“Give Young Players the Opportunity” (continuous)
Right full-back, the country is blessed with two fit players; therefore, we can rest for now and focus on other positions. John Pantsil will be exactly 33years old in Jun 2014, whilst Samuel Inkoom would be heading toward his 25th birthday.
Once gain, the left full-back would be one of our main focus. Hans Adu Sarpie did really, really well during the WC games but it seems he got caught up in the process when his opponents were faster. It was not his fault. The man is aging. He just turned 34 this past Jun and will be 38 during the 2014 WC games. That means we may not have the honor to watch the legendary Sarpie display in WC matches again. Therefore, it is time to bring in two candidates, which the dice has fell on David Addy and Lee Addy to be molded to fit into this position in case Hans couldn’t take us through 2014 WC.
In the heart of our defensive department, there are two positions (#4 and #5). Replacements have already been discovered, however, not permanent. Even though, John Mensah's document indicates 28years as his age and therefore would be 32 in November 2014, he is good, has experience, and still may have some energy in him to take us through 2014 WC; we should still search for stand-by candidates for this position due to his constant back injury. It may not allow him to keep his position by 2014.
When the time comes and John Mensah couldn’t handle the pressure, Isaac Vorsah may take over. Our other option is Jonathan Mensah but who would partner with him? Both Isaac vorsah and Jonathan Mensah could mount the numbers 4 and 5 but their stand-by players are yet to be found. Daniel Opare, an Under 20 WC winner, would have been a perfect choice to become a back-up candidate for the # 4 position, but for some reasons, he is fading away. Let us keep an eye on another Under 20 WC winner, Daniel Addo’s performances this year.
Anthony Annan and Kevin Prince Boateng may have to retain their positions. Monitoring Michael Essien for now would be a good thing to do. It is so tempting to request for Essien’s replacement. As we all know, Essien has the tendency of not featuring in important tournaments for the country. At the age of 32, there should not be a better age for a midfielder in a WC tournament. However, due to injuries, we can’t rely on Michael. When we need him the most that is when he is unavailable. The country has two other players Milo may have to dig for and they are Abeiku Quansah and Mohammed Rabiu. In any case and Michael Essien is not capable to feature for the country, these young men would be there to fill in the gap. In terms of Agymang Badu, he has already secured his position as a back-up to Anthony Annan.
We need right wingers. This is the reason monitoring the young players is very important. So far we have Owusu Abeyie and Prince Tagoe who would need to work harder because as of now, both of their performances are below expectations. Dede should be recommended to play there often like Arjen Robben does for FC Bayern München. This would allow the team to have both Muntari and Dede on the field.
The striking department is still a problem and should be our main focus. Adiyiah at least could become a back-up candidate to Asamoah Gyan but at the moment, it is not certain. Sadick Adams, Eric Bekoe, Cofie Bekoe, and Jordan Ayew should be giving the chances to compete for this position. If Opportunities are giving to them like has been given to Dede, Inkoom, and Jonathan Mensah, these strikers may add a firm competition to our striking force.
The number 10 position Appiah is trying to hold on to, unfortunately for him, is already gone unless he shows a fitness level above his competitors’ fitness level. The country has two promising stars in the names of Bernard Yao Kumordzi and Kwedwo Asamoah who are younger, and therefore, may be polished by the year 2014 to take us through. Kwedwo Asamoah is struggling to fit into Appiah’s shoes, which was obvious during the WC matches. However, after 2012 CAN, 2012 Olympics games, and 2013 CAN, he should be ready to take us through the 2014 WC games. As for Stephen Appiah, the country may get the best out of him as a manager when he replaces Milovan after 2014 WC.
The left wing still could be handled by Sulley Muntari but a back-up would be needed as the same is needed at the right wing. Hopefully, Hamminu Dramani would be serious enough to get his name on board. This tells that we need to scout more young players into the squad.
When Milovan arrived in 2008, he mentioned some core players whom he intended to build his team around. By the time he realized, most of these core players were worn out. This mistake shouldn’t be repeated in a sense that all the players in our possessions are core players. None of them is irreplaceable. The new ones could be invited to build around the 23 regular players. Therefore, Milo should keep that in mind.
The monitoring begins now and every Ghanaian is responsible in scouting for the needed players in the needed positions. Kindly keep favoritisms away from your search because we need the best players we could possibly get as I indicated some months back. What do you think and whom do you have? Remember the President is not the only person responsible for the country, the citizens are as well.
“In all things, get Understanding, get Wisdom.”
Ransford Frempong Peprah (E-mail: Rnsfdpeprah@yahoo.com)