Spitting in The Face of our Heroes – The Dede Saga : A rejoinder Papa Appiah,

I am disappointed in your article on ghanaweb expressing support for Andre Ayew.

Referring to ' Why should he break a leg for a country that dishonours and spits in the face of her heroes, only to be publicly humiliated for a bit of over-exuberance '........I must point out that Andre Ayew isn’t a national hero. Star players of U20 and U17 W cups aren’t heroes in serious football countries. Most of them fizzle out anyway. Is Captain Alex Opoku of Starlets 91 a national hero? How many kids have even heard of his name? Adoration by young girls doesn’t necessarily translate into heroism, neither does advertising deals. Besides, no one has begged him to play for Ghana. He manipulated the media and threatened to play for France. He should have gone ahead and done that. No one gives a rat backside. After all, Desailly, Balotelli, Welbeck, Gerald Asamoah, Freddy Adu etc didn’t play for Ghana and yet we have done well. Kevin Prince Boateng can also choose to stay away forever and we will still soldier on. That is his cup of tea. We will do our very best with the best materials we have and we will celebrate it..

We as a nation are bigger than individuals and will not accept such acts of gross indiscipline and will frown against it. Players get angry when substituted at times. Yes, Dede is not the first and will not be the last. Balotelli threw the club shirt on the floor at the end of a Inter – Barcelona game they [Inter] had won and angrily walked down the tunnel. He had not been subbed but had rather come on for the last 15mins. How did Mourinho deal with such indiscipline the club considered insulting and so disrespectful? He was expelled from the Inter team for the UEFA Champs league final. Your example of P Scholes is flawed. Are you telling me Fergie will accept a swear word 'f**ker' from Paul? Such an insult? You must be joking mate. And do you think Mancini will accept such a swear word and defend the said player publicly? Review how Mancini dealt with Hart when he granted an interview after the City-Madrid game. He was warned and reminded of his position in the team that he is a player and has to follow instructions. And that interview had no insult but raw passion to win. Was Dede demonstrating a strong passion to be part of a winning team by his gesture and language?

And by the way, who was the ‘f**ker’ as reported by the press by the dugout? Kwasi Appiah? If I was the Coach, I will report him to the FA for disciplinary action and if found guilty, he should be heavily punished. That should be the procedure, I believe. That will serve as a deterrent to the entire team and most importantly the rising players such as Atsu who are the future. If we can’t deal with the kids now, how can we deal with them when they achieve a lot in Europe and their ego swells? We will have another Abedi-Yeboah split. Atsu is stealing the limelight and it’s probably affecting his psychological state, who knows. Dede is an amazing talent. He has so much drive and is committed to the cause. No doubt in anyone’s mind but does that justify such behaviour. Is he another Gattusso in the making? Dede always wants to run the show and should be curbed before we rear a baby lion into a wild full grown lion we can’t control. I felt sorry for him when he and Jordan were both subbed in one game. It’s not always the case of a poor show on the field that calls for a player to be subbed. At times, it’s a tactical move so what is the fuss Papa?

Refusing to shake hands and the body language isn’t the main problem. It is the language used, the LANGUAGE. Suarez and Terry were in trouble for their language and were given hearings and subsequently bans. Don’t go about defending uncultured bad behaviour. Dede is from a good home, not raised on the streets and trust me his family will be so disappointed in him and will apologise on his behalf too. Nyantakyi has erred by issuing that ultimatum. Will that apology satisfy the coach? Maybe yes, maybe no. Due process must be cast in stone and adhered to with regard to disciplinary codes. England just published one for its players, stating clearly what is expected of them on and off the field of play following the Ashely Cole twitter jibe at the FA. The coach is best to deal with the problem the way he deems fit so I don’t think Kwasi Appiah might be hiding behind the FA boss to help him out. The technical team all you know might be unhappy with the FA boss so drop your silly assessment of Kwasi Appiah as ‘out-of-his-depth’ on this issue thou I was personally not impressed with his decision to start Jordan in Zambia, in a game I believe we had to pack the middle of the park and play with a lone striker on the counter attack, such as Gyan or Clottey, one who can hold the ball. Should the coach have taken action, I am sure you would have referred to the infamous history between him and Abedi in the 90's and say he dislikes the boy because of his dad.

Stop twisting the facts and deal with the root cause of the problem, Bad disgraceful insulting language is unacceptable in any civilized society and should not be encouraged. You want us to pat Dede on the shoulder and say to him; 'more fire Dede, well done. Next time call the coach a m*therf**ker too' and then tell the other players to do so too when they are unhappy about team decisions. Papa, you are not serious at all. I bet if Dede was your son, you will advise him to carry on like that because you expect his Coach to have a quiet word with him, defend him in public and privately punish him. That is pure hypocrisy and I will find it very hard to believe Fergie and Mancini will act in such a manner. Advise Dede to do that at Marseille with Baup and I guess he will treat him as how your mentioned experienced Coaches will..

We here in Ghana will not tolerate it and will condemn such actions publicly. Majority of Ghanaians will spit in Dede's face. Don’t ever describe insulting higher authority as a bit of over exuberance again. That will make people question how you were raised and your values, mannerism and morals in life.

Please kindly offer us a sincere apology for such a poor analysis of this matter.. It’s not helping to solve the problem and is in very bad taste. The comments express how disappointed your readership is.

Nkrumah-Boateng, Joseph.