LeRoy Will Need Support To Succeed

After some period of consulation and searching, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has found a replacement for Coach Ratomir Dujkovic, who will go down in history as the manager who propelled Ghana to its maiden World Cup tournament. However, at the same time Dujkovic may have been one of the most unpopular coaches considering his tough-talking attitude, and some Ghanaians? criticism of him. Had the team put up an absysmal performance, he may have been shown the door even before he tended in his resignation. He is history now, anyway.

The process leading to the appointment of Leroy was chequered, even though, this time a committee of very well respected people in the football arena was set up to do the search. Many of the polls conducted on who Ghanaians wanted for a coach favored Jones Attuquayefio, the only local coach among the final three. Of the 2494 respondents who voted on the Ghanaweb poll, asking people to indicate which of three coaches they wanted to replace Doya, 46.4% favored Jones Attuquayefio, and 35.5% preferred Claude Leroy, while 17.8% voted for Philippe Troussier. More so, even before the committee could screen and interview the candidates, some influential constituencies had criticized the membership of the committee, with some constituencies publicly advocating for a local coach. The former GFA chairman, Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe argued against the large membership of the committee, adding that the committee already had in mind whom it was going to give the nod.

Re-echoing Dr. Tamakloe?s concerns, Michael Oti Adjei of the BBC wrote an article in The Statesman questioning the constitution of the committee, since, in his view, it was obvious who would end up being the coach of the Black Stars. Personally, I share the former view that the membership was too large for such a job but I wonder if the GFA had assured Leroy of the position. Of course, during the World Cup, the Ghanaian press had series of interviews with Leroy, one of which was after the Stars? victory over the Czech Republic, in which Leroy was heard saying that he foreshadowed a victory for the Stars. What seemed to have been the thrust of most debates was why a local coach whom Ghanaians thought was as qualified or more qualified than Leroy was not appointed. On ?Adakabre? Frimpong Manso?s Program on TV Africa, the Reverend Osei Kofi, made a very strong case for the need for the committee to have appointed a local coach, questioning the rationale behind Africans? penchant and love for anything foreign. His argument sounded very cogent, even though these concerns were made after Leroy had been appointed by the FA. Just as I have argued elsewhere, I personally did not think Jones Attuquayefio was less qualified than Leroy judging from his pedigree as a former best African coach of the year and the first to qualify Benin for the African nation?s cup, at a time that resources in that country (Benin) were scanty. If you ask me I would tell you Jones knows the African game as much as Leroy does but there can always be one coach for the national team.

The appointment of Jones would have been a big boost for local coaches. But I believe that Leroy is also as qualified as Jones is and his foreign nationality does not make him any less qualified than his closest competitor. In our haste to encourage the policy of ?domestication? we should not lose sight of arguments of qualification or otherwise of whoever handles our national team.

I guess the question we should be asking ourselves now is if Leroy is qualified. Did his credentials merit his ascendancy to the enviable position of coach of the senior national team? I am of the view point that should we fail to answer this question, then, we would have some cause to complain about Jones? failure to land the job. If we are satisfied about Leroy?s achievements then we should give him the support.

It is against the backdrop of this, among other reasons, that I thought the Convention People?s Party (CPP) had no business coming out with a statement rejecting the appointment of the coach. When did the leadership of the party become football administrators? When did politics go to bed with football, considering that FIFA frowns on political interference in the running of football? The statement signed by Prof. Dowuona cannot pass without comments because I believe it was not necessary, to say the least. The CPP would help its cause if it spent precious time and resources canvassing for support so it would win future elections. As a political party, their primary mission/aim is to convince Ghanaians that they are a better alternative and should they (Ghanaians) vote for them they would not meddle in the administration of sports. Of course, there is no problem with expressing concerns about the game of football or the running of it but not in the breath the party did. As far as I am concerned, issuing a statement questioning the appointment of a foreign coach is a cheap way of going about their campaign. Seriously, Prof. Dowuona should have known better that the administration of sports in the country is a dicey issue and politicians should tread cautiously about such issues. What we should spend our time doing is to encourage the coach to deliver, and to pray that the usual politicking that goes on in the corridors of the GFA does not affect his job as a coach of the senior national team. Advice for Leroy

Like Mike Oti Adjei argued in his piece and just like a GNA report said, I knew very well that Leroy was interested even before Doya left the shores of Ghana. That said, it is obvious that he is aware of the Ghanaian terrain, which is why he had the patience to go through the interviewing process. If he meant comments he made when he met the press, then I am not far from my assertions. Coach Leroy should know that the seat he is going to occupy is very hot and, in the estimation of Ghanaians, can potentially be occupied by twenty-one million Ghanaians, including even unborn babies. In fact, not many coaches have survived because the Ghanaian is not a fan of mediocre performances. Ghanaians like the English are very passionate about the game of football and are never satisfied even when their national team is winning. One of the problems ?run-away? coaches have had in Ghana is with the ever critical media. Milan Zivadinovic never saw the end of his contract, as he could not bear the heat of scrutiny that he was subjected to under the watchful eyes of the Ghanaian media. Mariano Barreto had some results but before Ghanaians could heap any praises on him he was no where to be found, while Ratomir had to feign sickness and resign because of his fallout with the Ghanaian media. This is the history of Ghanaian coaches. Having accepted the appointment just after the exit of Doya, I am sure Leroy knows what is in store for him. The media will scrutinize every move of his and call for his head if he fails to produce the results Ghanaians want.

Coaches in England and Brazil go through tougher tests than those who choose to come to Ghana. Every coach must appreciate the role the media plays in the administration of football in any country and a criticism of tactics should not be treated as an aversion for his presence in the country. There is no way a population will hail a coach if he produces poor results in any tournament or match. Ghanaians know they have the resources that can translate into results for the country. Leroy knows just as Ghanaians do that there are more resources in terms of players and financial support than he encountered in the DR Congo and the dynamics of the job will change.

Coming on the back of a successful World Cup, Ghanaians are on cloud nine. The coach should settle down and come up with a strong team that will improve upon the performance that the heroes put up at the World Cup. Ghana is now 23rd in the FIFA rankings and before the World Cup it was 48th. There cannot be any backward move.

One of the main problems of the team is the left back position where so many players have been tried in an attempt to solve the problem. The right back position seemed to have been worked on with the improvement in Paintsil?s and Dan Quaye?s performances. A player like Derek Asamoah (among a few) is playing very well in the left back position and could be monitored for that role. Also deserving SOS attention is the striking department of the team which has become the bane over the years. For many years, the team has suffered in this department, denying them fine wins. Since Leroy himself was at the World Cup, he must have appreciated the gargantuan of the problem, as against the Czech Republic the team could have scored more than the two goals they recorded. With players like Patrick Agyeman and Ibrahim Salou in form, the fortunes of the team will be enhanced if they are invited to make their cases. Furthermore, over the years many Ghanaian players have been lost to other countries because our FA was not proactive enough in luring these players to play for the nation. The country needs a good scouting team that will identify talents over the world, who can be of help to the national team. For instance, a player like Freddy Adu has left his options open and would play for Ghana should the opportunity be offered to him. There cannot be any better time than now for the GFA to invite him, maybe not to the Black Stars, but one of the national teams. Let?s find a way to cap these players so they become ours. Let?s make good use of our fine performance at the world cup and lure lost talents to improve our lots.

Advice to the GFA

In times past, there have been reports that coaches have been forced to draft some players into the national when their performances were below par. These should be things of the past. The politics of the dressing room should cease, so the coach can be responsible for his action should the team fail to deliver. More so, Leroy will need the material support and cooperation of the GFA so that he can translate his plans into action. No coach can perform magic without support. It is only when these are done that any authority can have the moral justification to question the performances of the coach.

I can only wish the new coach all the best, and hope he would be allowed to do his job without any [undue] interference.