Riyadh Debacle! - Has The Bubble Burst??

When a team loses a game of football they can be pardoned depending on the circumstances. BUT when they are humiliated then serious questions have to be asked!

In November of 2005 Ghana beat the same Saudis 3- 1 in Jeddah. Well? How times and fortunes have changed in these 2 short years! Soon after that game their coach was fired! The Saudis saw that defeat as a humiliation! What are we going to do? To lose to Saudi (no disrespect) by 5 – 0 is diabolical and scandalous. So what led to it?

A few things pop into my mind:

That the match was fixed?

(A) Hmmm highly improbable. What for?

That Jet-lag, temperature, tiredness and conditions affected them? (A) Come on, these guys are professionals! No, bad excuse.

That the unpatriotic and below par performance was due to disunity in the squad? (A) I am not a psychic but that is what normally happens when players are not in tandem with a manager.

That players are still riding on the crest wave of the dizzy-heights performance at the last world cup? (A) That clearly seems to be the case. Now THE BUBBLE HAS BURST!!

This to me is the wake up call we needed. But oh! 5 - 0?? Abah? It wouldn’t have mattered so much if it was Italy or France who dished-out this kind of defeat. BUT for players who play for Al-Shabab and Shish-kebab and co to do this to us is to me beyond a joke. It is indeed very painful.

I am ardent follower of the Stars like many of you who are reading now.

In 1973 I tasted my first experience of a humiliating defeat for the beloved Black Stars.

Zaire beat Ghana 4 – 1 in Kinshasa. This was the second leg of a world cup qualifier. Ghana had won the 1st leg by 1-0. The excuses were many including poor officiating, dubious goals and ill treatment of the players before the game. The Zairians had only one thing in mind and that was to win at all costs. Even though the excuses cut, I still remember the score line till today. Until that time no African country post independence had done that to Ghana. That result vibrated Ghana.

In 1993, 14th April to be precise, I was in Bochum to witness another humiliation.

We were playing the then WORLD Champions. With 18 minutes left for play we crumbled from 1-0 up to 1-6 down!! I can vividly remember the entire game and what went before, during and after the game.

If I had my own way none of the players then would have ever again worn the Back Star jersey. The players and management of the Black Stars should have been stripped of their positions and shamed.

I quite remember that on that sad day, the Germans simply kept probing with not much success because we had a resolute back four and we kept our discipline. Then Frimpong Manso, Isaac Asare and CK Akunnor were replaced by Sammy Adjei, Kwame Ayew and Stanley Aborah. That was the helping that the Germans needed. Boy did they seize the opportunity and thump us!

Yes, they scored 3 goals in 2 minutes and that to me is a world record! Sammy Adjei was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was as if he had come sight seeing and not to play football. Effenberg ripped him apart!! Yet still I took a bit of consolation from the game even though it was that painful. The fact is that we had been beaten by the World Champions! And Not Saudi Arabia!!

The next humiliation was the 8-2 defeat by Brazil. This is a game I never saw and will never want to see.

The excuse was that we hurriedly assembled a team to play Ronaldo’s Brazil. A Big mistake was made and this has forever tarnished our statistics. Again you can excuse the result because we pitched a sub standard select team against a full Brazil team. That excuse smothered the pain.

The 3-0 defeat by Brazil in the world cup was not a humiliation. It was a painful lesson in how to use the right tactic when playing a super side like Brazil who were then the World Champions. No problem, that result can be accepted.

This 5-0 drubbing really takes the biscuit! Apart from Capito, Mensah and Gyan we had a full squad! For crying out loud we were only playing against players who play locally in the Saudi League. How could that happen? Who is responsible? What is going on?

Some of us could see this kind of result coming but never 5-0! Let me state the facts.

I saw the entire game against Senegal which ended 1-1. Except for their poor finishing, the Senegalese were by miles the better side and bossed the game. They should have won 3-1 at least.

I saw the entire game against Morocco which ended 2-0 to Ghana. Again this was an abysmal performance and we were fortunate to win the game. The flair game was missing. Morocco were to be honest a poor side.

Now the Saudi game. Our performance was very untidy and what made matters worse was that we were 2nd to every challenge. I believe we created about 3 chances only in the entire game. The Saudis played with relative ease and seemed to play with a bit of reserve in their tanks. Whilst the Saudis strolled in the game we huffed and puffed and chased shadows! Now how can you explain that? Were the Stars that tired?

Please bear with me because in spite of this humiliation I am going to be disputatious. I would have been the first person to call for the manager’s head. However let’s get closer to the facts and look at it from a different angle.

The Manager in my opinion is doing a GREAT job and is justifying the means to an end. What is happening (as painful as may be) is the exposure of those who WILL not make the grade. He is slowly exposing them and weeding them out! Matched against a local Saudi team quite a few of the Black Stars did not in my opinion make the “cut”.

When Leroy was appointed he took over a very good team and it was only proper and sensible that he drafted a few more fringe players and some u20’s into the fray. Some of these players have had their chance and in my opinion have blown it! They simply couldn’t make the “cut”.

It is vital that we experiment with new faces at this time rather than wait until the ANC.

After all if it came to the worst scenario we will simply have to name the world cup 11 that played the Czech Republic to represent us in the ANC. That scenario looks the likely outcome since some of the new faces have not impressed.

The problem however is that some of the established players are prone to injury and therefore cannot be relied on anymore. Thus we need to cast the net far and wide and assess who can do what.

When the coach invited Ofori Quaye to start ahead of Asamoah Gyan against Australia, I was furious since I felt that the decision was a backward step. However on reflection it was a right move. Why you may ask? Well, to me it seemed to be a decision made due to peer pressure. As Leroy was a new recruit to the fold he duly obliged and gave Ofori Quaye a chance and proved to us and himself once and for all that indeed Ofori Quaye was a spent force. That ghost has now been laid to rest. Hope you get my point.

Another one was Techie Mensah. He was in the WC squad but never had the opportunity to play a full game. He then got the chance to prove himself in the friendly games against Austria and Brazil in which we drew 1-1 and 0-1 respectively. Again I felt that Techie Mensah proved that he was not the business and I am glad he has not been called since.

I may be wrong but I believe this is exactly what the coach is doing. He is justifying every ones inclusion or possible exclusion.

Let me try and analyze the performance of the players that represented Ghana against Saudi.

R. Kingston – Conceded 5 but cannot be faulted for even 1 goal. He is by far the best we have and is undisputed. I hope he is able to command more games at Birmingham to keep him in shape. We cannot afford to have him ring-rusty before the ANC. However if the coach is justifying inclusions then he needs to expose some new faces in these friendlies. What happens if Kingston gets injured?

Paintsill – Now huffing and puffing. Can’t get into West Ham and should not get into the Black star. What happened to Dan Quay? Paintsill was easily skinned by Diouf and was also ran-ragged by the Saudi left winger. He has gone past his sell-by date. Need to drop him. BUT who have we got to replace him??

Hans Sarpei – In the past has proved that he can make the cut. He is sensible, tidy and a player with awareness. No issues.

Francis Dickoh – I am tempted to ask where Kuffour is. This guy has had a few chances and I am not convinced at all. If his performance in the Saudi game is anything to go by then Drogba, Camara and the likes of Utaka will have a field day at the ANC. Please let’s look elsewhere! At this moment we can only pray for the swift recovery of the “Rock” Mensah.

Nana Asare – Played in the Morocco game as well. Tidy player and did a job. Again what would happen if the stakes were raised? Can he adjust? In any case what has happened to Habib? What did he do wrong? Why has he been banished? The left back position is definitely up for grabs.

Essien – He is the axis on which the team revolves. He is an amazing talent. Way above the cut and true world class!! I have seen squads of Black Stars since the early 70’s and I have no doubt that he would have gotten into each side. He did the job of 3 in the second half of that game!

Laryea Kingston – He is an in and out performer. The jury is still out. I really can’t put my finger on the problem but what is clear is that when the chips are down he coils into a shell. Is Laryea worth all that hype? I wonder? He is capable of doing much more and has a duty to prove his worth. Can Helegbe play on the right?

Eric Addo – Waste of time! He has had a lot of opportunities and is simply light-weight. Please get him out of his misery! He falls all over the place. Can’t and won’t go in for 50-50’s. No, not my cup of tea! Need to try Kumordzie and others. Thank God that when Capitano gets back my worry will be far from this position.

Barruso – Haven’t seen much of him and will sit on the fence here. My first impression is that he is not a gifted footballer. Yes, he has a lot of strength but that is only one part of the game. Is he Black star material? Well, let’s give him a few more goes. Beaten easily by a Saudi player but lets give him credit because he scored a good goal against Morocco.

Anthony Annan – Struggled in the Saudi game. Has a lot of talent but can he perform when the stakes are raised? In the game against Senegal his ball control and distribution was super but he was muscled out. He will be a future star with the right approach. I like him.

Amoah – Super skills against Morocco. I met him in Scotland after the Korea game and I teased him that if he had happened to play for my local team (Kaneshie Sharp Arrows) we would have lynched him after every game for missing too many sitters and golden goal opportunities. He is a fine player and knits the free flowing football of the stars together. Needs to sharpen his boots BUT is a very clever player. Can Sadick Adams make the grade? If Andre Ayew can make it then Sadick can too.

Prince Tagoe – His first touch was a bit wayward but he must be given a second chance. He looks a fine player. Can he make the cut? He has to prove to us he can.

Sulley Muntari – A few months ago at the Australia game (QPR) a section of fans were getting frustrated with his contribution and voiced out. I told them to keep mute and not to say anything even if Sulley made a mistake. Now why would I say that? I believe Sulley is a maestro and therefore deserves that status. However I found myself showing the same frustration with him during the Senegal game. He is having a very bad time and indeed lost the ball several times against Saudi. He seems to have lost the plot since coming to Pompey and may need to take some time off from Black Star duty. As a rule no one is indispensable and therefore it is in the interest of him and Ghana that he should be demoted to sub. Don’t get me wrong this is the guy who single handedly destroyed Czech and single handedly held the Austrians at bay. Yet the Black star is not someone’s property. Even the great Baba Yara was sometimes hauled off to be replaced by Ofei Doodo. Sulley at his best is undisputed. However in his current form he is a major liability.

Andre Ayew – When he was called to the Senior Squad many of us were bemused? I asked myself, on what merit and against what background? Perhaps the coach has been closely monitoring his progress? I don’t know is the answer! His inclusion was very questionable. Nevertheless he has now played in 3 matches. He played only 2 minutes against Senegal and was impossible to judge. He played maybe 20 minutes against Morocco and did a good job. Good skill and a combative approach.

He came into the Saudi game and was a definite plus. No question the youngster will be a future star if he continues with the right approach. He was fearless and did show good dribbling skills. I simply want the best for Ghana Black stars, and therefore I believe that the topic surrounding Ayew’s inclusion to the senior squad should be left for another day. Weather he jumped the pecking order is neither here nor there now. The important thing is if he can perform. He is an exciting player. Need to see more of him.

However here is a teaser. Where is Baba Armando? What did he do wrong? Case rested!

Junior Agogo – Has done nothing wrong since he joined the squad. The ANC is a different ball game. A lot of skill is required. Will he be able to cope with that type of game? I am not sure. Nevertheless I have no major issues.

Illiahasu – Seems to be out of sorts these days. Has lost sharpness and was exposed time and time again in the Saudi game. When I first saw him play in Scotland against Korea, I was convinced that this guy was going to fill Kuuku Dadzie’s boots. He has the style of Joe Addo and looked impressive in that match. Anyhow it seems as if without Mensah his command of “the 18” is flakey. He does not ooze confidence. He is a very fine player who needs to back-up big time. He needs his confidence boosted.

So my friends, it may seem that 5-0 may be a bit too much BUT if this result is supposed to teach us a lesson which in turn would shake the management foundations to good effect then we simply have to swallow this bitter pill now and be glad it happened.

TRUST me, I still think 5-0 is too much!!! I am holding back a lot of emotion and had to dilute my strong language for this piece to be published.

Leroy, please speak-up and speak out. What is your game???