Accra, Aug. 19 - GNA - Kumasi Asante Kotoko have won the first half of the Kinapharma Premier League which ended at the week end, strengthening their desire and belief to grab their first title since the Ghanaian premiership went professional 10 seasons ago.
And in the saddle to whip them to a point clear of the defending champions, Accra Hearts of Oak mid way through the schedule is a former international and indeed an ex influential playmaker of the Porcupine Warriors known as the "Golden Boy" Abdul Razak.
Razak has steered the Kumasi club to the top via 11 wins, three draws and a loss, aggregating 36 points and this result, by all standards, is highly commendable. It paints a positive picture of the coach and vindicates the former Ghana Football Association (GFA) Administration, which considered the chocolate skinned tactician good enough for the Black Stars job, albeit as assistant to Italian Guieseppi Dossena.
One on one, Kotoko boasts of the best assemblage of ball players, from goal keepers to strikers and with a little bit of level headedness, Razak could go into the history books for breaking the monopoly of Hearts of Oak.
George Owu and Louis Quainoo are the most competent pairs of hands at the moment, Godfrey Yeboah, Daniel Yeboah, Joe Hendrix, Issah Ahmed, Aziz Ansah and Daniel Acquah remain the strongest barricade to any attacking formation while Michael Asante, Edward Owusu Ansah, Yussif Chibsah, Joe Louis and Stephen Oduro are visionary ball distributors any day.
Upfront, Razak has many options from a pool that contains Nana Arhin Duah, Isaac Boakye, Shilla Alhassan, Michael Osei and the mercurial Charles 'the Rebel Leader" Taylor.
With such an intimidating array of stars, there should be no excuse, what so ever, for Razak should he fail to make the horns toot in the Ashanti regional capital when the final half of the competition ends after 15 more matches.
A critical look, at the performance of the Porcupine Warriors however requires that the team thread cautiously in order to evade any unnecessary sanctions that might affect their performance as the competition gathers momentum.
It appears arrogance is gradually creeping into the conduct of Razak and some of his players and the earlier that is checked the better. Razak now challenges every decision of referees with scorn and defiance and this has actually spilled over to some of the players. It was a piteous spectacle to see Razak chasing the centre referee in their match against Hasaacas in Kumasi when the referee was lenient enough to show Aziz Ansah a yellow card instead of a red, for hitting an opponent.
Lately, Aziz has thickened his skin for indiscipline and the earlier he bleaches off that toga the better for his game.
In their only blemish during the first round at Kpando, a critical view of the film on that match will reveal the cowardice of referee Atsatsa as he flouted the rules by giving Aziz a yellow instead of a red for striking an opponent off the ball. In that particular match, Nana Arhin Duah also initiated a scuffle between him and the Lions goalkeeper but the referee blinked at it.
Accidents are part of the game of football but when a single player is always at the centre of such accidents, which injure and terminate the careers of other young footballers, then that player will have to reappraise his style and his conscience.
Former youth international goalkeeper, Maxwell Owusu Banahene has been out of football since Nana Arhin Duah clashed with him in the first match of last year's premiership when he had just crossed carpet from Hasaacas and was on duty for Liberty Professionals.
Agreed that the incident happened before Razak assumed duty at Kotoko but the number of casualties keep rising from tangles with Arhin Duah, the latest being Hasaacas keeper Mensah who had to be replaced early in the match on Sunday.
While the form guide favours the current league leaders to clinch the trophy, Razak should know that indiscipline on the part of a coach negates the overall ambition of a team.
The behaviour of a coach, who is a teacher and a role model to his players, will be copied and there will one day be, a courageous referee who will interpret the rules as they should be and penalise some of the players, maybe with ejections.
When that happens the team will concede a numerical advantage to their opponents and it could be disastrous and unrewarding to a team, which is hungry for success.
Razak must also know that his tenure at Kotoko is an opportunity for him to prove his mettle as a good coach and the emphases of the observers will be on how he is able to carry himself under pressure when the opposition is stiff.
His demeanour in the event of provocation will also be a parameter to measure his competence and most of all; the high level of comportment expected of a lecturer must be a distinctive coat that he must wear. The Kotoko job is an opportunity for Razak to enrich his curriculum vitae and present himself as a worthy heir to the Black Stars job. And to qualify for that office, he must convince everybody that he will not go chasing referees around during international assignments, neither will he influence our national team players to disrespect match officials and inflict unnecessary harm on their opponents. 19 Aug. 03
