THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE BLACK STARS

As I pushed through the milling crowd at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium just after the World Cup Qualifier between Ghana's Black Stars and their Malian counterparts, a lot of things went through my mind. True, it had been a successful World Cup qualifying campaign,but the 2-2 draw with the Malians was something of an anticlimax. Perhaps it is now time to question the ambition of the Black Stars, as per the objectives set for Angola 2010, as well as the World Cup itself. I am an eternal optimist and I believe that Ghana should do well at both tournaments, if and only if certain things are done. I will come to that in a minute, but let me start of with my views on Ghana's last two qualifiers.

As much as I would keep congratulating the technical team and the Ghana Football Association for ensuring a successful journey to South Africa, I firmly believe an opportunity has been missed. One of the major reasons why Ghana made it to the World Cup was the performance of certain fringe players in the two away wins over Mali and Sudan, because the likes of Stephen Appiah and Sulley Muntari were unavailable. Thus, one would have expected coach Milovan Rajevac to have used a team of fringe players against Benin and Mali, once Ghana had qualified after beating Sudan. That is a sure way of building a bank of talent to pick and choose from so that in the event of any forced absences and injuries, we would not be found wanting. Alas, that was not done and so there isn't much room for building competition for places in the team, which would make the team even better. To be bluntly specific, it did not make sense to play the likes of Michael Essien (Who I would have in any team any day), Sulley Muntari, Stephen Appiah in a dead rubber match like this one because Mali themselves had already made it to the African Nations Cup before the game and so for both coaches, it was an opportunity to test other emerging talent. Stephen Keshi seized his opportunity; Rajevac sadly failed to. Essien's starting role in the team puzzled me because it was not a must win game, and his work with his foundation, which culminated in a fund-raising dinner the night before, should have seen him start from the bench, because Agyemang Badu was in the squad and probably should have started. That dinner should not have been allowed to happen in the first place and I feel that the GFA and Rajevac lost control of the situation. In fact, it will be foolhardy to suggest that the presence of Rajevac and some of the players at the function, which took place late on Saturday night in Accra, did not have a detrimental effect on Ghana's performance.

The Malians looked hungrier, were first to every ball and they made the star-studded team look ordinary and the combination of Drissa Diakite and Mamadou Diallo down the right again raises questions about Samuel Inkoom’s suitability as a left back because he was left exposed time and again. The team lacked balance and John Paintsil was unable to move forward because there was no one visible in front of him. Sulley Muntari and Stephen Appiah kept cutting inside and as a result, Ghana had a crowded midfield with no width whatsoever. Mali thus took full advantage by utilizing the wings and Paintsil and Inkoom were under intense pressure in the first half. It was only when changes were effected in the second half that Ghana had some balance, with the introduction of Kwadwo Asamoah and Lee Addy. This in the end secured Ghana a point on home soil and it raises serious questions about the decision to use the old guard. I will address selection issues as far as the team is concerned but it is time I also made things very clear about an issue which is as controversial as can be; the case of our captain, Stephen Appiah.

I will boldly state that I have absolutely nothing against Stephen; in fact, I am a very big fan, but I am also a realist and so whenever I express my views about him, they are devoid of any emotion because as a journalist, I have to be objective and put all allegiances away. I stand by my joy when I heard that he had signed for Bologna, but there is a codicil. I still maintain that unless he begins to play regularly for the Serie A team and regains full match fitness, he should not start for Ghana. Mind you, the goalposts have shifted because he now has a club, which was not the case a few weeks ago. So presumably, he can be put on the same scale as Hans Adu Sarpei, whose irregular playing time with Bayer Leverkusen has cost him a place in the Ghana squad, never mind the first team. What is good for the goose should also be good for the gander. Yes, I am aware that he is one of MTN's icons for the World Cup (rightly so, if I might add) and so keeping him in the team will only enhance the commercial campaign as well, but we have to get real and call a spade a spade. He was desperately unlucky against Mali when his header hit the post, but his presence was a major reason why there was a lack of dynamism in the way the Black Stars played. This point is accentuated by the fact that within minutes of his substitution, Ghana leveled the scores to 1-1. He is no longer the player that he was and so, unless he secures regular playing time at club level, his continued inclusion in the first team will only be an emotional choice which will one day backfire spectacularly. As the sages will say, "Sticks and Stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." I believe in the free expression of one's opinion, right or wrong and the right to agree or disagree, which is why I remain unconcerned when I am insulted, abused and taken on for my views. At the end, I may be right or wrong, but everybody has a right to express his opinions. By the way, a testimonial does not necessarily mean retiring a player, but if that is what people think I meant, there isn't much I can do, is there? The right to speak ..

For me, four players should be automatic choices for Rajevac and these players are Richard Kingston, John Paintsil, Michael Essien and Anthony Annan. In other words, there are seven places up for grabs. Surprised?

Well let me explain why. When he is fit, John Mensah is among the best in Africa, but over the last year or so, he has spent more time on the treatment table than on the pitch and so clearly, there are fitness issues. I do not think that adequate measures are being taken to ensure that we have a reliable stand-in and that could cause us trouble. Eric Addo has lost pace and only relies on his tactical awareness in central defence, but should he meet an intelligent striker, he will have a torrid time. Apart from a good debut against Libya, Jonathan Quartey has not really lived up to expectations and the jury is still out on him. In my view, Rajevac has to take a more detailed look at some of our players in the local league. Issah Ahmed and Iliasu Shilla were discovered before Germany 2006, and the likes of Hearts of Oak captain Karim Alhassan, King Faisal's Awudu Naffiu and Eleven Wise's Stephen Aidoo could also be watched for possible inclusion into the team. I was delighted to see Lee Addy get some minutes and even though he is an accomplished centre half, his versatility means we couls also have found a short-to-medium term solution at left back which has become a major problem spot.

Harrison Afful started well for Ghana but most of Ghana's conceded goals have been down to him. No wonder people are calling for the return of Hans Adu Sarpei into the team, but, because he does not have regular playing time these days, he does not make the cut. As I said earlier on, Addy could be a solution and again the likes of David Addy, Richard Kissi Boateng and Gideon Baah could also be assessed for suitability..

Michael Essien is one of the best midfielders in the world, and his effective partnership with Anthony Annan is one reason why I think they should always start for Ghana. Indeed, Essien for me is a future skipper for the team and should his team-mates maintain tactical discipline, he will be at his best for Ghana, which was the case with the two away victories in Mali and Sudan. In fact, the case for the injection of fresh blood into the team is further emphasized by the fact that Ghana looked very impressive and tactical in those two games. Significantly, Appiah and Muntari were absent, but when both players played, Ghana looked rather pedestrian in the home ties and against Benin away. So clearly something has to give and perhaps it is time to leave Kwadwo Asamoah to play a free role in front of Essien and Annan or as a second striker. Samuel Inkoom can be better utilised playing out on the right with Opoku Agyemang wide on the left. This clearly means that Muntari has to fight hard, avoid being tactically indisciplined and stay out wide in order to keep his place in the starting eleven.

After scoring eight goals in the World Youth Cup and being voted the best among his peers, this game should have been a perfect platform for Dominic Adiyiah to have launched his senior career. He is a lethal finisher and why he wasn’t given the chance to play really puzzles me. Our senior strikers do not score on a consistent basis and so this was a very good opportunity for Adiyiah to be tested.

All in all, more players need to be looked at to improve the team, if Ghana is to have a realistic chance of winning the African Nations Cup in Angola and doing well at the world cup. One thing that worries me is the increasing influence that membership of Virtus International, a football management agency has on selection into the Black Stars squad. Samuel Inkoom, Jonathan Quartey, Emmanuel Agyemang Badu, Prince Tagoe and Yaw Antwi are all part of this agency and each of these players have been capped by Ghana in the last year(www.virtus-international.com). In fact former Asante Kotoko striker Eric Bekoe signed up for the agency, but after investigations by this writer, it has emerged that Bekoe decided to cancel his membership two weeks before the call up for the Mali game. So was it a coincidence that the man who has netted 7 goals in 8 matches in the Egyptian league does not get a call up? Don't get me wrong; the aforementioned players are good enough to play for Ghana, but it appears that apart from the established stars, you have to sign up before getting a call up. I am even hearing that Adiyiah has signed up. We need to stop all this and cast our net wider. Players like Derrick Boateng and Prince Buaben are playing regularly and should get call ups, but that isn't happening.

To conclude, I firmly believe that Ghana has the potential to win the World Cup next year in South Africa, never mind the African Nations Cup, but only if emotions are set aside for proper selection decisions to be made, the perceived’ mafia within the team is broken and call ups into the squad are given on merit and merit alone, in addition to proper scouting locally to get the right players.