Black Stars squad lacks bite

A tournament like the Africa Cup of Nations needs an experienced and cohesive team to win the ultimate. The likes of Ivory Coast, Zambia, all have the core of the team that participated in the last edition of the tournament intact. Team work is a major factor in any tournament because stars and individual players in a team do not win a tournament nowadays.

Black Stars coach, Kwesi Appiah has done well by coming out with the 26-man provisional squad and at the end of the day only 3 players are going to be dropped from the listed squad. He has no option because that’s the appropriate materials we have as a nation for a tournament.

Looking at the squad critically however, I see failure written all over. The squad lacks bite upfront; apart from Asamoah Gyan, the other 3 strikers, Emmanuel Clottey, Richmond Boakye Yiadom and Yahaya Mohammed are very unfamiliar in this position. Yes, it is true that Emmanuel Clottey,

then at Berekum Chelsea was top scorer in the CAF Champions’ League but his performance as a striker after that club tournament shouldn't have earned him a call up. His record of having managed just only one goal in the Tunisian league for Esperance is not the best. A tournament like the Nations’ Cup needs a striker with deadly, potent and current form and if Clottey is having that form right now, fine. But I don’t think so. Richmond Boakye Yiadom is a fine player who even scored on his debut for the Black Stars against China in August but how much experience does he have when it comes to a tournament? How long has he played with the squad? The goal he scored against the Chinese, was it a solo effort and after scoring the goal what has been his subsequent performance?

For Yahaya Mohammed, though he is doing well in the Glo Premier League, agreed that a midfielder leading scoring chart is not a fluke, but how competitive and effective is the local league for a Nations’ Cup stage? What contribution has any of the local top scorers since the early 2000s to date done for the Black Stars? We shouldn't praise Kwesi Appiah just because he has included Yahaya Mohammed as a local player in the provisional squad because from all indications, it’s clear that just about a month to the tournament, it seems the technical team are still experimenting.

Ghana need consistent materials for the tournament. Zambia, Ivory Coast and the rest are coming with the same strikers they used in the last edition, we shouldn't forget we must beat oppositions like these to win the trophy.

Ghana is not Spain to win a tournament without attacking options because we no longer boast of the best midfield materials that had the likes of Kevin-Prince Boateng, and Michael Essien, Stephen Appiah , Sulley Muntari any longer. The current squad do not have a tournament magic of telepathic understanding and cohesion to win the 5th trophy we are all anticipating for. Yahaya Mohammed’s call up in this crucial position isn't the right time when a big tournament is fast approaching, he should rather be in the CHAN squad instead.

Though this is what Kwesi Appiah has at his disposal at the moment, the problem is not about the material’s quality. The current trend of a football tournament is not won by assembling of just any players but how cordial and united a team is, makes the difference. Look at the current Brazil squad, they have the star studded players alright but lack of team work cost Mano Menezes his job because he was not getting the right results.

One month is just too short for Kwesi Appiah to build and unifying force that can win a tournament so I advise him to tell the Ghanaian populace the truth that he can’t win the tournament with this attacking force. I wonder how Asamoah Gyan is going to cope with this new set of attackers, understanding would be too difficult.

Since the squad still remains provisional, it’s not too late for Kwesi Appiah to make an effective selection of 23 and as Ghanaians we are still waiting for a good tournament. Failure means accountability based on the gargantuan budget the entire contingent is going to spend.

I am done, thanks.