When I began to think about writing this article, I was thinking back to events before, during and after the 2014 World Cup.
It is well known that Kwesi Appiah took the team to Brazil, after overseeing a successful qualifying campaign, but things came apart at the seams during the tournament itself.
I still hold to the belief that despite all the issues of appearance fees, the Appiah-led bench cannot escape culpability for Ghana’s poor performance.
Too many mistakes were committed, such as not putting his best team forward against the United States and the claim that ‘We were waiting for the USA team to get tired before bringing on our experienced players.’
Putting it bluntly, Appiah’s appointment was more of a political decision than a well-thought out appointment by the Ghana Football Association just to buy some much needed breathing space, in the aftermath of the 2012 African Nations Cup when Ghana returned home after finishing fourth.
Marcel Desailly had rejected the appointment and so Appiah was seen as a compromise choice. Some of us were delighted because at long last, an indigen would be given the opportunity to show what he can do.
My problem is that, in as much as some of us would defend indigenous coaches, they would take steps that ultimately get certain GFA bigwigs looking on and saying, ‘We told you so.’
Let's face it head-on; several movers and shakers at the GFA do not believe that indigenous coaches are ready to coach the Black Stars.
In the end, those of us championing the cause of such coaches are often left with egg on our faces.
Take South Africa for example. In the build up to the semifinal against Burkina Faso, I am reliably informed that one of the team’s key players was being searched for as the players prepared to leave for Nelspruit.
The said player was later found indulging in 'extra curricular' activities.
The contingent waited for the player and they left after he was done.
The same player got injured six minutes into the match the following night and ultimately, it upset team balance and Ghana lost on penalties.
Many refuse to talk about it, but that is the real reason why John Paintsil never got called up to the Black Stars again, after that.
Even so, some of us believed that Appiah had made mistakes and he would learn from them and so should be given another chance.
Thankfully that happened and all was going well until the events in Brazil. I know many disagree with me, but Appiah lost the dressing room during the tournament.
Because Appiah had been handed a fresh contract before the World Cup, the GFA could do nothing but to confirm the new mandate after the World Cup.
I still today refuse to understand why Appiah was sacked when he was, simply because he stated that he never asked for a Technical Adviser.
Indeed, that move to bring in a technical Adviser was a clear sign that the GFA did not believe in Appiah’s capabilities and after claiming four points out of six, he was handed his P45.
Whilst I am genuinely glad that he has landed an appointment in the Sudan, I believe that despite all public protestations to the contrary, the GFA privately gritted its teeth during Appiah’s time as Ghana coach.
I have not really spoken about the utterances of one of Ghana’s most experienced coaches, Joseph Emmanuel Sarpong, following the sacking of Appiah, when the GFA advertised the vacant Black Stars coaching job.
Sarpong called on all indigenous coaches not to apply for the job because in his view, Appiah had been treated unfairly.
I would agree that Appiah had indeed been handed the short end of the stick by the GFA, but Sarpong’s call was regrettable and defeatist in my opinion.
How else were indigenous coaches going to get the chance to coach the team if they did not apply?
I know that many use the argument that the last indigenous coach to apply for the job, Herbert Addo, was not considered for the role, but that should not stop anyone from applying for the job.
With the appointment of Avram Grant, it will take a very long time for an indigen to get the job on a permanent basis.
One of the men I expected to apply for the job was Maxwell Konadu, who for me remains a promising coach.
He did not and so remains the assistant coach for now.
He might have finished the job as far as qualification was concerned, but an incident occurred during the qualifiers that caused me to think a bit.
His call up of Emmanuel Osei Banahene came under question, especially when Richmond Boakye Yiadom would have been a better option but I thought that Konadu would have played him against Uganda.
In the end, Banahene did not even make the subs bench and failed to get off the bench against Togo in Tamale.
This would of course beg questions about why the Al Orubah forward was called up in the first place.
Unfortunately, these are the very things the powers that be would seize on in arguing why indigenous coaches are not ready for the Black Stars job.
In Konadu’s case, I can only hope that he learns and learns fast under Grant so that in future, we can have an indigen to handle the Black Stars.
Local coaches also have to stop the backbiting and pull-him-down attitude and instead become united.
Had the Coaches’ association been more united, they could have become an effective pressure group; fighting for better condition of services for their members, not to talk about sourcing for funds for members to add value to themselves in terms of coaching qualifications.
For all the talk about establishing some level of equivalency between UEFA qualifications and that of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the unspoken mantra at the GFA is that the Black Stars head coach should hold the minimum of a UEFA License A certificate.
So nothing stops some of our indigens from enrolling in such courses, which take from 18 months to two years.
So as I end this piece, the question that keeps ringing in my mind is how long it would take for an indigen to become Black Stars coach and perhaps to be charitable, the answer is that it might take a long time.
How long that would be, no one can tell for now.
