Football fans in Kumasi react to Le Roy's exit

Kumasi, May 9, GNA - A number of enthusiastic football fans in the Kumasi Metropolis have expressed mixed reactions following Claude Le Roy, Black Stars coach's decision not to renew his contract which ends on June 30, this year.

Whilst a section of the fans expressed disappointment at the development, others hailed it as welcome news, citing the performance of the coach at the Ghana 2008 tournament as a case study. Speaking at separate interviews with the GNA Sports on Friday, Mr. Desmond Otuo-Tuffour, a Sports Analyst, said the exit of Le Roy was unfortunate in view of his rich experience in coaching on the African terrain and said much as the coach has declared his resolve not to continue with his work it behoved on the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to impress upon him to stay.

He indicated that Le Roy contributed a lot to lifting the image of Ghana football in recent times, especially when considering the sterling performance of the Black Stars in some international matches ahead of the Ghana 2008 tournament.

Otuo-Tuffour also cited the fact that under the coach's leadership, some players including Junior Agogo, Quincy Owusu Abayie, Anthony Annan and Dede Ayew were brought into the limelight, saying these players contributed in no small way in ensuring that the Black Stars placed third at the Ghana 2008 tournament.

The Sports Analyst expressed concern about the frequent changes of coaches by the GFA and said this did not augur well for the development of football in the country since consistency was crucial to the growth of any nation's football endeavours.

Joe De-Graft, a former player of the Black Stars and Kumasi Asante Kotoko Football Club, noted that it was high time the GFA motivated local coaches to take up the mantle of coaching the senior national team instead of always relying on foreign ones who only turn out to serve their selfish interests when given the nod.

"We should have confidence in our local materials and give them the necessary motivation to enable them deliver instead of discouraging them" he told the GNA Sports. Elizabeth Obeng, a National Service Person stated that Le Roy's decision was unfortunate in view of the crucial matches ahead of the Stars in the coming months, especially in the wake of the 2010 World Cup qualifying series.

She said the coach should have taken his time before coming out with such a decision, stressing that despite the development, the GFA should put its house in order and find a competent coach to take the helm of affairs of the national teams.

Grace Beauty Adebayor Ishola, a final year Building Technology Student of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), advised that there is the urgent need for the players not o let Le Roy's decision affect them but that they should rather be well focused on the assignments ahead of them to enable them achieve their objectives. 09 May 08