and the technical prowess. Tony is right so I wont even waste my time to ASK WHY the Black Stars lost a game they had ''won'' by the 70 minute. Instead there a a few nagging questions still worrying football fans as we look to the future.
WHY WAS KINGSON SUBSTITUTED?
At 1:45pm on match day,after the players had retired to their hotel rooms, Richard Kingson had to undergo a 45 MINUTE electro pulse massage on his lower back to enable him to play in the evening. After 45 minutes against Mexico,it was a good call to bring on Patrick Antwi as a precaution. I have no qualms about that. A phone call to Sammy Adjei will not hurt anyone will it?
WHY WAS ERIC BEKOE BROUGHT ON SO LATE?
Again Coach Leroy insists he would have brought on Eric Bekoe much earlier IF the game had been sewn up. ''It is not fair to put too much pressure on a young striker making his debut when you are in such a position. We have to take our time and help them not rush them''The coach claims all players will be given an opportunity in his team. Should we believe him? We should give him the benefit of the doubt.
FAVOURITISM OF PLAYERS?
A very sensitive question but one that we journalists must ask without favour. Yes ofcourse every coach has his favourites. Rafa Benetiz loves Gerrard and Torres. Wenger loves Fabregas.....BUT for goodness sake do not let other players feel unwanted. Le Roy must LEARN to treat EACH player as his OWN or risk fragmenting the team spirit. There will be no problem if players are told to their face what role they are expected to play. Keeping quiet and assuming everyone is happy is dangerous. Please COMMUNICATE.
IS GFA SLEEPING?
The current GFA administration must be commended to a degree for the unprecedented team spirit in camp. It was nice to see Nana Butler and Oheneba Charles lending their experience as they passed through to wish the boys well. However, I must be educated on what role JY Appiah is playing with the team. Yet again,players were invited but were never used. You get away with it if you win but when you lose or have a poor performance you are exposed. Ahmed Barusso the sensible lad that he is, has moved temporarily from Rome to Turkey to get more playing time. Meanwhile it appears his waiting to play for Ghana on a regular basis may continue for some time yet. Le Roy insists ''His time will come''. Talk about frustrating the poor boy.
THE FUTURE?
Without a shadow of doubt, the Black Stars are growing nicely and the camp in London was one of the most relaxed atmospheres in the national team since Germany 2006. BUT i am not a fool to believe all is rosy. I have seen better coaches lose it the moment they lose the confidence of the team. So my humble appeal to the authorities is to keep their guard up. The team will get better when the right things are done. On a brighter note lets pray and watch out for a Bekoe/Agogo or Bekoe Gyan striking partnership!
Ghana may well tarvel to Australia in May but atleast Le Roy can sleep soundly knowing we are watching him closely. A word to the wise French man.....is waiting in Accra. Next time we will delve into the alleged 'connection' business in the Black Stars! I said ALLEGED so lets take it from here!
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